week31-11

Your best work appears each week in these dailies: Brattleboro Reformer (Saturday), the Hometown section of the Burlington Free Press (Wednesday), Rutland Herald  (Monday), Saint Albans Messenger (Wednesday), Times Argus  (Tuesday), The Valley News (Tuesday); and these weeklies: Addison Independent, Colchester Sun and Essex Reporter. Support your local newspapers! Buy 'em!

WEEK 31 -- May 9, 2011  Click here to READ THIS WEEK'S SELECTIONS or click Adventure and Photo Prompt #3 to read all recent submissions.  To view or download the pages as pdf files, click the newspaper's name in the attachments below.

To view last week's Newspaper Series index, click here.

  Read more »

On the morning of Saturday, March 12, the incident happened. I was running down the hill outside my neighborhood working up a good sweat. There was a dog and its owner walking toward me coming up the hill. The dog was a little brown thing with smooth hair and a scruffy neck. He barked loudly as he got close to me. As I passed, the owner, who was a tall woman in her early 50s, neglected to reel in her dog. It jumped on my leg and it dug its tooth into it. Man, did it hurt! It all happened so fast, I didn’t think to stop and ask if the dog had its shots updated. Read more »

As I enter this labyrinth full of sirens and voices

I see taxi's run by me, even a few Rolls Royces.

Shops full of perfumes, souvenirs, and clothes

Are everywhere in this city, all so very close.

But still there are those, with not much money,

Who are sleeping on the streets, with no food in their tummy.

And at night, when you look from the East to the West,

The city is still lively, no one is at rest!

Now as I say to the city, Good Bye!

I wave to a green woman, who touches the sky.

Have you figured out where Ive had my adventure yet? Read more »

My eyes dart around the room. Which student should I call on? Which nasty kid shall I torture today? I keep scanning the room full of anxious faces, worried stares. Finally, my gaze settles on her. From the strands of hair not quite making it into the pony tail, to her arm bent to cover up her face, I know she is the one. She looks at me, pleading for me to spare her. But no, that can't be. Read more »

She waits her hair stingy and greasy because she couldn't bring herself to shower this morning. Big dark circles sit under her eyes, blue and purple, like she has been punched. She bites down her already worn and small nails. Her eyebrows knit together in impatience and hope. Today is the day, she thinks.

She waits, ten minutes, five minutes, two minutes. She can hear the train pull in with its loud horn blowing, and steam rising from the smokestack- five minutes, ten minutes, one hour, six hours. Trains come and go all day but she still waits. Read more »

She had always been a special girl. Even when she was little everyone knew that there was something different about her. She was what folks around there called "touched." That's just another way of saying that they thought she was crazy. It's understandable. Her momma died when she was just a little squirt and her pa, God bless him, did his best to protect his special girl. He kept her inside, away from prying eyes, and walked her to and from school every day. That is until she reached sixth grade. Read more »

My Provincetown Adventure
By Grace Willingham April 21, 2011 Read more »

I think,

how could this happen?

I only ever saw pictures,

pictures of people so sad.

It was only a feeling,

not a reality,

only something that happened to others,

not me.

I remember,

our old house,

yard,

even my old job,

that suddenly I miss.

I miss something more than others,

Johnny.

Why couldn’t I save him?

Why was I not there?

I turned to check on the house,

when I looked back,

he was gone,

swept away by a car.

I should have never lost sight,

I should of kept my eye on him, Read more »

I walk down an unknown path to heaven. I walk down the unknown path to a destination that I know will be a place called home. As I continue my adventure, I come across rivers and streams and other parts of God's creation. Glorius views of mountains and valleys from a distance. While also imaginable creatures rome the landscape as another part of God's creation. Adventure is more than just stepping out your front door, it's more than that. It's to walk and enjoy what God has made for us.

Trivial.
Ringing over and over again,
Trivial.
Don’t you see how small this moment is
Nothing more than a single amber,
Which we are caught in.
Trivial.

Worrisome.
Pounding in my head,
Worrisome.
Waiting and planning for the next amber.
Watching the sands drop
The clock stop.
Worrisome.

Breathtaking.
Echoing through my body,
Breathtaking.
This amber bringing us together,
Human.
No one else can understand.
Breathtaking.

Trivial, ringing.
Worrisome, pounding.
Breathtaking, echoing.
A moment.
An amber.
A time to reflect on life.
Trivial,
Worrisome, Read more »

The beautiful sky, the soft sand and the roar of the ocean…
One can only guess that it’s Florida; Jacksonville to be precise.
My family and I sit on the wet, sandy beach. The sun shines down on us.
There is no other place I’d rather be!

A sea gull swoops down to get that last crumb of food from a couple nearby,
My dad offers “lets go for a walk.”
I groan, but proceed in getting up to stroll with him.

We walk silently for a few seconds,
Listening to the come and go of the waves in the ocean,
Letting the water slide over our sandy feet.

Then we talk. Read more »

On Sunday I woke up and it was raining so I got dressed and had to go to church. After church I went to Jed and Ora's house and played the Wii for a really long time. Then my dad came to pick me up and told me that there was an ice jam in Woodstock. We drove to Woodstock to look at the ice jam. There was so much ice it was on the road and across to the neighbor's houses. We had so much rain that it freed the ice on the river and it flowed downstream with a lot of power and very fast. The ice washed out a piece of the brown sided bridge with the green roof. At one point the road was closed. Read more »

Here's to the talk that made an impact,
to all the kids who stared and laughed.
Here's to the woman who stood in the front of the room and told her story. To the girl who believed.
She made me believe. There she stood, there she preached about her misadventures. She told her life story. Her deprivation. Read more »

Tick, Tock, the clock seems to never move. The teacher is talking about a test or something on Friday. All but one student is intrested and that student is bored to death. And staring into space as if he were a statue frozen in time. All Movement has became a blur and time is now ceased to exitistence. People go into slow motion. Birds hover through the air. And through out the world nothing moves, starting with the young man staring into space.

Gone

A teardrop runs down my face
as I realize everything that was mine is
gone.

My home,
my family,
my happiness.

As my life comes to focus
I see despair
and depression in every corner.

I don’t how my life
is going to turn out.
Tragedy and poverty?

The last tear falls as my eyes close
and I drift off to sleep
dreaming about better days.

My home,
my family,
my happiness,

Gone.

"Get in! There's enough food for everyone."
"Get in your beds!"
I hate those words....
Makes me feel like I'm in a prison.
Hey, guard, I wish to shout.
I may be homeless, but I'm not your slave.
They rush us in, rush us out.
God, why can't my life be normal?
Father says that one day we'll leave.
He'll find a job and he'll buy a new house for us.
Then, maybe I'll have a better life.

When I was little, Me and my friend use to go on little adventures and pretend to be great detectives! We would go to this barn and look around and tried to solve fake cases. But also, while looking through this barn ( that we did have permission to look and play in) We saw old newspapers from a couple years back. We looked at them and thought maybe this was kept here for a reason, But we got really creeped out and left the barn. It felt pretty cool being detectives. My friend liked to pretend she was Nancy Drew and I was more like a sidekick. Read more »

I walk around the room,

snapping photographs.

Endless tears are shed.

The same image of pain of loss

again and again.

One small woman catches my eye.

She doesn't weep,

but the grief on her face is obvious.

Unable to resist,

I whip out my camera.

To most I seemed insensitive,

taking photos of the weak and vulnerable.

But this woman stared at me

with blank, knowing eyes.

In her eyes,

I see endless lakes of water.

Her home being flooded.

The fear of losing a loved one.

Her posture tells a story

of shivers and worry. Read more »

As you climb the side of the hill you have no clue what you will see. That's exactly how it was when we started to travel through the woods behind our house. You could say that it was a tradition or something fun my dad, little brother, sister and I did together in the fall. We would travel for hours getting lost in the thick trees. Never having a place set in mind to go, just somewhere we could go and get out of the house. We always ended up traveling for hours. Up the hill, under the barbwire fence, over the giant bolder, and across the swampy river bed. Read more »

Surfing the Second Sky Read more »

Adventure Read more »

YWP #25- My Adventure
By Sam Amber Read more »

Snow Pile
By Lance Bergmans

I used to be a snow pile,
but the sun shone down
I was shiny and white,
but the sun shone down
I became packed and hard,
but the sun shone down
I didn't notice any changes,
but the sun shone down
I am now just a small pile,
but the sun shone down
“I'm melting” I said,
but the sun shone down
I will soon be just a puddle,
If the sun still shines down.

A spring morning
So fresh you feel it melt into your skin
We raced to the buggy while I called shotgun
Buckle up and put down the top
Hitting 80 on the highway I raised my hand into the wind
The wind was whipping so fast it was like a high-five from the wind
The sun warmed our skin
I saw the mountains ahead and gulped
Dad said we would be at the top in an hour
We started to make our way to the top in our little buggy
We wound through the trees
That rained their autumn leaves
The sun kept peeking through the leaves trying to warm our pale skins Read more »

Camp Kiniya
By, Libby O'Hara

05446
Twelve sisters for a month
Acres of pines
Kiwi disks around our necks

Twelve sisters for a month
Yummy 7 layer bars
Kiwi disks around our necks
Only girls allowed

Yummy 7 layer bars
White and blue forever true
Only girls allowed
Screaming at Himsing

White and Blue forever true
Do that C.D.A.K. Clap
Screaming at Himsing
Vespers

Do that C.D.A.K. Clap
Twelve sisters for a month
Vespers
05446

It all seemed so easy.
All Cinderella did
Was lose a glass slipper
Sleeping Beauty
Just had to be in deep slumber
Snow White
Only had to eat an apple
Fiona
Just had to wait in a castle
All Ariel did
Was lose her tail
Angel
Just had to be a Junkyard Dog
Mulan
Only had to disgrace her family.
They all had it
so easy.
When it comes to finding
Their very own
Perfect man—
Mr. Prince Charming—
So why,
Why is it NEVER
Like that
In real life.
They NEVER had to suffer.
They NEVER got their heart broke
A million and one times
Like the rest of us do. Read more »

Make-a-Wish
By
Eleanor Martin

Adventure
Blue skies ahead
Towns waiting to be explored
Rides waiting to be ridden

Blue skies ahead
A new camper to sleep in
Rides waiting to be ridden
Money crying to be spent

Discover
A new camper to sleep in
Clothes dieing to be worn
Money crying to be spent

Clothes dieing to be worn
Memories to be made
Discover
Pictures to be taken

Memories to be made
Towns waiting to be explored
Pictures to be taken
Adventure

Calmness By Courtney Gilbert The tide rolling in and out like my breath Waves crashing down upon the shore Quiet breeze A bursting sunset in the distance Waves crashing down upon the shore Calmness sets in my heart A bursting sunset in the distance Your gentle arms around me Calmness sets in my heart The beauty Your gentle arms around me Now I can sleep tonight The beauty Peaceful Now I can sleep tonight Your soft smile Peaceful Quiet breeze Your soft smile The tide rolling in and out like my breath

My Mom
By Sofia V. G. Collas

I love my mom
Hair like brown bark
Sparkling cocoa eyes
Hugs as tight as a boa constrictor

Hair like brown bark
Cuddles me as if I'm a kitten
Her hugs as tight as a boa constrictor
Finds blankets when I'm cold

Cuddles me as if I'm a kitten
Unique
Finds blankets when I'm cold
Hung a swing inside our house

Unique
Artistic
Hung a swing inside our house
A smile that makes the world stop and stare

Artistic
Sparkling cocoa eyes
A smile that makes the world stop and stare
I love my mom.

My Mom's Daycare
by Lexi Brace

Crazy
Loud
Playing
Crying

Loud
Read aloud
Crying
Learning to crawl, walk, and talk

Read aloud
Sloppy paintings
Learning to crawl, walk, and talk
Covered with mud

Sloppy paintings
Fighting for my mom's lap
Covered with mud
Tots On The Go Family Child Care

Fighting for my mom's lap
Playing
Tots On The Go Family Child Care
Crazy