East Rockaway High School


Nothing is as quiet as a baseball stadium just before thousands of anxious fans take their seats.

Nothing is as quiet as an entire class writing about quiet things.

Nothing is as exciting as playing a CD for the first time.

Nothing is more annoying than people talking during movies.

Nothing is as quiet as a pitcher who just threw a close pitch and is waiting for the ump's call.


by J.C.



Nothing is as quiet as the second before the phone rings.

Nothing is as quiet as the minute before the postman feeds the mailbox.

Nothing is as tiring as going to the store and not knowing what to look for.

Nothing is as scary as knocking on the door knowing that there will be no answer.

Writing is like confessing secrets to a page and trusting that it won't tell the next page.


By B.O.



Nothing is as quiet as...
a funeral after a tragic death...
when the cops are chasing somebody and they have no idea where to run....
when two people just break up, then see each other for the first time.

Nothing is as funny as...
stealing pumpkins off of people's lawns.

Writing is like...
working for a straight week then finding out that you're not getting paid.

By J.H.



We were already half way home in some truck stop in North Carolina.
We couldn't resist stopping. You meet some of the most interesting
pepople at truck stops. We all jumped out of the truck , moving to
stretch after what seemed to be years. Without realizing it, my dad bumped
the automatic door lock while getting out of the driver's seat. Locking
your doors isn't a bad thing, unless your keys are still in the ignition. I
thought my dad was gonna pop a vein in his forehead. But there was
nothing he could say because it was his fault. Which to me, made it all
that much better.
We tried everything to get any door open. The only way to get into the
cab was from the back and to unpack the whole thing and then pack it
back up.
I never knew how nice truck driviers could be. Every single person at the
truck stop tried to pop the locks. Every thing that fit through the small
crack of the window was used to try and open the door. We even called
Ryder and they told us there was nothing they could do. Finally my dad
gave in and called a lock smith and paid about 40 dollars for someone to
unlock the door. When the guy finally got there, two hours had passed and
the smell of the pigs in a near-by truck was becoming sickening. It took
the locksmith about thirty seconds to unlock the doors and about a dozen
people couldn't do it in two hours. The rest of the trip my dad was pretty
much silent.

By N.B.



The Last Drop of Beer


The last drop of beer is not really the last drop of beer but the last
attempt of the alcoholic to reach bliss.
Though I don't know why he chooses to drink himself into a mess.
I guess that's just the time that's he not depressed.
He has watched his life go by sitting on that three-legged stool which
he calls home for the day.
We all know that's not his last drop of beer because this man has
another beer on the way.

By K.F.



Nothing is as quiet as the funeral of a loved one.

Nothing is as satisfying as seeing your friend smile after they had
a bad day.

Nothing is as satifying as getting an A on your report card.

Nothing is as annoying as my little brother standing in front of the tv
during my fave show.

Writing is like a waterfall, letting your thoughts run freely.

By K.D.



Nothing is as quiet as my house at 3am.

Nothing is as quiet as the aftermath of hearing bad news.

Nothing is as satisfying as lemonade on a hot summer afternoon.

Nothing is as satisfying as picking fresh fruit off a tree.

Nothing is as painful as hearing a child cry.

Nothing is as peaceful as watching the sun set.

Nothing is as quiet as a person in deep thought.

Writing is like being trapped in a padded cell with too much time to think.

By G.B.



A year of suffering


I remember about one year ago my uncle was diagnosed with pancreatic
cancer. To my aunt and little cousins, every day felt like it dragged on.
Everytime I headed over to their house to eat lunch, I would walk past his
bedroom. I could hear him weeping and talking to himself. So one day I
asked my aunt if I could bring him his medicine. She said that wasn't a good
idea, but I insisted. As I walked up the staircase it felt like it was a block
long. I finally reached his door and I took a deep breath. I slowly opened
the door and saw my uncle sitting up in his bed all pale and skinny, holding
a picture of his six year old son and four year old daughter. As he looked up
at me I began to cry.
He said to me, "Sarah come sit beside me, I need good
company." I talked with him for hours about my aunt and the kids. He asked
me to take good care of everyone. I promised I would.

As months passed I spent almost every weekend by his side. I never felt closer
to him than I did those months.

About a month ago I got a phone call at about 11:30 PM on a wednesday night.
It was my aunt. My uncle had died. His suffering had stoppped, but all I could
say was why did he have to go. The wake was horrible and the funeral was even
worse. All the people were crying hysterically because he was a good man.
But to this day I'll never forget my uncle, and all I can think is, he is no longer suffering.

By S.D.



I was but four years old and already I had girls on my mind. Boy, did I have a
lot to learn. One morning while riding the school bus that my mom happened
to be driving to pre-school, my life changed. Every day the bus would stop
in front of her house and she would walk to the bus with her blond hair swaying back
and forth. Jennifer would walk up the bus steps and plop herself next to me. But
this day was different. Jen's four year old mind had conjured up a brilliant idea.
"You see that pebble on the floor?"
"Yes," I replied."
"Stick it up your nose." My first lesson with girls took effect that very instant as I
placed the pebble in my nostril. After several panicking seconds that seemed like
hours, I came to realized that the pebble was lodged in my nose and I could not
retrieve it.
After telling my mother and having her laugh hysterically in my face, I began to cry.
She finally came to realize the protruding lump just below my eye was a rock in my
nose. In her rage of panic, she dropped the other kids off at the school and drove
me to the emergency room.
After what seemed like an autopsy on a medical table, the doctor removed the
pebble from my nose and I was able to breathe freely. The lessons I learned that
day were everlasting: don't stick foreign object in your nose, and in order to impress
a girl sometimes you must do some ridiculous things.

By M.F.



Staying Alive

Dad has always told me whenever your ears or eyes bled it meant you were going
to die. Here I was, with blood coming out of my left ear. I was going to die at the
age of seven with my hair still in pig-tails. I was in some pain, but not as much pain
as when I broke my wrist. At least I'm not dying a painful death, I thought to myself.
The lunch aide sent me to the nurse, who did not feel that there was a need to call an
ambulance. I figured that they had already given up hope of me surviving. The nurse,
trying to comfort me, said not to worry, I would be back outside playing in a few
minutes. It was just a scratch.

By K.C.