Gavin Sullivan
English 1109 T-Th
11/3/2020
Journal Eight: Compare and Contrast
The first profile
that I would say is my favorite from the pages that we have read so far has
been tool and dye maker Phil Kerner. The other profile that I will bring up is a sculptor
Olga Ayala, who speaks about her mother Ramona Cruz to her Ex-husband Efraim
Ayala. The comparison that I see in these stories is that both storytellers
lost something that meant a lot to the one losing his dream of a tool and dye
shop the other losing her inspiration otherwise known as her mother. This
feeling of passing down tradition can immediately be sensed in both stories. As
both individuals begin to explain how their mentors influenced each one of their
decisions in life, we begin to see that even though one is about art and the
other is tooling parts that both of them learned everything they know about
their professions through their mentors. Phil recounts his experiences with his
father and uncle as being “the center of my universe.”. (Isay, 68) While Olga
explained that “We never created something together, but we did influence each
other from the very beginning…”. (Isay, 82) These quotes showing to me that their
interest and intrigue were spurred on by the yearning for a better relationship
with the ones that they held dear. They wanted to understand why their loved
ones felt so passionate about honing their craft and doing their jobs and in
doing so found their own callings.
The contrast these stories however begins after they explain their relationships with their
respective jobs Olga still practices her calling which is indicated on page 84 in
her last sentences stating “So, I look at my art as a living testimony to her. She
was my greatest muse.”. (Isay, 84) Whereas Phil has left his calling behind as
stated by him on page 70 “The closing of my shop was a crushing day.” (Isay, 70)
Explaining that Phil lost his calling when his business went under in the 2000s.
This really set them apart because they both lost their mentors but one of them
also lost their calling which we can really see still affects Phil to this day.
One thing
that I have noticed after comparing these two stories is that I too lost a
mentor who was my grandfather on my mothers’ side. He along with my father
has inspired me to hold in my heart a love for aviation. This has spurred me
into engineering and the military and in the general direction that I have
taken thus far in life. I really loved how Olga was inspired by her mother’s
beautiful drawings, and that has stuck with me. While in the case of Phil’s
story I can very much relate to the sights and smells of working in a shop and
really getting to know that feeling of home.
A picture of the A-10 Warthog displayed in Sheppard AFB, Texas. While I was in technical school I took millions of photos of aircraft unfortunately I cannot share them all.
I had a mentor who inspired me to write. He was a great teacher who would go off track and tell stories, but they would always have some relation to what he was teaching us. I don’t think I’ll ever come across another person like him again.
ReplyDeleteWow, glad to hear that someone else had a mentor as well. Glad to hear that he affected you in a positive way. Feel like lots of people can be mentors if they tried.
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