ěMy Best Older Friendî essay contest winners

Posted 6/6/01

ěMy Best Older Friendî essay contest winners

First place boys entry:

My Grandpa
by Nathan Storm

My grandpa and I went to Florida to go deep-sea fishing and he was too scared to go on the plane. I talked him into going on. It took three days to get there, when we did it was 10 p.m. so we went and rented a houseboat. It was fun because I got to drive the boat out in the ocean and then we went to sleep.
When I woke up I started to fish. I wanted to catch a swordfish. It was the first fish of the day. My grandpa couldnít believe it. It was five feet long, we stuffed it.
Then my grandpa saw a shark and it bit his hook. It was four feet long and still kind of a baby. He threw it back.
I had a lion fish but a crocodile jumped out of the water and bit my fish and snapped the line. I had to reline it. The crocodile almost broke my pole in half.
We moved to a different spot and had no trouble with crocodiles at all.
We went to the everglades in Florida, thatís where the crocodile ate my fish. It was late so we drove a little toward shore to sleep. Again when I woke up I started to fish like crazy and I caught another swordfish, my grandpa cooked it for lunch.
It was really good. It was the best tasting fish I have ever had before. My grandpa caught a bigger swordfish than I did. It was eight feet long. I couldnít believe it. Somebody bought the fish for $300. So we went out fishing after my grandpa got his picture taken with the fish at the dock. News reporter took our picture and it was in the Monday newspaper.
We had a lot of fun fishing. My grandpa said, ěwe are leaving early.î I didnít know why. He made me wear a blindfold and when I took it off we were at Disney World.
Grandpa said, ěwe are staying here till Friday so you have four days to have a lot of fun, Nathan.î
We used the money that my grandpa got from the swordfish to stay at the hotel for four days. It was a lot of fun going down to Florida over summer break.

First place girls entry:

My Best Older Friend
by Anna Dahl

One of my best older friends is a woman named Deloris Wilcox. I have known her my whole life because before I moved she was my neighbor living in the little house behind us. She lived with her husband, but he has now since passed away. She was strong and kept going. Thatís one of the qualities I admire in her.
Deloris turned 86 years old in 2001 and still lives in the little house. It is cheerful and welcoming just like her. My family loves her and itís fun to visit, but we donít get to very often. We see her on most holidays, visiting on Christmas and bringing her a May basket on May Day.
Of course my favorite time is probably Halloween. I come to her house every year and each time sheís dressed up. Last year she was decked out in all purple: a boa, a purple beaded necklace, and my favorite, her big witchís hat. Deloris gives us yummy stuff on Halloween, but also every time we come. The fudgesicles are just about as sweet as she it.
I love how sheís so nice and like I said before I truly admire her strength. Not only because she was still vibrant after her husband died, but something else that happened.
Several years ago Deloris was told she had a cancerous lump. She had an operation and it was removed, but that wasnít the end of it. On our visit just recently she showed us another lump on her hand. She said, no matter what, she was keeping her hand and that was that.
So now you probably understand why I enjoy having Deloris as a friend. Sheís cheerful, silly, strong and a lot of fun. Some people think a friend is someone your own age, but they certainly donít have to be. Deloris and I have removed the age barrier and I plan to keep it that way. Why? Because she is one of my best and oldest friends.

Second place boys:

Favorite Older Person
by Christopher Joseph Grummons

This is about my favorite grandma, Bev. I have made best friends with her because she loves the same stuff I do. She loves chocolate, I love chocolate. We canít go without it for one day. We are so crazy about it that we make chocolate cake, cookies, brownies and anything else we can. We also love the car brand Chevrolet. She had a 1959 Chevy Bel Air. We both love to read. Her favorite author is Louis Líamour, mine is J.K. Rowling. I have a strong relationship with her dog. She also loves her dog. Her name is Cookie. She is a cross between a dachshund and a beagle. My grandma and I do everything together, like cards. We play Blackjack, Go Fish, Poker, Crazy Eights and Hearts. We do lots of puzzles. We play board games like Monopoly, Scrabble, Up Words, Boggle, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land and Sorry. We even shop together, especially at Wal-Mart.
We love fishing (but we donít go much anymore). We love eating walleye. She hates northern, Yuk! I do a lot of stuff for her, like mowing the lawn. She gives me five to 10 dollars for it. Every Christmas she gives me a lot of presents and then some more . . . a lot more, on my birthday. She is always nice to me. She understands why I beat up my little brother.
Well, thatís why she is my favorite grandparent. She is caring, loving, fun, understanding, nice and funny.

Second place girls:

My Grandma
by Jillian Boyce

My grandma, Ethel, from my dadís side of the family, and I always get along so well. When I was younger and not allowed home alone, I would go to her house. She would spoil me rotten. She would bring me chicken noodle soup for lunch, ice cream cones and popsicles for dessert (of if I had a sore throat and was staying home from school). Sheíd always offer cookies and milk or candy and kool-aid. She would even make something like a bed on the couch for me to rest. If I got tired of watching TV, sheíd bring in a deck of cards to play with. We would play all sorts of games and once we played solitaire three times, and each time we finished the game.
When I got a little older and was going to daycare, my dad would bring me and we would first stop at my grandmaís. He would leave me with Grandma while he went up town to get her mail. During that time we would have fun drawing pictures and making designs with doilies. Sheíd often give me some milk if I wanted it.
If we ever need any mending or any help with something she always lends a helping hand. She would often watch my brother and me when our parents would go somewhere.
She always remembers us at Christmas and on our birthdays. At Halloween sheíll even fix up a little treat bag of goodies for us.
My grandma is always there for me. We know that we can stop by her house any time of the day and she welcomes me every time. She comes to every concert or performance Iím in and is very supportive in everything I do.
I know my grandma loves me. She may not be the wealthiest person in the world, but she has enough love to equal that wealth.

Third place boys:

My Grandpa and I
by Tim Haugen

My Grandpa and I always talk about baseball, golf, and what we want to do when I am there. When we go golfing I always lose but it is still fun. We talk about baseball and what fun we are going to have. We have fun fishing. We are going to go to the Black Hawks game. When we golf we take our time and we talk about what we are going to have when we get home for dinner or lunch.
Before the summer comes we always talk about what a good time we are going to have. We are going to go to the Black Hawks game and Twins games. We are going to have fun this summer.
We are also going to pick up my sister at my momís house. My grandpa and I are going to get to do a lot of things together this summer. My grandpa wants me to go to Texas with him for two weeks.
I think my grandpa is special because he loves to spend a lot of time with me, and he likes helping me learn the right way how to do the sport the right way. He helps me on my shooting baskets, golf swing, hitting baseball and catching a baseball.

Third place girls:

My Great Grandmother
by Jessica Bellin

My great-grandma is a very special person. Her name is Rubie Bellin. She is 91 years old. She is not in a nursing home, she lives at home by herself. She used to have a husband, but he died in 1993. I hardly remember him. People in my family visit her though so she does not get lonely. I am sorry that I do not get to visit her very often.
Even though I donít get to visit her during my free time, I do get to see her on holidays. Every time I see her itís almost like a family reunion. We hug and talk to each other. During Easter we didnít do much though because there were so many other people to talk to that I hadnít seen for a long time.
Some things that make my great-grandma Rubie special are that she is 91 and still living at home. I always thought it was really cool that she used to be a teacher in Cambridge, then a principal. She was even in the paper for it once. One amazing thing abut her is that my grandma (Joyce Bellin) used to have her for a teacher when she was little, then she married Rubieís son, my grandpa (Loran Bellin). I think one of the most special things about my grandma is this, my mom and my dad are divorced. My mom had kids with another guy named Mike so I have half brothers and sisters. My grandma just fell in love with my brother James, so the last few times Iíve gone to see her, he has come with. One last thing that is special about my grandma and me is that our birthdays arenít very far apart, only by about 10 days.
Every year we all celebrate out birthdays together.
Even though I donít see her very often I still feel that we are very close. She is a very important person in my life and I hope she lives long enough for my younger brothers and sister to know. her.