Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now
Backbeat the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you now
And all the roads we have to walk along are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
I don't know how
Because maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me ?
And after all
You're my wonderwall
Today was gonna be the day?
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About you now
And all the roads that lead to you were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
I don't know how
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me ?
And after all
You're my wonderwall
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me ?
And after an
You're my wonderwall
Said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
This is one of my current favorites! :)
JACKOLYN MCCOY FOR THE ARCTIC SOUNDER
My palms are sweaty. Trickles of
perspiration are running down my
forehead.My calves are tense; in fact,
they’re burning.
My mouth feels like cotton. I try
to moisten it with my saliva, but I
don’t have any.
I take a deep breath, but it’s difficult
to run down the basketball court.
I am breathing heavily. I want to sit
down to rest but try to overcome my
lack of energy to continue the game.
My body aches from running
seemingly forever.
With just four minutes left in the third quarter of our game
against archrival Buckland High School, we are in the timeout
huddle.
We surround our coach and his clipboard.We watch him
draw the lines.We discuss the play.The huddle is over;we step
out onto the court.The timer buzzes. I glance up at the clock.
Our team,the SelawikLadyWolves, is behind by seven points.
Margaret in-bounds the ball and passes it to Marcy.
In the corner of my eye, I can see Britney open at the threepoint
line. She doesn’t call for the ball but just waits patiently
for Marcy to see her.
Marcy is dribbling the ball two feet past the half-court line.
Finally, she spots Britney and throws her a hard, quick pass.
Britney grabs the ball and shoots; it goes in! My heart
smiles with relief.We are now just four points behind.
The referee hands the ball to a Buckland player, who inbounds
the ball. I see one of the Buckland girls open, pointing
and screaming, “Whose man is that?”
Quickly the Buckland player grabs the ball and sinks a
three-pointer.The Buckland fans leap out of their seats.
Marcy dribbles the ball up the court, then calls the play.
“Swing it!” she shouts.
I shift to my position. Marcy passes to Britney, who passes
to Margaret.
Britney cuts to the other side of the court. Marcy replaces
Britney’s former position to snag the pass from Margaret.
Marcy passes it to me. I swing it to Britney, ready for her second
three-point shot. She scores!
I inhale deeply and slap Britney’s hand on our way back to
defense. Then both teams trade a few baskets.
Marcy dribbles the ball down the court, motioning a play
with her left hand. Martha rushes toward Marcy to set a
screen. Imove around onmy side of the court. Marcy accepts
the screen and drives the ball toward the basket.
A Buckland girl picks her up but fouls Marcy on the arm
while her lay-up goes in.
The crowd is screaming, but I can hear only my own
thoughts as my body surges with energy. Marcy makes the
free-throw to take us within one point.
Fourth quarter is here. I work harder, ignoring my leg cramps.
Nikki wants the ball, speaking to me with her eyes. I keep
passing to her, as she never disappoints.
We keep feeding Nikki the ball. She scores every time, but
so does Buckland.
At half court, Marcy receives an in-bound pass.
Martha sets another screen for Marcy, but this time stops a
few steps away from the screen and shoots and scores. The
game is tied with less than one minute left.
We get the ball back after Buckland’s point guard travels.
After a timeout,we are back on the court with 3.8 seconds
remaining.
Margaret gets ready to in-bound the ball at half court. I
wait for her to see me open at the three-point line. She sees
me, I get the pass, see no open teammate, and without thinking
about it, I release. The ball travels off my fingers and
through its arc. Score!
I forget about the clock and race underneath the basket
to guard the in-bounds pass from Buckland, but I can see
the disappointment in the Buckland girls’ eyes. The final
buzzer rings through the gym with Selawik on top, 64-61.
That game taught me never to give into pain or fatigue and
that hard work in sports and in life can make the difference
between victory and defeat.
JACKOLYN MCCOY FOR THE ARCTIC SOUNDER
Laughter brightens up one’s life. In fact, having fun
can be the essence of living a long, healthy life.
The joy of fun comes in a number of forms including
mental fun, physical fun and ever-evolving fun.
Some forms of fun are primarily physical, such as riding
roller coasters, throwing snowballs and water balloons,
playing outside in old clubhouses, hiking up a
mountain, or tickling.
Physical fun often releases chemical endorphins in the
body.
Laughter releases endorphins and other healthy hormones.
Endorphin, known as the “feel good” hormone, is the
body’s natural pain medication. The Compact Oxford
English Dictionary defines endorphins as “any group of
hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system that causes an
analgesic effect.”
Research has shown that having a good laugh is an effective way of
relieving stress and strengthening the immune system.
Having a good sense of humor and laughing even about our most
serious problems can help us make it over life’s rough spots.
“(Laughter) focuses away from anger, stress, guilt, and negative
emotions,” wrote Elizabeth Scott on the website About.com, where
she describes some of the many benefits of laughter.
“A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and
even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward.
It even provides a good workout for the heart.”
Mental fun is the kind that gives themind pleasure and enjoyment.
For instance, telling jokes, watching the stars, spending time with
friends, reading a book, and watching a favorite television show are all
forms of mental fun.
Time seems to pass faster when we are having fun.
We are so absorbed in what we are doing that we do not worry
about the time or verymuch else. Seemingly, time just flies because we
do not worry about it.
We tend to block out the time when we are immersed in enjoyable
things.We do not want good things to come to an end.
The left side of the brain conceptualizes time and words, and the
right side conceptualizes patterns and dimensions, so
when we are deep in a right-brain mode of thinking, we
are having “fun” and lose our perception of time.
Time seems to drag more when we are not enjoying ourselves,
often because the right side of the brain is not in use
while the left side of the brain takes over and causes us to
become more conscious of time passing.
We are generally more conscious over time than we
realize.
Organizing time more efficiently can relieve a lot of
stress and enable us to have more fun.
Our idea of what constitutes fun matures with age. For
example, playing “peek-a-boo” with a baby can make a baby
laugh but teenagers scowl.
Learning to have fun starts in infancy. Babies emulate their parents’
actions and learn family concepts of fun.
Fun is not a universally agreed-upon concept because people live in
different environments.
In fact, one person’s idea of fun can be another’s unpleasant experience.
For instance, one person might love sports while another finds
them boring and more like hard work rather than like light fun.
As another example of different perceptions of fun, some may see
teasing as a positive way to interact with others while getting to know
one another better, but othersmay take teasingmuch more personally
and consider it cruel and negative.
Fun is vital to life. One is having lots of it, wanting more of it, or
wishing they could find a little bit of it.
Laughing and smiling are essential aspects of fun. Laughter can
keep us healthy both physically and emotionally.Therefore, remember
to have fun and laugh. It’s a great way to live a long, happy life.
JACKOLYN MCCOY FOR THE ARCTIC SOUNDER
My mother — we call her
“Momma” — sat across the kitchen
table from me. I glanced at her and
smiled because we look somuch alike:
big brown eyes, long butterfly eyelashes,
that same straight smile. It’s as
if I were looking into an aged mirror.
“Woo-hoo!” my mother yelled
right in my face. “Yahtzee!”
She did her little victory dance,
assuming I will become jealous. I love
her lively spirit, but I hate it when she
beats me at stuff.
Suddenly the local airline called
over the CB about a plane coming in, which would launch a
string of events that would derail all our lives.
“Jack, do you want to help?”Momma asked politely. One
thing I love about my mother is she always asks and doesn’t
demand anything.
Out at the airstrip, the plane swooped down from the sky.
Mymother parked the snowmachine on the side of the plane
to help the pilots unload the freight onto the wooden sleds.
“Jack, you ready?”Momma asked, grabbing the starter rope.
We stopped in front of the post office. I ran up, keys jingling
in my hand, and unlocked the back door. I helped Momma
unload but eventually grew weary.
“How can you do this every day,Momma?” I asked. “My
arms are tired!”
“You can go ahead and run home now,” she said without
hesitating. “I can finish the rest.”
I didn’t run home, sitting instead on the snowmachine,watchingMomma
carry parcels into the post office, a daily chore.She
picked up each boxwith ease. I think shemust be a superwoman.
I had no idea I was about to experience another side of my
mother.
Aftermeeting themail plane,we cruised home only to find
thatHarley, our beloved housedog,was nowhere to be found.
My mom nervously asked the community over the CB if
anyone had seenHarley recently.No one replied about seeing
Harley, although a few hellos come back fromlocals.Then the
phone rang.
“Good afternoon.McCoys,” saidMom, whose expression
after only a bit looked grim; something was wrong.
“A localman was shooting dogs earlier today,”Momma said
after hanging up. I thought nothing of that because everybody
in town knowsHarley,butMomma’s expression remained bleak.
Momma rushed to put on her winter gear. I did the same.We
simultaneously dashed out the door and jumped on the snowmachine.
It doesn’t take long for us to reach the local person’s house.
We exploded off the snowmachine. A white plastic trash
bag lay on the snow full of something.Momma ripped open
the bag to find our year-old dog lying stiff and still.
“Oh, no!”Momma cried out. “My poor Harley!”
She ran up the stairs and charged into the house of the
man who shot our dog, but all he could do was offer an apology.
We will never get our dog back.
My mother was simultaneously furious and miserable, her
face oscillating from rage to grief. She’d lost her baby, our
family’s best friend.We left in disgust.
Momma coveredHarley, threw himonto the sled and cried
all the way home. I was crying too.We reached home and
purposely “forgot” Harley was in the sled. We wanted this
nightmare to cease.
Mymother unzipped her parka and slumped into her office
chair, tears streaming down her cheeks.Harley was like one of
her own children.
Momma hadn’t cried like that since she lost her brother a
few years ago.
SOUNDER STAFF
Selawik residents were stunned butmoving forward with holiday celebrations
after the local Friend’s Church, its insides already decorated for its annual
Christmas program, burned to the ground Thursday,Dec. 21.
At about 8 a.m. that day, Edna Smith, the pastor’s wife,woke up to the sound
of explosions. Not knowing the source of the noises, she went back to sleep,
only to be reawakened by an alarming phone call from a concerned neighbor.
That neighbor had a clear view of the back of the burning church and warned
her of the danger.
Smith later learned that the explosions originated from the church’s furnace
room. Luckily, no one was injured during the fire, City Administrator Roger
Clark told the Associated Press.
More than 40 volunteer firefighters from the Selawik Volunteer Fire
Department arrived on the scene after emergency calls were sent out on all VHF
radios.
However, the blaze continued to grow as
the volunteer fireman worked to control it
with fire extinguishers brought to the scene
by community residents.
At around 10:30 a.m., the crew had the
fire under control. But fire-fighting equipment
that arrived later failed to operate,
according to Carrie Skin, a bookkeeper for
the city.
That allowed the blaze to flare again as
community spectators watch it begin burning
out of control once again.
Apparently, the crew had difficulty hooking
up the hose to the main pipe, due to wrong
fittings on the connectors and the 50-belowzero
temperatures, according to Skin.
Eventually, the firefighters were able to
connect a fire hose to the sewer line and
hosed down the church, keeping the fire
under control for several hours and containing
the blaze in the church building.
Four hours after it started, the blaze had
destroyed the church, leaving the community
with only hot embers.
While no one was injured in the blaze, the
church did loose a variety of valuable items,
including Bible books, song hymns, a sound
system and more.
The church, built in the 1980s, was
between two pastors’ dwellings.Those buildings
we not damaged because volunteers
sprayed water on them as the fire burned
nearby, Clark told the Anchorage Daily
News.
The Rev. Alvin Smith, church pastor,
couldn’t be reached for comment by press
time.
I compiled the information for this story. I did write some of it, but with the help of the Sounder Staff.
on Anchorage, AK