Guest Post

(This post is an essay written by SN3 for his sixth grade class. Posted “as received” and with permission of the author.)

My Life

By Robert Pennington

On February 19, 1997, a blue-eyed, 9-pound baby was born squeaking and squealing in Rochester, New York. So began the life of Robert Ellis Brobst Pennington.

The Past

The win without the “n”

I swung for victory, then suddenly a dull but sharp something poked me in the mid-section. I fell on the ground and faked my death. “So close, yet so far,” I muttered, as I heaved myself up off the ground. “Win to Ian,” the ref announced. I groaned because the score was 9 to 13 in Ian’s favor. “m’lord Ian and m’lord Wesley to the field! m’lord Robert and m’lord Brendon, prepare!” the ref announced. I remarked to Brendon that Wesley was going to die. Just then we heard a heavy thump. I yelled and laughed, as I saw Wesley win. By then I was exhausted from my previous battles. Yet, I was called onto the field. I grabbed a sword and shield, and, as I trotted out onto the field, I heard something. It was Wesley. He was yelling “Look out!” I turned just in time to dodge a swing from Brendon. Then I returned the swing, I feinted, and then tapped lightly on Brendon’s chest. He was dead. I gratefully took a drink of water. After two more battles, I tied the score 15 to 15. It was time for the final match between Ian and me. As I slowly promenaded onto the field, doubt crept into my mind, as thoughts went in one ear and out the other ear. Thus, I swung for victory and struck home.

The great feast

I stepped out of the car on the asphalt parking lot. I asked my mom when the feast was, and she replied, for the umpteenth time, five o’clock. She was annoyed. Walking in the door of the church was the strangest way to change from modern to medieval but I was immediately taken back in time, by being enveloped in the enticing, exotic smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, and something like cinnamon that was lighter and sweeter. The smells became more inviting by the minute. Soon, appetizing foods, such as chicken with garlic and salt, which tasted divine, appeared. Then, an exquisite, beef stew appeared, reeked of leeks, but had an excellent salty tang. Thus, time passed, I stepped out the church and into modern time. We got in the car and went home.

The Present – My Hobbies

Drawing is a great hobby because you can take a blank piece of paper and make it into an old lamp, a girl with freckles, or a beautiful moon. If I have a chance to draw and a white piece of paper, I will draw. What I like to draw is fantasy for fun, such as a “zorcling” or a “hydralisk.” The best part of drawing is thinking up the names of the creatures I draw. For example, one name I dreamed up recently was “zyamanor.”

Another hobby that I enjoy is collecting Legos and Bionicles. It is fun because I can mix up the parts to create new and strange creatures, machines, and all kinds of objects. Why I collect Bionicles is because I am working towards my goal of making the ultimate Bionicle. I have been collecting for about 8 years and I have two big bins full of Legos and Bionicles. If I counted all the Bionicle parts I have, I would probably have about two million.

Words provide a unique perspective, especially if you play with them. Thus, messing around with words has become a hobby of mine. One of the funniest words in written English is access because it is something you do and something you have. It is a noun, but over time it was “verbed.” Also, compound words are funny because you take one word, push it up against another, and it means something totally different. For instance, take the word home and the word work. When pushed together, they mean something totally different than what they mean separately.

The Future

In the future, I will be a writer of fiction about the beginning of the world, from a different perspective. I will illustrate in words all the different variables to describe what the world could have become. By the time I am forty, I will be married and will try to have five best-sellers. After I retire at sixty, I will move to Greece with my family to live out my days visiting famous spots in Greece. Then I will die.

Fin.

Today's Pic: SN3 in this year's class picture. The Second Mrs. Pennington doesn't like this shot and I'm not too fond of it, either. But it IS better than a drivers license photo.

(Update: I had to delete the earlier version of this post. Some way, somehow, the native formatting in Bobby's essay thoroughly hosed the blog's formatting, yet again. So... a delete and repost was in order.)