Casey (Ben 2)

Please keep in mind this is a first draft for my newest story, Casey. The story should be finished by August 10th. Thank you for your understanding.

It’s been about seven years since I guess “my?” funeral. I met someone who changed everything. It went like this…

It was a Tuesday, and I was observing my family’s dinner party. Then I saw something strange out of the corner of my eye. Well atleast I thought I did. I THOUGHT I saw a napkin move in the gust of wind when I “flew” by. I thought it was strange but I shrugged it off, figuring it was someone else. 

But then I saw it. I saw someone floating over the floor. I stared at them. They were hugging a young girl who was sitting at the table. I watched as someone asked if the young girl would like a piece of bread. Then I saw it, I saw them look at me. I made eye contact with them then they looked away. She looked at the young girl’s plate, full of green beans, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. She whispered, “Oh darling, I miss you so much. If only I was still with you.” Then my wife, Paisley, asked if Cleo would like more pie. 

Cleo, Cleo, I wondered why I knew that name. Then, I froze. I knew exactly where I knew Cleo from. I knew her name from Iris. Iris is my daughter. My daughter, the one I lost six years ago. She passed away in a car accident. Iris was due to give birth only a few days later. By extreme chance, her child survived. I, sadly, never had any type of relationship with Cleo because, as you can infer, my body was pronounced dead, and my soul fights for access to the “real” world. But although I had found out why I know Cleo, there is still something I am missing.

A week later, I was wandering around my granddaughter’s birthday party when I spotted the woman from the week before. She was teary eyed while staring at me. Then I felt a rush of what I only can describe as joy. The woman is my daughter.

“Iris?” I started to cry tears of joy.

“Dad?” She called out,“I, I, I can’t believe it!” 

I “floated” over to her quickly. As I hugged her we cried. I knew she knew. I knew that she had known who I was for a long time, but for now, I found my daughter, and that’s all that matters. As I cried I asked,

“Where have you been! I missed you… Hey… I saw you last week. Why didn’t you say anything?” I questioned. It had been only ten minutes since I realized who she was and that was long enough to wait for an answer.

“I, I, well… I didn’t know if you…” Iris’s voice trailed off and then she spoke again, “I was worried for my daughter. I need her to be safe. I knew who you were since the beginning, but this is the first time in six years that she has been safe and happy enough for me to take my eyes off of her. I lost my father because he looked away for ten seconds. I don’t want my daughter to ever face the same pain. Even if I’m not with my daughter I trust Owen to keep her safe.”

Ben

I should have known it was a bad idea, but that didn't stop me. I had driven to Tony’s Supply Store to buy a ghost. I had just found out my wife, Paisley, is pregnant and I need someone to protect my soon to be family. I bought the scariest one I could find. His enclosure was labeled with the name “Ben”. “Ben,” I wipered, “Ben, I like Ben. Well Ben, you’re going to live with me now. Okay?”. I saw Ben nod his head slowly, after hesitating. I carefully walked closer and picked up his enclosure and brought it to the front. Giving the cashier a twenty dollar bill, she said," Are you sure you want to buy him?". I said," Yes I'm sure, I need someone to scare away the burglars that lurk near my home." She then replied," Okay then, but once you buy him he will never leave your mind, sorry, I mean side." I'd start to get frustrated, I told her," I'm completely fine with that, can I buy him or not?" I had not heard  the despair in her voice as she had warned me of the danger Ben may hold. She said," Sorry, if you sign these waivers, your total will be fifteen dollars and ninety nine cents with tax. Would you like your change?". "No" I said as I walked out with my little ghost friend, well not “little”, Ben was almost flowing out of his box.  And he wasn’t  much of a “friend” either, on the car ride home, every few minutes he would smile, but not just  any smile, it had this creepy, murderous look to it, with these pointy teeth that looked as if they were from a shark. I brushed it off thinking it was nothing, but oh was I wrong.

When I got home I released Ben from his “cage” and I froze in fear. Ben was seemingly over eight feet tall. Once I calmed down, knowing it was too late to turn back, I told him all of my rules and his job around here. I must have made Ben mad because when I was done talking his eyes grew a dark, piercing, red, as he flew into the darkness of my cold house. I started to think about how good of a job Ben is going to do not realizing the danger.

After a few months me and my wife welcomed  two beautiful daughters into the world, which we had named, Iris and Jasmine, after Paisley’s favorite flowers, and I had started to forget about Ben and the night he seemed to disappear. I also eventually decided to buy a dog after about a month because it was clear Ben was not doing his job well. I bought a big brown and black doberman. Yet, I always felt like I was being watched. To try to get rid of this creepy feeling I put up cameras and started a journal. I started to write about all the creepy things that happened to me, I wrote about how scared I was, how my dog, Hazel, was barking every night at the seemingly empty corner, and how my things were always out of place. These would be the last things I'd ever write. One dark, storming, night I was watching a movie with Paisley, Iris, Jasmine, and Hazel sleeping at my feet, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ben's piercing, red eyes in the unlit corner of my room. I felt myself start to shake remembering the night he seemed to disappear. Then, I saw his eyes get closer, and closer. Until I heard a loud, high pitched, blood curdling, phantom like, scream, coming from Ben's direction.

Then, everything got dark. A few moments later, I woke up in the hospital. I seemed to be taller than usual. I was confused why I was in the chair off to the side and Paisley was holding another man’s hand while crying. My children were also crying saying,“Daddy please be okay. We love you.” And then I heard my wife ask if the man would be okay. As the doctor checked his vitals, I decided to ask the girls what is going on. I almost fainted when I saw my body “walking” to Paisley. As I went over to her, I realized I was just floating over the floor. I tried to scream but it was no use, nothing came out. A few moments later the doctor who was called “Dr. Madison” said, “Casey should make a full recovery, although his heart attack was mild, he will still need to rest for a few days.” I had switched bodies with Ben. I started to “cry” except there were no tears, just pain, the type of hurt where you can’t  even picture tomorrow, realizing what I had done. Realizing, instead of protecting my family, I lost every way to be with my family. Now, all I can do is watch Ben live my life. A week later, “Casey” more like “Ben” was ready to leave the hospital and I followed. I watched my kids run around and play, it hurt to see them not realize I had been replaced, but I was glad they were still happy. I watched my  girls graduate, Iris with all honors and Jasmine with a scholarship to go to an acting school. I watched my daughter’s weddings, Jasmine married a kind man named Porter, and Iris, a Strong, smart man named Owen. I even watched my funeral. Apparently, Ben forgot he could not fly and fell off a bridge while on vacation, but no one will ever know that I am fine. As my children cried I couldn't hug them, tell them I'm okay, tell them I’m safe. But I figure Ben was the only dad they knew as Dad. Now I know why the cashier was trying so hard to persuade me to get something else. Even years later, I remember the pain in her eyes, knowing she might as well have killed someone. I should have known it was a bad idea. That should have stopped me… 

Read Casey(Ben 2) to continue the story although as of May 5, Casey is only a first draft. The 2nd story should be finished by June.

The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in equality for all. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929, into an unforgiving world of hatred. Although young Martin was an extremely intelligent young man who skipped several grades, he had an extremely rough life. As a child he was whipped for poor behavior and suffered from depression because he, and the rest of the African American community, was outcast by white Americans in the south. As a result Dr. King resented the white community, he eventually had enough of the unfair treatment he had seen his whole life and decided something needed to be done. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. decided he was going to make this change happen, after years of neglect and discrimination he started his movement.

Dr. King’s first speech was called “The Negro and the Constitution.” He later went on to give over 2,500 other speeches about real problems around the world. One of his most famous speeches was “Beyond Vietnam.” This speech in particular was focused on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s opinion on the war in Vietnam. Dr. King said, ”my conscience leaves me no choice,” King stated as he described his support for nonviolent means of war. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not support the vietnam war because, as he saw it, “millions of dollars can be spent everyday to hold troops in South Vietnam and our country cannot protect the rights of Negros in Selma.” in which Dr. King implied it was unjust and dishonest. “As a minister of the gospel,” he said, “I consider war an evil. I must cry out when I see war escalate at any point” Not only is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said true, it was also a major problem in the south. Oftentimes when African Americans hosted strikes, police would “deploy water jets and police dogs against demonstrators” in Birmingham. The police of Birmingham, Alabama were considered to “hold no mercy” when they attacked African Americans, having been even accused of attacking children that chose to participate in demonstrations.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that President Johnson’s war on poverty was superficial or “fake.” Even though Dr. King was never considered to have ever lived in poverty, he still had a hard life. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was stabbed, his house was bombed, he was arrested numerous times, his new house was burned down, and his property and himself were the main targets for various violent attacks. Through all of the pain, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equal rights claiming "There is nothing greater in all the world than freedom. It's worth going to jail for. It's worth losing a job for. It's worth dying for. My friends, go out this evening determined to achieve this freedom which God wants for all of His children.” Dr. King later went on to share his speeches including his incredible “I have a Dream” speech, earn a nobel peace prize, participate in movements, and much, much more. Dr. King empowered millions and still inspires to this very day.

The Sprinklers

  Little is known about Thomas Marshall. So no one knows his exact birthday. Anything about his family. Or even his past. So all people know about him is that he invented the fire extinguishing sprinkler system. Even then most people didn’t know about his invention until two years after he got a patent.

Thomas Marshall invented the fire extinguishing sprinkler system. The patent was issued on March 16th of 1872. His invention was so successful that today any building above 75 feet tall has to install the system. His sprinkler system was so well thought out that it causes minimal water damage. In addition to this the sprinklers have heat sensors that can react very quickly. Did you know that in the 1800’s buildings catching on fire were so common that during this time around one hundred forty five million acres of land burned across the globe yearly? To put that into perspective the average house covers about zero point nine acres of land. So as you can imagine his invention was very useful. So useful and helpful in fact, that his invention has been used in The U.S. for 150 years. In addition three out of every four people who are home owners said they would rather buy a house with the sprinkler system than one without it. In conclusion Thomas Marshall’s invention is a very helpful and successful invention that is used around The U.S.

Fate

I was getting breakfast in the kitchen getting ready to go to school. “Mary!” “thomas!” my mother called, “it’s back!” I looked out the window and there was a huge black cloud. I was scared though this was the third one this year, each one was worse than the last. My big brother grabbed me and I asked him to get all the cloths wet. I ran to put each one under a door or window. My mother was chasing the dog into the basement.  I grabbed the picture of my father and Thomas grabbed the last four wet clothes. We all ran to the basement and put the clothes on our faces after putting one on our dog. 

I hugged the picture of my dad and waited. A few seconds later I heard the glass shatter. I started crying. That brought back memories of my father, he was helping our neighbor when the windows shattered so he suffocated and was cut by glass. Thomas put his arm around me. My mother was crying too, but then she stopped. I called for her, no answer. My brother started calling for her, no answer. Then I called for our dog princess and she layed on my lap to show she was still here. 

The storm ended, my brother started crying once he took off his cloth. I took mine off and saw why. Mom had suffocated. I hugged Tomas. Then I started crying. “What are we supposed to do now?” I asked Tomas. “I… I don’t know.” he said. A few days later our house was torn down. Now we have to sleep in a tent. With no parents to keep us safe and we have  to find food for all of us. One day two people who were on vacation saw us. They later adopted us and now we live where there are no dust bulls. But every time a glass cup broke I started crying. I have gotten better about it now. But I am always very grateful because you never know what can happen. Now I am telling my great grand kids the story. There are still bad storms and tornadoes every now and then but the dust bulls will always be known as the worst storm of all time. It is almost like I needed to lose everything to meet my husband and be adopted into a loving family. Almost like it was my fate.  

The study of plant biology shaped the world that we have today.

What if I told you that without willow trees we would not have aspirin. Or without burdock burrs we would not have velcro. Or without wheat we would not have flour, cereal, bread, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, pasta, pizza, and more of the like. In fact without plants we would not be here today.

In the year 1954, a man named George De Menstral was hunting in the Jura mountains with his dog. After a few hours he realized burs were stuck to his pants and his dog’s legs. George wondered how they were sticking to him, so he looked into it. He found that there are dozens of small hooks sticking off of the burs that stick to animal legs. Burs adapted to do this to migrate to rural areas. In the next few years he worked to solve a big problem. George wanted to solve the problem of shoelaces and press studs on shoes, jackets, and gloves. For the next few years he worked tirelessly through night, and day, to invent something grand. Finally he found a way to make small hooks that will stick to the surface of a  course feeling square of fabric. He called these “hooks and loops” , eventually starting a company called Velcro.

In 1920, Earle Dickson, invented bandages, in New Jersey. Earle invented band-aids to “aid” his wife who often cut and burned herself while cooking. Earle was buying cotton for the company Johnson & Johnson. This company is a healthcare company and recently was renamed to Kenvue last year. This company had a big problem. In the 1920’s Johnson & Johnson only sold adhesive tape and gauze. Earle combined these products and left the company when he realized the worth. He called his company “Adhesive Bandages” and eventually shortened the name to Band Aids. Johnson & Johnson was inspired by lamb's ear, not the animal, a plant, and a rather helpful one too. For over 3,000 years lambs ear has been used to heal wounds and keep cuts clean. Overall, without a small plant called lambs ear we would not have band aids.

Did you know that over 30% of food has gluten? Gluten is a protein found in wheat and a few other crops. Without gluten bagels, pasta, crackers, bread, and more of the like, would likely cease to exist. Of course there are gluten free options, but they are twice as expensive and are over processed.

There are hundreds of other things that biology has solved. There are so many things in fact that you are probably looking at something inspired by biology as well. Maybe your bandage that was inspired by lambs ear or your paper on the desk made from a tree. Most things in your classroom have been inspired by plants. Whether you like it or not biology has likely saved your life, whether it is the map on the wall or the air that you breathe, plant biology is extremely important.

The Arlington Cemetery

Arlington Cemetery’s land was once owned by George Washington’s adopted son, George Washington Parke Custis. Later the land was used as a camp and headquarters for federal troops while the Civil war was taking place. Then the land was used as a safe place for slaves on their way to freedom. Now the land is called Arlington Cemetery. The Cemetery had its first burial on May, 13th of 1864. Today more than 400,000 service members, veterans and their families are buried at Arlington. The Arlington Cemetery also has memorials and monuments such as: The Confederate memorial, Spanish American war memorial, Civil war unknowns monument, Vietnam war memorial tree, World war 1 and 2  memorial trees and Challenger and Columbia space shuttle memorials. Even John F. Kennedy and his family are buried here. The Cemetery is an amazing learning experience for all ages. Arlington Cemetery has tours all year round. The tours are each about 45 to 60 minutes long. On tour you might witness the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The tour is even handicap accessible with tour vehicles and listening devices. The tour even allows groups of over 20 people. Arlington Cemetery is in memory of all the people that dedicated their lives to the United States of America.

If I had the opportunity to visit Arlington Cemetery, I would go. I have a large family so it would be fun to go to Arlington with everyone. I think it is really cool that the Cemetery is handicap accessible with listening devices and tour vehicles. The Arlington Cemetery seems like an amazing place to learn about the history of America. The Cemetery even has memorials for big events in America's history such as both world wars and the Spanish American war. Since each tour is about 45 to 60 minutes long, it would be something fun to do on a weekend. This seems like a great place to visit, with many memorials and historical monuments. Going is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I would buy in to.

Dear Fifth Grader,

Dear fifth grader, 

Congratulations on graduating fifth grade! Hi, my name is Avery. I am going to tell you all about sixth grade. I’m also going to tell you all my tricks to stay on track. In this letter, I will be telling you all my tips and tricks for sixth grade.

My first tip is to turn work in early. I like to do this because if you forget your work at home you can turn it in on time tomorrow. Another reason for this is in  sixth grade you lose ten points a school day for late work. My second tip is to get to class early because if you walk in as the bell rings most teachers will make you get a pass. Another trick is to always play the Quizlets and Blookets in class. I know it doesn’t seem important but it helps you prepare for the test. Something I always make sure to do is check Powerschools. Powerschools is an app we use to check our grades. Checking will ensure there are not any mistakes in your grades your teacher may have missed.

In any class, your teachers may seem mean. If they seems mad but you didn’t do anything then they are likely joking around. They are just excited to meet you. In math you may do Alecks, it is an app that teaches you math lessons you have trouble with. You may have to do multiple each week. In sixth grade we still do I-Ready. But by sixth grade people start “testing out” of I-Ready and no longer have to do it. (Do not worry if you don’t test out, I didn’t either.)

Another tip is to stay on track the whole class. If you are talking to your friends you might not finish, which will leave you with homework. Unlike elementary school, you may still have to do your work if you are absent (depending on the teacher). A final trick is to stay out of trouble. In middle school consequences are more severe. Some consequences are lunch detention and negative blooms which keep you from going to PBIS parties (if your school does them).

To sum everything up, I told you all about my tips and tricks for sixth grade. My first tip was to turn work in early. Another was to get to class early and to stay on track the whole class. My last tip was to stay out of trouble. Congratulations on graduating elementary school. Don’t stress about sixth grade; it's just like every other school year. Have an amazing summer.

Sincerely, Avery.