Contagiouslaughing's Blog

Small town turns to BIG news

contagiouslaughing — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:12:46 +0000

The small town of Littleton is a quiet, close-knit community, the same it’s been ever since I can remember. My mom and her family grew up in the town, and is where she and most of my aunts chose to raise their own families. However, my second weekend home after my first year at college, I came back to a town of surprises. We were all over the news and the newspaper was filled with front-page news about what was going on.

I first discovered the devastating news that a 12 year old girl was saved from an abduction and future sexual assault. She had been talking to a 32 year old male on the internet, and then planned to run away from home and meet the man. Luckily, her mother suspected that she was sneaking around and discovered the conversations her daughter was having through her e-mail and facebook. The Littleton police were able to get a picture of the man and arrest him at the train station where he was planning to meet the young teen. How could something this serious happen in my hometown was my first thought. I was so surprised after all the different classes and lectures on internet safety that Littleton gives to its students that this could happen.

As I was waiting to hear the information come over the Channel 7 news, I heard another story concerning Littleton. A burglary occured on one of the small side streets; although instead of arresting the burlgars, police found themselves arresting the tennants. A construction worker had seen the burglars leaving and when police showed up to the house, they were welcomed with a huge whiff of marijuana. Left behind on the driveway was $2800 scattered, and another $1500 found inside the house, along with large amounts of weed. At the time of news, Tuesday November 24th, the burglars had still not been found.

I found myself wondering how all of this could happen?

The small town I grew up in, one not many people even know exists, was suddenly found all over the news. I couldn’t believe I had come home to a place so different than the way I left it. Not only were we on the front pages of newspapers in our central area, it was all negative.

How young is too young?

contagiouslaughing — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:29:14 +0000

The world is made up of many different feelings on what age children should begin new parts and serious steps in their lives; however, just how young is too young for a child to have a baby, and also get married..all in the same day? WorldNews.com shares a story about an 11 year old girl who, at her wedding, went into labor and gave birth to a new baby girl. The young Bulgarian girl, Kordeza had met the father of the baby at the playground when he “rescued her from bullies.” Jeliazko, the father of the baby, now faces 6 years in jail because he is 19 years old and had sex with a minor. Kordeza explains that the two were not planning on having a baby, or having sex for that matter, but the two “fell in love” after only a week. At age 11, no matter what the culture may be, no child should be getting married. Kordeza’s grandmother says that the usual age of marriage consent is age 14, so why was this young girl arranged to be married? Luckily, the culture in Bulgaria is extremely family oriented and therefore she will have much help raising the infant.

“I’m not going to play with toys anymore”

reports Kordeza Zhelyazkova

Although the young girl did not know she was pregnant until it was pointed out that she was gaining weight, I do not understand why the family was not opposed to the idea of her with someone who was 8 years older than she. I give praise to the young girl for taking responsiblity for her actions, but really how much will she actually be able to do, given the fact that she is still a child herself..

Who’s a good role model?

contagiouslaughing — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:26:57 +0000

What is a role model? Who do children look up to? Is it one’s parents? An athlete? People in the medical field? How does one determine who is a hero and who is not.

Two blogs talk about what it is like for young children to look at a professional athelete as a role model. The two blogs each had their own view, contradicting one another. The first student to write about athlete role models felt that this is wrong and should not be the case. It does not make sense to idolize a person who teaches you to play through the pain, or take drug endorsements in order to perform better. However, the linked blog I read (which I had actually found first) felt the opposite about this issue. She begged to differ that athelets instead teach kids “work hard and have fun.” Indeed they may make some wrong choices, but consequently they are publically humiliated and often have to work harder to get back on their feet.

This argument can go both ways. It is wrong for athletes to try and improve their ability by taking drugs and endorsements. If they love the sport so much, work for what you want, don’t cheat around the system. These methods end up going wrong and the athlete always gets caught. It doesn’t make sense to go through the misery and pain of trying to get the liking of others again. Children should not be taught to be someone else; they need to understand that not everyone is going to be the best at the sport in which he or she takes up. Opposing this, athletes can be great role models as well. They do “teach children to work hard and have fun” as ’FortheloveofDonuts’ had explained. All of their acheivments teach children to reach for the things they want. Continuing to play what you love, is practice and makes you a better person. Success comes from determination. Professional athletes show kids what it is like to have a high goal to reach for and what can come from it.

Balloon Boy is safe at home

contagiouslaughing — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:32:37 +0000

America stopped working and quickly turned their heads toward TVs. They wanted to see the exciting news about ‘the balloon kid’ Falcon Heene. As the boy supposedly traveled through the air all day, he was really hiding in the attic, afraid that he’d be in trouble with his father. It’s a little ridiculous that during all this concern for the young 6 year old, people on the internet were already making jokes, one of them being displayed on a T-shirt in which others can buy. The poor family did not know where their child was during all of this time, upset about how they were going to get him out of the balloon. Now that we know the boy is safe, it does seem a bit funny to look back on; however, during the whole incident, some of the comments and things said should not have been.

Dangerous Teens

contagiouslaughing — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:47:03 +0000

The thought of a bomb threat is horrific, never-the-less, bomb threats in a middle school. Why do young teens feel that causing such uproar is entertaining? Andreaenglishcomp’s Blog tells about her brother’s middle school having three bomb threats just this year. A bomb threat is scary to all persons involved, let alone all the the havic it causes. It is hard to get all the students and teachers out of the building and into a safe place. Seven years ago, when I was in 6th grade, there was a bomb threat made to my town’s high school in Littleton, Ma. All the schools in the system were put into lock down mode and students were locked in the class room for as long as 4 hours that day. I remember my sister,who had been in 9th grade, coming home and explaining all the craziness that went on. The swat team circled the high school for hours, yelling at kids if they made the slightest flinch toward his/her bag. The only time they were allowed to leave the classroom was to use the bathroom, where they were forced to go alone and were escorted by either a police officer or member of the swat team. Being in the middle school and not at as high of a risk as the high schoolers, we were still only allowed to leave if using the bathroom, however, two of us were able to go at once, escorted by the principal. We were kept in lockdown for about an hour and half, versus the 4 hours of the high school. Parents were scared, not sure of exactly what was going on. The bomb threat in Littleton was breaking news, where many parents came and were interviewed about not knowing where their children were and what was going on inside the school. To think that children as young as 11 and 12 years old are being put into this position..
Young teens are making bomb threats as a way of entertainment. As Andrea said, something needs to be done to stop this. They are dangerous and scary for everyone involved.

Common courtesy looked down upon?

contagiouslaughing — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:06:26 +0000

Fellow neighbors are trying to help one another out as much as possible. However, a mom who looks after a few kids every morning before the school bus arrives is being targeted by the state. She wants to help out the kids’ mom as they would for her, but recently received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services. The letter was threatening her to stop doing so, it is considered to be violating a law of unlicensed child care. It’s not fair especially with our economy that this mother is being looked at as doing something wrong. Her neighbors have to get to work, and because she is home anyway, she watches their kids for a little while- free of charge. The law is taking away simple acts of kindness. Lisa Snyder, the mom who welcomed in the children, fought that this is not a daycare but simply a favor. It’s obscene that something so simple as helping out a neighbor can turn to the state. There were no complaints about Snyder’s generosity that may have caused such a letter from Human Services. She should be able to care and give a helping hand when she sees a need to. I see nothing wrong with Snyder’s good deeds. Why and how did the state even become involved in this situation? What’s the issue with what she is doing? If Snyder isn’t charging anything for her services, how can this be considered a day care. The children are not being looked after for that long of a time that anyone should complain, nor care about the situation.

Hello world!

contagiouslaughing — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:22:07 +0000

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