TAKE ME HOME :)
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Annika 11, splashes her heart out on her Staycation!
December 2011 Vol 4, Issue 5
TA SAN KS! TAL 18 Page
Matthew 14, Tuscon, AZ keeps his brother’s spirit alive recognizing kindness with Ben’s Bells.
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4 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | December 2011
Owner Jolene and her two boys
7 Rivers Region
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The Bunk Room
Created by Kids
wHAt*s uP tHis moNTh? s spire Kindnes Ben’s Bells In
Features 10 Slice of Life: Scott Hodges Director of the Icehouse Theater in Mt Dora, FL shares his passion for children’s theater.
10 Kids’ Combined Efforts Help Big
page 14
Friends come together to create a giving group.
14 Ben’s Bells Ring Kindness
The Bunk Room is a magazine created by kids and read by all ages. Our goal is to inspire kids to love reading and writing. We have readers and contributors from all over the world. In addition to our online edition, our printed editions can be found throughout the United States. Print editions are provided without charge and can be picked up at participating local businesses and institutions. To locate your closest local provider, go to
Matthew 14, of Tuscon, AZ shares how the kindness of others ring out in thousands of randomly placed bells throughout the community, all inspired by the memory of a little brother lost.
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8 Contributors This Issue
The Bunk Room is owned by Dimples Media, Inc. No part of this publication may be used without written permission from Dimples Media, Inc.
8 Margo’s Musings
Please email permission requests to publisher@TheBunkRoom.com.
Sophia 11, Coral Gables, FL fills her day with dance, dance, dance!
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20 Poem! Poem!
For information about being a local publisher of The Bunk Room, contact Mark Slaby, Director of Licensing at mark@TheBunkRoom.com
30 Habilis Boy
28 Cleaning Up Nature Lexi’s walk in the woods turns into a nature cleanup.
Departments 6 Publisher’s Note
Santa Unp lugged
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11 Pop Survey 12 Day-To-Day
26 Road Trip! Life of Twin Horse Lovers!
page 22
December 2011 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | 5
The Bunk Room
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7 Rivers Region TheBunkRoom7RR.com
Publisher: The Good Life Media Group Editorial / Creative: Maria Slaby Editor in Chief: Margo Slaby
Jeremy Fisher
Publisher, 7 Rivers Region
Jeremy came to The Bunk Room with an eclectic mix of experience, from the marketing industry, printing industry as well as the financial industry. Together with his
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Jeremy’s interests are lowering his golf score, reading, woodworking,
strong connection with the community that creates a dynamic edition of
leading a Boy Scout Troop for his son. He also spends his free time with The Bunk Roomies......................... Our loyal and diligent writers appearing in this issue: Annika Slaby 11, Mount Dora, FL Liz Kliber 14, Tavares Benjamin Slaby 14, Mount Dora, FL Erik Slaby 16, Mount Dora, FL Margo Slaby 17, Mount Dora, FL Maria Chester18, Eustis, FL Founders.................................... The Slaby Family, Mount Dora, FL Margo, Erik, Benjamin & Annika Mark & Maria .................................................. The Bunk Room: Your Edition, is published by Your Company Here, XXX-XXX-XXXX. .................................................. All content submissions are assumed to be for publication and become property Dimples Media, Inc., 1515 Old Eustis Road, Mount Dora, FL, provider of The Bunk Room trademark and editorial content. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission from Dimples Media Inc. Contact publisher@thebunkroom.com for permission requests. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If an error comes to your attention, please accept our apologies and notify us immediately. The Bunk Room is limited in liability to a correction in a future issue. All opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers or advertisers. The Bunk Room cannot be held responsible for the products, services or opinions herein.
his family in the martial arts studio where he recently earned his Red Belt. Jeremy is pictured above with his horse, Sir Chant’s-a-lot.
Maria Slaby
Director of Editorial & Creative
The Bunk Room has been all abuzz these last few months! We’re expanding rapidly in communities across the country. Now kids will be featured from coast-to-coast with publishers gearing up from California and Oregon to North Carolina and points in between. This month we welcome La Crosse, Wisconsin to the The Bunk Room–7 Rivers Region edition. Looking forward to seeing writers come out of the woodwork from my alma mater state of Wisconsin. Plus, since my husband is from Wisconsin, and follows The Packer Religion, it’s especially a sweet edition for our family. Enjoy & Welcome Wisconsin!
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U P
branding.design.photography s e e
p a g e
2 1
t o
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Contributors This Issue
Lexi 9, Indian Trail, NC
Lauren 13, Eagan, MN
Austin 9, Albuquerque, NM
Matthew 14, Tuscon, AZ
Christina 11, Orlando, FL
Benjamin 14, Mount Dora, FL
Maya M. 11, New York, NY
Liz 14, Tavares, FL
Annika 11, Mount Dora, FL
Emelie 16, Kearney, NE
Emma 12, Sorrento, FL
Allison 17, Merrillville, IN
Madison 12, Sorrento, FL
Margo 17, Mount Dora, FL
Julia 12, Louisville, KY
Maria 18, Eustis, FL
Congratulations to all contributors.
You Kids Rock! Keep up the great work!
Julia 13, Eagan, MN
Margo’s Musings
I’m so excited to share this issue with you. With great writers from all over the country, this issue is full of inspiration! Fall was a really great season for me. I was captain for the Mount Dora High School Swim Team and we got to swim at the Regional Meet in Jacksonville, Florida. I got some personal best times in a couple of events.
In September I had a major remodel. I massively cut my hair... ten inches! I wasn’t a bit nervous! I had been thinking about it for over a f hie -C year. It was just enough to donate too! I absolutely Editor-in love my new hair cut. It's a long pixie cut---my dream haircut! It makes swimming a lot easier without having to use a pony tail holder all the time to put on a swim cap. Speaking of swim team, we recently had our Regional Swim Meet for high school. I qualified for the finals in all four of my events that day (100 Butterfly, 100 Backstroke, 200 Medley Relay and 200 Freestyle Relay). I swam pretty well in the preliminaries, but I really soared in the finals! It was the last time I was swimming my individual events at a high school swim meet and I wanted to go all out. And boy, did I ever. I swam my best time in the 100 fly, with a 1:07 and also swam a personal best in the 100 back with a 1:10! It was a great meet and I had a ton of fun with all of my teammates. We all had some great bonding time. :) Two of our relays might make it to State Championships too! I can't wait to find out. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday vacation.. make sure you eat lots of good food and make many new friends! :) Smiles! ~Margo
8 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | December 2011
The Bunk Room Needs You
Yes...this whole magazine is written entirely by kids, so come on kids, now’s your time to shine. See your work published!
Submission Guidelines All writing should be original work of the contributor and be considered wholesome and acceptable content for kids aged 8 to 18. All artwork must be original from the contributor. For photographs, please include names of persons in the photos.
Submit Online All work needs to be submitted via our Inbox at TheBunkRoom.com Remember, a parent or guardian’s electronic signature must accompany all submissions. All submissions are the property of The Bunk Room. The Bunk Room reserves the right to edit submissions. The Bunk Room content is published monthly by Dimples Media. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reprinted without permission from the publisher.
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December 2011 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | 9
Slice of Life: Scott Hodges By Emma 12, Sorrento, FL Lights on, Curtains up. Scott Hodges is actor and director at Icehouse Theatre in Mount Dora, FL. He directs kids’ plays at the Icehouse Youth Theatre (IYT). Scott’s love of working with children has lead him on a fun-filled adventure so far.
a Rhyme.” His favorite play he directed was “Our Story,” a story of Aids in the Black Community.
Hodges said that he saw Broadway shows and said, “I can do that.” The first Broadway show he ever saw was “Into the Light.” You can find it in the book “50 Worst Shows to ever be on Broadway.” It is number three.
Hodges’ first play was “Alice in Wonderland.” He played the Fish Footman. His first lead role was El Gallo in “The Fantastics.” His favorite play was “Life in the Wind Tunnel.” He played Man-x.
Hodges runs a circus that does birthday parties and events. He said he did a lot of Shakespeare and it was too serious. So, he studied the art of silly. He would go to Central Park and make balloon animals. Then he started to do birthday parties. His circus is called Dr. Smyles Circus.
Hodges says ”I loved acting so much because you study human behavior then act it out.” He also likes community theatre better than professional theatre because community theatre is more rewarding. Hodges said that he preferred directing because you get to be more creative and not so repetitive, like having to cry every night for months straight. The first play he directed was “Once Upon
One of Hodges’ goals is to open a school like a Montessori that integrates art into the school program for three to eighteen year olds. Learn more about Dr Smyles Circus go to drsmylescircus.com
Small Efforts of Many Help Big! By Maya M. 11, New York, NY My friends, my brother and I made a club in February 2011 called The Donators. There are 6 people in the club and each month each of us puts $5 in a box. At the end of 3 months, when we end up with $90, we donate it to a charity. So far we have donated to Japan Earthquake and tsunami relief, and Heifer International. We are now putting jars in some stores to help us save up for the charities. We love to help the world. When we donated to Japan we saved up $80. For Heifer International, we saved up about $700! Having the jars really helped. We are going to continue donating as long as we can.
10 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | December 2011
Learn more at The-Donators.com
Pop Survey! If your sibling(s) are annoying you, what do you do? I try to stay calm and not lose my temper. Madison 12, Sorrento, FL I just go and relax in my room and leave them alone. Christina 11, Orlando, FL I will have a baby sister this December. Since she will just be a little baby I bet she won't annoy me for a while. Austin 9, Albuquerque, NM
Walk away or say "You are annoying me." It is a rule at our house that if you say it three times, the person who was annoying you owes you one dollar.
I go on the computer, put in headphones, and listen to music.
Ignore them.
Allison 17, Merrillville, IN
Julia 12, Louisville, KY I usually leave the room, and find something else to do. Generally, they will just put me in a worse mood than
It depends on what kind of mood they are in.
Argue with me, act sullen for no reason, insult me.
Madison 12, Sorrento, FL
Emelie 16, Kearney, NE
Play "practical jokes" on me.
My sister burps the alphabet
Christina 11, Orlando, FL
(EWWW!!) and my brother mimics me. Allison 17, Merrillville, IN
Austin 9, Albuquerque, NM Ignore them. Julia 12, Louisville, KY Sing, hum,whistle, being themselves. Annika 11, Mount Dora, FL
What do you do to annoy them? Sometimes I jokingly tease them,
Sing, hum, whistle and everything
but I try not to annoy them too much.
else.
Madison 12, Sorrento, FL
When I'm in a bad mood it annoys them, and when I try to prove myself right, they get annoyed too.
Follow her around. Christina 11, Orlando, FL When my sister gets older I won't let her play my X-Box because she'll be too little for the games I like.
Annika 11, Mount Dora, FL
Emelie 16, Kearney, NE
Austin 9, Albuquerque, NM
I threaten to tell my mom their grades. (That usually makes them quiet)
Talk in a British accent.
Allison 17, Merrillville, IN
Julia 12, Louisville, KY
Emelie 16, Kearney, NE
Annika 11, Mount Dora, FL
What do they do to annoy you?
Nothing yet! But in a few years I bet she'll want to play my X-Box.
I might already be in, and I don't want to be around them any more than I have to be.
Day-To-Day
By Sophia 11, Coral Gables, FL
........................ As I open my sleepy eyes I feel my dad kissing me goodbye before he leaves for work. I get out of bed and go into the kitchen where I give my mom a hug. I get myself a bowl of yogurt and put honey and flax seeds with omega 3's on top because I'm a vegetarian. Almost 2 years ago I saw part of the movie, "Food, Inc." and decided to no longer eat meat because of animal cruelty.
What a regular day is like.
I start homeschooling after breakfast and I finish all of my work by noon. Then I start getting ready for dance. I attend a dance program at a public magnet school for the arts where I dance for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. To get ready I put on my pink tights, my black leotard my uniform pants and shirt and my Converse shoes. Next, I fix my hair and twist it into a bun. I then add bobby pins, a hair net and a pretty bow. I grab my book bag and ballet bag. I then ask my mom, "Does my bun look good?" and she always replies, "No. It looks perfect!" My mom drops me off in front of the school. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we study Ballet, on Tuesdays we learn Jazz Dance and on Thursdays we study Modern Dance. I love my dance group and I have made a lot of friends. My mom picks me up, then we drive to The Miami Conservatory where I take ballet. This year I am in Intermediate 1 and finally I'll be learning pointe! I also rehearse for The Nutcracker every Saturday. This will be my 5th year performing in The Nutcracker and I'll be in the party scene. When I get home around 8 pm, we have dinner then I get ready for bed. This is what I call, "ME" time. "Me" time is when I do whatever I want. I like to play with my Polly Pockets, Barbies or American Dolls and watch a movie. I love old fashioned movies from the 1940s, especially if there is a lot of dancing. At 9:30 it is "lights out!" and that's the end of my day.
12 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | December 2011
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s s h o r s e m a n s h i p. c o m December 2011 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | 13
Ben’s Spirit
By Matthew 14, Tuscon, AZ
My little brother, Ben, was born on my third birthday and died exactly two months before my sixth. He was a really funny kid who loved to dance naked to “I’m a Believer”. He died suddenly and unexpectedly of the croup virus on what started out to be an ordinary day in my life. He was playing a game with me one minute, and was being whisked to the hospital the next.
My memories of that morning are mostly fuzzy but some moments are crystal clear. I remember friends of my parents sitting on the floor in the hospital crying and later, dripping candle wax on my fingers at Ben’s memorial service. There was no way I could have known at that point how his death would change my family and the course of my life.
Slowly, my parents began incorporating coping strategies into our lives. We came up with the idea for Ben’s Bells and started making them in our garage with friends.
We decided to make hundreds of the Bells and hang them randomly in our community to encourage the kindness that everyone so craves and needs. Since Ben’s death, it had been the kindness of others, strangers and friends, that had helped my family begin to heal. We wanted to find a way to pass on that kindness and to help others in the process.
On the first anniversary of his death, 400 Ben’s Bells were distributed around Tucson, hung randomly in trees, on bike paths, and in parks with a note to take it home and pass on the kindness.
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The ripple effect that followed was amazing! People finding the Bells had stories to tell - lots of
“Kindness deepens the spirit and produces rewards that cannot be completely explained. It is an experience more powerful than words.” ~ Robert J. Furey
Swings In The Wind
them – about the excitement and surprise of finding a Ben’s Bell and what it meant the Bell meant to them. Our local newspaper printed the story - front page - next to fast breaking news of the war in Iraq. School groups, businesses and individuals began calling to see how they could get involved and in no time, hundreds and hundreds of Tucsonans were involved in making Ben’s Bells.
It has been nine years since Ben’s death and our little project has grown exponentially! We have distributed 23,000 bells so far. We are about to open our second public studio, we have a staff of 8 employees and we deal with tens of thousands of volunteers.
I feel lucky to be working at Ben’s Bells and hope to eventually follow in my mom’s footsteps as Executive Director. I hope Ben’s Bells will inspire you to be more intentional about kindness in your community, and who knows? Maybe you’ll find a Ben’s Bell one day!
Meet Matthew & Ben’s Mom, Jeannette Mare. Scan with your smart phone.
bensbells.org
December 2011 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | 15
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FINALLY! Questions Answered!
By Annika 11, Mount Dora, FL
Ho Ho Merry Christmas. It’s Santa Claus! I had the honor and privilege of interviewing Nicholas Trolli, president of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas. (AORBS) For 11 years I have seen Santa at the mall. I have had many questions to ask, but no time. Today, I am so happy to share my interview with a real bearded Santa. ANNIKA How come there are so many Santas? SANTA A long time ago, there was this St. Nicholas. he was the original Santa Claus and he delivered all the presents to all the boys and girls around the world. You know what happened to Santa? Mommies and Daddies kept having children. So, the next thing you know, he couldn't cover the whole world by himself anymore. Even with all of his magic, he couldn't cover the whole world. So what he did, was he went to his relatives and his friends and said "Hey, could you guys maybe grow beards and I'll have the Winter Warlock turn them white for you? And then you guys could help me out?" So all his friends and relatives said "Oh yeah, we would love to help!" Well, that worked for a while, but there still weren't enough people. So then he came to other people that he knew and would meet on the street and he would ask "Would you like to be a Santa Claus?" and most people said yes because it is a very special job and it's a really fun job to do! And then, what happened was, the group called The Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas was formed as a brotherhood of those of us that help Santa. So, we're all over the world, and we help Santa and it is a very special honor. That's why, you'll always see the real Santa. But you know you are seeing a real Santa because they are the real bearded Santa. They look like Santa, and they have the magic of Santa as well. Now, the way you'll know the original Santa, he's still around, he wears a very special ring. That ring, has a Ruby top on it, has a picture of him on the side, and a jumping reindeer jumping over snowflakes on the other. ANNIKA What inspired you to be a Santa? santa Well, I had a relative of mine, who was a Santa helper, and I thought every boy and girl got to see Santa on Christmas
18 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | December 2011
Eve, because I always got to see him. When I became a man, I said "Well, not everyone can see Santa anymore because there aren't enough Santa's to go around." So, my relative told me about it and I said "Well, I can help." and I was selected that I could do it! So, I said "GREAT!" I've been doing it ever since… for about 30 years now. ANNIKA What do you love about being Santa? santa Well, I would have to say it's the children and the smiles. It's fun to watch the children go from a sad face to a smiley face when they see Santa Claus. And then some children might be crying before they see Santa Claus and a lot of times, I can make those children smile! It's like magic. ANNIKA What is challenging about being Santa? santa Let me think on that one… hmm… I would have to say, I've been gaining a lot of weight. You know, Mrs. Claus keeps feeding me and since I've gained all that weight, it's been hard for me to get up
Santa UnPlugged!
and down the chimney. That's a challenge right now but I'll probably knock off a couple pounds.
It's also a challenge when you have to deal with special needs children because they have a lot of love in their hearts and sometimes they can't express it and you have to work with them a little more. But it is very rewarding‌ just a small challenge. And with the economy being the way it is, there are a lot of people out there that don't really want to believe in Santa Claus anymore so that's a challenge to me, if you don't believe. Because if you believe in Christmas, all kinds of magical things will happen. ANNIKA Are you married? Do you have a family? santa I have two children that live with us, their ages are 13 and 12, we have a very special dog that lives with us too, he's a service dog. ANNIKA What is the most requested gift? santa Well, the number one requested gift is money. Especially this time of year but unfortunately, Uncle Sam got mad at Santa when he was giving money so we can't do that any longer. So, we don't really do the money, but the second most requested gifts are electronics like Wii, Nintendo DS and Play Station 3; those are the popular items. ANNIKA How do you get messages to Santa up in the North Pole? santa Well e-mail of course! We're in the 21st century! ANNIKA What are some of the weirdest things people have asked for? santa One, year, it was kinda odd, but this woman asked me for a 10 Karat tennis bracelet. So I had the elf put 10 carrots together, and we made them into a bracelet and then delivered it to her! And you know what? Even though she received it, she wasn't really happy with it! ANNIKA Do you have any funny stories from your work? santa Well, one funny story I can tell
you is about is about a young elf. It was his first time riding with Santa and we were at a home, and the elf was very, very helpful and she was very energetic and she wanted to really please me and prove that she could do the job. So, I'm reading a book to a child on my lap, and she starts getting the gifts out of the bag. And then, all of the sudden, I notice that everyone in the room was giggling. So I look around and ask "Well what are we giggling at?" And I look around and there was my elf. In my bag. Head first with just her feet sticking out in the air, wiggling.
And that is how she got her name. You know what we
call her? Well, she was also in the bag giggling so we named her Wiggle Giggle. ANNIKA When I go see Santa at the mall every Christmas, I always wonder if the Santa suit is hot and how you keep cool in it? santa Well, particularly here in Florida, it gets pretty warm. It tends to get really hard to stay cool. Now, here are some little tricks we have. First of all, I leave a snow flake on my lap so when I touch that snowflake, it cools me down. Another trick we have is something the elves invented. It is called The Cold Vest. Have you ever seen an ice pack that you put in the freezer? Well it's very similar to that, but the vest is made entirely out of those. We put that on, and it lasts for about two hours, and after two hours, we put a new one on and the other on back in the freezer. There also is a suit where it saves me from the fire in the fireplaces. It really helps because I've lost quite a few pants that way. ANNIKA Why are the elves short and why do they have pointy ears? santa That's because they are from Laughland which is a very small village and they are very unique little people. They were born that way! There was nothing done to make them that way, and if you have ever seen that ooolllddd story of Santa Comin' to Town, the cartoon, they explain how Santa met the Claus family. So, he meets them, and they were the number one toy maker for Burgermeister Burgermeister. The elves love to play and they love to make toys. They are so good at it!
December 2011 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | 19
poEM pOE
m
Abby By Christina 10, Orlando, FL ................................................... Abby was a special friend Always with me till the end She was so sweet, good, and kind She will never leave my mind Never sad Never mad She was the best cat I ever knew
................................................... Do you think you’re the next Edgar Alan Poe? We’d like to see it! Submit your poems through our InBox at TheBunkRoom.com website.
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December 2011 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | 21
a Horse
Lauren
By Lauren 13, Eagan, MN Three years ago I took my first riding lesson. Before I got onto Dusty, the lesson horse, I had to learn how to take care of him. The instructor showed me how to brush him and pick the dirt out of his hooves. I also learned how to give him baths. It was fun to soap him all up and then spray him down with the hose. Usually I got a bath too! After learning how to care for and groom the horse, then I learned how to put on the saddle and bridle, which isn’t so easy to do. The saddle is heavy and the horse made his belly bloat, so I couldn’t synch the saddle tight.
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& Dusty
When I finally got to ride it was so much fun! I rode in an outdoor arena and the instructor taught me important things like how to make the horse stop, go and back up. Once I had these down I could ride faster. It was great to be able to canter on Dusty with the wind blowing through my hair.
I’m not taking lessons this year, but I still like going to the barn to see my horse friends. I braid their manes & tails and bring them carrots and apples to eat. Lauren & Julia are twin sisters who love horses.
of Course! By Julia 13, Eagan, MN I have always liked horses. When I was little I liked to read about them and I played with a miniature horse farm set. Finally in fourth grade I talked my parents into letting me take riding lessons. After my first lesson, I was in love! I couldn’t get enough of the horses. I would do anything in order to just hang out at the horse barn near my house. I even got a job cleaning horse stalls there. I would clean in exchange for riding the barn manager’s horse. I learned a lot being around horses so much. The horse owners at the barn showed me how to do things and every day I learned something new. When I was 12, I convinced my parents to let me lease a horse. Leasing is like renting a horse--you don’t own it, but you get to care for the horse and ride it. It is a perfect way to try-out different horses before you buy, because, believe me, no two horses are the same. While looking for horses to lease, I also searched for horses that were for sale. It was fun to dream about owning a horse someday, even though, I never thought my parents would let my buy one. One day while I was riding, my riding instructor mentioned that her friend was selling her 5 year old mare. I had heard about this horse before and really wanted to see her. I did everything I could to get my parents to take me to look at this horse. Finally, Mother drove me to the barn she was at. During the ride, Mom reminded me that we were “just looking.” When I first set eyes on her it was love. She was a beautiful red-dun Quarter horse. We went back to see Fancy three times that week. The fourth time we bought her and brought her home. I could not believe I was actually a horse owner. It was really exciting, but scary at the same time. I had a thousand pound animal that I needed to care for.
Julia takes Sunny for a swim.
Blast from the past Watch Mr. Ed on Hulu!
I have owned Fancy for 10 months now and they have been the best 10 months of my life! Since owning a horse, I have joined 4-H, and a horse club where I’ve met a lot of girls my age that are interested in horses. Fancy and I went to horse camp this summer and competed in Western games at the county fair. Every day has been a new adventure and I am looking forward to learning more and doing more with horses.
December 2011 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | 23
For less than the cost of a pizza dinner, you can feed a child for a month. The Bunk Room is proudly partnered with an international corporation in an awardwinning effort to end world hunger. Since 2003, over
200 million meals
have been provided to children throughout the world, including the United States.
Every 6 seconds a child dies of starvation. Help us help feed the children. For less than the cost of dinner out with your family, you can join The Bunk Room in being part of this world-wide effort to end childhood hunger. Help others. Help yourself. By participating in the social entrepreneur program of Nourish The Children, you not only help stomp out world hunger, you also help fund your own local cause. Learn how helping feed children worldwide can help your family and your community as well. For more information, call The Bunk Room at 352-383-1456. Or email publisher@thebunkroom.com
24 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | December 2011
Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program
Givin g Tree
Be an angel this Christmas! Make kids of the La Crosse area smile by participating in the Angel Giving Tree program! To help, please contact Jeff Hoch at (608)-782-6126
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December 2011 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | 25
Action Packed Trip! By Maria 18, Eustis, FL
Many families travel during the summer, but how many people do you know that travel through time on their vacation? Follow me on my journey through time and space!
rOAd tR
Ip
My vacation started out simply enough, my mom and I went down to Daytona Beach to join my theater group for our summer retreat. I had a wonderful time! My favorite part was when we all went to Chili’s for dinner. Each of us was given a character to play during the meal, and I got the part of a surfer who was afraid of water. We had to get everyone else to guess who we were without telling them. It was hilarious! I started talking in this Aussie accent, and whenever saw a glass of water I started shaking and calling out “WA . . . WA . . . WATER! Everyone within hearing range knew who I was! All too soon the retreat was over, and as I began to say goodbye to all my friends, my mom suggested we stay a few more days at the beach. (This is where the “time traveling” comes in!) I was ecstatic, and immediately began planning what we should do while we were there. There were so many interesting places to visit, but unfortunately we only had a couple of days in which to do it. So we chose to take a tour of the Angell & Phelps Chocolate & Coffee Factory, and visit the Kennedy Space Center. Angell & Phelps is an old fashioned chocolate shop located in downtown Daytona. The store opened in 1925 and still uses much of the original machinery. (I know this isn’t what you were expecting when I said time travel, but don’t worry. You’re in for a real treat – a chocolate treat that is!) The tour was a lot of fun, and at the end they gave out free samples! I had chocolate covered potato chips. I couldn’t believe how good they were! (Now, back to the future!) Next we went to the Kennedy Space Center where I got to see the Star Trek exhibit. (I’m a really big Trekkie!) They had costumes and props from all the series, and there were people walking around dressed as characters from the show. They had sets from the TV series, including the bridge of the USS Enterprise. I even got to sit in Captain Kirk’s chair!
I also learned that “Resistance is not futile” as we battled the Borg on Star Trek: The Simulator. One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing Star Trek: Live. After the show, I got to meet the cast members! Of course we saw the regular attractions at the Space Center as well. I even had my picture taken with a real live astronaut!
Sponsorships of this page go toward The Bunk Room Apprenticeship Program. Call 352-383-1456 or email publisher@thebunkroom.com.
26 | TheBunkRoom.com | December 2011
Even though I didn’t really get on a space ship, I learned that are many ways to “time travel” if we just look around us!
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Cleaning up Nature By Lexi 9, Indian Trail, NC Today my dad and I went for a hike in the woods by our house. It was a beautiful sunny day. The sky was so blue with only a few white, puffy clouds. There was a chill in the air and I could tell that Fall was finally here. Tall trees were swaying back and forth and there was the sound of acorns dropping everywhere. We saw plenty of gray squirrels gathering nuts for the winter and it was so funny watching them bury their food in the ground.
As we walked, a brown lizard scurried across a fallen tree. We were real careful not to scare it and crawled across the ground so we could get a picture. The woods were so full of different sights and sounds - birds singing, grasshoppers hopping, woodpeckers tapping on trees, Â deer waiving their white tails as they ran away and pesky mosquitos buzzing in our ears. The funniest thing on our hike was my dad walking through a big spider web. It was all over his hat like a Halloween decoration. Thankfully there was no spider! One of coolest parts of our walk was just like the movies when a character goes through a secret door into another land. We saw a little dirt path and when we moved the vines and branches and walked through, there it was. The prettiest little stream with a waterfall and tiny fish. I could have stayed there all day. But the real reason we went into the woods was to clean up the environment. It was sad to see how many plastic bottles and cans people drop in the woods. There was so much trash that I thought the bag was going to rip. I told my dad that we need to do this every Sunday because we have a LOT of work to do.
Help clean up your area by just doing the little things... picking up trash! Tell us about your experience!
28 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | December 2011
December 2011 | TheBunkRoom-7Rivers.com | 29
The Parts Car By Benjamin 14, Mount Dora, FL
Habilis Boy
Habilis means “handyman” and dates back to the classification of early man, known as Homo habilis. That’s when man started using tools and becoming pretty handy around the house. We have our own resident Habilis man, in boy size: Benjamin.
Excerpt from Habilis Boy Blog. Restoring a ’77 VW Beetle. Day 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . While I was out of town for almost a month all I could do was look for parts. I found a couple of cheap parts cars. but only one really caught my eye. There was a 1972 VW Baja Bug. This thing is really awesome. It has some really nice tractor tires and mag wheels and a really neat bug eye kit. It comes with some really nice parts as well. The guy was charging $700 for the whole car and some other parts such as a front and back bumper and rear engine cage. He was also including all of the lights and glass and some other parts that I can’t think of off the top of my head. I think I will buy it. Day 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Today I looked online for bug parts and bug car forums. I looked at the 1972 VW Baja Bug again. I talked to the guy and we arranged a meeting to look at the bug. At this point he had lowered the price to $600. My sister and I went to Danny’s, the seller’s house. I looked at the bug and it was a piece of junk! READ MORE at TheBunkRoom.com Click on Habilis Boy
TheMeet BunkoneRoomies! of us!
Scan Me With Your Smart Phone and watch Benjʼs latest video.
Keep up with Benjamin’s blog. Go to thebunkroom.com and click on Habilis Boy.
Being a Bunk Roomie takes kids writing to the next level. We learn the art of the interview as well as how to turn it into an interesting article. Plus we have a front row seat behind-the-scenes of the publishing business. To learn more go to thebunkroom.com/Bunk_Roomies
Benjamin Can Fix It! By Liz 14, Tavares, FL From old cars to junk motorbikes, Benjamin can fix it all! Benjamin, 14, of Mount Dora Florida has been on a rebuilding journey for a while now, and is known for his famous title, “Habilis Boy.” Constructing his latest work, a 1977 VW Bug, he is proud to say the car will most likely be finished within a year, along with a lot of hard work and dedication.
“The Yamaha motorbike was my favorite to fix,” Benjamin explained, “but I am excited about the bug.” Saving enough money from buying, fixing and selling mowers and odd equipment over the internet, this hardworking handyman finally made enough money to buy his 1977 VW Bug. Good luck Benjamin on your journey of becoming a very skilled handyman and keep up the good work!
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Benjamin
Liz
The BUnk Roomies!