Layla and her family lived in a large house in a neighborhood full of kids. She made friends easily and Layla would often have friends over to play in her backyard. They’d play “Kick-the-Can” and “Hide and Seek” and run and laugh until dark. Next door lived a grouchy old man named Harry Smith. He would often grumble about Layla’s dog barking or if anyone stepped on his lawn. The kids in the neighborhood referred to Layla’s neighbor as “Scary Harry”. He would often shake his fist and yell at the children through the window to stop making so much noise. One day Layla was feeling guilty for all the names that she and the neighborhood kids called the old man next door. She told her mom about the way she was feeling. Her mom asked her what she was going to do about it? Her mom told her that she would support her in her decision. Layla knew that meant that her mom wanted her to start solving her own problems. After some thought, Layla decided to bake some of her homemade oatmeal and raisin cookies and bring them over to Mr. Smith. Nervously, she rang the doorbell and waited on Mr. Smith’s front steps. When Mr. Smith finally arrived at the door, he couldn’t help but smile at Layla as she handed him the platter of cookies. They became friends of an unlikely sort. “Scary Mr. Harry” was actually a war veteran full of fascinating stories and a great listener. Layla would share her own “war stories” of growing up, and Mr. Smith would give a comforting smile and tell her it would all be o.k. 

Marcos and Sergio were cousins and the best of friends. Their mothers were sisters and since times were tough, they shared a home. The boys had grown up together and they were similar in many ways. They shared the same interests, and even the same chores. They were quite different however in the way the handled their money that they earned for these chores. Marcos liked to save most of his allowance each week and he would only spend a little of it here and there. The rest of the money would go straight into a bank account that his grandfather help set up for him. Marcos was saving up for a Go-kart that he had wanted forever (so it seemed). Sergio, on the other hand, spent his allowance like it was burning a hole in his pocket. He was constantly buying soda pop, candy, comic books, and anything he could get a hold of. Sergio did not have any money left over to put in the bank. His bank account was bare. Months went by, and the time came when Marcos had finally saved enough money for the Go-kart that he had been dreaming about. On the big day, his mother drove him to the bank to withdraw the money for the long awaited prize. Excitement overcame Marcos as he entered the sporting goods store, and pointed out the “lemon twist-yellow hot rod (o.k. it was just a Go-kart) that he was about to buy. His mother helped him purchase the rest of the safety gear he needed for his new rig. Marcos had a blast riding his new Go-Kart at his uncle’s property. Meanwhile, Sergio watched as his cousin enjoyed the payoff of his frugality. Sergio regretted his silly spending choices and agreed to follow Marcos’ money management advice. He vowed that some day they would ride, side by side, enjoying the same “fruits of their labor”.

Ashley’s mother worked for a wealthy family ~ The Sheltons. Her mother provided maid services for them such as: cleaning bathrooms, doing dishes, washing windows, and laundering clothes. Ashley would often help around their own apartment. She and her mom would dance, listen to music, and often make a game out of even the most tedious chores. Ashley and her mother had always been close. One day, Ashley went along to the Shelton's to help her mother. Her mother had told her that “it would be fun” and that she would give Ashley a small allowance if she would help her with cleaning the house. When they arrived in the neighborhood, there was a special code that they had to enter at the gate to even get to the house. Ashley’s eyes widened as she and her mother pulled up to the mansion. The lawn was manicured like a golf course and beautiful flowers adorned the front yard. Even the bushes looked like big emerald sculptures. As they entered the home, Ashley was astonished by the grandness of the home. She asked permission to explore a little. She came upon a bedroom where she heard some crying. Peeking in the door she saw a girl about Ashley’s age and quickly introduced herself as to not startle her. The girl told Ashley that her name was Abigail. Ashley asked Abigail what was wrong and Abigail told her that she was just lonely. She went on to say that she hadn’t seen her father for two months because he was “away on business” and her mother was never around because of her work schedule. A strange feeling came over Ashley, almost a guilt, as she thought about how envious that she had always been of “rich girls”. Abigail asked Ashley if she wanted to swim in her swimming pool with her. Ashley politely declined, as she knew she was there to work. Ashley smiled and said…”maybe next time!” The girls exchanged phone numbers and made plans to get together soon. When Ashley asked Abigail what she wanted to do, Abigail replied….”Just talk.”

“Yah, that would be awesome…Let me call you right back!” Jesse hung up the phone excitedly. Blake, one of the popular kids in his class, had invited him to his birthday party. The party was going to be at Skate Central Roller Rink…his favorite place to hang out. There were cool “old-school” video games there, laser light shows, and the best pizza in town. Jesse was staying with his grandma because his parents were out of town, and he was sure that she would agree to take him to the party. Jesse ran down stairs to ask for his grandma’s permission. As he entered the kitchen, he saw his grandma sitting at the table with a board game set up and a big bright smile on her face. “You don’t think you’ll beat me twice do you?..” she said, with a twinkle in her eye. Jesse had forgotten that he had told her that they would play board games and order Chinese food, like they often did together. Despite his guilty feeling, he couldn’t resist asking her if he could go to Blake’s birthday party instead. His grandma, trying to hide her disappointment, gave Jesse a gentle smile and agreed to take him to the party. At Skate Central they played video games, skated, and ate pizza. Everyone was having a blast. Everyone that is, except for Jesse. He felt horrible for leaving his grandma home alone and breaking their plans together. Jesse’s friends even commented and asked him what was up with his bad mood. Jesse finally couldn’t stand his guilty conscience any longer, and staying at the party just wasn’t worth it. He asked to use the phone at the front desk to call his grandma to see if she could pick him up early. “Of course honey…I’ll come to get you. Is everything alright?” his grandma replied worriedly. ~ Even though Jesse’s grandmother was not mad at him for going to the party, he was angry with himself for being selfish. He made himself a promise that night.

Trinity wanted a puppy so badly and begged her mom and dad for one whenever an opportunity came up. She had always loved dogs and would watch National Canine Competitions and any dog shows she could find on television. Trinity desperately wanted a pure bred German Shepherd ever since she had seen “Aphrodite - Goddess of Beauty”, win the BEST IN SHOW in the National Kennel Club Competition. She decided that she wouldn’t be satisfied with just any dog. Trinity’s birthday arrived and her heart pounded as her dad carried in her gift which was hard to disguise. It was obviously a puppy kennel with a blanket strewn across it to conceal its contents. Wild with excitement, Trinity raced over and ripped off the blanket. Her eyes fell upon the contents of her gift, and there looking up at her was a scruffy, awkward little puppy. Trinity tried to act thrilled to receive a puppy that she had always asked for. But, inside she was deeply disappointed with the scrawny, little, floppy-eared “mutt” she saw in front of her. This pup was certainly a far cry from “Aphrodite - Goddess of Beauty”. Trinity’s father explained that he had gotten the puppy from a friend at work who needed to find a home for the puppy. It was the runt of the litter and no one was interested in adopting him. Her dad went on to say that he was sorry that he couldn’t get her a German Shepherd pup like she had wanted, but they were just too expensive. The puppy whimpered, poked his nose out of the kennel, and blinked his little brown eyes as he looked up at Trinity. Trinity’s heart immediately softened and she pulled him from the kennel into her arms. The puppy gently licked her face and nibbled on her ear. She felt a little ashamed of how she felt at first and quickly had a change of attitude. She ended up naming the puppy Gus, and he grew up to be loyal and smart. Gus had become Trinity’s best friend and although Gus would probably never win any fancy competitions, he had won her heart. 

The big day had arrived of the “Pride Assembly” at school. Three times a year, students were recognized by their teachers for academic success and behavior. The winners would receive a fancy certificate, recognition from the principal, a t-shirt, and their pictures were taken and hung up on the “Wall of Fame”. After the ceremony, cake and punch were served to the winners. Parents of the winners were notified to come to see the ceremony and the whole school watched as the few selected students received their awards. It was a big honor for the students who received the award. The recipients remained a secret until they announced the “Pride Award” winners at the assembly. The kids were called to the auditorium and the audience was abuzz of kids whispering to each other about who they thought would receive the awards. They kept turning to look at the back where the parents sat to see if they could get a glimpse of whose parents or family were there. Often, it was fairly obvious to the students who was going to receive the awards. It was time for the teachers to announce the winners of the awards and hand out the certificates. Several names were called and the children clapped as their classmates received their awards. Some students in the audience gave the winners a “thumbs-up”, while others pouted because they thought that they should have won. Just as the ceremony was coming to a close, Ms. Valdez, the principal, announced that she had one more special “Character Award” to give. She began by saying that the boy winning this award was a student who she saw in the grocery store one day. Ms. Valdez said that this student did not know that she was there as she was behind him in the checkout aisle. She watched as this boy was polite and courteous to the clerk and even returned a fifty dollar bill to a gentleman who had dropped it. ~ As Ms. Valdez announced the name of this student, she ended by saying that what had impressed her the most about this boy was that this behavior was displayed even “when no one was looking” ..... (so he thought).

Adam had never learned to snowboard or ski. When he moved to a mountain town called Winter Gulch, he met a group of kids from school who went snowboarding almost every weekend. Winter sports were such a big deal that the kids had a longer school day Mondays through Thursdays and didn’t attend school on Fridays so they could go snowboarding or skiing. This I could get used to, Adam thought , and besides... how hard can snowboarding really be? The kids from school finally asked Adam if he wanted to go with them to “take a couple laps through the terrain park and stomp some big jumps”. Everyone just assumed that Adam could snowboard or ski. Adam was too prideful to tell them that he couldn’t, and that he had never even been in the mountains until he and his family moved to Winter Gulch. Adam couldn’t believe that he had just let them believe that he was a snowboarder. He agreed to meet them at the resort. When Adam arrived at the park, all the kids had their own boards and gear. He told the kids that he needed to rent some gear for the day and made some excuse as to why he didn’t have his own. He went on to say that he would meet up with them later. Adam went up the ski lift and fell immediately as he unloaded. He prayed that none of the kids had seen him. He knew right away that the sport was much harder than he first thought. Adam fell on his face; he fell on his back; he fell on his side, then he almost ran into someone. He was totally OC (out of control)! He lost his goggles, hat, and gloves… what a “yard sale”! An instructor saw Adam struggling and approached him to help. Together they got down the mountain. Adam was visibly shaken and exhausted from his first run. Just then, Drake, one of the kids that he was supposed to meet, rode up to him and sprayed him with snow. Drake pushed his goggles up and said, “Dude….I saw what happened,…that was gnarly!” “Why didn’t you just tell us you didn’t know how to shred?” “We can help you bro…that’s what friends do.” 

 It is estimated that over twenty million pounds of candy corn are sold in the US each year.  Brach's, the top manufacturer, sells enough candy corn to circle the earth 4.25 times if each piece were laid end to end.  That's a lot of candy corn, but that's nothing compared to Tootsie Roll production.  Over 64 million Tootsie Rolls are produced every day!  But even Tootsie Rolls have got nothing on the candy industry's staple product, chocolate.  Confectioners manufacture over twenty billion pounds of chocolate in the United States each year.  Now that's a mouthful! 

Where is the Grand Canyon? Most people think it is in Arizona. However, many other states have their own grand canyons, too. The Waimea Canyon is known as the Grand Canyon of Hawaii. People in North Dakota think of the Painted Canyon in that state as their grand canyon. And Californians use the nickname for a canyon on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. This underwater grand canyon is officially called the Monterey Bay Canyon. 

A jingle dress is for special occasions among the Ojibwa people. Often, Ojibwa women and girls wear a jingle dress at powwows. These are social gatherings where people do traditional dances have fun. A jingle dress has small metal cones hanging from it like a fringe. The dress makes a jingling sound when a girl dances. According to a story, a jingle dress helped cure a young girl. That is why the Ojibwa believe that the jingle dress is a healing garment. 

 In his sophomore year of high school, Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina.  But at five feet and eleven inches tall, the coach believed that Jordan was too short to play at that level, so Jordan was cut from the team.  Jordan didn't let this obstacle defeat him.  In fact, it pushed him to work even harder.  He trained vigorously and grew another four inches the following summer.  When he finally made the varsity squad, Jordan averaged 25 points a game and went on to become one of the greatest basketball players in history. 

Tammy and Sammy were both students in Mr. Morton's reading class.  Mr. Morton wasn't too strict about deadlines, and Sammy took advantage of that.  He did all of his homework in his other classes but never bothered to complete Mr. Morton's reading assignments, figuring that he could complete them later.  Tammy, on the other hand, completed each assignment Mr. Morton assigned the night that he assigned it.  She had to stay up a little later, but she didn't want to get a penalty for turning in her reading work late.  Tammy knew reading was a core subject and that she had to keep "C" average for the entire year or she would have to go to summer school.  When the end of the quarter came, Tammy and Sammy had both planned on going to the Enchanted Castle amusement park, but Mr. Morton called Sammy's mother, and she grounded Sammy until he turned in all of his work.  That weekend was horrible for Sammy.  He stayed up until 2:00 AM each night and still couldn't complete all of the assignments.  The whole while, Tammy had a great time eating pizza at Enchanted Castle, watching movies late at night, and enjoying her weekend free of stress and pressure.  At the end of the quarter, Sammy was lucky to squeak by with a "C" minus in reading while Tammy earned an "A."  Sammy still hasn't learned his lesson and probably won't complete this activity either.

As young Americans mature into adults, they are tempted by the allure of easy credit.  Credit card companies attempt to ensnare young people by giving away “free” headphones or sports towels in return for completing credit applications. Many of these young people go on to accumulate debt through undisciplined spending.  They pay much more than the original loan because they are charged a high rate of interest and it takes them years to repay their debts.  It is best to avoid this debt prison altogether.   

I knew it was the wrong decision when I saw the butterfly flutter from my palm and fly out of sight. The wings were mostly a brilliant orange with black veins running throughout. The outer edge of the wings had a thick, black border. Decorating the border of its wings were pearly white spots ranging in size. At the upper corner of the top set of wings were teardrop shaped, reddish-orange spots. I still remember to this day all this detail. With it gone, I had to focus again on my brother and his friends as they played their baseball game at our local park. Actually, that’s not true at all. I wasn’t really focused on their game, but my anxiety about being next up to bat. I didn’t play sports ~ I still don’t ~ but my older brother brought me along. In his words, “C’mon Billy, I just think you need to move your body a little more.” There was no cruelty in his words, but they stung nonetheless. I knew that he meant I was too “soft in the middle” and needed to slim down a little and look more like he did. ~ There I was standing on the sidelines of our local park’s baseball diamond. I guess I was standing there out of self blame for being a quiet, shy boy who watched life from his bedroom window and drew pictures of nature and wrote adventure stories of talking trees and animals. I was standing there because I told my brother I would play, but when that butterfly flew away, I knew I made the wrong decision. ~ You see, I went on to make a fool of myself that day. I know the age old advice…If at first you don’t succeed; try, try again. I realized that I didn’t want to succeed in baseball, nor any sport for that matter. That day, I really just wanted to watch that butterfly and maybe think of an adventure to write about