A Typical Day in My Life

 The Effects of watching “The Sopranos”

I started watching “The Sopranos” last month and as a result, my dreams have been rather wild. I am not used to watching shows filled with such violence and murder, so I assume my subconscious must be absorbing the shocking scenes and mirroring them into my dreams. There was one specific episode that really crept into my dreams was the last episode of season two.

In the season two finale of The Sopranos, Tony was sick with food poisoning. He had a strange fever dream in which a fish told him that his partner, Pussy, had been wired by the FBI. Once Tony confirmed that this news was true, he and Paulie took Pussy to go see a boat Tony pretended to be interested in buying. Once the three were alone, Tony asked Pussy why he flipped. Pussy tried to justify his actions stating that he only gave the fed’s “disinformation”. This was not a good enough answer for Tony, so he clipped Pussy right in the basement of the boat. Right before Tony pulled the trigger, Pussy pleaded not to be shot in the face. 

This scene was not easy to watch. I found it shocking how easily Tony and Paulie could take care of one of their closest friends, while making it seem like just another day’s work. Every time I see someone on the show get shot, I jump in my seat and make involuntary noises of disgust. However, Tony, Paulie, and the others seem completely unphased by murder and voilence. For that reason, this show, and the lives of the characters in the show are so endlessly fascinating to me.

Vocabulary: 

Finale (noun): The last part of a music piece, performance, or event, especially when dramatic or exciting. 

Food poisoning (noun): Illness caused by bacteria or other toxins in food, typically with vomiting and diarrhea.

Flipped (verb): Persuaded to become an informer.

Disinformation (noun): False information which is intended to mislead, especially propaganda used by a  government organization.

Clipped (verb): To quickly kill or attempt to kill someone. To cut someone off.

Vocabulary exercise:

Fill in the blank.

Instead of coming out with the truth, Sue distracted her parents by feeding them _________.

After eating dinner at Chipotle, I came down with a bad case of ________, complete with vomiting and diarrhea.

Those who are involved in organized crime must be careful of who they share their secrets with, since they never know when someone can be _______ by the FBI.

American Idol’s season ________ airs tonight, which will be filled with suspense and drama.

Once Tony finds out who was going to the fed’s behind his back, he will _____ them immediately. 

Grammar point: The verbs in the passage above are mostly written in the third person past tense. This is usually done by adding a person's name followed by a verb ending in -ed. 

For example: Tony clipped. Pussy pleaded. Tony confirmed. Pussy tried.

Write a five-ten sentence story about someone who got caught in a lie. Maybe it's from a book or a movie, or even a story you made up on your own. Either way, try to incorporate some third person past tense verbs. Highlight the examples.