Education and Democracy by J.M. Tewinkel

The following was written by J.M. Tewinkel, Principal of North Central High School, Spokane, Washington in 1949. Some of the statistics mentioned in his short essay have improved, but the message is still relevant:

"Everyone likes to think that the job he is doing is important. Sometimes a student wonders whether he is spending his enthusiastic years to the best advantage by finishing high school.

All the evidence proves that he will hold better positions and earn more money through his lifetime if he sticks to his high school course. That's the selfish side.

But our nation has a comparable interest in each one of you. America's chances for survival are better whenever a student moves over into the "upper one-fourth" in educational status.

America is a democracy and each votes counts once. but the number of voters who didn't reach sixth-grade education equals the population of 29 states. Sixty percent of American voters have not had a year of high school. They couldn't have had more than a smattering of history, civics, economics, and government.

LESS THAN 25 PERCENT of the American electorate have gone through high school! 

So, America says to each one of you, stick to your education guns! We shall expect better judgement and better accomplishment from you then from the less-favored three quarters."

"The Weed" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Jason Taylor's lawn was his pride and joy. As usual, on Monday morning Jason made a slow survey of his yard to see if any imperfections had cropped up overnight. Everything was fine until he noticed the big-fat ugly weed in the center of the lawn.

Jason left his breakfast and rushed to the garage where he picked up a small shovel and some weed killer. Once outside, Jason quickly dug up the weed and sprayed the spot with weed killer. After work, he would try and repair the small hole.

Jason was annoyed by the weed for the entire day and had difficulty concentrating on his work. More then once his boss frowned at him. 

After work. Jason went to work on the damage left by the weed. It was nearly midnight when he went to bed. The next morning, Jason was enraged to find that the weed had somehow grown back in the same spot.

Once again, Jason went to the garage to get a shovel and weed killer. After removing the weed and spraying the herbicide, he also put a patch over the hole.

Jason spent much of the next workday researching weeds and at the end of the day, his boss informed him that he was going to be terminated. Jason didn't protest, he was anxious to get back home and check his yard.

Not only was the largest weed in the center back, but smaller weeds now covered the yard. Jason hacked the weeds to pieces and then dumped all of his remaining weed killer on the lawn.

For the rest of the night, Jason looked  on the web for the most effective weed killer. He finally found a product that was guaranteed to kill every kind of weed permanently.

Several days later, a case of the weed killer arrived. Jason sprayed his entire lawn with the weed killer. The herbicide killed every speck of life on the lawn. A rainstorm spread the poison to other yards and killed everything there as well. 


The area became so poisonous, that it was condemned by the EPA and the residents were forced to evacuate.

As Jason was preparing to leave his home, he noticed a big, fat, ugly weed growing in the bare ground that was once his lawn.

"Drone Love" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

They first met at the park. Ron was sleek and powerful in blue and Sarah was girly and feminine in pink. 

For hours, Ron and Sarah danced among the trees. They were having so much fun that neither wanted to leave.

The next time they met was at the college. Sarah realized that Ron had so much more experience then she did and she struggled to keep up.

Sarah was a little afraid to meet Ron again after what happened at the college, but she was glad that she changed her mind. After another amazing day, Sarah decided that it was time they left the drones at home and met in person.

"Mutant" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Martha thought the route through the mountains would be a short-cut to the city, but after many miles of empty road, she realized the decision had been a mistake.

Sometime around Midnight, Martha heard a strange sound and then the engine quit. She  maneuvered the car off the road and then opened the hood. The maze of wires and parts was a mystery to her. Hopefully, Martha looked at her cell phone, but there was no signal.

Martha felt panic setting in when a car came around the bend. An older man rolled down the window. "Are you ok?" he asked. "Engine trouble" Martha said. "Do you have a landline phone?" she asked. The man nodded and opened the passenger side door. Martha hesitated. She hated the idea of getting in a stranger's car, but there were few options available. Martha got in the car.

As they drove away, the man introduced himself as Dr. Wilson and said he was doing some kind of research in the area. Martha only half-listened, she was more worried about how much money the car repairs were going to cost.

Dr. Wilson had a large cabin about a mile from the main road. Being so far into the woods made Martha nervous and she was anxious to get going. Dr. Wilson showed her where the phone was and then he excused himself. 

Martha looked through a yellow pages by the phone and found a car repair shop in the nearest town. The mechanic she got in touch with promised to come up in the morning and look at the car.

The idea of spending the night in her car did not appeal to Martha but there was little choice in the matter. The mechanic showed up as promised in the morning and immediately looked under the hood.

After a few minutes, he poked his head out and informed Martha that it would cost about one thousand dollars to fix her car. Martha was stunned. She had maybe half of that and no one to borrow the rest from.

The mechanic agreed to tow the car to his shop and wait until Martha decided what to do. Martha began walking up the road to Dr. Wilson's cabin. He was her only option left.

The Doctor was doing some chores outside of his cabin when Martha arrived. "Is your car going to live?" he asked with a smile. "Yes. but it's going to cost more money to fix then I have right now." Martha answered. "How much do you need?" the Doctor asked. "About 500 dollars." she replied. 

The Doctor stroked his beard. "I could use a little help around here, and  for your labor I will pay the balance for you." "Thank you so much Doctor. I will do a good job for you." Martha said with relief.

The Doctor let Martha stay in a guest cabin on his property while she did her work. Most of the chores were routine such as cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry, but on the third day, the Doctor invited her into his laboratory to do some work.

The lab was much larger then Martha expected. A massive aquarium took up most of the space. The only inhabitant of the aquarium was bright-red spider- like creature the size of a Basketball. 

"What is that thing?" she asked the Doctor who was standing nearby. "A mutant. I call him Julius. I discovered Julius when I was on a field trip up here a few years ago." Doctor Wilson answered. "You mean that Julius is unique?" Martha asked. The Doctor nodded. He is the only one of his kind as far as I know."

As Martha watched, the creature descended to the bottom of the tank and started using some kind of device. "What is it doing?" she asked. "About a year ago, I created a simple language so that Julius and I could communicate. The device he is using sends messages in that language.

The Doctor walked over to a device similar to the one in the tank. "Julius is asking about you. He has never seen a woman before." Martha walked over to the Doctor and he showed her the basics of sending messages on the device. Martha typed in "Hello Julius, "I'm Martha." and sent it to the creature.The creature read the message and then swam to the front of the tank and stared at Martha. "I think he likes you the Doctor joked."

A couple of days later, Martha was serving dinner when the Doctor began speaking. "Julius has been thinking a lot about you." he began. Martha  "Is he in love?" she joked. "Actually, Julius would like to reproduce with you." The Doctor said. Martha dropped her tray of pork chops. "What?" she said alarmed. The Doctor continued ignoring the mess. "Not in the conventional sense of course, but he thinks it would be possible to combine his sperm with your egg and produce a new being."

Martha could not believe what she was hearing. "Absolutely not!" she shouted and headed for the door. "I'm afraid it's too late to say no, Julius has already decided" the Doctor said. Martha suddenly felt very dizzy and then lost consciousness.

Sometime later, Martha awoke in an unfamiliar room. She staggered out the door and discovered that she was in a motel in Nebraska more then a thousand miles from the Doctor's cabin. The desk clerk only knew that a man had dropped her off the night before and paid the bill for two days.

It took over a week for Martha to make her way back to the Doctor's cabin only to find that it was completely deserted. The Doctor and Julius had disappeared.

Film Review- "Ark"

"Ark"  is a science fiction film that is only about twenty minutes long. The  story is fairly simple: Sometime in a horrendously polluted, over-populated future, a lone man tries to preserve a part of the remaining natural world in a wetland habitat that he has created in his home.

To do this, he gradually collects surviving wildlife from the outside and transfers them to his home habitat. Everything seems to be going well until his preserve is discovered. 

I first watched "Ark" when I was 14 and it has resonated with me over the years. Whenever I see a crushed bird on the side of the road or a familiar wood destroyed for "development" this film comes to mind. 

"The Wreck" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Brian Murphy looked out into the darkness of the field. He couldn't see it, but he knew the car was out there. After 37 years, his beloved  Plymouth GTX was slowly being consumed by Blackberry vines.

Brian moved his wheelchair away from the window and once again thought of that night. It was just after graduation and he was challenged to a race by Mike Simmons. 

The two cars met on an abandoned road in the hills. Kids from school lined the side of the road near the starting point. One of the kids volunteered to start the race with a makeshift flag. Brian could feel the raw power from the engine. No one was going to beat his car.

As the flag dropped, Mike's Chevelle  moved ahead, but Brian quickly caught up. About mid-way down the road, Brian began to pull away. The race was almost won when his front tire blew. Brian fought to control his car, but there was nothing that could be done. 

The big GTX swerved into a ditch and then began to roll. When it stopped, Brian was pinned in the wreckage. After he was taken to the hospital. Brian found out that he was permanently paralyzed from the waist down.

Even when he was barely conscious, Brian insisted to his father that he wanted his car towed back home. 37 years later, the car remained in the field where it was towed all those years ago.

Brian was alone now. His parents had died several years before and he hardly left the farm anymore. From his window, Brian would stare at the car, willing it to come alive again... to save him. At night, he dreamed of the race, but in his dreams there was no blown tire and no accident.

On the anniversary of the race, a spectacular full moon illuminated the car. Brian stared intently at the wreck and soon heard the throbbing of the big V-8. The Plymouth's headlights came on next. His car was alive again!

Brian moved his wheelchair from his bedroom to the outside. The night was beautiful and he was young and strong again. Brian got up from the wheelchair and walked to his car. The GTX shined in the moonlight  and Brian took his seat behind the wheel. This time it would be different. This time he would win the race.

The next morning, a neighbor found Brian quietly weeping in the driver's side of the wrecked, silent car.

"Dash Point Adventure" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

 Jenna found out a month before school was over that her parents were going on a "Second Honeymoon" to Europe and that she was going to stay with her Aunt and Uncle near Tacoma, Washington until her parents got back.

Jenna tried to be supportive, but she couldn't help but  think of all the things she was going to do with her best friend Michelle this Summer.

The day after school was over, Her parents took Jenna to the airport. Jenna felt so grown up getting on the plane by herself. In a about six months, she was going to be sixteen.

Several hours later, the jet landed at Sea-Tac Airport and Jenna looked around the crowded luggage pick-up for her Aunt Terri and Uncle Bob.

After about twenty minutes, Jenna spotted them. They looked about the same as they did the last time she had seen them at a family reunion the year before.

"How was the flight?" her Aunt asked.  "At first, I was scared being on the plane without Mom and Dad, but after about an hour I got used to it." Jenna said honestly.

"How would you like to get something to eat?" her Uncle Bob asked.  "Sounds good. Jenna replied. After leaving the airport, they stopped at a small Cafe' and had hamburgers.

After eating, Uncle Bob took a narrow road that partially followed the Puget Sound shore. Being from Iowa, Jenna loved the inland sea that cut deep into Washington State's western half.

Her Uncle eventually stopped at an old house that sat directly on the beach. "Can I stay in the room that I had the last time I was here?" Jenna asked her Aunt. Her Aunt Teri smiled. "I spent the last few days getting it ready." she said. 

After entering the home, Jenna offered to help  with dinner, but her Aunt suggested that she should go to her room and rest for a while. Jenna had to admit that she was tired.

Her room was on the second floor with a big window that looked right out on the Sound. Jenna collapsed on the big bed and in a few minutes she was asleep.

The sound of thunder woke her. Jenna was fascinated by the view from her window. Lightning lit up the water followed by the crash of thunder.  For a few seconds, Jenna watched  as an old sailing ship was illuminated by the lightning flashes. After a few seconds the ship disappeared.

The next morning, Jenna went downstairs to find her Aunt in the kitchen. "You must have been really tired. You slept right through dinner." she remarked.  "I was." Jenna admitted. "Did the storm wake you.?" her Aunt asked putting a plate of pancakes in front of her niece.

Jenna nodded. "The thunder was really loud." She decided it was best  not o mention the disappearing ship. 

"Any plans for today?" her Aunt asked. I think I will just do some exploring if It''s ok with you." "Just be back for lunch." Her Aunt said.

Outside, the sun was shining. It was hard to believe that just a few hours before a storm had been raging. Jenna sat on a smooth rock on the beach and texted her friend Michelle everything that had happened so far including the ghost ship. Jenna also texted her parents tot tell them that she had arrived safely.

Jenna was watching the antics of a flock of Seagulls when the hottest boy  that  she had ever seen strode out of the surf. For once, Jenna was tongue-tied. The boy took a towel from behind a gym bag hidden behind a log and began to dry off.

"The Sound is a little chilly this morning." he remarked. Jenna could only nod. " Do you live around her? he asked.  "I'm visiting my Aunt and Uncle, Jenna said pointing at the house. "The Bakers? They are good friends with my parents. The boy held out his hand "I'm Matt Fischer. We just live just down the beach." Jenna took Matt's hand"Jenna Ryan" she said releasing his hand.

"How would you like to go sailing sometime? Matt asked. "You have a boat?"  Jenna asked. Matt looked down. "Well, it's my parents' boat, but they let me use it sometimes." he answered sheepishly. "I'll have to ask my Aunt and Uncle first, but if they say yes, I would love to go." Jenna answered. Matt's face broke into a huge smile. 

Jenna's Aunt and Uncle approved of the sailing trip as long as she always wore a life jacket and they stayed in the area. Matt brought the sailboat by the next morning. Jenna had never seen a sailboat up close. "The Islander" was about twenty feet long with multi-colored sails that were furled to the mast.

Matt handed her a life jacket as she stepped on the boat and he showed her how to strap it on. As Jenna took a seat, Matt pulled a lever and the boat slowly headed out into the sound. The weather was beautiful and the water was calm. "When do we use the sails?" Jenna asked. "Unfortunately, there isn't enough wind right now to use the sails." Matt answered. 

Matt kept the sailboat close to the beach and at one point, he let Jenna operate the tiller. Around noon, Matt turned off the engine, dropped the anchor and they had lunch.  "You are so lucky to be able to live here." Jenna commented. Matt laughed "You probably wouldn't say that when it rains month after month during the winter." After lunch, Matt took "The Islander" back to her Aunt and Uncle's dock. "Did you have fun?" he asked. "It was great." Jenna said truthfully and gave Matt a light hug.

That night, Jenna had a nightmare about the ghost ship sinking in a terrible storm. The dream was so realistic that Jenna remembered the next morning where the sinking occurred.

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day with a light wind and Matt asked her if Jenna would like to take the boat out again. This time, Matt was able to open the sails and "The Islander" flew across the water.

Later in the afternoon, they approached Vashon Island and the area suddenly seemed familiar to Jenna. This was the place from her dream. Jenna asked Matt to anchor the boat at a spot on the west side of the island. Jenna looked into the clear water and sure enough she could see the remains of something resting on the bottom. They spent the rest of the afternoon cruising around Vashon Island and Jenna learned a little about  how to work the sails.

Jenna was having so much fun that she forgot that her parents' trip to Europe was just about over. On her last day at Dash Point, Matt let her be the skipper of "The Islander" and he played First Mate. They cruised most of the day and had lunch near the city of Tacoma. 


The next morning, Jenna was packed and ready to go. Dash Point almost felt like home and she hated to go, but her parents had suggested that Jenna might be able to come back again. She could hardly wait.