Volume 5, Issue 7

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Renton High School 400 South 2nd Street Renton, WA 98057

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Volume 5, Issue

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7

ARROW

s ’ t a h t w We knuo’re thinking. what yo

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Stay with me.

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, y n n u f f o d n i k d s ’ a Three people wounded in shootout outside sports bar in Skyway t b I w o h , y l Skyway suspect charged a u . t c m a e Skyway woman sexually e Three people wounded in19-yearshootout outside sports bar in Skyway assau s s ’My baby’s been shot’ Seattle man g thin

old Skyway woman in critical assaulted ’My baby home-invasion r kyway woman sexually in shot in face condition; suspect surrenders old Skyw condition home-invasion robbery Skyway suspect charged outside Skyway fire Tuesday damages two Seattle teen arrested in sports in Seattlebar man shooting death of Skyway m Skyway shot in face Skyway Christmas da Skyway outside Christmas day homicide Seattle teen arrested in hot early this morning at Skyway apartment complex Skyway man charged with rape, kidnapping sports bar in Renton man killed outside his birthday party shooting death of Skyway Skyway *Man shot early this morning at Skyway apartment complex Marijuana theft may to Skyway shoo lured woman via Craigslist Skyway man charged withhave rape,led kidnapping e lured woman via Craigslist

d man shot to

Marijuana theft may have led to Skyway shootin

enton man killed outside his birthday party Skyway woman dies of gunshot to head; boyfriend is charged

Gang member sentenced to 18 years for Skyway fire Tuesday damages twoin build Skyway man accused of making explosives Skyway woman dies of gunshot to head; boyfriend is charged Skyway shooting his garage Four Gang member sentenced to 18 years for charged in with Skyway shooting Skyway man accused of making explosives his garage

-year-old man Tuesday shooting in Skyway ruled accident Tuesday shooting in Skyway ruled accident

murder in robbery attempt Fourofcharged Skywaywith murder inman; robbery attempt of Skyway read theman; read documents the documents

20-year-old man injure A 20-year-old man injured r e rd u n m y a w y k S in d d te ic v n co d n ie fr y y Bo e w r a e rd u m y e a h w y k S in d te , ic v n s co nd Boyfriearrest ectives Skyway man po ometim Two teens shot in Skyway Tuesday es ag r e e.

Two teens shot in Skyway Tuesday s arrest Skyway man *These are headlnes gathered from Renton Reporter, Seattle Times, and The News Tribune in the years 2010-2013.

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n i t o h s s a w y o b s i Th Skyway on . He 0 1 0 2 , 9 2 l r p A was only 12.

W his olde talked e t o r b r Louis other .

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Hesn’t doeove l way. y k S

The things he thinks are bad Arrow: Other than the situation with your brother, what are things about Skyway you don’t like?

Louis: Skyway is completely run down.

The buildings look old. The Grocery Outlet is the newest thing to Skyway. They don’t build anything new... There are no community centers in Skyway except for the Boys and Girls Club by Dimmitt. I feel they should make some community centers for the youth to be involved in.

It’s kind of boring. Anything I do I have to go to Seattle to do it or to another city. I should be able to just go somewhere in my own community and just enjoy it, so I don’t have to travel so far. Though Seattle is only 20 minutes away, that’s a trip I don’t want to have to make or don’t like to make. They could do some renovations to the buildings we do have and make

BROWN

Skyway look more like a community and not like a trash heap town.

The things he likes

of people came out. It was also to just feed some of the

ARROW: What food did you eat at the memorial party?

homeless in that area as well, so they were able to come.

Louis: I ate a lot of ribs. That was pretty much it, just ribs

It was a free community event, so we were able to be a

and water.

ARROW: Where did you guys get the ribs?

blessing to more people than we thought we were.

ARROW: Who came up with the idea for a memorial?

Louis: My dad made them. He got them from... WinCo’s.

Louis: My parents. They started a foundation for my

He made them at home. You should have come. It was

brother and it’s called The Alajawan Brown Hands. Every

good.

year on his anniversary of his death they host a family

ARROW: What else was there?

reunion so people can come out and just celebrate with

Louis: Hotdogs, hamburgers... a bunch of barbeque. Oh,

us. Usually we hold it at the 7-eleven down where he was

I had potato salad and they had baked beans and cake. I

killed, but they were dragging their feet about getting with

didn’t eat any cake though.

us this time so we had it by the Grocery Outlet instead.

ARROW: What kind of cake was it?

Louis: We had strawberry, lemon and chocolate. I’m trying to watch what I eat though, so I didn’t partake in the cake eating.

ARROW: So how many people would you say were at the memorial?

ARROW: So why was it a memorial party instead of a candle light ceremony?

Louis: We’re tired of crying, we’re tired of tears, we were tired of being depressed. We want to celebrate what he did, not what he didn’t get the chance to do. So instead of being sad and instead of mourning about him not being here,

Louis: A little bit over 100. It was a pretty good turn out

we’d rather reflect on the time that we did have... and use

considering how small Skyway is. I didn’t think that people

that to change our community and to get our community

were going to be as involved as they were and a lot

more involved. No crying and tears everywhere.

What he remembers

Louis: Actually, we had a video of it but I can’t find it anymore...

ARROW: Name five things about Skyway that you like.

We were wrestling and I sat down because I didn’t want to play

Louis: Ummm... five things I appreciate about Skyway? [laughs]

anymore. I got on the computer and he would not stop playing.

Well, for one, the community is involved in the things that we

He just kept coming up to me, pushing me and running. The

do and the events that we host. They’re very supportive. A lot

night before a couple of my friends stayed at my house and there

of people in the area are very athletic, so it’s easy to just go to

were pillows and blankets all over the place and there was a fan

Skyway Park and pick up a football game or basketball game.

right next to where my pillow was because I get hot very easily.

Having people that enjoy a lot of the things that you do makes it

So I was on the computer and I was, like, “I don’t want to play

easy to connect with your neighborhood. Second, I had ribs with

anymore,” and he said, “Nope. It’s too late.” He pushed me and

my dad. That’s a good memory. He actually buys the sauce but

ran... As soon as he runs away he trips over the fan and all you

the seasoning he uses makes it just right. Tony’s Cajun seasoning.

can see in the camera is pillow cushions flying in the air and he is

Another thing I like about Skyway is that the Grocery Outlet is

laying on the floor. I guess he hurt his ankle. So he is on the floor,

locally owned and they hire within the community. It just brings

like, “I’m done! I’m done!” and I stood there and was, like, “Nope.

revenue to our community and jobs to those who didn’t have

You didn’t stop when I was done playing, and now you’re hurt

them. People don’t have to drive so far to work. I think that the

and I’m gonna keep messing with you.” [laughs]

owners of the Grocery Outlet did a great job and were a big part in building Skyway up.

ARROW: Do you have a good memory with your brother in Skyway?

We were harassing him the whole day because it was too funny. Him trying to do a hit and run... and then it turned into a complete fail. It was one of the best memories I have with my brother.

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But h hate i e doesn t eithe ’t r.

We tried to make our own decisions.

We started by hanging out in some parking lots.

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. n e k c i h c e h t te

We a

EPIC EZELL’s Using the trunk of our editor-in-chief’s silver Infinti g20-t as our banquet table, we feasted on Ezell’s Famous Chicken. Lots of it. With all the fixin’s. And went delirious with joy. (We didn’t love the mashed potatoes or fried okra, but everything else?—THE BEST.) We came up with metaphors and similes to describe the experience. April 29: the day we took part in legend and felt legendary ourselves

Photos and Epic Similes by Rafael Agas, Aidan Chaloupka Emma Collier, Evelyn Fitz, Ksenia Ivanova, Annie Kwan, Banyon McBrayer, Dii Miller, Vy Nguyen Alicia Quarrels and Angela Vu

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What happens when starved teenagers and their adviser cram into a tiny store waiting for the famed chicken to cook? Anarchy. Anarchy happens. From that comes a psychedelic, unrivaled bliss.

The breadcrumb-covered skin felt like sheets of brittle glass,

The very first bite: delicious.

It was the base of a mountain covered in massive clumps of

The smell of the food encompasses me like a cloud shrouding a

shattering into tiny chunks of goodness eventually reverting back

plane flying away from the Seattle skyline towards a reinvigorated

into sand inside the mouth.

breading.

is gone. I might gain 10 pounds, but I’m going to need to get more.

The long and thin crispy chicken tenders of Ezell’s tasted like a

paradise I never knew existed. A plane where the stewardesses serve

crunchy berry that melted in my mouth, originating from the

not Coke, but passion. Not microwaved meals, but home-cooked

It was crispy like the earth’s crust hit by asteroids of flavor.

islands at the edge of the world. It fell from the bushes due to the

love. This plane shows no cheesy Jennifer Anniston movie that

It was as crunchy as a bridge, crumbling on a field sprouting with

shock of my feet wandering about, and I stepped on it, creating the

lulls flyers to sleep, but rather an endless visual loop of every hope

crunching noise of a feasting human. While piercing my precious

and dream ever had, creating a collage of memory within a seated

taste buds that revel in flavor as if the spilling nutrients of the berry

crowd of inspired passengers who all wonder if anything could ever

were the juice from the tenderness of the meat that leaked out and

be this good forever.

It was crunchy like rock candy filled with the shells of the bra on a mermaid.

fresh vegetation of lightly salted pretzels.

It was as soft as a Tempur-Pedic mattress on a cloud atop a giant cotton candy mountain surrounded by herds and herds of sheep.

The heat of the chicken was like stepping into a hot shower with

dirtied my fragile hands I wiped upon the over-sized leaves of the

It was an awful lot of a hankering to have for a carcass. Nearly

your freezing feet, the warmth of the water creeping up your feet

trees beyond the horizon stretching onto the bare coast like the

instantly I was encased in a powerful vapor of warm spice. It was

and slowly warming them as you stand there.

open parking lot in the front of Ezell’s as the slim cars pack together

almost as alluring as the serene quality of the mountain meadows

The crispy skin reminded me of a winter morning, fresh and

and share the last of the chicken tenders, spicy or not, as the crumbs

by which goats roam in the infant days of August.

awakening. The crunch of it against my teeth made me think of

parade onto the ground like a freshly opened coconut on the

stepping in snow just fallen on the street, as fresh as the morning it

sandy beach rolling into the ocean.

One more crispy bite? Like Seattle evergreen trees filled with

It was tender like the flesh of a newborn baby that you can

had fallen.

It was spicy like a spark, the type of spark that makes you cock As one dives even further into the breadcrumb and seasoning-

a unsuspecting survivor, with each bite feeling like screams of

covered skin of Ezell’s chicken, a perfectly healthy person’s state of

satisfaction and pleasure pulsing through the body of the now

consciousness changes to the point where the mind cannot discern

walking dead.

between fantasy and reality, which makes the primal instinct kick in.

hard-shelled insects.

The burning left in the throat from the skin of the chicken like the

squeeze so hard it will begin to leak juice from its orifices.

It is meaty like an obese zombie tearing through the flesh of

your head like you’re dodging a punch.

After the chicken indulgence: exhaustion.

warm hum of being so cold that you aren’t.

It was greasy like millions upon millions of masseuses rubbing sacred oils upon king’s backs all simultaneously.

The spicy ones possessed grease rivaling that of a stock race car

The lion stalks its prey, calculating the moment that will release

finishing 150 laps in a NASCAR race with a pit stop in lap four.

Paris Hilton’s face is on that chicken strip, its deep fried

the mere wildebeest from life and render its own taste buds with

The oil cascaded down my arm like a spring waterfall, streaming

chunkiness exuding an aura beyond any common piece of chicken.

a wrath of flavor. As the prey is at hand it is horded and devoured in

through the mountains and tumbling off of a hundred-foot cliff

The spice of the skin came after, a small bite of spice like eating

the most savage way imaginable, its innards spilling out the joys of

where it pools at the bottom, waiting to be lapped up by a

chocolate with chili powder and feeling the low steady warmth of

the world. With claws clenched deep into the prey and covered by

woodland creature that has just woken from a winter slumber

the chili in the back of your throat, somehow not cancelled out by

gory bits of goodness, everything seems fine. Then it hits. What has

and has stumbled through the forest for hours.

the sweetness of the chocolate.

seemed like mere minutes was really more like 20, and the chicken

What kind of restaurant would it be if there weren’t any condiments and sides? Dipping sauce, fried okra, dinner rolls and mash taters. Always practice safe snacking: use a condiment. little like finding a unicorn inside a volcano; I look

round? He wanted the dinner to roll. Yeah? Yeah?

hidden inside, but finding out that the toy was just

The sweetness of the honey mustard was pure

around and see the rocks and magma, and then

No? Okay.The soft appetizer begins as just that: a

some ugly four piece puzzle of a silly dinosaur and

gold. It coated my chicken strips like a glazing

the unicorn. Instantly my eyes gravitate towards

soft appetizer.

not a cool plastic robot with customizable stickers.

varnish over an authentic Stradivarius violin.

the unicorn. I forget about everything else around

The rolls were as soft as the pink clouds of which

Dipping sauces: like a Stradivarius violin

The white color of the ranch reminded me of

me, stepping in nearly every puddle of lava without

Gatsby spoke, transporting me to a never ending

the ‘Got Milk’ promo for strong bones. It made me

feeling the pain. I finally make it to the unicorn, but

party filled with intoxicated lovelies, promising me

want to have a milk mustache like from all the ads,

the unicorn kicks me into the volcano of death.

a fruitful night under low-lit canopies.

Fries: like a limited edition Louis Vuitoon It’s funny how French Fries aren’t even French.

Misleading names are so misleading.

It was warm like a summer I once spent in

The soft chewy dinner rolls felt like a multicolored

The fries were like candy on Halloween, the

Utah on my great-grandparents’ farm, stomping

bouncy house in some rich kid’s football-field

fulfilled satisfaction of an addict shooting up, a

Fried okra: like a war preparation bunker

through the raspberry fields at high noon. Sneaking

sized backyard, the spoiled rich kid bouncing up

hunger filled in a starving artist.

Fried orchestras. Fried orcas. Fried okra.

through the basement on restless nights into the

and down constantly while smacking on artificial

It was just as good as a newly-released limited

The batter-covered vegetable meets hot, hot oil.

filled-to-bursting ‘war preparation bunker’ to nab

strawberry bubblegum, which fell out of his mouth

edition Louis Vuitton for a shopaholic, given

that box of crackers that I hid under my pillow.

from laughing too hard in the bouncy house.

exclusively.

except from ranch.

The first bite can take you through a lush green trip.

It tasted like a mixture of forest canopy covered in

As more okra is devoured, its appeal begins to

The outside of the roll was crunchy and smelled

lush green leaves and water from an underground

be cloudy and the once “I really like this” attitude is

sweet, and the inside was warm and soft, and just

spring. It looked like a small seashell, round and

replaced with “Get this away. Blech.”

as sweet as the outside smelled.

flat, swept from the bottom of the ocean floor. A little girl dug up the glistening little shell from the rough grainy sand, ate it, and realized it was not as good as it looked. It was stringy in some places, like the old, worn down, hand-knit scarf that her grandmother made for her ten years ago.

did the insanity of the consumer.

of a deep fried, lemon-seasoned cricket.

Along with every bite, the juices inside the cricket spew.

The grease shines on your fingers like the sun shines on a rippling lake.

As one keeps popping the little snacks inside

It was like a dog corpse left out in the 90 degree

one’s mouth, the chaos valve inside the brain

weather to rot. So disgusting that not even the

begins to build pressure and eventually bursts.

hungriest of creatures would try to eat it. Covered

The fried okra tasted like a symphony played by

As the consumption of dinner rolls increased, so

It is as if I am biting down on the hard exoskeleton

Cyrus’ singing voice, but better.

Finding a vegetable in a chicken menu is a

barren mountain side with little stones hitting every gap, dent and crevice, cascading and

machine, magically grabbing a bonus furry friend

gaining momentum from millennia of wind and

on the way for the stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh

water erosion.

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I expected to find a dead body.

The mashed potatoes were like a bowl of sunray-

everything in the equation can’t be defined. There

cooked sand topped with lukewarm puke from a

is a point where the rolls just won’t cut it anymore.

cat that only ate spam and expired milk.

and finding a way-too-hard-to-open packaged toy

Why did the chef make the dinner entrees

It was like a lake covered in unidentifiable debris.

There is a limit though, like in Calculus, where

It is like cracking open a milky chocolate egg

Dinner rolls: like a warm stick of butter

They felt like a warm mudslide with the consistency of cough syrup coursing down a

Getting the dinner roll with a meal at Ezell’s is

copycat family and friends.

out-of-tune and off-beat instruments, like Miley

They were wet.

like grabbing two prizes at the impossible claw

knockoff you’ve kidnapped from its other fluffy

in yellow film.

Mashed potatoes: like a wet marsh

k n a r d We

. s e e p r u l s the

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The Slurpees

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n a d e t i s . i e v m e o h W ndoned aba

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n a t ’ n s a w t i t u B ndoned home. aba was my home.

It

The House oN 82nd Avenue

Text by Vanessa Abenojar Photos by Ksenia Ivanova “Now take a left and go up this hill,” I’d tell them.

“But it’s a dead end,” they’d say.

“I know. I’m the dead end.”

I was talking about my house.

Let me explain.

My parents are hoarders.

You can tell because the house on 82nd Avenue is a secluded house in the middle of six houses and there are two sheds in the yard that my dad

I got eaten by spiders under this pear tree.

built to put our junk in. It’s kind of ridiculous how much space the house has to breathe now that our stuff is gone.

This is where I burned my homework.

abenojar

On a typical summer, you would see two plastic or air blown swimming pools in the grass. You would see my mom picking vegetables in her garden, or me and my brother picking blueberries from the bush right outside his bedroom window.

You would see my dad taking care of his wine grape vines and, at night, you might catch me sitting on my bedroom windowsill because I’m not afraid to jump and walk somewhere to meet friends or just walk to the nearby church parking lot for the air.

I recently moved from that house in Skyway to these apartments down the hill and when I go back to my old house, I get a little sad. We’re still technically in the process of moving but my house looks like it’s been abandoned, like one of those houses that you see on television when they try to find something haunting it.

It’s eerie. It hurts. The yard is almost an acre of grass and cement. The yard contains blueberry bushes, pear and plum trees. Nothing looks the same anymore. Everything is over growing because no one is taking care of anything.

The grass is so tall that if I decided to lay down in it, no one would find my body. The weeds are taking over and the flowers from my mom’s garden are begging to have their stems clipped.

I am a hoarder. If you enter my bedroom in that house, you can see that it actually looks like someone still lives there because of all the stuff lying on the floor: the roses my boyfriend

This window was only open when I was leaving.

I used to put dead fish in this bucket.

performances, a plastic flower lai and a lot of paper with words

and all the religious things on my alter in the corner of my room—but I

I’ll probably never read again. If you know me but didn’t know

never do because there’s no time during the day.

I had moved out, then you’d think I still lived there because my

The lights are out and the water doesn’t work anymore.

When I look at the house and everything around it, I flash back to

room was always a mess anyway.

My stuff is still in my room. I think my room is the worst in the house because you can see all the holes I made with thumb tacks and my height record on the wall. Jesus is on the small

childhood moments and sometimes things that happened last year. I feel like crying but I know it’s not worth it.

On my way to my new apartment in Renton, I think of the future and who might buy the house and live there. Maybe no one? The house isn’t

wooden cross above my window.

It looks like a homeless person took over because of all the

very visually appealing. I want to buy it back, fix it up and extend the house.

gave me on our one year anniversary that is still in a vase with

little things left behind. I keep telling myself I’ll pick up the

I want to do what my parents planned to do in the beginning but never

evaporated water, a Santa hat from elementary choir

random smattering of objects—an SAT study book, my hats, 13

had the money to complete. I love that location because it’s my home.

y m s a w e m o h t Tha e. I grew upey hom kyway like th in S did.

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“I remember we would push a little red car up the hill and we would roll down,” Text by Managing Editor Ksenia and Vy Photos courtesy of John Almonidovar Jenny: Blackberries

She got 10 thorns inside of her.

“The [taste of] blackberries depended on how big the smaller parts of it were: if they were small, even if the entire blackberry

was a little kid; I didn’t know what to do.”

“She didn’t cry or anything,” John said. “She got the berry and brushed [everything] off.”

was big, it was still sour,” senior Jenny Almonidovar said.

Jenny: Summertime

Senior Stephanie Nguyen recalled a

There were two gates and, on the edge, some cement going

“During my free time I would bike or scooter around

similar memory.

down a few feet to the blackberry bushes.

the neighborhood,” Jenny said.

“There was a time that I was hanging

“It’s really hard to get out of there—they have to crawl—and

Sometimes, Jenny and John would play in the

out with Jenny. Our backyards were

backyard on a playground with two swings, slide and teeter

it hurts a lot because it’s rough, uncut cement,” Jenny said. “You

separated by a fence since there were thorn

totter.

have you climb up a few feet.”

bushes in the back,” Nguyen said. “One day

Reaching out for the biggest berry, their cousin Marie fell in.

I was going home and decided to take the

“We all held her back with one arm and she was grabbing it

backyard way and fell into the bushes.”

“I really liked the summer,” Jenny said, “but there

Jenny

with the other,” John Almonidovar said. “The strongest person,

She was stuck for a while.

Clifford, let go, and then we all let go at the same time.”

“When my friend fell, I couldn’t pick her up!” Jenny said. “I

were a lot of mosquito bites.”

“I remember we would push a little red car up the hill and we would roll down,” John said.

John: Pancake and Blanket Fight Their pancake and blanket fight was one of the best fights Jenny and John ever had.

John: Tag

“She took my last pancake that I couldn’t really get back,” John said. “So I bit her blanket, over

Jenny and John had an electric car for kids that ran on batteries.

and over and over, and she started punching me and biting me and

“They [would] bike outside, [ride] the car around the house, and play hide and seek, outside and

scratching me, a lot of scratching.

inside,” their mother, Eva Almonidovar said. “They were so happy, running around.”

“I was seven, and she was nine.”

John’s favorite memory Jenny was when she aided him.

Jenny remembers the fight.

“I was running down a very steep hill, we were playing tag, and I scraped my knee,” John said.

“Oh my god, the only reason why my blanket is so rough is

“She ran as fast possible, to check if I was okay, and then she went to mom.”

because he bit my blanket all over. I was so mad at him it made me cry

Jenny couldn’t recall that memory.

and I wanted to beat him up so bad,” Jenny said. “I was mad at him for

John

the next three years.”

In fact, they can’t even remember how many times they fought.

“More than a hundred,” John said.

“I don’t know, whenever I see him there has to be a fight. “ Jenny said.

“Can I eat the

Jeff: Trampoline “BAW-KAWK!” Jeff Almonidovar said.

noodles over

“You owe me three dollars for the ice cream,”

there,” Jeff said, “they’re still on the

John said.

“No I don’t, it was my ice cream,” Jeff said. “I

table.”

“Yeah go ahead Jeff,”

do not owe you anything!”

Jenny said.

They kept arguing for a little bit longer.

“I think Jeff is growing

“I like to play my iPad,” Jeff said, “[and I like]

up fine,” Jenny said, “just not

poking people. Want to watch me poke him?”

how I and John grew up. We

“The bad times is when it’s P.E., music, the library,” Jeff said. “I always have to sit out; I want

played outside a lot more than we did anything else.”

play that’s why. And in music all we

He is bound to

have to do hard tests!”

technology, always on

Jeff and his cousin Jennifer

the iPad.

Garcia tackle each other.

“Me and John are

“Come at me!” Jeff said.

almost always on our

They jump running into the

laptops,” Jenny said. “So I

netted walls of the trampoline.

“Want to play tag?” Garcia said.

“Do you want me to beat you

Jeff

guess it’s even.

Jenny was playing League of Legends with some friends.

down,” Jeff said.

“[It’s really not too good, but] it is okay if

“Do you want to let me jump?”

“Can I poke you?”

you have a computer at home,” Eva said. “They

“Yes!”

stay inside and you know that they’re right here.

“If you don’t have a computer they go to the

She screams and he makes chicken noises.

library or their friend’s. You don’t know where Jeff: Generations

they are.”

When I left, Jeff was testing his old red bike

“I think generations get worse and worse,” Jenny said.

Jeff poked his head into her room, peeking in.

out in the driveway. It was slightly too small for him.

15

“I loved playing in Jenni’s backyard underneath the snowball tree,.”

We barely stood taller than the pink 90s countertop in my

for the tree to bloom in the late spring and when it did

bathroom but our access to a pair of scissors wasn’t be contended,”

we would have “snowball” fights, our flower fights

Martin said. “Our parents downstairs had told us we only had a

littering the ground white as if it really had snowed.”

short amount of time before Jenni had to go, but we knew that their “short” conversations were actually much longer. Feeling very

Washington University and Senior Jenni McDowell

sly Jenni cut her hair and we hid the locks of hair in the drawer,

were neighbors and best friends. During November of

fearing that it would be found in the trash. We quickly found out

3rd grade, Martin and her family moved to the Renton

that we weren’t as devious as we first thought. We quickly realized

Highlands.

that neither of us would become a hairdresser.”

“When I was little I did little league, I played

Over the years McDowell and Martin stayed connected,

T-Ball, Softball for little kids,” McDowell said. “We

carrying on the tradition of trick-or-treating together every

met at a park in Skyway and we had practice and

Halloween, no matter if they’re too “old”.

games there, about three times a week. It was where the alternative high school is now, on the field there.”

“We are still close, she is like a sister,” McDowell said. “She is already in college since she is a year older than me. Next year I’m going to the same college; Western Washington

For about three years in the age range of five to seven McDowell really

University. We’ll be united again and get into troubles

enjoyed playing.

like back then.”

“I am thrilled that Jenni is coming Western. I love

“My favorite person on the team was Maddie. We were the best of friends

the community and I know she will too. Bellingham is

and we were on the team together,”

such a fantastic place to experience college,” Martin

McDowell said. “Our team name was the

said. “She’s going to be a great addition to the Western

Angels.”

The two girls used to do stupid stuff

McDOWELL

all the time. One memory remains close in

community and I can’t wait for all the adventures we’re going to have. She’s going to be one fierce Viking.”

Senior Jenni McDowell has been living in Skyway

since she was born, for 18 years.

their mind.

“I always wanted to cut my hair when I was little. So

“I live in the same house that my grandparents have lived in.

one time I cut my hair and hid it in Maddie’s bathroom, in a

Then my dad bought the house when my grandma wanted to move.

drawer. I told her not to tell my mom but she noticed it anyway.

So I live in the same house that my dad grew up in.”

So Maddie had to get my hair out of there,” McDowell said. “I don’t know why I hid it because it was really obvious that I cut my hair. My mom asked me what I did with the hair, if I threw it away. So I told her the story and she got mad.”

One of their favorite thing to do was style Barbie’s hair, so what was wrong with doing a little styling of their own hair?

“[Skyway] has a view of Mercer Island.”

Text and Photo by Rafael Agas

Eleven year old RJ Oliveros lives with his brother, Erwin.

“We go around the neighborhood, Bryn Mawr and the track around Dimmitt,” Erwin said. “We just talk about how he’s doing in school and if anything is wrong.”

The bond between brothers can be strengthened by as simple as a walk.

“We talk about school, what he’s doing,” Erwin said.

“Like how he’s doing in school.”

Because of their walks, the brothers’ relationship has

Photo provided by Jenni McDowell

Maddie Martin said. “I waited in anticipation every year

Martin who is a freshman at Western

grown as well.

Text by Mirjam Amstutz

oliveros

“It created a strong bond between them,” mother Caridad said.

Parents Caridad and Bonifacio are aware of the walks the young Oliveros takes.

“Our neighborhood is quiet and it nice because it’s close to a school,” father Bonifacio said. “So it’s fine for them to go on walks.”

16

Her parents bought the house before McDowell was born and she has lived in the same house ever since.

“They bought it when my sister was still a little girl and my brother was maybe three or four years old.” McDowell said. My sister is 18 years older than me so she is now 36 and my brother is 12 years older than me.”

“We would swing on the swing set until one of us got hurt.”

For Andrew Galapon weekdays

Galapon said. “I no longer like watching

days. “When it was sunny Kathleen and

TV, I get bored of sitting down; I’ve just

I [would get our] scooters and we would

lost all interest.”

On the weekends Galapon and his

Galapon said. “We would [also] play tag

family would make sure to have family

together, just the two of us or we would

bonding time.

play with chalk and doodle on the ground

“We usually went out to eat or

but our mom would get

sometimes we just went out

mad at us.”

to go cruising,” Galapon

Lani Galapon-Acosta

said. “We would also go

hated it when her children

grocery shopping; and yes,

drew on the driveway.

occasionally we would go

“Coming home from work

to the mall and look for

and seeing the chalk on

clearance items.”

the driveway would make me angry,” Galapon-Acosta

Photos contributed by Andrew Galapon and The Renton History Museum

cartoons. “I don’t know what happened,”

were workdays and weekends were fun

ride them in the backyard for awhile,”

Text by Eli De Los Santos and Aidan Chaloupka

galapon

said. “It made the ground look ugly.”

If Galapon-Acosta didn’t have time to wash the chalk off the driveway then she would hope that the rain would.

Before he lived in the house that he lives in

now he would go house hunting with his family.

“Since my mom was a realtor agent we could just go into any house we

When it would rain Galapon would

wanted and it was fun,” Kathleen Galapon

spend around eight hours outside of the

said. “Andrew and I would race around

house including the time he spent at

the house to claim a room even though we

school. “Kathleen and I would usually

weren’t getting the house.”

play inside because it would be too cold

Altough Galapon and his family

outside,” Galapon said. “I would also do

wouldn’t move back to Skyway, the

my homework or watch cartoons.”

memories made there are some that will

As a child Galapon loved watching

never be forgotten.

“I bothered our neighbors’ dog; it was an ex-police dog.”

Sophomore Ilhaan Sheygo lived

Idris also saw it. “When it was

in Skyway from when she was nine to

chasing her, I couldn’t help but laugh,”

fourteen. For her Skyway was a pretty

Idris said.

boring place, but all that meant was inventing creative ways of having fun.

At the age of ten, Sheygo found mischievous ways to have fun. “I bothered our neighbors’ dog; it was an ex-police

Sheygo also frequented the local Speedymart on Saturdays and Sundays, amassing just about anything high in carbs and flavor.

“Ever since the dog incident, we

dog,” Sheygo said. “It would

were really scared, so we’d

try and jump over the fence

leave late at night or early

because we’d bother it all

in the morning because of

the time.”

that dog,” Sheygo said.

Most of what she got

They would make barking sounds and throw

was junk food, with one

stuff over the fence at it.

preference in particular.

“Our main snack was puffy

“My sister threw my favorite shoe, and I was so pissed off. I was going to go

Sheygo

and get it back, but I was skeptical of my ability to retrieve it from

hot Cheetos. I was eternally obese, and I’d eat like 10 of those,” Sheygo said.

Sheygo also enjoyed some of the

the dog, so I abandoned that,” Sheygo

more serene aspects of Skyway. “Kubota

said.

Garden was a beautiful spot to go when Cousin Batula Idris warned them to

you wanted to be alone, especially when

stop, but to no avail. “I used to come over

it was raining,” Sheygo said. “There was

to their house and see them bothering

something about the rain I very much

this neighbor’s dog. I tried to inform them

liked, especially when you just want to

that it would be best to stop,” Idris said.

think to yourself.”

“[One day it] actually jumped over

There may not be a whole lot to do

the fence and chased my eldest sister.

in Skyway, especially for children. But

That was about the end of our childhood

maybe all this means is that ways to have

memories. After that we were scared to go

fun must be invented.

in the yard anymore,” Sheygo said.

17

“We’ll buy Takis, Arizona, [and] Gummy Worms.”

Arrow asked Language Arts teacher Jennifer Trujillo’s sixth through eighth grade students at Dimmit Middle School to draw and describe their favorite childhood memories

18

“I had fun at the party swimming with my friends.�

19

. t e y e n o d We’re not

pg. 26

pg. 22

pg. 28

pg. 32 20

pg. 8

pg. 34

pg. 30

pg. 24

21

Illustration by Alex Kalinin

a o t t n e w Di ent home. retirem David Steele says his last care facility was horrible: feces on the walls and the smell of puke in the air. He says he might as well have been in a mental hospital.

Photo by Dii Miller Text by Dii Miller

The home he’s at now is much better.

smiles and cheerful greetings, but the second she left, the same

breakfast of steak and eggs as he talked about how he had earned

The home he’s talking about, Isabel Healthcare Services,

look would appear on his face. Days passed as the effects of lung

all his money and came to live in

recognized by several national organizations for their quality

cancer kept him in his room longer and longer and he came out

an extravagant house. Pastron

service, makes lots of other clients happy.

less and less to watch baseball in his favorite maroon leather

shared his “bucket list,” a mess

Unafraid to get their hands dirty, the nurses and caregivers at

chair. One day Perry suffered a near fatal stroke that left him

of checked and unchecked boxes.

Isabel Healthcare Services are harbingers of health. Being a nurse,

bedridden at the hospital. Alonzo was working in her office at

Pastron wanted to sit at a cafe in

they say, requires everything from serving clients breakfast every

Swedish Medical, writing up her closing report, when she received

Verona, Italy and sip coffee and

morning (with the toast cut a certain way) to undressing them in

a call from the intensive care unit downstairs: Perry had passed

smoke cigarettes. As time went

the evening (and folding their socks a certain way).

away. Tears flowed down her face as she drove to Isabel Healthcare

by, Cortez and Pastron learned to

Services to find the leather chair empty, with Perry’s jacket neatly

laugh and joke with each other.

The woman who loved the unloved

draped over the hand-rest. His children never came to the funeral.

They took evening walks

CORTEZ

Susan Alonzo, owner and caregiver at Isabel Healthcare

They never answered phone calls. The only people who showed

around Pastron’s property,

Services, watched Charles Perry pass away in 2007. Perry, an

up were the caregivers at Isabel Healthcare Services and a few

discussing politics and outdoor experiences with Pastron’s family

elderly native man who

cousins.

as the day turned to night. Months passed and Cortez and Pastron

struggled with lung cancer,

“When it really came down to it, I missed him because he was

became the best of friends. Four months later, Cortez received

was a cheerful man on the

one of our first clients. And because he had been with us for so

a call from Pastron’s wife. Pastron had died. Cortez knew this

outside who enjoyed watching

long,” Alonzo said.The leather chair remains empty to this day.

moment would be coming but still—he hung up the phone in

baseball, wearing his Mariners

disbelief. He wanted to walk with Pastron one more time, to serve

hat, sipping his mocha and

The man who remembered the forgotten

munching on oatmeal cookies.

When he needed coffee, he would rattle his cup like a bell and ask sincerely but firmly.

Jeffrey Cortez, another of Isabel’s caregivers, also experienced

ALONZO

Sometimes his contentedness was spiked with subtle bitterness.

Alonzo observed him from around corners sometimes, wondering if perhaps the reason he stared at the ground so much

him breakfast once more. He wondered if this was the job for him. He thought about quitting. Cortez is more careful now about

the passing of a client. His first assignment was for an in house

getting so close to clients, but he still strives to bring great care to

service, so he would be staying at a tall 78 year old Caucasian

each individual he oversees and works with at Isabel.

male’s house named Karl Pastron; Pastron was diagnosed with

“I try my best to detach myself emotionally from them,

Alzheimers and prostate cancer—and had been deteriorating over

because one day they will be gone and I would be emotionally

10 years. He was Cortez’s first client.

incapable of performing my duty,” Cortez said.

During the first few days of the assignment, conversations

Cortez learned from the death of his first client that there are

was because he never heard from his children or his grandkids.

between Cortez and Pastron were simple and short, but as time

indeed boundaries that must be established to keep his emotions

She would try to cheer him up with coffee and oatmeal cookies,

went by they shared life stories. Cortez served him his favorite

and the emotions of his clients safe. Such boundaries allow him to

22

And yet, the war taught Steele that life is precious. He

most major events but small events sometimes slip from his mind.

believes everybody deserves to be happy and loved in their own

Monday could seem like a Friday, Friday could seem like a Sunday,

way. His mother taught him to listen to everyone and to respect

and 1990 could feel like 2013. The caregivers often remind him

what their opinions, to hold oneself accountable for treating

what day it is and when to take his medications. Every now and

others with compassion, and that still holds true after the war.

then names slip, and because he remembers remembering the

Remarkably, Steele has kept much of his optimism.

name at some in the past, Braxmeyer gets frustrated. One thing he

provide personalized care—from a healthy distance.

“I do what I must do because I feel like there is a need to take care of these people. They depend on me,” Cortez said.

The woman who learned from death Alonzo’s sister, Florence

During his childhood he wrote a poem about how he views

Valentin, also works at Isabel. husband die. They got married

The poem reads:

when they were into their late

Life is too lovely to be sad

fifties, and grew close together

And must be lived

throughout the course of two

Good with the bad

years. Like Perry, Eduardo Valentin suffered from lung

never forgets is where he is: at Isabel, his home.

life.

One year ago, she watched her

Valentin

cancer. In the early days of their relationship,

nothing but his money. He says he was once warned about this

All depends on the person

place by an old geezer he met in the bathroom, an old geezer who

In his or her own way.

reminded him of himself. The old geezer said the caregivers could care less if he died or not.

Now Steele greets everyone one with a wide smile, and he

downtown Seattle and drove to Boeing Field, where they ate and

sipping his favorite cherry soda while waiting at the kidney center

watched planes take off and land. Once a month they would travel

for a blood transfusion and checkup. He rarely screams or yells.

During the last 19 days of his life, Florence never left their years together. One day he told her he would be leaving her soon and that he would be leaving everything to her after he passed. The only thing she could say in response was that he would

severe dementia, has nothing but bad things to say about Isabel.

He claims the caregivers lie and steal; he says they are after

rarely complains. He spends his days conversing with caregivers,

Eduardo’s side. She would lay down with him as they talked about

Alfred Bernstein, a 93 year old man who also suffers from

And can be gay

barbeque sandwiches from a small shack on 3rd Avenue in

to the grotto in Portland to pray and grow closer to God.

Every garden has a snake.

Life can be sad

the couple prayed the rosary in the morning as their fried rice and eggs sizzled on the stove. They picked up their favorite

The man who stood against time

Perhaps one reason Steele is so happy is because he has seen

“My overall experience here was actually very disappointing,” Bernstein said.

Bernstein offers few specifics what disappoints him, saying that things aren’t done the way they are meant to be done. He complains often about his house-mates, says he cannot stand the

so much worse. He says the last nursing home he lived at was a

sight of them. He rambles on to his counselor that the nursing

grade above a mental hospital, a mad house.

home isn’t fit for living. But when his counselor checks the state

“They treated us like animals or something,” he said, describing

reports for nursing homes, Isabel Healthcare Services passes with flying colors. Bernstein’s counselor is confused about why

Feces covered facilities and puke covered walls and floors.

he doesn’t seem to be happy, And

overcome this and become stronger for it. Soon enough, he was

The cupboards were caked with grease; the flowers on the dining

Alonzo and Cortez feel very sorry

placed in hospice care.

room table drooped from lack of light. Caregivers with bad

for him. They feel sad that they

attitudes spit words at problematic clients.

cannot make him happy no matter

Eduardo could not speak nor hardly move, all he could do was lie still and look around his room. The night before his birthday,

“They didn’t know what was up or down,” Steel said.

Today Valentin applies what she learned from this experience to her everyday duties at Isabel Healthcare Services. She strives to be patient, understanding, and caring to everybody that she meets.

“We all must learn to be patient, to be understanding, to be caring, and to love one another at all times,” Valentin Said The man who grew from destruction A Vietnam War veteran who served in the navy for most of

anymore.”

later found the bodies of babies

After the nursing home closed, the state transferred him to Isabel Healthcare Services where he now resides. It’s a place he can

keep trying our best to make him happy,” Cortez said.

call home; he can leave in the morning and come back at night to diced potatoes and lamb steak.

Bernstein spends most of

“This is my home now, and these people are my family. I

crackers and cream cheese. The caregivers believe one reason he is

believe that I speak for everyone here when I say I absolutely love

so negative about everything is because he secludes himself every

this place,” Steele Said

chance that he gets. Other clients try to mingle with him, but he spends much of his time looking for new places to move.

“I try my best to get along with him,” Steele said. “I really do.”

Many of the caregivers long for a time when they will share a

Daniel Braxmeyer has lived at Isabel longer than any of other

town.

current clients. When he first got to Isabel, Braxmeyer would only

“I did what I was told,” Steele

moment of joy with Bernstein.

“That day will be when pigs fly, but hey, we will have a party

join the group to eat and then

when it does happen,” Braxmeyer said.

said. “I was only doing what I was

go right back to his downstairs

told.”

bedroom to watch television. But

At one point in the war he

then one day he saw the Cardinals

STEELE

BERNSTEIN

his time in his room alone watching Judge Judy and snacking on

The man who lived through moments

and kids littering the dirt near

next him. The man was without

“We really truly don’t understand that man, although we

his youth, David Steele was once given orders to shell a village. He

saw a comrade laying on the floor

how much they try.

“Suddenly they told me one day that I wasn’t going to live there

he passed away. Florence’s heart broke.

The family tree full of nuts

score a touchdown at the Super

Things that need to be monitored every day: fluid and

bowl on the group television in the

hydration levels of clients, personalized diets, infection control,

his lower half and his face was no

living room and decided to join

and medication distribution. The bar was pretty high already for

longer identifiable

the rest of the clients to finish the

this nursing home, and the stress levels of the nurses sometimes

Steele’s squad was retreating from a firefight. Bullets whizzed past his head, and he and his friend John ran neck to neck, side by side. Steele doesn’t know to this day how it happened, but suddenly John fell into his arms, choking on his own blood. Steele held him silently in the midst of the chaos as his friend choked out a few words.

“My best friend died in these arms,” Steel said, “right before my eyes.”

Steele returned from the war as a “baby killer” and a

game. He remembers Cortez offered him popcorn and a Diet Coke.

Braxmeyer

That was the beginning point of Braxmeyer feeling more at home at Isabel.

“I’m shocked about how comfortable I have become. Jeff and Susan really get me,” Braxmeyer said. They understand me, they truly understand me,” Throughout his years at the nursing home, Braxmeyer has experienced the best that people have to offer. He loves that he always gets a birthday party. The nurses try to make each and

world. Hid away from humanity in general.

every birthday memorable because Braxmeyer suffers from

contact with everybody

headed. They need to be. Isabel Healthcare Services employees place relationships first; the people here believe the first step to a happy, well-run nursing home and family is treating each other well.

In fact, a common mantra among caregivers and those who receive their care is this: “We are basically an old Brady bunch,

“murderer.” Upon being granted these titles, he hid away from the “I didn’t like people anymore,” Steele said. “So I avoided

verge on red, but the nurses and caregivers always seem level

dementia, which impairs his perception of time. Every birthday could potentially seem like the first one to him. He remembers

23

and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

. y h r t a e r b b i l a z i l E ent to the w

t h E l i b r a r y ’ s B I G G E S t f a n

Behind the Skyway branch of U.S. Bank stands a brick building. It’s nothing special, just a bunch of dusty chunks of clay stacked on top of each other.

Stroll through both sets of double doors and witness the beauty of Skyway Library. Come in, come in, to the meeting room ‘round back. Join the teens in their gaming and youthful beguilement. Take a seat with the tutor and understand, at last, everything that puzzled you before. Get new knowledge.

Volunteer your services. Create bonds. Discover this community hub of worthwhile activity.

Since relocating in 1970, the Skyway Library has

Strasser).

stood at 7614 S. 126th St. Sophomore Nina Nguyen has

“To be honest, it’s the place where I legitimately

never known anything but the new location, which she

discovered reading. I would rummage through their

has attended since seventh grade.

“When I went to Dimmitt [Middle School] I used

books for hours,” Nguyen said. “I never really read before

to come here almost every single day,” Nguyen said. “I

the library.”

then. Probably half of the smarts I have today came from

became very well acquainted with all the librarians. They

Built-in to her newfound love of the library was

let me volunteer here, go behind the front desk and help

an overall growth in social experiences. The place that

out. I even bought the whole staff hot chocolate from the

started for her as a place of seclusion and escape became

nearby 7-eleven once before.”

said. “My parents are very traditional. I’m kind of stuck

a social hub.

“I got to talk to people my own age, older than my age and younger than my age,” Nguyen said. “Since then I’ve also attended all of the library’s events, including Game-On for teens every Thursday.”

Game-On is when the library opens itself to teens of

at home. They believe the girl needs to be passive, sit at

all ages.

Nguyen describes the library as her second home.

“A lot of students who go to Renton live in this area.

So if you come here a lot I guarantee you you’ll find a Renton student here,” Nguyen said. “This place is always filled with kids, teens, adults and old people. It’s pretty much like the town’s community house.”

Nguyen’s mother and father can be strict when it comes to leaving the house but are okay with her

Nguyen

hanging out at the library.

“This is one of the only places I can go,” Nguyen

“We [teenagers] get to play everything from ‘Smash

home and take care of the house. But if I’m at the library

Bros.’, to ‘Kirby’s Return to Dreamland’, to ‘Dance Dance

they aren’t too suspicious.”

Revolution’ while just hanging out. Sooner or later you

Over the years Nguyen has become closer with the

get used to the smell of sweaty boys dancing behind you.”

library staff and with members of the general Skyway

Nguyen has found consistency at the library and

community.

hopes things won’t change too much in the future.

“I was a silent wallflower. I didn’t have many

“In two years, I’ll be graduating from Renton High

friends. And so I turned to the library, where it was quiet and secluded and where I could sit comfortably in the

School. There won’t be any more classes or lockers to

back.”

share. People will come, and people will go. But when I step into the library, everything will be the same—same

She soon found herself absorbed in the literature there, especially her favorite genres (horror, sci-fi,

librarians, same people, same books—and I’ll be coming

fantasy) and favorite authors (Neal Shusterman and Todd

home to the Skyway community house, where it all started.”

24

A Fo r The library serves as a social

S o u r c e A l l N e e d s elsewhere. I’ll tell them, ‘You don’t

“When I’m having trouble

hotspot while remaining true to its

want to do that, because if you get

finding an answer we have a special

initial purpose of serving people’s

this final answer wrong then your

computer we can use to go to the

intellectual needs. One of the ways

teacher can see what you did and

online Study Zone,” Phillips said.

the library does this is through

sometimes you get partial credit.’

“When I was in school they didn’t

Study Zone, a weekly program

So it’s trying to teach them the little

have all this stuff. So it’s like, even

where students in grades K-12 stop

tricks to really get the most out of

when we don’t know, we can log in

by for homework help from trained

their work.”

and get it, or anybody can just log in

volunteers.

Sometimes the encouragement

“The library’s Study Zone has certainly been beneficial,” Library

tutors. Some of [the online tutors] are

push.

actually professors or other teachers

tutor Emiko Phillips said. “I mean, even though the program is designed

and talk one-on-one with the online

she provides comes in the form of a “I’ll see some teenagers just walking around the building looking

primarily for students, there are

trained specifically to help with Calculus or higher level classes.”

and looking. They aren’t doing

even adults I have

homework, so I ask

helped in the past.”

them, ‘Oh, what grade

Phillips recalls

are you in? Do you want

one woman in

a workbook page?’ I then

The Study Zone program has been available at the library for years, but it wasn’t until recently that the library has began publicizing it further.

particular: “She was

look through and find

“In the past it’s been hard for

studying for a test at

the page for the grade

the library to get tutors to come to

Boeing that she had

they’re in, and then I’ll

Skyway because there weren’t as

already taken three

go and make copies for

many people,” Phillips said. “It was

times. She goes, ‘I’m just not good

Phillips

at math. Plus, I dropped out of high school…’ So I gave her some of these

them,” Phillips said. “It’s

the library I came to when I was a

something small to help

kid. It looks the same though. This

them study.”

While her kindness and extra

area was very community based.

Like, the firehouse was always here,

worksheets from the sixth, seventh

efforts are surely a motivator, she

and next to the firehouse used to

and eighth grade because she had

knows prizes and free stuff also

be Skyway market. The drug store

never done that kind of math. I told

helps.

was also nearby where adults would

her, ‘Sometimes you just have to

“There was this family that

get their prescriptions and kids

stick with it. Don’t give up! Don’t

came a few times, a Somali family,

would get their five cent candy. So

give up!’ She‘d say, ‘Ughhh! I just get

and there were probably around four

it’s nice to see that some places like

tired of it. I don’t want to do it.’ It’s

or five kids I worked with,” Phillips

this library are still here for the

encouragement. You just have to try

said. “If they did well on their

community to enjoy and refer to as a

and show them.”

work, [I gave them] little things like

resource when the need arises.”

Phillips provides the right tools to aid and improve learning.

“Not just give them the answers

pencils, bookmarks, erasers…”

Phillips unzips a pouch and

Six facts that make me love the library more

pulls out a pencil with the Study

but help them figure it out,” Phillips

Zone logo wrapped around it. “They

said. “I’ll be like, ‘Oops! You have

all have the logo on them because

to go back and check this one. Oh,

we hope if they use them at school

close of World War II, the very

Library put on large annual book

that one isn’t quite correct. But you

the other kids will see it and come

first Skyway Library opened to

sales that never fail to bring in

want to show your work anyways.’

as well.”

the public

massive crowds

Since then, it has become a haven 5.

It’s teen fiction collection has

to those seeking access to email,

been developed to reflect the

social networking, gaming,

area’s teens with an expanded

streaming music and videos

graphic novel section and titles

Currently there are plans set in

that appeal especially to African

place to move the library to a

American adolescents

Like in math they erase their work and they will go and work on it more

The tutors don’t have the

1.

2.

solution to everything, of course.

3.

On Jan. 26, 1953, soon after the

newly remodeled 8,000 square

25

4.

6.

The Skyway Friends of the

The Library has always been

foot building to accommodate the

heavily praised for its openly

increasing numbers

friendly and helpful staff

Alicia we bowling anlt to the ey.

STEREOTYPES STRIKE SKYWAY BOWL

Text by Alicia Quarles Photos by Alicia Quarles My team, part I I’m part of an all-girls’ bowling team at my high school, and

I know your flaws like a lover’s: every time I find another dent or scratch or tear, I smile. I love your carvings. I especially love the

My team, part II I’ve always felt that my joy-filled, gloriously talkative team

although we rotate lanes for competitions, we practice at Skyway

one on the counter behind lane 3, in the back of the building that

gets monitored more than other teams. And not just by the head of

Park Bowl Casino.

reads “Lawrence and Kim,” and the letters are etched so deep I feel

the bowling league, either. We get monitored by all of the parents

like I could swim in them. As I stand by the counter in line for my

too, just in case.

on our team my first year, but since then—all women.

Sometimes players from other leagues treat our team differently. They look at us like we’re embarrassing them, like we shouldn’t talk so loudly. But really, we aren’t that loud, we’re just

lane, I read other carvings with my fingers like braille. They’re not scratches you can see from 10 feet away. Some of the counters in

Sometimes other coaches watch over us, telling us to button up our shirts (especially mine, even though I obviously have no type of cleavage), to check the bottoms of our shoes, to be quieter

this area are falling apart, cracked down the middle and scratched

and to stop “talking so loudly.” There’s as much tension between us

different. We aren’t trouble-makers.

up, like the couch of a cat owner.

and the adults as there is between us and the other leaguers. They

I love my teammates, my Skyway Warriors. There was one guy

Maybe it’s a race thing? All but one or two of the students from other schools are white, and on my team there are three girls who are half black and half something-else-that-isn’t-white.

Awkward for everyone, I’m guessing.

Or maybe not. My teammates and I were fine. But I remember the looks on some of the opposing bowlers’ faces when they first walked into Skyway Bowl: shocked, confused, red. Where am I? Why are there so many brown people?

I read their faces like a book. I’m going to get shot and this place is terrible and I don’t feel safe.

Sometimes I heard their voices out loud: they said the place smelled like cheap liquor and marijuana. They didn’t like the sound of ethnic vocal cords vibrating. They claimed they heard the sounds of kids having kids.

They didn’t know Skyway Bowl was giving them a better bowling experience than any of the other bowling alleys involved in the league.

thin carvings; they’re as wide as #2 pencils. You know, the thick

Skyway Bowl, I love you for all this.

look at us like it’s wrong for us to be there. They put their noses

I’ve gotten more free games from you than I’ve gotten kisses

in the air and look down on our strong Skyway attitudes. We take

in my life. I’m broke, but apparently so is Skyway. So when I pay

with them because they bring dollar bills, but you and me share

ignorant they look. They don’t like that.

This past year, one girl on our team was autistic. She was a better bowler than half of us. So it was weird when a few of us overheard a small group of mothers—grown women from other

something special.

teams—mentioning nonchalantly how sad it was our friend

with change, I give you the currency of my life.

We don’t like these out-of-towners so much. We put up

I mean, look at him—his camouflage jacket, fitted cap, and khaki pants. He doesn’t intimidate us (though maybe his strikes are impressive). I doubt he knows his lover like I know mine, if he even has one.

Not even for that long either, but I still claim her as my own.

Skyway Bowl, let me speak to you directly.

couldn’t grow up to be what she wanted to be in life because she was “too autistic.”

Being from Skyway and Skyway Bowl gives people a certain image of us, an image they don’t like, so we embrace it even more.

Skyway Bowl, I know the cracks in the tile behind the kitchen

People don’t like us, and we don’t like them back, but we know how

counter and the ripped booth seats in the dining area. So when I

things work. We may mock their noses, but we’re smart enough to

say I love the brand name duct tape on the touch screens, I’m not

wear the necessary pleasantries. We smile, click our heels on the

being funny.

hardwood floor, and send our wavering gutter-balls down the lane

You love me back, and I love you for loving my brown skin.

We don’t exactly know who we are, but we’re okay with that. We’re

My lover, part I

our attitudes and mock their straight noses and show them how

with the brightest swagger.

It kills people when we treat them with respect. They expect

more interesting than those white West Seattleites, that’s for sure.

us to be disrespectful and ignorant, not even realizing that it’s

We love our biracial lives cushioned exactly where we are, between

them, the people with their noses stuck up so far they can barely

a rock and a hard place.

see us, who are acting that way.

26

My lover, part II I love you, so sometimes I hate you.

You don’t even know who you are, always trying to be twelve things at once. Why is there even a casino here? It’s closed half the

My team, part III

Sr. said. “I’ve been bowling here,

Junior Clara Krumin is a member of my team—one of the two white girls.

and only here, ever since.”

Stewart still interacts with

“I’ve been bowling here forever,” Clara said, “so long that my

adults and children who bowl

time, and aren’t casinos supposed to glitter and shine with 24-hour

bowling number actually starts with an ’11.’ Most issued numbers

on leagues. To him, people are

possibility? I see these dark slot machines and I wonder if their 18+

now start with numbers up in the thousands.”

people, no matter where they’re

dreams are the same as mine.

Mirrors surround me when I walk in. Is this so I can see myself and my terrible posture. and flashback to my lowest scores?

Clara has improved her skills over the years, and she loves Skyway Bowl and the people who frequent it.

“Oh, she knows everyone at the bowl,” Clara’s mother Karin

from or where they bowl.

“I’ve had people come up to

stewart

me and tell me that Skyway Bowl

The rugs, somewhere between grey and red, aren’t exactly worn

said. “She loves bowling. She

is dirty,” Assistant Manager TC

out, but they’re so old and thin I can close my eyes and feel the tile

would be a different person

Thompson said. “People especially say ‘It’s ghetto.’ I get it a lot.”

or wood beneath them. Everything feels stretched.

without it.”

Didn’t there use to be a kids area over there? It’s not abandoned, exactly, but it’s missing something—like children. I don’t even know what to call it.

Thompson graduated from RHS.

She’s also quick to defend

“They don’t know the whole story,” Thompson continued.

the alley itself.

“Typically, it’s people who don’t live here. It makes me feel terrible,

“People are so quick to judge

I haven’t lived here long enough to know what you were like

when it comes to the alley,” Clara

three or four years ago, but all of my friends said you were cooler

said, “especially when we went to

back then. The videogame machines were up to date. Now the

state.”

weight of a body causes the old plastic in the early 2000’s racing game to creek like an old door.

But I will give you the bathrooms. The bathrooms are clean.

I can tell they’ve been remodeled. The walls are black and the red flowers above the wheelchair stall add a touch of delicacy. And

especially since I’ve lived in Skyway my whole life, and I practically grew up at the Bowl.”

krumin

Some background: In Feb.

Stewart has been slightly more fortunate.

“I think all bowling alleys are the same,” Stewart said. “I’ve never heard of people treating us differently just because we’re in

of 2013 the High School Travel League invited our Skyway team to

Skyway. I’ve never even really heard any bad criticism at all.”

state. We were one of the worst teams, but because our team was all-girls, we got to go. This caused some tension.

“When the head of the league told me we had been invited, I

I work here, part II “Over 20 years ago, I lived in the CD,” Manager Robin Gordon

they smell good. Since when did bowling alley bathrooms start

knew we had to go,” Karin said. “Although it was about 100 dollars

said. “I didn’t even know Skyway existed, and since I discovered

doing that?

for each of us, we had to stick it in everyone’s face who didn’t

what it was, I’ve considered it unincorporated King County.”

So I guess you’re young and old at the same time.

The front desk is oval and a little cluttered. The clutter, I

believe in us.”

Gordon has been working at Skyway Park Bowl for over 20

Karin was our coach on the

years, and has managed it for two.

think, is a sign of history. Like some of the bowling shoes behind

league, worked at Skyway Bowl

the desk that look older than me.

in the past, and even has a tattoo

Overall, I’ve seen bowling alleys in Kent that were worse in terms of atmosphere.

have low prices.”

“Skyway” with stars, and a moon.

She was the only person to cheer

The big screen TV to the left of the oval desk glows.

us on when officials announced

The Skyway Bowl Burger is more juicy than greasy, and the

to the league and parents that we

in the bottom of my purse.

a strong family atmosphere,” Gordon said, “Plus, people think we

down her whole calf that reads

Plus, our lanes are well oiled.

fries always seem to cost the exact amount of change I have rolling

“I think people come here because we’re not uppity. We have

Working at Skyway Bowl for Robin has been a family experience; her son, Thompson,

krumin

were going to state.

Like her mother, Clara shows great loyalty to the alley, the league and the team.

The shootings

“One of the main guys from the fall bowling league tried to

There have been shootings here.

get me to join his team instead,” Clara said, “but I would never take

No, there’s not some “gangster” with his pants low, gun

him up on that offer.”

Clara wouldn’t leave the team, and it’s a good thing—the team needs her.

“Without Clara there would be no team,” teammate Alicia Easter said.

tucked in his waistband, waiting at the door.

Here’s what happened.

On Jan. 1, 2007, three people were injured due to a fight that heated up after the New Year’s ball dropped. A 39-year-old woman pulled out her gun and shot.

From the Seattle Times [“New Year’s Eve shooting started as a bar brawl”]: “Two women and one man were hit in the shooting at the Skyway Park Bowl and Casino in the 11800 block of Renton Avenue South.”

The 39-year-old with the gun was quickly detained moments after deputies rushed in.

“Two 27-year-old women were struck in the torso and suffered life-threatening injuries. One of the women is pregnant.”

More about the other shooting later.

has worked here since he was 15.

“I started as porter, which means I was just the guy who did clean-up and the other jobs no one wanted,” Thompson said, “but it’s been nearly 15 years since then, and I’ve moved up from the porter I used to be.”

tHOMPSON

Thompson’s mother is just as loyal to the Bowl, and feels strongly about the community’s perception of their workplace.

“I think people think negatively about the few certain things

I work here, part I “I’ve been working here since I was 15, which is a pretty long time,” employee Jessie Stewart said.

Stewart grew up bowling in Skyway. He doesn’t bowl anymore.

“I used to bowl, but I just lost interest,” Stewart said, “I was in my mid-teens when I stopped.”

Jessie’s father still bowls; he’s been doing it for 36 years to be

that have happened here, that have also happened everywhere else,” Gordon said. “We’re no different.

“When a certain shooting happened some years ago, the news people came here, in front of the bowl,” she continued. “It didn’t even happen here!

“People from Kent bowling alleys, for instance, are no better than Skyway Bowlers, but it seems they think lower of us. They judge who we are, where we work, and the way we decide to live

exact.

“I started bowling when I was in the military,” Jessie Stewart

27

our lives.”

Emma w the Park ent to

“...we

really only come once a year to barbecue and enjoy the nice weather. Today is a good day because it’s going to rain again soon,”

“It’s good for people to take a taste. Some people take more than a taste,”

28

And found amazing stuff Text by Emma Collier Photos by Emma Collier year, and the other four were spread in-between. Courtney, an adult woman, The ending goes like this

appeared to be in charge. She was setting up the food. One of the other

Skyway Park is not a bad place. I did not know this until I went. I was

two men, Troy, grilled burgers. Some of the kids played next to a creek,

told it was scary, so that’s what I thought it would be.

horsetails, cattails, flowers, a bunch of stuff. When approached, all of the

So I am starting this story at the end, with the realization that the

younger children, aside from Joe and Hannah, rushed over to me to describe

park is actually beautiful. You can’t drive down Renton Ave. on your way to

how much the park meant to them.

the park and see the mountain and not have your breath taken away at its

Me: How often do you visit Skyway Park?

beauty.

Courtney: Well, we live in Renton, closer to Hazen and Lindbergh, so we

Or maybe you can. Maybe you take it for granted because you have seen really only come once a year to barbecue and enjoy the nice weather. Today it every day riding the bus to school, because you pass it on Saturdays on

is a good day because it’s going to rain again soon.

your way to work, because you walk to meet your friends on the weekend.

Me: What are the best parts of the park?

Well, stop.

La-nieyah (accompanied by the voices of other children): Because we

Just because something has been there forever, right in front of you,

can make sand castles, and we can play at the park. There are Honeybuckets

doesn’t mean you can’t marvel at its wonderful existence. The mountain is

here. (The other children make sounds of disgust.)

beautiful no matter what. Your argument does not matter.

Troy III: ‘Cause we can play in the sand and make pies.

The park is equally amazing. Don’t be lazy. Go find it. Find what’s

Jayden: We can pretend we’re chefs and make pies and cakes.

amazing about it. Be a child.

La-nieyah: My favorite part is the swings because at the other park,

Children find beauty everywhere. Look at the mountain at sunset. Go

they took down the swings.

to Skyway Park with your family. Walk around. Leave your phone at home.

Troy III: My favorite thing is the shortcut over there, ‘cause look, over

Drive there with your parents. Stop avoiding them, roll the windows down,

here, you can see the creek.

and say something to make them laugh.

La-nieyah: And there are lots of pinecones that we can play with too.

Stop being a teenager. Get over the exhaustion piled on your shoulders

Troy III: Look at my pie!

more and more each day. Roll down a hill. Let the grass get in your nose and your mouth. Spit it out. Let yourself sneeze. Make a wish with a dandelion.

In the Children’s Education Garden, there were Sonja and Theresa, two

Get rid of your insecurities and enjoy the world.

Caucasian women weeding among some plants. Sonja took pictures while Theresa pulled out grass that had grown up through the bottom of the raised

This is what I saw and what I thought of it

beds.

Scene 1

Me: How often do you come to take care of the garden?

Not many families go to parks to spend time with each other. There’s a

Sonja: As often as we can, when we have time. In the summer time,

stroller next to her. The mom is soaking in the sun. I bet her baby is taking a much more often, a little less in the wintertime. nap next to her, lying on its belly on the blanket they have laid out. And the

Me: Who helps with the gardens?

dad is playing catch with his son. That’s comforting. People still play catch

Sonja: It’s basically the three of us: my husband Bill, Theresa and I.

with their children.

Me: Is there any purpose to the garden besides educating children?

Scene 2

Sonja: It’s to educate children and everyone about herbs and vegetables

I wonder what their reasons are for hanging out and smoking in the

Theresa: It’s good for people to take a taste. Some people take more

park—or if they need a reason. “Ya’ll sistas?” Very flattering… but not? My

than a taste; sometimes they take a whole plant.

mom looks like a mom, not my sister, and why is your rap so loud? How can

Sonja: And we had a problem with vandalism, but it’s much better now.

you hear each other talk? Young adult, you should wear pants that actually

Me: The garden is a very nice addition to the park.

fit, with a belt that keeps them where they should be. No one wants to see

Theresa: Yes, and most of it is edible.

parts of you that your mom saw when she changed your diapers. I sound like

What are all of the plants here?

an old woman.

Sonja: Well, we have strawberries, herbs, chives, and asters. We have

Scene 3

pansies and violas, sorrel, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, and sage.

The bridge to Terabithia? No? Well then, some other mystical, fictional

We have angelica, which is an herb. It’s a perennial. We have various types

gateway? Maybe it’s like the wardrobe. Or platform 9 ¾? I’ll take a picture so of sage, like the purple and yellow, and parsley.

I can think about it later. What other things it could be like. Things are like

Theresa: We’ve had carrots.

other things. What else could it be like?

Sonja: Right now we don’t have a great deal in here because the park’s

Scene 4

going to be closed for about 14 months, and it won’t be accessible because

The girl on the bench doesn’t have headphones. She looks lonely. I

they will be doing the Sewer Lift Station Consolidation Project.

imagine her sitting in a tower like Rapunzel, waiting for a prince to save her

Theresa: They will be digging right under the park.

from this empty place. Why isn’t she home? The sky is darkening. I wonder

Sonja: There will be fences to keep people away from the construction…

why she is alone.

The other thing we need to do is rebuild the frames. They were built in

Scene 5

the summer of 2009, and it is untreated wood, so the grass is growing up

Oak trees in a huge meadow. Like a Sound of Music meadow. Except

through the beds, and the frames are falling apart, so we are making plans

without all of the fake flowers. Maybe the meadow is a gateway, a mere

now… That’s another project we plan on doing.

beginning to an adventure that could eventually be leather bound. Novel

Theresa: You might mention the Parks Levy.

worthy. A tome. Maybe someone else will find it. A child, hopefully. Don’t let the adults get it. They might ruin the imagination.

Sonja: If the parks levy doesn’t pass, the county won’t fund the parks in all of King County. There are two levies right now that will expire, and there is a new one to replace the two expiring ones, so it’s really important that if

Then, I talked with people

people enjoy the parks, to vote and try to pass the levy.

Two children—Troy III and Nyasia—carried around buckets filled with The beginning goes like this

sand and rocks and colorful flowers, calling them pies. Under the covered

I don’t know any of this. I hate the park. I hate spending time with my

area, a large family of nine had a barbecue on one of the last nice days before the rain came. The family consisted of three adults and six children

family. The mountain isn’t as pretty as people say it is. I hate having the

of varying ages—one child might have been thirteen and one was maybe a

wind in my hair. I hate talking to people.

29

Go back to middle school?

Really? Who in their right mind would do this?

Monique wen middle schtooto the l.

Me.

Text and photographs by Monique Inthasone

Going Back: Day One I heave a sigh as I close the passenger-seat door knowing I’m going back

made them more accessible to students,” Schmitz said. “Classes are also more challenging, which prepares students for high school and college.”

to Dimmitt Middle School. I bang my head on the back of the seat a few times, and off I go. Then I pass the gas station and McDonald’s and make my way up

The community has been a helpful benefactor to Dimmitt throughout the years.

the hill, zipping past trees and vacant houses.

“The great thing is we have a lot of nearby community involvement, like

Why am I so nervous? I’m an adult. Middle school is the distant past.

the Boys & Girls Club next door, and the Renton Youth and Family Services,”

And yet, as the destination approaches, my mind replays memories of

Schmitz said. “We also work with King County Pal Program, UW, and FVW.

red water balloons, gar star garbage cans, a man in a pink suit, stink bombs

What we have seen is just a growth in community involvement.”

and lollipop sticks shoved into my hair. I would not say those were the glory days, exactly.

Students are showing improvement with their studies and have a growing pride for their school.

I step out of my reverie and onto the parking lot pavement I appear before the teal doors and open them; the air pressure blows my hair back.

I look at the wall anticipating a change of color but am surprised to see the same multi-hued blue, green and purple walls. The halls are empty.

I head into the main office and note the new flat screen Vizio T.V. rotating images of hard-working students in studious class room environments. The woman at the front desk greets me.

I head down to the cafeteria. The halls seem unchanged. The lockers are still the same teal as the doors but brighter—with tan boarders. Suddenly I felt small again, like an ant.

Improvments At Dimmit Looking back on my visit, I think it’s strange things seemed the same to me. Given everything I had read in the news about Dimmit, the school was undergoing some significant changes, many of them good.

I heard of the great amount of money awarded to them by Symetra’s Heroes in the Classroom Program; I heard of the physical improvements; I heard a lot of fleeting things about little changes throughout the years.

I walked around the school while students were in their classes. There were so many changes to the building: the court yards were remodeled, the track was paved, even some of the rules were new.

It was strange that such a familiar structure felt—and was—so different. The court yards weren’t filled with weeds and the track was no longer a dirt trail with a scary dog from a nearby house barking alongside it.

“I think improving academically pushes students. We have been really pushing Viking pride and student leadership and student mentorship. I think this helps improve the culture of the school,” Schmitz said. “We have always had a very robust after school program with athletics, clubs, and other after school activities. I don’t think just one thing would do it but all together they make a great impact on the school.”

The principal of Dimmitt is excited for the future.

“This is my last year as principal at Dimmitt. I’m taking a new job as principal of

schmitz

Kennydale Elementary. I’m really excited to see new leadership come to Dimmitt and a lot of great things here along with the great staff,” Schmitz said. “New leadership can be a very positive thing for a school so I’m excited to see that person take it even further. Even though I’m leaving, my heart will always be with the Vikings.”

Day one (Cont.)

I glance to the left to see drinking water machines, two tables, and those old side doors that used to howl like wolves on windy days.

I stand before the entrance to the cafeteria. The stage is the same; the kids lining up for lunch on each side of the room is the same.

I slowly scan.

Students moved up and down two sets of stairs, each set designated a specific

I walk over to a set of three girls, one sitting and the other two standing.

direction.

I plaster my most convincingly warm smile on my face and make my way Principal John Schmitz The improvements at Dimmitt are not just physical; there are academic differences as well.

“I would say the most beneficial improvement at Dimmitt would be the

over. I ask if they are busy. They turn their backs to me, and I walk away with slightly hurt confidence, for some reason feeling as though I am back in middle school. They must not like me. I must be stained with high school cooties. No one wants to speak to me.

changes we made to our academic programs, especially in the reading and

How can I be so unreasonably insecure?

math programs,” Principal John Schmitz said.

I walk over to the table behind them. I repeat the same introduction to

But it’s not just the core classes that impact students.

the six girls there, crossing my fingers. One of them agrees to speak with me.

“I would also include music and elective classes in there as well—we’ve

We move to the tables near the huge windows, away from friends.

30

The cafeteria fills up and the increasing numbers make me anxious. Some students flutter from table to table like butterflies landing on flowers. Others play cards games, Yu-Gi-Oh and Go Fish. A few sit alone Angela Sumner Q&A

The room fills up and the increasing numbers make me anxious. Some students

Me: With the new improvements, how do you feel about them?

flutter from table to table like butterflies landing on flowers. Others play cards games,

Sumner: Well, I like it because it’s not, like, the same. It makes a difference on the

Yu-Gi-Oh and Go Fish. A few sit alone.

people.

I lose myself in the buzz for a few moments before clumsily making my way to a

Me: What do you like the best about Dimmitt?

group of sixth grades boys chatting away. I ask to speak

Sumner: The teachers. They have more supplies

with them and they cheer and pump their fists in the air.

than they used to when I was in sixth grade. I feel kind of

I smile at their enthusiasm and ask about the general

scared because I don’t want to go to high school yet.

feeling of school.

Me: What are some of the new things you like

“The environment is a nicer place and there is

at school?

less violence around school,” sixth grader Cameron

Sumner: They changed the stairs. Like, there are two stairways now. You can go up one of them and down the other.

Peters said.

sumner

His friend agrees. “[The changes] are beneficial for everyone,” sixth

When I was done talking to Angela, I spoke a girl

Peters

grader Timothy Lai said.

who had been at Angela’s table.

I ask what else they like about Dimmitt. They give each other looks as if they are

“Before people were being pushed downed the stairs when walking to class. The

thinking the same thoughts. It starts with just one of them saying they like everything, a

new stair rules make it so people aren’t pushing and shoving,” eighth grader Unique

little bit of hyper chatter and then the rest join in, almost in unison: “EVERYTHING.”

Kennybrew said. “With the stair rule people are being punished more, and they are

Our talk trails into a conversation about lunch being the best subject. I stand, thank

forced to make it on time to class now that they can only go a certain way. People aren’t

them, and wave back when they bid a farewell.

talking in the hallways as much. So they aren’t late all the time.”

Day Two Language Arts Teacher John Austin Q&A

My dad drives me, so it really feels like

Me: What do you think has been the most

middle school.

beneficial improvement?

I sit in the backseat. I arrive just as fifth period

Austin: I think the biggest improvement has been

ends and the scurry of students spill through the halls

an emphasis on creating critical reading students…

to make it on time to their final class of the day and

Many of our teachers are trying to get students to think

the week.

critically, which will help them in high school and college and beyond.

Me: Have you seen an impact on the community

The door to the newly remodeled courtyard is slightly ajar with a small wooden wedge. The sun shines

kennybrew

through it, and my own curiosity presses me further.

because of improved student performance?

LAI

I see tiers levels that make the area interesting and

Austin: I think the reputation of Dimmitt has changed. If you take a look at the

innovative. I walk to the concrete bleacher seats, imagining small Language Arts class

data and compare it to other schools, we see that Dimmitt students are improving and

productions and other little plays or shows required by teachers. I take big strides down

that they are getting a good education and are able to do the same work as students at

to the middle and sit down, picturing it in my head.

other schools.

The end of the day nears. I realize I haven’t yet spoken to the women in the

Me: Have you noticed any behavioral differences in students?

main office.

I make my way there, and the first woman I

Austin: They are getting less discipline, so they aren’t getting taken out of classes as often. We still have

talk to directs me to the woman next her, saying that

many of the same behavior problems that come along

Ms. Terry has been at Dimmitt longer. I glance over and

with middle school, but I’m not sure how many of the

see Ms. Terry talking on the phone. She seems busy. She

behavior issues are because of that or if it’s Dimmitt.

hangs up and looks at me. I ask her what she thinks is the most beneficial improvement.

Me: What do you see in the future?

“I think parent trust and student pride,”

Austin: I think that we can bring in more community resources and get more involved in our community. I think we should keep working on

Office Manger Marilyn Terry said. “We have lots of our

Austin

students achieving what they have come here to do.

terry

academic gains. We should make sure systems are in

Whether their goal is just to become a better student or

place so students can make huge academic gains and be ready for high school. I think

a better citizen, they have done a lot. What I have seen academically is very impressive. If

the next step is just getting the community and families involved.

we look at our MSP scores we have done very well there. But also just the climate of the building: the kids are really excited to be here.”

She seems earnest and genuine, and I want to hear more. I ask her what she

Day 1 (Count.)

sees in Dimmitt’s future.

I get up but remain by the windows. As the students from first lunch make their

“Nothing but the best,” Terry said. “We are the castle. That’s what I call us—the

way to their classrooms, the next set of hungry students stampede into the lunch room,

Dimmitt Castle—and we are gonna continue to be that. We’re gonna rock.”

excited to be away from their studies.

31

Evelyn h o p p the 107 ed on

I rode the 107 to see if all the things people say about it are true: that it’s ghetto, that it’s dangerous, that no one should ride it alone. I’m an expert in all thing metro-related. So I did. I tried to stay open-minded and find the good things about the 107. Which maybe sounds naïve considering what happened in the end Text by Evelyn Fitz Photos by Evelyn Fitz The bus smells

We are not in Oakland

Weed is legal now. That partially explains it. The other explanation is that the people who

Not a lot of kids from RHS ride the 107 that often. If they do, they don’t even ride half of the route

stepped on the bus with me had been sharing a blunt at the bus stop. We’re here together on a normal

without getting off—because any farther than Skyway is dangerous.

bus, not one of the caterpillar-looking ones. We’re rustling around, trying to get comfortable in our

There is a bus stop right on the side of Rainier Beach High School, adjacent to the soccer field

seats.

where the soccer team warms up. Many kids ride the bus to get home. I spoke to one of them.

I can feel the rumbling of the bus beneath me. But I hear virtually nothing. The quiet around

“Honestly, [Skyway] is just an area,” Malina De Lion said. “My school is in the south end and I

me is perhaps the most deathly quiet I have ever heard. I hear the person behind me wiggle, his gray

don’t feel unsafe because I’ve been in worse areas. We are not in Oakland, and we won’t shoot you. At

sweat pants rubbing against the green vinyl seat. At one point he stops to let out the saddest sigh ever.

worst, we will mean mug you.”

Thus begins the sigh-athon, an endless competition in which apparently every passenger this

If Skyway is just an area then why does it carry so many bad connotations?

morning must compete. The goal is to let out the least dramatic but clearly sad sigh.

Eventually the whole bus is sighing. Maybe it’s the stress of going to work or the release of stress

While I wait for the next bus, the sun burns my face

at the end of a long shift.

No one wants to stand underneath the little bus shelter. It’s sunny out, and no one wants the

Sigh.

shade. They all want the sun. The cars whoosh by, leaving their exhaust hanging in the air. Around

At each stop there’s a smattering of apologies as people try to get out of the bus quickly without

me, girls gossip.

touching one another—even though they’re packed tighter than sardines in a can. The bus rattles

“What should I text back?”

madly going up hills, so hard the windowpanes seem like they could fall right off, without a moment’s

“No, I don’t know. Tell me. Fine, whatever, I don’t need you.”

notice. It makes me scared that I will fall out of my seat and into the aisle.

Some younger kids—middle school, maybe?—call their parents and say they will be home late.

When the bus stops at the next stop two men step on and make a strange call to a young man on

They say they’re staying after school even though they are far from any school premises, as far as I can

the back of the bus.

tell.

“Niiiiiinnnnnnnniiiiinnnnnnoooooooonnnnnnniiinnnn.”

“Yes. No. Yes. I will be careful. No. No. Ok. Ok. Ok. No. Yes. Ok, Ok, I heard you. I will be at home

It sounds so odd and primitive. When the younger person at the back hears it he repeats the

by six. Fine. Ok. Love you, too. Ok. Bye.”

strange sound in return. The three of them together sound like exotic birds calling to one another.

I watch crows peck at scraps thrown on the ground earlier by pedestrians.

“Aye, yo son. Where’s your mother? You headin’ somewhere? Goin’ home?” says one of the older

“Kobe,” says a kid, as he shoots a wadded wrapper toward the trash, but misses.

men to the younger man.

A man on the outskirts of the mob makes a cigarette with a weird machine that clinks and clanks

The younger man whispers in return, as if he is trying to preserve the silence. But several bus

as it seals the cigarette. Now it smells like tobacco.

stops later the young man and the other two older men are the loudest bunch on the bus, talking about

After a while it gets so quiet I can hear the wind pushing its way through the patch of grass

fights, the duration of their probation, who got what, and everything else to come and everything to

behind the stop.

pass.

Far away, I hear cars starting, and a mother telling her children, “Hurry up. We are going to miss “I’m leaving here. I’ll see ya’ll later,” one of the older men says as the bus pulls up in front of an

the bus, and I don’t have time for this.”

elementary school.

From far off I hear the bus approaching and—soon enough—a loud cartoonish VROOOOM. Then

“Wait fo’ me. I’ma come, too,” says the younger man.

the bus lets off air slowly like a deflating ball. The driver greets us with, “Good afternoon. How are

The silence is constant except for the coughs and sniffling from the other riders. The bus

you?”

continues its rumble, clawing its way up the hill without slipping back down.

I board, sit down, and feel the flat warm seat.

32

I’ve seen weirdness I’ve been a bus rider for years, and over the years I’ve seen some weirdness.

I’ve seen 14-year-old kids pull back matching North Face jackets to show each other hand guns, as if they were Pokemon cards. While talking about how they got three bullets for a dollar. I got off the bus and waited for the second 107 to come. I did not want to be shot by butterfingered kids with guns.

I’ve seen an African-American girl in an orange top and short shorts get sexually assaulted. A man higher than a kite, with greasy hair and droopy eyelids, tried to get a sideways squeeze of her breast and thigh. He grabbed her with his yellowed fingers until she screamed at him to let her go.

I saw how she jumped and then walked down the aisle, yanking the rope to get off as she went. She tripped as she ran off the bus.

He shook with happiness.

I pulled the rope to get off too because he and I were the only ones left.

Some things I haven’t just seen—I’ve experienced them, like a man in a green rain jacket and dirty black pants wearing beat up Nike’s from the ‘90s pull my hair. He walked down the aisle and pulled my hair with his dirty fingers. I smelled the piss that trailed after him. I saw my hair slide through his fingers as he gave a final tug. I saw how he walked off the bus and waved the bus driver goodbye.

I don’t get invited to parties You typically do not talk to strangers when you get on a bus, unless you are saying “Sorry” or “Thanks.” However, you do sit next to them, if the bus is filled.

“I sit next to people who look like they don’t smell or won’t be dangerous, like they might knife me,” Sami Nguyen said.

Epilogue

Nguyen is riding the 107 to help set up a surprise party. He carries a black North Face backpack

The 107 passes through some aesthetically pleasing places. There are rough spots, for sure, but

filled with sponges and bags of balloons. He sits right next to me; I’m at the window seat while he sits

for the most part, the community it serves is not ghetto as some claim it to be or as bad as everyone

in the seat next to the aisle. Our bodies don’t touch.

says.

“I actually don’t live around here. I live in downtown Seattle,” Nguyen said. “I usually don’t come

After that time I met Melina, the girl who actually wanted to talk to me, I never saw her again.

down here [into the Skyway area.]”

Same thing goes with Sami, the boy who thought he was too good to give me his number. They were

Comparing downtown Seattle to Skyway is a long stretch.

both nice to talk to and were very chatty about everything they knew about Skyway.

“I’m a tiny bit scared of Skyway because of all the things you see in the news,” Nguyen said, “but

Some people were not as nice or as chatty and gave me snarky comments. One person even

in truth it’s not that bad during the day.”

stopped talking to me after finding out I was from Renton High School. So, I guess Melina is right in

In the night, people tend to walk in the well-lit areas. You do not go down that dark alley because

one sense: people from Renton and people from Skyway are different. But the one thing we have in

of the things you hear that might occur down there.

common is the stereotypes we hold against one another.

“Well, last night as I laid on the couch waiting for my friend to get home I heard women

I don’t have to ride the 107 anymore. My friends are getting cars. I probably will never ride it

screaming, and gun shots,” Nguyen said, “I feel that as the weather gets warmer more things happen.”

again. I’ve heard about girls getting groped on the 107 before, but seeing it with my own eyes only feet

Then he goes on to say his theory of what he thinks happened.

away has made me more cautious. If I see a suspicious looking person, I make sure I can see his hands,

“I think the woman screaming was jumped, or being mugged or getting raped,” Nguyen said, “so

and I look around for my friends.

she pulls out a gun and shoots the guy or she gets shot.”

Strangely, I liked the experience. I liked it because I learned that I shouldn’t judge people just

According to an article in the New York Times (“Near1y 1 in 5 Women...”), one out of every five

because they aren’t from the most picturesque place. Skyway is huge and full of all kinds of people.

American women is sexually assaulted in her lifetime. But what do people do when they see a woman

From the creepers on the bus who reach for your body to the sweet faced boys who like to carry

getting harassed?

on conversations but are too shy to even let thier knees knock with your’s.

“I’ve seen girls get touched on the bus,” Nguyen said. “Sometimes I say something. Other times I

I take a deep breath in.

just stare disgustedly at the man who is touching the girl until he feels uncomfortable with himself.”

I sigh.

33

THE RIDEs

n o y n BanyonAkincdkedBeadit iwit th a cop kick cops. with Text by Banyon McBrayer Photos by Banyon McBrayer

I jumped in a cop car and went on patrol through Skyway to experience all of the terrible things I had been led to believe about the neighborhood.

In place of the car chases and shootouts, I found a much more positive environment Day 2

Day 1

In a surprising turn of events, it was raining in Skyway as Officer Allan and I sat in his patrol car

I ducked my head into the police car and thought, “This is it.”

The Kevlar bulletproof vest was one size too big and felt unwieldy on my small frame. There

on the side of Renton Ave. Allan pointed his speed gun at the oncoming traffic, hoping to catch the first

was a shotgun attached to a holster in front of an armored laptop used to run licenses and as GPS

careless driver coming his way. “This is a dangerous road for pedestrians. There’s a lot of speeding cars

navigation. This is what little kids dream about. The action. The thrill of a possible car chase or

in this area,” Allan said, “You might get to see something exciting today.” Not ten minutes later did a

shootout, where the underdog rookie saves the old man’s life. The man beside me was the old man.

speeding car whiz past us both.

Allan kicked the car into drive and flicked a switch to start the sirens and lights. I was

Officer Shannon Allan was a gruff-looking police officer who had been working for the King

County Sheriff’s office for nine years. Upon first meeting him, just an hour beforehand, he told me just exhilarated. Something was actually going to happen. Something exciting! I leaned forward in my one rule: if any trouble starts, I should stay in the car and keep my head down. Little did I know, that

seat and prepared myself for the worst (and most thrilling). Almost immediately, the speeding driver

would soon be rendered moot.

pulled off to the right, and Allan stepped out of the car to approach him. He came back a few seconds

Driving through winding neighborhoods in Skyway, the most exciting thing I saw that day was a man get asked to leave private property. No drunks starting riots. No domestic violence calls.

later holding the man’s driver license, tapped something into the car’s laptop, and issued a ticket. That was it.

Allan drove us into a residential area for a quick ‘domestic patrol’. Another two hours of awkward

Absolutely nothing.

I had been to Skyway only twice before this and neither time did I think it was a particularly

silence and soaked pedestrians getting out of their cars and jogging towards their front doors later,

great place to live. The houses all looked run-down and seedy. Every plant was either dead or dying,

and we began to head back to the Burien Station. On the bus home, I continued to think about how

The people all seemed to have nowhere to go and nothing to do. Bored and slightly disappointed, all I

overwhelmingly bored I felt for those four hours.

Ever since I first moved to Renton, I’ve heard only bad things about Skyway. So where was it?

wanted to do was go home.

Day 3

sirens whooped, and the lights spun around. I expected a fight, at

to attempt polite conversation and slurred jokes that barely made

the very least, to ensue. Pulling up to Skyway Park, Allan told me

sense until he managed to get out, “What’s a drunk man’s balanced

catching a crime in action had faded, and all that was left was the

to stay in the car and began walking toward the large man, still

diet? A beer in each hand.” We all laughed a bit too long, and the

promise of monotony for the next few hours.

shouting obscenities at nobody. I watched anxiously as he talked to

dirty film over my perception began to be wiped clean.

I entered the cop car for the final time. The excitement of

For the first two hours of patrol, we again sat idly facing

the man on the other side of the grass. Handcuffs were put on the

I was able to see Skyway for what it truly is: just another

traffic, waiting for just one person to slip up. I began to nod off just

drunk’s wrists, and they both walked back toward the car. Upon

neighborhood. A place with people and families and yards where

as a male’s voice came on over the radio attached to the dashboard.

arrival, Allan opened the back door on the passenger side and sat

old white women smoke their long cigarettes and dirt backyards

He spoke in codes and ciphers that I could not decrypt. “Here we

the drunk man down on the seat and read him his Miranda rights.

where wedding afterparty-goers chat over a few drinks. Another

go,” Allan said. He went on to inform me that there was a report of

He smelled of really gross beer mixed with body odor. I was

boring Washington town with nowhere to go and friendly

a man, drunk and disorderly, screaming at pedestrians in the park

on cloud nine. I mean, I practically arrested somebody! Allan spoke

company that somehow gained a terrible reputation. A place where

and throwing rocks at cars. This sounded promising.

in more foreign languages over his radio, and we began to drive

a man, smelling of a nightclub’s restroom, told me the funniest

back to the Burien Station. As we drove, the drunk man continued

joke I heard all week.

I sat up and kept my eyes peeled for screaming drunks. The

34

the insights

I thought maybe I needed to understand Skyway through a new set of eyes. I jumped out from the cop car and talked to some local residents to see what they saw.

Emily Yoshioka

Me: What’s the craziest story you’ve heard come from Skyway?

inside their house. They got out of the car and started running

as bad as in Seattle. I think that everyone sees what they want to

Emily: Well once, I was getting a ride home, and we stopped by

toward the house and got him out. The cops were called and

see, and they see Seattle as great and Skyway as terrible. Nothing

my friend’s house. There was a drunk homeless dude stumbling

they arrested him, but nothing bad happened. It was scary for

that can’t be solved.

around on my friend’s lawn, so we didn’t get out of the car

them but funny for me.

Me: How do you think that it can be solved?

immediately but just waited to see where he was going to go. He

Me: How do those incidents make you feel about Skyway?

Emily: People should just stop talking about a place they’ve never

started walking closer and closer to the house, and my friend’s

Emily: I think it’s a fine place for people to live. Everything that

been to and ignoring the bad parts of other places.

dad started to panic a little bit, but the homeless guy was already

happens is just little stuff. Some graffiti here, drunks there. It’s not Alec Mac

Me: Have you or your family or household ever been burglarized

going on in Skyway- it’s always just general remarks about how

led to a problem.

or vandalized or suffered from any kind of crime in Skyway?

bad Skyway is. How it’s a ghetto and a bad neighborhood.

Me: Anything else you can say about Skyway, it’s reputation, or

Alec Mac: Not really. The worst thing that’s happened to our

Me: Is it ever a concern for your parents’ business around

anything else?

house was some sketchy girl walking through our yard and the

Skyway?

Alec: Skyway, I’ve found, isn’t so bad. People have their own

backyards of our neighbors’. So I’ve heard, at least.

Alec: Our family restaurant is a tiny bit further from Skyway,

opinions, experiences, and stories about it, but it seems to

Me: Well, what’s the craziest story you’ve ever heard about

so that’s why I don’t think it’s necessarily affected by Skyway

me that if you don’t go looking for trouble and stay out of the

Skyway?

itself. It has been broken into a few times in the past, and there

wrong situations in the first place, you’ll be fine.

Alec: Funny thing is, I don’t really hear much about anything

is occasional graffiti tagged on the outside. I don’t think it ever Jhana Williams

Me: Have you or your family ever been the victims of any crimes in

Me: How does that experience make you feel about Skyway?

fingers and judge. I’ve ignored it and am always proud of where

Skyway?

Jhana: It’s really confusing to me. I’ve always heard rumors about

I’m from and so should others.

Jhana Williams: Yes. One time. In 2007, my parents’ room was

how bad and ghetto Skyway is, but when I hear these things, it’s

Me: Any final thoughts on Skyway?

broken into through one window. Most of our “expensive” items

always from people who don’t live in Skyway. I think that it’s all a

Jhana: People need to remember what “ghetto” means. What the

were taken such as jewelry, our Xbox, some money. I truly believe

bad reputation created by people who live in Seattle or in Renton.

history is, before you call a family, place, or person a name. The

that the only reason we got burglarized was because the economy

Crime happens everywhere, and it’s always worse in big cities. The

word “ghetto” is overused and definitely doesn’t reflect Skyway.

was getting bad that year. We have a security alarm in now, just in

only reason why people complain about Skyway is because it’s a

case. The worst part was that my mom was so worried.

small town filled with minorities which only makes others point 35

t ’ n d i s d u o y r a e w Skyem so dange found a l se ymore. W . an is beauty th

CRACKED

BLOSSOM

DAINTY

ABANDONED

GRACIOUS

FLOW

EMERGENCY

HOME

ISOLATED

JUNK

KID

NOSTALGIA

LOVE

PAVEMENT

OLD

REMEDY

SCRAPE

VANDALISE

WAIT

XEROPHYTIC

MISCHIEF

THIRST

ZONE

YEAR-LONG 36

QUAINT

UNIVERSAL

s b e w r e t n i t o e n h t s i Aneded. Crimen any agr se here tha wor er place. oth The estimated Skyway violeNT CRIME rate is 17% lower than the Washington average.

The estimated property crime rate is 16% lower than the Washington average. * Statistics reported by areavibes.com, a website sponsored by Zillow, a real estate company

I guess our point is just because people tend to say negative things about a place, doesn’t mean the place is bad, even if some bad things end up to be true.

Skyway gets overlooked. We know that. We know that those “upper class “ or “outsiders” talk about Skyway like it’s the most ratchet place to live. If you live in Skyway, you know it even more. I used to live there, and I knew it. I know it.

Now I miss it. No matter your neighborhood, there wil always be an “Ezel l’s,” a “bowling al ley,” a “retirement home,” and a scary bus, but remember: it’s not the apple, it’s just a few bad seeds.

Skyway’s stil my home.

BECAUSE.

Vanessa Abenojar Editor-In-Chief 37

And sometime downright beaut s it’s iful.

Illlustrations by Ksenia Ivanova 38

Tehned.

Vanessa Abenojar loves the Galban family........ ...............................................................................................................................................................................................Editor-in-Chief

Tony Nguyen will finally get to drive during the summer.............................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Ksenia Ivanova is a walking paradox...................................................................................................................................................................................................................Managing Editor

Rafael Agas is being dragged to Star Trek after paste up.......................................................................................................................................................... Staff Reporter

Queneshia Lee once you go black you NEVER go back........................................................................................................................................................................Copy/Intro Editor

Annie Kwan thinks that Lil’ Gotham is the best thing that ever happened to the new 52..............................................................................................Staff Reporter

Eli De Los Santos wants to run away to the ocean and swim with the fish......................................................................................................................................Photo Editor

Angela Vu is losing her mind over a fictional character....................................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Alex Kalinin is the bigges but that eva lived... ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................Arts Editor

Emma Collier seriously can’t think of anything.....................................................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Mirjam Amstutz can’t wait for her birthday-leaving party on June 8th.....................................................................................................................Ads& Business Manager

D’Angelo Miller saw a black girl fight yesterday.................................................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Marisol Mora is hungry..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Cover Editor

Vy Nguyen is eating ice-cream cake, yum.................................................................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Amanda Dyer dreams big for small things...............................................................................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Monique Inthasone feels more awake staying up for 24 hours............................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Banyon McBrayer became the Bandit.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Aidan Chaloupka is really going to miss the seniors ...................................................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Alicia Quarles doesn’t have any friends........................................................................................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Elizabeth Galvan is obsessing over Demi Lovato’s newest album......................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter

Sierra Cottier is just as sweet as the sundaes she provides.................................................................................................................................................................................Butt Kicker Evelyn Fitz is laughing her way out of here.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................Staff Reporter Derek Smith believes in the virtue of work and play..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Adviser FINE PRINT ARROW is an open forum produced by senior-missing, memory-saving, nonstop-laughing, untraditional-familylike-teenagers who acts like a pack of bears who fight for their honey, which is food. They put all their effort in one place and attend at the same time. A place named Renton High School at 400 S. 2nd St., Renton, WA, 98057. The editor-in-chief is senior Vanessa Abenojar.

You can contact her at vanessa.abenojar@gmail.com.

ARROW is printed eight times a year by Pacific Publishing Company in Seattle, Washington. Word processing, graphics and layouts are created on Microsoft Office 2007 and Adobe Creative Suite 3 programs. ARROW has a press run of 2,000.

The staff welcomes letters to the editor and will publish letters which meet our standards of good taste (as space permits). Letters must be signed. ARROW reserves the right to edit letters, though every attempt will be made

to preserve original content. Unsigned editorials and editorial cartoons represent the majority view of ARROW editorial board and do not represent the views of the Renton School District or RHS. Opinions, commentaries, satires, and perspectives are the views of the writers and artists, not the Renton School District or ARROW editorial board.

ARROW is financed by advertising based on sizedetermined rates. These range from $20-$80.

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