‘Follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road.’ Does this sound familiar? It’s from the Wizard Of Oz! When I was younger, I would ask my mother to play this song over and over again so I could act out the whole scene. I would run around the kitchen table being Dorothy and carrying Toto in my lunch box. This was a song of my childhood. Just like Kino, I have found myself to have many songs of childhood, holidays and happiness. These bring me back to a comfort zone I cannot explain and I am excited to share MY songs with you.

            As a young child, I somewhat admired The Wizard of Oz, especially Dorothy. I do not know why, but it must be the sensation of finding a grand old wizard or the funny characters of the Tin Man, Scarecrow and the Lion.  I seemed to have connected with the ‘Yellow Brick Road’ song because I loved the munchkins running around, Glenda and pretending that I was Dorothy with ruby slippers. In fact, I loved Dorothy so much that I was her for Halloween for four years! So anyway, from about age 3 until 7 after dinner, my mom would be dragged into turning on the movie, fast forwarding to the exact moment when Dorothy starts the yellow brick road and watch me run around the kitchen table which had a carpet under it that had a road looking design bordering it. So I would take off right when the song began and would sing along, with amusement in my eyes. This routine of fast forwarding, dancing and rewinding became accustomed to my daily life until I grew out of this song. I do not know what triggered this instant ending of what had become my routine. But until this day, when I see the Wizard Of Oz, I have to sing along to the song that is so dear to my heart!

            Although the yellow brick road has a very close connection with me, this next song is a song that I love rather for its hilariousness and not so much its memories. ‘All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth’ is a great holiday song that I must listen to at least once a day during Christmas season. This holiday song is a great way to get a laugh in here and there while you are scurrying to supermarkets and toy stores trying to get all your gifts in time for Christmas. The poor little boy in this holiday classic is struggling to say his S’s because he is missing his two front teeth. He explains that the kids make fun of him and that he really needs Santa to bring him some teeth. This song sound pitiful but it is priceless when you here the boy saying his S’s! I think of this melody during Christmas time because it reminds me of my grandmother. I know that sounds really strange but the little boy speaks exactly like my grandmother. She too pronounces her S’s with a whistle. So if you have not yet heard this wonderful, amusing Christmas carol, as you might say, you are really missing out on some holiday spirit.

            Finally, last but definitely not least, my song of happiness. ‘Sweet Baby James’ by James Taylor is a song that is very close to my heart. You see, starting when I was about six years old my dad would turn this song on everyday we went to school. I would listen to the words very closely until I finally new the whole song. My family loved and still loves this song because it comes close to their hearts. This is because of a very exciting announcement that was made just after about a year of listening to this song. My mom brought the whole family into the room, my two younger brothers and me and told us that we were going to have another brother or sister! I was so excited. So months went by and my family decided to not find out if it is a boy or a girl for they wanted it to be a surprise. So our family had the tough decision of name choice. If it was a girl, we were going to name her Mary Elizabeth. But we had not yet chosen a boy’s name. So one morning when my brothers and I were going to school, we turned on ‘Sweet Baby James’. At that moment, my dad exclaimed, “Hey, how about the name James? We could call him sweet baby James!” So that settled it. We would name the baby, if it were a boy, James. So when my mother had my new sibling, I went straight to the hospital. And guess what? It was a boy! We all said hey to sweet baby James, the new member of our family.

            So as you can see, these three songs fill up my life with joy, memories and amusement. Having songs that mean something to you is a great way to always have memories and even revisit them. ‘The Yellow Brick Road’, ‘All I want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth’ and ‘Sweet Baby James’ are MY songs that give me comfort and excitement at the same time. In conclusion, songs are almost vital to all humans, for without them they would have barely any memories. Songs in my life give me things I could not get out of a photo book or scrapbooks!

‘Follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road.’ Does this sound familiar? It’s from the Wizard Of Oz! When I was younger, I would ask my mother to play this song over and over again so I could act out the whole scene. I would run around the kitchen table being Dorothy and carrying Toto in my lunch box. This was a song of my childhood. Just like Kino, I have found myself to have many songs of childhood, holidays and happiness. These bring me back to a comfort zone I cannot explain and I am excited to share MY songs with you.            As a young child, I somewhat admired The Wizard of Oz, especially Dorothy. I do not know why, but it must be the sensation of finding a grand old wizard or the funny characters of the Tin Man, Scarecrow and the Lion.  I seemed to have connected with the ‘Yellow Brick Road’ song because I loved the munchkins running around, Glenda and pretending that I was Dorothy with ruby slippers. In fact, I loved Dorothy so much that I was her for Halloween for four years! So anyway, from about age 3 until 7 after dinner, my mom would be dragged into turning on the movie, fast forwarding to the exact moment when Dorothy starts the yellow brick road and watch me run around the kitchen table which had a carpet under it that had a road looking design bordering it. So I would take off right when the song began and would sing along, with amusement in my eyes. This routine of fast forwarding, dancing and rewinding became accustomed to my daily life until I grew out of this song. I do not know what triggered this instant ending of what had become my routine. But until this day, when I see the Wizard Of Oz, I have to sing along to the song that is so dear to my heart!            Although the yellow brick road has a very close connection with me, this next song is a song that I love rather for its hilariousness and not so much its memories. ‘All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth’ is a great holiday song that I must listen to at least once a day during Christmas season. This holiday song is a great way to get a laugh in here and there while you are scurrying to supermarkets and toy stores trying to get all your gifts in time for Christmas. The poor little boy in this holiday classic is struggling to say his S’s because he is missing his two front teeth. He explains that the kids make fun of him and that he really needs Santa to bring him some teeth. This song sound pitiful but it is priceless when you here the boy saying his S’s! I think of this melody during Christmas time because it reminds me of my grandmother. I know that sounds really strange but the little boy speaks exactly like my grandmother. She too pronounces her S’s with a whistle. So if you have not yet heard this wonderful, amusing Christmas carol, as you might say, you are really missing out on some holiday spirit.            Finally, last but definitely not least, my song of happiness. ‘Sweet Baby James’ by James Taylor is a song that is very close to my heart. You see, starting when I was about six years old my dad would turn this song on everyday we went to school. I would listen to the words very closely until I finally new the whole song. My family loved and still loves this song because it comes close to their hearts. This is because of a very exciting announcement that was made just after about a year of listening to this song. My mom brought the whole family into the room, my two younger brothers and me and told us that we were going to have another brother or sister! I was so excited. So months went by and my family decided to not find out if it is a boy or a girl for they wanted it to be a surprise. So our family had the tough decision of name choice. If it was a girl, we were going to name her Mary Elizabeth. But we had not yet chosen a boy’s name. So one morning when my brothers and I were going to school, we turned on ‘Sweet Baby James’. At that moment, my dad exclaimed, “Hey, how about the name James? We could call him sweet baby James!” So that settled it. We would name the baby, if it were a boy, James. So when my mother had my new sibling, I went straight to the hospital. And guess what? It was a boy! We all said hey to sweet baby James, the new member of our family.  So as you can see, these three songs fill up my life with joy, memories and amusement. Having songs that mean something to you is a great way to always have memories and even revisit them. ‘The Yellow Brick Road’, ‘All I want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth’ and ‘Sweet Baby James’ are MY songs that give me comfort and excitement at the same time. In conclusion, songs are almost vital to all humans, for without them they would have barely any memories. Songs in my life give me things I could not get out of a photo book or scrapbooks!           

Stories of My Life

Once upon a time there was a… Many of the fantastic stories that have been kept in my heart for years have started with that common phrase. There have been many stories I have been told in my life. From pirates to princesses and a couple of these wonderful stories really stuck with me throughout my life. Many of them I relate to every day and others I just remember back when I was a kid. I would get all warmed up in a nice warm blanket and read stories with my family before it was time to go to sleep. The stories that I remember the most are “Winnie the Pooh”, “Rip Van winkle”, “ Hansel an Gretel”, “American Girl Stories” and a ghost story about some mysterious creature that would scratch on your car door when you were in the middle of nowhere!

The most famous stories are about the imaginative Winnie the Pooh and his forest friends. I have heard every single one there is to hear but the best one of all is when this honey-loving bear has a nightmare. This dream wasn’t just any dream, it was a dream that was very weird, complex and frightening to him. The dream started out with colorful elephants and they were dancing all around him, making him dizzy. Then the frantic bear rolls into a bunch of twisty lines and shapes. He is so confused he runs into a wall where he eventually is squished into a box. Finally, he finds the light at the end of the tunnel, honey! He runs towards it and right when he gets there, he wakes up. As he is rubbing his eyes, he realizes he is in a flood and sees all his friends around him! I loved this story for many different and unrelated reasons. For example, I just liked the different colors of the elephants and also the different squiggly lines. But another reason is I thought it was funny that he woke up in a huge flood and he was floating on his bed! When I am having a bad day, I always get a great laugh while thinking about Winnie the Pooh and all of his adventures!

Next, one of my most favorite stories, Rip Van Winkle. This is a story about a man who decides to travel up onto a mountain. Once the very tired man gets there, he decides to take a nap but not just any old nap! The traveler sleeps for what seems like forever and can’t be woken up. Finally, the fellow wakes up, yet he is so confused. His town has changed along with himself. He now had a beard that was many feet long and he no longer fit into his clothes. I loved this story for many reasons. One, when I was little, I thought everyone slept at the same time and also I thought that people always slept for the same amount. What fascinated me was how and why Rip would and could sleep that long.  I always used to laugh because I never thought that anyone could have slept that long and also have a beard that long too. In the book, it looked about 20 feet long! Seeing that picture made me giggle, which made me love this story.

Hansel and Gretel. Everyone has heard that story about a dozen times. Many may love  it to death and others just look at it as another childhood story. To me, this story is my favorite of its kind. The story begins when a brother and sister head into the woods, using bread to mark their way. But unexpectedly, a crow follows them, eating the bread. So the two children are left in the woods all alone when they see a house made of candy, every kid’s dream! So they rush towards the house and are greeted  by what seems to be a nice old lady. The kids rush into the house hoping to have more candy when they turn and the old lady is trying to get the boy, Hansel. Hansel is put into a cage, waiting to be eaten by the mean old lady. He is only given a chicken bone to live on until he is plump enough to be the lady’s next entrée! Gretel, for what seems like forever, tries to free Hansel and is successful. The brother and sister make a run for it. When they find their way home and they rush to their parents, happy to see them.  I like this story because I always thought that it was breathtaking that there was a house made of candy. But I was also terrified by the old lady and so my parents assured me that she would not get me as long as I didn’t eat candy. Well, that didn’t last for long. I soon got over my fear and began to love this story for its imagination and creativity!

The next series of stories that I would read with my family were the American Girl Doll book series. My favorite series that I completed and read with my dad was Kit. Her stories were about her family and her life during the Depression. She explains her difficulties throughout the depression and also her friends. She also talks about how she writes and tries to get her writings in the paper.  The best memories that I recall is reading each book with my dad and then when I finished it, I was proud of myself. Not only because I read a chapter book, but also that I learned what the depression was, when it happened, and how people lived through it.

Finally, a story that I tell my little brothers to this day. A tale of my mother’s that probably has been passed on to every child.  This magnificent story is a common camp and family ghost story. It fires away when a mother and a son are on a long, long road. They need gas, but yet there is not gas stations near. And so the mother gets out of the car and starts walking, trying to find a gas station. She tells her son to lock the doors and stay in the car. So the terrified boy does what he is told. The poor boy scampers under a seat cushion for comfort. He stays there for many hours, wondering if his mother is coming back. He then hears  scratching on the car and is terrified out off his mind. He keeps on hearing it but ignores it until he sees the sunset of dawn. When he is positive that it is okay outside, he gets out of the car. He looks around for his mother but finds her on the roof of the car. Screaming in terror, the boy scrambles up to the roof. When he gets to his mother, there is a note saying, “You should have opened the door before he got me!” I know this is a cruel story but it is an original. Everyone has heard it and it is a great story for a nice campfire! On the other hand, I enjoy the story because it reminds me that I should never take my mother for granted because I might lose her unexpectedly!

As you can see, I have many great stories I remember and love to tell. My stories have no specific reason why they stuck with me. They just do. It might be  because I would always love bedtime stories and would always go over them in my head and try to remember them to tell them to my friends at school. Or I would always crave for a bedtime story before going to bed. Who knows? But for me no matter what story it is, from Winnie the Pooh to a scary nighttime story, I always enjoy a nice or scary story before falling asleep!

Have you ever felt like you are hiding from something or someone for what seems like forever? Well, I bet you haven’t experienced Frankie Lewchuk and his family’s story.  For example, Frankie and his family were hiding for 15 years from the law because of his dad.  The court found his dad guilty for stabbing someone for no reason. What really happened was Frankie’s dad was giving a guy a lift home when he noticed that they guy was drunk. Before Frankie’s dad could do anything, the guy took the wheel, rammed it into a ditch and landed on Frankie’s dad. Well, the guy ended up landing on the neck of Frankie’s dad, joking him. So to save his life, Frankie’s dad pulled out his hunter’s knife and started stabbing the guy. So when they went to court, the guy said it was for no apparent reason, “And they made the sentence and they found my Dad guilty. So he was gonna get 10 to 20 years in prison.”  This shows that Frankie’s dad is the kind of person to run away from their problems, thus leading to hiding for 15 years! In addition, Frankie lived most of his life in a tent eating old and rotten meat when finally the FBI came to Frankie’s front door steps. Frankie’s dad turned to them and said, “I love you and I will never forget you.”  Furthermore, When Frankie eventually accepts that his father is going to be in jail for a while, he hears that the court accepted the appeal and he is going to come home! Therefore, if you think you are cowering away from anything for a long while, take to mind Frankie’s story and rethink your decision!

http://www.radiodiaries.org/transcripts/TeenageDiaries/frankie.html

In the Arena

 ”It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whoses face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy course; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

I found this quote on my grandfather’s desk and I am so happy I decided to read it. This quote gives me inspiration and confidence becuase it is saying to believe in yourself, not what others think. That’s what I think our true problem is in our lives, we are judged and judgmental of others without even thinking of it. So that’s what I think of this quote, how about you?