#1

So, considering I have no blogs done for British Lit., I guess I better get to it. Here is my story that we were assigned to write for Canterbury Tales. It will be in 3 installments.

Pennsylvania Parables
     It was a miserably humid day in North Carolina as the group assembled for their trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in remembrance of a notable battle in United States history. There were about fifty people gathered in the parking lot waiting to board the bus in hopes of getting some relief from the sweltering heat. Among this crowd there was a politician, who organized the trip, a preacher, a cook, a journalist, a professor, a musician, a student, a writer and a retired soldier, to name a few. After about half an hour they began to shuffle onto the bus, which was owned by the politician, and the heat induced rosiness of their cheeks began to fade as the cool air from inside the bus struck their faces. The preacher and the cook ended up directly behind the politician, who was driving. Adjacent to them was the professor and the soldier. It was a group of many backgrounds, values and opinions; and it did not take long for these differences to surface in conversation.
     The politician was a conservative man of about twenty-six. His name was Carl Hoffman and there were not many people who didn’t know that. He was widely recognized for his pious and traditional views which he expressed frequently on television and radio shows. To most folks he was either a revolutionary pioneer for the Republican Party, or he was simply a self-righteous hypocrite. Either way there was no denying that he was charismatic and appealing. Society’s perception of him played a vital role in the success of his career, so these traits were essential. Illustrating this point even further was the sophistication and style of his attire. He was sharply dressed in a tailored suit and leather cowboy boots, with an expensive-looking black, suede cowboy hat to polish it all off. He walked tall and proud, demanding respect and beseeching trust. His appearance was almost intimidating but as soon as Carl Hoffman spoke, people listened, letting his words ring through their ears like a pleasant melody, full of charm and wit. But his words, so full of integrity, were accompanied by eyes full of deceit.