November 2009
Monthly Archive
Thanksgiving, for most, is an easy holiday. For those people, there are always plenty of things to be thankful about - first paychecks, new cars to go along with new licenses, Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncles, yeah, yeah, and now that that’s over, I’d like to start being grateful for this pie over here, too. Those were most years, though. This year, with America still in the midst of a recession, there are going to be less paychecks to go around, less cars for newly minted eager drivers, a great deal less of many of the things we give thanks for. This Thanksgiving, what exactly are you supposed to say at the dinner table, “I’m grateful for being able to avoid the 6% chance of a crash that I would have risked had someone given in and lent me that two hundred for a truck?”
Well, maybe not. The Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving months after a brutal winter that killed almost half of their colony, and yet they still managed to enjoy the day. That was nearly four hundred years ago, but perhaps we will learn something besides not investing in General Motors from the current state of the economy. Not gratitude, merely something more, a little more emotion behind the words; a lesson not everyone needs to learn, but maybe for someone for whom new cars are par for the course, a sudden inability to roll at eyes at Hallmark sentiments of gratitude. Maybe. Who knows? Or maybe they will be inspired, will donate, help others…
Or maybe, we’ll be stuck with a bunch of people whining this Thanksgiving. Though even I’m not that pessimistic.
On November 21st, Barat Academy will hold its first Turkey Trot / Fun Run, sponsored by Barat’s NHS.
The Trot is a 5K run around the school’s area (suburban running trails–perfectly safe). The winner of the run will receive a frozen turkey, just in time for Thanksgiving dinner!
For kids, there will also be a Fun Run around Barat’s athletic fields. Each child registered receives a goody bag, too!
For only the run, the fee is $5, but for $15, each participant (including children) receives a (student-designed!) t-shirt. We ask that participants wanting a shirt pay by Thursday, November 19th.
All profit from this event is going to food pantries in the St Charles area. It’s a great cause to help those in need over the holidays, and a chance to exercise with friends and family! The event is sure to be a blast.
It begins at 9 AM on November 21st in the lower parking lot at Barat Academy.
To register, please call (636) 300-5500 or email me at cemery@baratmail.org. If you have any questions or need directions to Barat, please feel free to email me as well!
Hope to see you there!
Tags: Barat Academy, Exercise
Thirty students from Lincoln, Pike, St. Charles and Warren counties recently received a total of $15,000 in scholarship awards from the Cuivre River Electric Community Trust.
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Tags: Cuivre River Electric, Scholarships
Curtis Kalin is an opinionated nineteen year old who isn’t afraid to share his thoughts with the world. Although he’s currently a college student, Kalin grew up in Ballwin, Missouri. He publishes his own conservative blog, Gateway Patriot, which led to his YouTube channel, twitter, and his internet radio host on Blog Talk Radio. Kalin started out by developing a blog on the internet and received enough recognition to appear on St. Louis radio and speak at the July 4th St. Louis Tea Party. Needless to say, he’s been successful in speaking his mind on political issues. Who would have thought a teen’s opinion could hold so much weight?
Kalin explains that it was thoughts of his future career that motivated him to start a blog focusing on his interests. He says, “When I got to the age where I had to chart my career path, I had a love of current events and politics. My parents and other friends saw my strong opinions on the news and told me to consider it as a legitimate career. However, not being in a politically connected family, I thought, made this choice impossible.” Kalin started small. He explains, “Someone mentioned that I could start one of those free blogs online, so I did.” It was 2006 when he began his blog, which gets about fifty hits per day. Not only has it been a great outlet for his opinions, but it has helped in developing his interest for a future career in politics, according to Kalin. “Not to say I don’t enjoy writing unbiased news articles,” Kalin elaborates, “but my forte and my hobby tends to be opinionated writing. That has been my hobby for a number of years and it may end up morphing into my career in politics and government.”
Of course, since he’s still in college, Kalin has the typical responsibilities of school, and this means he has to stretch time to fit in blogging around homework. He says, “During the school year I have to balance the two and it’s not easy. Schoolwork always took precedent for me, that’s why I couldn’t be one of those daily bloggers or daily radio show hosts. Over the summer it [blogging] is my priority, though.”
Kalin is very straightforward in his advice to other teens. The question remains, how can we speak out and be heard? His answer: “Well, we need to do so.” Then he informs us, “I’ve said in the past that freedom of speech never had an age requirement. I suggest that people follow what I’ve done. It’s important to note that I had zero experience blogging, doing radio, videos, anything, when I started. My family wasn’t rich; I had no “ins”. My philosophy was, ‘if it was free I’ll try it’. It has been amazing to go from that to appearing on St. Louis radio and speaking at the July 4th St. Louis Tea Party. My call to all youth is to get involved and just try things. The internet offers so many mediums of communication that it’s impossible not to find something to communicate to someone.” Kalin wraps up his suggestion simply and powerfully with the statement: “My message: go for it.”
If you’re interested in checking out his blog or starting one like it, I encourage you to visit www.gatewaypatriot.com.
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