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     the views of either the ALC or of Independent School District 518.

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The Worthington ALC

Insider

Volume 2, Issue 24                                                        April 15, 2005

 

Pope John Paul II

A man to remember

 

By Cody Phrommony

 

     Pope John Paul II has left us, a man of great achievements who was also one of the most powerful forces on earth.

 

     The man we know as Pope John Paul II was born on May 18, 1920 in a town called Wadowice, Poland. His name was Krol Wojtyla and he took his first holy communion at age 9.  He was confirmed at age 18.

 

    At age 22 he first realized he wanted to go into priesthood. He began courses in a clandestine seminary in Poland run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, archbishop of Cracow.  At that time, poloand was occupied by the Nazis and the official seminaries had been closed down.

 

      He finished his doctorate in theology in 1948 with a thesis on the topic of faith in the works of St. John of the Cross. On January 13, 1964, he was nominated Archbishop of Cracow by Pope Paul VI, who made him a cardinal June 26, 1967.

 

     John Paul II became the Pope in 1979.

(Continued à)

 

 

The Pope made many travels. He traveled to places in the U.S. such as New York, Des Moines, Boston, and Washington. The Pope took a lot of time to see everyone.  That is one of the reasons why John Paul II was such a great pope.

 

     These are my last thoughts on the Pope.  It seems that this Pope has done so much for all of us. He will forever be known as one of the most remarkable Popes in history.  I hope everybody takes some time to read something on John Paul II and remember the good he has done.

 


 

The Insider                              April 15, 2005                                  Page 2

 

Save a life?

 

By Theresa Johnston

 

     What do you think about when somebody says, “Save a life?”  Do you look back on your life?  Or maybe you think of children who have it worse than you do.  What about children and babies who are abandoned, abused or neglected every day?  Every year!  What about them?  Are they unimportant enough to save?  If you don’t think so, put yourself in their place.

 

     Imagine yourself in dirty, smelly clothes that barely fit you because your parents don’t care enough about you to buy clothes that fit or to wash the ones you have.  Your body is skin and bones because you barely get fed, so you look in the garbage for scraps.

 

     Now it gets worse…  Your  parents come home drunk and/or on drugs, and you are the punching bag.  Imagine they beat you so bad that you can’t see or walk  All you can do is retreat to a cold, dark place that only has a couple of sheets to lay on, and you cry and pray for the day it will end.

 

    Now would you save a life?  What if this was you?  Has this changed your mind?  This is neglect.  Why do people do it?  There is no simple answer to this question.  The causes of neglect are many:

 

 

 

Every life is worth saving

 

  • Lack of knowledge and understanding
  • Inability to properly cope with pressures of life
  • Social isolation or lack of a support group
  • Poverty or unemployment
  • Alcohol and/or drug abuse
  • Low self-esteem
  • Poor health of a parent or guardian

 

     Did you know that there are over 4000 children neglected and abused every day?  That’s sad.  You know, it doesn’t always have to be a parent or guardian that abuses you.

 

     I know.  I was abused every day by someone in my family other than my mom or dad.  I remember one day when I got beat so bad before school that at lunch, I passed out while playing on the tire swing.  It was strange because I could hear people talking to me but I couldn’t wake up.

 

     Don’t laugh at the kids who look dirty or smelly.  Most of you have no idea what they might be going through.  So next time someone says “Save a life,  take it to heart, because it might be yours that they are saving!

 

 


 

The Insider                              April 15, 2005                                  Page 3

Sony PSP

 

By Manuel Garcia

 

     There’s a new hand held system in town. And the name of it is the Sony PSP.  PSP is short for Play Station Portable.  This state-of-the-art handheld gaming system is not only a game system, it has the ability to act as an MP3 player with its attached memory stick.

 

     The PSP also has the ability to play specially made full-length movies because of the new UMD technology which allows for storing up to 1.8 GB on a single tiny disc.  Those are just some of the features this amazing machine possesses

 

     The screen is big for its size, and the visuals on it are better than any other handheld system before it.  The PSP also has the capability to connect to the net on a wireless network and play games on an online server.  Thought the server for online gaming is not up and running, it can still connect to the net.

 

(Continued à)

 

Sony Play Station Portable, or PSP

 

     With all these features, how much does this little gadget cost?  Well, the answer is a whole lot of your spare income – about $250 to be exact.  The PSP sells as a bundle pack which includes the system itself, two free UMD discs (one a sampler and the other a Spiderman 2 movie), a carrying case, a cloth to wipe it with, and a battery and charger.

 

     So my advice if you want it…  “Save your pennies…”

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

The Insider                              April 15, 2005                                  Page 4

Race or Show?

 

By Kirey Stienhart

 

     I asked about 16 people to see what they would do to make a show car or a racer.  Then I asked if they would rather have a domestic car or an import.  A lot of people don’t know much about cars.  For example, many don’t know anything about Honda, Chevy, Ford or GMC.

 

     Now it’s time ti see what people said. Eleven out of sixteen said they would rather have an import than a domestic.  Let’s see some of the things people said.

 

  • “I would never buy a domestic.  They’re too much money for a lousy product.”
  • “Domestic cars stink.  They break down all the time.”

 

     All the people who said they would rather buy an import said they would race it and make their car look nice.  Five people out of sixteen said they would want a domestic over an import.  They all said they would make it a show car.

(Continued à)

A junky domestic…

 

A sweet import

 

     Now everyone has to think about this:  Would you rather have a car that runs good and strong for about 300 thousand miles, or would you want a domestic car that once it hits 100 thousand it goes all down hill?  Don’t let this offend you, but domestic cars stink.  If you agree with me please let Kenny know because he’s sorta’ confused.

 

Kenny’s translations for foreign car names…

 

BMW:  Big money waste

 

HONDA:  Had one – never did accelerate.

 

HYUNDI:  Hope you understand – nothing’s drivable and inexpensive.

 

MERCEDES:  Most eccentric rich capitalists enjoy driving expensive sedans.

 

NISSAN:  Needless innovations – silly, stupid automotive nonsense.

 

PORSCHE: Proof of rich spoiled children having everything.

 

SAAB:  Sad attempt at beauty.

 

VOLVO:  Very odd looking vehicular object.

 

VW:  Virtually worthless.

 

 


 

The Insider                              April 15, 2005                                  Page 5

 

Poet's
Corner


Look in the mirror

 

By Theresa Jaohnston

 

You look in the mirror

What do you see?

Have you found yourself?

Or what you’re going to be?

 

You go to sleep

And what do you dream?

Do you have nightmares?

To you it just might seem…

 

You’ve walked out of your house

For what may be your last time

Walk down the sidewalk

And what do you see?

 

You’re running home now

But why are you running so fast?

Are you in trouble?

The way you’re running this breath might be your last

 

You made it home last night

You’re safe in your own room

Under the covers you go

And you can hear the cars as they zoom

 

You wake up now

All covered in sweat

It was only a dream

Those people whom you met.

 

 

What would you do to stay away

From this man?

M.J. to juvenile hall?

 

By Manuel Garcia

 

     The latest twist in the Michael Jackson case is the suggestion that if Michael is found guilt of child molestation, then he should serve his time in a juvenile detention hall rather than an adult prison.

 

     “What?!” you might ask.  “Why would they risk putting a pedophile in a facility full of juveniles.  The reasoning behind this proposal goes like this:  Juveniles will not risk getting into trouble because they will not want to do time with Michael Jackson.  This is known as reverse psychology.

 

     The question is, will reverse psychology actually work?  Some people are skeptical, but other so-called experts say that it will most definitely work out, and that we will see a decrease in juvenile crimes.

 

     How about you?  I for one know that I would definitely be good just to stay away from this man.

 

 


 

ALC Insider                            April 15, 2004                                  Page 6

Opinion Article

Heath vs. Religion

 

By Heath Kane

 

     This is meant to be controversial.  If you do not like it, do not read it.  This does not reflect the views of the ALC or any of its students except me.  So here goes…

 

     Why do I have to listen to people trying to push their religion on me?  Why is it that some folks feel that just because of the way I and a few friends dress that we somehow don’t have religion?  Okay, maybe some of us do not.  Maybe some of us do…

 

Just because we wear black doesn’t mean that we are “Satanic atheists” as some people say.  This is crazy because if we didn’t believe in any kind of God, then we wouldn’t believe in Satan, either.  That wouldn’t make sense, would it?

 

     So what about your own religion?  Do you want people slamming you because of it?

 

(Continued à)

 

So what’s your religion, anyway?

 

If you want me to respect your beliefs, then please respect mine (whatever they may be).  You don’t even know what my beliefs are.  How can you say they are wrong?

 

     Are you certain which God id the right one?  Maybe we should all be worshipping Shiva or Buddha or something.  At least I’m open to the idea.  I’ll let you hold on to your beliefs if it helps you sleep better at night.  Give me the same respect.

 

Of course this is all just my opinion.  But you took the time to read it, so it’s not like I’m forcing it on you.

 

 

 

 

This week’s

separated

at birth…

 


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