 Tuesday, February 27, 2007
 Happy Birthday Henry Wadsworth Longfellow! You only turn 200 once!
I dare you to take a look at this picture and tell me you don't want to party with this dude. Come on! Help him blow out the candles before the roof catches fire.
Longfellow was most famous for poems like Paul Revere's Ride, and The Song of Hiawatha. Here at WORD, we like to rise above popularity contests. With that in mind, please enjoy Longfellow's lesser known poem, The Children's Hour.
The Children's Hour
-by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.
I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.
From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.
A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.
A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!
They climb up into my turret
O'er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.
They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!
Do you think, o blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!
I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.
And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!
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Monday, February 26, 2007
According to a well-worn proverb, a picture is worth a thousand words. In the February/March 2007 issue of Writing, we published a photograph in our "1,000 Words" column and asked you to write a dialogue in which you give Oscar--the celebrated mascot of the annual Academy Awards--some good advice on what to wear and how to be an examplary host. Here's one of our favorites. 
Oscar
A ten minute play by Doug Dyszlewski, Grade 8
Ten minutes before Oscar Awards start. Doug and Oscar are talking before the Awards Ceremony begins.
Producer: (Walks over to Oscar) You're on in ten minutes.
Doug: Are you almost ready?
Oscar: Yes, I have been ready for a while.
Doug: Okay, but just keep in mind that this year is going to be even bigger than last year so I hope you're prepared.
Oscar: You have said that every single year since I have done this, yet it's always the same.
Doug: I know, I know, I just don't want you to mess up or anything.
Oscar: Let me ask you this question: how could I possibly mess up if I just am standing there? I don't do anything, honestly it's really not that hard.
Doug: The reason we fired the guy before you was because he messed up. He fell on the an award winner and broke his leg. Would you want that to happen to you?
Oscar: No, but...
Doug: Don't forget we want you to look good, so if you move and scratch yourself or something like that when you're up on stage, you will be fired in a second.
Oscar: Okay then keep that blow dryer on me if you want me to look good.
Doug: This blow drying really doesn't do anything for you. It just makes me look like I'm doing something in the hustle and bustle here. Everyone is always doing something right before the Awards and I'll get yelled at if I'm not working, so...
Oscar: Well fine then, make me look better in some other way. I don't want either of us to be fired.
Doug: Okay then, I'll go get another gold suit to make you look newer. The suit that you have on is a bit wrinkled.
Oscar: Yes, that's perfect, another suit.
(Doug runs over to get another suit and then puts it on Oscar.)
Oscar: How do I look? Good right?
Doug: Perfect.
Oscar: There's still something missing...
Doug: There really isn't anything else to do.
Oscar: Okay.
Producer: (Walks over again.) You're on in three minutes.
Oscar: Wow, seven minutes have gone by fast!
Doug: It's fine... don't get stressed.
Oscar: Well when you told me how I could mess up... I'm getting nervous.
Doug: Now come on... you've been doing this for four years.
Oscar: I know but I never really thought of what could go wrong.
Doug: Nah, you'll do fine. I've made you look your best, as always.
Oscar: Okay, I think I...
Producer: (Walks over again.) One minute...
Doug: Okay, you're ready. Just go out there and look your best. That's all you have to do and you'll shine like the stars.
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Friday, February 23, 2007
- Poem by Min Kyung Lobb, Grade 11
Two girls sitting on a swing, swaying
Freely, dominating the air.
The slight breeze flies over their heads
Carrying each hair strand above to dance.
Grasping the momentum, laughter is heard
As the visions of ground and sky connect.
Like a dove they soar through the heavens
Catching each sunbeam on their faces
And jolt back down, down to earth.
Into the umbrage of the giant oak tree.
The mix of the crimson setting sun
And summer green grass blurs.
Wind howling wraps their little bodies
Fluttering their cool blue dresses
Accompanied by the violent squeak of the rusted swings
They ride away their tears.
Closing their eyes and reaching the clouds
They taste the bud of heaven.
Comforted by this sensation,
The sensation of freedom,
They unravel their hands and show their palms
And blow their troubles away.
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- Essay by Traci Harms
It was a gorgeous morning in June that I was spending at my grandparent's house. All of my little cousins did not understand the concept of a peaceful morning and it seemed like they just kept getting louder and louder. There was no way I was going to be able to take the unbearable noise that kept coming from their large mouths. I needed some time to myself to sit and enjoy the amazing day. I decided to step outside and bask in the sunlight and just get lost in my dreams where nobody would have the chance to bother me.
As I opened the huge patio door, I knew I was entering my throne of solitude. The first step out the door proved to me that this was going to be a place where I could spend my morning in peace. Everything was perfect and it was comparable to a utopia that I could only imagine to find in my dreams. The bright yellow sun was beating down on me like I was the only person it had to please. There was a slight, fresh breeze that combined with the sun to make it the perfect temperature for any person. With each step that I took I got deeper and deeper into the fairyland that I was creating.
As I walked toward the hammock with my bare feet, all I could feel was the cold, wet dew that splattered from the lush green grass to my body. A cute little bunny surrounded by fluff scurried right in front of me just as I was passing the fountain. I reached the hammock and plopped down suddenly, just to get lost in my thoughts. I thought about how sensational it was to be alone and not have to worry about anyone or anything else.
As I was laying there staring at the clear blue sky I could hear the trickle of the fountain and the neighbor's dog whimpering for food. I rolled over on my side to watch all the different critters go on with their part in nature. I saw a small, gray spider spinning his web between two branches of one of the broad oaks holding up my hammock. I could see a colorful butterfly fluttering gracefully around without a care in the world. There was also a busy little bee collecting pollen from a nearby lilac.
The fragrance of the assortment of flowers was so sweet I could almost taste it. My grandma meticulously put each flower in its correct place so she could make her backyard the best in town. I could hear all the birds in the neighborhood chirping in their own little language. I was starting to get lulled to sleep by the peaceful buzz of somebody mowing their lawn in the distance but the smell of my dad starting the grill kept me awake. Just as I took a sip of the tangy lemonade that my grandma had brought out to me moments before, my cousins figured out where I was. They came outside into my grandma's backyard pounding on drums as if they were the drum line in a parade, interrupting my fantasy. The best of my day was coming to a close and it was time for me to face what the world had to throw at me.
It was the best morning I had experienced in months. It was so surreal and there was nothing else that could have made it better. It was if I was in my own fantasyland and everything was just as I would have it. Everything pleased me and I was as happy as a three year old on their birthday.
That was one of the best days of my life and if I ever need to go to a happy place I just put my mind in my grandmother's backyard where I know everything will be just like paradise. 
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