Special to the R-C
Moving to Alaska
by Jay Clark
Broken down, again. We had already gone through two U-Haul trucks and both had broken down. They assured us this one was brand new and would last all the way to our destination without another hitch. My father was becoming quite upset and my mother was beginning to question the reality of our predicament.
Let me start from the beginning. It began with my father's dream of moving to Alaska. He told my brothers and me about how he had longed to live in the land of the midnight sun, but at the age of 10 I only took it as another bedtime story. Then one Friday at dinner, my father told us we were moving. At that point of my life I was ready to begin another year of fun with my new friends, but instead would be spending the first two weeks of school on the Alaska-Canadian Highway.
I remember moving day like it was just yesterday. I remember packing up the huge U-Haul truck that would inevitably cause so much pain and frustration. I can still see the light blue house that I called home for some of the happiest days of my childhood. I remember smelling the flowers my mother and I planted the previous March and seeing them blossom made my heart glow with cheer. That house held a lot of memories for my family. It was a sad, sad day to have to leave it all behind.
We were soon on the road and anxious to get to our final destination. The miles seemed to just fly by and before I could blink, we arrived at the Canadian border. I can remember the scenery just melting into wilderness and wildlife. It was the most drastic change in surroundings I have witnessed to this day. Everywhere you turned there was a bear or a caribou. I can remember the first cafe we went into and it smelled like my grandmother's house. It was the coziest little shack and the owners were more than helpful with our many questions about the Canadian unknown.
We soon drove into our first Canadian "city" which was called, actually I can't remember what it was called but I remember it wasn't much of a city at all. Right away we went into a store and bought enough junk food to last us until the next century and we walked back to our hotel to attempt to put a dent in the mountain of snacks. I remember my parents arguing and having to unload our U-Haul and wait for two days for a new one to come. I am fairly confident the engine blew out or something along those lines. So we had to sign all new papers, load our new U-Haul up with all of our possessions and hit the road once again. This time with a better smelling truck.
I can still remember the taste of my first club sandwich, which I had in Watson Lake. It was magnificent, the most perfect sandwich ever created in my opinion. The lake itself was quite beautiful too but you couldn't stand being around it for too long, for if you did the giant, blood-sucking birds that the locals called mosquitoes would eat you alive. This place was all right, I finally decided as we were preparing to leave. Just as I was buckled in, something went wrong. We were drifting down the road and my dad was yelling at me to grab the radio to call my mom to tell her what is going on. The breaks had gone out. This trip was beginning to become a real adventure.
We spent two weeks in Watson Lake waiting for that part. During the ordeal I became acquainted to almost every child my age in Watson Lake. I asked them what there was to do for fun and I got a long list of activities. I had my checklist and the town was mine to roam. I tried to persuade my parents to go back to the lake for another go at swimming but they would have no part in those overgrown bugs. I remember Watson Lake because I had a great time there but what I cannot remember is breaking down three times, getting two brand new U-Hauls and finally rolling into Cordova, our final destination. The reason I can't remember those occurrences very well is because they weren't fun for a 10-year-old boy. I guess that's how the human mind works.
Love/Hate
by Martha Robles
My heart says i love you
My head says what a fool
You play so many games with me that i often don't know what to do?
Should i stay and fight?
Or do i just need to see the light
Lies are always coming out of your mouth and i doubt anything you say is true
Why am i such a fool?
You make me feel like the best thing in the world
And you take me to a place i can't describe
I get tears and butterflies at the same time
Its almost worst than a cut with lime
I have waited 4 years
And all i have gotten are tears
I don't know how i can be so head over heels
I guess that's the way love feels
So i gotta deal
Everyone says just let go it will be okay
But that's not a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
Friends
by Martha Robles
We were the two friends who didn't care about anything but our friendship
The kind that had nothing to lose but so much to gain
The kind that would sit and talk about anything and everything
The kind that were so involved with other people to see what was in front of us
We could have had it all but you let us fall
Fall to a place that we couldn't get back from
We lost it all in one night with one conversation
Now after all that wasn't said
Our friendship is done
I'll always keep the memories in my heart of the two friends who had it all
But decided to let it fall.
n Jay Clark and Martha Robles are students in Yuliya Ritchey's English and creative writing classes at Coleville High School.
