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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, September 20, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 Guest Column The hidden door under the sea Celeste Anne O'Brien, St. Matthew Catholic School Editor's Note: The following short story was written by St. Matthew Catholic School student Celeste Anne O'Brien. O'Brien's piece was selected as the first place winning entry in a short story contest part of the Author's Tea Creative Writing Workshop that was open to students from Grades 4-5 and ran from November 2011-May 2012. Celeste O'Brien lex was just like any other girl. She went to a normal school and had a normal teacher. She had normal parents, and she lived in a normal home. All in all, Alex had a pretty happy life... but she was bored a lot of the time. She always felt that she was supposed to be something more than she was. The only thing unusual about Alex was that she was adopted. Her parents never kept that a secret from her. They had found her on a beach, they said, in Florida, wearing only a bracelet that read `Alexandria.' That's why that was her name. One day, they'd like to go back to Florida, they always said, but it cost so much money, and Alex's parents didn't have much of that. Maybe when Alex was older they could go. So, she had to wait. In the meantime, she spent most of her time avoiding her little brother, whose mission in life seemed to be bothering her endlessly! She guessed she loved him... but he was SO annoying sometimes. The only thing that really interested Alex were her books. And that was the only thing about her that was NOT normal. Her books... she had SO many of them. Her desk, her dresser, her bed, and even her floor were all covered in books. She also had several shelves of books above her bed... and all over the walls of the rest of her room. Alex had SO many books, but there were only two kinds she liked: fantasy and non-fiction. Her favourite fantasy books were about sea creatures and the ocean. She used the non-fiction ones for school projects and her fantasy ones just for fun. · · · One day, when Alex was just 10 years old, and out for a walk with her parents in the woods, she suddenly fell into a ravine. She fell down and down and down... and crash landed with a splash in a big swirling pool of water. Luckily, she knew how to swim well. So, Alex was startled when she fell in... but she wasn't scared at all. But looking up, Alex could see that her parents were scared. They were peering over the edge of the ravine and looked terrified. "Alex! Alex!" they yelled. Her dad was getting ready to jump in after her. Then Alex's mom said something Alex couldn't hear, and pointed off in another direction. Alex's dad ran that way, shouting. Neil Oliver Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West David harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Website www.oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: A United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award SOUP'S ON!: Participants from Halton Multicultural Council's seniors and newcomer groups enjoyed a hands-on cooking class Monday with volunteer chefs from Liaison College Oakville as part of the Growing and Sharing Food in Halton initiative. SUBMITTED PHOTO See What page 18 Living for the moment, unless you have a bus to catch ast week, we found ourselves recharging our batteries in Barack's backyard. We were unsure whether the President of the United States was even at his Chicago home -- apparently he's a bit busy elsewhere these days -- but early Saturday morning we became convinced he was about to pay us a personal visit. Or, alternatively, that the Windy City was under siege. I was in the lobby of our hotel, securing coffee and taking the pulse of the city (the town was in mourning; its beloved Bears had been pummeled by the Packers on Thursday and nobody was getting over it anytime soon). When I returned to our room, my wife was gazing out the window overlooking the Chicago River. Forget the coffee, things were really brewing outside. Police were shutting down traffic. The Wabash Street Bridge was raised. Boats were tearing up the river. And a sleek, black helicopter was buzzing in the area. I took my camera and began documenting the U.S. president's arrival? An imminent terrorist threat? Or, we would eventually learn: the filming of an action scene from Dhoom 3: Back In Action, a Bollywood buddy-cop movie. Aside from not receiving a personal visit from the president, we L had a terrific trip. Without sounding like the local tourist board, Chicago is an electric and eclectic city. Consequently, we visit -- a lot. Each visit is somewhat similar to the last -- we walk the city streets until our dogs bark in protest, we sightsee, people watch, and ferret out fine restaurants -- but each trip takes on its own flavour and presAndy Juniper ents its own memorable moments, some big, some small. On the drive down, we had a philosophical talk on the concept of existing mindfully and living for the moment in this, the age of distraction. One subsequent afternoon, as my wife scoured the city for boot bargains, I took a book and walked over to Millennium Park. Living mindfully, I was acutely aware that this was a blessed day, spilling over in sunshine and unseasonable warmth. Living for the moment, I hustled over to the park's band shell when I first heard the soulful strains of music. It was Seniors' Day in the park and hundreds of seniors had been walked and wheeled in and were enjoying a superb outdoor concert by a snappy Motown ensemble. I watched, enthralled. Until finally -- oddly and inexplicably on cue, in the middle of a song -- half the audience rose and began to leave. A woman cut off the band in mid-song, grabbed the microphone and exhorted: "People, you can stay. We've talked to the bus company and they've delayed departure." No one paid heed. And to our previous philosophical discussion, I then felt educated enough to add a caveat: "Live for the moment. Unless you have a bus to catch." Back home, I take a moment to recall our escape with fondness, before reality washes away the mood. Time spent together. A night in a piano bar. Breakfast in "The World's Largest Little Restaurant" that "makes up for its small size with a huge economically-priced menu." And while uncertain of what "a huge economically priced menu" even means, we knew we'd finally found the great greasy spoon that had eluded us in previous visits when we spotted the sign posted by Katherine, who runs the Ohio House. "OPEN: When I get here. CLOSED: When I leave." Now that's living mindfully, and for the moment. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters.