Milton High School

The summer I got my job at Boyden Farms, my life definitely changed. My summers changed from summer camps to hard work and sweaty, dirty, long days.
I believe it is one of the best things that has happened to me.
 I learn more practical skills working every day at the farm than I do at a whole year at school.
It offers me so many skills, and the more skills I gain from working on the farm, the more options I will have to support myself in the future.
I have met a ton of cool people at the farm. It is always an adventure and that’s what I love. You never know what may happen. Farming is one of the greatest things in my life.
 – Farming is the most repetitive job, that never, ever happens the same way twice.

That's me. The one sitting at at the bottom of the massive maple tree. I believe it was fall. Yes, it was definitely fall. The tree no longer had its leaves, in fact, the festive Jack-o-lantern bag I am posing next to was full of the leaves that once grew on the maple tree. As I look at this photo, I can feel childhood memories, that have been stored away for years, rush back to me.

My auntie Jenny lived with us then and took care of me while my parents were away at work. She would tend to my every need as a child; from reaching the ice cream on the top shelf in the freezer to patching up fresh wound from a classic child's fall on the pavement. But my favorite thing about her was that she would play with me all day. She would build a play house out of foam blocks over and over until I found a new source of entertainment. Auntie Jenny could even make boring everyday chores, like raking leaves, fun and exciting.

That particular moment in the picture, I believe we had just finished multiple rounds of jumping into an oversized pile of leaves. That was the best thing about that maple tree, its leaves. Its long abundant branches stretched out and across the backyard. Come fall, some leaves even spilled out into the neighbor's yard. Read more »

I have always loved pictures and photos. My whole life I've collected photos of various things. I've collected photos of my various idols, and people I have looked up to throughout my life: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Hugh Laurie, Joe Dimaggio, and various other athletes and stars. There were also the pictures of family, friends, and various other acquaintances that occupy my walls, and are present throughout my photo albums. Read more »

Photo Essay Podcast.mp3

     My whole life, I've been fascinated with animals of all sorts. I've had pets for as long as I can remember, and having family in the farming business allowed me to be around other animals. I have always loved the usual household pets like cats and dogs, but I also have loved the more unusual animals like squirrels, or ducks, or turtles, or even frogs. Some of my proudest moments when I was young included seeing the incredulous looks on friends' faces when they came to my house for the first time and saw my pet ducks and rabbits.

     Looking through old photo albums only brings back more memories of my life-long love. Some of my best memories from my childhood involve animals, and the pictures one can find only bring back more of these memories. There is a photo of the time we found kittens in my grandparents' barn, and I brought one home and named her Kitty. (I was only two years old, and wasn't yet very creative with names.) Read more »

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Gun shots ring across a courtyard in a small Somalian village. Screams mix with the sound of flying bullets. Two Somali neighbors started fighting over a stolen chicken. Raul, one of the men in the argument, pulled out a 9mm and yells, "Give me back my damn chicken, I know he is in there". Apu, the acclaimed chicken stealer, retorts, "I don't got your chicken man, back off!" Raul fires a shot at Apu's feet, and Apu runs behind a broke down truck. As Apu hides bolts behind a truck, his 3 year-old son Randy is playing in the dirt nearby. He picks up Randy while sprinting to safety. Apu makes it behind the truck, and takes cover from Raul's gunshots. He looks at Randy, and says, "Since I'm gonna die, and I need someone to talk to. I heard this amazing story from our adopted American 17 year-old son named Jack."  Jack moved into Apu's home in Somalia because he was getting boating lessons for free from Somali pirates.   Read more »

One day while volunteering at a nursing home I found a ragged old book. It was only as thick as a pencil, lying in the corner of a closet in an unused room. I picked up the book and it fell open to the following story:

There was a slight chill in the air that only a summer night could have. Lou, Adam, Jackson and myself were creeping through the night to go ding-dong-ditch Big Bertha for the second time. Big Bertha got his name because he was a sturdy man who would get so angry!

"I did it last time" I said, "it's your turn Lou! Just go and do it."

"Yup definitely your turn" Adam and Jackson agreed.

Adam, Jackson, and myself slunk across the street to hide behind an electrical box and watch Lou. Lou darted to the door, rang the bell and bolted to our hide out. We all waited as silent as four teenage boys could, to wait for Big Bertha to come raging.

After 15 minutes of waiting and hearing nothing Lou pulled down his pants exposing the full moon and started waddle running up the road.

*FLASH*

"Nice ass kid!" we heard an aggravated Big Bertha yell to Lou as he tried to run away from Big Bertha and his camera. We all watch Lou go down the road and into the woods. We became silent crouching bodies believing if we didn't move or breathe Big Bertha would leave and go back into his house. I took off my beacon of a white shirt believing I would not be as noticable.

"Dude, why did you take your shirt off, you're so stupid" Jackson whispered to me.

"It'll help me hide, shut up" I hissed back.

Eeeeech! Read more »

     On a trip to Paris, my friend Jillian and I were on our way to lunch.  We had just spent the morning visiting snow leopards in a Parisian zoo, as per Jillian's suggestion.  We sat down in a little café named La Boulangerie Chez Jeanette la Putain. After waiting for service and people-watching for nearly half an hour, Jillian looked at me.

     “Hey, Danielle?”

     “Yeah?” I answered.

     “While we wait for somebody to actually pay attention to us...Have I ever told you the story of my first time going to church?” she asked. Read more »

“Write about a time in your life when you felt pressured to do something.” I was mystified when I read this prompt. I thought for a minute, and still nothing came to mind. All I had was "Josh" and the date at the top of the page. “You have 10 more minutes, class.” Ms. Carpenter said over the silence. Some people were feverishly scribbling in their composition notebooks, and others seemed seemed perplexed by the prompt. But I suddenly knew. An idea came to my head that would be perfect. One scalding summer day, I was home alone with my brothers and sister. I was kind of scared of my two older brothers, who were 5 and 6 years older than me. Bobby, who was the oldest, was alway conniving on some new plot. I would even call him "evil". Dustin could actually be nice sometimes, but as rebellious boys, they both got into a lot of trouble. They always were thinking of ideas to make adventures of the boring summer days. While our parents were at work, we were expected to clean the house. We were bored and tired from the heat, but my brothers and I dutifully went through the motions of sweeping and organizing and dusting. But my sister didn't want to clean. Chelsea usually did her work like she should, but for some reason, every time we looked into the living room today, we would find her sitting on the couch and her eyes glued to Spongebob on TV. “Chelsea, you need to do your chores.” Bobby said. He was 13. “Nah, I don't want to.” She replied lazily. She flipped her hair sassily off of her shoulder. “But you need to,” Dustin was starting to get frustrated. Read more »

One spring morning, 4-year-old Will and his mom went to the grocery store. Will was at that "spaghetti-o's-on-your-head" phase. But not just spaghettios. Will would put ANYTHING on his head.

When Will's mom brought him into the store, he immediately noticed the big baskets to carry items in, and thought "hmm, now what a fine hat that would make." But he knew he had to stay with his mom at least until he could get his favorite cereal, Frosted Flakes. Tony the Tiger was Will's favorite. In the morning, Will's mom would ask "Why are frosted flakes your favorite?" and Will would reply, "because they're grrrrrrrrrrrrreat!"

That day, when Will was at the grocery store, he put the frosted flakes in the cart and waited until his mom was into the next aisle before running back to the baskets by the door. Then....he put one on his head, and walked around. He couldn't see very well, so he walked into walls, THWACK, and into a line of carts, which rattled and went "brrinngg" like a broken bell. After a little bit, the noises were getting annoying, so he started to take off the basket.

But it was stuck!

Will couldn't see his mother through the basket, but it wouldn't come off! His mom came around a corner and saw him with a basket on his head. Her cheeks turned bright red. Why did her son have to wear everything as a hat? But she did have to admit, it was pretty funny. She ran over to him and tried to get the basket off, but she couldn't. Read more »

Sometimes the weirdest things happen and they are difficult to explain later. Someone I know told me a story like this. Between him and his friends it's funny and it is a memory they like to share. When he told me, he said that it was typically funnier and it was not the same when he told me as it is when him and his friends reflect on it. I will share this story with you now and I am sure you can think of a time in your life you have told a story that was like this, funnier in your head than it is when it is put into words. Regardless of the effect this story had on me, it was a nice glimpse into the life of someone I know and what he considers funny. Read more »

Hello, and welcome to the Robinson Radio Show. Today we are here with Adrienne Hurst. There was an unfortunate happening in which she was traumatized for life, and forever scared.

Holidays, the happiest time of the year, the time right after Christmas. I got many new presents but by far my favorite was my new, fast, sparkly, and amazing pink scooter. I loved that pink scooter and I wanted more than anything to ride it outside. Unfortunately it was winter and riding it  was not a possibility. But I was determined, I just had to ride it as soon as humanly possible.

What did the scooter look like?

The handles were that soft plastic that melded perfectly with your hands. The tires were made of a mix of clear and solid pink plastic. The rest of the scooter was solid pink painted metal with bumpy grips where your foot would go when you used it. That scooter meant everything to me, and it was going to be so sweet riding it around as fast as I possibly could.

So I begged and begged my mom to allow me to ride it around the house, if only for a couple of minutes. After some time of a mixture between whining and begging, she finally consented. Read more »

 One day, in the middle of the toy section of a Walmart, I was looking for a birthday present for my little brother. I was looking through the toy section to see if I could find something that he would like, when I came across a woman standing in front of a display of big wheel tricycles. She had a nostalgic expression on her face, as though those bikes brought her back to another time.

     "Ma'am, are you all right?" I asked, genuinely concerned, she was simply staring at the Big Wheel display.

     "Oh, yes, thank you," came her reply. She shook her head as though that could snap her out of her trance. "Sorry, my name is Lindsey. I remember having one of these when I was young, it was all I ever wanted as a kid, so I begged and begged my mom to get me one."

     I laughed, "I did the exact same thing, and now, my little brother is doing the same thing, that's actually why I was here, I was thinking about getting him one."

     "Would you like to hear the story about how I finally got mine?" Lindsey asked me, I noticed that she had started do go off into a trance, so I thought that it must be a very good story, so obviously I had to say yes.

*         *         * Read more »

 “Why are we watching this movie??? You saw the trailer, it looked horrible!” My good friend Carl yells at me, clearly frustrated.

             “I don't know dude. Look,” I wave my hand towards the endless line in which we are in the back of. In fact, the line was so big in the movie theater that we were nearly standing outside of the entrance. “Almost an hour before the movie starts and it's already sold out. I am anticipating a great movie,” I continue.

             “Well I wish you had told me 'cause this is a waste of my Friday night,” Carl says in disgust right before he turns and walks to the bathroom, I assume.

             “Hey you don't have to be a jerk!” I shout as he veers around the corner, out of sight.

             “Oh you want to hear about a real jerk?” I hear from behind. I turn around to see that a girl who must have overheard my argument with Carl.

             “Are you talking to me I ask?” I ask. Read more »

One evening I was walking down a particularly heavy tourist street when I saw a man that had a sign that read $1 for a Story. He looked young, like he has in between 25-35 years old, his eyes sagged and were tinted purple below. He wore a suit jacket that was the color of a ripe Macintosh apple, while his pants were a shade of brown that rivaled mud. In front of him was a black top hat that looked like it had many uses. Intrigued by him I walked over and set a dollar bill in his top hat. He immediately jumped into action placing the top hat on his head, and diving straight into a story.

“When I was about 8 years old my mother asked me what I wanted to be for Halloween, so I thought about it very hard, as any 8 year old would do,” he said while rubbing his chin.

“A dragon! I exclaimed to my mother one afternoon, so my mother went about it for days, making the best dragon costume she possibly could. Finally, a couple days before Halloween she came to me with the large, red, monstrous looking dragon. It was the coolest dragon I had ever seen!” He was now proclaiming, standing in front of me with his arms jestering all around as he told the story. Read more »

    During summer vacation, Alex and I decided to spend the day at the beach. While we were laying on our towels, soaking up the sun, we happened to hear some commotion coming from our left. We both sat up and found that the commotion was coming from a man who was having trouble starting his boat. This immediately brought back a certain memory from a few summers ago.

     “Ashley, I have a story to tell you!”

     “About what?”

     “Well, watching that man over there who is having problems with his boat reminded me of something similar that happened to me when I was younger.”

     “Oh boy, this is going to be good!” Read more »

One sunny summer Saturday before fall sports seasons started, Erin and I were at the mall doing some shopping. We decided to look around in Sears. As we walked around, we came across the exercise equipment. Erin stopped and stood in her tracks. She burst into laughter. I asked, "Erin, why are you laughing?" She controlled her laughter after a few short seconds and proceeded to tell me about a story from when she was younger.  Read more »

It was just like any other summer night, hot, humid and still bright outside. Only after a long tiring day of yard work and horsing around with my siblings and parents did I finally get to sit down at the table for dinner. For the last hour or so mom had been in the kitchen cleaning green beans and other miscellaneous vegetables that we had picked earlier from the garden. All of the windows in the house were open, letting the smell of the barbecued chicken dad was making in. Finally after waiting for what seemed like forever, it was time to eat! Read more »

I back my truck up, the boat hitched to the edge slipping into the water. I pull on the parking brake and hop out, taking off my sandals and shuffling into the water to unhook my boat from the frame. She's a lovely vessel, the SS Ships-and-Giggles, a small fishing boat I take out on the lake to try and catch something to put on the table. It's not much, but it's a way to cool off instead of having to deal with my wife. I love her, but at times - like anyone - I need time to take a break.

As I'm undoing a latch, I see another boat off in the distance, hopping the waves as it approaches me. The woman steering is about my age, wearing sunglasses, shorts and a leopard print shirt as she steers towards me, her friends rising from the deck that they had been resting on. The boat slowed to a near halt as they reached the dock and pulled up along the pier, dropping anchor as the three women jumped onto the dock. I had been coming to this lake for a couple of years now, so this woman must have recently bought property in the area. Read more »

BEEP BEEP! I found my hand hitting the horn in the center of the steering wheel of my envy-enducing van, also referred to as the "Wagon." Wishing that this woman in the Subaru in front of me would learn how to utilize her driving skills. It was the Friday before Thanksgiving vacation and I had two tests lined up that day, one of which was first thing in the morning. It was no surprise when I found I was running late, which seems to be the norm for whenever I have something important to do. Zooming down the road, crossing my fingers that I would not be pulled over, I finally pulled into the school parking lot with a few minutes to spare. Rolling up in my Wagon, I speedily park and lock my van and rush inside to my class. In my great rush, I run into Owen, the hot-shot who happens to be in my class.

"Yo look where you're going, bra!" Owen joked.

 "Whoa hey, O-Bro! Sorry, in a big hurry to get to that class that YOU should already be at," I emphatically retorted.

"What a joke, bro! We've got like five minutes!" Owen chuckled.

"Yeaah, we'll see when you show up five minutes late for the test," I stuck my tongue out at Owen.

"Pahh, fine, whatever. Let's go," Owen conceded. So we both briskly walked through the school lobby and through the hallways on our way to meet our destination. On the way, Owen asked, "Hey, wanna hear a funny story?"

I reply, "Sure, why  not?"

Smirking, Owen began: Read more »

"The weirdest things always happen to me."

I jumped at the familiar voice, cranking my neck around to find its source. Perched at the top of the stone-slab steps, clutching a doggy bag of dental accessories, was my good friend, Kari.

"They really do," she said, nodding with vigor. "The weirdest things."

At first, I was bemused by her presence. While we went to the same school, we lived on opposite sides of town--and nowhere near this dentist's office. My reason for outsourcing my dental work was the price; Kari's reason was a mystery to me.

I was also unable to comprehend how she had crept so soundlessly through the door behind me. The dentist office's front bell was nortoriously loud, once likened to the sound of crash cymbals being thrown through a glass windowpane. Even if Kari had floated in like Mary Poppins, a gust of wind would have alerted me of her arrival. I wasn't part bat, but I wasn't completely deaf, either. Read more »

So, I'm taking this plane from New York to Tampa, it's a pretty long flight, about four hours. I finally get called on to board and I make my way slowly to my seat. I sit down in my window seat next to this young woman. She seems happy and talkative. The plane taxis to the runway and we take off on our way to Florida. The woman next to me introduces herself as Jennifer. We proceed to have a chat about where we're going and why we're going there. At first, it's just pleasantries, but it's a long flight and we get to talking about our childhoods. I tell a story to her first and she decides to have a go at it. Read more »

This is a very hilarious story that I heard while riding the lift up to the top of the mountain at Smuggler's Notch with a stranger. We needed something to make the ride up interesting, and to break the awkward silence that often takes over the lift ride up. This is the story that Latesha told me as we rode to the summit:

Latesha and Shaniqua were the best of friends throughout elementary school. They went and did everything together. One summer after their fourth grade year at Milton Elementary School, Shaniqua was over at Latesha's house, as usual. It was a very hot, and humid summer day, and there was nothing to do. As they were laying there, Latesha had the idea of going out into the marsh by her house, and looking for frogs. Shaniqua immediately loved the idea, and the two friends set out to find the necessary tools for their expedition into the marshland. They dug through Latesha's garage, looking for a net to catch these frogs, and then, after looking through piles of junk for what seemed like hours, they finally found a net that was suitable for catching frogs. So they set out on their journey into the unexplored marsh to find their frogs. Read more »

I paced around my car as I pondered what to do. I would get it stuck in a snowbank. Of course. I had a bunch to do, and I drove my car off the road. I was stuck waiting for some tow truck to come save the day. 

Or maybe not. Rounding the corner I saw an old man driving a pick-up truck. Maybe he could help me. He pulled up next to me and rolled down his window. "Hey, you drove off the road?" he asked.  Read more »

Upon our arrivial at the airport, we gathered our carry-on's and scurried off the plane to claim front row seats to board our next plane in three hours. My friend Larry and I, like most travelers, bought some snacks and magazines to keep us occupied until our next flight. 

"Man, this airport brings back memories..." said Larry out of the blue.

"What kind of memories?" I asked curious to hear what Larry was going to tell me.

"Let me tell you a little story". And he began.

I was parched by the time I finall found that Strawberry Kiwi Snapple. I quickly opened it up and drank everly last drop in, what had seemed, on big gulp. Then I got that feeling. The feeling you get after you drink excessive amounts of liquids in a short period of time. Yup. I had that feeling. Naturally, I got up and looked down the long shinny stretch of, what seemed to be an endless airport, to scope out a restroom sign.

Ah ha! Jackpot. Read more »

         I don't know where I am, but I somehow know that I am alone. There is no one here. No horns or cement or steel. Not even tails of smoke curling upwards into the blue sky. I hear nothing except silence. Before I woke up here, I was dreaming of falling into black. There was no light around me, but in this dream I could see myself. My body was illuminated by the darkness. Now, I try to stand up but cannot. My legs are numb yet tingly. So I look around myself. I try to take in my surroundings. Above me there is only trees and sunlight. The same for around me: nothing but shades of green. A feeling of deja vu floods into my head: have I already been here? It's familiar and totally new at the same time. Waves of memory continue into my brain. My body knows: I've been sitting in this position before. Or maybe I haven't yet? Right: I remember I was reading in this position. I remember reading something about biology, leaning up against a tree in a close-cut field. But it wasn't in the past, was it? That moment hasn't happened yet. Right, the future. Those mountains way in the distance, I knew the name of that range at one point. Or have I learned it yet? I don't know, but I don't care either. I relax against the trunk and look into the green. I am the only one. I somehow know that there is no human here for miles in every direction. I decide I like that idea, and listen to the silence. 

             Being invisible is often a favorite choice when someone is asked what super power they would have for a day if they were able to. If I was invisible and could witness any event in history, I would not choose something extraordinary or someone famous to observe. I would observe my parents. Read more »