Midway Adventure

I recently returned from an awesome trip to Chicago! I went to see my best friend Leo's Navy Boot Camp Graduation. We were there from September 8- September 11. It was difficult flying only because I had to make arrangements to travel with his parents because I am only 17 years old and therefore not allowed to fly on my own. Fortunately I was able to work enough hours this summer to pay for my plane ticket, hotel room, and all other expenditures.

While I was there, I was able to enjoy some spectacular food, as well as some amazing sights! Upon arrival I ate at a restaurant called Tuscany. It was authentic Italian food, and not only was the food good, but the service was great! The reason the food was so good is because everything is homemade and made fresh! I highly recommend it to anyone in the Chicago area.

I then checked into the hotel for the night and prepared for an early morning the next day. Day two in Chicago was very eventful as it was graduation day for my buddy Leo. I met Leo while working at the golf course and where we eventually grew to become good friends. After a ceremony of about an hour and a half long, I was finally able to meet with him. It was the first time I had seen him in a little over two months! We were able to spend the rest of the day together, hang out at the hotel, and caught up on what was going on in each others lives, until about 9:30 when he had to return to base.

  

I had my own hotel room which was nice but I slept through my alarm clock and Leo's parents had to bang on my door to wake me up. I finally got up and we left around 7:30 am to pickup Leo where we walked through some of Chicago. We saw Wrigley Field where there were lots of statues and some old school urinals. Prior to this, I had only seen Wrigley Field on TV. Later we went to  the Sears Tower and we then went to Navy Pier.

 

 

Navy Pier is a huge boardwalk on Lake Michigan. We took a boat ride tour across the lake and it was amazing, you couldn't even see all the way across to the other side. Lake Michigan does not even seem like a lake though, more like an ocean!

 

 

The next morning we flew out which just so happened to be on the ten year anniversary of September 11th. It wasn't too bad, though security was heightened but it didn't affect us too much. On the plane ride home I sat next to a middle eastern guy who talked to himself in a different language. That irked me a bit and I did breathe a sigh of relief when we finally touched down in Seattle without the plane having been hi-jacked, thank you Jesus! What a way to wrap up a great trip to the windy city!

Unknown Accomplices

Yesterday I finished reading the book, Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L Swanson. In the book it talks about the plot to assassinate President Lincoln, as well as other heads of state, such as, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H Seward. The conspiracy to kill President Lincoln was however, not a one-man job. It is common knowledge that John Wilkes Booth was the assassin who killed Lincoln, but did you know that there in fact were three other accomplices? I sure didn’t! In this paper I am going to reveal the other three accomplices and the part they played on that cold April night.

The first of the three accomplices was Lewis Powell. Powell had orders from Booth to kill Secretary of State, William H Seward. Booth thought that this would be a manageable task for Powell since Seward was recovering from a recent carriage accident and was therefore, bed ridden and helpless to any assailants. The attack however, did not go quite according to plan. Powell made his way into the Seward house by saying that he was a messenger with important medication for William Seward. Once he got upstairs, he leapt into action, as he began to stab the helpless secretary of state. Augustus and Fanny Seward, who were the secretary of state’s children, were able to turn the attention upon themselves and were then able to fight Powell out of the house, causing him to hop on his horse and gallop away. Seward ended up surviving the ordeal and had a pretty noticeable scar to show for it.

The second of the accomplices was David Herold. Herold was an excellent tracker, and knew his way around the country very well. His job was to escort Lewis Powell to the Seward household and to then wait outside with the horses, so they could make a quick getaway once Powell killed the secretary of state. Once Powell entered the house, Herold was left to wait outside and keep watch. After a while though, he started to get nervous when he heard Fanny Seward cry out for help from the upstairs window. Worrying that the authorities might catch him outside the house, he left Powell’s horse behind and galloped away, thus abandoning Powell.

The last of the three men was a gentleman by the name of George Atzerdot. Atzerdot was supposed to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson at his hotel in Washington D.C. Atzerdot however, doubted Booth’s entire plan and ended up at the hotel bar, drinking. He never even attempted to kill the vice president. Atzerdot was still found guilty and hung for his connection to John Wilkes Booth and his plan.

In closing, I really enjoyed this book, as I found it to be a very valuable source of information. I never knew that John Wilkes Booth had three accomplices! While the murder of President Lincoln proved heart breaking for the Union, just imagine how catastrophic it would have been if all the assailants had carried out their mission. It might have changed the world, as we know it. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good historical read, that might also give them insight into lesser well-known people involved in a very well-known crime of perhaps our greatest president of all times.

Brain Fever

While reading Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle I came across an unfamiliar disease called Brain Fever. Brain fever is a medical condition where a part of the brain becomes inflamed and swollen. The symptoms are often very similar to that of a fever, thus giving it the name Brain Fever. If left untreated, it usually takes two weeks to claim its victim’s life. Brain fever can turn into much worse though, such as Encephalitis or Meningitis. Both of which have proven to be very deadly in their own right. Brain fever was a common ailment in the 17^th century more specifically. Brain Fever is often attributed to unsanitary living conditions. It is also used as a device in the book, Sherlock Holmes.

While Sherlock Holmes is not the only literary or historical reference using brain fever though it is the most recent account of Brain Fever that I recall having read. Theodore Lyman who was a staff sergeant in the civil war, had a daughter who passed away from brain fever in 1869. There is also a bird that is called the brain fever bird, due to its unorthodox call sounding like someone suffering from this painful disease.

In Sherlock Holmes, a selfish husband takes advantage of his wife, by pretending she had died of Brain Fever. Instead, he committed her to a mental asylum. All so he could inherit the small treasure that she had. But this lie didn’t fool Sherlock. He and Watson ended up discovering that the husband had faked his wife’s death when the maid came forward and told them the truth. He probably would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids. Just kidding. 

In fact, in the early 1900’s, husbands could simply commit their wives into an insane asylum for little reason at all. Hundreds upon thousands of women were committed into asylums unnecessarily. As they may have just been sick and the husbands did not want to care for them. They were often left to die. Thankfully, times have changed and women are not treated in this manner.

Even though brain fever isn’t as wide spread as it once was, it is still lurking in our midst ready to pounce on unsuspecting victims. Brain Fever typically isn’t as deadly though, because breakthroughs in medicine have allowed doctors and scientists to find ways of combating this deadly disease. Sadly, most third world countries do not have complete access to sanitary living conditions and medicines, proving brain fever to be a much more common foe, than it would be in America.

It is definitely more prevalent though in the crowded streets of India, where people end up living. For me it is unimaginable to think of the conditions that some people are forced to live in throughout the world. In closing, if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have written Sherlock Holmes in today’s society he might have been more apt to choose a disease such as E-coli rather than one like Brain Fever.

Call of Duty By Buck Compton

I recently read the book Call of Duty, My Life Before, During, and After the Band of Brothers, by Lt. Lynn "Buck" Compton, with Marcus Brotherton.  Let me start by saying that I particularly enjoyed this book because the writer kept me entertained with many different topics such as, war, baseball, and life in general. I think the author did a superb job in translating and organizing, Buck's thoughts and what he said into a book.

 The book begins with a foreword by Senator,and presidential candidate, John McCain. In the first chapter Buck speaks about his high school and college days. He was an outstanding baseball player for the UCLA Bruins before he volunteered for the military. He even had the privilege of playing ball with Jackie Robinson, who later on became the first player of color to enter the Major leagues, breaking down a huge racial barrier that had been preventing African Americans from playing in the MLB.

Once Buck volunteered for the military, he chose to join the paratroopers. In the book he talks a lot about his days in Germany and France. But don't get me wrong, this book is not only about war and death, it is also about Buck's personal life. In this book, he talks about his father's death, and his relationship with his soon to be wife.

 After the war was all said and done, Buck went back to Los Angeles California where he married his long time girlfriend, Donna Newman. In Los Angeles he became a member of the LAPD, where he served for five years. He then graduated from law school and became a well known district attorney. He successfully prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan for the murder of Robert Kennedy. After his days of being a lawyer, Buck and his wife moved up to the San Juan Islands in Washington State where his wife passed away in 1994 and he currently resides.

 Buck is still very active in the community,  as he speaks on a regular basis to different groups. I personally had the privilege to hear Buck speak, and he talked about many of the things I read in the book, as well as the television series Band of Brothers. In closing, I thought this was a very well written book, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good biography to read.

Book Review of- Uncommon

The book Uncommon by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker is all about finding your path to significance. For those readers who don’t know, Tony Dungy was a very successful football coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts. While coaching for the Colts, he lead them to one super bowl victory and countless playoff appearances.

What I most enjoyed about Uncommon was that the author did not focus on just one subject for an excessive amount of time. Instead the author touched on many different subjects over the course of the book such as, his days as a football coach. While talking about his coaching career he discussed many important decisions that made his legacy what it is, such as choosing Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf in the 1999 NFL Draft.

 He also spoke about his strong relationship with his children, and how it is important that you should always be there for your family. Unfortunately, he had to cope with the loss of his oldest son, but his relationship with God helped him keep moving forward in his life. He also explains how crucial a strong relationship with his parents was to his success. He discusses how his parents always encouraged him and his strong devotion to God is also important to his successes, and his personal life as well. Dungy explains that he would not be where he is today without his strong relationship with God. All this and more really kept me interested in the book, and I found at times, it was hard to stop reading.

The author also lets the reader in on his keys for loving his family. The first of the seven keys is to be a leader around your home, but lead for the benefit of your wife and children, not for your own benefit. The first is, “Be aware that the world emphasizes style, but substance is what really matters.” The second is, “Make a conscious decision to determine your priorities. If there are others who should be involved in the process, sit down together and put personally those things into writing.” The third is, “ Be prepared to start making your actions complement your list of priorities.” The fourth is “ Never confuse what you do with who you are.” The fifth is “ Follow your dreams. Don’t take them to your grave. Better to have fallen short than never to have tried.” The sixth is “ Learn to discipline yourself so that you can begin to enjoy more of life the way you want to enjoy it.” The final key is to “ Balance the priorities in your life- spend the appropriate amount of time and effort in each area. “I myself, took each piece of advice to heart, and thought about how I was doing this in my own life with the suggestions that were given in the book. For example, I have been trying really hard to respect my parents and be honest with them. I feel that this will lead to a better life overall for myself.

This book brings so much to the table. It offers helpful advice with your family, friends, and most importantly, God. If you are looking for a book that will be hard to put down, and will make you think about your own life and how you live it, Uncommon is definitely the book for you. I know personally that I would recommend this book to my own friends and family, because like I have said before, I feel that this book offers invaluable guidance in both your practical and spiritual life.

A Brief History of Time Review

Stephen Hawking is one notorious attention whore. He is always talking himself up about how he is just so smart, or how he is such a "playa". I think he really can talk and only uses the robotic voice on his fake wheelchair because he thinks it makes him sound sexy. The guy even has his own best selling video game out on store shelves right now.

He seems to be such a self centered person to me. He even made these posters and hung them all over the city.

So I would like to caution everybody to take a long hard look at who you think Stephen Hawking is, and ask yourself... Is he really as special as he seems to think he is??

Recently I read the book, A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking. Let me first begin by saying that I find it simply amazing that Stephen Hawking has such an understanding of our solar system and black holes most notably amongst other subjects, considering his physical disability. I also find it very encouraging seeing someone who is wheel chair ridden able to grasp the attention of the world and gain respect through his expertise.

Onto the book, I found A Brief History of Time sort of hard to follow while I read it. I often found myself confused, and “Googling” most of the words that I read such as Quark, which is a hypothetical truly fundamental particle. I am however very happy that I stuck with the book, because I did learn some very interesting things about space anomalies, such as how black holes are formed and what they are capable of. In fact black holes are so powerful they can envelop entire planets at once thus making the size of the black hole even bigger.

In closing, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to expand his or her knowledge of deep space. I do feel that most space enthusiasts will find this book simply riveting. This is also a great book to read in school, since it is crammed with excellent information.

Top 10 Acquire the Fire!

10 Hours on a cramped bus..
  9 Stairs that I fell down
  8 Mountain Dew's consumed
  7 My chair number
  6 Bands played
  5 dollars spent at Taco Bell
  4 The number of Volkswagon Bugs we saw
  3 The number of times we ran around the arena.
  2 Hours of sleep over the course of the weekend
  1 Unforgettable experience!!

Forever Strong Review

I recently watched the movie Forever Strong. It is about two rival rugby teams, one lets their players do whatever they want, whether it is drinking or partying. While the Highland rugby team on the other hand dedicates themselves to honor and respect. Highland's rival team's star player ends up going to juvenile detention for crashing a car while drunk. While in jail, he sees a counselor who refers him to the Highland rugby team. While playing for Highland he learns respect, honor, and friendship amongst the other players. I would definitely recommend this movie to all of my friends and family.

Night Terror Research Paper- Rough Draft

Night terrors, also known as Pavor Nocturnes in Latin, are an illness that affects millions of people each year. I am one of those people. I have experienced night terrors since the young age of seven. I am now sixteen, and although my night terrors have been greatly reduced in frequency, I still do have night terrors once in awhile. For me, night terrors often meant about five minute of sheer terror. In all of my night terrors, big spiders are continually attacking me. Suffering from arachnophobia would be the explanation for why I have night terrors about spiders. Experts say that night terrors are usually the result of a traumatic experience. So for former prisoners of war, or war veterans they are commonplace. These types of night terrors are known as type B night terrors, and most often occur in adults. I, however, do not remember having a traumatic experience with a spider. Experts also say that night terrors are genetic, but neither of my parents suffered from night terrors as children. The last possible reason for my night terrors could be a mundane experience with a spider. These types of night terrors are based off regular everyday experiences. These are known as Type A night terrors and these types of night terrors usually occur in children, ending around the age of fourteen.

Night terrors have some unique symptoms that you wouldn’t find with a regular nightmare. Including, but not limited to, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, sweating, sudden awakening from sleep, persistent fear of terror that occurs at night, screaming, confusion, and not remembering the night terror the next morning. A lot of people ask what the differences between night terrors and nightmares are. Well, in most cases people do not remember night terrors the day after they had one, whereas with nightmares, people can often vividly describe them. Another key difference between the two is that you cannot wake someone up that is having a night terror; this is because nightmares occur in a lighter sleep cycle. Another commonly asked question is, can you have multiple night terrors per night? The answer to this is, yes, depending on how traumatic the event or events causing the night terror are. It is uncommon however for someone to have multiple night terrors. A lot of people are curious as to what most night terrors are about. The most common night terrors can include spiders, snakes, or other people in the room with them.

Things you should know about night terrors mainly include the side effects. Many people will sleepwalk, sleep talk, or not be in control of their bodies while having a night terror. Most of the time it is all of the above though. Scientists have found that night terrors are hereditary, which means that they are passed down through the family. Mental illness can also play a role in night terrors as well. What are night terrors you may ask? Well, night terrors are a sudden reaction of fear that happens during the transition from one sleep phase to another.

Night terrors most often occur in children between the ages of 4-12, since they more often than not, are more easily scared than adults. Night terrors, however, are equally common amongst both males and females. Some people wonder if night terrors are deadly. Night terrors themselves are not deadly but the things you do while having a night terror could be. Serious cases of night terrors include jumping through windows, broken bones, and even concussions.

People have been known to turn violent while having night terrors, since they are seeing things that aren’t actually there. The more intense the nigh terrors, the more violent someone is likely to be while having it.

A drug called Klonopin can treat night terrors. This can greatly reduce the effects of a night terror. Unfortunately no one has discovered a complete cure for night terrors. If you are around someone who does have night terrors, you should stay calm, and make sure that the person gets more sleep at night.

Although there is currently no cure for night terrors, I hope that one day scientists do find one. Night terrors affect many people in our community, everyday. As I have mentioned in this paper, night terrors can be dangerous and disruptive to a person’s overall health and sleep, so the sooner we find a cure, the sooner we can end peoples suffering.

Golf Results

Junior Varsity Tournaments

Similk Beach Golf Course- Wednesday, March 10th

Score- 45


Varsity Tournaments

North Bellingham Golf Course- Monday, March 15th

Score- 92

Drumming Workshop

Siddhartha vs. Ghandi

Tim Dills
10-16-09
Siddhartha vs. Ghandi


This paper will examine the similarities and differences of Ghandi being a civil rights activist who won a Nobel peace prize, and Siddhartha being a character searching for enlightenment in the book by Herman Hesse. After examining three similarities, I will take a look at three differences as well.

The first of these similarities is that both Ghandi and Siddhartha were searching for their own source of enlightenment. Secondly, both of these men found enlightenment in their own original way. Ghandi for instance was a huge person behind civil rights in India, Siddhartha, however, was more of a nomad going around to different places and trying different lifestyles.

Both Siddhartha and Ghandi found their own form of enlightenment. For example, Siddhartha found enlightenment talking to the river as a ferryman. He would spend his days on the river thinking about where it was going and where it had been. This made Siddhartha happy inside. Ghandi found enlightenment through leading peace and hunger strikes in India. Even though they found enlightenment in different ways. The reason Ghandi was so persistent in leading these strikes against the government was because he grew up in poverty and experienced the lack of civil rights first hand.

Lastly, they also both influenced the people around them. Ghandi had huge groups of followers who would participate in hunger strikes for India’s civil rights. Siddhartha only had Govinda, his childhood friend. Govinda treated Siddhartha as if he were the chosen one himself. Govinda looked up to Siddhartha so much because Siddhartha was always a good role model for him. Siddhartha was what Govinda wanted to be.

One of the main differences is that these two men lived in different time periods. Siddhartha took place in about 700 a.d. and Ghandi lived in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. The issues they had to deal with were much different because of the time period. The time periods were different because of the technology, Ghandi was so well known because there were newspapers and radio stations that talked about him.

Another difference was that Ghandi was more of a national figure. Siddhartha, however, wasn’t because he is merely a character in a book and no more than a figment of the imagination. Between these two men, Ghandi was one of the most influential men of our world in the past one hundred years. His extensive list of achievements include Time Magazines man of the year in 1930 and he was the runner up in person of the century, in first place was Albert Einstein. Ghandi has inspired many political figures such as Martin Luther King, Al Gore, and Barack Obama.

Siddhartha was more of a character based upon hand me down stories from generations past. Even though Siddhartha was a fictional character his experiences are purely hypothetical but motivational nonetheless.

The final difference is that a Hindu extremist assassinated Ghandi. Siddhartha was not assassinated at all. As you can see there is a major difference between assassination and death because of natural causes. The reason why Ghandi was assassinated was because the Hindu extremists did not like what he was doing. He was slowly but surely getting India’s rights back. I think Ghandi was one man who captivated the world’s attention with what he did.

Siddhartha started as a Brahmin’s son and decided that the Brahmin lifestyle was not for him because it was too dull. He then became a Samana, which was a nomad. He and his friend Govinda stayed with the Samanas until Siddhartha grew bored of the Samanan life. He then went to a woman and she showed him earthly pleasures. When Siddhartha found earthly pleasures did not make him happy, he became a ferryman.

As a ferryman, Siddhartha finally found eternal happiness, also known as enlightenment. Siddhartha found enlightenment through the stones on the riverbed because those stones calmed him down and acted as a relaxant for Siddhartha. He and his childhood friend Govinda would spend the rest of their days talking to the river and the stones in the river.

I enjoyed the book Siddhartha and would recommend the book to anyone who is looking for a short read packed with a lot of meaning. I do think, however, that the author could have included Govinda’s opinion and point of view more often in the book.

As far as the last word on Ghandi...the boy is slim!

KKOS

I recently went to a High School Leadership training at Komo Kulshan Outdoor School. It is located right off of Baker Lake. I learned about the water cycle and animal life native to that region. Thankfully the weather was great, unfortunately for me though it was feeding time for the mosquitos. I got bitten more times than I could count. It was all worth it though when we got to go to the lower baker dam, the scenery was beautiful. The reason I went to the training is because every year K.K.O.S host an entire sixth grade class for 3 days and they need highschoolers to help them run the program.

Did You Know? #1

Question- Why is the king of hearts the only king without a mustache?

Answer- Diamonds, clubs, and spades are by association linked with the corruption of wealth, are and death. The heart, as an organ is pure, open, and undisguised- it does not wear artifice hence the clean shaven king of hearts.

Black Like Me

I recently read a book called Black Like Me. It was written by John Howard Griffin in the 1960's. It is based on a true story about racism in the deep south. Rather than just writing his point of view as a white man, he actually got his skin dyed black so he could get the full experience.

I won't tell you about the rest of the book because I don't want to give it away. My point of view is that there is racism amongst both blacks and whites. However back in the 60's whites were so judgmental it was ridiculous. They decided to hate people based on the color of their skin. Some of the issues they discussed in the book are still around today. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to discover more about those issues and that time period.

Powder Flu

It was early Thursday morning when my uncle and I got ready to go to Mt. Baker. I was so excited since it was going to be my first time snowboarding since last year. We ate breakfast, packed a lunch, and got our boards ready. When we loaded everything onto the car, we were off. We traveled North on Highway 9 en route to Baker. My uncle had to call in sick to work. He called his sickness, powder flu.

The roads were clear up until the last mile or so before the lodge. It was surprisingly busy for a Thursday morning. We got our boards and got in line to buy a lift ticket. Finally the time had come for the first run of the day.

We strapped our front binding and got on the lift. It was beautiful out as we got higher in the air I felt a slight breeze on my face. This was perfect weather for snowboarding. When we got to the top I was ready to do the bunny hill, but I was sorely mistaken. Instead we took a run down to chair 8 and went up even higher. Yikes!!! It turned out to be all right since all the snow was powder. It didn’t even hurt to crash. It was like gliding on a cloud.

Then the time came and we did the natural half pipe, which was cool because it was like a chute down the side of the mountain with jumps on it. Even though it was bumpier than the man made half pipe it was a lot more fun.

We headed back to the car for lunch. Mmmm, peanut butter and jelly. After lunch we decided to split up. My uncle went to chair 8 and I went to chair 7. I did five runs on chair 7 and on the fifth run when I was dropping into the pipe my heel side of the board caught on a rut and I flew down into the pipe and landed hard on my tailbone. I could barely make it down the rest of the way. I knew after I took that shot my day was over. So my uncle and I met up and headed home, after a great day of snowboarding.

Tim - The Big Red Dog

Last month I helped my mom out at the library by dressing up as Clifford, the big red dog. I got to show off my dance moves for people stopping by the library. I even got a couple of hugs from some people!! 

Library

On Wednesday the 24th we had the privilege to go to the Burlington public library to hear Jennifer Bradbury talk about the process of writing her new book, Shift. Shift is about two high school graduates, Win and Chris decide to go on a cross country bike trip. But when Win disappears in Montana and Chris returns home alone. The FBI comes knocking on Chris's door wanting to know what happened to Win. At the seminar she discussed how long it took her to write this book. She said she had to do three drafts of the whole book which contains about fifty eight thousand words. She also said that this book is based on her and her husbands expierences with bike riding. She concluded the session by reccommending books that she enjoys such as, A Northern Light, Airborn, The Book Thief, and Speak. I really enjoyed myself and plan on going to other sessions at the library.

In regards to my "Gotta Have It " list.

My Memoir - Final Draft: The Neverending Story

The Never Ending Story: The Memoir of Tim Dills

When I was first born I didn’t cry, which evidently is something adults like babies to do when they are first born, so as a result they panic, and then they spank you. Of course, my mom had to tell me this because I didn’t remember any of it; maybe I just blocked it out, too painful to remember. I don’t know if it is a case of cause and effect but my mom also told me that I was a colicky baby. This means I cried a lot, especially in the evening, go figure. So, by the end of the day my mom would hand me over to my dad who seemed to be the only one who could calm me down. He did this miraculously by singing the theme song of Sanford and Son, go figure.

The first memory I have of living in our house in Burlington was when I was about two years old. I was playing in my bedroom eating apples, go figure. I had a baseboard heater under my window. I liked to climb up on it and look out the window. My mom would always say, “Tim, get off the heater!” I think she was afraid that I’d rip it out of the wall. Well, anyway, instead of ripping it out of the wall I slipped and sliced the back of my head open, not seriously, but I am talking about a half-inch gash. There was lots of blood and of course my mom freaked out and drove me straight to the emergency room. I ended up getting stitches and I can still actually feel the scar on my head. I still like to stand on baseboard heaters, go figure.

At the tender age of four my family took a trip to Disneyland. My mom was eight months pregnant with my soon to be annoying little brother, Nathan, also known as Squatch, go figure. I had so much fun but it was really hot. The heat didn’t stop me from enjoying the Peter Pan and E.T. rides. It was an amazing vacation that is topped off with the memory of sitting on the rooftop of our hotel watching the fireworks and eating ice cream with my dad. The cool taste of cookie dough ice cream feeling smooth on my tongue as bursts of color flew overhead. My mom was being a party pooper and said she was tired from walking around all day, go figure.

Shortly after this trip I got another big surprise. I became a big brother. On October 15, 1997 Nathan Alexander Dills entered the world. The first night he was home he would lay in his beautifully decorated puffy crib and cry. I said, “Mommy, Nathan’s crying again.” She came in and took him to her room. He slept there most of the time but eventually he began sleeping in his bed although he insists on sleeping with the light on even to this day, go figure.

Now with two children my parents liked to go out without us. So, we stay with either my dad’s parents. I called them Granny and Grandpa. Then there was my mom’s mom. We called her Nini. I think this is because when my older cousin Melissa was a baby she would try to call her by her first name, Anita, but it came out as Nini so all of the grandkids call her that to this day, go figure. Some of my best memories are of going to Nini’s house. She would always feed us French toast or pizza and then she would take us to the 76 station and we would get candy! When we’d spend the night at Nini’s we would pick cherries and raspberries. We would make pies. She is such a good cook! One time I told my mom that Nini made the very best French toast. I think my mom works really hard at making good French toast now because it’s delicious, I just don’t tell her so she’ll keep working on it.

The funny thing is my Nini would always (make) let us watch the movie, The Never Ending Story. The thing is I liked the first five times but after that it got really boring. But Nini was always so excited and insistent that we watch, over, and over, and over again. She would say, “Hey guys, who wants to watch the Never Ending Story!” We would inwardly grown, put on a brave face and smile, and nod our heads to say yes. It’s funny but we just didn’t want to hurt her feelings because I love my Nini.

I remember turning six and feeling really big. I had just started Kindergarten and I got the coolest cake ever. It had all of these little plastic motorcycles all over it and all of my family came to the party and visited with one another. Big Papa who always seems to say, “Hey, Jack!” There was Little Papa and Big Grandma who always gave me a card with a lovely check. My mom would have to remind me to look at the card too. Learning to say thank you even if it was a weird gift was something I had to learn how to do also. My mom called it grace and tact. I called it putting on a fake front but it’s a gift and the thought should be appreciated. I always had a great time with all of my cousins, family, and balloons. Even though one time our old dog Sasha popped a lot of them, go figure.

Sports have always been an important part of my life. I’ve played baseball, basketball, and football. Of all of the sports basketball is my favorite even though I’m not the tallest kid on the court, go figure.

Recently my grandmother died. She was really funny. She was always concerned how we were. She gave us so many tips on how we should be careful during everyday life. Some of them made us laugh and were soon what we called grannyisms. For example she said never lock ourselves in the bathroom while we take a bath because we might drown. Another one was never stick a knife in a toaster.

Well that’s my never ending story: for now.