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Heroes Heroes abroad abroad remembered
remembered
by by families families at at home
home
Ashley Dehon
Features Writer
Personal Commentary
Living in the United States before
2001 was comfortable and cliche. It was awesome,
it was safe. But then it all suddenly came
crashing down.
On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked
two planes, and one after another they crashed
into the World Trade Center Towers. Immediately
after, soldiers were shipped off.
No one could have guessed that the
soldiers were being booked for an extended
stay. The U.S. had gone to war.
Now, four years later, the United
States has come a long way. The country has
celebrated four anniversaries of this tragic event.
The U.S. has been through a lot, seen a lot, and
felt a lot.
Although we have accomplished
many great things, the war is not yet over. Many
of the United States military forces are still in
the Middle East, and many of those serving are
parents.
Children and teenagers all over the
country have suffered for the lives their parents
gave for their country. But my experience of
being a student while one of my parents is in
Iraq has not been all that bad. Of course I miss
my mom, but the greatest feeling in the world is
knowing that my parents are heroes.
These children’s parents will be re-
Features
Features
membered for centuries for dying to save their
country. Whether they were firefighters in New
York City or soldiers in Iraq, these people will
be cherished forever.
Through the years, the U.S. has come
together and showed compassion for the soldiers
who fight for their lives. Today, citizens
are going to Iraq to save the U.S., but everyday
these people are dying inside all for the safety
of loved ones back home.
Many people can describe the way they
feel about their relative being Iraq. Most cannot
explain the way they feel when a game is
missed or a holiday.
“ My cousin is in Iraq. I miss him a lot.
He is my best friend,” said Samantha Shankles,
sophomore.
All in all, one could say someone’s
loss is another’s gain. In this case, America’s
loss just happens to be Iraq’s gain. Tragedies
will happen, but we’ll move on and create a
whole new life to live.
The Edition
The Edition Archives
The The truth truth about about Mr. Mr. C
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Where Where Where Where Where all all all all all the the the the the letters letters letters letters letters to to to to to him him him him him go go go go go
Brian Campbell
Features Editor
Mr. C, Saint Nick, Santa
Claus, Old-Fat-and-Jolly. Whatever
you choose to call him, he gets more
letters in a month than most of us do
in a year.
The branch of the U.S.
Postal Service in Albuquerque alone
receives about 400 letters to Santa
each year.
Now the question is that if
Santa gets mail, where does it go?
Well, the most obvious answer would
be the North Pole. Most of the time it
does not get there, though. Something
about insufficient postage.
Most Santa letters in the Albuquerque
area end up at the main
distribution center. Here, the mail is
sorted.
The mail that does not have
a return address is separated from
the rest and put into its new home,
the trash can.
Some of the mail is sent to
the Hope Group. The Hope Group is
a Hispanic organization that gives
presents to some needy families.
The rest of letters get responded
to by Santa Claus himself. If
your parents told you there was no
Santa, shame on them. Santa actually
exists. What your parents never told
you was what Santa actually is. He is
a well written, grammatically flaw-
less, form letter.
Some states, such as New
York and New Jersey, participate in
a program called Operation Santa
Claus. What happens is that post offices
allow people to take some of
the letters to Santa and have those
people get Christmas gifts for the
children.
For now, Albuquerque only
uses the Hope Group. Maybe next
year they could expand it into the kind
of system that other states have.
?
Brande Bernat
Opinions Writer
Parents say driving is a privilege.
Gas prices say driving is expensive. Teens
say that driving is a must.
Cars are the driving force behind
the teenage population today. They drive
teens to do well in school in order to receive
lower, “good student”, insurance rates.
They drive them to go out and get jobs to
pay for insurance and gas. They can, however,
also make a lot of trouble and much
more stress to a student’s already stressfilled
life.
Driving, just like anything else, can
be dangerous. Teenage drivers make up 7%
of licensed drivers, but account for 14% of
car related fatalities and 20% of all reported
accidents, according to drivehomesafe.com
Many accidents involving teens occur when
the driver has a friend, or several, in the
car. It puts not only the driver but also the
passengers in danger.
There is no doubt that driving is a
big responsibility and a huge monetary investment,
which brings up the question: As
a teen, is driving a benefit or a burden?
In high school, students do more
then just go to school and return home again.
After school jobs as well as extra curricular
activities can send students all around town.
Having the ability to drive can help
take stress off of students as well as parents,
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What What drives drives our our world
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who hate the job of being a chauffeur.
At the same time parents also get
freaked out at the idea of their little baby’s
lives not revolving around them anymore.
They sometimes use driving as a way of keeping
their kids closer and commonly to motivate
them.
“Driving is a benefit, but it is also
a way for parents to make you more miserable.
It is just one more thing they can take
away from you if you get in trouble. It can
also make your curfew earlier,” said Alex
Rios, junior.
Some students just have too much
going on to have a job and still keep up with
all of the other things they want to do. In this
instance, parents step in and help out with
costs.
“Driving is definitely a privilege
because it makes you more independent and
it’s cool because my parents buy me gas,”
said Tiffany Suazo, junior.
Driving can also help socially. It’s
hard to hang out with friends when you can’t
drive.
“Girls like a guy who can drive,
but right now, I think driving is not good
because I rolled over in an A.T.V. and broke
my arm,” said Zack Rockhold, sophomore.
No matter what the case may be,
it is not hard to see that to most teens, driving
is a very important part of life. It gets
you from point A to point B, and gives you
the independence all teens want.