Annotated Bibliography
Carlsen,
Mary. Personal Interview. 8 September 2008.
This is a good source because it
gives information directly from Mary Carlsen, the person that the paper is on.
She provided many different ways that she cared about during her life. She also
provided events that occurred in her life. She provided quotes and specific
details about experiences that she had, while caring for others. Overall, Mary
Carlsen gave helpful information on a narrative about herself.
Carlsen,
Mary. Personal Interview. 22 September 2008.
This is a good source because Mary
Carlsen gave more information that added to her first interview. She also gave
more detail than the first time on topics, such as the Great Depression, her
help towards her mom when she was sick, and her caring ways during the Civil
Rights movement. Overall, Mary Carlsen gave more explanatory descriptions of
the occurrences in her life.
Civil
Rights Icon Rosa Parks Dies. 25 October 2005. National Public
Radio. 22 June 2008 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4973548
This is a good source because it gives
a little bit of background information on why Rosa Parks was such an icon in
the Civil Rights Movement. The article was about summarizing, after her death,
why she was so important for the 1960’s in the Civil Rights Movement. The
article explains that because she sat in front of the bus and refused to give
up her seat on the bus, opened many doors for civil rights. Overall, the source
gives us valid details about Rosa Parks.
National Institute of Mental
Health. 26 June 2008. National Institutes of Health, a component
of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. 22 June 2008 http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/post-traumatic-stress- disorder.shtml
This is a good source because it provides us with many details on post-traumatic stress disorder. It explains its causes and effects of when it occurs in someone’s life. It says that, especially after a war, many soldiers suffer from it. It was able to relate to the situation that the soldiers were going through that Mary Carlsen was helping. Overall, it provides us with many details that support our explanation of Mary Carlsen’s caring ways.
Pet Overpopulation…Are you
Guilty?. June 2006. Spay, Inc.. 22 June 2008 http://www.spay.org/guilty.html
This
is a good source because it shows how important Mary Carlsen’s caring ways can
be. This website tells us many reasons, good and bad, why we should either
adopt kittens, or why we should just put unwanted or abandoned kittens to
sleep. It relates to Mary Carlsen’s caring ways, especially with the stray cats
that live in her garage. Overall, it helps give a better understanding of why
Mary Carlsen’s caring ways are so important for cats.
Placenta
Previa. Mayo Clinic Staff. 1 June 2007. Mayoclinic.com: tools for
healthier lives. 22 June 2008 < http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/placenta-previa/DS00588>
This is a good source because it
provides a little bit more information on what Mary Carlsen’s condition was
when she was born. It gives the definition of placenta previa, and what the
effects of it are. It gives vivid details, such as saying that when placenta
previa occurs, there can be a massive amount of bleeding. Overall, it allows
the reader to understand Mary Carlsen’s story.
The Great Depression (1929-1939).
2003. Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. 22 June 2008 http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/great-depression.htm
This is a good source because it gives us a vivid background about what times were like during Mary Carlsen’s childhood. It also tells us different facts that were proven by Franklin D. Roosevelt. It really paints a picture about how unemployment was really affecting American society economically. It allows us to have a better understanding of the situation of Mary Carlsen’s family. Overall, it shows us, through a famous person’s perspective, what exactly was going on at the time.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Patricia
Muench
Prof.
Lecker
9/22/08
Grandmas Rock
Mary Francis Carlsen has been
through some of the most important events in American History. From the roaring
twenties, to the invention of computers, she has been surrounded by some of the
best and worst times. Some of the events were the assassination of John F.
Kennedy, the crashing of the glass Zeppelin from Germany, and World War II.
During these times, caring was always a major part of her life. From the moment
she was born on June 1st, 1923, she always strived to care for
anything and everything.
In Glendale, New York, Mary Francis
Carlsen was born at her grandmother’s house. During her birth, her mother had
placenta previa (Carlsen 9/8/08). Placenta previa is when the placenta gets
moved to an improper place in the body, causing the cervix to be blocked. It
can cause much bleeding and maybe even death of the baby (“Mayoclinic”).
According to her mother, the doctor told her that she was supposed to deliver a
dead baby. The remarkable thing is that
she is currently eighty-five years old, and six feet tall.
Growing up was very difficult
because her childhood was the Great Depression. It was also hard for her family because at
that time everyone was poor. Everyone became poor because of the stock market
crash, which happened on October 27th, 1929. On this date, she was
also only six years old. The date even received the name “Black Thursday”
because it affected everyone deeply. When Franklin D. Roosevelt became
president in 1933, the unemployment rate went up from eight million to fifteen
million. The Great Depression affected, not just America, but the rest of the
world too (“ELRO”). Even when she was in
her early years of childhood, she was able to care for something. She wasn’t
greedy and never asked for anything. For example, a dinner that she might have
had was bread and butter, but she would never complain that she was
hungry. She knew, at the age of six,
that her family wasn’t able to afford much. However, being a child, she didn’t
understand much of what was happening, and she only knew what her father told her.
Her father always kept her content with having some type of food to eat and
clothes to wear. She had her basic necessities, so she didn’t ask for anything
more. The Great Depression made her have a limited childhood.
After growing up, she was then faced
with taking care of her mom for about six years. She had to keep her going by
giving her the medicine she needed to take. Taking care of her mom, made her
decide, that she wanted to become a nurse. After graduating high school, my
grandma attended St. John’s University for a year to start classes for becoming
a nurse. After St. John’s University, she went into nurse’s training at St.
Catherine’s Nursing School for two and a half years. She then became, at the
time right before the end of the war, a nurse in the army for thirteen months.
During her time in the army, she was stationed in many different places, but
two that examples were Fort Belvar and Atlantic City. When she was stationed in
Atlantic City, she helped out at an army hospital. Her patients were mostly
blind patients that couldn’t do the basic everyday actions. Some activities
that she helped them with were bathing the patients and giving them their
medicine. Another problem that many of her patients were dealing with on top of
physical injuries was post-traumatic stress disorder and its effects. To help
them cope with this disorder, she would just talk to them, and also listen to
their stories just for support, not as a doctor. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
is a mental disorder that develops after a terrifying experience that results in physical harm or the threat of
physical harm. Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can result in
being startled easily, becoming emotionally numb, lose interest in things they
used to enjoy, having trouble being affectionate, becoming irritable, becoming
more aggressive, and maybe even becoming violent (“NIMH”). She would talk to
them, not just because she felt sorry for them, but also because she knew that
they needed some support. She knew that
sometimes, post-traumatic stress disorder can be followed with depression,
substance abuse, or an anxiety disorder. Overall, there are 7.7 million
American adults that suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (“NIMH”). Helping these soldiers cope with this disorder
also made her feel good inside. She knew she had done her job when she did more
than just what was expected of her. It also felt good to be congratulated by a
passing bus when she arrived at her home after her assigned tour. After the war
was over, she moved on to be a nurse for twenty one years at St. John’s hospital.
During her career as a nurse, she
developed a passion and love for animals. She started showing her passion
towards taking care of animals by helping out her friend Sally at an animal
shelter during her work at St. John’s Hospital. She would be able to help out
with the animals because the shelter was close to work. She still continues
this passion today with helping out animals. She has three cats at her house,
but she sometimes provides shelter for stray cats in her garage. Because stray
cats come to use her garage as shelter, she ends up feeding them some of the
cat food she has in her house. She will especially either help them herself, or
find the appropriate help, if she finds a cat that is pregnant or suffering
from hunger. The peak of kitten season
is from late April to early September, which is where many unwanted or homeless
cats are born. Many shelters around the nation even kill unwanted or abandoned
cats at the rate of one per minute (“SPAY”). Reasons like this, are why she
tries to take care of the cats as much as she can sometimes, even though she
knows not every shelter is like that. Overall, she tries to be a Good Samaritan
with animals, by showing her compassionate side.
Throughout Mary Carlsen’s life, she
has been through many of the best and worst times of American History. Some
examples are World War II, the crashing of the Zeppelin from Germany, the
invention of computers, the building of bridges, the assassination of John F.
Kennedy, and the horrifying events of September 11th, 2001. One that
stands out for her is the Civil Rights Movement that started in 1954. Groups
like the Ku Klux Klan made it extremely difficult for black people to get
rights at this time. They also made it hard for black people to survive in a
regular society. Something that Mary Carlsen would do towards the end of the
movement was allowing black people to sit next to her. She wouldn’t say
anything, but she also thought it was wrong when people made comments like,
“I’m glad I’m sitting next to you and not one of them.” (Carlsen 9/22/08) Situations
on buses with black people were very influential at the time because black
people weren’t allowed to sit in the front of the bus with the white people.
Rosa Parks was an icon for this time during the Civil Rights Movement because
she sat in front of the bus, and refused to give up her seat on December 1st,
1955 (“NPR”). Mary Carlsen would make life easier for people like Rosa Parks to
ride a bus. She also worked with many black people that were aides in St.
John’s Hospital. She would talk to many of them, but one in particular named
Sue. She would talk to her about family and other various topics. She would
make a concerted effort to make black people feel comfortable around her. She
cared more for them than white people sometimes. The Civil Rights Movements,
along with the many other various events, brought out the caring ways of Mary
Carlsen.
Every story deserves a happy ending,
but one special time in her life, was on her birthday in 1946. That was the day
she married Raymond Francis Carlsen. Not only did she have the same middle
name, her wedding was on her birthday.
She cared for him very much by showing him her love for going out to
dance for fun. What made Valentine’s Day interesting was that her maiden name
was Valentine. Something that she might have done to show that she cared about
her husband on Valentine’s Day, was surprising him with taking him out to his
favorite restaurant named Neiderstein’s. She would also show that she cared
about him by getting different bowling gifts such as a bowling ball because he
loved to bowl. Mary Francis Carlsen cared for her husband very much.
As proven by the many occurrences in
her life, Mary Carlsen has experienced so much, yet she is able to follow her
caring ways. From her childhood to present day, she was able to prove that she
had many caring ways about herself. Mary
Carlsen also showed that she is always looking out for someone or something,
whether it was a soldier, or an animal. Lastly, she was able to show that she
was also able to care for her family, especially her mom and husband. Mary
Francis Carlsen’s caring ways can be explained by this quote of William James,
“Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the
outer aspects of their lives.”
Bibliography
Carlsen,
Mary. Personal Interview. 8 September 2008.
Carlsen,
Mary. Personal Interview. 22 September 2008.
Civil Rights Icon
Rosa Parks Dies.
25 October 2005. National Public Radio. 22 June 2008 <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4973548>
National Institute of Mental Health. 26 June 2008. National Institutes of Health, a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 22 June 2008 <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/post-traumatic-stress- disorder.shtml>
Pet Overpopulation…Are you Guilty?. June 2006.
Spay, Inc.. 22 June 2008 <http://www.spay.org/guilty.html>
Placenta Previa. Mayo Clinic
Staff. 1 June 2007. Mayoclinic.com: tools for healthier lives. 22 June 2008 <
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/placenta-previa/DS00588>
The Great Depression (1929-1939).
2003. Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. 22 June 2008 http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/great-depression.htm