Moving Water, Tucson

In class we had a debate whether the kid riding the flood dies in the end or not. I personally think he dies, but I don't think it matters one way or the other. The essay seems to be more about the collective experience of watching this flood rather than the actions of this one kid. I like that Shumaker doesn't explicitly say one way or the other because if she came out and said, and then the waters receded and his broken body fell dead to the bed ,that ending thought would become the focus of the whole essay.The repetition does a lot of work in this essay. It creates a good mood and in ways also a good description of the physical aspects of the water. Waves waves waves, water water, water. For the kid on the board that's what he'd be seeing just waves. I like how those instances of repetition match.We akso discussed the "artist unglued on a scrap of glued wood" obit. I think that the artist unglued just means he's crazy. Because earlier everyone yelled at him to get out, so perhaps what he is doing is not the smartest thing. I like this essay I think it's concise, effective if a little on the mysterious side as far as a point to it goes.