The Train by Sarah Varney

As the rain drops onto my head and slithers down to my face lacing my eyelashes in clear pellets, I solemnly wait for the train to come by. I sit under the roofing of a construction building next to a man with sharp eyes and a grey trench coat. I watch as car after car go by spraying my clothing with a murky mist of water and dirt. Each color seems to be the same when the rain is this constant. Vibrant colors turn grey through the sleet and rain hurtling down to the ground. As soon as the rain stops the sun begins shining. It’s almost a piercing feeling having the sun shine down and reflect on the glistening puddles of the roadside. As soon as my eyes adjust to the new found light I begin to hear the rattle and roar of the train engine. Billows of soot and smoke spread through the sky as the train lurches forward with intense speed. The first object that comes to sight from the far corner are the first pair of wheels screeching their way along the old metal tracks. Once the train had come completely into view there is a big blur of the black that you could only see in starless midnight sky. The train cars follow in a great burst of tinted orange and blue. Quickly I spot a child in a purple dress moving her hand along with the wind of the outside window. An elderly woman in light forest green unsteadily hops up from the seat and begins grabbing her bags readying herself for exiting. Before getting fully caught in the daze I wake myself up from the blurred trance and run at a steady pace to the train station. Once in line for the train an elegant man strides down the train steps down to the floor as if he had done it a million times. He then yells an inaudible sentence due to the train’s louds puffs, but it signaled everyone to enter into the large train cars. I am finally facing the entrance and slowly grasp the shining ivory handle.  

It’s where you can watch Trump and Clinton make their AMAZING speeches.

It’s where you can watch Cartoon Network.

It’s where you can watch advertisements about things that you beg your parents to buy for you.

It’s where you watch the news and learn about what is happening in today’s world. 

It’s where you saw Cam Newton be a baby after he loses Super Bowl 50.

There is something on TV for everyone.

TV

Four Teams by Mason Harris

 When I got home, there were orange streamers hanging all over the front porch, and pink balloons trying to escape the ribbons holding them down to the columns supporting the porch roof. Opening up the trunk of the car, I see a giant teddy bear with an orange bow tied around his neck, and I put a birthday card in between the sheer ribbon and the soft “fur”. I pull the teddy out and haul it to the door. I put it on the living room couch, right where it would be the first thing that Jupiter sees when she comes down the stairs. Two minutes later I hear little footsteps slowly coming down the stairs, and then-- “AAAHHHHH! TEDDYTEDDYTEDDDY!!!” Jupiter is at the bottom of the stairs now and running into the living room squealing. She hops up onto the couch and hugs the bear, which is three times the size of her. Mom and Dad walk into the room with smiles on their faces, but not as big as mine. Jupiter reaches and grabs the card I got her and starts reading it silently, and then I smile spreads from ear to ear and she slides off of the couch to run and give me a hug. “Thank you Jackie!” she squeaks. “You are very welcome, Jupiter. What are you going to name him?” I ask her. Jupiter sits back on the couch and stares at the bear for a while. 

“I’m going to name him… Joseph, like daddy!” Mom and Dad look at each other, and then at me. Mom is starting to tear up a little, and Dad puts his arm around her. I look at Jupiter and she has cuddled up next to Joseph petting his fuzzy hand. “Hi, Joseph.” She whispers, and her eyes start to shut before she can open any more of her presents.

Reading Wisdom by David Richardson

“A person who won’t read has no advantage over one that can’t read”

-Mark Twain

Mark Twain was an entrepreneur, American Writer, publisher, and lecturer he was born in 1835 married from 1870-1904 and died in 1910 he was 74 years old when he passed away. Twain was born in Florida Missouri but hoisted in Hannibal Missouri which later provided a setting to his popular book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”. Twain was an author but was best known for him comedy. Mark Twain was so known and respected the city of Florida Missouri named an entire lake after him. Twain has many quotes such as “When all else fails write what your heart tells you, you can’t depend on your eyes; your imagination is out of focus” or “The lack of money is the route of all evil” Mark Twain wasn’t lying when he said those things because it’s all true because someone who can’t read will probably never have the option to read but people that do have the option to read but don’t read I have more respect for the person that doesn’t have the option to because at least he has a reason he can’t read people don’t understand how lucky we are in the United states of America we have freedom here freedom you are able to get an education here in the USA unlike many countries around the world. I don’t read too much or too often but when I do I appreciate it because we are lucky to live in the USA almost able to do anything that isn’t breaking a law. I’m glad I will always have an opportunity to read and even if I don’t read very much I will appreciate that I have the opportunity.

 Save the Penguins by Jacob Kielty

If giving up one of your many cars could save the penguins would you? Penguins are some of the cutest most lovable nondomestic animals that there are. They are in danger of losing their homes. Have you ever seen a penguin waddle? Well if you haven’t then you haven’t seen the cutest thing in the world. They also swim so fast that they can jump 3 feet out of water! But the main reason the penguins are going extinct is because of us. We are causing global warming which is causing the penguins homes to disappear. Some ways we can save the penguins is to walk and ride bikes as much as possible, also if we stop burning so much fossil fuel, another thing we can do is obey the speed limit.

 Penguins are so cute but they are dying off. Unless! We can save them if we just conserve our fossil fuels. If we chose to walk places instead of drive our cars everywhere this world will be a much better place. We could also ride bikes and electric powered things instead of driving a gas powered car that will cause global warming. If you are traveling a long distance you could carpool if you must drive. But if we could stop producing those greenhouse gasses the world would be a lot better off.

 Second we could stop burning so much fossil fuels. The United States gets 81% of its total energy from oil, coal, and natural gas, all of which are fossil fuels.  They are used to run factories, heat our homes, run our vehicles, and provide us with electricity The amount of fossil fuel that we burn a year is equivalent to 97 million billion pounds of carbon. If you have ever been to a big city you have seen thousands maybe even millions of things that are made possible by fossil fuels.

 The final thing that we can do is to obey the speed limit. Did you know that it isn’t just there for your safety? It is also there so that you get the most from the gas that you have in your tank while releasing the least carbon dioxide. If we can reduce the carbon output on a huge scale it could close to sea level cities from being drowned.

   Summer Vacations by Carter Taylor

 Summer vacations are awesome and I know most of us look forward to them. Almost every year my family goes to Lake Powell in the southern part of Utah. We do all sorts of amazing activities like tubing and knee-boarding.

 I am pretty sure you know what tubing is but, knee-boarding may sound unfamiliar. Knee-boarding is a lot like wake-boarding but, on your knees. When you start out, you are in the water holding onto the board. Then the boat starts going and you have to hold on tight and pull yourself up on to knees. Once you are up, you move your hands (without falling off) to the tug rope. This is the thing that is pulling you and you will feel the tug. From here, you can do all sorts of tricks like a 360. Knee-boarding is awesome and I love doing it.

 At Lake Powell, my family makes all sort of memories because of all of the fun we have together. One memory I have is about tubing. So I was nine or ten and I was on the tube with my little brother and my cousin. We were being pulled by my grandpa’s speed-boat and he was going around in circles over and over again, or doing doughnuts. He came out of doing them and went a little ways from them. Then, he turned the boat around and started going really fast toward the waves he had made. When we made contact with the wave, our tube flew through the air and from where we were it looked like we were higher than the boat! When we finally came back down, we hit the water and all three of us bounced off in unison. It was amazing and one off the best times of my life.   

Visiting With My Grandfather by Colin Owen

Every year since I was 10 years old I went to my grandparent's house for a week during the summer. Last summer my grandfather showed me his extensive gun collection and told me some stories about some of them. One was a Czechoslovakian 32. Caliber hand gun. My great grandfather served in world war two. In the war it was protocol if you killed a Nazi you took his gun. My great grandfather killed a Nazi and the Nazi happened to have that little Czech piece on him so he took it. Well when he got off the boat in the harbor he forgot that he still had that little 32. In his back pocket. 

My Grandfather and I spent a lot of time watching food network, and we got onto a late night "Beat Bobby Flay" marathon. When they started using goat he told me that once in Africa he once saw an entire goat carcass barbecued in a pit. I asked him if it was any good and he told me that it was very good because he tried parts of the goat he had never even thought of trying before. He did however tell me that goat when cooked incorrectly makes for a gamey meat. Then I asked what other meats are gamey and he told me deer, squirrel, zebra. Then I said "Zebra?!” Apparently in Africa at the time he was there you could get zebra in a restaurant. He told that he went to one restaurant where you dined outside and the waiters walked around with a leg of some animal or a haunch on a sort of lance and when you asked for some they used a carving knife to cut you a piece.

 He also told me that since you dined outside it was common for a monkey to try and steal something right off your plate, so the owners of the restaurant had members of the Maasai tribe run off the monkeys with clubs, as the Maasai are very fast runners. He then proceeded to retrieve a stick with a sort of ball on the end that he told me was a Maasai throwing club. At that point I was a bit confused because the average person doesn't own a signature weapon of an obscure native people, but then again the average person doesn't own a world war two era German officer's sword. He explained to me that he was in Africa with a friend

who had roots in the Maasai tribe and wanted to reconnect so my grandfather bought a Maasai throwing club to remember the trip. My grandfather explained that there were three different kinds of throwing clubs. The first one was for hunting, the second was a tool, and the third was meant as a weapon for war. The custom in the tribe was that for a boy to become a man he had to go out in to the wilderness with nothing but a single throwing club and kill a lion. The custom had to be stopped when the tribespeople were informed that lions are endangered. The clubs are made of a root of a tree and are pulled out of the ground then hardened in a fire the one my grandfather owned was very shiny and smooth so that it looked like it had been made in a factory I could only assume that it was manufactured and not authentic.  
Shopping for My Mother by Carter Taylor    

My mother said to go get some bread 

But here is what I got instead 

A gallon of milk, 

Three feet of silk, 

Twelve packs of hot dogs,

One liter of egg nog, 

Three bottled ships, along with thirty six bags of chips,

A rubber kazoo, 

A little plastic zoo,

A silver clock, 

And a pink and blue smock.

Now, whenever my mother needs something from the store 

She does not send me anymore.

Why Everyone Should See Hamilton by Sarah Duff

“Pardon me are you Aaron Burr sir?” Hamilton is a musical on Broadway written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. In my opinion it is the best musical because it teaches you about what Hamilton did for our country, how race didn’t affect casting and how theatre is a helpful thing to know and have. Lin puts it into a way where modern day people can understand our country’s history with Alexander Hamilton. 

Hamilton the musical teaches us average folk about what Alexander Hamilton, a founding father did to improve our country. He grew up as a poor child like he says in one of the song “I’m just like my country, I’m young scrappy and hungry.” This states that he started out as a poor nobody and was determined to not throw away his shot. He first met Burr and they became buddies. In 1777, he became George Washington’s assistant. Then in 1778, he persuaded the New Yorkers to agree to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In another song you here Hamilton ask “Sir would you like me to run for the treasury or state department?” And Washington responds “Treasury” So in result Hamilton runs for the treasury department. He actually served as the nation’s first secretary of treasury for 6 years. But then in having to choose between Burr and Jefferson running for president. Alexander choose Jefferson and Burr get mad. He feels betrayed and calls for Hamilton and him to duel at dawn. They count to ten but before Hamilton had the time to surrender to Burr, Burr shot and Hamilton died. But later in the play the songs start to show that Burr regrets his actions.

Back when Hamilton was alive and thriving most of all of the men he correlated with were in fact white. But in the play most of the cast are different races. See Hamilton is played by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Lin is Puerto Rican. Lafayette is played by a mixed man named Daveed Diggs. So you see a lot of the cast is a different race/ethnicity. I think it’s cool how in this modern age people don’t discriminate and that’s what I think Lin was also thinking when he casted so many different ethnic people to play as people who were white. You don’t see much discrimination anymore. When Lin was casting he focused more on how the people acted in character rather than what the color of their skin is. From what I see he did a really good job in the casting department. 

Hamilton is placed on the wonderful brilliant Broadway stage. Hamilton is of course in the theatre department. Hamilton the musical is an excellent example of why people should look more into theatre. This is because Hamilton is about history which is educational. Haven’t you had a history class before? Most history classes learn about Hamilton and all of his glory. Some people learn better when they are listening to music. What better music to listen to than educational music. I have actually learned a whole lot from just listening to Hamilton. Once a teacher was talking about Hamilton and in my head I knew about everything she was talking about. The songs are informational and marvelous so in my opinion that’s a win win situation. Theatre is an excellent thing to know because it can teach you things no other classes can teach you. When you’re on a stage you are not who you are on an everyday basis. You are what your character is. For instance, I played in my middle school performance in The Lion King. I had to change from average Sarah to a wild hyena. It was a really good experience for me and something like that would be really good for you.

In summary, Hamilton has done so much for the country. If he hadn’t have done anything, the country wouldn’t be the same. It would be disastrous. Race and ethnicity aren’t considered when casting is performed. Discrimination isn’t a thing when casting is happening. Hamilton the musical really teaches you about Hamilton and his adventures to save and help our country in a really unique way. It teaches it in song. Some songs really make you feel emotions that some songs can’t do. Basically what I’m saying is you that seeing Hamilton would be a positive experience for all. 

  You can meet new and exciting people on you vacation. You could go to a bar and make new friends. If you don’t want to drink or go to a bar you could go to the beach or a restaurant that serve mouthwatering food that you would love to devour. In the hotel you can simply chat with