Tarmac October 2007.pdf - Chaminade High School

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CULTURECorner by Eamonn Cummings ‘08 “The day had been a success. I enjoyed exploring a museum that I had never fully appreciated.” Better Than “A Night at the Museum” Museum of Natural History Has Even More to Offer by Day ast winter, the world “discovered” what goes on at the American Museum of Natural History at night. The movie A Night at the Museum showed the fictitious nocturnal exploits of the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History, located in Manhattan. This novel idea sparked renewed interest in the museum, which has occupied the four city blocks bounded by Central Park West, Columbus Avenue, West 77th Street, and West 81st L Street since 1869. Intrigued by the hype surrounding the movie, I set out for the museum, accompanied by my seven-year old cousin Philip, a selfproclaimed expert on the movie. Before we walked through the building’s main entrance, we looked up to the statue of President Theodore Roosevelt, whose father was one of the museum’s founders. Walking through the revolving doors into the main atrium, we were immediately met by an enormous Barosaurus fossil. Right away, I was informed by Philip that this was not the playful Tyrannosaurus rex from the movie. We began our tour of the building, looking for similarities between the real museum and the museum from the movie. The Akeley Hall of African Mammals was a favorite of Philip’s. He spent a long time there trying to find the crafty capuchin monkey that stars in A Night at the Museum, but to no avail. Next, we headed to the Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples. Quoting a line from the movie, Philip screamed, “Dumb, Dumb!” and immediately ran to the huge Easter Island head that is housed there. Although I did not see the humor in this important scientific artifact, Philip apparently found it hysterical. Although the movie focused on various points of interest in the museum, it failed to give a comprehensive view of all the exhibits offered. Determined to show to Philip that there was more than just a “large dinosaur” in the museum, I led him to some of the exhibition halls not shown in the movie. An exhibit that caught my interest was the Northwest Coast Indians Wing. Here, I discovered the dugout canoe from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. It is on permanent display and is a must-see for anyone who is a fan of the book. The Halls of Mesoamerican Peoples, African Peoples, and Asian Peoples, respectively, offered a look into cultures from around the world. The artifacts there show history as the museum was meant to present it. This important aspect was, not surprisingly, left out of the movie. Our next stop was the fourth floor, which is almost completely devoted to dinosaur fossils. I was impressed to learn that the floor is arranged so that, as visitors walk among the exhibits, they travel through time, going from early vertebrates to modern mammals. The highlight of the floor was the saurischian dinosaur section, where the museum houses its rightfully famous T-Rex. Besides its permanent displays, the museum has many other rotating exhibits to offer. Philip and I had fun walking through Mythic Creatures, where we saw what unicorns, mermaids, and dragons would look like if they existed. At the Hall of Human Origins, we got a look at our development as a species. Although this was a little over Philip’s head, he enjoyed the many interactive stations the museum offered. Just as Philip and I were heading to the Hall of North American Birds, the announcement came that the museum was closing. Since I had no intention of having my own night at the museum, we left the building and headed home. The day had been a success. I enjoyed exploring a museum that I had never fully appreciated. Meanwhile, Philip, who is a huge fan of the movie, learned that there was more to the museum than what goes on there at night. 8 COMMENTARY Tarmac • October 2007
COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME Flyers Travel to West Virginia to Lend a Helping Hand by Conor Finnegan ‘08 W alking through the cool, wet grass, six Chaminade seniors and two Brothers followed Nazareth Farm staff member Chris Panepinto over to three wooden structures. “And this here is where you shower,” he turned and said to the stunned Flyers. “You fill that bucket with water from the hose over there and rinse yourself using that second bucket next to it. Oh, and please try to limit yourself to only three showers this week.” Bewildered and anxious about what lay ahead, the eight Chaminade men continued on their tour of “the Farm.” Included on the tour were the three outhouses they would use for the week – “the Colosseum,” “Peace Out House,” and “Noah’s Ark.” “Bucket showers” and outhouses, however, were only two of the many sacrifices that the six seniors made on their trip to Nazareth Farm in Salem, West Virginia. Departing from Chaminade on August 11, seniors Kyle Blanco, John Buonocore, Zach Colen, Ryan Conway, Conor Finnegan, and Trey Thornton embarked on the 424-mile journey down south. Director of apostolic activities Bro. Peter Heiskell led the students for the week, with the help of Bro. Stephen Ries from August 11 to 16 and Bro. Patrick Sarsfield from August 17 to 19. As the yellow Chaminade bus pulled up to the house, staff members cheered and hugged the students, welcoming them “home.” “At first I thought ‘What did I get myself into?’ “ said Kyle Blanco. “But as the week went on, I realized why everyone who has been to Nazareth Farm considers it an amazing place.” Joining the Flyers were four other groups of students and moderators from New Jersey and Illinois. In total, 39 volunteers worked, prayed, laughed, and lived together by the four cornerstones of the Farm – prayer, service, community, and simplicity. At least as far as first impressions go, simplicity was the most obvious cornerstone of the four. Students and moderators were pushed to work through their “groan zones” into their “grown zones,” hearty lunch of barbecued hot dogs, soda, chips, and ice cream,” said Bro. Stephen Balletta, who spent the week at Meribah, about 10 miles east of the Chaminade campus. Most things in life, it has been said, come full circle. Four years from now, the members of the Class of 2011 will end their highschool careers with a handshake as they receive their diplomas and heartfelt congratulations from the principal. Probably more than a few of them will remember that it all began with a simple handshake and a heartfelt welcome at the front steps of the school. opening themselves up to new people, new experiences, and new ideas that they would otherwise never have encountered. Reinforcing the simplicity that prevails at the Farm, staff members asked volunteers not to use cell phones, iPods, and other electronic devices during the week in order to free themselves from distractions and to be more present to others. The real focus of the week, however, was to serve the people of Doddridge County, many of whom live below the poverty line. The volunteers did so primarily by repairing Volunteer Ryan Conway ’08 tries his hand at some home improvement in the “hollows” of West Virginia. homes. They also provided countless, less tangible acts of service: shared conversation, a shared lunch, a warm smile, a kind word. Each morning, the volunteers divided themselves into six groups of six or seven each and traveled to a different work site every day. They painted walls at a nearby church, installed gutters on one of the local houses, built a porch at another house, and put a new roof on still another – all under the supervision of the Farm’s staff. Every morning began with a prayer led by one of the groups. Throughout the week, volunteers dug deep inside themselves to strengthen their relationships with God and with the community. One morning prayer, for example, took the volunteers through the Stations of the Cross and posed questions for individual reflection, such as “Where do I see God in my life?” Following morning prayer, everyone on the Farm did chores, like mowing the lawn and packing the trucks, and then came together to eat breakfast. The community prayed together one last time before sending each group off to the work sites. After seven hard hours on the job, everyone returned home to the Farm to enjoy each other’s company in recreation and dinner. Following dinner, the six groups would share with the other volunteers the stories of their day through humorous games, reenactments, and songs. “We worked hard during the day, but we had a lot of fun at night,” said Ryan Conway. “All the laughter definitely helped to bond us together.” In the evenings, the community would pray together and then be given free time before lights out and bed. In particular, most volunteers enjoyed a popular game of “Moose,” which easily became one of the highlights of the week. More important than the game, though, were the bonds of friendships forged by it. The strong feeling of community extended beyond the volunteers to include many of the residents of Doddridge County. On the Tuesday night, residents from several nearby “hollows” (mountain valleys where clusters of homes are often located) visited the Farm to share in a delicious home-cooked meal. The conversations that followed ranged from light-hearted joking to more serious discussions about local living conditions, family, and faith. “It’s people that matter most,” said John Buonocore, “and Nazareth Farm taught me that. No matter how different the details of our lives, there’s a common bond that allows us to come together, form friendships, and do something worthwhile for our fellow man. That’s the lesson that I took away from Nazareth Farm.” “3-C Week,” continued from page 3 “Orientation Day,” continued from page 3 sophomores, juniors, and seniors to congregate on Ott Field, enjoy the free food, and swap stories from the summer that had just past. “It was great to see so many friends whom I hadn’t seen since June,” said Tom Byrne ’10. Dave Mammina ’10 was a little more measured in his assessment of Orientation Day. “It was kind of like a wake-up call,” he said, “bringing you back from summer to the reality of another school year.” Tarmac • October 2007 NEWS 9
Page 1 and 2: TARMAC Newspaper of the Chaminade F
Page 3 and 4: It All Begins with a Handshake A Re
Page 5 and 6: Don’t Drink the Water . . . But D
Page 7: Flyer Rower Competes in Beijing Ant
Page 11 and 12: Teaching Halfway Around the World P
Page 13 and 14: BUILDERS BECOME A “BAND OF BROTHE
Page 15 and 16: TARMAC Newspaper of the Chaminade F
Page 17 and 18: “Things have really changed in th
Page 19 and 20: As always, the event began with Mas
Page 21 and 22: Outward Bound by Brendan O’Shea
Page 23 and 24: Show Me the Money! Ad Drive Hopes t
Page 25 and 26: Bad As Their Bark After this blast
Page 27 and 28: PARA Chutestrings Nothing Like a Ga

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