The pair of shoes, scuffed and worn, stood sentinel at the door...

The soldier's pair of shoes were very worn from the many hot and grueling days in the hot desert. He would wear them for days and even weeks at a time.

He has owned them for seven months since being deployed to Falligua, Iraq, where he was a machine gunner on an up armored Humvee. The shoes are in need of some major repairs. They are very faded in color and the soles are close to being worn completely off

After the seven month deployment the soldier and his really worn in shoes stood at his parents door, looking sentinel while waiting for them to answer the door. After his parents opened the door, there he stood tall and embraced them with love. The shoes were never worn again after that day but never thrown away; there were way too many memories spent in those shoes.
By: Sallie

A little boys shoes

The pair of shoes, scuffed and worn, stood sentinel at the door. Those shoes only a few weeks old. Little boys play hard. That little boy loved those shoes, and never wanted to take them off. From playgrounds, riding bikes, running, splashing in mud puddles, four wheeling, to anything that involves dirt and outdoors. That little boy loved those shoes no matter what they looked liked. That little boy would sleep in those shoes if he was allowed. He said once the shoes were scuffed and worn, the shoes were the best. That little boy is my son and he loves his red Nike shoes.

By: April Cottle

Parents You Should Make Your Kids Mind

 

    You are responsible for your kid’s bad behavior. Parents should teach their kids right from wrong. Parents don't make their kids mind them. Parents think it's funny and cute when they misbehave. All kids need to learn to listen to what their parents tell them to do.

   Most people will never learn to teach their kid’s right from wrong. Their kids think it’s cool to go drink some beer or liquor. They think it’s cool to go smoke some cigarettes just because their friends are. Most kids think when they curse it makes them look tough and cool, but it doesn't.

     A lot of parents think it’s funny and cute when their children misbehave. Some parents get a kick out of their children when they get smacked in the face by them. I know some parents laugh and think it’s funny to listen to their kids say dirty words. Some children look at their parents and just start yelling at them in front of a bunch of people. Don't let your kids act like that, it makes you look bad, and most of all it should make you feel bad.

     Some parents don't make their kids mind. The kids normally make their parents mind them. They never listen to what they are told. They do what they want to do, and when they want to do it. Put your foot down make them listen.

      Everyone needs to step up and be a parent, make your kids mind. If you have to whip them, ground them, even make them stand in the corner. If you can't get them to listen to you, and respect you, then send them off until they start respecting you. That is the issue with kids now days they think they can get by with anything. They need to be punished for the wrong stuff they do. They will learn sooner or later to start minding you and listen to everything you say. Don't let your children disrespect you, curse at you, or even yell at you. It's not right for kids to act like that.

                              written by: Ashley

What was your favorite childhood toys?

  When I was a kid I had too many different toys. I remember when my friends and I used to play on the patio at my house; we had a lot of fun. My favorite toys were the marbles, the little soldiers, and cars. These were my favorite toys because we could always play outside of the house with them.

   When we played with the marbles they were always fun because those little things were very pretty and colorful. There were different sizes and colors. We always tried to get the tiniest one in order to play. There were many different ways to play. One of the easiest ways to play was tossing the marble to the opponent’s marble. I remember I had collected about 500 of them, different sizes and colors.

   The little soldier toys were very fun to play. They were mini green army toys with weapons. Some of them came attached to trucks, tanks or some were sharpshooters. When we played, we pretended we were going to a war zone. We would build our own military base with all the survivor accessories. There were usually two different groups of soldiers with different uniforms.  To identify the enemy they must have different uniforms than ours.

  The cars probably were one of my favorite toys. I collected different types of cars. My favorite cars were Mustangs, Camaros, and Corvettes. We played them almost everyday on the patio at my house. Racing the car was one of the ways that we played; sometimes we could trade cars with our friends. I also collected most of the little Hot Wheels cars, I always kept them clean and shiny.

   I believe each person had different childhood toys when they were little. But my favorite toys always were the marbles, the little soldiers, and the cars. It was really fun, and it’s an experience that I will never forget. I will always remember the rest of my life how things was really fun when you are a little kid.

 

Carlos Lopez

Cheating helps students learn?

                         Cheating doesn’t help students learn. First they’ll never learn anything. Second they’re turning in someone else’s work. Third they’ll never make it anywhere in life without help from another person handing them the answers. I just don’t see any reason to cheat.

                      First, if you cheat yourself through school you’ll never learn how to do a lot of things for yourself. You may never learn to read, write, or how to comprehend. Cheating is an inappropriate response to learning; it’s just a dishonest action. Its’ also self-degrading because when you cheat you are telling yourself  that you do not believe in your own abilities and if your abilities are not real because you cheated, you will have let those people  down.

                       Second, if you cheat you’re just turning in someone else’s work. For example, Sarah does her homework assignment and Tasha doesn’t do hers; so she just copies the answers down. Now what did she learn did she learn besides how to cheat off a friend. Using other classmates work is just taking credit for another’s work. We all have our own brains that we can use. We also have our parents, teachers, and other peers to help us through. There is no need to cheat just ask for help. It shows a lack of responsibility as well as lack of knowledge.

                       Third, they’ll never make it anywhere without help through everything. If you cheat throughout school continuously it becomes a habit of him/her which is not good for anyone’s future career. You will never reach goals without receiving answers from some source which basically means you did nothing at all. It’s unethical and unfair; it ruins your educational/personal life. Cheating is like doing drugs; it just ruins you. Many of us have done it in one way or another whether we are willing to admit it or not. It has been and probably will continue to be an issue for all schools throughout the nation.

                        This is why I say cheating doesn’t help students learn anything by using someone else’s answers to everything. You’ll end up nowhere besides behind everyone waiting for an answer. Students shouldn’t cheat in classes cause when it comes to test time what are you going to do then. Cheating causes stress, always hiding things and worried about getting caught. It’s just a dumb reaction in life.

                                                                                                       Written By Dora Marie Allen

Are we too dependent on computers?

                  I do believe, we are too dependent on computers. First stores depend on them. Second schools systems depend on them now. Finally the young group of people relies on them more now days. Look at the world; it has been corrupted by computers/internet.

                  First all stores depend on computers the most. The reason I say that is because you can go in the store and the cashier says ‘sorry computers are down.” Or you can go into Wal-Mart they only have two lanes open and the line you choose to get in the cashier says “sorry my computer is running slow.” There is no way around it these days every store is ran by or off of computers.

                 Also schools are now depending on computers. They have Pre-Kindergarten learning how to use a computer but that’s just where they start teaching computer skills. The high school kids now have to turn in assignments online in some classes. College students also have to use computers for every class they take. The teachers need them too for many different reasons. For example, the teachers’ computer goes down so she cancels class for the day. Did you know they don’t even teach cursive writing anymore? So when lids grow up, they’re going to have jobs and will need to sign for things. They aren’t going to be able to sign for anything because they won’t know their own signature.

                 Finally the younger generation in America is very dependent on computers, iPods, and other devises more than talking in person with somebody. It’s scary that they like staying inside playing video games, or on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and many more rather than going outside to communicate with the real world. I remember being young going out with my friends playing hide n seek, tag, sports, and making mud pies just enjoying life. Now kids are only connected to the cyber world, we didn’t use to worry about the things these children/people do in 2013.

                       So where would we all be if our computers systems come crashing down, we would all be in a world of trouble because the world is ran by electronics. Computers have taken over our everyday lives. If no computers you can’t go to the store for anything, you couldn’t go to school, and the younger kids act like the world is coming to an end without computers/Wi-Fi. Even though computers are very useful for ALL PLACES around the world, we shouldn’t be so dependent on them.

 

 

            

 

 

Drug Court

          I like to tell you all about my experience in drug court. People say drug court is always trying
  to set you up to fail, but that is not true. If it was not for drug court I would be dead, and if you
  don't want to change your life then you won't. Drug court gives you the tools to make it in the
  real world. I will give you a peek into my life that put me into drug court.

           My life was going no where. I was using and selling drugs. I didn't care if I lived or died.
  Well, to sum it all up, my story is I got set up and busted with drugs. Drug court gave me a second
   chance in life. I owe them everything. They believed in me when no one else did. So what I
   am trying to tell you all, is don't judge something or someone before you know the whole truth
   about it.     

Eric Corey

 

 

I Am Second, is a book that has had a huge impact on me, in a very positive way. First and fore most it places God first. Secondly, it has given others the ability to tell their personal encounters with God and how it changed their life around for the better. It also has a website where you can view the courageous people telling their stories so that it's more personable for you. Last but not least, the I Am Second website gives you the chance to take daily challenges and possibly become a group leader. I Am Second is a very empowering and positive book. I would recommend it to everyone, especially those who don't know God as first in their life. I know I am second!

Placing God first is the main focus of I Am Second. I can remember when I saw myself as being first and no one was above me. This way of thinking only worked for so long. I had to go through alot of ups and downs before I realized my way didn't work; I started reading self-help and spiritual healing books. As I started reading books I gained more knowledge, but was still stuck in the same mind-set. One day I picked up the book, I Am Second. Since I finished this book I haven't thought the same, fore God is first and always will be.

In this book it tells the powerful stories of real people, just like you and me. They tell of how their lives were going great, or so those on the outside thought. They tell of what was going on inside their lives that outsiders couldn't see. The stories range from racism, divorce, fame, drugs and alcohol, rejection all the way to sex and prostitution. These are real people with real stories, that will grab your attention, from famous people all the way to ordinary, unknown people that others may not even notice.

With the book comes a website that you can also join. It is www.iamsecond.com. This allows you, the reader, to be able to watch the many stories online. You can get a more personable feel from this, because you are watching the person tell their own story. From the book it could be anybody telling the story, but watching the videos you actually get to see the raw emotion of that person while they are telling their personal stories.

Once you're on the website you also have the chance to take daily challenges and even possibly become a group leader. The daily challenges have opened my eyes to see things more clearly. They challenge you to watch selected videos and pray for specific things for the day. It also challenges you to send the video for the day to someone who comes to mind, once you're done watching it. This is a very positive way to become involved in someone's life that might not reach out to you.

I am very blessed and thankful that I was introduced to this book. If not, I would have never chose to be selfless and place God as number one in my life. Also, it now allows me to reach out to others that need guidance, who may not have courage to open up and ask for guidance. I Am Second is a very powerful and positive form of outreach. I highly recommend everyone read this book!

--AMY BLACK--

The worse experience I ever had in my life is with Dave the monster. It all started the day Dave kicked me out of his class. He told me that I was not welcome in his class anymore. That night I started having nightmares that he was chasing me. Then everyday that I went to school he followed me around everywere I went. Then it went from bad to worse. he started calling me every morning between 6 and 8. He would ask me if I wanted to come back to his class and I would say yeah and then he'd laugh at me and say to bad and then hang up. Then I tried not answering the phone when he called, but he kept calling till I answered, and he would always say the same thing. Finally I went to the police and told them what was going on. I filed a complaint against Dave and he was arrested. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Since then life has been good for me. They replaced Dave with a new teacher and I got let back in the class. I hope I never have any experices again That I had with Dave the monster.

Lance Patton

Right or Wrong?

Many people have different opinions on how to deal with murderers. My own opinion is that they should be  punished! Some crimes should have death penalty; where as others may need a different approach. There are many who have a mental condition, that drive them mad. Also consider different age groups should vary on how they are delt with. There are many things to think about when dealing with murderers.

There are assorted murder cases you should reflect.Some crimes are more serious then others. They also have different consequences, for example rape, physical abuse, and being involved with gang activity. All these resaut in the death pentalty or a life time in jail. My opioun is that this is right. They deserve punishment.

People who have unstable brains are also involved with murders. I feel these people should be put in a high security mental hospital. Insanety is not something to joke about people are really sick and need help. They shouldn't be roaming free out and about. These people are confused and should be handled differently.

Now we must think of the different ages. I don't think you should punish a five-year-old the same as a fifty-year-old. Childerns mind maturity is lower and should be delt with to there understanding. Punish the person appropriately.

Crime, there are so many different ways to handle it, and speculate about. Consider what types of crimes and cases that should be on death pentalty or a life sentence. Think about the mental stability, and ages. There should be disiplen in the right way.  -Kelsey-