Category: science

The R Story

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Roger, Rachel, Raymond, and Rita are ready for a new adventure as they will leave

the Milky Way Galaxy and explore new galaxies, solar systems, and planets in the

universe. They will be traveling in their razzmatazz rocketship to their first

destination, the Rhumba Galaxy, ten million light years away from earth. Rhumba

Galaxy has eight thousand solar systems. They decided to visit the Radon Solar

System and its planets to learn more about life in other galaxies and to spread

friendship. The rapid ride of their razzmatazz rocket ship took Roger, Rachel,

Raymond, and Rita to the red planet of Radius.

Radius looks a lot like earth except everything is red. Roger, Rachel, Raymond, and

Rita landed in an area that looked like earth’s Russia. On Radius it is called

Root. The people that live on radius have gold skin and blue hair. They are three

feet tall and have three eyes, arms, and legs and run really fast. All of the

buildings on Radius are round and are red, of course. The houses are round, the tall

buildings and short buildings are round. The cars and planes are round. The trains

are round. The only thing not round and red are the people. Roger, Rachel, Raymond

and Rita gave red rubber rafts, jump ropes, raspberry fudge and red hot bark as

gifts to the citizens of Radius. They also played red rover, red light-green light,

and rugby with the people. Soon it was time to board the razzmatazz rocket to go and

everyone waved goodbye. They were now off to the next planet called Reverse.

Reverse was a strange planet to Roger, Rachel, Raymond, and Rita. Everything was

backward! They landed in a place that looked like Rome on earth, but the statues

heads were on backward, the doors were on the roof of the buildings and houses and

the chimneys were on the ground. The people and the animals walked and flew backward

and their heads were on backward too! Everything moved backward. The cars, planes,

trains, bicycles, motorcycles, trucks and buses all moved backward and they were

rapid too. The people spoke Ruswanda, which sounded like backward English. Roger had

a special translator machine that he kept in his spacesuit pocket for times like

these. The favorite food here was rootbeer and rutabagas. The crew really enjoyed

watching the people eat and drink. It was like watching a circus or magic act where

the people folded themselves into painful shapes. Raymond took pictures with the

families and their relatives. The people were very friendly, but always in a rush,

moving and talking at a rapid pace in reverse. The crew decided it was time to

board the razzmatazz rocket and blast off to the next solar system eight billion

light years away. The trip this time was very rough. They had to pass through a

rainstorm of small river rocks that made rust marks on the razzmatazz rocket. The

rainstorm was so strong, that it broke one of the readings of the gauges on the

dashboard of the rocket! The special red ray lights in the rocket kept blinking on

and off until they went out! There was so much rubble and the rocket began to roll

as it passed through the rock rainstorm. Rita reported a rip on the right side of

the razzmatazz rocket, but no one is able to make any repairs at this time. The rain

is coming down harder now! Will Roger, Rachel, Raymond, and Rita make it to the

next solar system? Will the rock rainstorm wreck the razzmatazz rocketship? Stay

tuned next week to reveal the real answers as the R Story continues!

The W Story

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Worldwide Wednesday News

 

Willie Walrus was sitting on a white wall of ice during winter while eating whiting and watching penguins and puffins waddling by.

Wally Whale waved his large tail as he whisked through the ocean waves on his way to his home in Wales.

Wanda Warthog was walking through the wild wheat and wild rice in the wind in Wichita.

William Whippoorwill whistled his wonderful witty song in the walnut and willow woods in West Virginia.

And now for other news…

Warren Wallaby suffered a right wrist wound in a wreck with Wilma Waterdragon. Wilma only had a cracked window. Warren’s wound is wrapped in a wool bandage to prevent it from becoming worse.Wayne Wasp was the witness to the wreck and he said Warren was weaving while driving.

Wesley and Winnie Waterbuffalo will be traveling to Warsaw next week to cover the Winter triathlon, weightlifting, and wrestling news on next Wednesday.

Wade Wallacean Whistler, the one hundredth time winner, will be riding the waves at the Annual  National Wakeboarding Contest at Waikiki this Wednesday.

Won Walkingstick walked the one thousand kilometer Wisconsin Walking Marathon for lost wolf habitat in record time.  She raised one million waterbucks for the cause.

Wren Wapiti and her family have wandered to Wyoming for the winter. You may contact her by writing to wrenwap1@waterfall.com.

Waylon Waterdog has been in the watchdog business for four years. Waylon will know who, what, when and why your property is being visited or disturbed. His specialty is watching for woodpecker, wombat and weasel trespassings. Waylon will also serve arrest warrants. Please call Watchdog One at 999-444-1111 to hire Waylon for your watchdog needs.

Wania Wombat of Washington has a new weight loss program guaranteed to slim your waist without lifting weights. She will have you eating tasty watermelon, wheat crackers, wonton soup, weiners, white chocolate, walnuts, waffles and water chestnuts, while still losing weight. Her program has a one year warranty or she will replace your whole wardrobe.Watch her new web show on WowTube.com.

Wendell and Wanjiru Wildebeest went wade fishing for whitefish, walleye, warmouth and wimple with Wyatt Wandering Whistling Duck at Waldo Lake.

New wizard class begins Wednesday at one at Willow’s Whimsical Welcome Center. Wands, whips, washcloths and washbasins will be provided.

Winston Woodchuck and Winona Wolverine will have a snow-white winter wedding in one week on the weekend in Walla Walla, Washington.

For more Worldwide Wednesday News, write Warner Wolverine or Wafaa Warrigal on the web at http://www.wwwednews@walterslakewaterhole.com.

The P Story

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Perry Parrot perched on his purple peg on the pink porch planned the perfect picnic and pool party for Penny Pig and the rest of his friends.

He planned a menu of purple-hulled peas, pistachios, pickles, pinto beans, potato chips, pecan pudding, pears, plums, peanuts, pine nuts, pomegranate, pineapples, pancakes, paella, parsnip, peaches, pepperoni pizza, popcorn, poblanos, bell peppers, popsicles,plantains, pumpkins, pilaf and punch.

He invited Pete Porcupine, Paul Peacock, Philip Panther, Patrick Puma, Pamela and Phuong Penguin, Pin Pony, Parker Pointer, Patricia Poodle, Paige Pomeranian, Pandora Pug, Phoebe Persian, Piper, Polo, Pace, Pia and Portia Pike, Powah Polarbear, Peggy and Ping Panda, Pier Pelican. Pip Pheasant, Peta Puffin, Pyo Prayingmantis and Payton Porpoise.

Perry prepared the pool by starting the pumps and pruning the plants, cleaning the pit, patio furniture and placed some pads in the pen. He paved the path to the pond and painted the pergola and dance platform. Perry planted petunias, peonies, and portulaca and palms near the pool and the pond. He hung peach paper lanterns and made the yard look like a peaceful park.

The day of the party was final here. Penny Pig was very pleased to see all of their friends in their swimming finery! Everyone brought presents for Penny Pig to play with. Patricia Poodle, Paige Pomeranian, Phoebe Persian and Pandora Pug passed through the pergola in their pink bikinis, polka-dot maillots, and purple pumps and posed on their pink and purple pillows around the pool. They didn’t want to get their perfect pom-pom hairstyles wet! Peggy and Ping Panda sat under the giant peach parasol while taking pictures of everyone at the party. Piper, Polo, Pace, Pia and Portia Pike were swimming in the pond. Pamela and Phuong Penguin were diving and sliding in the pool along with Peta Puffin and Payton Porpoise. Parker Pointer paddled in the deep end of the pool. Philip Panther and Patrick Puma rode pedal boats in the pond.

Pin Pony, Philip Panther, Powah Polarbear and Penny Pig danced the Penguin, the Popcorn, the Mashed Potato, the Pony and the Pachanga all day and into the night on the platform while Pete Porcupine played pop hits on the piano and Perry Parrot played the piccolo. Pyo Prayingmatis checked in presents, phones, painful pumps, purses, and pocketbooks. Pip Pheasant grilled bell peppers and poblanos on the pit while Pier Pelican painted portraits of Paul Peacock, Philip Panther, Patrick Puma and the guests.

Powah Polarbear, Peta Puffin, Pamela and Phuong Penguin cooled down with peach and pineapple popsicles.

Everyone danced and swam by the light of Polaris in the sky and ended the party pooped with peppermints and parfaits and packed the food away. Penny read a pleasant poem and thanked her guests for the pretty presents brought to the party as she politely walked her guests to the pergola.  Good night!

The N Story

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Nikki, Norry, Nina, Nancy, Noah, Nero, Nadia, Norbert, Nadim, and Nero, all noticed one night that a number of neighborhood nests looked neglected and showed natural normal wear and needed repair. With Nancy taking notes, the nine friends decided to start a new nest repair business. They decided to name themselves:

”The Nimble Nine Neighborhood Nest Repair Company”
All repairs from a nickel to nineteen-ninety-nine.
No knockoffs used in our repairs!
We never refuse repairs.

Nancy and Noah stayed at the office to manage the notes, notices and calls. Nikki, Nora, Nina, Nero, Nadia, Nadim and Norbert used their nimble skills to repair the nests.

The first repair will be on the the nest next door,the nine agreed. The one in the Northern Pin Oak tree. It was a nuthatch nest with nasty little holes that nine nesting nuthatch gnawed through the floor of the nest. Norry and Nadia used their trusty knife and nimble fingers to nip and sew netting to make a new, nice and neat floor for the nest at a cost of ninety cents!

The next nest to be repaired was the nightingale nest near the end of the block. It was narrow and the nightingales were barely fitting in the nest. The Nimble Nine decided to wait until noon to knock at the nightingale nest since they are nocturnal and would be napping during the day. They returned at noon and negotiated with the nightingale’s’ work to add a nursery with nipples, with as little noise as possible, using the brightest nips and bits of newspaper, nails and nuts. The nightingales only paid nine-ninety nine!

The news about The Nimble Nine Neighborhood Nest Repair Company, traveled so fast that now neighbors nationwide were calling for their services. They received calls from New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Mexico, and Nevada.
They were receiving requests to paint nests navy blue for the retired nautical noddy. They were asked to nail the knotholes in used woodpecker nests and repair the crow’s nest on the ship where Nosey the New Britain Dwarf Kingfisher lives.

The Nimble Nine soon became internationally known for their newly finished and repaired nests. They had requests from Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua and Nigeria too! They were asked to build birdhouses with special rooms for birds with long numb necks and cramped knees, small houses for single birds, wide nests for growing families, and narrow nests for empty nest parents. A nurse also called to ask to have a nest hospital for birds that had accidents while flying.

One night, they received a call to repair a nest that was flooded with water up to the knees of the Noe Flamingo that lived there. Nina carefully folded neon green waterproof napkins to stop the flood and dry the nest. Nathan Nutcracker called for help because the tree that held his nest was knocked down.

Noelle Nunbird sat nervously reading a novel while Nero nimbly repaired the knotholes in her nest. Sir Nathan called to have a room added to his nest for his knighted suit of armor. The work cost him a nickel.

Nova Night-heron and her nephew Nolan and niece Nell, called for a nest repair in their kitchen while they were kneading dough to make knish and gnocchi. They gave a gift of lunch and necklaces to the nimble nine. The Nimble Nine dined on knish, knockwurst, gnocchi, noodles, nectarine juice, neeps,and neapolitan for dessert while neatly picnicking on their Navajo white knitted blanket on a grassy knoll. Noah nodded and sat under a Northern Oak tree for a ninety minute nap. Nikki cleaned after the picnic to not have the area visited by gnats. She packed the blanket in its knapsack and returned to the office to fill her nostrils with the sweet scents of narcissus, and nepeta in her green and navy gnome vase. When The Nimble Nine returned to the office at nine, they turned in the amount of $39.99.
What a neat start for The Nimble Nine Neighborhood Nest Repair Company!

The A Story

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Addie Armadillo sprung out of her bed in Amarillo one sunny April morning. “It’s time for an adventure!”, she said. “I’ll call my adventure buddies Abigail, Ashley, Anna, Arnie, Allen and Aaron. Abigail lives in Arizona, Ashley lives in Alaska, Arnie lives in Austin, Allen lives in Akron, Aaron lives in Alabama,and Anna lives in Arkansas.”

“A new adventure? Sure I’ll be glad to come! I’ll fly my airplane to Amarillo tomorrow morning!.”,said Abigail Antelope.

“Great!”, said Addie.”I’ll see you tomorrow in the A.M.!”

Addie called her other buddies and they all agreed to meet her in Amarillo the next morning. 

It was sunrise and all of Addie’s adventure buddies arrived at her house.

“When does the adventure begin?”,asked Anna Aardvark.

“We’re ready to help you get this adventure going!”,Allen Antelope said.

“I’ll check the aqua-automobile and make sure it’s ready to go.”, said Aaron Ant.

“I’ve packed acorns, apples, almonds, avocados, apricots, ambrosia, amber honey, alfalfa, anchovies, and artichokes to start our adventure.”,Addie said.“Let’s head south to Houston to visit our buddy, Andrew Astronaut for some maps of our adventure and a little advice on what to see and what to avoid to have a great adventure!”,squealed Addie. “Get in the aqua-automobile and let’s get away!”
The aqua-automobile is a large car that is able to move on the ground and sail in the water like a boat.

In a matter of seconds, they were in Houston at Andrew Astronaut’s door.

“Hello Andrew!”,the adventure buddies yelled. “We’re here for your famous travel planning. What do you have for us?”, they asked.

“I suggest you start with the Amazon then go to Argentina, Antarctica, Australia, Asia, Africa, Austria, then cross the Atlantic with a short stop in the Arctic, then back home to Amarillo. You should have weather in your favor the whole way! Let me use some arithmetic to add the amount of fuel the aqua-automobile will need for your adventure.”

“Thanks, Andrew! We’re on our way to the Amazon!”, yelled Addie.

The adventure buddies all climbed into the aqua-automobile and drove south to Galveston, then across the beach and into the ocean. Addie turned on the large outboard motors and steered the aqua-automobile to the Amazon in South America. When they reached the mouth of the Amazon river, they decided to sail up the river instead of driving on land because there were no roads. The river was wide with lots of tree roots in the water and plants and vines along the river.

“There is a lot of rainforest along the river.”, said Anna Aardvark. “That means there are good termites and sweet large ants to eat!”

“Hey! Watch that Anna! Don’t forget that I’m here too!”, screamed Aaron Ant.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean you!”, said Anna.

“Maybe we will get to meet some of my cousins here.”, Aaron said.”There are some swimming up the river and they are carrying leaves.”

“Hello!”,Aaron called out to the ants. “Where are you going?”

The leader yelled back,”We are taking fresh food back to our mound for our queen. A
big feast is planned for the night. Where are you from?”

“North America.”, said Aaron. “We don’t dine on the same food as you, but we work
and live in mounds that we call hills. It’s nice to meet you!”

“Adios! We have to get this to the mound while it’s fresh and so we won’t drown
while swimming!”, said the leader ant.” Enjoy your trip and watch out for giant
anteaters!”

“Giant anteaters!”,squealed Anna. “I have cousins here? Where are they?”

“Probably further inland in the rainforest.”,said Addie.

“Oh! Look! There’s one there near the bank! Hello there!”,yelled Anna excitedly.

The giant anteater waved back and continued digging for food. The aqua-automobile continued down the river passing very closely to some trees. Slithering out
of the river and onto a low branch of a tree was a long,large green snake!

“Watch out for that snake, Addie!”, yelled everyone in the aqua-automobile.

“My there are so many of you! Where did you come from?”, asked the large snake.

“We are from North America.”,said Abigail. “What is your name and what kind of snake are you?”

“I’m Asa Anaconda, at your service! I am a member of the largest and longest snake family in the world. My sisters and brothers live here also and are just as long and large as I am. You are so lucky that I ate my last meal an hour ago and I’m absolutely stuffed! All of you would make great meals for me! All of you would get a loving hug from me to thank you before you become my meal!”, said Asa. “I really love everything I eat!”

“Sorry, we can’t stay. We are out of time here on our adventure and must be going now. Adios, Good bye!”, said Addie. She stepped on the gas and sped away!
“Next stop is Argentina!”, yelled Addie.

“We’re here already?”, asked Abigail Alligator. “Look! That looks like one of my cousins, a crocodile!”

 “A cousin of mine too, a macaw!”, screeched Ashley Albatross.

 “I hear music! Let’s tango!”,  said Arnie Aardwolf.

 “Now it’s time for Antarctica! Get ready to put on your coats. It’s going to be cold.” The aqua-automobile sped up and drove from the Andes Mountains to Antarctica. It was starting to snow and everything was cold.

“I still feel cold even with these thick coats on!”, said Anna. “Look! The penguins are even leaving! It’s too cold for them too!”

“Yes, winter is coming soon. It’s autumn here. Remember?”, asked Addie.

“The seals and the walruses don’t want to get stuck in the ice.” , said Aaron.

“So much snow and ice!”,said Ashley Albatross. “It’s way too cold! It’s time to
go.”

Everyone agreed, hopped into the aqua-automobile and sped to the next stop, Australia!

“Wow! It’s really cool here!”,said Allen Antelope.” I expected it to be hot.”

“It’s autumn here in Australia. Whatever the season is at home, it is the opposite of it in Australia.”, said Addie. “It’s lunch time. Let’s find our Aboriginal adventure friends and join them for lunch.”

Alinga and Tau were quietly sitting under a large wattle bottlebrush tree on a colorful groundcover waiting for their picnic guests.

“Hullo! We have been waiting for you! Sit down and eat with us!”, said Alinga. “I have some cold fresh water to go with our food!”

Addie, Anna, Abigail, Ashley, Arnie, Aaron, and Allen all sat down to share and eat their apples, acorns, apricots, ambrosia, almonds, avocados, amber honey, alfalfa, anchovies and artichokes, while they drank the cold fresh water Alinga and Tau brought.

“Now that we have had lunch, let’s visit one of our special places!”, said Alinga and Tau.”We’re going to see Ayers Rock! We call it Uluru. It is very special to us. We are not too far from it.”

Everyone followed Alinga and Tau across the plain, down a path to a wide open area. It looked like a huge red rocky hill in the middle of a flat field. There were no bushes, trees or grasses growing on the mound. It was a big red rock.

“Wow!”,said Ashley.“That’s a big pretty rock!”

“I have never seen a single rock that big!”,said Arnie.

“There are no mountains around!”,Addie said.

“It’s my favorite color!”,cried Allen.

“We know!”,everyone said.”It’s RED!”

Everyone thanked Alinga and Tau for the wonderful lunch and for sharing their favorite place. It was now time to visit their next stop in their adventure, Asia.Everyone piled into the aqua-automobile and sailed off to Asia.  They arrived in Beijing, China at the Great Wall.

“This sure is a long wall. Did the Chinese keep in what they wanted or did they keep out what or whom they didn’t want.”,asked Ashley.

“It was meant to keep invaders out, but it didn’t do so well. They still came in.”, said Allen.

“It is big and long. It does make you think before walking in.”,said Abigail.

“It was also used as a border marker at one time.”,said Arnie.

“This old wall has lasted a long time!”, said Addie. “It’s time to visit the Terracotta Army!”

They all piled into the aqua-automobile and drove in a flash to the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. Inside, they saw the large clay figured army.

“They look like the plastic army men my brother used to play with, only bigger!”, said Arnie.

“When you are the emperor, I guess you would expect everything you own to be bigger!”,Anna said.

“They have everything they used, horses, arrows and wagons made of clay.”, said Abigail. “They did not forget anything.”

“The emperor must have had some great artists.”,Allen said.

“All the soldiers’ faces look different.”, said Allen.

“They are the same size as humans!”,Aaron said while standing on a soldier’s arm.

It was soon time to go to the next stop on the adventure.  They again piled into the aqua-automobile and soon arrived in Africa.  They stopped in Angola at the Kissama National Park.

“Look over there! It’s one of my cousins!”,said Allen Antelope.

“There are some of my cousins, too!”, cried Arnie Aardwolf.

“There are three of my cousins over under that tree!”,squealed Anna Aardvark. “Let’s go say hello!”

All three went to their cousins and chatted about living in Africa and about living in the United States. They shared some of their foods and then said goodbye.

“We will have to arrange for them to visit us like we are visiting them!”, said Allen and Ann.

“We sure will! We will make it a great adventure for them!”, said Addie. “Now we must get to our next stop, Austria.”

“Again they all piled into the aqua-automobile and before they knew it, they were in St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria.

“We are right in the middle of the Austrian Alps! It is so wonderful!”, said Addie.

“We need to come when it’s ski season!”, said Aaron Ant. “I’m a pro on the snowboard!”

“We are here to visit Arnold Affenpinscher. He is going to show us a few things.”, said Addie. ”There he is over there at the train station.”

“Hallo everybody! Herzlich Willkommen, Welcome!”,greeted Arnold. “Let’s go to my cottage at the top of the hill over there.”

“It is so beautiful here!”, everyone said all together.

They arrived at Arnold’s cottage and ate a small snack of cheese, grass, and grubs with fresh mountain spring water.

“Let’s take turns playing the alpen horn!”, said Arnold. “I’ll show you how it’s done. Arnold took a deep breath and blew a short song on the alpen horn.
Everyone took turns blowing on the horn.  Of course, Aaron Ant was the best on playing the horn.

“The alpenhorn used to be the phone, long ago, for the farmers who lived in the Alps. The sound travels a long way in the mountains.”,said Arnold. “They also used laling or yodeling to call each other between villages or when they were moving. It’s hard to carry an alpenhorn in your pocket while you are taking a walk!”
Arnold yodeled for his guests and they all joined in on a short song.

Addie announced, “It’s time for us to say farewell and thank you, Auf Wiedersehen, Vielen danke!”

“Everything was great! We had a great time!”,said Allen and Aaron.

“You must return! Goodbye and have a safe trip!”,said Arnold.

They all piled into the aqua automobile parked at the train station and before they knew it they stopped in Iceland.

“We are making a short fuel stop here in the Arctic in Iceland. Let’s enjoy the Northern Lights for a few minutes while we refuel!”, said Addie.
Everyone sat and enjoyed looking up at the beautiful light show in the sky. Soon, it was time to go and they sailed back to Addie’s home in Amarillo.

“That was a great adventure!” ,said Allen.

 

“We must do another soon!”,said Aaron.

 

“That was just absolutely fab!” ,said Abigail.

 

“That was a repeater!”,said Ashley.

 

“Awesome adventure!”,said Arnie.

 

“An adventure of a lifetime!”,said Anna.

 

“ An amazing adventure!”,said Arnie.

 
“I must say this adventure had something for everyone. We will do it again soon!”, said Addie.”I’ll work on an Awsome August Adventure!”

 All of Addie’s friends boarded their airplanes and flew home.

The T Story

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“This is Torrence Tasmanian Devil with the Television News at Ten.”

“Television News at Ten is brought to you by Tank Truck Transport of Texas.”

“Today, Terry Tiger tap danced while his friend Tony Turtle tiptoed across the stage during the retired teachers’ tea party. It was a success. The teachers did not perform their familiar tirade when they find the monthly talent sub-par.”

“Tuesday, Terry will tango on stage with Tanya Tayra at the Tropicana Theater. This will be a show you will not want to miss! Tickets go on sale today at two.”

“Tonight be sure to watch Chef Tippy Turkey on his new show, “Top Turkey Creations”. This episode features his new twist on Thanksgiving dinner using tamales, tacos, taquitos, and tortillas. Watch “Top Turkey Creations” every Thursday at ten, nine central time on this station.”

“….And now a word from our sponsors….”

“You need your tank of liquid hauled from Tennessee to Texas? Just telephone 281-232-13-30 Tank Truck Transport of Texas!,” sang Timmy Tarantula, the country music star.

“This afternoon, Tammy Talapoin, the travel agent, traveled to Taipei, Taiwan and tasted teriyaki, tofu and tiramisu from a tray at a special tea house. You can see more of Tammy’s travels on her show, “Travel with Tammy” today at three pm. ”

“ We just got breaking news! Theresa Tamaraw is at the scene”.

“We are here for the grand opening of the Twinkling Twin Towers.  They are the tallest apartment and hotel towers in Toledo. Twinkling Twin Towers are taking applications for the toughest apartments and the hotel is already booked.”, said Theresa.

“Thank you, Theresa,” said Torrence. “We will be back after this.”

“Tummy Tummy is so yummy taste our tuna, tilapia, and trout. Eat it with our tartar sauce or without! Take the number ten train to Thirteenth street and fill your tummy at Tummy Tummy’s!”, sang Taffy Tortoise.

“Don’t miss Tommy Tawny tuco-tuco tactfully talking and tasting a twenty-two-gallon tank full of truffles sitting on a table to make the World Book of Records. This will be happening Thursday afternoon at three, so don’t miss it! ”

“ Timothy Tapeti cried thirty thousand tiny terrible tears as he tore the tape and tar from his fur after a terrible fall today. ”

“…..And now for our sports…..”

“The table tennis team was very technical about taping targets on the taxis to practice for the tournament next week. They say when they use this method, they usually win.”

“The Tornados will be playing the Tallahassee Twisters tomorrow in a triple header at Weather Station Field.”

“Now for By the way moments.”

“The Timber Terrace trash day will change from Thursdays to Tuesdays.”

“That’s all the news today for Television News at Ten. Thank You for watching! I’m Torrence Tasmanian Devil. Be sure to get the latest Television news by watching Television News at Two. Until tomorrow, have a Terrific Tuesday!”

The M Story

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“Good morning Mac! What are you doing today?”, asked Mike Mouse and Marsha Monkey.

“ I’m packing for my vacation to the moon.”, said Mac  Moose.

“ Mind if we come along?”, Mike and Marsha asked.

“Sure you can! Just help me plan and pack for the trip! We will be staying for a month!”,

said Mac.

“First we will pack our food. We will need milk, melons, muffins, mushrooms, muenster

cheese, mangoes, macadamia nuts and maple syrup for our menu. Are we taking the

mirror stove and microwave?”, said Mike.

“Yes, we will!”, said Mac.

“Next we will need our supplies for our trip. We will need masks and mittens for our

moonwalks and our motorcycle module to ride on the moon once we get there.”, said

Marsha.

“Let’s look at the map and my magazine I got in the mail Monday, and decide on our

motel, movies, and museums we will visit while we are there.”, said Mac.

“We will leave the first Monday in March and land on the Mare of Nectaris and will stay

one month at the Half-Moon Motel.  While we are there, we will ride our motorcycle

modules, watch movies, order pizzas from the Comet Pizza menu, visit the Tycho Crater

Disco and dance the moonwalk to the music and visit the moon rock museum and

planetarium.”, said Mike.

“I’ll call and make all the reservations!”, said Marsha.

Marsha called the space travel agent and made the reservations with agent Molly Mole.

“ You should be ready for blast-off on time by Monday, March 1st.“, assured Molly Mole.

“Make sure you have your masks, mats, mops and misters for your trip. It gets mighty

dusty on the moon and your misting will make plenty of mud.”, said Molly. “Oh, and don’t

forget to take a few magnets for any floating items you may lose on the way there or on the

way back.”, Molly reminded them.

“We can’t wait for our trip!”, screeched Marsha. “Thanks for everything Molly!”

That first Monday of March, Mike, Marsha, and Mac climbed aboard Mac’s spaceship in his

backyard. Mac sat at the controls and Mike sat at the desk with the maps to navigate the

trip and Marsha was the co-pilot of the ship.

TEN-NINE-EIGHT-SEVEN-SIX-FIVE-FOUR-THREE-TWO-ONE…. BLAST-OFF!!!!!!!

Mac, Mike, and Marsha were off to the moon for their month long vacation!

The S Story

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Speedy Cheetah was taking his daily run through the field when he passed his longtime

friend a the watering hole, Shelby Snail.

“Hey Shelby! When are you going to run against me in a race?”, asked Speedy.

“I don’t know.”, slowly said Shelby. “I have to think about it.”

“You say that everyday!”, said Speedy. “I will make it really sweet and make you want to

race. Let’s race for a meal!”

“If you win, you will get a spinach, strawberry and sunflower seed salad with a sassafras

soda and I will make it for you. If I win, I will get sixteen savory smothered steaks with a

small strawberry shake.”

“Sounds good so far. When and where will it be?”, asked Shelby,

“Let’s have it on Saturday, September seventh at six A.M. We will run six short miles

through the savanna. I am sure I will run circles around you,win the race and get my

sixteen steaks!”, said Speedy.

“Don’t be in such a hurry to name the winner of the race.”, said Shelby. “It has not started

yet. So much can happen between now and Saturday, September seventh at six A.M!”

Speedy continued to sail past Shelby on his daily short sprints at seventy miles per hour.

 

Saturday, September seventh at six A.M. came very quickly and with a few surprises. There

were several short showers the night before, so the savanna was slightly soggy at sunrise

that morning.

The sables, servals, sitatungas and springhares were all lined along the race trail through

the savanna to support the race. Sammy the elephant shrew came in this best striped suit

to referee the race. Shelby came out from under a palm leaf that morning and slowly

slithered to the starting line.

Speedy sauntered stealthily to the starting line. “I know this race is clearly mine!”, he

said.

“We will see.”, said Shelby.”The day is early and six miles to go, the savanna looks great

for a snail in a race.”

Sammy the elephant shrew said,” You are running a six mile loop around the savanna this

morning. The first one to finish will win either the salad and soda or the smothered steaks

and shake. May the best one win! On your marks! Get set! GO!”

Speedy took off in a flash from the start and slipped and slid along the muddy race trail,

but he still had the lead.

Shelby was slow and steady. “The mud, slime and slippery savanna is just my speed!”, said

Shelby.

When he reached the middle of the trail, Speedy has some problems and fell.  The trail was

muddy, lumpy and slick and his paw got stuck in a rut and he tumbled off the path and

rolled down a small hill into a deep, wet hole. The hole was so deep that Speedy could not

climb out by himself. He would really need some help.

Several hours passed and Shelby was at the end of the trail at the finish line. The sables,

servals, sitatungas and springhares cheered Shelby at the line. Sammy the elephant shrew

announced the Shelby the winner of the race.  Sammy asked hours later, “Where is

Speedy? He should be back by now!”

They all looked for Speedy and finally found him and helped him out of the hole.

“I guess I’ll have to get that spinach, strawberry, sunflower seed salad with the sassafras

soda.”, said Speedy.

“I will get you a strawberry smoothie for being a gracious loser!”, said Shelby. “Remember

when you plan a race, don’t forget to include the weather. The wet, the mud and the slime

help me slither and that is how I became the winner.”

 

NO WATER FOR TOMMY

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“Guess what, Tommy? I just learned that by body is made of a lot of water!” squealed

Dana. Tommy and Dana have been best friends and next door neighbors since they were

babies.

“Yeah? How do you know?”, Tommy asked Dana.

“Cindy told me while she was doing her science homework.”, stated Dana.

“I don’t believe her. Let’s go ask Professor Burns. He will know.”, said Tommy. “He

usually knows about things like that.”

“Okay!”, said Dana. “Let’s go now!”

Dana and Tommy rode their bikes through the neighborhood to Professor Burns’ house.

They knocked at his door.

“I hope he isn’t in his lab in the back yet.” said Dana. Just then he opened his front door.

“Good morning friends! How are you today? What brings you here today?”, asked the

Professor.

“Good morning Professor Burns! We are fine! We came because we want to know if it is

true that our bodies are made of water?”, asked Tommy.

“Good! I see you two are ready to learn! Let’s go to my lab. I can show you better there.”,

said Professor Burns.

Professor Burns, Dana and Tommy walked through the house, out the back door and down

the walk to the lab.  They reached the lab and sat around one of Professor Burns’ large,

black, stone rectangular tables.

“The human body is nearly 60 percent water. This is a little over one half water, which

equals to a little more than 11 gallons in an adult! Water is all over your body. Your blood,

muscles and bones are all made of water.  That is one of the reasons why your body floats

in water!”, explained Professor Burns.

“Wow!”, said Tommy. “Your sister was right, Dana.”

“She also told me that we have to drink lots of water everyday, or we would run out of

water.”, said Dana.

“Yuck!”, yelled Tommy. “I don’t like water! It tastes nasty!”

“ What your sister said is somewhat true , Dana. The water in our bodies does many

important things.  It keeps our bodies cool by perspiring or what you would call sweating.

It takes food and oxygen to areas of your body where it is needed by using your blood. It

removes waste from your body in the forms of urine and feces.”, explained Professor

Burns.

“Gee Professor, water sure does a lot of things in your body….”, said Tommy,”but I still

don’t like it!”

“Let’s look at how water maintains your temperature. Tommy, are your hands dry? Put on

this rubber glove and keep it on until I tell you to take it off.”, instructed Professor Burns.

“When it is very hot outside, and you have been weeding Mrs. Green’s flowerbeds, you

start to “sweat”. That is one of the ways your body cools off!”, said Professor Burns.

“It’s kind of like you have a fire started and you pour water on the fire to put it out!”, said

Dana.

“Right!”, said Professor Burns.”Oh by the way. Tommy, you can take that glove off now.

What has happened to your hand?”

“My hand is all wet!”,said Tommy.

“Your body started to cool you hand with water.”, said Dana.

“Very good!”, said Professor Burns.

Professor Burns reached for his long handled mirror. He placed the mirror under his nose

as he spoke. “Another way your body cools itself with water is with water in a different

form called steam.  When you exhale, your release small amounts of water from your lungs

in the form of a gas called steam. Let’s look at the mirror now.”

“Gee, it’s all fogged up!”, said Dana.

“Yeah, just like our bathroom mirror when we take a hot shower!”, said Tommy.

Professor Burns explained further. “Another way to cool the body is to drink water. Your

body lets you know it’s time to add water when……?”

“YOU GET THIRSTY!” they all yelled together.

“It takes a lot of work to keep your temperature regulated in hot weather, so that means

that your body has to work harder, burn more fuel, which causes more waste! What do you

think would happen if you don’t help keep that water supply high?”, asked Professor

Burns.

“You would get really hot and explode?”, asked Dana.

“You would get very sick?”, asked Tommy.

“The lack of water is called dehydration. There are 3 basic stages of dehydration:

I.  Mild. The body will have thirst, dry, chapped lips, dizziness and headache.

II. Moderate. The body will have a dry mouth, sunken eyes, skin that doesn’t

                bounce back when quickly pinched and released and low urine output.

III. Severe. You can see rapid breathing, cold hands and feet, blue lips, mental

                  confusion and sleepiness.

Mild dehydration can be self-treated by just drinking water.

Moderate dehydration may require the assistance of your doctor.

Severe dehydration is very serious and requires that you get to a hospital right away for

treatment.”, explained Professor Burns.

“I think I am starting to like water!”, said Tommy.

“How much water is enough for the human body?”, asked Dana.

“When the weather is hot and you are not active, both of you are six years old, so your

body requires at least 45 cups of water per day. That is 360 ounces per day or roughly 3

gallon.  The older you get, the more you need, so add one 8 ounce cup per year you grow

older. Adults require about 720 ounces per day or a little more than 5 and one half gallons.

Remember this is based on activity levels and weather.”, stated Professor Burns.

“That sure seems like a lot!”, said Tommy.

“Not if you think about how much water you are losing through sweat, rapid exhalation

while exercising in the heat and urination.”, said Professor Burns.” Some fruits and

vegetables also have a high water content and by eating them, you help maintain your

water levels, but nothing can totally take the place of water.”

“Don’t forget that you can become dehydrated during cold weather too!  You just don’t

sweat as much, therefore you don’t notice it, but you still have to keep on drinking water.

Water is still needed to carry fuel and oxygen to the organs of your body even when it is

cold outside.” , reminded Professor Burns.

“Let’s go back to the house for a snack and something to drink.”

“Yeah, like a tall glass of cold water!”, said Tommy.

“Right!”, said Dana.”You are starting to like water, Tommy!”

 

References

 

How Much Water Should My Child Drink – CHOC Children’s

https://medlineplus.gov/dehydration.html

https://webmd.com/children/prevent-dehydration-children#1