The Rules According to Ellsworth Speedball

Biodegradable – This is a term used to describe objects that can be naturally broken down by organisms found in the Earth. Biodegradable products decompse quickly into tiny elements that eventaully can not be seen. Most plastic is not biodegradable.

Blackmail – This describes a situation in which one person threatens to tell another person’s secret if they don’t get their way. Resta wants Moots to be in her play, so she threatens to tell one of his secrets if he does not agree. Blackmail is never an acceptable way of getting what you want.

“To boldly go where no man has gone before.” – Star Trek was a television show in the 1960s and was made into several movies and new television shows over the years. In the show, the crew of a space ship called The Enterprise was led by Captain James T. Kirk. At the beginning of each episode, Captain Kirk reminded the audience of The Enterprise’s mission which was to explore the universe, boldly, or bravely, going where no one had ever been before.

Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier – Grace Kelly was a movie star in Hollywood in the 1960s. She stopped making films when she married Prince Ranier, a prince from a small state in Europe called Monaco, near France.

  Richard Nixon – was the 37th President of the United States. He was in office from 1969 to 1974. He resigned, or quit, the office of president and is the only person to have ever done this. There was some question about whether or not he knew of a burglary that took place in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C.

Kennedy Family – The family of Joseph Kennedy produced many prominent American citizens in the 1900s. The most famous was Joseph’s son John F. Kennedy (pictured) who served as president from 1961 to 1963. He won his election by defeating Richard Nixon in 1960. John Kennedy, also known by his initials, JFK, was killed by a gunman in Dallas while riding in a parade on November 22, 1963.

Lennon (this refers to John Lennon) – John Lennon was a member of the rock n roll band, The Beatles, an important music group from England. One song that Lennon wrote for the group was called “Strawberry Fields Forever” and it contains the line “No one, I think, is in my tree.” Ellsworth is referring to this when something falls on his head in the woods.