Last night, while I was taking the trash to the “trash room” in my apartment complex, I noticed two pictures that someone had thrown out. One is a landscape view of a forest with vivid green leaves and brown tree trunks. The other is an enlarged view of two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. It is classy and elegant, and perfect for our dining room. After careful examination I discovered that there was nothing physically wrong with these pictures. The frames were in tact; the pictures were not ripped… so why did someone throw these out?

Read first paragraph slowly with a lot of dramatic pauses.

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On a break between classes the other day, I met up with a few friends in Madison Square Park. While walking along observing all of the different people and hearing the mumbled chatter of hundreds of conversations, I saw a golden retriever laying on the ground. As I followed the dog's leash up to the hand of his owner, I noticed that in the man's lap was a large piece of canvas and scattered around him were various painting supplies. I noticed that the painting was a self-portrait which displayed both the painter and his dog just as they appeared at that moment.

I went to see an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of art on Vermeer, and one of his most famous paintings, The Milkmaid, which has not been in New York City since the World Fair of 1939. This time, the painting was brought to New York City to commemerate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage to what is now New York City. The painting, I also learned, is beloved by Americans and Dutch alike, which would explain the large crowds.