To My Gacky:

Gacky,

You truly were my hero, and I can't believe you are gone. It still hasn't hit me yet, that you're gone. The image of the doctor coming into the waiting room and saying, "I'm sorry there's nothing more we can do" just keeps running through my head. I remember every time friends have told me about the death of their grandads, I would say I don't know what I'll ever do without my Gacky; I think I'd die. But now it's actually happened, and I miss you more than ever. I won't ever forget you taking me to "Rockytop" as you called it even though you never wanted to go and you singing and dancing to my music. All the times when I complained about being hungry and you'd drop everything to bring me exactly what I wanted. I'll also never forget all the other memories. You always put others before yourself, and anytime I needed you, you'd be there in a heartbeat. You were everyone's hero; there was no one else in the world like you. You were the greatest person I had ever known, and I can't believe this, it just happened so suddenly. Nothing is ever going to be the same without you, and you'll always have a very special place in my heart, and you won't ever be forgotten. Every time I was upset, you were there to fix it and make it stop, but this time you are not, and that hurts more than anything. You were the only person to ALWAYS be there for me, there wasn't ever a time you weren't. You were more than a Grandad to me, you were like my dad . . . you were my Gacky. I will always love you and always miss you.

R.I.P. Gacky,

I know you are in a better place, but I still want you here with me. :(

The Kaleidoscope

The kaleidoscope of color shifted from brilliant red – gold to sand and white; the sand molded with a sleek, glistening black and then turned to pure, clean white, and back to the red – gold. I watched as it turned and shifted through this same color pattern, mesmerized. They were all so beautiful. Over and over I watched with delight at the beauty before me, all my very own. I laughed with joy as the colors grew and developed into something more beautiful and complex than anything I knew. I was truly blessed. My eyes focused beyond the beautiful color and looked into the heart. It was there I was truly happy with what I saw. The colors – this joy – were mine to keep.
But it didn’t last. Things slowly began to change. The black and sand colors began to flicker in and out. Their definition became unclear. I watched as they slowly disappeared. Tears silently filled my eyes. Then, I watched in horror as the pure white became cloudy and deluded. And then, just like that, it was gone. The only color that stood fast was the red – gold, but that didn’t seem to be enough. The kaleidoscope was broken. It fell from my numb fingers to the floor where it shattered and spread in all directions.
My knees gave way beneath me, and I fell to the ground. The tears flowed freely now, easy almost. I opened my eyes and saw the glimmering red – gold still intact. A faint shining hope edged its way into my heart. I picked up the pieces of the kaleidoscope, and went on my way down a path I was sure would always be there.

Remember 9-11

A cloud of smoke and dust, so thick it seemed that it could be cut with a knife, blanketed the city. Bloodcurdling screams echoed from every direction, while sirens blared the signals of coming paramedics, cops, and firefighters trying to save as many souls as they possibly could. They fought through the rubble while heat penetrated even the thickest of uniforms. Around them was an image few can forget: The Twin Towers broken and burning, a portion of their former glory, and bodies of thousands of American men and women found throughout the remains.



Two thousand, nine hundred ninty three people lost their lives because of this attack on our own soil. The families fo these people will forever remember the full extent of the attrocities committed. However, I fear that, as a country, we will lose sight of that. In fact, I believe that we already have.



Many people today oppose the war in Iraq. They blame George W. Bush for starting the war, but wasn't the entire country stirred up with a wrath superior to any other nation attacked in history? We were all appalled at the evil behind the act, so we stood up and with one unified voice, demanded tht Congress take action against the people behind these heinous crimes. Are we such short sighted people that we have forgotten why we all started this war? Or, worse, can we not have the same patriotic fire our grandparent and great- grandparents had durring WWII because of Pearl Harbor? We cannot stand idly by and condone such violent acts upon our nation's soil. To do so only opens a door for more opportunities of mericiless and needless slaughtering.



I say this, not just to those who oppose the war, but to every American. Let us not forget 9-11 and thus forget our patriotic duty to defend our nation's liberty at all costs. Remember 9-11.



-Ashley Reed

Beating up Coach C

By T.J. Roberts
Well, this is the famous golf story where I hit Coach Christensen in the mouth with a golf ball. Two years ago Coach C. was my golf coach. One day during practice, I hit my ball behind a tree on a par 5. Par five means that the average score or par score on that hole is 5. Well my second shot was the one that went behind the tree. I was about 14 years old during this time so I was not as advanced in golf as I am now, so I did not know how to hit all the different types of shots like I do now. Coach C. decided that he was going to attempt to teach one of these special shots to me. This special shot is called a hook or a draw. For me as a right handed person, this means that when I hit the ball it would go from right to left pretty quickly which was a perfect shot from the position that I was in.
Coach C. told me to turn my club face in towards the ground and swing around my body kind of like a baseball bat so that the ball would curve around the tree. I swung at the ball and all I heard was the ball hit the tree. I was looking to see where it went and as I went to ask Coach if he saw where my ball went, I saw him bent over holding his mouth while gushing and spitting out blood. I immediately felt horrible and handed Coach my golf towel. After the pain started to go away I saw that my golf towel, which started out white, was now 100% red and dripping with blood. Coach left the course right then and I believe he went to the doctor before going home.
The main thing that I remember about this experience was the looks and questions I got the next day at school. I can not count how many times I had to tell the story. It was so many times that I wanted to say ok let me just tell the whole class once so I do not have to say it anymore. Coach C. showed me his purple lip the next day and I think Mrs. C. would agree that it was one of the nastiest bruises that I have ever seen. But yes, this is the famous story of how I beat up Coach C.

Watch what we say? It really can be life or death for someone whose life is at rock bottom..... you just didn't know it!!

At South High-"And then I heard the sounds of fish in an aquarium and I knew that though I had tried to drown them with my words that they had only opened up like gills for them and let me in." This sentence struck me as vital in the teenage world. It doesn’t make sense that we as teens use words with utter carelessness, but when things are said to us it is taken to offence so easily. The words we choose to pour out on people really do in a sense drown them!
When you hear a sad story about another person you can sometime feel bad for them but it is always easily overlooked as you go on with your day. When that terrible thing happens to you its like your whole world is crashing on you with no one to save the day. We tend to care so little of other people’s problems just because of the simple fact that is stated so often, “It’s not my problem” or “Thank goodness that wasn’t me”! When will we ever truly make a difference in peoples lives? A better question is when will we stop making others lives worse? That seems like a harsh thing to say but in reality it’s so true! We will never really understand how our words can affect a person’s life! People can say the meanest things or even small things as a joke and never know how terrible that affected the victim of your words.
I wish so badly that we all could understand the tremendous effect words have! Words can last a life time and never leave the mind of a hurting human being. One word as simple as, for example, “blob” , like the story Mrs. C told us, can be the breaking point of someone whose life seems like a nightmare. It’s a terrible thing to wake up with the damage another person has put on you and you absolutely can not seem to make it go away.
We in America always want to be the heroes, always saving the day and making a difference. The difference that should be focused more on is fixing what is already broken. This world is filled with people who have had enough hurt! So instead of drowning them with more despair we need to help mend the damage that has been created in their life.

My Family

I love my family. We’re pretty quirky, and we all have our flaws, but we wouldn’t be the Lawrences without all of us.

Granddaddy is hilarious and has a big interest about which Indians we descended from. He used to work with wood and now he has only half of one of his index fingers. Now he works at a fort giving tours; he knows a lot about Tennessee history.

Granny is amazing. Every holiday she opens her house to all 23 of us and cooks practically every meal we have up there. She is always thinking about one of us before herself. She loves as all and puts a smile on all of our faces. She is one of the strongest women I have ever met.

My cousins and I have to most random conversations at the Grandparent's house. I look forward to every holiday to get up there to see them. Going to the lake wouldn’t be the same without them. Who else would I play Super Mario Brothers for multiple hours on end in a tiny back room?

My mom and dad are the two most important people in my life. I wouldn’t be who I am without them. They are always there for me no matter what, and I love them so much for that. My mom is my best friend in the entire universe (sorry besties); I can tell her anything. My dad is my teddy bear and knows how to really make me smile. They are the best.

The brothers, what else can I say? They have been on the “Kaitlynn Protection Unit” for a long time. They really know how to pick on me, but it’s all-good; I can just tell on them. I’ve been a really big pain to them in the past and will most definitely be one in the future. But I love them, and they know it. They shaped me into who I am today, and I am so thankful for that. They have always been there for me. And I can’t forget my sisters-in-laws; they are really cool, and I’m glad they are a part of my brother’s lives.

The last people on my list are my nieces and nephew. Man, do I love them. They don’t call me “aunt” because that would be sort of weird since the oldest is only three years younger than me. We have so much fun when they come over to the house, and I want to be the best for them. I hope they know that they can come to me for anything and that I would do anything to help them. They are a huge part of my life.

Well, that’s my family. I thought it would be cool to let you all see into the world of the people who are most important to me.

-Kaitlynn

I Thank You God

Often we blow through life caught up in work or school, and completely forget why we are here on this earth. Our purpose here is to serve God, and to do what is good in His eyes. We never really take a minute to stop and enjoy God's beauty which surrounds us everyday. We must all make every minute of everyday that God has given us count, because we never know when we have just breathed our last breath. Live life to the fullest extent for Him, and notice and enjoy his magnificence everyday.
It is easy to see God's beauty if we just open our eyes and look around us. Just like the star-lit sky that hangs over our heads at night, while our Maker hides in the midst of them with watchful eyes keeping watch of us. Or the beauty of the shining orange sun that rises every morning and sets every evening. The vast rolling green hills are also a prime example of God's beauty. There are so many beautiful things in this world that God has given to us, and we should be grateful for them.
Although there are many beautiful things on this earth the greatest beauty of all can be obtained by opening your heart to God. This beauty is the beauty of a second chance. A chance to spend eternity in Heaven with our Creator, and where all things are magnificent. This should be our main goal in life. It is almost impossible to sit around and look at God's creations and think how someone could not believe in Him. There is no excuse for letting school or work get in the way of having a relationship with God. We should be grateful for what God has given us, despite the mood we are in. And if you find yourself in a bad mood, look around at some of the things God has given you, and maybe this will make you feel better.



-Cody Butler