Johnny continues his journalings. He is getting excited about his upcoming trip to Alaska.
Wednesday, March 9, 2005, 12:45 p.m., C.S.T.~
Dear Journal~
I am sorry if I haven't written in here in quite some time, but I have been busy (plus I have had some days where I have felt weakened, and it was hard for me to do much for myself). I had to have a lot of help with my eating, and with my getting dressed and ready for school, and I also needed help with my toilet, my bath, and stuff like that. It was not fun, but today I seem to be feeling somewhat stronger, and I don't feel as tired now. Such as life when you live with something like muscular dystrophy. It is nothing but a big pain in the ass, and I HATE it!! GRR!
But on the good side of things, I am looking forward to my trip to Alaska, which is next month! :) I am going to Barrow, Alaska, which is the northernmost point in the U.S. of A., and I am spending a week with one of mommy's good friends, Sikik Grace Eegeesiak, and her family. Where she lives it is snowy and cold a good chunk of the year, so I know I will have to pack plenty of warm pants, socks, sweaters, jackets, gloves, and stuff like that! BRRR! It makes ME cold JUST thinking about it! YIKES! Barbara, my older sister (she will be 16 a week from today, in fact! :) ), is going to Alaska with me; that way, she can take care of me in case I should have a problem (and I pray that I DON'T!). We will see and experience things that will be totally unfamiliar, and I am a bit nervous; what if they don't like me, and what if I don't like them?? What if I get lost in a blizzard? What if my electric wheelchair croaks on the snow? I will not be able to get anywhere! What do I do then?? What if I get eaten by a walrus or a polar bear?? What if an eagle carries me off and feeds me to its young?? What if I don't like the Inuit food? Will they think badly of me??
ANYway, Barbara and I will be flying to Seattle, Washington from Nashville's airport, and we will then change planes there and fly on out to Anchorage, Alaska; and we will then take another plane to Barrow. So we will be doing a lot of traveling. We are leaving on the 9th of April (ONE month from TODAY!! :) ), and we will be back on the 16th the following week. We are both scared and nervous, but we are also looking forward to it, and I know Barbara is because she's never been TO Alaska while I have, and this will be something totally new for her!
I am doing pretty good in school; we had our state educational tests, to see how good we are in certain subjects, and I passed. I was so shocked; I was so certain I would fail because a lot of the questions were so HARD!! We also are having a book fair next week, all week long, and I am looking forward to that. Now that I can read better, I can get some books that I can actually READ and ENJOY! I won't have to read those stupid baby picture books anymore! They are bound to have some books that I know I will enjoy! (I like the series of sports books by Matt Christopher, and I also like the Hank Zipster series by Henry Winkler, the guy who played "Fonzie" on the show "Happy Days"; those are funny! Hopefully I will be able to find some of these books at the book fair!) And after the book fair, we have our open house, which means we can show off our school to our parents and family members, and the teachers can tell my folks just how I (or my brothers and sisters) are doing at school. We also will have ice cream and cake, and we will have a special program at school after we have the open house and eat our treats.
Well, Ronee' did her thing in Hollywood, and she did quite well. She got third place out of seven performers, and I guess she did a very good job, according to daddy. He says she sang her heart out, and she really pulled it together at the last minute. I was so worried about her for a while because before she left for Hollywood, she was so scared and nervous she was throwing up, and she was so sure that nobody would like her or make fun of her because she is physically disabled; but I told her that she was just being stupid, and that all she could do was just do her best when she got out on that stage. Apparently she did, because she was one of the top three finishers, and only two kids had more points than her..and it wasn't by all that much, really. So she did SUPER! I can't WAIT to see her on tv later this summer; it will be neat to see her performing on "America's Most Talented Kids"!
I am sitting here at recess, by the swings, typing this on my laptop, waiting for the recess bell to ring, to signal to us that recess is over and that we should return to our classrooms. I will then get out by 3, 3:30, and I will be home by four, four thirty (depending on how traffic is doing). It is pretty outside today: bright blue skies, wall-to-wall sunshine, really nice temperatures. Really lovely. So I will be going outside after I change into my playclothes upon my return home from school! Guess I will see Jose' Varques today; I haven't been to his house in a week or so because he and his family have had the flu; but they are over it now; all they have are leftover sniffles and coughs; but at least they aren't contagious anymore. That would be disasterous for me because when I get a cold or something like the flu, I can get deathly sick, and I can very easily end up in the hospital, in Intensive Care; and I do NOT want that to happen, especially since my trip to Alaska is but one month away! That would NOT be at ALL good!
Well, I will write more later; my arms and fingers are getting tired. I hope you aren't mad at me for not writing sooner, but I have been a very busy young boy! Until later, this is Johnny saying "Toodles"!
Enchanta (50,000 words) is an imaginative young adult fantasy novel for children eight to thirteen that adults could also enjoy. The story has lots of magic, adventure and surprises.
When vacationing at a mysterious Maine lighthouse, ten-year-old Dylan befriends a ghostly lighthouse keeper who must protect Dylan from danger after he learns a very big secret.
Wednesday, March 9, 2005, 12:45 p.m., C.S.T.~
