Page 58 - 1969

excited. I think everyone loves Christmas. It is a
jolly time full of fun and laughter.
Jeffrey Thomas, Intermediate II
December 25th was a pagan holiday for many
ears before the birthday of Christ. It was the
irthday of the sun chosen by the Roman
Emperor Aurelian in 274 A.D. The pagan custom
was to exchange gifts, to dance, ana to make
merry. This same custom was then taken over in
the Christian world. In Europe, Christmas is
celebrated in early December. Holland celebrates
Christmas at different times up to January. In
other countries, there are many different customs
of special Christmas cakes, trees, and fruits. In
Norway, they have a custom of “shooting on
Christmas”. It is supposed to scare away the evil
spirits.
Arthur Bohner, Intermediate II
One day my family and I went on a trip to
Canada. When we arrived in Canada it was
snowing. My brothers and I went outside and
made snowballs for a snowball fight. We had a lot
of fun! That night there was a blizzard and we
were snow-bound! The next day, mounted police
came pulling a sled of food, skiis, and sleds. The
police gave my family skiis, and we skiied down
the hills. When we reached the police station, we
had a great lunch. Later the police went up and
got our car. When they came back, we thanked
them and headed home, feeling very thankful.
Jay Anarea, Intermediate II
Have you ever thought of the men, women, and
children dying in Biafra? About fifteen thousand
people in Biafra die every day of starvation.
There is a war between the Nigerians and the
people of Biafra. The Nigerians have surrounded
the province of Biafra. The Nigerians will not let
anyone out to get food; that is why the natives are
starving.
The natives need food. They need about twenty
thousand tons of food to feed all the women and
children in the province for about two months.
The United States is only allowed to bring two
planeloads of food per day.
Have you ever seen a picture of a dying child
from Biafra? They’re so thin that their bones stick
out, and their stomachs are full of air. It is very
sad to see women and children die. I hope the war
ends between the Nigerians and the People of
Biafra.
Allison Bannister, Intermediate III
There is a terrible crisis going on in Africa.
Conditions in the small province of Biafra are
growing worse each day. Biafra is a province in
Nigeria, made up of a tribe called the Ibas. The
Nigerians are trying to wipe out the tribe. They
have cut off the food supply that was going into
Biafra. The people, especially children, are dying
at rates of thousands per day. Most of them are
dying of malnutrition. The Biafrans used to plant
yams, a kind of sweet potato. But the lack of food
became so great that they ate the seeds as well,
52
and there were no more seeds left to plant. The
Red Cross and other charitable organizations are
now collecting food and medicine. They need
twenty thousand tons of food. At first the
Nigerians stopped any food from coming into
Biafra, because they felt it was necessary. They
have now seen the light and are allowing food to
trickle in slowly.
Kevin Casey, Intermediate III
In Biafra children, men and women are dying.
Why? Because soldiers are surrounding Biafra.
The people cannot go out and get any food.
Fifteen hundred children die every day. Do you
think that this is fair? I don’t.
In January of this year the Red Cross gathered
food for Biafra. All kinds of people, even the poor
people, contributed all kinds of canned food:
meat, potatoes, vegetables. Our school was very
generous, but not generous enough. Think of all
the canned food we have! Think how much
money we have! That would mean a lot more
people saved. Now, if you think I’m wrong, let’s
compare ourselves with the Biafran children. We
have money, they don’t. We have nice warm
houses to sleep in every night. They live in grimy
old huts. We have nice clothes. They have a strip
of old cloth. The most important reason is that we
have a lot of food. We are fat. We have fat all
over our bodies. They have bones and skin. They
don’t have any fat. If that doesn’t satisfy you,
listen to this. They look like skeletons. They are
suffering hunger pains. Think — if that werc you!
Now, don’t you wish you had contributed more? I
do!
Sally Fraser, Intermediate III
THE SHARKS THAT JOINED THE NAVY
It was in 1979 World War III started. The
Russians and Chinese got together and sent their
fleet to conquer America. The fleet was so big we
couldn’t sink it. We tried everything. We sank a
lot of their boats but the fleet was so big that it
would take two American armies to stop it and we
only had one.
I had an idea, so I got my pet shark and I told
him to get as many sharks as he could. In a few
minutes there were millions and millions of them.
I put on some diving gear and I told the sharks
my plan. I told them to split in two squads when
they saw the fleet attack. We went out into the
deep water. I saw the fleet and I said “Charge!”
The first boat we saw we attacked. I called the
tiger shark. He, with others, started to ram the
ship in one spot. They broke it. Then the white
sharks swam into the ship and they ate the people.
The ship sank. One down and a hundred more to
go!
There were American submarines. The Chinese
dropped depth charges. The sharks caught them
ana gave them to me. I said to the sharks, “Throw
them on the Chinese ships.” They did and sank all
of their boats. All of the sharks got medals, and so
did I.
Clinton Corcoran
Intermediate I