When They Were Ten

When They Were Ten

I would like to know what life was like when my grandparents were my age. What about my aunts and uncles? I want to know their hobbies, what favorite movie, radio or TV show they liked and where they lived. I’m going to interview three members of my family and see what I can learn.

First I called my Grandma Helen. After I said hi, I asked her what hobby she liked when she was my age. My grandma liked to read books. She also played with her orange cat Carrots and her dolls Judy and Dolores. Next, I asked her where she lived when she was my age. She lived in Corry, Pennsylvania. It was a small town with only about ten-thousand people. Her dad worked in a factory that made office furniture and he was the manager. Finally, I asked my grandma what TV, movie or radio show she liked when she was my age. She said she watched Snow White and Bambi, but that’s when she was younger. She didn’t listen to the radio and they didn’t have TV. I’ve never imagined a ten year old life like grandma’s.

After I called my Grandma Helen, I emailed my Grandpa Gary. He gave a lot of information about his younger days. The hobby he liked was building model airplanes and this interest influenced him to become a NASA engineer. He lived on a farm 15 miles north from Sublette, Kansas. He liked growing up there. He worked hard. His favorite movie was Tarzan of the Apes. He went to any Tarzan movie that came to Sublette. He thought it would be fun to live in jungles and be strong like Tarzan. He also watched western movies like Roy Rogers. His horse’s name was Trigger and Grandpa’s horse’s name was Dixie. He listened to radio shows such as Sky King, Cisco Kid, Straight Arrow, Inner Sanctum and Fibber McGhee and Molly. Grandpa’s childhood wasn’t like mine, but it sounds fun.

After talking to Grandpa Gary, Mom and I sent a face book message to Uncle Scott. Uncle Scott’s hobbies were reading, board games and computers. He lived in Niceville, Florida. He had a magnolia tree in his front yard. I even looked it up online and saw it on Google Earth. He had lots of friends and he was a happy kid. He didn’t watch a lot of TV, but he watched the saturday morning cartoons specifically Looney Tunes. Uncle Scott’s childhood seems like it was great because he made lots of friends and had cool hobbies.

Now I have a good idea of what life was like when my relatives were my age. Grandma’s life was different from mine because she played with dolls and didn’t have television. Grandpa’s life was fun because he worked on the farm and watched a lot of Tarzan movies. Uncle Scott’s life was like mine because he played on the computer and watched saturday morning cartoons like I use to. I learned a lot and I’m glad I know what life was like when they were ten.

Westen's Spooky Story

One Dark, Black Night

One dark, black night, a little boy named Andrew was walking through the woods alone. For an 8 year old, Andrew was small. His short, wavy, brown hair looked dark compared to his skin which was pale and thin like the skin of an onion. His striped shirt hung loosely from his shoulders and a pair of baggy jeans almost hid his new brown shoes. As he walked along the leaves crunched under his feet. He saw an old house with broken windows and a crooked front porch nearby, but Andrew didn’t want to go inside. Just then, a clap of lightning broke into the night. He raced for the door, even though he was scared.

When Andrew got to the door, he put his grip on the brass handle of the leopard door knocker and knocked. There was no answer. He turned the knob and the door opened with a creak. There was an eerie rattling and Andrew gasped. Suddenly, another clap of lightning forced him to go inside. Out of nowhere, bugs appeared and swarmed his face, but Andrew slapped them all off with his hands. Before he could find anything, he heard a spooky howl. Then, a rattlesnake slithered right past him. Andrew screamed and ran deeper into the house. There was another terrifying howl which left Andrew cowering in fear.

Trying to be brave, he stood up straight, put his shoulders back and swallowed the lump in his throat. He reached his hands out in the darkness and felt something mushy, wet and slimy. Andrew yanked his hands back, but the slimy thing grabbed him. His heart was pounding. Then another flash of lightning gave him enough light to see that it was a giant worm monster! Andrew struggled to get free and began punching the monster. The monster backed away from Andrew giving him the chance to escape. Andrew ran for his life and he didn’t look back.

-THE END-

Barkling ~ A Short Story

Barkling

This little brown dog is called Barkling. He loves chewing on his bone and he barks a whole lot. He likes food pellets that cats eat. Also, he loves his name because he loves barking all the time.

One day, Barkling is playing on the beach and runs right into a boat. He decides to climb aboard. Suddenly, a strong wind blows it out to sea. Then, a giant whale swallows the boat up making Barkling scared.

Barkling spied a purple fish who lived inside the whale. The fish swam out of a wooden box that the whale had swallowed. The fish hit the whale’s jaws with it’s tail which opened the whale’s mouth. Barkling quickly sailed out of the whale’s mouth before it closed. He made it just in time.

When Barkling wanted to go home, a magical bunny jumped out of the clouds and used it’s magical paws to carry the boat to shore. Once Barkling and the bunny reached the shore, the magical bunny bounced back into the clouds with Barkling on it’s back.

Barkling and the magical bunny got to the cloud top kingdom. That was the place where the bunny lived. Barkling loved the kingdom in the clouds. He wanted to stay forever. He and the bunny played and lived happily ever after.

Wes Art

First Art Class

Our Celtic Irish Tree

Hangman's Tree

The Lost Treasure of
The Golden Hangman

My name is Westen and I’m a treasure hunter. I like being a treasure hunter because it’s full of adventure. Today, I’m in search of the Golden Hangman on Hangman’s Tree. Let me tell you the story of me finding the Golden Hangman.

I began my hunt at midnight. The first place I came to was a Spooky Cave. Once I walked into the cave, a friendly bat flew right toward me with a clue. The clue said that we have to go to Rock Peak next.

Once the bat and I got to Rock Peak, the dragon who lived at the peak flew out of nowhere. All of a sudden, a giant wind blew the dragon away, leaving the second clue behind followed by a baby dragon. The baby dragon gave us the clue and it said that the next place we have to go to is the bridge, but it’s broken.

When the bat, the dragon and I got to the broken bridge, we found a poor animal underneath it. It was a leech fish. We pulled it off of the broken bridge and found a tiny clue on its bottom. It said to go to Lucky Lagoon. On the way, it started to rain.

Once we got to the lagoon, a lucky sea snake jumped out of the water and transformed into a bridge. When we got across, the sea snake coughed out a clue that said to go to the Indian Camp.

Once we got to the Indians, an Indian bird, who had the next clue, was trapped in one of the teepees because it was mean. I told the Indians that I’d train it to be nice, so they set it free. After we went away from the Indian camp, the Indian bird gave us the clue.

It said to go to Frolic Forest. When we got there, there were a lot of wicked trees we had to get through first. After we got through them, we found a male monkey and a female monkey. The male monkey had the final clue and the female monkey had the key to the treasure.

The final clue said to go to Hangman’s Tree where The Golden Hangman lies. When we all got to where the treasure was, there were six hollow squares and a key hole. I put in all the clues, along with turning the lock which unlocked a secret door on Hangman’s Tree.

When all of the animals and I were about to walk through it, I woke up from my adventure. I felt so confused. I couldn’t believe it was all a dream! I will keep thinking about finding the treasure at Hangman’s Tree for the rest of my life.