Visit The Cosmic Pillars of Creation, Again

Visit The Cosmic Pillars of Creation, Again Do you recall the first occasion when you saw the Pillars of Creation? This vast article and the spooky pictures of it that appeared in January 1995, made by stargazers utilizing the Hubble Space Telescope, caught people groups minds with their excellence. The PIllars are a piece of an a starbirth area like the Orion Nebula and others in our own system where hot youthful stars are warming up billows of gas and dust and where heavenly EGGs (short for dissipating vaporous globules) are as yet shaping stars that may sometime illuminate that piece of the galaxy.â â The mists that make up the Pillars are seeded with youthful protostellar objects-basically starbabies-concealed away from our view. Or then again, in any event they were until space experts built up an approach to utilize infrared-touchy instruments to glance through those mists to get at the infants inside. The picture here is the consequence of Hubbles capacity to peer past the cover that conceals starbirth from our meddlesome eyes. The view is amazing.â Presently Hubble has been pointed again toward the popular columns. Its Wide-Field 3 camera caught the multi-hued sparkle of the clouds gas mists, uncovered wispy ringlets of dull astronomical residue, and takes a gander at the rust-hued elephants’ trunk-formed columns. The telescopes  visible-light picture it took gave a refreshed, more keen perspective on the scene that so got everyones consideration in 1995.â Notwithstanding this new noticeable light picture, Hubble has given a point by point see that youd get in the event that you could strip away the billows of gas and residue concealing the heavenly infants in the columns, which is the thing that an infrared light view enables you to do.  Infrared enters a great part of the darkening residue and gas and reveals an increasingly new perspective on the columns, changing them into wispy outlines set against a foundation peppered with stars. Those infant stars, covered up in the noticeable light view, show up obviously as they structure inside the columns themselves. Despite the fact that the first picture was named the Pillars of Creation, this new picture shows that they are additionally mainstays of devastation.  How accomplishes that work?  There are hot, youthful stars out of the field of view in these pictures, and they discharge solid radiation which crushes the residue and gas in these columns. Basically, the columns are being disintegrated by solid breezes from those gigantic youthful stars. The spooky somewhat blue murkiness around the thick edges of the columns in the noticeable light view is material that is being warmed by splendid youthful stars and vanishing ceaselessly. Thus, its altogether conceivable that the youthful stars that havent cleared their columns could be interfered with from framing further as their more established kin rip apart the gas and residue they have to form.â Amusingly, a similar radiation that destroys the columns is additionally liable for illuminating them and making the gas and residue shine with the goal that Hubble can see them.â These arent the main billows of gas and residue that are being etched by the activity of hot, youthful stars. Space experts find such multifaceted mists around the Milky Way Galaxy-and in close by worlds also. We realize they exist in such places as the Carina nebula(in the southern half of the globe sky) which likewise contains a marvelous supermassive star going to explode called Eta Carinae.  And, as stargazers use Hubble and different telescopes to consider these spots over significant stretches of time, they can follow movements in the mists (probably by planes of material streaming endlessly from the shrouded hot youthful stars, for instance), and watch as the powers of star creation do their thing.â The Pillars of Creation lie around 6,500 light-years from us and is a piece of a bigger haze of gas and residue called the Eagle Nebula, in the group of stars Serpens.

Financial Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Money related Plan - Assignment Example Candy machine being the most significant resource is the first to be bought. A seller machine cost 200 and buys for fifty machines were made and disseminated at every area. Items give are; dinners, beverages and snacks at every seller. As I start, drinks are purchased at four dollars and sold at five dollars understanding a benefit of a dollar for every beverage. Suppers are purchased at .75 and sold at a dollar correspondingly to snacks understanding a benefit of a .25 dollar for every feast and tidbit. The units per the item served ascend at a half percent in semiannual premise during the multi year time span. After like clockwork we expanded buys by half of the past period up to the third year. For the fourth year and fifth year, the buys were 400 units, 2000 units and 2000 units for each month for suppers, tidbits and beverages individually. This assistance represent business development and advancement of the business. At the beginning time frames numerous variable resources are comprehensive in this way the explanation of lower beginning stock, as progress is made benefits are acknowledged inside the period consequently on the third year we supplanted 10 candy machines that were

Sample Case Study Astor Park Hotel

Sample Case Study Astor Park Hotel Case Study: Astor Park Hotel Aug 13, 2019 in Case Studies Introduction The Astor Park Hotel is one of the hotel facilities that has undergone gradual development since its construction as a university hostel. The property was acquired by Andrew Pimentel in 1979 and gave it its current name. The hotel, positioned at the Northwest Pacific, has grown to an executive level and one of the most precious in the region. Goldman had previously worked with Starwood Hotel as the Executive Vice President of Acquisitions and Development and made it reach its current status. He took the responsibility of convincing the current CEO and President of Starwood Hotels to buy Astor Park hotel, make it better and save it from bankruptcy. This paper analyzes the Astor Park Hotel Case Study. Firstly, the paper looks into the case facts and identifies the central issue. Secondly, the paper discusses alternative solutions to resolve the problem and, finally, it identifies the preferred solution and explains how it solves the problem. Brief Overview of Key Case Facts The primary key case facts at the Astor Park Hotel are the location, the property, the competition and the current operation. For instance, the park is centrally located and borders the exclusives of the Pacific neighborhoods; the Bay View Hills, De Pere and the Emerald. The location was advantageous since it offered the guests with the best supply of the first class office spaces. However, it was not premier, compared to other hotels like the Bay View Hills which are located at the beach. Nevertheless, the property at Astor Park comprised of the 257 all-suite that had 39 two bedroom suites, 177 one bedroom suites, 39 penthouses and two one bedroom suites (Poorvu, Segel, Lieb, 2001). On the same note, the park hotel had some standard amenities that included fax and modem lines, 27-inch remote controlled televisions, as well as voice mail systems. Similarly, other properties included deluxe accessories of the bathroom and the mulch line speakerphones. Moreover, the hotel offered beverages and foods in different varieties. The most common were the three meal Bay view Terrace, elegant dining Denmark room, and the Astor launch. Additionally, the meeting space of the hotel was maintained at a minimum of about five rooms that were separate and consisted of meeting rooms that could accommodate an approximate of 150 guests at a moment. Furthermore, the hotel had an outside swimming pool, an underground parking facility, as well as restaurants. Chat now Order now Looking at competition as the last fact case, the hotel had the primary competitive, as well as the secondary font of competition. For instance, the competitive set operated about 1672 rooms (Poorvu, Segel, Lieb, 2001). Hence, the business was suffering from the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the management. Similarly, the business was undervalued and, thus, it was not attended to as required. For that case, the major strength of the hotel was considered to be levels of occupation. Identification of the Case Problem or Central Issue The main problem of the case was a result of the management inefficiencies and the positioning of the market of Astor Park Hotel. For instance, Goldman was convinced that the average daily rates, as well as the levels of occupancy, were the key measures of general strengths. Therefore, the levels of occupancy were necessary for both measuring the companys position in the local competitive market and for reflecting the industry patterns (Binder, 2002). On the contrary, the worst problem was the low rate of propertys occupancy. While Astor Hotel was 65%, the rest of the hotels were operating at over 70%. According to Goldman, the undisciplined management had let the park hotel away from the top tier. To defend his argument, he cited a deteriorating, as well as the inconsistent mix of the guest room on the turnover of the management and the floors of the park hotel. Furthermore, Goldman believed that there were certain situations and conditions in which the management of Starwood would not generate the performance that was of dramatic improvements from the Astor Park. It is seen that the costs that naturally overran were the beverage operations and the operations of food. More so, the above two lost over $320,000 in the year 1998 (Poorvu, Segel, Lieb, 2001). Similarly, the primary force that catapulted that loss was the money-losing weekend brunch and the generous staffing. On the same note, there was also the issue of discounted rooms in the analysis. In his arguments, Goldman calculated that 6% of all room nights were committed to the ownership related guests in the year1998 (Poorvu, Segel, Lieb, 2001). Although Goldman knew that the Starwood would finally enable the Astor Park to improve, he understood that not everything would be a bed of roses. Furthermore, he knew that the hotels were the riskiest ventures that required a very high amount of capital. Likewise, hotels were also characterized by complicated construction and design, as compared to other business ventures, such as office and retail projects. They had high uncertainties of occupancy levels, and the operation cost prices were not friendly either. In addition, its occupancy significantly depended on economic changes. Discussion of the Alternative Solutions to Resolving the Problem The first reliable solution to the Astor Park Hotel was to acquire the facility, the second and paramount solution that may otherwise act as an alternative was to reposition it. While in search for the solution, Goldman met Pimentel for negotiations (Wood Verginis, 1999). As a result, after two weeks they agreed to enter into a partnership. For that case, the organization included sharing of responsibilities, including those of management, as well as those of ownership interests. For instance, the distribution of preferred returns would be in the ratio of Starwood to Pimentel 9:1 and Pimentel would commit up to 20% of capital of equity (Poorvu, Segel, Lieb, 2001). The deal was very attractive to both parties. As a result, the underperforming hotel was to be offered to Starwood at a relatively cheap price. However, the accruing taxes were still being paid by Pimentel. Therefore, the success of the hotel from bankruptcy depended on the actions of both of them. .chat-now-banner { background: #ec5c63; position: relative; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; } .chat-now-banner::before { display: block; content: ''; position: absolute; left: -170px; right: 50%; top: 0; bottom: 0; background: #04b5af; transform: skewX(45deg); } .chat-now-banner table { position: relative; color: #ffffff; font-size: 16px; } .chat-now-banner .btn.btn-primary { background: #ffffff; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 36px; color: #ec5c63; box-shadow: none; border-radius: 6px 0 6px 0; padding-left: .75rem; padding-right: .75rem; } .chat-now-banner-problem, .chat-now-banner-solution span { position: relative; } .chat-now-banner-problem { padding-left: 50px; } .chat-now-banner-solution { padding-right: 50px; } .chat-now-banner-problem::before { content: url('/images/banners/chat-img1r.png'); display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; left: 20px; top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%); } .chat-now-banner-solution span::after { content: url('/images/banners/chat-img2.png'); display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; left: 110% } .chat-now-banner-solution span { white-space: nowrap; } .chat-now-banner td { text-align: center; } @media all and (min-width: 1600px) { .chat-now-banner-solution div { display: inline; } .chat-now-banner .btn.btn-primary { margin-left: 15px; } } @media all and (max-width: 1599px) { .chat-now-banner-problem, .chat-now-banner-solution span { line-height: 1; } .chat-now-banner-problem { line-height: 35px; } .chat-now-banner-solution { line-height: 35px; } .chat-now-banner td { vertical-align: top; padding: 20px 5px 10px; } } @media all and (min-width: 1250px) and (max-width: 1599px) { .chat-now-banner-problem span { display: block; } } @media all and (max-width: 1249px) and (min-width: 993px) { .chat-now-banner .btn.btn-primary { margin-left: 0; } .chat-now-banner { height: auto; max-width: 480px; margin: 0 auto; background: linear-gradient(to right top, #ec5c63 0%, #ec5c63 50%, #04b5af 50%, #04b5af 100%) } .chat-now-banner::before { display: none; } .chat-now-banner-problem { padding-right: 15px; } .chat-now-banner-problem::before { left: -1px; top: 87%; transform: translateY(-50%); } .chat-now-banner-problem span { display: block; position: absolute; right: 15px; } .chat-now-banner td { display: block; } .chat-now-banner td:nth-child(2) { display: none; } .chat-now-banner td:last-child { padding-top: 13px; padding-bottom: 17px; } .chat-now-banner td:first-child { text-align: right; } .chat-now-banner-problem { display: inline-block; padding-right: 15px; } .chat-now-banner-solution { width: 50%; } .chat-now-banner-problem { padding-right: 15px; } .chat-now-banner-solution { padding: 0; } } @media all and (max-width: 992px) { .chat-now-banner-problem span { display: block; } } @media all and (max-width: 699px) { .chat-now-banner .btn.btn-primary { margin-left: 0; } .chat-now-banner { height: auto; max-width: 480px; margin: 0 auto; background: linear-gradient(to right top, #ec5c63 0%, #ec5c63 50%, #04b5af 50%, #04b5af 100%) } .chat-now-banner::before { display: none; } .chat-now-banner-problem { padding-right: 15px; } .chat-now-banner-problem::before { left: -1px; top: 87%; transform: translateY(-50%); } .chat-now-banner-problem span { display: block; position: absolute; right: 15px; } .chat-now-banner td { display: block; } .chat-now-banner td:nth-child(2) { display: none; } .chat-now-banner td:last-child { padding-top: 13px; padding-bottom: 17px; } .chat-now-banner td:first-child { text-align: right; } .chat-now-banner-problem { display: inline-block; padding-right: 15px; } .chat-now-banner-solution { width: 50%; } .chat-now-banner-problem { padding-right: 15px; } .chat-now-banner-solution { padding: 0; } } @media all and (max-width: 519px) { .chat-now-banner-solution { width: 100%; } .chat-now-banner-problem { display: block; text-align: center; padding: 0; } .chat-now-banner-problem span { display: inline; position: static; } } @media all and (max-width: 459px) { .chat-now-banner::before { transform: skewX(55.1deg); left: 160px; } .chat-now-banner-problem::before { top: 50%; } .chat-now-banner-problem span { display: block; } } Need reliable and quick help with your paper? Connect us right now? Chat Now Repositioning would be critical because the capital requirements, as well as the rate of returns and the levels of occupancy. Therefore, it would be imperative to consider the type of customers who would be profitable. Similarly, the hotel management needed to segregate and segment the market by customers to enable repositioning to be done through offering catering services to a particular clique of customers in the area of Pacifico. In that case, the assets of Starwood would be of great help in terms of repositioning the Astor Park Hotel since the powerful assets were the portfolio of the brands that were well recognized. As a result, each Starwoods brand served a distinct hotel market segments. The Preferred Solution and Explanation of How it Solves the Problem The selected and preferred solution would be repositioning the hotel. Furthermore, the proper location of Pacific Northwest for the hotel would prove successful. Here, the brand is very new and exciting and, thus, would be a very attractive market. The repositioning would, however, improve the cash flow of the hotel. Similarly, it would include the setting and implementing distinct strategies that will be useful for hotel improvement. Repositioning a property of $33 million will do no harm as well. However, the only limiting factor with repositioning is property downscaling. Hence, repositioning will mean that the management fetches the rooms that are less expensive in the area and do a lot of renovations (OFallon Rutherford, 2011). If done properly, the market would support upscaling the property to cater for customers properly. On the other hand, the advantage of repositioning is that the level of occupancy will increase up to 70% with an average of about 68% (Poorvu, Segel, Lieb , 2001). As a result, Goldman took a pen and paper and started jotting the outstanding issues concerning the structure, repositioning and financing. The list was to highlight all the necessary issues that he would address at the meeting that was ahead of him. Still, the primary concerns were how the hotel could be repositioned given the market structure that he had proposed was to be attractive both to the equity partner and Starwood. However, the greatest issue was pulling the property out of bankruptcy the price that was reasonable, and be able to generate a return that was to be attractive for the shareholders (OFallon Rutherford, 2011). Conclusion Even with the current burden on Astor Park Hotel, Goldman is still convinced that the situation can be revived by various ways. For instance, one of the ways that he suggests and is bold about is selling the property for about $33 million to improve cash flow and increase its value. He also sees an advantage in positioning the property at a downscale as this will not give the pressure of renovating the asset. This, he says, will minimize overspending on the repositioning of the property. Selling the property to a private investor and received an 11% preferred return and a 90% share of the profit is also an option that Goldman suggests. Looking for custom case study? Then Writessay.org would be the best choice for you as it provides quality custom case study help for students.

Use the French Verb Dire to Tell Someone Off

The French verb dire  means to say or to tell and is used in many idiomatic expressions. Learn how to tell someone off, talk nonsense, be a yes-man and more using this list of expressions with dire. Dire is a widely used irregular verb, which means it follows the beat of its own drum regarding conjugations. This is one of those verbs whose forms you simply have to memorize. Formulas dont apply.   Common French Expressions With Dire dire à   quelquun ses quatre và ©rità ©sto give someone a piece of ones minddire à   quelquun son fait, dire son fait à   quelquunto tell someone offdire ce quon a sur le cÅ“urto get something off ones chestdire des sottises / bà ªtisesto talk nonsensedire queto say; to think thatdire toujours amento be a yes-manà   ce quil ditaccording to himà   qui le dis-tu  ?youre telling me!à   vrai direto tell you the truthAussità ´t dit, aussità ´t faitNo sooner said than doneautrement ditin other wordsÇa ne me dit pas grand-chose.I dont think much of that.Ça ne me dit rien.That does nothing for me; I dont feel like doing that.That means nothing to me; I dont remember that.Ça me dit quelque chose.That rings a bell.Ça te dit  ?Do you feel like doing that?   Does that sound good to you?Ceci/Cela ditThat said; Having said thatCela va sans dire.It goes without saying.cest-à  -direthat is; i.e.; I meanCest beaucoup dire.Thats saying a lot.Cest moi qui te le dis. Take my word for it.Cest peu dire.Thats an understatement.br/>Cest plus facile à   dire quà   faire.Easier said than done.Cest toi qui le dis.Thats what you say.Comment dirais-je  ?How shall I put it?  What can I say?comme on ditso to speak; as they sayDis donc / Dites doncWow; hey; listenentendre dire queto hear (it said) thatEst-ce à   dire que...?Does this mean that...?Il ny a pas à   direTheres no doubt about it.Je ne dis pas non.I wont say no.Je ne te le fais pas dire  !Im not putting words in your mouth!I didnt make you say it!Je te lavais dit.I told you so.Mon petit doigt ma ditA little birdie told mene pas se le faire dire deux foisnot to have to be told twiceon dirait que...youd think that...ou pour mieux direto put it another way; in other wordspour ainsi direso to speakpour tout direin factQue dites-vous  ?I beg your pardon? What did you say?Tu as beau dire, je ne te crois pas.It doesnt matter what you say, I dont believe youvouloir direto meanse direto say to oneself;  to think; to claim to be; to be saidCela ne se dit pas. (passive reflexive)That (just) isnt said.br/>Cela te dit de (sortir, manger)?How does (going out, eating) grab you? What do you think of (going out, eating)?On se dirait en France.Youd think you were in France.

Emotional Intelligence and Nonverbal Communication

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE, YOUTH AND SPORTS OF UKRAINE TERNOPIL NATIONAL ECONOMIC UNIVERSITY UKRAINIAN-DUTCH FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT Course Paper: Emotional Intelligence and Nonverbal Communication Done by: Nazar Diachun Supervised by: N.V. Batryn Ternopil – 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................3 PART 1. WHAT IS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE............................................................................4 1.1. The Four Branch Model of Emotional†¦show more content†¦A clear and scientifically useful definition of emotional intelligence, however, is recognizeable because it takes the terms emotion and intelligence seriously. That is, the meaning of emotional intelligence has something specific to do with the intelligent intersection of the emotions and thoughts. For example: Emotional intelligence represents an ability to validly reason with emotions and to use emotions to enhance thought. A more formal define EI as the capacity to reason about emotions, and of emotions to enhance thinking. It includes the abilities to accurately perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth. Here is another definition: Emotional intelligence refers to an ability to recognize the meanings of emotion and their relationshi ps, and to reason and problem-solve on the basis of them. Emotional intelligence is involved in the capacity to perceive emotions, assimilate emotion-related feelings, understand the information of those emotions, and manage them. Emotion refers to a feeling state (including physiological responses and cognitions) that conveys information about relationships. For example, happiness is a feeling state that also conveys information about relationships -- typically, that one would like to joinShow MoreRelatedEmotional Intelligence As A Skill945 Words   |  4 PagesSince the emergence of emotional intelligence, many theorists have contributed to the understanding and development of the concept. Of those, Mayer and Salovey were the first to introduce emotional intelligence as a skill; recognizing it as the capacity to identify, reason, problem solve, and enhance thinking through the use of emotion (Mayer and Salovey, 1990). Termed as the ability theory, the model also proposes that ind ividuals vary in their emotional processing abilities and that they are ableRead MoreThe Importance Of Interpersonal Communication1038 Words   |  5 PagesInterpersonal communication can be seen everywhere is vas locations, and is needed for relationships and the idea of yourself. In life, communication becomes very vital in continuing and maintaining these relationships, and having the ability at a competent level is a necessity.   When it comes to communication you’re either good at it or not as good, but there is always room for improvement. Interpersonal communication skills are learned behaviors that can be improved through knowledge, practiceRead MoreCase Study Analysis: Oakbrook Medical Systems1044 Words   |  5 PagesWeek Four Assignment: Case Study Analysis, Oak Brook Medical Systems, Inc. By Nancy Walker Instructor: Nancy Waldron BUS600: Management Communications with Technology tools Ashford University January 28, 2011 In this case study, a division manager faces several potential human resource issues and communication challenges. 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Additionally, adolescents will learn skills necessary to lead successful lives outside of treatment that include self-awareness, motivation, andRead MoreThe Importance of Language and Culture2130 Words   |  9 PagesCul ture Diana Everett COM200 Instructor Terrance Frazier April 04, 2011 The Importance of Language and Culture There are two forms of communications--verbal and non-verbal. Nonverbal communication is usually understood as the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. Language is not the only source of communication, there are other means also. 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Black House Chapter Seventeen Free Essays

string(70) " his ordinary routine without much mercy, and needs to vent a little\." 17 GEORGE POTTER is sitting on the bunk in the third holding cell down a short corridor that smells of piss and disinfectant. He’s looking out the window at the parking lot, which has lately been the scene of so much excitement and which is still full of milling people. He doesn’t turn at the sound of Jack’s approaching footfalls. We will write a custom essay sample on Black House Chapter Seventeen or any similar topic only for you Order Now As he walks, Jack passes two signs. ONE CALL MEANS ONE CALL, reads the first. A.A. MEETINGS MON. AT 7 P.M., N.A. MEETINGS THURS. AT 8 P.M., reads the second. There’s a dusty drinking fountain and an ancient fire extinguisher, which some wit has labeled LAUGHING GAS. Jack reaches the bars of the cell and raps on one with his house key. Potter at last turns away from the window. Jack, still in that state of hyperawareness that he now recognizes as a kind of Territorial residue, knows the essential truth of the man at a single look. It’s in the sunken eyes and the dark hollows beneath them; it’s in the sallow cheeks and the slightly hollowed temples with their delicate nestles of veins; it’s in the too sharp prominence of the nose. â€Å"Hello, Mr. Potter,† he says. â€Å"I want to talk to you, and we have to make it fast.† â€Å"They wanted me,† Potter remarks. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Maybe you should have let ’em take me. Another three-four months, I’m out of the race anyway.† In his breast pocket is the Mag-card Dale has given him, and Jack uses it to unlock the cell door. There’s a harsh buzzing as it trundles back on its short track. When Jack removes the key, the buzzing stops. Downstairs in the ready room, an amber light marked H.C. 3 will now be glowing. Jack comes in and sits down on the end of the bunk. He has put his key ring away, not wanting the metallic smell to corrupt the scent of lilies. â€Å"Where have you got it?† Without asking how Jack knows, Potter raises one large gnarled hand a carpenter’s hand and touches his midsection. Then he lets it drop. â€Å"Started in the gut. That was five years ago. I took the pills and the shots like a good boy. La Riviere, that was. That stuff . . . man, I was throwing up ever’where. Corners and just about ever’where. Once I threw up in my own bed and didn’t even know it. Woke up the next morning with puke drying on my chest. You know anything about that, son?† â€Å"My mother had cancer,† Jack says quietly. â€Å"When I was twelve. Then it went away.† â€Å"She get five years?† â€Å"More.† â€Å"Lucky,† Potter says. â€Å"Got her in the end, though, didn’t it?† Jack nods. Potter nods back. They’re not quite friends yet, but it’s edging that way. It’s how Jack works, always has been. â€Å"That shit gets in and waits,† Potter tells him. â€Å"My theory is that it never goes away, not really. Anyway, shots is done. Pills is done, too. Except for the ones that kill the pain. I come here for the finish.† â€Å"Why?† This is not a thing Jack needs to know, and time is short, but it’s his technique, and he won’t abandon what works just because there are a couple of State Police jarheads downstairs waiting to take his boy. Dale will have to hold them off, that’s all. â€Å"Seems like a nice enough little town. And I like the river. I go down ever’ day. Like to watch the sun on the water. Sometimes I think of all the jobs I did Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and then sometimes I don’t think about much of anything. Sometimes I just sit there on the bank and feel at peace.† â€Å"What was your line of work, Mr. Potter?† â€Å"Started out as a carpenter, just like Jesus. Progressed to builder, then got too big for my britches. When that happens to a builder, he usually goes around calling himself a contractor. I made three-four million dollars, had a Cadillac, had a young woman who hauled my ashes Friday nights. Nice young woman. No trouble. Then I lost it all. Only thing I missed was the Cadillac. It had a smoother ride than the woman. Then I got my bad news and come here.† He looks at Jack. â€Å"You know what I think sometimes? That French Landing’s close to a better world, one where things look and smell better. Maybe where people act better. I don’t go around with folks I’m not a friendly type person but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel things. I got this idea in my head that it’s not too late to be decent. You think I’m crazy?† â€Å"No,† Jack tells him. â€Å"That’s pretty much why I came here myself. I’ll tell you how it is for me. You know how if you put a thin blanket over a window, the sun will still shine through?† George Potter looks at him with eyes that are suddenly alight. Jack doesn’t even have to finish the thought, which is good. He has found the wavelength he almost always does, it’s his gift and now it’s time to get down to business. â€Å"You do know,† Potter says simply. Jack nods. â€Å"You know why you’re here?† â€Å"They think I killed that lady’s kid.† Potter nods toward the window. â€Å"The one out there that was holdin’ up the noose. I didn’t. That’s what I know.† â€Å"Okay, that’s a start. Listen to me, now.† Very quickly, Jack lays out the chain of events that has brought Potter to this cell. Potter’s brow furrows as Jack speaks, and his big hands knot together. â€Å"Railsback!† he says at last. â€Å"I shoulda known! Nosy goddamn old man, always askin’ questions, always askin’ do you want to play cards or maybe shoot some pool or, I dunno, play Parcheesi, for Christ’s sake! All so he can ask questions. Goddamn nosey parker . . .† There’s more in this vein, and Jack lets him go on with it for a while. Cancer or no cancer, this old fellow has been ripped out of his ordinary routine without much mercy, and needs to vent a little. You read "Black House Chapter Seventeen" in category "Essay examples" If Jack cuts him off to save time, he’ll lose it instead. It’s hard to be patient (how is Dale holding those two assholes off ? Jack doesn’t even want to know), but patience is necessary. When Potter begins to widen the scope of his attack, however (Morty Fine comes in for some abuse, as does Andy Railsback’s pal Irv Throneberry), Jack steps in. â€Å"The point is, Mr. Potter, that Railsback followed someone to your room. No, that’s the wrong way to put it. Railsback was led to your room.† Potter doesn’t reply, just sits looking at his hands. But he nods. He’s old, he’s sick and getting sicker, but he’s four counties over from stupid. â€Å"The person who led Railsback was almost certainly the same person who left the Polaroids of the dead children in your closet.† â€Å"Yar, makes sense. And if he had pictures of the dead kiddies, he was prob’ly the one who made ’em dead.† â€Å"Right. So I have to wonder â€Å" Potter waves an impatient hand. â€Å"I guess I know what you got to wonder. Who there is around these parts who’d like to see Chicago Potsie strung up by the neck. Or the balls.† â€Å"Exactly.† â€Å"Don’t want to put a stick in your spokes, sonny, but I can’t think of nobody.† â€Å"No?† Jack raises his eyebrows. â€Å"Never did business around here, built a house or laid out a golf course?† Potter raises his head and gives Jack a grin. â€Å"Course I did. How else d’you think I knew how nice it is? Specially in the summer? You know the part of town they call Libertyville? Got all those ‘ye olde’ streets like Camelot and Avalon?† Jack nods. â€Å"I built half of those. Back in the seventies. There was a fella around then . . . some moke I knew from Chicago . . . or thought I knew Was he in the business?† This last seems to be Potter addressing Potter. In any case, he gives his head a brief shake. â€Å"Can’t remember. Doesn’t matter, anyway. How could it? Fella was gettin’ on then, must be dead now. It was a long time ago.† But Jack, who interrogates as Jerry Lee Lewis once played the piano, thinks it does matter. In the usually dim section of his mind where intuition keeps its headquarters, lights are coming on. Not a lot yet, but maybe more than just a few. â€Å"A moke,† he says, as if he has never heard the word before. â€Å"What’s that?† Potter gives him a brief, irritated look. â€Å"A citizen who . . . well, not exactly a citizen. Someone who knows people who are connected. Or maybe sometimes connected people call him. Maybe they do each other favors. A moke. It’s not the world’s best thing to be.† No, Jack thinks, but moking can get you a Cadillac with that nice smooth ride. â€Å"Were you ever a moke, George?† Got to get a little more intimate now. This is not a question Jack can address to a Mr. Potter. â€Å"Maybe,† Potter says after a grudging, considering pause. â€Å"Maybe I was. Back in Chi. In Chi, you had to scratch backs and wet beaks if you wanted to land the big contracts. I don’t know how it is there now, but in those days, a clean contractor was a poor contractor. You know?† Jack nods. â€Å"The biggest deal I ever made was a housing development on the South Side of Chicago. Just like in that song about bad, bad Leroy Brown.† Potter chuckles rustily. For a moment he’s not thinking about cancer, or false accusations, or almost being lynched. He’s living in the past, and it may be a little sleazy, but it’s better than the present the bunk chained to the wall, the steel toilet, the cancer spreading through his guts. â€Å"Man, that one was big, I kid you not. Lots of federal money, but the local hotshots decided where the dough went home at night. And me and this other guy, this moke, we were in a horse race â€Å" He breaks off, looking at Jack with wide eyes. â€Å"Holy shit, what are you, magic?† â€Å"I don’t know what you mean. I’m just sitting here.† â€Å"That guy was the guy who showed up here. That was the moke!† â€Å"I’m not following you, George.† But Jack thinks he is. And although he’s starting to get excited, he shows it no more than he did when the bartender told him about Kinderling’s little nose-pinching trick. â€Å"It’s probably nothing,† Potter says. â€Å"Guy had plenty of reasons not to like yours truly, but he’s got to be dead. He’d be in his eighties, for Christ’s sake.† â€Å"Tell me about him,† Jack says. â€Å"He was a moke,† Potter repeats, as if this explains everything. â€Å"And he must have got in trouble in Chicago or somewhere around Chicago, because when he showed up here, I’m pretty sure he was using a different name.† â€Å"When did you swink him on the housing-development deal, George?† Potter smiles, and something about the size of his teeth and the way they seem to jut from the gums allows Jack to see how fast death is rushing toward this man. He feels a little shiver of gooseflesh, but he returns the smile easily enough. This is also how he works. â€Å"If we’re gonna talk about mokin’ and swinkin’, you better call me Potsie.† â€Å"All right, Potsie. When did you swink this guy in Chicago?† â€Å"That much is easy,† Potter says. â€Å"It was summer when the bids went out, but the hotshots were still bellerin’ about how the hippies came to town the year before and gave the cops and the mayor a black eye. So I’d say 1969. What happened was I’d done the building commissioner a big favor, and I’d done another for this old woman who swung weight on this special Equal Opportunity Housing Commission that Mayor Daley had set up. So when the bids went out, mine got special consideration. This other guy the moke I have no doubt that his bid was lower. He knew his way around, and he musta had his own contacts, but that time I had the inside track.† He smiles. The gruesome teeth appear, then disappear again. â€Å"Moke’s bid? Somehow gets lost. Comes in too late. Bad luck. Chicago Potsie nails the job. Then, four years later, the moke shows up here, bidding on the Libertyville job. Only that time when I beat him, everything was square-john. I pulled no strings. I met him in the bar at the Nelson Hotel the night after the contract was awarded, just by accident. And he says, ‘You were that guy in Chicago.’ And I say, ‘There are lots of guys in Chicago.’ Now this guy was a moke, but he was a scary moke. He had a kind of smell about him. I can’t put it any better than that. Anyway, I was big and strong in those days, I could be mean, but I was pretty meek that time. Even after a drink or two, I was pretty meek. † ‘Yeah,’ he says, ‘there are a lot of guys in Chicago, but only one who diddled me. I still got a sore ass from that, Potsie, and I got a long memory.’ â€Å"Any other time, any other guy, I might have asked how good his memory stayed after he got his head knocked on the floor, but with him I just took it. No more words passed between us. He walked out. I don’t think I ever saw him again, but I heard about him from time to time while I was working the Libertyville job. Mostly from my subs. Seems like the moke was building a house of his own in French Landing. For his retirement. Not that he was old enough to retire back then, but he was gettin’ up a little. Fifties, I’d say . . . and that was in ’72.† â€Å"He was building a house here in town,† Jack muses. â€Å"Yeah. It had a name, too, like one of those English houses. The Birches, Lake House, Beardsley Manor, you know.† â€Å"What name?† â€Å"Shit, I can’t even remember the moke’s name, how do you expect me to remember the name of the house he built? But one thing I do remember: none of the subs liked it. It got a reputation.† â€Å"Bad?† â€Å"The worst. There were accidents. One guy cut his hand clean off on a band saw, almost bled to death before they got him to the hospital. Another guy fell off a scaffolding and ended up paralyzed . . . what they call a quad. You know what that is?† Jack nods. â€Å"Only house I ever heard of people were calling haunted even before it was all the way built. I got the idea that he had to finish most of it himself.† â€Å"What else did they say about this place?† Jack puts the question idly, as if he doesn’t care much one way or the other, but he cares a lot. He has never heard of a so-called haunted house in French Landing. He knows he hasn’t been here anywhere near long enough to hear all the tales and legends, but something like this . . . you’d think something like this would pop out of the deck early. â€Å"Ah, man, I can’t remember. Just that . . .† He pauses, eyes distant. Outside the building, the crowd is finally beginning to disperse. Jack wonders how Dale is doing with Brown and Black. The time seems to be racing, and he hasn’t gotten what he needs from Potter. What he’s gotten so far is just enough to tantalize. â€Å"One guy told me the sun never shone there even when it shone,† Potter says abruptly. â€Å"He said the house was a little way off the road, in a clearing, and it should have gotten sun at least five hours a day in the summer, but it somehow . . . didn’t. He said the guys lost their shadows, just like in a fairy tale, and they didn’t like it. And sometimes they heard a dog growling in the woods. Sounded like a big one. A mean one. But they never saw it. You know how it is, I imagine. Stories get started, and then they just kinda feed on themselves . . .† Potter’s shoulders suddenly slump. His head lowers. â€Å"Man, that’s all I can remember.† â€Å"What was the moke’s name when he was in Chicago?† â€Å"Can’t remember.† Jack suddenly thrusts his open hands under Potter’s nose. With his head lowered, Potter doesn’t see them until they’re right there, and he recoils, gasping. He gets a noseful of the dying smell on Jack’s skin. â€Å"What . . . ? Jesus, what’s that?† Potter seizes one of Jack’s hands and sniffs again, greedily. â€Å"Boy, that’s nice. What is it?† â€Å"Lilies,† Jack says, but it’s not what he thinks. What he thinks is The memory of my mother. â€Å"What was the moke’s name when he was in Chicago?† â€Å"It . . . something like beer stein. That’s not it, but it’s close. Best I can do.† â€Å"Beer stein,† Jack says. â€Å"And what was his name when he got to French Landing three years later?† Suddenly there are loud, arguing voices on the stairs. â€Å"I don’t care!† someone shouts. Jack thinks it’s Black, the more officious one. â€Å"It’s our case, he’s our prisoner, and we’re taking him out! Now!† Dale: â€Å"I’m not arguing. I’m just saying that the paperwork â€Å" Brown: â€Å"Aw, fuck the paperwork. We’ll take it with us.† â€Å"What was his name in French Landing, Potsie?† â€Å"I can’t † Potsie takes Jack’s hands again. Potsie’s own hands are dry and cold. He smells Jack’s palms, eyes closed. On the long exhale of his breath he says: â€Å"Burnside. Chummy Burnside. Not that he was chummy. The nickname was a joke. I think his real handle might have been Charlie.† Jack takes his hands back. Charles â€Å"Chummy† Burnside. Once known as Beer Stein. Or something like Beer Stein. â€Å"And the house? What was the name of the house?† Brown and Black are coming down the corridor now, with Dale scurrying after them. There’s no time, Jack thinks. Damnit all, if I had even five minutes more And then Potsie says, â€Å"Black House. I don’t know if that’s what he called it or what the subs workin’ the job got to calling it, but that was the name, all right.† Jack’s eyes widen. The image of Henry Leyden’s cozy living room crosses his mind: sitting with a drink at his elbow and reading about Jarndyce and Jarndyce. â€Å"Did you say Bleak House?† â€Å"Black,† Potsie reiterates impatiently. â€Å"Because it really was. It was â€Å" â€Å"Oh dear to Christ,† one of the state troopers says in a snotty look-what-the-cat-dragged-in voice that makes Jack feel like rearranging his face. It’s Brown, but when Jack glances up, it’s Brown’s partner he looks at. The coincidence of the other trooper’s name makes Jack smile. â€Å"Hello, boys,† Jack says, getting up from the bunk. â€Å"What are you doing here, Hollywood?† Black asks. â€Å"Just batting the breeze and waiting for you,† Jack says, and smiles brilliantly. â€Å"I suppose you want this guy.† â€Å"You’re goddamn right,† Brown growls. â€Å"And if you fucked up our case â€Å" â€Å"Gosh, I don’t think so,† Jack says. It’s a struggle, but he manages to achieve a tone of amiability. Then, to Potsie: â€Å"You’ll be safer with them than here in French Landing, sir.† George Potter looks vacant again. Resigned. â€Å"Don’t matter much either way,† he says, then smiles as a thought occurs to him. â€Å"If old Chummy’s still alive, and you run across him, you might ask him if his ass still hurts from that diddling I gave him back in ’69. And tell him old Chicago Potsie says hello.† â€Å"What the hell are you talking about?† Brown asks, glowering. He has his cuffs out, and is clearly itching to snap them on George Potter’s wrists. â€Å"Old times,† Jack says. He stuffs his fragrant hands in his pockets and leaves the cell. He smiles at Brown and Black. â€Å"Nothing to concern you boys.† Trooper Black turns to Dale. â€Å"You’re out of this case,† he says. â€Å"Those are words of one syllable. I can’t make it any simpler. So tell me once and mean it forever, Chief: Do you understand?† â€Å"Of course I do,† Dale said. â€Å"Take the case and welcome. But get off the tall white horse, willya? If you expected me to simply stand by and let a crowd of drunks from the Sand Bar take this man out of Lucky’s and lynch him â€Å" â€Å"Don’t make yourself look any stupider than you already are,† Brown snaps. â€Å"They picked his name up off your police calls.† â€Å"I doubt that,† Dale says quietly, thinking of the doper’s cell phone borrowed out of evidence storage. Black grabs Potter’s narrow shoulder, gives it a vicious twist, then thrusts him so hard toward the door at the end of the corridor that the man almost falls down. Potter recovers, his haggard face full of pain and dignity. â€Å"Troopers,† Jack says. He doesn’t speak loudly or angrily, but they both turn. â€Å"Abuse that prisoner one more time in my sight, and I’ll be on the phone to the Madison shoofly-pies the minute you leave, and believe me, Troopers, they will listen to me. Your attitude is arrogant, coercive, and counterproductive to the resolution of this case. Your interdepartmental cooperation skills are nonexistent. Your demeanor is unprofessional and reflects badly upon the state of Wisconsin. You will either behave yourselves or I guarantee you that by next Friday you will be looking for security jobs.† Although his voice remains even throughout, Black and Brown seem to shrink as he speaks. By the time he finishes, they look like a pair of chastened children. Dale is gazing at Jack with awe. Only Potter seems unaffected; he’s gazing down at his cuffed hands with eyes that could be a thousand miles away. â€Å"Go on, now,† Jack says. â€Å"Take your prisoner, take your case records, and get lost.† Black opens his mouth to speak, then shuts it again. They leave. When the door closes behind them, Dale looks at Jack and says, very softly: â€Å"Wow.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"If you don’t know,† Dale says, â€Å"I’m not going to tell you.† Jack shrugs. â€Å"Potter will keep them occupied, which frees us up to do a little actual work. If there’s a bright side to tonight, that’s it.† â€Å"What did you get from him? Anything?† â€Å"A name. Might mean nothing. Charles Burnside. Nicknamed Chummy. Ever heard of him?† Dale sticks out his lower lip and pulls it thoughtfully. Then he lets go and shakes his head. â€Å"The name itself seems to ring a faint bell, but that might only be because it’s so common. The nickname, no.† â€Å"He was a builder, a contractor, a wheeler-dealer in Chicago over thirty years ago. According to Potsie, at least.† â€Å"Potsie,† Dale says. The tape is peeling off a corner of the ONE CALL MEANS ONE CALL sign, and Dale smoothes it back down with the air of a man who doesn’t really know what he’s doing. â€Å"You and he got pretty chummy, didn’t you?† â€Å"No,† Jack says. â€Å"Burnside’s Chummy. And Trooper Black doesn’t own the Black House.† â€Å"You’ve gone dotty. What black house?† â€Å"First, it’s a proper name. Black, capital B, house, capital H. Black House. You ever heard of a house named that around here?† Dale laughs. â€Å"God, no.† Jack smiles back, but all at once it’s his interrogation smile, not his I’m-discussing-things-with-my-friend smile. Because he’s a coppice-man now. And he has seen a funny little flicker in Dale Gilbertson’s eyes. â€Å"Are you sure? Take a minute. Think about it.† â€Å"Told you, no. People don’t name their houses in these parts. Oh, I guess old Miss Graham and Miss Pentle call their place on the other side of the town library Honeysuckle, because of the honeysuckle bushes all over the fence in front, but that’s the only one in these parts I ever heard named.† Again, Jack sees that flicker. Potter is the one who will be charged for murder by the Wisconsin State Police, but Jack didn’t see that deep flicker in Potter’s eyes a single time during their interview. Because Potter was straight with him. Dale isn’t being straight. But I have to be gentle with him, Jack tells himself. Because he doesn’t know he’s not being straight. How is that possible? As if in answer, he hears Chicago Potsie’s voice: One guy told me the sun never shone there even when it shone . . . he said the guys lost their shadows, just like in a fairy tale. Memory is a shadow; any cop trying to reconstruct a crime or an accident from the conflicting accounts of eyewitnesses knows it well. Is Potsie’s Black House like this? Something that casts no shadow? Dale’s response (he has now turned full-face to the peeling poster, working on it as seriously as he might work on a heart attack victim in the street, administering CPR right out of the manual until the ambulance arrives) suggests to Jack that it might be something like just that. Three days ago he wouldn’t have allowed himself to consider such an idea, but three days ago he hadn’t returned to the Territories. â€Å"According to Potsie, this place got a reputation as a haunted house even before it was completely built,† Jack says, pressing a little. â€Å"Nope.† Dale moves on to the sign about the A.A. and N.A. meetings. He examines the tape studiously, not looking at Jack. â€Å"Doesn’t ring the old chimeroo.† â€Å"Sure? One man almost bled to death. Another took a fall that paralyzed him. People complained listen to this, Dale, it’s good according to Potsie, people complained about losing their shadows. Couldn’t see them even at midday, with the sun shining full force. Isn’t that something?† â€Å"Sure is, but I don’t remember any stories like that.† As Jack walks toward Dale, Dale moves away. Almost scutters away, although Chief Gilbertson is not ordinarily a scuttering man. It’s a little funny, a little sad, a little horrible. He doesn’t know he’s doing it, Jack’s sure of that. There is a shadow. Jack sees it, and on some level Dale knows he sees it. If Jack should force him too hard, Dale would have to see it, too . . . and Dale doesn’t want that. Because it’s a bad shadow. Is it worse than a monster who kills children and then eats selected portions of their bodies? Apparently part of Dale thinks so. I could make him see that shadow, Jack thinks coldly. Put my hands under his nose my lily-scented hands and make him see it. Part of him even wants to see it. The coppiceman part. Then another part of Jack’s mind speaks up in the Speedy Parker drawl he now remembers from his childhood. You could push him over the edge of a nervous breakdown, too, Jack. God knows he’s close to one, after all the goin’s-ons since the Irkenham boy got took. You want to chance that? And for what? He didn’t know the name, about that he was bein’ straight. â€Å"Dale?† Dale gives Jack a quick, bright glance, then looks away. The furtive quality in that quick peek sort of breaks Jack’s heart. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Let’s go get a cup of coffee.† At this change of subject, Dale’s face fills with glad relief. He claps Jack on the shoulder. â€Å"Good idea!† God-pounding good idea, right here and now, Jack thinks, then smiles. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and more than one way to find a Black House. It’s been a long day. Best, maybe, to let this go. At least for tonight. â€Å"What about Railsback?† Dale asks as they clatter down the stairs. â€Å"You still want to talk to him?† â€Å"You bet,† Jack replies, heartily enough, but he holds out little hope for Andy Railsback, a picked witness who saw exactly what the Fisherman wanted him to see. With one little exception . . . perhaps. The single slipper. Jack doesn’t know if it will ever come to anything, but it might. In court, for instance . . . as an identifying link . . . This is never going to court and you know it. It may not even finish in this w His thoughts are broken by a wave of cheerful sound as they step into the combination ready room and dispatch center. The members of the French Landing Police Department are standing and applauding. Henry Leyden is also standing and applauding. Dale joins in. â€Å"Jesus, guys, quit it,† Jack says, laughing and blushing at the same time. But he won’t lie to himself, try to tell himself he takes no pleasure in that round of applause. He feels the warmth of them; can see the light of their regard. Those things aren’t important. But it feels like coming home, and that is. When Jack and Henry step out of the police station an hour or so later, Beezer, Mouse, and Kaiser Bill are still there. The other two have gone back to the Row to fill in the various old ladies on tonight’s events. â€Å"Sawyer,† Beezer says. â€Å"Yes,† Jack says. â€Å"Anything we can do, man. Can you dig that? Anything.† Jack looks at the biker thoughtfully, wondering what his story is . . . other than grief, that is. A father’s grief. Beezer’s eyes remain steady on his. A little off to one side, Henry Leyden stands with his head raised to smell the river fog, humming deep down in his throat. â€Å"I’m going to look in on Irma’s mom tomorrow around eleven,† Jack says. â€Å"Do you suppose you and your friends could meet me in the Sand Bar around noon? She lives close to there, I understand. I’ll buy youse a round of lemonade.† Beezer doesn’t smile, but his eyes warm up slightly. â€Å"We’ll be there.† â€Å"That’s good,† Jack says. â€Å"Mind telling me why?† â€Å"There’s a place that needs finding.† â€Å"Does it have to do with whoever killed Amy and the other kids?† â€Å"Maybe.† Beezer nods. â€Å"Maybe’s good enough.† Jack drives back toward Norway Valley slowly, and not just because of the fog. Although it’s still early in the evening, he is tired to the bone and has an idea that Henry feels the same way. Not because he’s quiet; Jack has become used to Henry’s occasional dormant stretches. No, it’s the quiet in the truck itself. Under ordinary circumstances, Henry is a restless, compulsive radio tuner, running through the La Riviere stations, checking KDCU here in town, then ranging outward, hunting for Milwaukee, Chicago, maybe even Omaha, Denver, and St. Louis, if conditions are right. An appetizer of bop here, a salad of spiritual music there, perhaps a dash of Perry Como way down at the foot of the dial: hot-diggity, dog-diggity, boom what-ya-do-to-me. Not tonight, though. Tonight Henry just sits quiet on his side of the truck with his hands folded in his lap. At last, when they’re no more than two miles from his driveway, Henry says: â€Å"No Dickens tonig ht, Jack. I’m going straight to bed.† The weariness in Henry’s voice startles Jack, makes him uneasy. Henry doesn’t sound like himself or any of his radio personae; at this moment he just sounds old and tired, on the way to being used up. â€Å"I am, too,† Jack agrees, trying not to let his concern show in his voice. Henry picks up on every vocal nuance. He’s eerie that way. â€Å"What do you have in mind for the Thunder Five, may I ask?† â€Å"I’m not entirely sure,† Jack says, and perhaps because he’s tired, he gets this untruth past Henry. He intends to start Beezer and his buddies looking for the place Potsie told him about, the place where shadows had a way of disappearing. At least way back in the seventies they did. He had also intended to ask Henry if he’s ever heard of a French Landing domicile called Black House. Not now, though. Not after hearing how beat Henry sounds. Tomorrow, maybe. Almost certainly, in fact, because Henry is too good a resource not to use. Best to let him recycle a little first, though. â€Å"You have the tape, right?† Henry pulls the cassette with the Fisherman’s 911 call on it partway out of his breast pocket, then puts it back. â€Å"Yes, Mother. But I don’t think I can listen to a killer of small children tonight, Jack. Not even if you come in and listen with me.† â€Å"Tomorrow will be fine,† Jack says, hoping he isn’t condemning another of French Landing’s children to death by saying this. â€Å"You’re not entirely sure of that.† â€Å"No,† Jack agrees, â€Å"but you listening to that tape with dull ears could do more harm than good. I am sure of that.† â€Å"First thing in the morning. I promise.† Henry’s house is up ahead now. It looks lonely with only the one light on over the garage, but of course Henry doesn’t need lights inside to find his way. â€Å"Henry, are you going to be all right?† â€Å"Yes,† Henry says, but to Jack he doesn’t seem entirely sure. â€Å"No Rat tonight,† Jack tells him firmly. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Ditto the Shake, the Shook, the Sheik.† Henry’s lips lift in a small smile. â€Å"Not even a George Rathbun promo for French Landing Chevrolet, where price is king and you never pay a dime of interest for the first six months with approved credit. Straight to bed.† â€Å"Me too,† Jack says. But an hour after lying down and putting out the lamp on his bedside table, Jack is still unable to sleep. Faces and voices revolve in his mind like crazy clock hands. Or a carousel on a deserted midway. Tansy Freneau: Bring out the monster who killed my pretty baby. Beezer St. Pierre: We’ll have to see how it shakes out, won’t we George Potter: That shit gets in and waits. My theory is that it never goes away, not really. Speedy, a voice from the distant past on the sort of telephone that was science fiction when Jack first met him: Hidey-ho, Travelin’ Jack . . . as one coppiceman to another, son, I think you ought to visit Chief Gilbertson’s private bathroom. Right now. As one coppiceman to another, right. And most of all, over and over again, Judy Marshall: You don’t just say, I’m lost and I don’t know how to get back you keep on going . . . Yes, but keep on going where? Where? At last he gets up and goes out onto the porch with his pillow under his arm. The night is warm; in Norway Valley, where the fog was thin to begin with, the last remnants have now disappeared, blown away by a soft east wind. Jack hesitates, then goes on down the steps, naked except for his underwear. The porch is no good to him, though. It’s where he found that hellish box with the sugar-packet stamps. He walks past his truck, past the bird hotel, and into the north field. Above him are a billion stars. Crickets hum softly in the grass. His fleeing path through the hay and timothy has disappeared, or maybe now he’s entering the field in a different place. A little way in, he lies down on his back, puts the pillow under his head, and looks up at the stars. Just for a little while, he thinks. Just until all those ghost voices empty out of my head. Just for a little while. Thinking this, he begins to drowse. Thinking this, he goes over. Above his head, the pattern of the stars changes. He sees the new constellations form. What is that one, where the Big Dipper was a moment before? Is it the Sacred Opopanax? Perhaps it is. He hears a low, pleasant creaking sound and knows it’s the windmill he saw when he flipped just this morning, a thousand years ago. He doesn’t need to look at it to be sure, any more than he needs to look at where his house was and see that it has once more become a barn. Creak . . . creak . . . creak: vast wooden vanes turning in that same east wind. Only now the wind is infinitely sweeter, infinitely purer. Jack touches the waistband of his underpants and feels some rough weave. No Jockey shorts in this world. His pillow has changed, too. Foam has become goosedown, but it’s still comfortable. More comfortable than ever, in truth. Sweet under his head. â€Å"I’ll catch him, Speedy,† Jack Sawyer whispers up at the new shapes in the new stars. â€Å"At least I’ll try.† He sleeps. When he awakens, it’s early morning. The breeze is gone. In the direction from which it came, there’s a bright orange line on the horizon the sun is on its way. He’s stiff and his ass hurts and he’s damp with dew, but he’s rested. The steady, rhythmic creaking is gone, but that doesn’t surprise him. He knew from the moment he opened his eyes that he’s in Wisconsin again. And he knows something else: he can go back. Any time he wants. The real Coulee Country, the deep Coulee Country, is just a wish and a motion away. This fills him with joy and dread in equal parts. Jack gets up and barefoots back to the house with his pillow under his arm. He guesses it’s about five in the morning. Another three hours’ sleep will make him ready for anything. On the porch steps, he touches the cotton of his Jockey shorts. Although his skin is damp, the shorts are almost dry. Of course they are. For most of the hours he spent sleeping rough (as he spent so many nights that autumn when he was twelve), they weren’t on him at all. They were somewhere else. â€Å"In the Land of Opopanax,† Jack says, and goes inside. Three minutes later he’s asleep again, in his own bed. When he wakes at eight, with the sensible sun streaming in through his window, he could almost believe that his latest journey was a dream. But in his heart, he knows better. How to cite Black House Chapter Seventeen, Essay examples

Thorr Motorcycles Perceptual Maps in Marketing Essay Example Essay Example

Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Maps in Marketing Essay Example Paper Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Maps in Marketing Essay Introduction Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Maps in Marketing Teri Ryan MKT/421 December 21, 2010 Ellis Jones Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Maps in Marketing Cruiser Thorr is a motorcycle modeled after Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. With its strong, honest and reliable product design, Thorr Motorcycles was able to embody the very ideas that their loyal customs live, which is a lifestyle of freedom, mobility. This paper will outline the Perceptual Maps in Marketing simulation by describing the situation, recommended solution and results to the simulation. In addition, a summarization of marketing components from the simulation will be included. Thorr Motorcycles seemed very successful in its marketing efforts, which promoted their higher end motorcycles. Thorr was maintaining a 40% market share because of iconic brand devotion (Apollo Group, 2010). For several months sales had fallen. This seemed largely because of changing market demographics which seemed reflective of a younger generation influx into the market, an aging customer base and market competition. The higher-end lifestyle image and pricing is not appealing to the younger customer base. It was time for Thorr Motorcycles to take the opportunity for restructuring their market strategies and expand into a new market. It was important to learn how the customers perceive brands, what factors were important, create perceptual maps. This is a statistical process, which is just one aspect of marketing research. Determining the most appropriate attributes to include in constructing the mapping model begins with Phase I. Phase II is developing a marketing plan after assessing feasibility for repositioning the existing Thorr motorcycles, or introducing a new brand for sparking interest, desirability. Phase III controls for gauging the effectiveness of the marketing plan and constant monitoring for readied stance for making seamless, cost effective adjustments. Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Maps in Marketing Essay Body Paragraphs Phase I Market position discovery begins with an assessment of consumer perception of the Thorr Motorcycles in relation to competitors. Thorr Motorcycles can do this by choosing pertinent parameters that clarify strengths and weaknesses. This information will provide the framework for positioning strategies, new product development ideas, and launching marketing plans within established budgets. The goal is to increase sales, revenue, market shares, and enhance corporate value. Lifestyle image, product design and styling, price, quality engineering were the choices that were reflective of optimal scenario selections. Thorr Motorcycles must maintain its core value while moving forward and that is quality engineering. This sustains customer perception of excellent product manufacturing, which is vital in maintaining corporate credibility. Credibility is one easy step in assuring that Thorr Motorcycles is the company that the individual customer will seek to do business. Correct pricing of a product is vital in Thorr Motorcycles marketing effort. Cruiser Thorr pricing was viewed negatively by respondents. Pricing strategies would have to reflect these facts. It is obvious that younger customers had less disposable cash, so part of the solution would be to offer more affordable, quality products that sustain the well-established standards of the company when developing a new marketing plan for the Cruiser Thorr product line. Maintaining a lifestyle and a lifestyle image is important to new customers. Creating a lifestyle within a product design will help to create a situation that customers will make purchases based on the lifestyle and image they will acquire and fulfilling what could be their psychological need for acceptance and a sense of belonging. Product design is an important way of providing an additional unique dimension of deciding to reposition the Cruiser Thorr. Added dimensions of functionality, which cover appropriate mapping attributes will provide more solid footing for making a decision to target a new market segment, the younger generation, with an exciting, affordable machine, which will reinvent a lifestyle, continued dedication to quality, featured expansion of services that will include finance options, maintaining training, club rides. This all serves to establish loyalty with ustomers, dealers and distributors (Apollo Group, 2010). Phase II It is in the best interest of the company to analyze the information, provided by perceptual mapping and other marketing research information constructively, carefully, and fairly. How will marketing strategies placed into action effect other aspects of the corporate environment—internally and externally in the marketplace of many eyes and ears tuned in on marketing strategy position and consumer perceptions influenced by segmentation into changing demographics offering new products aimed at younger customers. Will a less expensive new model with enhanced financing opportuni ties and expanded services erode customer perceptions of Thorr Motorcycles losing touch with a commitment to excellence in quality? The results revealed that a different segment, the younger individual, influenced more by price more than the aging demographic that has maintained Thorr Motorcycles success during the past years, is fueling the now growing motorcycle market. The younger generation seems to care less for brand and image of the Cruiser Thorr, due in part to the price being outside their preferred price range. It is for these reasons that the Cruiser Thorr is in stage four of its product life cycle, which is declining sales. The marketing plan should consider launching a new product. One that represents the corporate core value of commitment to quality, excellence, and offers a new market niche of affordability, finance option, and enhanced services. This will require a differentiation in the marketing mix. Shifting the market plan with changing differentiation attributes mix now focused on affordability, attractive financing option, and expanding services including social fraternities, it seems the new customer base will be more inclined to view the innovatively designed motorcycle as a commodity that offers superior value and quality. Realigning internal corporate processes and unifying the change in focus on a new product goal will cause other processes in the marketing mix to function toward the goal of promoting and placing the new product in a positive light. Attracting this new demographic is creating the vision about the new motorcycle that will also sustain the licensing of the product accessories. This is an important component of the corporate landscape and market environment. Phase III The perceptual map considerations for Cruiser Thorr were appropriate and by incorporating attractive financing options, some of the younger demographic segments opted for the higher priced Cruiser. This was an effective consideration for continuing the Cru iser brand, even though the product life cycle is in its final stages. Assessing the correct parameters for RRoth fell a bit short. Not including the product design and styling parameter in the control or monitoring phase of the marketing plan for analyzing partial research findings was a mistake and one that should have considered separate from lifestyle in this phase of the marketing plan. Product design and style is a defining characteristic of lifestyle association by the younger demographic Using the more efficient engine, increased miles per gallon coupled with lower maintenance costs, in the RRoth machine was a sound move. This not only provided the vehicle for offering affordability, but the technical knowhow provided by research and development successfully sustained a core value of Thorr Motorcycles. Conclusion Fierce competition is commonplace in the evolving global marketplace and oftentimes corporations experience performance changes such as sagging sales, which affecte d the product revenues for Cruiser Thorr. Thorr Motorcycle is a brand that had sustained corporate values and created wealth for shareholders for years. Executives at Thorr Motorcycles moved quickly to determine the parameters, which could be the cause for sales to decline in an expanding market sector. Management effectively transformed a problematic situation into an opportunity for creating new product lines providing a differentiation of marketing mix with greater emphasis on affordability, financing options, refined engine technologies, and enhanced services , which combined to create renewed interest in a product brand that was emerging with a reinvented lifestyle. Capitalizing on market research paved the way for some of the younger generation to opt for the high-end Cruiser Thorr. The mix combined to infuse increased sales for Cruiser Thorr, a product in the last stages of its product life cycle and introduce an innovative product that was establishing itself as a popular li festyle brand, which was just in the beginnings of its product life cycle. This turned out to be a wonderful mix for young and old alike! Reference Apollo Group, I. (2010). University of Phoenix Database. Retrieved December 21, 2010, from General Marketing: ://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/vendors/tata/UBAMsims/general_marketing/perceptual_maps/general_marketing_perceptual_maps_frame. html We will write a custom essay sample on Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Maps in Marketing Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Maps in Marketing Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Maps in Marketing Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer