SkillsUSA: Diman Brings Home the Gold! | New Teachers and Staff for the 2006-2007 School Year | Becoming a Member of SkillsUSA: What Every Diman Student Needs to Know

Around Diman
Spotlight on: Spotlight Program | No Student Left Behind: EXTENDS Program Offers Homework Help | Shop Breaks: Are They Healthy? | Metal Fab Restores Antique | Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes ... 1976 to 2006: Mr. McPhillips Reflects | Diman Trends: The 80s Are Back | Just For Fun (Scavenger Hunt) | Dear Rachelle | Lucky Lunch Winners | Think you have a cute pet?

Entertainment & Culture
Reviews: A Day We Will Never Forget: 'World Trade Center' | Madden NFL '07: A Gamer's Review | Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning | The New Creed: A Review of 'Alter Bridge' | Good Eats at 'Pizza Etc.'
Culture: Quinceanera: Hispanic Tradition Still Important for Diman Student | Cheerleading is a Sport! | A Student's Voice... from "Memories of Autumn"

A Student's Voice ... from "Memories of Autumn"

A narrative by Leanne Mocker '08

As I look out on the horizon, with the dying sun still warming the air, calm winds cradling every solitary inch of my soul, I begin daydreaming, absorbed in my thoughts of past autumns. The brilliant foliage of tangerine, burgundy and caramel leaves reflecting against lustrous blue waters invigorate my mind with beautiful notions. I can see it now. Creative costumes consume the cobblestone streets on Halloween night in Salem. The crowds on the fairgrounds laugh and play in the midst of the fall festivities. I can smell the tempting turkey, roasting on Thanksgiving Day ... Going to country fairs in autumn is one of my favorite things to do. Ever since I can remember, I've been attending festivals in the time of the pumpkins and gourds, not-so-scary scarecrows, luminous jack-o-lanterns, brilliant mums, plump hay bales, and breathtaking foliage. With vendors selling everything from jams and preserves to pies and pastry, and even quilts and sweaters, going to fair has always been a lively activity...Thanksgiving was also one time of the year I waited for so dearly. It's a time when our family gets together, sharing recipes of long-ago ancestors, catching up with each other, and of course eating an elaborate meal. Thanksgiving dinners consist of savory turkey and stuffing, whipped buttery mashed potatoes that melt in your mouth, butternut squash, creamy green bean casserole ... My family has had some wonderful Thanksgivings throughout the years, always caring for one another with smiles on our faces, and love in our hearts ... The sun is vanishing now into the depths of trees, and dark is nearing. I hear a voice; it's my mother. "Come inside, it's getting a bit chilly out," she says. I smile with the inspirations fall has provided me with. I have learned that although the leaves fall from trees, leaving branches monotonously bare, my memories are still so vivid in my mind and in my heart, creating a picture that can never escape. Memories of autumn will linger with me always in a way that inspires me to live like the fall winds; you may fall to the ground sometimes, or get blown away, but accepting change is what makes life interesting, and allows one to grow in strength and beauty.