6/29 Post

I want to reach out to park visitors, the community of the Highlands, friends and family
My audience’s background is important, mainly their life experiences. Both my mom and dad grew up around the Highlands and went to many parks when they were younger. My friends also enjoy going to parks to hang out as I do. Everyone in my life has some sort of connection to a park. The community of the Highlands is a very active community in my eyes. I work in the Highlands and see many people out exercising on the sidewalks. My paper would potentially affect their exercising because they might have been unaware of the trails in Cherokee Park or else just need another reminder to get them out there. Park visitors are already visiting parks and they would most likely be interested in my writing.
They care about environment and the outdoors. Environment is important along with nature. If I am going to be writing about cleaning up liter along trails, they will draw interest to this. They like walking in parks or trying new things. Whether they have never been on a trail in Cherokee park or have before my writing will explain both its beauty and importance in society. It will tie this in with the proposal of raising awareness of the liter that is found alongside these trails. My audience uses the park so they should find an interest.
My writing is for anyone that is able to get outside.
My piece is a pretty laid back issue as far as politics. My family and friends will appreciate the issue I discuss. A harder crowd may be found in the community of the highlands. However, most of the people in the highlands that I know personally are very friendly and care about their community greatly. They seem to like a clean environment judging by the neighborhoods they live in. In my opinion they will have an easy time reading and caring for the words that I want to share.

HW Post

Audience and genre are both crucial pieces that make up a paper. Your audience is who will be critiquing or evaluating you. The genre will either help or damage your audiences thoughts and opinions of your work. Our blackboard reading discusses the importance of the correlation by stating, "...even your choice of genre(memo,essay,email,note,speech)-are all influenced by
the audience you envision.(Page 5)" The audience that you are going to write to will need a specific genre of writing that will meet their needs for the particular paper they are reading. Determining what response you want the audience to have or simply what message you need to get across to the audience will help in determining a specific genre. An example of this connection is as follows. If I am writing to an unknown audience on an academic level, I will want to write in a formal manor to professional express my discoveries or positions. That way my audience will see more credibility in my work when they are reading my paper.

HW Reading Post "Church"

I think Church does a good job in stating why her audience cares. I would disagree if she left her topic in a broad sense, however, she narrows it down to the topic of the impact biodiversity has on medicine. Church explains that, "If we keep destroying the earth's biodiversity at the current rate, we may lose any opportunities to develop medicines we may need to survive. (Pg 16)" This statement narrows down her topic of the loss of biodiversity to the effect it will have on human medication. This will answer the questions that the audience has. They have a reason to care because the topic she narrows down has a direct correlation to medicine that could effect the audience's health. The audience now has a reason to care and be concerned with what Church is stating in her essay. Another good passage from Church's text is where she specifically talks about losing the tree that helps produce medicine to help fight breast cancer. This may draw on an audience member who has family or friends who has had this very common cancer. Thus they will care what Church has to say because it relates to them.

HW Post

Many people in our community as well as families and people who visit parks or enjoy the outdoors will care about my topic. I am discussing modern day importance of Cherokee Parks in a broader sense. I am going to argue for the proposal of better upkeep or for new trails to be established in Cherokee Park. It will effect people who already visit the park. It will also draw interests to people who would like to experience the nature that a trail in Cherokee Park has to offer. The park may draw more visitors because of this. My audience would not be limited to people who already attend parks. It could also include people who have wanted to go on a trail in a park but have not. New trails or better upkeep may be the last step that draws them in and makes them visit. The community near Cherokee Park (the Highlands) would be effected if the park were to see a significant increase in visitors.

HW Post

Holson conducted her research through interviews with people in the community where the movie was filmed. All of her research directed from the town festival that celebrated the film of Napolean Dynamite. The angle of her questions to the interviewees in my opinion was to express the small town atmosphere that the film was shot at. These no name people are now receiving publicity because of the success of the film. She correlates this evidence with other towns where films have been shot and expressing that the same effect occurred. The town has seen many tourist stopping by and wanting to get autographs from the actors who weren't even paid for their contribution. She talked to these locals because they were in the film. The dialogue expressed how they were small town people and total opposite of a movie star.

Many of the options seem to fit the angle of this piece in some sort of way. The one I find most appropriate would be B: to "Present the experiences and/or perspective of the individual". I say this because the interviews with people the author has seem to get out of them their perspective and experience on being in a movie. She includes text that supports that they think they are merely just small town people who have no intentions to star in a movie. Then they share their experiences of giving autographs and such to tourists. This shares their experience with Holson which she includes in her piece.

HW Post

1. What do you want to find out?
2. What is the primary goal of this oral history?

1. I want to find out the problems that Cherokee Park faces in maintaining its true values that it was built on.
2. My primary goal of this oral history is to find out more information on reasons Cherokee Park exists and problems that threaten it.

Reworded Questions:
1. What kind of emotions do you receive from spending time working in the park and exploring all that it has to offer?
2. What have you learned from visitors in the park that have called or talked to you?
3. What kind of efforts show that this park will be here in 100 years and why do you think that is?

Three People

Mimi Zinniel is the CEO of Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy. He has great knowledge of Cherokee Park and its history as well as other people who would be able to help me with an oral history. I tried to find information on his background but there is not much on the internet.
Sarah Wolff is a volunteer and Parks Activity Leader for Cherokee Park. She would have a lot of information on the littering and volunteer work for other issues in the park. She has been a volunteer leader for many years and loves the park and what they have to offer. Online says that she thinks our parks are an important park of our community and future.
A third person I might try if all else fails would be a member of the Metro Parks Committee. I am not sure in particular which person I would speak to without calling and asking a few questions first. I think one of the first two people I have listed would be a great resource or pass me along to a better resource.

Problems in Cherokee Park

There are many things that catch the eye when I am in Cherokee park. Whether it be running on a trail or walking from my car, there are often things that catch my attention. The first thing that I recognize seldom is vandalism on the bathroom walls in the area. That is not so much specific to the trails I use though. When I am on the trails I see litter. It takes away from the beauty of the wooded lands. There are also paths that have been made by people straying off the made paths. These are most likely to common hang out spots by teenagers. These off course trails harm the woods and animals who settle there.

A Founding Virtue Still Appreciated

I find myself on a dirt path with not a soul near to me. The blue sky and scorching sun illuminate what lay before my eyes. Brown trees and earth accompany billowing clouds of green over my shoulders. Rocks of all shapes and sizes situate themselves as obstacles on the course I travel. The leaves ruffle against each other as the wind bends the thin tree trunks and smacks branches against one another. Squirrels pounce from place to place shuffling the twigs and leaves they pounce upon. You can hear the constant stream of water as it flows over rocks and logs in the background. All else is of no importance at this time.
I am too caught up in the highly technical lifestyles we live today to go without a release from time to time. Some days I am just as well off standing in the heart of Times Square. Taxi drivers blast their horns at every chance. People impatiently shove their way through a crowded street. Lights and visual propaganda piled high at every corner. Sometimes that highly stressful environment is raging in between my ears. Thus I always find myself running back to the peaceful trails of Cherokee Park.
There are good days and bad. Things change over time. What always remains the same in my eyes is nature. Its elegance never seizes to amaze me. The perfect arrangement of trees and earth’s creations that accompany my path is always present. The trees and friendly noises from the local animals and natural sounds are always there. They let me use their elegance to cleanse my mind without asking anything of me. They are history. There are so many thoughts you could ponder while in the presence of such a precious yet simple environment. Who once lived here before? Who appreciated this environment before I had the privilege? I find that my mind runs off on many different tangents while in the presence of this great atmosphere. When I am here I have the ability to let my mind run wild and pursue any thought that comes to me. I am at peace with myself as well as my surroundings because of the relaxation and peace I am able to experience because of nature’s elegance.
The qualities of Cherokee Park I hold close to my heart are not uncommon to other park lovers. The same qualities were what Frederick Law Olmsted founded Cherokee Park upon over one-hundred and twenty years ago. Olmsted’s thoughts were made apparent in his creations. The Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Inc shared his views of Cherokee Park stating that, “For a balanced life, Olmsted realized, people need contact with nature. The parks would provide that, green oases that would relieve the stresses that came with close living conditions, poor air quality, lack of peace and solitude.” This realization has strong integrity when one may find themselves visiting or exploring Cherokee Park. Even a hundred years ago people saw the importance of nature and its diverse offerings in their lives.
I reflect upon the same thoughts that pierced the great mind of Frederick Olmsted as I stride further through every bend and curve on the trail. I lose myself more and more to the nature that engulfs me. My body purifies in many ways along the journey. The toxicity of pollution from the city and immoral bandwagon stereotypes poison me. I release these negative thoughts through each breathe I take on my trail and every bead of sweat that rolls off my face. My mind untangles itself from thoughts of the outside world. My skin begins to perspire as I fight the blinding rays of sun that find cracks between the flexing leaves in the olive canopy above. There is no real sense of time as I trek further and further. My body exhausts in the intense heat and strenuous trail I hike. Often I find a soft and inviting tree trunk to stop and rest upon.
As I sit on the earth resting against a tree’s body I gaze at the still life that presents itself before me. Each visit to Cherokee Park allows me to leave with a new image in my mind. When I am at work or in school and need a temporary pleasant thought I can reflect upon these graceful views of woodlands. These images help alleviate my mind of stress or anxiety when there is too much chaos going on. I also envision the people of this community one-hundred years ago. They sat in the park as well and let their eyes gaze at the beautiful trees and surroundings. They as well as I had a source of peace and tranquility. This same peaceful location and trails I traverse are fuel for my body. Not only does it cleanse by body at the site but it offers a visual that is able to relax my thoughts in times of need. The prominence of our simple and precious earth that can be witnessed as a dirt trail with surrounding colorful trees, rocks, diverse wildlife, and harmonizing water deserves much appraisal and respect.
The Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Inc notices this needed respect and acts upon it. They continue to help maintain Cherokee Park and its trails with volunteer work as well as ideas for the future. One of their proposals is a one-mile paved circuit. This proposal, similar to a dirt trail in visual surrounding, would give more room for visitors to indulge in the parks true beauty. The proposal states that “The one-mile paved circuit will offer visitor wayside shelters, rustic footbridges over Beargrass Creek, connections to bridle and other trails and signage telling the story of the park.” Citizens as well as tourists who have not had the opportunity to experience the park’s offerings will have one more area than before calling their name. They would be able to see the elegance of Cherokee Park on a more accessible note. If they are not able to escape into the backwoods and trails this circuit would allow them to see some of the parks story of a calming natural environment in a more modernized sense. This is generous and should be greatly appreciated because it allows a more diverse crowd to come and enjoy the calming effects of nature.
It is a very humble experience when I allow my mind to escape into the trail and history. When I wind down I am able to see beyond the trees and nature in front of me. I see a vast number of years and history before my eyes. How did the park get the name Cherokee Park? Who once lived on the land that I walk along? There is so much to learn about something that interests me as well as others so much. As I leave the trail and head back to our highly industrialized and high strung society I see others who are running from their outside life as I had moments earlier. They begin to make their way into the woods to unwind and let their mind run wild with the squirrels scattering up and down trees. I see the positive moods and smiles on their faces as they nod passing by. It amazes me to think of the men and women that shared similar emotions as me over a century ago. No matter how old the park gets it will always allow one to use it for the same reasons Frederick Olmsted created it on.
After I enter back into my reality and the real world I immediately think of the refreshing experience I just encountered. Shortly after I am back in traffic and cursing the headaches I acquire from it. I enter back into the world of urgency and highly stressful situations at every corner. Perhaps one hundred years ago men and women experienced the same situations in their time and were saddened to be leaving their escape. I reflect on the history of park visitors such as myself as my black car sucks the sun into its windows boiling my skin as I sit. The rush is on to get home as I need to be at work in nearly an hour. However, I had never left the dirt underneath my feet. I am still sitting with the perspiration gluing my lower back to the oak tree I rest on. I am back listening to the squirrels scrambling through brush and the wind howling through the trees. The elegance of the trail I had just observed was still fresh in my mind helping me cope with the difficult realities I face once again.

Works Cited
Bridge in Cherokee Park. Bridge in Cherokee Park. Louisville, Ky. 1905.

Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Inc. “Renewing Cherokee Park.” Louisvilleky.gov. Web. June 1994.

The Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Inc writes about a master plan that will enhance and protect Cherokee Park as well as other Olmstead Parks in Louisville. They are concerned with the well being of the Olmstead Parks. They discuss fixing some things in Cherokee Park that were torn away by a tragic tornado in 1974. The Conservancy reflects upon the words of the Parks designer, Frederic Law Olmstead in the introduction of their proposal.
The Conservancy discussed many ideas to improve Cherokee Park. All of these actions are performed for a combined personal satisfaction as well as living to the words of Frederick Law Olmstead. Cherokee Park to him was a beautiful celebration of Kentucky’s ‘bluegrass country’. The Conservancy wants to maintain Cherokee Park so it can be celebrated for many years to come. One of the proposals that the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy declares is as follows; “The one-mile paved circuit will offer visitor wayside shelters, rustic footbridges over Beargrass Creek, connections to bridle and other trails and signage telling the story of the park.” This new circuit will continue to support the celebration of Cherokee Park. The trails and environment in the park are the heart of the parks purpose. They show its true beauty to the many people that visit the park each year.
The upkeep and new ideas for Cherokee Park support the beauty and elegance that needs to be seen in Cherokee Park. Even after one-hundred years people are still trying to keep the park true to its original offerings of simple nature and its elegance. Will people still want to maintain the park in years to come or will our society try to replace the park with new apartment complexes or will the founding qualities of Cherokee Park keep the park alive? These issues show the importance of the Park to our community and tell of what Cherokee Park has to offer society.

“Further Information: History of Louisville’s Park.” Olmstedparks.org. n.d. Web.

Cherokee Park’s trails and relaxed environment are not recent developments. The park was designed nearly one-hundred and twenty years ago by Frederick Law Olmsted. He had designed Central Park in New York City as well as the United States Capital Grounds. He was highly qualified for the designing of Cherokee Park. Olmsted was said to have strong social values that he incorporated into his park’s architecture. This information was obtained and written by the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Inc. They are a non-profit organization that is in place to help preserve and better the Frederick Law Olmsted parks in Louisville.
According to the Conservancy, Mr. Olmsted was said to have strong social values which he integrated into his parks through architecture and design. Cherokee Park thus has a calming and relaxing environment for people to escape to. The Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy discussed their views of Olmsted’s architectural style in connection to his high social values. They claim that “For a balanced life, Olmsted realized, people need contact with nature. The parks would provide that, green oases that would relieve the stresses that came with close living conditions, poor air quality, lack of peace and solitude.” The view that a balanced life needs contact with nature supports the ideologies of the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy. They enhance and protect our beautiful parks because they agree that parks offer beneficial factors to our community.
This source of Frederick Law Olmsted’s motivations in park architecture supports the same feelings I have with Cherokee Park’s trails. People need a break from our highly stressful society we live in today. This begins an important discussion as to the underlying motivation for parks in general. On a more specific note, is Cherokee Park and its trails maintained by our government and community for the same reasons that it was founded on a hundred years ago? The Louisville Olmsted Conservancy seems to be a great source of information in researching Cherokee Park. They must also have educated members in the field that can help in further research and questions that arise from the early ideas that created Cherokee Park.

Integrating +

I plan to integrate the information I have obtained throughout my piece to make the paper stronger. Specifically, I am going to integrate into my introduction to give a background to the reader so they are familiar with the environment I am writing about. I will also use others information to help convey my emotions to my place. It will be important to really connect my sources to my text because some of the ideas do not relate hand in hand.

Homework Post

Towards the end of the essay Staple's quotes Podhoretz's words, "special brand of paranoid touchiness". Staples integrates this quotation as a detail to support his claim of rage he has. Staples is throwing this quotation from Podhoretz to have a second supporting opinion to his case that he is telling. Staples tells of the difficult perceptions he receives as a black man and the paranoia he has being black. Adding this second party text gives more evidence to his feelings and emotions that he explains in the paper. The specific words he chooses from Podhoretz's text are direct to the emotions he wanted portrayed. Staples connects the text with a sentence telling who the other author is speaking then connecting it to his own personal experience. I thought that Staple's did a good job involving the text in the paragraph it was in. He tied it in to his own personal experience. However, I had to reread the paragraph a few times to grasp the true meaning of Podhoretz's words. I would suggest he throw another sentence or two describing in more detail what that "special brand of paranoid touchiness" means.

Unit 2 Brainstorming

There are a ton of cool statues and monuments in Cherokee Park to pick from to research. Right now I am leaning towards the statue of Pan otherwise known as Hogan's Fountain. This is one of my favorite things to run by while on the scenic loop and everyone passes it upon entering the park at the Eastern Pkwy entrance. I think it is a very important statue that is overlooked by many visitors everyday. I have searched all over the internet for articles relating to the statue. Most of the things I find are very broad. I am going to contact Metro Parks to see where I can find more accredited information on the statue and its history in the park.



http://www.louisvilleghs.com/LGHS_MASTER/SUB/Legends/Pan%20Of%20Cherokee%20Park/Pan_Of_Cherokee.html

An Appreciation of Its Elegance

I find myself on a dirt path with not soul near to me. The blue sky and scorching sun illuminate what lay before my eyes. Brown trees and earth accompany billowing clouds of green over my shoulders. Rocks of all shapes and sizes situate themselves as obstacles on the course I travel. The leaves ruffle against each other as the wind bends the thin tree trunks and smacks branches against one another. Squirrels pounce from place to place shuffling the twigs and leaves they pounce upon. You can hear the constant stream of water as it flows over rocks and logs in the background. All else is of no importance at this time.
I am too caught up in the highly technical lifestyles we live today to go without a release from time to time. Some days I am just as well off standing in the heart of Times Square. Taxi drivers blast their horns at every chance. People impatiently shove their way through a crowded street. Lights and visual propaganda piled high at every corner. Sometimes that highly stressful environment is raging in between my ears. Thus I always find myself running back to the peaceful trails of Cherokee Park.
There are good days and bad. Things change over time. What always remains the same in my eyes is nature. Its elegance never seizes to amaze me. The perfect formation of trees and earth’s creations that accompany my path is always present. The trees and friendly noises from the local animals and natural sounds are always there. They let me use their elegance to cleanse my mind without asking anything of me. They are history. There are so many thoughts you could ponder while in the presence of such a precious yet simple environment. Who once lived here before? Who appreciated this environment before I had the privilege? I find that my mind runs off on many different tangents while in the presence of this great atmosphere. When I am here I have the ability to let my mind run wild and pursue any thought that comes to me. I am at peace with myself as well as my surroundings because of the relaxation and peace I am able to experience because of nature’s elegance.
As I stride further through every bend and curve on the trail I lose myself more and more to the nature that engulfs me. My body purifies in many ways along the journey. The toxicity of pollution from the city and immoral bandwagon stereotypes poison me. I release these negative thoughts through each breathe I take on my trail and every bead of sweat that rolls off my face. My mind untangles itself from thoughts of the outside world. My skin begins to perspire as I fight the blinding rays of sun that find cracks between the flexing leaves in the olive canopy above. There is no real sense of time as I trek further and further. My body exhausts in the head and strenuous trail I hike. Often I find a soft and inviting tree trunk to stop and rest upon.
As I sit on the earth resting against a tree’s body I gaze at the still life that presents itself before me. Each visit to Cherokee Park allows me to leave with a new image in my mind. When I am at work or in school and need a temporary pleasant thought I can reflect upon these graceful views of woodlands. These images help alleviate my mind of stress or anxiety when there is too much chaos going on. I have a new purpose to go back to my favorite trails each week. The trails I traverse are fuel for my body. Not only does it cleanse by body at the site but it offers a visual that is able to relax my thoughts in times of need. The prominence of our simple and precious earth that can be witnessed as a dirt trail with surrounding colorful trees, rocks, diverse wildlife, and harmonizing water deserves much appraisal and respect.
It is a very humble experience when I allow my mind to escape into the trail. When I wind down I am able to see beyond the trees and nature in front of me. I see a vast number of years and history. How did the park get the name Cherokee Park? Who once lived on the land that I walk along? There is so much to learn about something that interests me as well as others so much. As I leave the trail and head back to our highly industrialized and high strung society I see others who are running from their outside life as I had moments earlier. They begin to make their way into the woods to unwind and let their mind run wild with the squirrels scattering up and down trees. I see the positive moods and smiles in their smiles as they nod passing by. I am jealous as it is my time to return to my modern day, two ton, mode of transportation.
After I enter back into my reality and the real world I immediately think of the refreshing experience I just encountered. Shortly after I am back in traffic and cursing the headaches I acquire from it. I enter back into the world of urgency and highly stressful situations at every corner. My black car sucking the sun into its windows boils by skin as I sit. The rush is on to get home as I need to be at work in nearly an hour. However, I had never left the dirt underneath my feet. I am still sitting with the perspiration on my back gluing my body to the oak tree I rest on. I am back listening to the squirrels scrambling through brush and the wind howling through the trees. The elegance of the trail I had just observed was still fresh in my mind helping me cope with the difficult realities I face once again.

Homeword Post #2

I was particularly drawn to Lopez's remarks after he saw the horse. He says, "I was not eager to move. The moment I did I would be back in the flow of tirne, the horse no longer quivering in the same way before me." (501 part 2) This drew my attention the most because it really gave me (the reader) a sense of Lopez's emotions from the horse. This descriptive wording by Lopez really showed how in awe he was by the experience. He was in awe of something so old and rare out in the world. It was something so great that it froze time for him. His mind was frozen by the precious image that laid before him.
I think a reason that this particular part of the narrative grasped my attention was because I could correlate to Lopez's emotions. Something so rare and precious from people who lived where we did so long ago would be amazing to me as well. His description of his thoughts and emotions at that time is something that many people will relate to in some sense or another. His words description of his emotions really showed the importance of the horse to him. It made his passage stronger by letting the reader know how amazing the specatacle was he saw.

Leaving the Cave

My sophomore year of college I was not achieving my personal goals in school. This happened with some of my friends as well. We were not attending all of our classes and not giving school our full attention. After my first semester of sophomore year I decided I needed to give school my full attention and effort because it was an important part of my future. I began a new routine with my entire lifestyle. I began to run a few times a week along with getting my studies done on time. Some of my friends struggled for a longer time than I did. When I 'went back into the gave' I told my friends how I was doing with the changes I had made and they envied my decisions and performance. It soon helped them follow the same path to correct their bad study habbits. Cherokee park is where I usually went to run or walk with my dog. It helped relieve stress and gave my body a sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep up my healthy habbits in all areas of my life. I also became more interested with architecture of random things throughout the park. Little things I never saw before began to spark my curiosity and kept my mind busy. The loop in Cherokee Park is part of my new lifestlye.

"Better to be the poor servant of a poor master, and to endure anything, rather than think as they do and live after their manner." This quote from Homer repeated by Socrates has a lot to do with an individuals environment and perception of the outside world. A servant has a lot more respect for their environment than the master who lives above everyone else in society. If you are a master you put yourself above others shutting off the ability to take in the knowledge of the outside world. Socrates is saying that it is better to have a more diverse knowledge and respect for the 'outside world' than to think the ways of a master. The master and the servant will have different virtues and priorities in life based on their perceptions of the outside world. I agree with Socrates' philosophy because you will get a lot more out of life if you accept other peoples opinions, practices, and beliefs. In doing so this will add a more diverse knowledge to one's mind.

Brainstorming Unit One

Potential Places:
-Cherokee Park
-The River walk at Irqiuois Park downtown
-Red River Gorge
-Jefferson Memorial Forest
-Cherokee Golf Course Pond
Each of these places are very important to me. They are places I think of when I am in class or working. They are where I would like to be everyday rather than in school or work. They are all similar places in that I almost escape from my hectic lifestyle while I am there.
I would like to learn more specifically about Red River Gorge, however, it is most likely too far away to chose as my place.
All of these places hold some kind of historical signifigance. Each place also has signifigance to my friends and/or family.
I am leaning towards Cherokee park because I go there very often. I am able to clear my head there rather it be take my dog there to play, go on a long run, find a trail to walk, or just hang out with my friends. Cherokee Park is a very calming place to me because of all of the experiences I have and have had with it.

moi

Moi
Who am I? Trevor Davis. I am from the United States of America. I have lived in the city of Louisville all of my life. The past couple years of my life have included extremely unpredicted events to say the least. Therefore I am not completely sure as to what will happen next. I plan to graduate with a Masters in Industrial Engineering in a few years. I expect to go wherever my job or interests take me. I have been writing since the first grade. It may not have made much sense but it was definitely what I classify as writing. On a serious note, I usually only write because I have to for class. On certain occasions I do find myself not looking at the clock and enjoying the constant keystrokes. Writing isn't half bad if I am writing about something that interests me and I am not in a hurry.
I define 'place' as a physical location. Often the term comes to mind when I think about travel. The place where someone wants to retire or vacation at. I'm sure there are a seventeen or eighteen different definitions to the term place, but that is how I define it.