Have+a+Go!

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Have a go!
April 23, 2010: Hi All, So far, I am having a ball watching the kids reply to their new Falcon Friends. I am appalled at some of my student's spelling and lack of punctuation, but I will bite my lip. Are English kids as into "texting" as American kids. I hate to see writing become a lost art. I think much of the casual correspondence is a mix of writing and texting.

What is the protocol for writing on other people's pages?

I put in a widget of southern California. I noted that some students asked where we lived in southern California. John Glenn Middle School is located in the city of Indio. We serve surrounding communities of Indio, La Quinta, and transfers from further away. We are about 2 hours drive from Los Angeles to the west, Arizona to the east, and Mexico to the south.

Judy Graham, JGMS

April 24, 2010: Hello again. I have noted the questions about where we all live and thought I would attempt uploading some desert pictures. I saw that one Falcon Friend was into golf and swimming. That is what our whole valley, the Coachella Valley, is all about. There are over 100 golf courses in the valley. Many of the neighborhoods are built around golf courses. Some of the cities have golf cart lanes that are painted especially for golf cart driving use. The area originally was a vacation / resort area. It is also a place for many retirees. In the recent decade the population has tripled, so most are year round dwellers. Being arthritic, I love the desert heat, and the summer brings us temperatures between 103 & 120 degrees F, for about two months.

April 28, 2010 It's a birthday for me, but I can't get my mind off of the Crogan Family. After visiting Chris Schweizer's web page, I am convinced that some "history" needs to be researched and incorporated into the Crogan stories. One perspective on the historical backgrounds and how the Crogan family members can fit into each picture is as follows:

Crogan Adventurers
HISTORICAL LINK: Each of Chris Schweizer's characters has a specific time period, which relates to historical events or a type of adventurous people of the age. Be sure to check out some history behind each of your selected stories, and then possibly connect the Crogan character to a famous person of that era. The following is a bit of history or background to the time period of each of the Crogan family members


 * Trailblazer and Indian Fighter**: Trailblazers were fearless people who would go forth and be the first to explore a new territory. If natives of that land occupy the new territory, it may well be an intrusion. Jonathon Crogan would be considered a rough, mountain man, and pioneer. His journey was in 1757, long before America called for its independence. Since its natives occupied America, Crogan could have been an early explorer. The immigrants from Europe were crowding the colonies, and more land was needed, pushing the Native Americans west. This Crogan would have been loyal to the British crown and working to expand the English colonies.


 * Smuggler and Gunrunner**: This title represents the smuggling of guns and ammunition into or out of a country secretly and illegally. Depending on whose side one is on, this could be a good thing or bad thing, but in either case, very dangerous. Southeast England had a good share of smuggling gunrunning gangs during this time period. Smuggling emerged in England as a way to cheat the King of his taxes on goods coming and going from other countries. In 1747, England was at a peak of smuggling, and honest merchants were complaining bitterly because of the illegal trade hurting their businesses. David Crogan may have been one to cheat England.


 * Ninja:** were professional spies during the age of the samurai . Ninja remained active until the beginning of the Edo (now Tokyo) period (1603-1868) If Ninja is the son of a gun-runner/smuggler, then he easily could have been dumped in the Asian territory and found his way into the spy business. He could have spied and made contacts for his dad, the smuggler Crogan.


 * Marksman:** Lots of the most famous marksmen and women existed in Wild West shows from the mid to late 1800's. Going back further in history, Andrew Jackson is found to have been a supreme shot. He studied law and became a western lawyer. This might be where Geoffrey Crogan meets Jackson and learns from him the art of marksman and dueler. Jackson actually killed a man in a duel. Arguments were settled by duels in those days. Jackson fought 13 duels. Crogan could easily have mixed with him.


 * Gunfighter:** This character lends itself to the likes of Wyatt Earp (famous Marshall) Billy the Kid, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody, all sharpshooters that did traveling Wild West shows. Easterners paid good money to get a taste of the western frontier. Since the date is 3 years before the Civil War, this Crogan might be a fighter who wanted to escape the war and head west. The Wild West was filled with developing towns and innovation, fighting Indians being pushed by the White man, and robbing thieves. Gunfighters were either good guys or bad guys, depending on what side of the law they were on.


 * Minutemen and British Infantry** These two appear to be in the same family and that was common that the Revolutionary War split families. Jonathan Crogan, their father, and a likely Tory loyal to the British crown, had two sons. William Crogan grows up to believe in the American ideals of "No taxation without representation." Charles Crogan remains dutiful to his father and the Tory ideals of English expansion. This split among colonial families was common as America declared its independence and the Revolutionary War began. Brothers would fight against each other.


 * Rough Riders**: It was the Spanish-American War, fought in Cuba. The Rough Riders were Theodore Roosevelt's army of volunteer soldiers that he led up San Juan Hill (in Cuba) and captured the islands from Spain in 1898. The soldiers were college men and cowboys from the west. The US was weakened after the Civil War, and the army needed manpower. President McKinley called for a volunteer Army. Colonel Roosevelt saw it as a good time, and his reputation led him to become governor of New York State and later President of the United States Roosevelt was a big game hunter, noted for his African safari adventures. Robert Crogan could have been in college or one of the western cowboys who volunteered.

Or he could pick up a book written by Harry Houdini called **//__Handcuff Secrets (1909)__//**, and become mesmerized by the tricks.
 * Lion Tamer:** If Robert Crogan was a Teddy Roosevelt Rough Rider, then it would be an easy jump for him to introduce his son, Daniel, to the wild adventurer and big game hunter. Together, Theodore Roosevelt and his son Kermit Roosevelt killed 512 animals in Africa in 1909. You could make Daniel Crogan a friend of Kermit Roosevelt and accompany father and son on a game hunt. Daniel could be turned off by the killing of the big game, and instead endear himself to taming the big cats. Taking the cub of a killed lioness, Daniel could start his career. He ends up on the New York stage in Vaudeville. (Vaudeville was a live theater variety show) This could be where he meets Harry Houdini, magician, and learns the craft of escapism and magic.


 * Hussar, Punjab Frontier**: Hussar's were light cavalry soldiers, who in this case, were enlisted in the British army. While fighting in India (Punjab), the conditions were so extreme, that the soldiers were ragged. However, when given the chance to go home, they refused and stayed in India with a newly formed Hussar unit. The new soldiers had been Indian soldiers who mutinied and joined the British in the taking of Delhi. Crogan could be one of the horse-riding soldiers.


 * Diamond Miner** The earliest diamond mines were in India. Russia has the largest open pit diamond mine in the world. Though the Dutch had the main foothold in Africa, the British too, had hopes of gaining enough riches to be the world power in 1893. The diamond fields had been discovered by a Dutch farmer in 1870, but nothing much had been done. To locate this Crogan, you might best check Africa or India


 * Pilot:** 1916. WW1. Pilot's fought in canvas and wood biplanes that could barely fly 100 MPH. In 1914, air combat wasn't heard of, but flying was used to spy and check on enemy forces. Depending on where you want John Crogan located, he could have taken the adventuring spirit northward from his diamond hunter father to Europe. He could have become a flying trick pilot, who gets drafted into the British military and spies for the allies. Or...... Boeing Air Industry (Seattle) started in 1916, and became the leading American military airplane designer. You could have John Crogan, hometown boy and daredevil; rise to be a WWI flying Ace. Traveling to Europe after America declares war on Germany in WWI, he could be one of the flying heroes.


 * Private Eye** Private Eyes or private detectives are people one can hire to get information or observe the actions of another...spy. A famous comic strip private eye was Dick Tracey, which originated in 1931. It was based on the rise in crime mostly in Chicago. Calloway Crogan exists during 1951. Detectives themes were popular and always led to mystery and intrigue. Sherlock Holmes is England's most famous private eye. Calloway could originate either in America or England, because it was a time period when the "Cold War" between the U.S.S.R (Russia) and America and its allies existed. In America, Congress hired more private eyes and detectives to seek out Communists, even Americans who had interest in Communism.

P.S. Falcons Year Six wrote some 'private eye' stories in the Autumn term. Enjoy our video: media type="youtube" key="n9aGT0ALVl8" height="385" width="640"