There was once a French magician and tight-rope walker named Philippe Petit. He became famous for walking illegally between the Twin Towers. Police saw him doing so, and when he came to the other side, they asked him to get off. Well, neither happened as he turned around and ran/danced to the middle of the cable, his feet leaving the rope at many points. In total, he crossed the gap eight times, as well as sitting down in the very middle, his legs dangling over a perilous drop. How did he manage it? Was it really magic? Of course not. But he did use the power of the human mind. Petit stretched a rope across his room, 1 foot from the floor. He convinced himself that if he could do everything on a rope 1 foot in the air, that he could do it from a rope suspended between two skyscrapers, no matter the height.

Fears can shape your life, or you can shape your fears. If only we didn’t let them get in our way, But they are going to, whether we like it o4r not. There’s no way to cancel fears, unless canceling the fear-causers, but then we can’t exactly go shortening all the high places in the world. Maybe some ways of managing ones fears is to avoid that thing until you are ready to face it, and then face it full-on, not backing down. I find that when I do something once, it really isn’t all that bad and I want to do it again. Just like Petit, you can use the power of your mind to your advantage.

I always wonder about those who say they have no fears. Do they really? Or is just a mask to cover up their real confessions? Do they fear about people knowing their fears?

Whenever someone asks me what my favorite holiday is, I normally answer Christmas. They might be thinking, Oh yeah, because of the presents. But that’s not it at all. I like Christmas for three…….no four…….no five……oh, well, I’ll just make a list.

1. It’s cold. You get to bundle up and when you walk outside, you can feel the cold but you are also so warm in your clothes that you can ignore the coldness. It’s like being in a warm bed, not wanting to get up until the very, last possible moment.

2.  Hot chocolate! I love the feeling of it when you just come in from outdoors. Your cheeks are a rosy red color, and you can still see your breath. When you drink the hot chocolate, you can feel the warm liquid go down through your body, warming up the inside as well as your hands as you hold the mug.

3. You can put up all the fun decorations in and around the house. I know that our decorations hold a lot of memories. Our advent calendar is the velcro type where every day you pull off a little stuffed animal and put it in a pocket for that day. I remember taking atleast 30 minutes to diliberatly create a scene on the velcro that was different from last years scene. I did the same thing with our cloth barn-replica of the nativity scene.

4. I love the day when we get the tree! Our family goes to Papa Noel’s and we pick out the best tree we can find: dark green, round and plump, no dead or squished branches, no holes where you can see the trunk, and short enough to fit under the cieling. I tell you, picking a tree is hard work! We finally get it on our car, to the house, and inside. The smell is so nice, that mix of evergreen and pine and nature all in one. You can’t get that with fake trees. I love decorating the tree, putting all the fun (and tacky) ornaments onto the tree. Our family doesn’t settle for the boring old round globes. We go for a more diverse collection, with everything from delicate glass angels to skiing cats and Tweetys.

5. I like to see how our pets react to all the Christmas hustle and bustle. They’re probally thoughly confused. I wish I could hear they’re thoughts. What is this humungous tree doing in my house in my living room? Oh, maybe I can climb it? That trunk sure does look good for scratching… AHHHHHHHHHHH! There’s a thing circling the tree and making wierd noises that sound like an elephant and blowing smoke! Now how are we going to play King of the Tree?

6. My mom makes the most decandent brownies. They are rich brownies with melted chocolate chips inside. Then comes a sugary glaze on top that crackles a little when you bite into it. The next layer is a mint icing that is more like a type of buttercream icing. The last layer is a dark chocolate glaze, thicker than the first, that off-sets the mint’s cool flavor with a more sharp and rich taste.

7. The main reason that I like Christmas, though, out of all the others, is the spirit. I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true! You can sing Christmas songs and put up bright and cheery light around the yard. There’s the fun clothes and the presents that I make for my parents and my friends, even my cousins, but it’s hard to come up with a good gift for a college student. You might even be able to make a snow-angel, but in Texas, you will probably just have to settle with a white angel cutout that you hang in your window.

First I think it was probably a gymnaist or a dancer. Princess could also be added to the list. Just count halloween costumes 4-7. In knidergarden, I was drew a geologist with a little rock hammer hitting a rock because that was what my mom was. Then it was a sailor in second, then a vetrinarian for a while. But when I learned that you had to stick painful needles in the cute little puppies, I gave up that aspiration. When marine science came into my mind, I seetled on marine biology. My friend told me that all you did was mainly with the water, I changed to marine mammal science, and am still convinced of that to this day.

Society is so centered on the economy, sometimes it’s hard not to think of jobs and money, but I belive that there is more to life than that. There’s friends and family, sports and music, festivals and vacations. Life is much more than the current amount in the stock market. It is nature and your close friends, who really make life worth it all.

Animals almost have their own culture and community. Take wolf packs for example. they have a dominant male, like our president, followed by a dominant female, like our vice president. The whole group helps raise the pups, and they teach them how to hunt and survive in the wild until they are old enough to go on a real hunt, like a neighborhood helping baby-sit and play with the kids.

More specifically, mother wolves, when they give birth, find a hole or cave with a small entrance to prevent predators from getting to her babies. While her and the pups stay in there, she eats anything that might attractpredators, protecting her offspring even more. Mothers are just as protective as human moms, and want to do the absolute best for their descendants.

If I was an animal, I would most likely choose a marine animal or a tree animal, like squirrels or monkeys. Animals have pressure, but not the kind humans have. Humans have to deal with social problems and economic downfalls, and the stress of finishing everything on time. Animals already have a set system that doesn’t fail, and are more stable in their interactions with others of their kind.

I think that it would be easier and fun to be an animal, but I still like being a person.

There are some who say, “Well, that doesn’t matter. They don’t give us anything, so they are no use to us.” Though I can understand this reasoning, I have to completely and totally disagree with it. Whether you believe in evolution or the Bible, both versions say that animals came, if not first, at the same time in the order of evolution/creation as humans. Just because we can read and write doesn’t mean that we have superiority. Manatees have as much right as us to live and thrive as a species.

Manatees have shown that they can be just as good as dolphins in the learning of tasks and the understanding of signs. They have a series of sounds that range in pitch used to commonicate from calf to mother or adult to adult. Manatees possess all five senses and excellent long-term memory.

Propeller and hull crashes have left manatees with multiple scars to remember. Of all the natural disasters that could kill manatees like full-speed tsunamis, boats cause at least a quarter of manatee mortality in Florida.

Currently, a few efforts are made to break this streak. Signs are posted enforcing a “no-wake, manatee zone”. Though around 200 out of 236 Florida residents claim that they follow the rules, only around half of them actually do.

Most of you are probably thinking, okay, you’ve told us what’s happening now, but what about the future? Is there hope?

In my mind, there is. One day, I would like to raise money in honor of manatees and then donate the savings to an organization that actually helps prevent the decline of the species. This money could maybe lead to talks that inform the general public about the fate of the native aquatic animals of the Gulf of Mexico, the Amazon Basina dn West Africa. This causes people to understand the problem and at least slow down enough to lessen the number of scars on a manatees back, because he/she will bear those his whole life.

Joan Vennochi, THE BOSTON GLOBE

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

DOVER, N.H.— John McCain’s political fortunes may be cloudy, but Sarah Palin remains a bright beacon for some voters.

How can that be? Didn’t Tina Fey’s deadly impersonation on “Saturday Night Live” turn the Alaska governor into a national joke?

Palin’s popularity tumbled after several bumbling encounters with the national media, especially a sitdown with CBS anchor Katie Couric. One of McCain’s tougher moments during a recent debate with Sen. Barack Obama was explaining why his running mate is qualified to be president if something happens to him.

But earlier that day, Palin basked in a warm welcome during a visit to the Granite State, where polls put Obama in the lead.

A dozen or so Dover High Schoolstudents taunted McCain/Palin supporters and one carried a sign that said, “Puck Palin.” But inside the school auditorium, more than 1,000 people cheered on “Sarah, Sarah, Sarah,” while an overflow crowd of about 500 waited outside.

“I loved it. She’s like a breath of fresh air, not that pollution in Washington,” said Judy Johnson, of Rochester, after hearing Palin speak.

“I think she’s phenomenal. She’s inspiring. She tells the truth. She speaks from the perspective of everyday people,” said Phyllis Woods, of Dover, who is also a Republican National Committeewoman for New Hampshire.

“She is the only one who perked my interest,” said Barry Robertson of Danvers, Mass., who drove to New Hampshireto see Palin.

Palin’s selection as McCain’s running mate, promoted by evangelicals, was a pivotal moment for the GOP. The moose-hunting, ex-beauty queen and hockey mom with a special-needs infant son and a pregnant teenage daughter delighted conservatives and enraged liberals. For about two weeks, Obama couldn’t figure out how to handle a female opponent who wore a pencil skirt instead of a pants suit.

Then, the cold economy, not the hot governor, dominated headlines. Conversation turned from Palin’s updo to what was going on beneath it. She had trouble answering questions about foreign policy, the Wall Street bailout and what newspapers she reads. Declaring Palin “out of her league,” conservative columnist Kathleen Parker called for Palin to take herself off the ticket.

When the going gets tough, the tough get cute. Palin survived by winking her way through a high-stakes debate with Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, which attracted 70 million viewers.

Polls show Biden is now viewed more favorably than Palin, and more voters have a negative view of McCain’s running mate. But for some, Palin remains the new face of the GOP and a possible candidate for president in 2012, with or without a McCain victory in 2008.

“Why can’t she be a serious contender? Do we really think people’s opinions of candidates are shaped by ‘Saturday Night Live’? Or even Katie Couric interviews?” Woods asked. Palin, who was an “SNL” guest Saturday, represents “common-sense, conservative feet-on-the-ground Republican beliefs,” added Woods.

Fans insist Palin’s fumbles happened because she was thrown to a hostile media without adequate preparation. After all, they explain, presidential candidates hit New Hampshireyears before the next presidential election cycle. They polish their act long before their close-up with Charlie Gibson. Palin backers also think her good looks and ultra-conservative agenda make her a target for liberals and those women who are suspicious of mothers who buy their baby’s diapers at Wal-Mart.

The first wave of attack against Palin had mean and sexist elements. But her own weak performances brought on the second wave. She has much work to do to change the perception that she is a woman who has not spent much time thinking about issues beyond Alaska.

Still, Ann Murphy, a Republican activist in Massachusettswho worked on Mitt Romney campaigns, said Palin “has a bright future, no matter what happens… She has shown strength and grit and ability to rise to the occasion.”

If her future really is that bright, Romney can’t be pleased. He pushed aside one woman, acting Gov. Jane Swift, to run for office in Massachusetts.

Palin could be tougher to dislodge.

This is the commentary that I am going to base my own on. Though I do not totally agree with the article, I really like the layout and how the writer set it up. My commentary will be on the issue of poaching endangered species, and I will use this format to set up mine.

Though this annoys me a lot, I can’t really stop it from happening, so one thing that I try and do is not do whatever bugs me in order to play fair and not be hypocritical.

I was neglecting my chores like feeding the cats and taking out the recyclables. She was getting mad that I wasn’t doing those simple things. When she told me about her frustrations, I said I was sorry and promised to do better. And of course, I didn’t. I meant to remember, but I always forgot. I felt so proud of myself when I did remember, but then I would forget the next day. Even little notes on the fridge wouldn’t help.

Eventually, my mom sat me down for a longer talk about holding up my end of the bargain and remembering to do the chores. We tried a few different systems, but the sad thing was, I still wouldn’t remember until she told me. She felt like she was nagging, and I always pretended like I was about to do the things when I really wasn’t. Not a good mix.

Putting myself in her position, I understand how she felt. I wasn’t doing what she had asked me to do, and that is reason enough to be mad. She might have felt like she had to remind me every single time she wanted something done, and with other things going on like work and meetings, she didn’t want to have to tell me over and over again.

Finally, we have sort of gotten into an agreement, and she still has to remind me sometimes, but I try not to pretend I was going to do it. One of the only ways that we could have avoided this problem would be, well, me remembering to do my chores. And I have obviously proved that I have a hard time doing that. So I just need to get into a daily routine where I always remember to do the chores every day.

Next I need to call a friend of my mom to ask him about endangered species. He has a lot of experience with threatened animals, along with knowledge on native vs. invasive species.

So far so good, but it will be hard to get it done by Friday while finishing up all of my other homework.

One problem that I might encounter is the fact that i don’t really know her personally, so it might be harder than getting information from, say, my aunt. Although, this could turn out to be a good thing because this way I will have no bais or predudice over what I end up saying int he story.

I am excited about writing a feature story, but I feel a little nervous because I am not sure how I will fit everything together. I’m sure that it will work out though.