Book Review -- The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards

Imagine a time when children that were born with physical defects or problems were given away to institutions and special needs homes. In The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards, Dr. David Henry gives one of his twins, Phoebe, away after he figures out that she is born with Down's Syndrome. This book starts in 1964, where Norah Henry and David Henry are rushing to his medical clinic in the midst of a freak blizzard to deliver their child. Caroline Gill, a nurse at the clinic, helps deliver the child. After their son Paul is born, Norah experiences more contractions, and she gives birth to a baby girl, Phoebe. David automatically realizes that Phoebe has Down's Syndrome, and sends her off with Caroline to a mental hospital some miles away. He later tells Norah that Phoebe had died during birth, while the truth is that Phoebe is in the care of Caroline. Norah mourns the death of her child, while Caroline takes Phoebe as her own and raises her. David later finds out that Caroline decided to raise Phoebe as her own, and withholds this secret from Norah. Norah and David lead a seemingly normal life, and Norah still doesn't know that her daughter is still alive.
During the 1960's, it was actually quite common for parents and doctors to send babies that had Down's syndrome or other diseases to mental hospitals. Another book that shines a light on this issue is Petey, by Ben Mikaelsen. Petey is born with cerebral palsy, and spends his life in a mental institution, unlike Phoebe in The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Phoebe is raised by Caroline, who fights the public education system so that she could attend public school. Paul is continued to be raised by his parents David and Norah. The memory of her daughter's death still slightly haunts Norah, but she seems to have moved on by this point in the story. David still communicates with Caroline, and when he gets a camera for his birthday, he starts photography as a time-consuming hobby. Caroline helps allow children like Phoebe to enter public schools, and marries her friend Al, who was a truck driver who had helped Caroline and Phoebe the night after Phoebe had been born. David gets further into his photography, and even holds an art show after his photography becomes somewhat well-known. Norah gets a job in a travel agency after Paul starts school. She later goes on to own the travel agency after the original owner passes away. They continue their lives, with Norah still not knowing about Phoebe, and David and Caroline still keeping contact.
Fast forward to 1977. The twins are now thirteen years old. Phoebe has just been confirmed, and Paul is anaccomplished musician, aspiring to attend Juillard. David and Norah's relationship is struggling. While in vacation in Aruba, Norah has an affair with divorcee Howard. Paul and David both know about the affair, so this dillema sends David further into his photography. 1982: Phoebe and Paul are now 18-years-old. Paul has been accepted to Juillard, and Phoebe is still living with Caroline and Al. Al has a bad trucking accident which causes him to end his career in the trucking business.
Go forward another six years. David has died of a heart attack, and Norah and Paul find all his photographs, including photos of their long-lost daughter. Caroline finds out about David's death, and sets up a meeting so Norah can finally meet the daughter she never knew was alive.
The theme of this story is that love endures all obstacles. Norah still loved Phoebe as if she had known her her whole life. It also shows that love will hide the greatest secrets. David's strong love for his wife made him hold the secret of his daughter inside. Caroline loved Phoebe as if she was her own daughter, just as Norah would learn to love her after meeting her 24-year-old daughter for the first time in her life. I highly reccomend everyone to read this book. It's a great book, and I think that a lot of people would like it.

Restaurant Review - Oliva's

The Spanish two and three classes went to Oliva's Mexican Restaurant for lunch last Thursday. When we got in there, I thought it had a nice atmosphere and it was a lot of fun. It was nice to only have the Spanish two and three classes go because if Spanish one would have came with, we may have filled up the whole restaurant. The wait staff were very friendly, and one of the waiters, coincidentally, didn't speak Spanish. That was kind of nice for those in the group that weren't that good at speaking the language. Most of the people had ordered this one drink, (I can't remember the name), but it was like a rice shake with a cinnamon-y twist to it. I thought it was pretty good, but I still had to faithfully stick with my Dr. Pepper. Once everyone had ordered and were visiting with each other, Senora brought out the Spanish two book. We reviewed terms and other things like that while we waited for our meals. It was a good way to pass the time while we were waiting. If we got a question right, we received a prize, which was a little wood turtle or a small flip-flop key chain.
The food at Oliva's was really good. Though it tasted a little bland, it was all really filling and tasted really good. I had ordered an enchilada de queso, or a cheese enchilada. Most people are used to eating a enchilada that it round and stuffed, well at least I am. The enchilada was flat, and didn't have much to it, but it was pretty big and filled me up quick. Also on the plate were rice and refried beans with mozzarella cheese. All the food in the restaurant was home made, which added to the authenticity. They had a lot to pick from on the menu, including salads, pasta dishes, and authentic mexican food. For dessert, I had ordered flan. Flan is a caramel custard. It was very rich, and I liked it, but I'd still have to say that the flan that is served at Los Agaves across town is better. I think that everyone that went along for the trip would agree that we had a good time at Oliva's, and that most of us would like to go back again another time.
Now, onto the prices. Yes, the prices were high, but for what you received, Ithink that the prices were pretty reasonable. My meal consisted of a cheese enchilada, flan, and a glass of Dr. Pepper, and totaled up to about $18.50. The flan alone was almost five dollars, and I think that the drink was about two dollars, so that means that the main course was about fifteen dollars. Oliva's isn't the place to go if you're low on cash. I highly reccomend going there, although it is somewhat expensive. I thought the wait staff were very friendly and hospitable, and it was definatley a fun trip. I would go back and eat lunch there again if I was able to.

NEWS 4-30-09

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/30/swine.flu.outbreak/index.html
There have been 109 confirmed cases of the swine flu in the United States. Eleven states have confirmed reported cases of the swine flu.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/30/netherlands.queen.car/index.html?iref=mpstoryview#
A man was charged with trying to attack the Dutch royal family when his car ran into an open-top bus carrying Queen Beatrix of the Neatherlands. Four people were killed and 13 were injured.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/30/missing.teen/index.html
A grainy surveillance video from a hotel may help lead to clues in the disappearance of a teen. There was a possible sighting of Brittanee Drexel on a bus on Wednesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/04/30/saudi.child/index.html
An 8-year-old Saudi Arabian girl was finally granted divorce from her 47-year-old husband after three hearings. Her marriage to the man was arranged by her father to pay back debts for the man.

Article - Final

Several Tongue River High School students attended music festival activities in Buffalo and Sheridan on April 21 and April 22. On Tuesday, April 21, the students left the school at 6:30 a.m. and went to Buffalo High School. There they performed small ensembles, solos, and numerous other things. There were vocal solos from several people in the choir, including Anna Dobrenz, Sam Farnum, Travis Shuck, and Payton Gibson. A trio from the choir performed "El Shaddai." Small ensembles from each section in the band also performed for the judges in Buffalo. The ensembles consisted of a low brass ensemble, a flute ensemble, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, and a percussion ensemble. Most of the ensembles received a two from the judges. The rating system is based on a scale of one to five, with one being the best. A few of the ensembles received a three, but nothing below that. The ensembles and solos all did pretty well at the music festival in Buffalo. Some solos from Jessie Boll, Chris Maze, and a few other students were also performed at festival.
The full band and full choir performed at Sheridan High School the next day. The band was almost late due to some of the band members taking the ACT that morning. They performed Concert Variations, and three movements of the four featured in John Muir Suite. John Muir Suite was composed by Kirk Vogel, and embodied the beauty and spirit of the Yosemite area in California, experienced by John Muir. The band played only the first three movements in the piece, due to time. The choir performed that afternoon. They sang four pieces for festival. The first, Arirang, was a Korean Folk Song, the second, Russian Picnic, was definitely fun to sing. The tenor and soprano solo, performed by Anna Dobrenz and Payton Gibson, was commended by the judges. The third, A Gaelic Blessing, composed by John Rutter, was a slow, moving piece that had several beautiful harmonies. The choir finished with off American Folk Rhapsody. At this time, the choir had taken off the choir robes, revealing western looking clothes for the last song. American Folk Rhapsody consisted of three songs; Cindy, Simple Gifts, and Pick a Bale of Cotton. Cindy and Pick a Bale of Cotton were both high energy, fun songs, while Simple Gifts had contrasted it with harmonies and a slower tempo. Both the choir and band had received a two for their performances.
All of the ensembles and solos had done well at festival this year, as did the band and choir. The song choices were appropriote and well performed for festival, showing the true talent of the band, choir, and all the ensembles. All that performed had recieved nothing less than a three, which was good. Next year will be a new opportunity to show their talent again, with new members and a new director. There are only a few seniors in band that will be leaving the band at the end of this year, and hopefully the band stays strong with all the juniors, sophmores and freshmen that are currently in band.

Haunting in Connecticut Review

For those of you that like psychological; movies that have a hidden meaning, then I recommend that you do not see Haunting in Connecticut. If you like those kinds of movies that make you jump, and make you sit on the edge of your seat, then go right ahead and see this movie. Personally, I did like the plot of the movie, I just believe that they might have overused the BOO! method, just a little. Okay, maybe they used it every five minutes. You could tell when something was about to pop out at you, just from listening to the eeriness of the music. If the music wasn't a clue that something was going to happen, then the hesitation of the character could tell you to put the popcorn down, because you may just spill it all over your friend's lap if you're holding it for another minute. I just believe that the sudden change in music, environment, or attitude were clear signs that something was about to go awry.

At the beginning of the movie, it said, "Based on a True Story," but how much of the movie was actually fact? In reality, the family that was living in the home reportedly "couldn't keep their stories consistent with other family member's stories." So how true is this movie if the people actually experiencing this ordeal couldn't keep the facts straight? Plus, several of the instances in the movie were amplified to make them sound worse than they were in real life. One of the only true facts about the movie and the real story is that the son had cancer, and that the house was previously a morgue and funeral home. If you take the time to research this story, you would find that the houses look nothing alike. The house in the movie is an old, large, stone home, surrounded by trees, whereas the real home is in a residential area, has no stone whatsoever, and looks nothing like the house depicted in the movie.

The acting in the movie was another thing. I actually thought this was very well done. The plot was great, and the acting was also pretty good. The fear of the actors in certain scenes was clearly identified by the person watching the movie. The acting clearly showed that the actors were scared of the demons, or whatever was possessing the home. After the family had moved in, the son that had cancer moved into the basement, which was previously the entrance to the morgue part of the house, which was concealed behind two double doors in his room that they could not open, until one day it miraculously opened. The teen had seen corpses, wrapped up kind of like mummies. They lined the shelves and tables in the morgue. He kept feeling presences until they became virtually unbearable. After going to the hospital, with his parents being told that he only has a few weeks to live, he runs home and proceeds to tear down the wallpaper from the dining room, revealing several corpses that had been taken from their graves by the previous owners. He sets the room on fire, and is saved by his mom and a group of firefighters. Earlier in the movie, the son had premonitions, if you could call them that, of a young boy named Jonah, who had lived and died in the house as an assistant to his father, the owner of the morgue. Jonah was able to pull ectoplasm from his mouth during séances held in the house. Ectoplasm is said to be a psychic thing, and it is like a material that comes from places on a person during a séance, such as the mouth or nose.

I thought the plot of the movie was very well done, but at points the situations felt overused. The acting was good, and some of the methods use to scare the watcher were overused.

Article: TR Musicians Shine At Music Festival

Several Tongue River High School students attended music festival activities in Buffalo and Sheridan on April 21 and April 22. On Tuesday, April 21, the students left the school at 6:30 a.m. and went to Buffalo High School. There they performed small ensembles, solos, and numerous other things. There were vocal solos from several people in the choir, including Anna Dobrenz, Sam Farnum, Travis Shuck, and Payton Gibson. A trio from the choir performed "El Shaddai." Small ensembles from each section in the band had also performed for the judges in Buffalo. The ensembles consisted of a low brass ensemble, a flute ensemble, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, and a percussion ensemble. Most of the ensembles received a two from the judges. The rating system is based on a scale of one to five, with one being the best. A few of the ensembles had received a three, but nothing below that. The ensembles and solos had all done pretty well at the music festival in Buffalo. Some solos from Jessie Boll, Chris Maze, and a few other students were also performed at festival.
The full band and full choir performed at Sheridan High School the next day. The band was almost late due to some of the band members taking the ACT that morning. They performed Concert Variations, and three movements of the four featured in John Muir Suite. John Muir Suite was composed by Kirk Vogel, and embodied the beauty and spirit of the Yosemite area in California, experienced by John Muir. The band played the first three movements in the piece, due to time. The choir performed that afternoon. They sang four pieces for festival. The first, Arirang, was a Korean Folk Song, the second, Russian Picnic, was definitely fun to sing. The tenor and soprano solo, performed by Anna Dobrenz and Payton Gibson, was commended by the judges. The third, A Gaelic Blessing, composed by John Rutter, was a slow, moving piece that had several beautiful harmonies. The choir finished off the American Folk Rhapsody. The choir had taken off the choir robes, revealing western looking clothes for the last song. American Folk Rhapsody consisted of three songs; Cindy, Simple Gifts, and Pick a Bale of Cotton. Cindy and Pick a Bale of Cotton were both high energy, fun songs, while Simple Gifts had contrasted it with harmonies and a slower tempo. Both the choir and band had received a two for their performances.
All of the ensembles and solos had done well at festival this year, as did the band and choir. The song choices were appropriate and well performed for festival, showing the true talent of the band, choir, and all the ensembles. All that performed had received nothing less than a three, which was good. Next year will be a new opportunity to show their talent again, with new members and a new director. There are only a few seniors in band that will be leaving the band at the end of this year, and hopefully the band stays strong with all the juniors, sophmores and freshmen that are currently in band.

Op-Ed: Wrestling Isn't That Special.

Recently, one of my classmates, Andrew Lobach, posted an editorial stating that our school needs a wrestling team, for numerous reasons. How many people in our school would really be interested in wrestling though? Also, have you seen how many students attend TRHS? Not enough to support another sport in the school. TRHS has three seasons essentially: football, golf and volleyball, basketball, and track with another round of golf. A lot of students participate in those sports, and when is there time between those sports to add in another activity that requires participation from numeerous people already involved in something. Also, some students go into Sheridan and participate in the soccer, indoor track and hockey programs. If you look at it this way, there is no time for people to get involved with wrestling if they are already busy with something else that takes up a lot of the year.
Andrew mentioned that people involved with wrestling had a special bond that no one else in the sport's world has. Wait, isn't that said about every sport? Doesn't every sport require loyalty, dedication, pride, respect and wisdom? Of course. Wrestling isn't the only sport out there that requires those qualities. In our community, basketball, football and volleyball are major sports, and are highly looked upon. How much attention would wrestling get? If you look at how many students our school has, that just doesn't make the cut for a wrestling team. So far, the only interest I've seen in wrestling for this school is from the author of the editorial I'm opposing. Wrestling isn't that special of a sport. It's just like the other sports out there. In my opinion, we wouldn't have enough people to participate in this sport to keep it up and running in our small community. If someone really wants to participate in wrestling, doesn't Sheridan have a team? They aren't that far away, and people who want to participate would most likely benefit more from an experienced team.