Vacations Aren't Too Bad

I don’t think I have ever really hated a vacation. I always expect them to be horrible, and full of forced family time. In reality, I’m mostly left to my own devices and have fun with the family I get along with.The only time I have a “bad” vacation is if a family member -- usually Maggie, Kattie, or Dad. -- goes off on a tantrum. Because that’s what they do if things don’t go their way. Besides that, my family’s vacations go quite well.

Now, when I go places with my friends, It’s a whole other story. We forget things and panic. Then, we try to fit seven people into a hotel room meant for four. We never fail to lose at least one person to the crowd or to bounty hunters. Everyone gets sick, but we refuse to leave until we have the full experience. It is a mess. A wonderful, fever-filled, crowd-weaving mess.



-Tricia

I Remember

Middle names

Phone numbers

Middle school days

Homecomings

Birthdays

Phone numbers

Addresses

P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney

Dates

Places to be

Where I’ve been

Where I’m going

Love

                         -A

Dreams Really Do Come True

As 7:42 shined across my alarm clock situated on my bedside table, I awoke abruptly. I had just been having a dream about someone that vaguely seemed familiar, but why couldn’t I remember who the person truly was? I sat in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling trying to remember who it was. It could have been anyone, but I didn’t know who it was at the time. All I knew was that today was Saturday, which meant time away from school where I could head out to the farm to visit my grandma. I went downstairs and got dressed with a hurried manner. I’m sure I looked dumb running through the house, but I was excited! I was so happy that I got to see the greatest person in my life. Dad and I hopped into his old, white work truck and drove the highway trip out to my grandma’s. We arrived in record time and I hustled out of the truck to greet my grandma with a warm hug, proving how much I missed her.

“How are you, Trey? I’m sure glad I get to see you today,” she said with a warm smile on her face, the smile that always makes my dad and I forget about all of our troubles, just for that one moment, because she is happy, so we are too. She motioned me into the house and I sat down at the kitchen table, as the warm aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled my nose and stimulated my senses. I loved the old mugs my grandma used to hold her daily coffee. They are a reminder of the past and how fascinating her life, in its entirety, truly is. I looked around at my grandma’s small but homey house and I just wondered. I wondered how her life was back when she was younger and how she had lived here with my grandpa. Oh man, do I miss him. The man who could walk into a room and turn heads because of his presence. The man whose sense of humor was his greatest trait. The man who loved his family more than life itself. As my gaze made its second circle around the kitchen, my eyes stopped as I stared straight into my grandma’s.

“Have you eaten breakfast yet?” she inquired, and the expression on my face was all the answer she needed. She immediately rose from her chair and got out her famous skillet, the skillet that made food for everyone in my family. As I started to hear the sizzling and crackling of the future feast, I started to daze off again, finding myself in a state of comfortableness. The rich scents of eggs and sausage filled my nose and brought me back to life in a few moments, only long enough for me to picture how my grandpa used to look. My grandma handed me a plate, full of delicious breakfast food and my mouth started to water. I enjoyed the delicious breakfast with my family and after we were finished, I retired to the living room couch since I was so full. I thought it was a little weird that I had been thinking so much of my grandpa today, but I dismissed the thought.  I began to daze off again, only this time, there wasn’t an aroma to awake me after a few short minutes and I was fully asleep.

“Hello, are you awake, Trey?” said a deep, comforting voice as I opened my eyes to see the one person that I missed the most. My grandpa, Bob, was standing above me staring intently at my face and I sat up to give him a hug. He was truly a sight for sore eyes. We sort of looked at each other. He looked so different since the last time I saw him, and I’m sure I looked way older than five. He asked how I was and I told him all about myself and my life. When I was younger, I never really knew where my grandpa went or why, because it wasn’t something you just talked about over dinner with the family. My days were spent longing for a hug or dreaming about how I wanted to make him proud of me. We sat and talked for hours, but I wasn’t complaining because it was long overdue. It had been forever since I saw his face and heard his voice. I asked him lots of questions, some of which he couldn’t answer. He looked very healthy and happy and I wished that I had more meaningful memories with him. I mean all of my cousins could remember certain things about him, but most things I knew were either from distant memories or things my family members had told me. I told him all about the sports I had participated in this year and last. I asked if he was mad that I didn’t go out for basketball in high school. He smiled and shook his head, giving me the only answer that I needed. Next, I had to mention how I started on defense this year in football.

“I know, I have been watching your progress and you are making me so proud to be your grandfather,” he replied. I swear I smiled for 20 minutes straight after that comment. If I had one goal in my life, it was to make my grandpa proud, and I had done just that. I told him how I was going to play for him in everything I would ever do, and how no matter what the outcome was, if I played like he was watching always, I was sure to be happy. Also, I had to bring up the home movies since they were a secret until we found them after his death. The story was that grandpa had a recorder and would record certain things that the rest of our family truly didn’t know had happened. The most famous one would have to be the ‘Zoucha Wrestling Matches’, secret wrestling matches between my older siblings and cousins. Everyone had a good laugh watching them, since grandpa was the only adult that knew they had even existed. At almost every family event, someone has to bring them up in their conversation, which always concludes with a family viewing session in the living room. There was so many things that I didn’t know, but I did not have enough time to ask all of the things that I really wanted to ask.

“Trey,” he said quickly, almost as if he was in a hurry to get somewhere, “I have loved every minute of the time we have spent together today. And I have been watching you proudly from above. But now, I must go back. Don’t be sad, as I am always with you, in your heart. For now, I must say goodbye.” With that, I followed him as he left me on the couch, walking straight through the kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table, my grandma and dad kept their conversation, and I realized that they must not have been able to see him. He stood right behind my grandma, looking at her for a solid minute. He looked up and found out that I wa watching him, so he smiled softly at my grandma and winked at me as he walked out of the door.

As I came out of my dream, I opened my eyes to see my grandma standing over me smiling, and I knew that I had dreamt the whole thing. My spirits dropped because I thought that I should be able to have more time with him, that I should not have had to let him go so soon. I smiled back at my grandma and got up to see that it was 7:42 p.m. and I knew with that ‘coincidence’ that I was dreaming of my grandpa this morning too. I got up and walked into the back bedroom as I looked at my favorite picture of my grandpa. For a moment, I almost thought that the eyes in the picture followed me as I moved to look at the teddy bear made out of his jeans that was on display here and the CD of pictures, but that couldn’t have happened, right?

I walked out of the room and made my way upstairs, where the wrestling matches were taped and where I watched childhood movies with my grandpa as a child. As I looked through all of the rooms, I had a sense of familiarity and security. With this, I knew my grandpa Bob was and is watching over me from above somewhere, wherever that somewhere may be. We finished our day out at grandma’s by giving hugs by the front door. Grandma followed us out and just as I was crossing the threshold from the house to outside, I smiled softly at my grandma and winked at her.

“I love you, grandma,” I said, my dad looking at me smiling. We walked through the yard to dad’s work truck and I glanced back at the brightly lit porch. I saw my grandma of course, smiling intently at us, but I also could see someone standing behind her. As I focused my eyes on the figure, I saw my grandpa Bob standing behind her, setting his left hand on his shoulder, his right waving goodbye towards me, but I knew that grandma couldn’t see him, even though he was standing right there. I felt bad for her, but I also felt good because I know that she knows that he is looking out for all of us. As I closed the door to my dad’s truck, my dad must have noticed that I was looking a little too long at the porch and he asked my why.

“Grandpa Bob’s looking out for us up there, right dad?” I asked him, even though I knew he wouldn’t know why I was asking.

“Of course, Trey, of course he is,” he stated. I looked back to the now dark porch and smiled, for I knew that I have the best guardian angel of all.  

-Oliver, the cat

There's No Place I'd Rather Be

There’s No Place

There’s no place I’d rather be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ok8hJZFzhM

(this is to the tune of the above song. The melody that this poem is written to go with starts at 20 seconds into the video and goes till 1:25)

I am twelve whole hours from comfort,

A concrete road is all I see.

But I know that when we get there,

There’ll be no place I’d rather be.

I would wait forever,

Just to see that hickory tree.

In the driveway of your cabin,

Where I can be so wild and free.

With every breath I take,

From the dock out on the lake.

Floating so lazily

The breeze blows through the trees,

The birds sing melodies

Here I can truly be

All my worries are gone; it’s amazing,

5 whole days of prime relaxation

Do whatever I want, it’s vacation

If I’m in Michigan, there’s no place I’d rather be.

~ S. Rae

The Not So Slick Robin Hood Jr.

The not so slick Robin Hood Jr.

There once was a guy named Ted

He’d always lay in his bed

With his dog

Who’s name was Log

He was sad

Because he was bad

He robbed a store

For the poor

He gave it all away

And by the end of the day

He was loved by all

Until he got the call…

To go to jail

Without the chance of bail

His life as we knew it

Well I guess you could say he blew it

Just a Shoe Box

My shoe box is my most indispensable item.  To everyone that sees it, it's just a shoe box.  To me, it holds some of the most valuable things I've ever had.  It holds old letters between my friends and I, old trinkets that have been long forgotten about, but once meant so much.  Now, I only allow myself to look in this box once   every few months.  I like it better that way.  I have a couple of boxes like this.  That way I get to look at a couple things every month.  I have one box for old cards, one for letters, one for notes, and one just for things that my best friends and I exchanged in 7th grade year.  That one is probably my favorite.  Every time I peer into the box, I see neon colored stress toys and magazine cut outs of one direction.  Pictures of before I had braces, and when I had my old glasses.  Shoe strings that once held so many memories.  Pieces of paper that we would pass around in class, pencils that changed color when you wrote with them.  It reminds me of a time when we were together every day, now, I would give anything to see her once every couple of months.  I only see her a couple times a year if I'm lucky, and I miss her so much.  That shoe box always gives me hope for the next time we're together, so we can take pictures, print them out and date them, and put them in our boxes.  Sometimes, when we see eachother, we'll leave things behind, on accident or on purpose.  Like this last time, I left my favorite blanket she always adored because she claimed it smelled just like me.  She thought it was an accident, but I knew she needed it far more than I did.  She's left things like sweatshirts and fuzzy socks at my house.  Long story short.  My shoe boxes are important.  They've held more than shoes, for me, they hold hope for the future, and a love for the past.

L.G

Nothing to do

Sometimes life gives you more time than you need for your daily activities,

And we use that extra time to do whatever we want.

My safe haven from boredom is video games.

It always feels satisfying, being the only person who can change the outcome of a story.

Unless you’re playing multiplayer and yelling at your teammates.

I also spend time watching a whole season of a new show on Netflix,

and immediately wanting more when it’s over.

While I’m at school, I’m often stuck in my thoughts (daydreaming).

I often find myself staring menacingly out in the distance.

I could also shout at my brothers “I’m bored, entertain me!”

When the boredom meter is of the charts, I start to organize things.

Last of all, making lists for stuff I do when I’m bored for school assignments.

Evil Twin

My twin Tina has been mean to me ever since we were mates in the womb. She would kick me, and eventually kicked me out of the womb and was born three months later. That’s why we are twins, but we aren’t. When we were young children, tina would always steal my food and take my toys. She would push me down the stairs and pull my curly hair. When we grew older, she would copy my homework and take the credit! She would get me in trouble when I did absolutely nothing! She would steal my friends because she's cooler than me, and would show no remorse for her evil deeds. In college she would steal my scholarships, and my excel in MY major. The most evil thing she did was steal my thunder and not let me be me. But it’s okay, she’s now serving a life sentence for murder.

~Sheryl Swoopes

My Happy Place

My favorite place is full of beautiful nature,

There are tall trees, and windy trails,

The mountains rise up and erupt our minds while we enjoy the amazing view,

Fresh air fills the baby blue sky.

I love watching the sun creep through the trees while I drive past,

The deer slowly maneuver through the trees and make their way to the fresh stream of water,

As I drive by, the gravel crunches underneath the tires,

The sunset fills the sky with yellows, oranges, and pinks.

At night, the stars are as bright as ever,

I can see satellites and constellations in the midnight sky,

Trees become shadows and fire is the light,

I enjoy the presence of my friends and family by the bonfire.

The relaxation is soothing and the mountains are my paradise,

I love the warmth of the air and the vibes that 10,000 feet peaks give,

I wish I could stay in the fascinating mountains everyday,

This is where I belong.

                                                                                                                                H.G.

Dark Refuge

My heart races as I walk down the stairs.

Only I know what’s waiting down there.

Step by step my heart warms.

My basement is my favorite place to escape people and just brainstorm.

Stress devoured my soul today,

But as I walk down the stairs, relaxation hits me like a wave and washes that stress away.

Fortunately, it is the weekend,

Which temporarily puts the stress from school to an end.

I keep the lights off to help induce meditation.

The darker it is, the better my relaxation.

The only light that resides is from the TV screen.

I turn on Netflix to watch a movie in the spirit of Halloween.

I can feel myself getting cold,

So I cuddle up with my favorite soft blanket to hold.

Relaxation has taken over my night.

My world drifts out of sight.

A world that normally seems huge,

Now seems small in my dark refuge.

April J.

Safe Haven

It’s not that close

But it’s totally worth the drive.

I’m usually there when there’s snow on the ground

And it makes it all that much more beautiful.

There’s a little place dug-out in the ground

The river flows right in front of it

Be careful not to fall in because it is absolutely freezing

If you’re running along the water’s edge

Watch for the ropes that tie down containers...

Warning: Broken wrists may occur

But get back up and shake it off,

You’ve got a bird to get

The sounds of the trees rustling

Ducks quacking and geese calling each other

Stay low, you can’t be seen

Wait, wait, ready? Go!

Make sure your cover is all the way back

Otherwise you might hit your head

Pull up and look down the barrel

Shots fired, three go down

Let the dog out and see if she can fetch

Odds are you’ll end up retrieving it yourself

The water is cold so be careful

Don’t forget to take your gun with you too

The barbed wire fence that stretches behind has seen its better days

Cows roam the in the pasture

I wonder if they are as cold as I am

Hit the deck...there’s a bird!

It truly is gorgeous out here

The open sky and the tree lines

And the crisp fresh air bites your nose

There’s no place better to go

Than my home away from home.

J.K.

Is this real?

I was once alone, it was wonderful! I loved the silence or at least the “silence”. There was always a tv on or music playing SOFTLY. The smell of coffee and sweet blueberry muffins dancing from the kitchen to every room in my apartment. Every morning I would wake up, make coffee, and turn on the news. In case I missed something important from the day before. The day my life changed, I didn’t make coffee. I didn’t turn on the news. It didn’t feel right, no matter what I did it all felt just a little bit off.

That morning I woke up to the sound of thunder knocking against my front door and their friend lightening peeking in my windows. I looked at my alarm clock and it was flashing 12:00 at me in bright red letters. I guessed that meant the power had gone out, I sighed and sat up clicking on the home button of my smartphone, luckily it got a full charge before the power outage. I checked the time after unplugging my phone and saw it was 5:45 am so I decided to get up, normally my alarm clock would go off at six.

I got up and wandered to my bathroom to brush my teeth because for some reason all I can taste right now is blood. I flicked on the lightswitch to see if the power was still out and only half of the lights were working. So I quickly wash my mouth out, I see blood dripping and I look up in the mirror to see my nose is bleeding. I wipe my nose but see that reflection just stares at me. I shake my head thinking that I’m just tired and overworked. I leave the bathroom and open the curtains in the living room. If there is one thing I love it's a good storm. I can see my reflection in the window,suddenly there was a huge echo of thunder and I see my reflection jump and I stare at it confused. Am I going crazy? There is no way that actually happened. I shook my head and walked away from the window holding my head as a pounding headache rammed into my head like a moving train. I stumble a little but regain my balance enough to be able to plop down in the chair next to me and take some deep breaths.

Once I feel stable enough to go into the kitchen where I keep all my pain killers. I go there and try to open the cupboard but for some odd reason it won't budge. I pull a few more times but nothing was happening, I was so focused on the cupboard that I didn’t even notice my reflection smirking at me through the shiny slivers spoons sitting next to my sink because they had just been cleaned the night before. The lights flicker more and suddenly I feel like I’m not alone. I slowly reach for a knife that is next to the spoon and a boney large hand  grips my wrist tight enough that I was afraid my wrist was gonna shatter.I arm was suddenly yanked so that I was now turned around and staring at myself. I mean she wasn’t me but she was me. She was tall, sickly-skinny, and so pale I thought I could see through her for a moment. She brought one of her pointy witch fingers to the end of my nose and smirked again with her teeth all brown and chipped, she whispered to me in a raspy-smoking for twenty years voice.

¨It’s time for you to stop eating all that candy~.¨

She backed up a little and started laughing like a maniac! I was so confused and scared that threw that knife that I was holding at her and she vanished. I ran over to the knife and suddenly she was behind me with her hands around my neck. She started squeezing my neck and I started feeling my head getting bigger and bigger. Suddenly, i felt like my head was about to explode and then…. I woke up.

I looked around, I was laying on a really crappy couch that Is only standing on three legs. People were laying around me all passed out and I noticed that some pills with little unicorns pressed onto them. I start to remember that last night there was a party and… I think I took some ecstasy. That would explain the messed up dream, it was so real but at the same time there was no way it was real. I stared at the ceiling for a while and that is when I realized… I have a problem, and it needs to be fixed.

THE END.

(This is not based on real events)

A Day in a Life

I wish to have a day in a life

Where I can go wherever I want

Whenever I want.

If I could do whatever I wanted for a day,

I would travel the world to see friends

With my cat, Milkshake.

Transportation wouldn't be an issue

Since we could just teleport.

We'll take our first stop at Spain.

There, we would visit José Mario and his family

In beautiful Valencia.

He won't be too ecstatic to see Milkshake,

But, oh well.

We´ll go to the famous beach

And eat at his family's spectacular pizza restaurant

All in the matter of hours.

Then, we´ll head to England.

Ryan would be so surprised to see me--

With my cat.

Ryan is one of my closest friends I met online.

And yes- he does have a british accent.

In our limited time,

He'll take us to London to visit his favorite shops.

Of course, we'll also have to see

At least one horror movie

Like we said we would.

After our quick trip to Europe

We'll take a journey to Malaysia.

There, we'll see lovely Eliot, another online friend

Who loves to take photographs.

She will show us the crazy bear statues

That stand tall in front of the school she attends.

They're brightly colored and situated in odd positions.

We also look over her city from up above

In a public library with huge windows.

Her friends are nice and full of jokes.

Life in Malaysia is bustling and busy.

The final destination

Is Vietnam.

My family awaits in the family room

Ready to finally meet me, I appear before their eyes.

They laugh happily

When they notice Milkshake

¨Snugged¨ under my arm.

We hug, talk, and walk around the city,

Entering many Ramen shops and food stands.

They tell me they missed me

And they want me to stay,

But I can't.

My day is almost over, and I must return.

I squeeze them tightly, squishing Milkshake,

And tell them with assurance,

¨I´ll be back another day.¨

-MTO