Our New TV Room!

Hello future readers!

Guess what? My mom decided to make our guest bedroom into a TV room! Isn't that just super? We've always had just one television in the living room. Sometimes me and my mom can't agree on what to watch. She likes soap operas, cop shows, talk shows and cooking programs. I like the shows that most kids like; The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Happy Days, Zoom, Saturday morning cartoons, shows like that. Sometimes, I get my way about what we watch, sometimes I don't. I usually don't act like a spoiled little brat, but sometimes, I sulk when I have to miss my favorite shows. Then of course, the next day, all the kids at school are talking that one show, the one I missed, and I feel like a dope, 'cos I don't know what they're talking about. Now I don't have to worry about that anymore! Outta site!

On Friday night after dinner, I called Sunny to see if she wanted to watch some television with me. She said she couldn't wait to come over! All right!

I brought my beanbag chair down from my room for Sunny to sit on. Then I checked out the TV Guide while I waited for her to come over. Which episodes of The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family were coming on tonight?

When Sunny got there, she thought the TV room was groovy. It kinda reminded her of Lisa's den, only Lisa's got a bigger TV and a fold-out couch.

Well, the Brady Bunch came on, and my mom brought in Jiffy Pop and soda. Thanks Mom!

It was a good episode. Sunny loves Barry Williams who plays Greg Brady. She says he's really cute and she likes the way he sings. Well, my favorite show, The Partridge Family, was on next, and I think David Cassidy , who plays Keith Partridge is much cuter than Greg Brady, and he sings better too, (but don't tell Sunny I said that!).  Anyway, while we were singing the theme song, my mom brought in some strawberry Jell-O 123 with whipped cream!  Far out! That's a really yummy dessert that has 3 layers of Jell-O goodness! My mom's pure dynamite!  I tell ya, it doesn't get any better than this on Friday night!

Sunny had to go home after the Partridge Family was over, 'cos she had to get up early on Saturday. Her family was driving out to her aunt's house. But it was a fun Friday night.  And I love our new TV room. Now I'll never miss my favorite programs again.  I wonder if people still get together to watch their favorite TV shows in the future?  Good snacks, good friends, and good TV are some of the things that make life a groovy thing.

Until next time, future readers,
Your friend,
Julie Newman

Color Guard/ Martin Luther King Assembly

Hello future readers,

Guess what? I was chosen to be in the Color Guard for our special Martin Luther King assembly! Not only that, I get to lead the Color Guard! Outta site! This is the first year that 4th graders have ever gotten to even do the Color Guard, so this is a really big deal! When Miss LaSalle told me on Monday morning, I was so excited, I couldn't stand it! And this was for our special assembly honoring Martin Luther King, so it was doubly important. I hope people still remember Martin Luther King in the future. He was a very great man. He wanted all races to be equal. My mom told me that it wasn't even 10 years ago that black people had to sit in the back of the bus, and had to go to separate schools, and couldn't even drink out of the same water fountains as white people! All because of the color of our skin! Even though it isn't that bad anymore, people of all races are still fighting for equal rights. This is especially important to me and my mom, because I'm half white and half black. My dad was white, and my mom is black. I'm glad they didn't have the silly idea that blacks and whites shouldn't be together, or I wouldn't even have been born! Anyway, my mom was very proud of me and was coming to the assembly. Far out!

On Wednesday morning, the auditorium was full of kids and some of the parents. Our weekly Color Guard has 4 kids in it. This week it was 2 from Miss LaSalle's class, (me and Jason) and 2 kids from Mrs. Johnson's class (Robyn and Stephanie). We were standing off stage, waiting to start the assembly. After Mrs. Johnson  had told everyone to calm down. and gave the announcements, I said in a big, loud voice "Color Guard forward!" Mrs. Taylor played our music on the piano, and we marched onto the stage.

Then I said, "Color Guard turn!" And we turned to face the audience and I stepped forward.

 Forget the butterflies, I had bats flying around in my stomach. But I swallowed hard and said "Springfield Sparrows, please rise." Everyone in the auditorium stood up. I said "Springfield Sparrows, please place your right hand on your hearts and join us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance."

After we said the pledge, I said, "Springfield Sparrows, please join us in singing "America The Beautiful".  After we sang I said, "Springfield Sparrows, please be seated. Color Guard turn! Color Guard forward and salute our country's colors." Each of us took a turn saluting the flag and walked off the stage as Mrs. Taylor played our music.

I did it! I was so proud of myself, because I spoke in a loud voice and didn't mess up any of the words! We went back to sit with our classes. Then Mrs. Johnson announced that Sabrina Thomas from Mrs. Dawson's 5th grade class would sing the black national anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing".

We all clapped like crazy for Sabrina. She can really sing! Then Mrs. Johnson announced that Miss LaSalle's class would do a presentation called "Because of Dr. King". Our class stood up and walked onto the stage.

We each took a turn saying something about what Martin Luther King has done to make all races equal. Here is what we said:

"Because of Dr. King, kids of all races can go to school together and be friends with one another."

"Because of Dr. King, any black family can go out to dinner and eat in the same restaurant as a white family.

"Because of Dr. King, black people can be doctors, lawyers, policemen, or whatever they want to be."

"Because of Dr. King, white people and black people can marry each other and have kids like me."

"Because of Dr. King, and a woman named Rosa Parks, black people no longer have to sit in the back of the bus, or ride in separate cars on trains."

"Because of Dr. King, white people and black people cat sit together in auditoriums like this one and watch performances together."

"Because of Dr. King, great black athletes can play in the NBA, the NFL and Major League Baseball along with great white athletes."

"Because of Dr. King, black people and white people can go to church and pray to God together."

Then Miss LaSalle asked everyone to hold hands and join us in singing "We Shall Overcome".

It was a super assembly! After it was over, my mom gave me a big hug and told me how proud she was of me. That really made me feel special. Next Monday, there's no school in honor of Martin Luther King's birthday. It's not a national holiday, but maybe someday it will be. I'm glad our town believes in making a holiday for such a great man, and my mom says other places in America do, too. Maybe in the future, you take a day off work or school to honor Dr. King. I hope so. And I also hope that in the future, no one has to fight for the right to be equal anymore. I hope all of you live in peace like Martin Luther King wanted.

Until next time, future readers,
Your friend
Julie Newman

Saturday in the Park...Springfield Park!

Hello future readers!

Well, now that the holiday season is over, things are calming down and life is getting back to normal. The holidays were fun, but it was so busy. Yesterday after I finished my lunch, Shante' called me and asked me if I wanted to go to the park! Outta site! My mom said it was OK, so I grabbed my jump rope and walked over to Shante's  house so I could walk to the park with her and her mom.

Springfield Park is different than the playground at school. It's mostly grass, there's no equipment, but there are lotsa benches to sit on, There's a creek where kids sometimes sail their toy boats. You can always see kites flying overhead, and ice-cream push carts are all over the place. We decided to play near the path. Shante's mom found a seat on a nearby bench to do some crocheting, and Shante' got out her ball. We were having fun just kicking it back and forth.

Then I got out my jump rope. At first we were taking turns, but then we were jumping together. It was fun but it wasn't easy, since my rope is kinda small.

All that jumping made us hungry, so Mrs. Crawford gave us each a quarter for the ice-cream cart. Far out!  I got a frozen chocolate banana with nuts, and Shante' got a Bomb Pop.

While we were enjoying our snack, Danny and Jason came running up, shooting their squirt guns at each other.

We figured we better let them know we were there before we got soaked in the crossfire.

Then Jason said , "Hey Julie...stick'em up!" I warned him that he better not squirt me with that thing. But then he said, "I'm gonna get you, Julie!" Yikes! I screamed and started running and of course, he started chasing me!

Danny squirted Shante' in the face! She screamed and ran, so he chased her, too!

They kept chasing us until Shante' ran behind the bench where her mom was sitting. Danny wasn't about to squirt Mrs. Crawford! Seeing that Shante' was safe, I ran back there, too. Mrs. Crawford told the boys that they had their fun, but it was time for them to go play someplace else. Ha ha, crazy boys! Later for you turkeys!

After that, Shante's took out her frisbee, and we tossed it back and forth for a while.

Mrs. Crawford walked over to us, and said it was time to go home. Aw man! We were having such a groovy time, too. Oh well...there will be other days. I'm glad Shante' invited me to come along. I had a really nice time, even with those goofy boys chasing us! It was almost dinner time, and I knew my mom would have something good cooking at home.

Until next time, future readers,
Your friend,
Julie Newman

My Far Out New Year's Eve PJ Party!

Happy New Year, future readers!

Yep, it's that time again! I had a super duper pajama party for this New Year's Eve. There were 16 of us kids in my house and 4 dogs at the same time!

My mom knows that I love to have parties and invite all of my friends over. But since new kids keep moving into our neighborhood, she says my parties are getting too big! She told me that if I do this again next New Year's Eve, I get to only invite 10 friends and that's all. I don't want to think about that now, because I'd hate to hurt someone's feelings and tell them they can't come to my party!

Sunny and Jennifer came over together and they were wearing the same pajamas!

It was pretty funny. And you know, I have the same pajamas! I guess those are a big seller at Conway's Department Store!

Anyway, Mom put the "blanket island" on the floor with strict instructions that except for the bathroom, we had to stay on it. So we broke out the games and played for awhile. Robyn got an Operation game like mine for Christmas, and she and Susan were playing with it.

Cheryl and I played Hangman. She even beat me once!

Melody and Shante' played Connect Four.

April and Wendy got a mini bowling set for Christmas, and they were sharing with Raychel.

Right on, Raychel! That was almost a strike!  Kim was beating Stephanie and Battleship. And Stephanie's good at that game, but I guess Kim is better!

This year, Danny had Jason to play with, and was he ever happy! Danny got a Six Million Dollar Man action guy for Christmas, and Jason got a Bigfoot action guy, and they were having a Bionic Battle!

Kim brought her records over and I got out my records and announced it was time to boogie!

All right! Since we didn't have a Christmas dance at school, this was the next best thing!

Now that things are cool with Danny and Kim, he didn't mind dancing with her.

Then my mom brought in Jiffy Pop, brownies, cookies and drinks. so we got out our sleeping bags and settled down to have our snacks.

It was finally time for "The Twilight Zone"! This is one of the best part of New Year's Eve. One of the local TV stations runs episodes New Year's Eve night and all of New Year's Day. We watch until it's time for Dick Clark to drop the ball on "New Year's Rockin' Eve".

It's gonna be weird only have 10 friends over next New Year's Eve. But I guess my mom's right. Having a party is one thing, but a slumber party is another story. That's a lot of kids for my mom to feed and handle all by herself. Maybe we'll start a new tradition next year.  Speaking of next year, I'm making a resolution to have the grooviest year ever! I hope you'll keep reading, 'cos I'm gonna keep writing!

Until next time, future readers,
Your friend,
Julie Newman