November 2020 Issue

Journalism in the Classroom | Traditions

Traditions By Kyleigh Huse and Samantha Tran What traditions does your family have? My family has many traditions but Christmas has the most for sure. My personal favorite tradition is when we get to eat Christmas dinner with the whole family and open Christmas presents. I would imagine this being a common holiday tradition, as I share this with many people. Personally this tradition is my favorite too. My plans wouldn’t change for Christmas would not change. Where I come from my grandma usually prepares Christmas dinner we all go to her house, drink hot chocolate, and open Christmas presents. Another tradition we have is baking cakes, cookies, pumpkin roll,

First Person Account | Fall of the Berlin Wall

My family has always had a strong connection to Germany, and later, to Berlin. As a result, I have long thought that the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, with the geopolitical changes that resulted, was the most pivotal world event of my life. Although neither had any German ancestry, my parents met in the 1930s, in Heidelberg, where they were both pursuing doctoral degrees. They returned to the United States in 1937, when Hitler’s influence was clearly on the rise. They married and started a family, and my father began his career as a college professor, but when the United States entered World War II, he

Traditions!

“But it’s a tradition … because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.” Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof Traditions are funny things. They occur one moment at a time over a lifetime, and often we don’t even realize they are happening. I remember our granddaughter’s face crumbling into tears one Thanksgiving Day when I mentioned that I had prepared a different sweet potato casserole than our usual. The 4-year-old sobbed, “But Mimi! We always have the one with marshmallows on top!” Guess whose Mimi beat a path to the kitchen to make a real sweet potato casserole! Traditions are nothing to

What are Telomeres?

Have you ever wondered why some 60-year-olds look and feel like 40-year-olds and why some 40-year-olds look and feel like 60-year-olds? Thousands of studies have been done on aging, and many are beginning to point to an inescapable conclusion: our lifestyle choices, what we eat, and what we don’t eat may actually affect our aging process. The aging process begins at birth. Lifestyle choices made throughout childhood affect our aging process either positively or negatively. What exactly are telomeres and what role do they play in aging? Telomeres are tiny pieces of DNA that are critical to our ability to stay young as we get older. Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, University

Mary Allen and Eagle Corps Services

I have recently had the privilege of befriending the amazing Mary Allen of Eagle Corps Services. I have known Mary for over a year and was introduced to her husband Richard and their company when they presented at a Rotary function last fall. I was very impressed with the products they offered and how they are changing safety in our community. Eagle Corps Services, LLC is a minority-owned small business owned by Richard Allen, a service disabled veteran who has over 35 years of experience leading safety, security, fire, and emergency response programs. He has successfully run large, complex security and emergency services organizations at major Department of Energy and

Lux Libations | Traditional Sours

Jack Rose — not quite a household name when it comes to cocktails, but maybe it should be. At first glance, there isn’t anything special about a cocktail like this. Simple measurements, three ingredients, two of which are quite common (you’ll recognize them if you read last month’s article), but then you taste it. It’s lush, delicious, clean, and complex, and it’s PINK! What more could you possibly want? A traditional “sour” like the Jack Rose utilizes a tried and true cocktail template. The basic 2:3/4:3/4 ratio is darn-near perfection. Don’t believe me? Ever hear of a gimlet? Whiskey sour? daiquiri? (Yeah, that’s right, a daiquiri!) They all use the

Traditions in the Time of Covid

Every family has traditions that mark special occasions, and how families handle them builds connections. We humans are amazing creatures of habit. We love the predictable and seek routine even though we frequently complain about being in a rut. We go on vacation only to long for home to sleep in our own beds, see our friends and family, and re-engage in our lives. Every nation, tribe, culture, and subculture establishes rituals and traditions that are unique and help define its individual, family, and group identity. Every family has traditions that mark special occasions, and how families handle them builds connections. One of the many casualties of the COVID restrictions

The Nutcracker | An Iconic Christmas Tradition

For many, Peter Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a holiday tradition that kicks off the holiday season. When the music starts, you can close your eyes and allow visions of sugarplums, snowflakes, flowers, and an enchanted place enter your imagination. The Nutcracker is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s popular 1816 story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” The idea to use the story as the basis for a ballet came from the impresario and director of the Russian Imperial Theaters, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, who had conceived of The Sleeping Beauty. Vsevolozhsky and the ballet master Marius Petipa, who had choreographed The Sleeping Beauty, wrote the libretto, or story line, for The Nutcracker and

Buying Your First New Car

So I got a new car! Yay! It was much harder than I expected. There were many things I didn’t know I would have to know. So I figured that I would give some advice on the things that I didn’t know so that anyone who is thinking about buying his or her first car could get some insight. The Dealership Finding the place to buy the car was a lot harder than I originally expected. I was pretty much under the impression that I could go to a dealership and they would have exactly what I wanted in the exact color and with all the features I wanted. Wrong!