Kirsty - July 25th, 2004 Hey everyone, I did have a plan for this week (for once) but I decided not to go with it. Something else happened today, so it's a story really... It's weird, sad and just... there to be honest. Make your mind up for yourselves anyways, here I go. In your lifetime, at least once, someone special touches you and leaves a mark on you, forever. It may be a friend, family member, famous musician/actor... In my case it was a teacher (and I never thought I'd hear myself say that!) Ever since I was little I'd had problems with maths. I hated to do it. Why bother with all these numbers? The answers are at the back of the book, and we have calculators. Everyone was better at it than me, and I was really struggling. I thought it'd change at CTC, my senior school has excellent ratings for helpful teachers and results. Year 7 and 8 were worse than ever. Unluckily, my whole class hated the teacher and she returned the favour, and I know SAT's results don't mean that much, but I thought "Year 9, I just want to get a level 5" ... I was achieving a low 4... In year 9, we got split up into groups according to ability. I was in the bottom group. I was standing in the foyer, waiting for my name to be called out and what teacher should call my name but the mysterious tall one that I knew never to annoy, but had a funky grin. I was scared, he'd covered my class at one point and shouted quite a lot at them, so I trudged up the stairs and thought about what the future held (as dramatic as that sounds). I sat down in the classroom and he gave us our books, talking and smiling, I was still thinking "Great" and looking at my Docs. He then asked us to write down *in his words* "how you feel about maths, what you like and don't, etc" so I did. He looked, nodded, smiled and wandered off around then room. Little did I know how much this man would do for me, whether he knew it or not. Over the next term, we worked and we worked hard, and he taught me not only the method to most maths, but he helped ME to not be so afraid of getting things wrong, and that if I do, you try again and kick it's butt. We had a number of tests and I was improving, not by much but heck, it was an improvement! But there's one day I shall always remember. I was sitting there, and not only did my confidence with maths grow, my confidence with people. Especially him. So I asked him for help, I never used to do that. After he helped me figure out the answer, he came out with "So, what music are you into Kirsty?" "Me? Well everything rock really... Metal, punk, newer stuff, anything" "What kinda metal you into?" "Oh, Metallica, Ozzy before he induced to a walking drugged coma, Guns n' Roses, Iron Maiden..." "Wow, yeah Ozzy was great. I remember when I was 17 or so and I had both legs in bandages, I still went to his concert and had the best time of my life" "Wow, you're kidding. I went to see Manson not long ago..." ... and it carried on like this for a while and I think that we talked until the end of the lesson. I walked out of there grinning like a fool. Not only did I owe him my academic improvement, but damn, he ruled! Every lesson he was there, laughing, calling me Kirst, Siobahn "Shuv" or "Si-o-barn" and Lyann "Lee" and Jack "Johnny" and Ryan "Rhino" and it was great. I really had the best time ever. I idolised him, and well, I loved him in a "wow, if that was my uncle" way... I'm not weird, but he meant a lot to me. As I went into one lesson, near the end of one term, we were really noisy and boisterous, he raised his voice and said "Year 9, beings as this is the last year I'll ever be here I'd like to have a good time!" What? What did he just say? No! Why? Why now? Why him? I just sat there for the remaining 25 minutes of the lesson, and he used the computer. My friend left me to it... On the way to English, next lesson and until about 6.30 that night I didn't say more than 3 words. I thought that he said it out of... I don't know, as a threat maybe? No, I found out he'd been working there 10 years... I pushed it out of my mind until a few weeks ago. It still hadn't really registered in my brain... I bought him a card, "Best Teech!" with a funky poem inside and I wrote how I felt, how he helped me and I'd miss him. We talked, did the whole awkward goodbye thing, and the last time we spoke was as I was leaving school, and I saw him "Have a good holiday Kirst" "You too" A smile, and I walked off. I held onto myself until I got home where I sobbed and sobbed, more than I think I've ever cried before. I went insane for half an hour and yeah I guess it is weird to admit, I think I had a mild breakdown of some sort. I dunno, I'm the happiest chappy ever, ask Jess! So I don't know what it was. But all I can say is I know I can cope and I'll always remember him... He gave me confidence, a good laugh and he was a damn good person to talk to, aswell as the best teacher I'll ever have, without a doubt. Mr Jackson, thank you, I salute you :) So, that was my ramble. Like I said, someone will touch you like this no matter who it is. If you're lucky you'll have friends like this or parents... If you haven't, then you're in for a treat. Yeah, I had that part to it, but my mind was opened and I had the best year ever, down to my teacher. He helped me, and I'll never forget him. I'll miss him, sure but I'll take what he taught me through life... And y'know what? I got what I wanted. I got a level 5. Thanks for reading, I know I rambled a bit. Rock on, peace out. Kirst xXx

Jon - July 14th, 2004 (I'm not going to write a column about how Michael Schumacher is ruining Formula 1. I want to, but I won't. I will keep it bent up inside of me!) Has anyone here ever payed tribute to a lump of rock? I have. And it all started on September 11th 2001. I don't need to repeat what happened, but the images were shocking. America saw a national treasure and a symbol of America's work force go up in a ball of flames. It was horrific. It cast the darkest cloud in history over New York. Gallantly, America refused to let the middle east win. Thousands of people lost their lives, and thousands more severely effected in one way or another by the tragedy. But just a few days ago, the mayor of New York unveiled a rock at Ground Zero, the graveyard of so many, to commemorate those who lost their lives on that day of terror. A vast amount of people showed up to Ground Zero, in what was to be a moving ceremony for everyone. I do wish I could have been there myself, and witnessed it first-hand, but alas, I did not know of the event at the time, and had no way there, what living thousands of miles away and all. I may be a great distance away, but I felt the emotion in the air from where I was. The rock was placed where the World Trade Centre used to lie, and the first building block for a new New York was in place. But this is where the logic, for me, stops. To prevent a repeat of 9/11, the city have approved plans of a new skyscraper... the WORLD'S tallest, which has a much larger surface area and can be seen from even further away. Something there just doesn't add up to me. I know a lot of architects designed replacements. There was a certain building, I'm not sure if it's the approved one, which would be built in such a way, that at the time of day of the tragedy in 2001, the sun would shine through a pattern or window on the building and give a ray of light through the building, onto Ground Zero. I thought that was a fantastic idea. So the new skyscraper will be the tallest building in the world. Because the war against terror needs high-quality personnel working with it. (I'm not even going to go into detail about the security guard who put himself through an X-Ray machine at Denver airport.) This is however, a unique building block for the whole of America. The symbol for American industry will be changed, and will tower over Manhattan, and probably various other parts too, judging by the size, and is a distinct logo of American courage. The foundation rock layed down a few days ago means that all of us can add a point to that card that says "World Vs. Terror", for it is the armies of the world that have the high, high advantage here, and we need to make that stick. Thank you all for reading.