Chaparral - Midland College

Transcription

Chaparral
2005
Staff
Editor
Randy Rodriguez
Writers
Ryan Alexander
Christina Custer
Michael Flax
Tim Garlitz
Jessica Gonzales
Ruby Moore
Kelley Ricker
Randy Rodriguez
Angie Wennerlind
Photographers
Pedro Guerra
Randy Rodriguez
Angie Wennerlind
Production Staff
Michael Flax
Tim Garlitz
Rael Henson
Ruby Moore
Angie Wennerlind
Lab Instructor
Karen Lanier
Adviser
Bob Templeton
Real Life Real People
From the staff
After assigning stories for the Chaparral 2005,
we found that a theme emerged. Something we
decided to call “Real Life Real People.”
The stories highlight Midland area residents
coping with all kinds of “life”— war, God, death
and cancer.
We also talk about choices, especially those made
by college students—what college major to choose,
to drink or not to drink and the consequences of the
choices they make.
Chaparral 2005 is a student-written and studentproduced magazine published as a learning tool.
We hope our readers are enlightened and inspired
after reading the magazine.
Special thanks to:
Katy Brummett, Lois Eggleston, Michael Flax,
Sgt. Gary Kennedy, Lyndolyn Pervier and
Allison Stewart
Some photographs and graphics for this magazine came from
Websites and are labeled as such. The cover photograph of the
Lester car accident came from the Midland Reporter-Telegram,
January 2003.
Chaparral is an annual student news/feature magazine published by the Communication Department of Midland
College. Vol. 37/Spring 2005. All rights revert to writers/photographers upon publication. © Copyright 2005,
Communication Department, Midland College, 3600 N. Garfield, Midland, Texas 79705.
Printed by Qualified Printing, Midland, Texas.
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Table of Contents
Major Decisions
Project Boot Camp
By Angie Wennerlind
By Amy Johnson
pg. 4
pg. 6
Sharing God’s Word
Far From Home
By Christina Custer
By Jessica Gonzales
pg. 7
pg. 11
‘Live in the Now’
Rock the Desert
By Kelley Ricker
By Tim Garlitz
pg. 14
pg. 16
Mail Call
Cancer
By Rael Henson
By Kelley Ricker
pg. 18
pg. 19
Combat Zone
Iraq: What’s Next?
By Michael Flax
By Randy Rodriguez
pgs. 22, 23, 26, 27
pg. 24
NASCAR
One for the road...
By Ryan Alexander
By Ruby Moore
pg. 28
pg. 30
3
ReAl lIFe
mAJoR DeCISIoNS
By Angie Wennerlind
“You’ve got to know
where you’re going to
get there.”
—Donna Webb
“I
really don’t know what I want to do,” said Logan
Martin, a third-year Midland College student. “Some
days I wake up and wonder what the heck I’m going
to school for. I can’t help feeling a little anxious about my
future.” Martin’s response is typical of many college students
and serves as evidence of an ongoing trend. Many college students today are simply destitute of future ambition.
Vagabonds on their own campuses, the average student’s time
is spent dawdling through classes in search of something that
might steer them down a career path.
At MC, the Career Center goes to battle for such undecided students. Kim Shoemaker, an MC career counselor who
works in the center, said it offers many different tools including career interest surveys, books and college searches that
serve to guide students in their future plans.
Such an abundance of resources proves a valuable asset, but
more importantly satisfies a substantial need.
According to the MC Registrar’s office, the majority of MC
students, 31 percent, are general studies majors—those
unsure of specific interests. When this statistic is compared to
the second-largest MC major, nursing, 8 percent of students,
it is clear that dubious majors comprise the overwhelming
majority.
The national average isn’t much better. The Higher
Education Research Institute discovered that the number of
undecided college freshmen has been steadily incresing over
the years, and that an estimated 25 percent of students will
begin college “undecided.”
Brent Kirstein, an MC and foreign exchange student from
South Africa, is among such students.
“I’d really like to be a professional golfer, but I don’t
know,” he said. While he has found various subjects that
interest him, nothing appeals to him enough to declare his
major.
Nonetheless, Kirstein still maintains a sense of ambition
4
Photo by Angie Wennerlind
Shoemaker talks on the phone at the Career Center.
some students lack.
“In America, young people don’t see the opportunity,” he said.
“Coming from a different perspective I realize what you can
achieve here.”
To make students aware of such opportunity, Shoemaker said
she spends her time diligently researching everything from the job
market to four-year colleges.
Other times, she just gives students a little verbal confirmation
or feedback about their projected future plans.
“I really have a lot of success just talking to students,”
Shoemaker said. “I like helping them weigh their options so they
can make better decisions.”
When a student simply doesn’t know what they want to do,
Shoemaker tries to motivate them to think of what lies ahead.
“If a student has a goal, they’re more focused,” she said.
While studies show that between 65 and 75 percent of college
students who declare majors end up changing their minds at least
once, Shoemaker said she still sees the importance of declaring
one.
“I feel like if a student thinks they know what they want to do,
even if they end up changing their mind, they are more successful,” she said.
Since its inception in 1987, the Career Center has been helping
students discover their interests.
Terry Clemmer, dean of MC Student Services, said that the center, initially set-up to assist students with job training and place-
ment, now includes a stronger emphasis on career information,
planning and research.
“I think [the Career Center] is one of the best places to go for
current information on job markets, employment projections and
career interest surveys that you can take for free,” Clemmer said.
The fact that the Career Center has the latest information on the
job market seems beneficial since the market’s ups and downs
weigh heavily on a student’s decision.
According to America’s Career InfoNet, between the years 2000
and 2010, the three most rapidly expanding job markets requiring
at least a four-year degree will be found in the computer industry.
The three areas projected to offer the most job openings are general managers and elementary and secondary school teachers.
Then comes the matter of pay, an area of interest that frequently wiggles its way into a college student’s mind. The top five highest paying jobs in 2002 requiring a four year degree were airline
pilots, anesthesiologists, surgeons, obstetricians and pediatricians— all of which had a median yearly pay of $145,600 ($70.01
per hour). Donna Webb, Job Placement coordinator, said that
money should not be the determining factor.
Happiness, enjoyment and personal satisfaction all should be
considered when choosing a profession, she said.
And when should undecided majors make up their minds?
According to experts, the sooner the better.
The optimum time for junior college students to have pinpointed a major is after they have completed most of their basic courses and are ready to
transfer to a fouryear college, Webb
said.
After all, the
community
college’s goal is to
pave the way for
future college success and to assist
students in finding
their niche.
“You’ve got to
know where you’re
going to get there,”
Webb said.
Yet, the answer to
the plaguing question about a student’s future often
remains uncertain
and muddled.
“I’ll probably end
up doing something
with music. I just
don’t know exactly
what,” Martin said.
5
Commentary
Project Boot Camp
By Amy Johnson
W
e were all seated in a class of about eight
The College Boot Camp flier had promised
the first night. Laptops and Starbursts
“experts in the area of discussion” and delivered 20
decked the tables.
years-worth of experience in workforce developAssociate Director of Cogdell Learning Center,
ment, employment training and career counseling in
Liz Zenteno, scuttled around the room, handing out
the form of Zenteno.
folders, breaking each quiet gaze with the intermitShe guided us through Texas Cares—a self-assesstent small talk that accompanied her explanation of
ment system that matches personality with majors,
the class.
careers and colleges, Internet searches and networking with
Some had driven straight from work. Some had been victim class members.
of that maternal shove that we’ll all one day be grateful for.
“Trust your gut instincts,” Zenteno said. “If there’s something that you think you’re interested in, you should at least
All were, for some reason, looking ahead.
“A year ago, I discovered that my original plans for my explore it a little.”
major didn’t fit my interests and personality very well,” said
Susie Shelton, a junior at Midland High School, “had a few
Kathryn Bookhammer, Midland College freshman. “I was not ideas” of things she might do with her life. She said the class
able to decide what I wanted to do instead and continued as if “really opened up her options” and she is now thinking about
I hadn’t changed my plans. There was no plan. I needed a speech therapy, child psychology and special education.
change and am taking this class to find out what that change
Her mother Helen Shelton also took the class and said she
might be.”
is thinking about changing careers after her kids graduate
That is why the Boot Camp courses are available.
from college.
They are geared towards high school
“The class helped jumpjuniors, but all are welcome to attend. “Trust your gut instincts. If start my decision to look at
Boot Camp is a more in-depth proother careers,”
Helen
gram than the College Survival class- there’s something that you think Shelton said. “It was very
es that are designed more for general you’re interested in, you should informative for any age.”
information purposes.
The door has closed on this
Zenteno had us all turn to our note- at least explore it a little.”
particular session of the
books and follow along with her col—Liz Zenteno College Boot Camp Series,
lege
PowerPoint
presentaion,
but Zenteno said she wants to
“Discover, Explore, Act.” The class
continue with the program.
met for three days and was designed to help us assess our
Future classes include Choosing a College, Writing
interests, identify viable majors, career targets and set an College/Scholarship Essays and Conducting a Scholarship
achievable goal.
Search.
“The idea of taking some time to think about what you’re
More information is available with Elsa Valles of
going to do, whether it’s giving yourself the luxury or going Continuing Education at this number-685-4675
to the trouble, hasn’t necessarily been a part of our culture or
Boot Camp is just one of many programs offered by the
educational system,” Zenteno said.
college to help high school students and their parents learn
“People spend more time planning their wedding or picking more about what it takes to succeed in college.
a car to buy than picking the job they may be doing for years
The college also offers workshops in many areas to those
and years. This class is worth doing,” Zenteno said.
already attending MC.
6
Sharing God’s Word
By Christina Custer
One of the huts near Chaing Mai that serves as a hostel for some of the Thailand young
people who “come to the city to go to school.”
B
elief is defined as “a feeling that something exists or is true, especially one without proof.”
During Christmas break, two Midland College students traveled halfway across the world, one to
Thailand and one to India. Why? Because they both wanted to share their religious beliefs with
other people, especially those who may not have the opportunity to learn about God.
Katy Brummett and Allison Stewart both hold the conviction that they are to share their knowledge of
God with others.
Brummett is an MC sophomore. She said that for the past two years she has had the desire to travel and
share the word of God with foreign people.
In the fall of 2004, Brummett took a semester off hoping to go to Thailand. In fact, she had planned to
be in Thailand during the month of December, yet is thankful she was not able to go. The Tsunami hit
Thailand’s shores Dec. 26 during the time Brummett had originally planned to be in the country. However,
after the Tsunami, plane ticket prices lowered and Brummett was able to realize her dream and travel to
Thailand on Jan. 12, 2005.
“If you have a dream, don’t give up on it,” Brummett said.
Brummett made the 36-hour journey to Thailand alone to spend 12 days helping a missionary family,
7
the Rideouts, with
their ministry in
Chiang Mai, Thailand.
It was at her stop in
the Hong Kong airport
that Brummett said
she first realized she
was no longer in the
United States.
Brummett pets a tame monkey. The
Instructed by her
monkees are trained to either be
mother to call before
zoo monkees or to work at the
24 hours
passed,
beaches picking coconuts.
Brummett exited her
plane and hurried to a
Brummett poses with a small herd of elephants
pay phone. Pulling out her calling card she tried to
and natives.
dial home. It didn’t work. She punched the numbers
again, nothing. She looked around for someone to tried the number one more time. This time her call
help her, but people were simply rushing past, in a went through, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she
hurry to get where they were going.
heard her mother’s voice on the phone.
“Can somebody please help me?” she said … no
The area of Thailand Brummett visited was not
response. Strange sounding languages filled the air as directly affected by the Tsunami.
people rushed by hurrying to their destinations.
Thailand is a country of about 60 million people.
About to just sit down and cry, Brummett said she Brummett described Thailand’s people in a few words
… “welcoming, humble, gentle, accepting
and reserved.” She also said that the people
were very hard workers, rising very early in
the morning and working all day.
The main religion in Thailand is
Buddhism, with a very small minority of
Muslims and Christians.
“There is a temple on every corner; they
are just like our 7-Elevens,” Brummett said.
Brummett spent her time in Thailand helping the Rideout family—husband Norman,
wife Debbie and their two sons ages 17 and
20—with their ministry to the Thai people.
The Rideouts have been doing ministry in
Thailand for more than 20 years. They have
a hostel in Chiang Mai with more than 120
kids, a couple of Bible schools with 15-20
kids each, and they also travel into the
mountain/jungle areas to share the Bible
with the tribes living there.
Norman Rideout was born and raised in
Thailand by his American parents who were
missionaries.
Debbie Rideout is from Lubbock, Texas
but married into the missionary lifestyle.
Both of their sons were born in Thailand.
Brummett, far right, sits at a local restaurant with the Rideouts
Brummett met the Rideouts through her
and an Indian friend. They tried to get Brummett to eat “fried pig
family who has known them for many years.
blood,” a Thai delicacy.
Brummett told of one instance when she
had traveled with the Rideouts to the moun-
8
tain areas. On the
After talking with some memway they stopped by
bers of her Midland church,
a store and grabbed
Stewart was able to find a group of
some coats to give to
people, based in Houston, who
the children they
were planning a mission trip to
were going to see.
India. The First Baptist Church of
The children were
Houston organized the trip.
overjoyed to receive
Stewart contacted the Houston
the coats, and greeted
group and arranged to go with
Brummett’s group
them.
with warm smiles.
On Dec. 30, 2004, Stewart flew
What
amazed
to Houston to meet her fellow misBrummett was that
sionaries. The group of about 100
there was absolutely
people included travelers from
no fighting over who
Texas and Missouri. The group
got which coat. Each
had an unexpectedly long layover
child was simply
in Paris, and as a result, spent New
happy to have a coat.
Year’s Eve in Paris before flying
One boy ended up
on to New Delhi, India. Their time
wearing a bright pink
in Paris was short and hurried but
jacket be he never
Stewart said she was impressed to
complained.
see so many landmarks she had
“We complain if
only seen in books before this trip.
something isn’t the
Once in India, Stewart noted a
right name brand, yet
few of the cultural differences
these children were
between Americans and Indians.
content with whatevSome of the more noticeable difer
they
had,”
ferences were in India the women
Brummett said.
are not allowed to say hello to
Brummett said she
men; the people as a whole are not
learned a lot from the
touchy; and Stewart’s group was
people of Thailand
not allowed to show their ankles,
because they were so
she said.
humble and appreciaStewart also said that many
tive of everything.
Indian people stopped and stared
“I learned to appre- Stewart, right, poses with Amy Kuntz, who is from
at certain members of her group,
ciate what I have,” Houston, near the Eiffel Tower on New Year’s Eve,
herself included, because they
Brummett said. “If I 2004.
were so amazed at their blonde
find myself comhair and light skin coloring.
plaining about something that’s wrong, then I remember the Stewart laughed as she told of how strangers on the street
Thai people and realize I have nothing to complain about.” would come within inches of her face and just stare intently
Another thing that surprised Brummett was the amount of at her.
faith the Christians in Thailand have in God.
“It was a little intimidating, but also interesting just to
“They have so much faith because they have to depend on experience their reactions,” she said.
God,” Brummett said. “They have nothing else.”
In New Delhi, the group divided into smaller groups to
She recalled one Thai Christian making a simple state- travel to other cities. Stewart’s group spent four days in New
ment that summed it up … “We may be poor, but we are rich Delhi, five in Chandigarh and three in Abhor. In each of the
in spirit.”
cities, they helped the local churches with their ministry to
Allison Stewart is also an MC student. Last semester she the locals.
said she felt the “call of God on her heart to go to India.”
“When someone knows the Lord and truly lives a
Stewart said that she “wanted to tell people about Christ, Christian life, you can see it in their eyes. Most of the
how He’s totally transformed me.”
Christians we worked with in Indian had that sparkle in their
9
eyes, and that’s
something you don’t
see as much here,”
Stewart said.
“Even on the campus many students
say that they are
Christians. But just
going to church on
Sunday does not
make
you
a
Christian. Many of
the
so-called
“Christian” students
I’ve encountered
don’t
live
as
Christians the rest of
the week,” she said.
“They are making
choices in their
lives, I just choose
to make different
choices mine.”
In Midland, Texas
A young Indian boy poses at the
where
the churches
entrance to his home.
outnumber the trees,
one might expect to “see” more examples of Christian living.
“I found it so encouraging that the Indian people who
embrace Christianity really seemed to carry God with them
A small girl climbs on a box to peek over a balcony
at the missionary group.
every day,” Stewart said.
One of Stewart’s stories compared Indian teenagers to
American teenagers.
“The teenage girls had lots of questions about God, about
how to trust and believe. I work with teens here in Midland
and found it interesting that the questions from the Indian
teens were the exact same questions I get at home,” Stewart
said.
“It was a good lesson for all of us … we really are all the
same,” she said. “My experience allowed me to see that the
Lord is a massive God that is real and alive and that accepting the Lord radically changes lives.”
Stewart, a past
MC photo student,
took this
photograph
in New Delhi.
10
Thailand photographs courtesy of Katy Brummett. Paris and Inida photographs courtesy of Allison Stewart.
Far
From
Home
T
ristan Martin jumps and slams the ball into the basket. Paula
Araujo cheers on her teammate as she spikes the volleyball.
The Lady Chap softball girls yell congratulations to Marina
Poddubskaya as she runs around the softball diamond.
What connects each of these athletes? Each
one is playing a college sport away from his/her
native country.
Since 1974, Midland College has brought
more than 200 foreign athletes from around the
globe to compete in the National Junior College
Athletic Association (NJCAA) in basketball,
baseball, softball, volleyball and golf. Tennis
was formerly part of the athletic program but
was dropped along with women’s golf and
swimming.
Tristan Martin
MC is currently home to multiple championships and more than 100 student-athletes from the United States
and around the world.
MC gained a reputation of providing athletes “education, top-quality coaching, great competition and a chance to advance in both acaBy Jessica Gonzales
demics and athletics,” according to MC’s history book, Midland
College: The First 25 years. Many
athletes see MC as a “stepping
stone” to get to a Division I school
or other top university in the United
States.
Mamery Diallo of Evreux,
France, is a sophomore who plays
post for the Chap’s basketball team
under coach Grant McCasland.
Diallo is one of five children. He
has three sisters and one brother.
Diallo said that he enjoys talking to
his family when he has free time.
When he is not on the phone, he
enjoys relaxing and sleeping.
Last fall, he signed to continue
playing basketball with Gonzaga
University. Diallo plans on earning
a degree in finance and business.
McCasland said a coach at
Gonzaga first mentioned Diallo to
him. Gonzaga was interested in
Diallo, but felt he would improve
by attending a community college
Photo by Pedro Guerra first. The coaches at Gonzaga contacted him while he lived in France.
MC’s Mamery Diallo, 15, from France posterizes Southern Idaho’s Abdoulaye
Diallo was encouraged to attend a
Ndiave, another foreign player from Dakar, Senegal, during the NJCAA National
community college to learn English
Tournament held in Hutchison, Kan. in March.
and to improve in the sport.
McCasland and former head coach, Shanon Hays, then signed Diallo.
Diallo described himself as a patient person who is not shy.
“It takes a lot for me to react because I am patient, but when I react,
I will say exactly what I think,” Diallo said.
Real People
11
Martin is a sophomore from Toronto, Canada. He is one
of the five starters for the MC Chap’s basketball team.
Martin said he also attends MC for the education, and said
he plans on earning a degree in business.
Martin said he prefers to keep a low profile. He described
himself as a shy, quiet person in public. He is one of five
children with three brothers and one sister. Martin said he
misses his family, especially his mother. Martin spends
most of his free time talking to his mom and his family on
the phone. He also enjoys relaxing and hanging out with his
teammates in his free time.
Martin also described himself as “a man on a mission.”
He said he is “always on the grind,” that is, he is actively
trying to finish school to become successful. He said he
wants to be remembered as a “black pioneer.”
“I needed to come here to get my education and to play
basketball,” Martin said. “I came here to get to the point
where I can play Division I basketball, but more importantly, to go to school.”
“I want a piece of the cake, too. I’m on a mission and I
won’t stop,” Martin said.
Alonzo Hinds, who also goes by C.J., is from Freeport,
Bahamas. He is a sophomore and plays with the men’s basketball team.
“I came here to get my education and play basketball,”
Hinds said.
“MC is so much more
than I expected. The people are so nice here. The
Photo by Pedro Guerra
team has treated me nice.
Tristan Martin, 5, gets some sideline instructions
We’ve become a family
from Coach Grant McCasland during a game at the
and the coaches are nice,”
National Tournament March 22-27 in Kansas.
Hinds said.
Arturas Valeika joins
Araujo is a sophomore volleyball player from Brazil. She
Hinds on the court and is
has spent to last two years playing volleyball under coach
the first Lithuanian athlete
Erica Elder.
on the men’s basketball
“I came to Midland because the school is good and has a
team. Assistant coach Jeff
good volleyball program,” Araujo said. “I was unhappy at
Linder said a Division I
Arturas Valeika
home, so I decided to come here and play.” Araujo plans to
coach saw Valeika play
continue her education and play in Texas—
and sent a tape to MC. Linder and McCasland
in Denton or Corpus Christi.
contacted Valeika through e-mail and he
The Lady Chap softball team boasts two
signed to play at MC through a letter.
players
from
Tuchkovo,
Russia.
“The coaches saw my tape and they wanted
Poddubskaya and Natalia Sergeeva are both
me to come here. The team was ranked third in
freshmen playing under coach Tony Ramos.
the nation, so I decided to come,” Valeika said.
Ramos said he was contacted by two of
“Midland was much of what I expected, but I
his former Russian players, Katya Eronina
got so much more. There are different people,
and Ksenia Stepanova, who both played on
I get to play and I like it here. I came here and
a team in Russia with Sergeeva and
it’s really helped me learn the language and
Poddubskaya.
improve my game.”
Sergeeva and Poddubskaya wanted to
McCasland also coaches athletes from
play in the MC program and Eronina and
Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas.
Stepanova recommended them to Ramos.
Paula Araujo
12
Ramos said he trusted the
judgment of his former players and ask Sergeeva and
Poddubskaya to come to
MC.
The MC women’s basketball team also carries foreign
athletes on its roster. Irma
Kmitaite
and
Evelina
Janisyte are both from
Lithuania. They are joined
by freshmen Lyza Koubiteb
from Cameroon and Caroline
Adriaansz from Suriname.
Adriaansz joins several
others from Suriname. She is
a close friend of former Lady
Chap Stephanie Bouterese.
Sergio De Randamie is a former MC Chap from
Suriname who played basketball for Hays and now
plays at the University of
Houston.
Coach Steve Ramharter
coaches other foreign athletes on his 2005 baseball
team.
Pitchers Shawn Schaefer
and Kurtis Shumacher came
Photo by Randy Rodriguez
to Midland from different
towns in British Columbia. MC’s Shawn Schaefer, who comes from British Columbia, pitches with runners on base durring
a game against Ranger College on Feb. 19, 2005 at Midland’s Christensen Stadium. The Chaps
Pitcher Brent Hardy hails
won the game 15-2.
from Australia and infielder
Nirmall Dijkman is from the
Netherlands. Outfielders Adam Sylvestre and Tim Smith Cherrington who joins De Randamie at the University of
Houston, and Bouterese who plays basketball at Washburn
join the team from different cities in Ontario, Canada.
Coach Delnor Poss leads a multi-country golf team. University in Kansas.
Other athletes, including those from the U.S., commentCallum Scott is from England. Barclay Simpson and Brent
Kirstein both come from Cape Town, South Africa. Peter ed on going to school at MC. Many agreed that the programs and coaches are a major factor in deciding to attend
Lane is from London.
Golfer Greg Bowden hails from Ireland and Nils Bjoring MC. Athletes from across the continental U.S. and across
the oceans have come together for education and competiand Robin Lofgreen are both from Sweden.
Coach Poss has coached 32 NJCAA All-Americans, four tive sports.
As Diallo passes the ball to Martin—who dunks it—
JUCO individual champions and 20 former players who
Araujo cheers. They are all striving for the same goal, sucplay or have played on professional tours.
Araujo will join former Chap athletes who continue to cess on the playing field, in the classroom and in life.
Most athletes who have come through the doors at MC
participate in sports after their two years at MC. Former
teammate Mariana Pencheva from Bulgaria now attends the agree that they are trying to better themselves by getting an
University of Nevada at Las Vegas. While at MC, she education.
Most become successful as athletes and as students with
earned all-conference recognition and maintained a perfect
help of MC’s coaches, instructors and championship-win4.0 GPA.
Other players at four-year universities are Englebert ning programs.
13
Rock the Dessert
Real people
By Tim Garlitz
14
“I
was in the oil and gas business, and still am,
but today most everything my wife and I do
pertains to Rock The Desert.”
These are the words of Doug Tull, a local oil and
gas man who, along with his wife Marcy, turned their
church’s vision of having an annual Christian rock
concert for the youth of Midland and Odessa into a
reality.
Last summer, Rock The Desert (RTD) attracted
upwards of 25,000 people and has grown from the
parking lot at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church to 248
acres of land between Midland and Odessa. Summer
2005 will mark the fifth anniversary of RTD and Tull
said he hopes it will continue to grow in the coming
years.
One of the primary goals for the new site, according to Tull, is to provide a place where high school
students, college students and young adults can interact and enjoy recreational activities while avoiding
any activities that may be construed as destructive or
delinquent.
“We are in the process of … trying to find who our
‘customer’ is,” Tull said.
In order to better accomplish this, RTD sent out a
survey to Midland, Odessa and surrounding communities targeted at students from ages 8 to 24.
“The purpose is to find out what our ‘customers’
want so they’ll want to come out there,” Tull said.
With the information provided by the survey, they
hope to accommodate the festival according to suggestions made by the public.
While Rock The Desert has many adults and high
school students volunteering each year, there is an
obvious lack of college students who are involved
since many of the students must leave for school
prior to the start of RTD. The Tulls are hoping to
make RTD more accessible to college students by
“changing the dates to the first or second weekend in
August,” Tull said.
In fact, Rock the Desert 2005 is scheduled for Aug.
5-6, 2005.
Tull’s involvement in RTD came after he sold the
operations portion of his oil company, Stevens and
Tull, and decided to take a little time off.
“I was reading this book called Halftime, and basically it refers to what you’re going to do with the second half of your life … it kept me focused on where
I needed to go,” Tull said.
The idea for Rock The Desert came from Jeff
Fouts, the associate Rector at Holy Trinity. His idea
was to hold a parking-lot festival to minister to the
kids in the neighborhood, basically the kids who did
not go to church, Tull said.
The first RTD festival was held in the summer of
2000 in the parking lot of Holy Trinity and attracted
about 4,000 people. There were only about five or six
total families from Holy Trinity who were involved
in the planning and organizing of that first RTD, and
the concert only lasted Sunday afternoon through
Sunday evening.
By the summer of 2001, Rock The Desert had
evolved into a two-day event that drew nearly 32,000
people
Between 2001 and 2003, Rock The Desert was
held in Beal Park on the southwest side of Midland.
During this time, the Tulls helped RTD become an interdenominational event that included some 3,000 volunteers.
At Beal Park, the turnout for the festival continued to
grow, reaching 100,000 people over a three-day period in
2003. The concerts grew to two stages with more than 20
bands performing during the weekend, which also featured skateboarding as well as other games and events.
During this time, the Tulls became the main organizers
of RTD and, according to Tull, “The vision is, now, God
has given us this land over by the airport to use for a
youth camp.”
The land consists of 248 acres and is at 2000 South FM
1788 near the Midland International Airport. The function of the land is going to be a year-round youth camp
and area to hold the festival every year.
The new area will offer such camp standbys as a
ROPES (reality oriented physical experience) course, a
zip-line, a lake with a “blob” (a giant tarp filled with air
that kids can jump on and launch each other into the
water), a sports field and courts for both volleyball and
basketball. The site has also set aside 128 acres of the
land for a concert area and stage, which will feature the
RTD festival as well as weekly concerts and events.
As for this year’s RTD festival, Tull said that many
changes will be in the works for the attendees.
“What we’re looking at doing is only bringing in about
seven bands this year, but every one of them will be a big,
headlining band,” Tull said.
Marcy Tull, who makes arrangements for the bands to
play, has lined up Third Day, Mercyme, TobyMac,
Jeremy Camp and Pillar for this year’s concert, which
will be called Saturate 05.
“The festival this year will only be two days, Friday
and Saturday,” Doug Tull said.
There is also an idea in the works to provide an extra
night on Thursday for the youth and young adults in the
Midland-Odessa area that will include more bands and
speakers as well. In addition to this, the Tulls are working on bringing in the smaller, harder rock bands at
another concert some other time during the year.
Rock The Desert has also begun other ministries that
fall under the umbrella of RTD, including Rock The
Desert Radio and the Sudan Orphanage Project.
Rock The Desert Radio began as an idea by Marcy Tull
and is now broadcast on B93 on Sunday mornings. The
show plays exclusively Christian rock and hip-hop music
and is geared to both the youth and college-aged markets.
The Rock The Desert Orphanage Project, now called
Ardent Soul Ministries, was an idea conceived by Vernon
Berger, associate pastor at Stonegate Fellowship, and is
being financed and promoted by proceeds from the Rock
The Desert events.
A portion of the money earned at Rock The Desert will
go to help build an orphanage for children in the Sudan
region of Africa. They also intend to plant churches and
schools in the area to help benefit the children in those
regions.
MC students Natalie Tiller and Amanda Fragoso have
both worked at the orphanage booth during RTD.
“It was a really good opportunity for me because I
want to go into foreign missions after I’m done with
school,” Fragoso said.
Tull said that the orphanage was something that they
had had in mind for about three years and were only
recently able to make a reality with the assistance of
Berger.
Tull said he would ultimately like to have a year-round
facility that finances both the summer camp and RTD’s
own charitable orphanage.
www.pillar.com
Pillar has performed at past RTDs and will
appear again this year.
www.thirdday.com
Third Day is to appear at RTD in 2005. This will be
their first apperance at this event.
15
Real Life
‘Live in the now’
S
By Kelley Ricker
16
troke and cancer had touched
Lyndolyn Pervier’s life through her
mother who had a stroke in 1998 and
was diagnosed with cancer in 2003. But
those experiences did not help soften the
blow when in July of 2003 at the age of 50
she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“After a consultation, I got the feeling that
my only way to live a while longer was
through chemotherapy; I believe I am well
today because during the hardest times, I
learned all that I could about the disease and
in turn found other options to recovery,”
said Lyndolyn, Midland College’s Workforce Education program coordinator for
continuing education.
Lyndolyn’s mother, Carolyn Lockhard,
survived a massive stroke in 1998 and at age
74 was diagnosed with breast cancer in
2003. Due to her frail health, Lyndolyn’s
mother was unable to use chemotherapy to
rid the disease, however, she continues to be
a cancer survivor.
“As a cancer patient, I was devastated and
soon in a state of denial,” Lyndolyn said. “It
was a difficult time for my family and me.
After reality set in, it was time to make
choices.”
Lyndolyn’s sister located a doctor in
Austin for a second opinion. During the
meeting in Austin, she realized she had other
options for life. She made the decision
against the customary route of chemotheraLyndolyn
Pervier
sits
in
her
office at the
py and opted for surgery and had a lumpecAdvanced
Technology
Center.
tomy on each breast and had 12 lymph
glands removed from both sides.
Before and during her treatment,
Lyndolyn had the support of her husband of more agreed with her choice.
“When you make a decision that goes against
than 30 years, Curt, her son Ryan, 21, daughter
the
norm, you have many people—even ones that
Chelsea, 26, and Chelsea’s husband, Russell
you
may only know as acquaintances—who have
Dunlavy. Their support, along with the support of
opinions
on what type of health care you
a group of 10 friends—the Piano Group—
choose,”
Lyndolyn
said.
became Lyndolyn’s backbone during the hardest
“The
Piano
Group
was so supportive. We met
times.
at
dinner
one
night
and
I went through everything
“The 10 friends are my Piano Group,”
with
them,
and
they
asked
questions. The next
Lyndolyn said. “We first became friends when
group
was
my
family,
and
if
they did not agree
Chelsea was in first grade. We have remained
with
the
treatment
I
chose,
it
could and would
friends—going through elementary, new babies,
have
been
very
stressful
and
put
pressure on me.
high school, college, marriages, divorces and
We
sat
down
with
my
parents,
our
children and
now our kids having babies. This group has
Curt’s
and
my
sisters.”
remained friends despite our religious and politiLyndolyn said that her Midland College “famcal views. We have lunch once a week and have
ily”
was very supportive as well.
for 20 years.”
“The
Midland College group—bosses, coSince the treatment Lyndolyn chose was not
workers
and friends brought meals and gave
the “normal” treatment route, she said she felt
books
and
would just show up and talk,”
that she needed to be sure everyone involved
Lyndolyn said.
She said her challenges
became even greater after the
surgeries.
“Removing the lymph
glands was the most painful
and hardest to recover from,”
Lyndolyn said. “At the beginning, I had lympodemia,
which is very uncomfortable.
I had tubes and bags under
both arms for three weeks. I
exercised daily specifically
for the swelling in my arms. I
will always need to be careful
with my arms—if I hit or cut
my hands or arms, they start
swelling again. It is a day-today conscious effort to be
healthy.”
The type of surgeries
Lyndolyn had also meant that
her arms could no longer be
used to measure blood presPhoto courtesy of Lyndolyn Pervier
sure or to hold I.V.s. This
means that all of her blood The Perviers at daughter Chelsea’s wedding in 2003. Left to right: Curt, Lyndolyn,
work is now taken from her Chelsea, Russell Dunlavy and Ryan.
feet … “which is painful,” she
“I think the most important thing I have learned in this process
said.
“My procedures began in September 2003 and ended in is to be educated. It is my body. It is important to get second opinions. It may save your life,” Lyndolyn said.
November 2003. Today, I am cancer free,” she said.
Lyndolyn’s first connection to campus was as the spouse of an
During recovery and treatment, Lyndolyn and her daughter
found that they needed to change what had become the family’s employee.
Her husband Curt has been employed at MC since 1977 and is
customary weekends of sadness and depression.
“One weekend was spent with my daughter Chelsea making a currently the dean of Technical Studies.
Lyndolyn has worked for MC for nine years. Her first position
couple pieces of jewelry. It was our outlet. We started our jewelwas as a part-time secretary in the Fine Arts
ry business, ChelLyn (www.chellyn.com ).
and Communications Division.
“Once they began on the project, there
Pervier then worked part-time for one year
seemed to be no end to their creativity. But
with Dennis Sever in the IT Department. In
more importantly, it took the focus off of
1996, she started full-time as the secretary to
breast cancer. Soon, their colorful and unique
Stan Jacobs, associate vice president of
creations began drawing the attention of faminstruction. In 1999, Pervier was hired as proily, friends, coworkers and even strangers.
gram coordination for Continuing Education, a
Some even offered to buy the necklaces right
position she holds today.
off of their necks,” according to the Website.
During this time, Pervier was also going to
Lyndolyn said that the business is doing
quite well. “All of the money made from the
www.chellyn.com school. She earned her associate of general
studies degree from MC in 1996, the same year
sales goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation
her daughter graduated from high school.
to support cancer research,” she said.
Like most families, the Perviers have endured many difficulties
“Breast cancer research is a global project that is never ending
and can only continue with support from all of us. On every in their lives. However, Lyndolyn said that their faith has kept
ChelLyn creation, a delicate pink crystal placed near the clasp them going.
“Everyone has challenges in their lives and I do not like or
serves as a reminder that we all need to be concerned with breast
cancer awareness. The pink crystal is the only constant you will want to be a victim. The most important thing is to have knowlfind when you look at each necklace created by Lyndolyn and edge, faith, family and friend support in whatever your choice
may be,” Lyndolyn said.
Chelsea,” according to the web site.
“Live in the now—not the past, not the future, but now,”
Lyndolyn said she has learned a lot from this experience, not
only about cancer treatment and survival but also about life in Lyndolyn said. “Tell the people in your life how important they
are to you now.”
general.
17
Real Life
Cancer surpasses heart
disease as No. 1 killer
By Kelley Ricker
T
he good news: the death rate for cancer is dramatically vent cancer from developing, to eliminate it early when it
dropping in comparison to years past. The bad news: does occur and to modulate its devastating effects,”
cancer has recently surpassed heart disease as top killer Eschenbach said on the NCI web site.
for Americans under age 85.
The NCI is advancing imaging technologies to detect
In the most recent year for which information is available, tumors early when they are easier to treat, to guide therapy or
2002, statistics show that 476,009 Americans died of cancer surgery and to monitor in real time the molecular effects of
compared with 450,637 who died of heart disease. This is the therapeutic interventions. Image-guided interventions are
first time that cancer has overtaken heart disease as the num- used not only to aid in the successful treatment of some canber one killer in the United States.
cers and precancerous lesions, but also to provide minimally
American Cancer Society statistics show that one-third of invasive, well-tolerated therapies that eliminate or transform
all cancer deaths are due to smoking alone. Another one-third cancers into well-managed diseases.
is related to dietary factors
NCI’s
recent
and lack of physical activity
advances
in
proBreast cancer may not be preventable but
in adulthood. Skin cancer is
teomics and the
related to unprotected expo- early detection is key to survival. According technology of mass
sure to strong sunlight. All to breast cancer research, 182,000 women spectrometry allow
of these cancers are preventunprecedented
are diagnosed with breast cancer each year for
able, however, they cause an
analysis of the
estimated 75 percent of all and 43,300 die. If detected early, the five- body’s proteins to
cancer cases in the United year survival rate exceeds 95 percent.
define the biomarkStates.
ers of cancer.
Early detection of cancer
“Identifying the
is an important weapon in the fight against cancer. Normal proteins associated with cancers will allow us to employ
body cells grow, divide and die in an orderly fashion. Tests recent advances in molecularly targeted imaging to locate
prove that all types of cancer come from out-of-control very small tumors and interrogate their molecular features,”
growth of abnormal cells.
Eschenbach said on the web site.
Breast cancer may not be preventable but early detection is
“Drugs attached to agents that seek out the proteins on cankey to survival. According to breast cancer research, 182,000 cer cells will direct therapy exactly where it is needed, withwomen are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and 43,300 out damage to surrounding healthy cells,” Eschenbach added.
die. If detected early, the five-year survival rate exceeds 95
Eschenbach’s team is also developing prevention drugs and
percent.
vaccines. More easily administered strategies like these seem
Breast cancer risks include age and changes in hormone to hold promise for tremendous benefit to people at high risk
levels throughout life. The U.S. Department of Health and for certain types of cancer.
Human Services recommends that women age 40 and older
For example, the cervical cancer vaccines now under develhave a mammogram every one to two years, more often if opment may ultimately save hundreds of thousands of lives
breast cancer “runs in the family.”
around the world every year.
While cancer is killing, the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
According to the ACS, more than 1 million people get cancontinues to build ideas to save more lives.
cer each year. Approximately one out of every two American
Andrew C. von Eschenbach, director of the NCI, said on men and one out of every three American women will have
the NCI Website that advances in cancer research are defin- some type of cancer at some point during their lifetime.
ing, with ever increasing specificity, the many genetic, molecHaving a risk factor for cancer means that a person is more
ular and cellular events that influence the cancer process.
likely to develop the disease at some point in their lives.
“We now understand cancer as an ongoing process that can
However, with the development of technology and earlier
be interrupted at many stages. We are translating this new detection, many more people will live with cancer rather than
knowledge into innovative, evidence-based strategies to pre- die from it.
18
Real People
Mail Call
By Rael Henson
S
tudents in Midland College’s ESL (English as a second language) class are putting their skills to practice as they write
letters to a United States soldier in Iraq.
Instructor Lois Eggleston, who has taught the ESL class at the
Cogdell Learning Center since 1982, was already writing to her
great-grandson, George Anthony Armendariz, as were many other
family members. Armendariz is a Marine who has been overseas
and in Iraq for nearly a year and a half.
Eggleston had the idea that her class could write to him as a
project.
“When he receives all the letters, he feels happy, and we feel the
same way,” said student Rosa Aguilar.
The class challenged most of the students who came from
Mexico because they barely spoke English before taking the class.
They also had to learn the English form of correct letter writing.
But it has been rewarding, Eggleston said.
After they write the letters, Eggleston puts them into a big envelope to be mailed together. The students have asked Armendariz
about the weather, what sort of food he eats, how he likes it there
and how people treat him.
According to Eggleston, Armendariz said that only the people
fighting the U.S. for religious reasons cause trouble. Armendariz
has written back saying everyone else is very friendly.
“All the kids are just waiting for them to come down the streets
so they can get candy or gum,” Eggleston said.
In Fallujah several months ago, Armendariz was riding in a
truck that hit a roadside mine. It killed two men and left shrapnel
in Armendariz’s legs, something he will have to endure the rest of
his life. He is now in Thailand being processed so he can return to
the states in May.
The class works as a group as they help each other with pronunciation and oratory.
19
From right to left: Cynthia Aranda, Conepcion Sanchez and Larrisa Galindo read past editions of the El Paisano as part
of thier classwork in the ESL program at the Cogdell Learning Center.
All the students have been anxious to meet Armendariz,
Eggleston said.
“I worry, because the war is dangerous,” said Karen Heaton,
another student. Eggleston said the students and their churches
have been praying for him, and soon they will be able to see and
meet the soldier who has been so often in their thoughts and
prayers.
Armendariz’s family has been supportive and often in touch,
even over the long distance. They send him letters, packages,
phone cards and anything they learn he needs.
One of Armendariz’s daughters is two years old now, and her
dad will soon be able to play a more active role in her life.
“I know he misses her so much,” Eggleston said. “She’s getting
so big, and she’s talking already, and he’s been missing that.”
Eggleston has four children, 19 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
Eggleston uses many tools to help her students learn English.
The students gathered the Thursday before Spring Break for a day
of games, singing and other fun. Many bent over Scrabble boards
and thumbed through dictionaries, while others jumped marbles in
a game of Chinese checkers.
Eggleston said she believes Scrabble is a great teaching tool.
“It’s a game students can take home to teach their kids, and it
encourages them to practice using the dictionary,” she said.
“They work out of the dictionary often, because I tell them that
it’s the best teacher,” Eggleston said.
The ESL class is one of the free classes offered at the Cogdell
Learning Center and is part of the Adult Basic Education program.
It meets from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Monday through Thursdays.
Students learn reading, math and diacritical marks of dictionaries so they can learn how to pronounce new words. They sometimes read the newspaper for practice, including want ads to keep
them informed on what jobs are available. They also learn songs.
Their favorite song is We Shall Overcome—which they know by
heart.
20
Eggleston said sometimes she takes her students to nursing
homes to sing.
Last semester, one
student
learned
how to read and
sing from a songbook. Recently,
another student
was excited when
she finally grasped
how to do fractions, because then
she could go home
and teach her son.
People also take
the ESL class to
advance to better
jobs.
But
Eggleston said the
main reason is that
most of them want
to help their chil- Eggleston watches as her class reads
dren with home- aloud from the entertainment page of the
work. That’s why MC student newspaper.
she teaches them
math.
“Math is our biggest problem in our school systems,” she said.
“They do math a little different in Mexico, things like fractions
and divisions.”
Eggleston said one student, Paescual Terez, works as a janitor.
Now, he has become a supervisor and has to write and read notes.
Seeing where English would be practical and necessary has motivated him to work hard. He is learning to write, punctuate and
form proper letters.
Aguilar said she loves to play soccer, as do her husband and son.
Her son is a team captain. She also has two daughters and
understands the necessity of knowing how to speak
English.
“I want to be a good citizen, and I want to be more
independent,” she said.
She said her favorite part of the class is reading. She
said she also knows math is important.
“In mathematics, we all help each other.” She said she
enjoys writing to Armendariz, and has learned from the
experience. “Now we know how hard it is there, because
of the war,” she said.
Heaton could hardly speak English at all when she
started the class, but she has advanced rapidly and can
now converse well, Eggleston said. Now she isn’t afraid
of speaking English anymore because she’s learning
more every day.
“I learned how to write and send a letter,” Heaton said,
referring to different formats for letters in Mexico.
Heaton said she loves reading, math and singing. The
class is hard, but not impossible, she said. She attended
Eggleston’s 75th birthday party recently and said she
loves her teacher.
Eggleston said she loves teaching and she knows it’s
important. Once she jokingly told her students, “Maybe
when I become 75 I’ll quit.” They would not hear of it.
She smiled when she mentions her husband’s thought
that she would probably be teaching the ESL class until
she dies.
Eggleston said she stays because she wants her students to go to college and succeed.
“I want them to do better than I did,” she said.
When she was growing up, Eggleston’s dad worked for
the railroad. Neither of her parents spoke English. She
went to school through sixth grade, started worked at 13
and it was at school and work that she learned English.
Eggleston married at 15. At that time, she said, getting
married at a young age was common because the men
were going off to fight in World War II.
After having children, Eggleston wanted to go back to
school. She said she knew she could do something great
with what she knew. But to go to college back then, a person had to pass a test equivalent to the ninth-grade level.
“The only reason I passed,” she said, “was because I
liked to read a lot, but I believe that somebody up there
[points up] really wanted me to do this work.”
After earning her GED certificate, Eggleston went on
to several years of college. She helped with several different volunteer and part-time jobs involving bilingual
work before finally becoming the ESL teacher at
Cogdell.
She said that years ago a teacher with more credentials
was hired to replace her in the ESL class.
But she wasn’t helping the students like Eggleston did,
and after several months the students went on strike,
refusing to come to class unless they could have their
favorite teacher back.
It helps students to be taught by a bilingual, Eggleston
said, who can explain English things to them in Spanish
so they can understand for certain what they read. She
said she doesn’t expect them to learn it all right away.
“I keep encouraging them,” Eggleston said. “I tell
them I love them so much—they’re just like my kids.”
Maria Ruiz, right, and Erika Munoz,
left, read along as Teresa Rodriguez,
not pictured, reads aloud to the class
from the front page of MC’s student
newspaper. The students use the
paper to practice their English and
enunciation.
21
Combat Zone:
The Lighter Side of War
Part I of IV
By Michael Flax
In March of 2003, I was one of many who entered Iraq during the beginning
of Operation Iraqi Freedom. There were many bad and scary moments during the
invasion. These are not about those moments.
I
was attached to an infantry company during the war. It
After that he would come back from a field op and there
was India Company, from the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines, would be peanut or peanut butter or crispy M&Ms waiting for
but many of us called our group Psycho Icho.
him. Life was good.
I was part of the Fire Support Team, but everyone just
So, one day while we were hanging out in our tent, writing
called it the FIST team. If the “fit ever hit the shan,” we were some letters and joking around, the mail arrives. Martinez
the ones they called. The team consisted of four troops and gets a big box from his wife. He opens it and finds a letter at
four officers.
the top. In the letter she told him that he could share the stuff
The officers kept to themselves, and one of the troops, a in the box with all of us, except for one thing at the bottom
radio operator, was usually just hanging
that she had marked as his.
out with the company’s radio operator.
Jokingly, he had said, “It’s probably
So that left me, my radio operator and
plain M&Ms.”
the 81mm mortar forward observer. We
He started passing out stuff and we
got to know each other pretty well.
all watched and waited as he got closWe were referred to as the Mike team,
er to the bottom. Low and behold, a
because all of our names were Mike. It
bag of plain M&Ms with a yellow
was convenient for us.
sticky that read “For Mike Only” was
Well, while we were in Kuwait, waitat the bottom of the box.
ing for the day to come, Mike Martinez,
Not a regular M&Ms package,
the 81mm mortar forward observer,
mind you, but one of those jumbo size
would usually tell us about life at home
bags.
with his wife. One of these stories would
Mike told us what he was going to
Photo courtesy of Michael Flax
come back to haunt him.
do with it and he put it, unopened, in
Flax gets sandblasted.
Mike loved M&Ms. He loved all types,
his pack. I know he never opened that
except for one. In some of our Meals
bag. Even when for nearly a week we
Ready-to-Eat (MRE) there would be plain M&Ms for the were sharing MREs because the supply trucks couldn’t catch
snack. It was a great day if you got M&Ms out of your MRE. up to us, he never took out the M&Ms.
However, when you came back from a field exercise, plain
His plan was to hold on to them the entire time. He would
M&Ms was your least favorite food to have. But his wife did- fly home with it. He would get on the bus and ride back to
n’t know that. So when he came home he found a big bowl of base where his wife would be waiting for him.
plain M&Ms waiting for him. He got so upset he threw some
He would get off the bus, find her and walk toward her with
of the M&Ms in the kitchen. “I’m sick and tired of plain. Get a big smile on his face.
me peanut or peanut butter or crispy. But I don’t want to ever
And then he would take the jumbo-sized bag of plain
find plain here again, or you’ll be F@#$%&* fired!” he told M&Ms out of his bag and throw it at her. Then he would say
her. He said that his son liked the idea of flying M&Ms, so he “You’re F@#$%&* Fired!”
helped out.
... I hope everything went well.
Real Life
22
Combat Zone:
By Michael Flax
W
Part II of IV
Real Life
hile we were in Kuwait we stayed at a base like the times before, but my legs weren’t ready. So they
called Camp Coyote. One night a fuel truck left the ground. The pack swung me around and for a
was coming up to the base. The driver acted moment I thought I was weightless. Then the pack was
fidgety and the guards didn’t like it so the higher ups below me and gravity reappeared.
were called in. The driver was interrogated and found to
Before I knew it five guys were around me to see if I
be a terrorist. He was going to drive into the base and was all right. Nothing broken, so let’s go, was the condrive into the M1-Abrams we had lined up.
sensus. They got me up and we kept going.
That was enough for my battalion commander. The
We got there and sat down, filling our bellies with
next day we were told to pack everything we were tak- water.
ing with us into combat
Before we could even
and get ready to move out.
catch our breath, we were
We were supposed to have
told to start digging.
amtracks for transportaSomehow our leader mantion, but they hadn’t
aged to find the best place to
arrived yet.
dig. It was an excellent spot;
So, we did what Marines
we could see the entire
do best; we threw our
perimeter and miles out.
packs on our backs and
So, I picked up my pack
walked it. It was a little
and walked the extra 20
over three miles we
meters. When I got there, the
walked.
most extraordinary thing
Most of the troops had
happened. Apparently, my
their regular gear – extra
pack wasn’t done with me
clothes, some Meals
yet.
Ready-to-Eat (MRE) and
I only had the pack slung
some writing gear.
around one arm, so it should
But those of us in the
have been easy to set it
FIST team had other equipdown. No, it had to rotate
ment. I also carried a radio,
around my back, so that
all of my maps and mapwhen I tried to set it down it
ping gear and the MULE
got caught on my leather(Modular Universal Laser
man and brought my whole
Equipment – not the lightupper body down with it.
est thing in the world).
Thankfully the ground,
All together, I had about
which was not as soft as we
200-300 pounds on my
thought it would be, broke
back. Needless to say, I
my fall.
was not a happy person
The best explanation of the
that day.
situation; I looked like an
To make matters worse, I
ostrich with his head in the
find out along the way that
sand.
my straps are not on tight and ‘If I only had a brain,’ as Flax does his best
People say you’re not sup‘scarecrow’ impression to blend with the area.
they don’t want to tighten.
posed to get mad at inanimate
So, occasionally I would
objects, but I stopped listenhave to shift the weight so it was directly on my back.
ing to people long ago.
And if your body isn’t ready for the shift, something
And did you know, if you kick an object in just the
bad happens.
right spot, it could hurt you back.
We had less than a mile left to go. I could see some of
Thankfully, the radio didn’t break when I kicked it,
the guys up ahead already sitting and resting. My pack but I think my pack got the point. I didn’t have any more
was over to one side.
problems with it the rest of the day.
I brought it over and tossed it back to its position, just
But the next day . . .
23
Iraq: What’s Next?
By Randy Rodriguez
F
or more than two years, the war in
Iraq has been waged on several different fronts. On the battlefield, in
the halls of Congress, in the court of public
opinion, wherever this is discussed, the
focus of the war will inevitably shift to the
future of Iraq.
The government in Iraq has been in
place for less than a year. Still considered
in its infancy, the United States has been at
the forefront of democracy in Iraq. But as
some critics of the campaign have said that
the war is a front for the United States to
gain access to the oil reserves in the region,
others see it as a means to remove the dictatorial regime that rules that area.
Still, other critics believe the area will
never be stable enough for the government
to effectively control the rebel factions that
see change as an American initiative to
gain control in the Middle East.
With the free-elections this past January,
the Iraqi people have been given the opportunity to choose in what direction Iraq
should go. This is the first occasion for the
people to affect real change by electing
those they deem worthy to govern. But for
one Midland College student, this end did
not justify the means.
Josh Wilson is currently fulfilling his
core requirements before going into the
communications department at MC. He
said that his president has lied to him.
“I know that we are over in Iraq because
the president said there were weapons of
mass destruction … and it turned out his
sources were wrong,” Wilson said. “I think
that we went over there to do the right
thing, but I am against the war completely
for the reason that [President George Bush]
lied.”
Although he believed the United States
entered the war under false pretenses,
Wilson said that the intentions were just
and the people deserved to be free from the
tyrannical dictatorship they had endured
24
under Saddam Hussein. But what will
come in the future for Iraq?
“We might not be there in full force, but
there will always be a trace of us somehow,” Wilson said. “We are going to be
there for a long time.”
The beginning of a new regime
Sgt. Gary Kennedy, family readiness
coordinator for the National Guard-Charlie
Company, 2nd Battalion, 142 infantry, said
he has seen the men and women of his
company come and go from Iraq. Kennedy
has been part of the Midland National
Guard for more than a decade and in the
Sgt. Gary Kennedy of the Midland
National Guard.
military for 15 years. An estimated 150
troops from Charlie Company are currently fighting in Iraq. He shared his feelings
about the future of Iraq.
“I don’t think it is going to be able to be
fixed—the situation itself—within five
years.”
From an American point-of-view, Iraq
could be considered in its “Ben Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson” stage. The election of a
true democratic leader on Jan. 30, 2005 is
the first taken by the country in order to
create a free society where people are no
longer suppressed by a totalitarian regime.
Kennedy said that, even with the new gov-
ernment, the area is still in dire need of stability.
“Right now, we are in the process of putting in civilians to help out with law
enforcement. They are taking anybody
with any law enforcement background to
help the government and armies to set-up.”
Lee Almaguer, MC government professor, expanded on Kennedy’s statement. He
said the key to any government is to maintain stability and peace. The first step
towards accomplishing this is to create a
police force and a military that is capable
of keeping the peace in the area.
“Even though the Middle East is full of
dictators, it has been stabilized by those
dictators,” Almaguer said. “Right now,
with us pushing for democratic change,
people see it as Western. It creates a lot of
hostility. The radicals are saying that anything that is change is American, and they
consider it evil.”
The current state of affairs
The United States military has seen
insurgent attacks continue to escalate and
have no reason to believe they will stop
anytime soon, according to Fox News. Sen.
Hilary Clinton said that these attacks are
failing; that these attacks are just a flailing
attempt to destabilize the region.
Kennedy sees it from a soldier’s point of
view.
“I don’t see us, as the American government, going in there and saying, ‘It’s going
to be our way and that’s the way it’s going
to be. And we are going to stay until it goes
our way,’” Kennedy said. “If we do that,
we’ll be there for centuries and centuries.”
Almaguer said that the changes being
made in the country could lead other governments to think that the “American” way
is knocking on their doorstep. Those other
countries may not be as accommodating to
the new democratic Iraqi government as
most nations. So would neighboring countries be willing to recognize the Iraqi gov-
ernment as a legitimate, functioning body?
“The only hesitancy about recognition is
that, while most Middle Eastern countries
are dictatorial, they might look at this as
[the Western philosophy] spreading their
way,” Almaguer said. He added that,
whether good or bad, the changes would be
seen as Western, and therefore, they would
vehemently oppose them.
The other countries in the region could
be faced with the proposition of having
free elections and modernization in their
country; this in turn could have an adverse
effect on the stranglehold the dictators
have on the people.
The election
When the free-election took place in
Iraq, many saw it as the opportunity to start
withdrawing troops from the area. Now
that a government is in place, those
opposed and in favor of the war feel that
there should be no more need for United
States presence. But with the insurgent
attacks continuing, setting the date for
pulling troops from the Middle East seems
less and less likely anytime soon.
“I think [the new government] will work.
But, it’s not going to happen overnight,”
Kennedy said. “It is going to take more
than three or four years of us being over
there to get things adjusted. I just don’t
think we can scratch the surface within five
years.”
Almaguer agreed with Kennedy’s stance
and added that without a strong military
presence—whether it is the United States,
Great Britain or someone else—the strides
toward a democratic system in Iraq could
be in vain.
“What we are trying to avoid is another
type of theocratic system set-up like it did
in Iran when the Ayatollah came back into
power,” Almaguer said.
The frequent insurgent attacks could be
one way for the radicals in the area to get
the point across that Americans and their
philosophies are persona non grata,
Almaguer said. He added that the mentality of the insurgents is, “Anything considered American is considered anti-Muslim.”
Kennedy said he believes that trust is a
major factor in establishing a new government—not only from other nations, but
also from the people. With the insurgent
attacks becoming more frequent and
brazen, the Iraqi people have become fearful of retribution from anti-American factions in the country. During the elections,
A collection of press clippings given to
the National Reserve about the local
soldiers in Iraq.
people were afraid to step-out into the
streets because they did not know whether
or not they would be greeted or shot.
That trust extends to the newly elected
leaders as well.
“There has to be a large group of people
who we can trust to run the government,”
Kennedy said. He added that we could not
just hand the country over to someone
whom we cannot depend on to keep the
peace.
Reconstruction
The reconstruction projects scheduled
for Iraq have already been mapped-out,
according to the Department of Defense.
Congress has allocated $18.4 billion to
reconstruct Iraq’s infrastructure.
The first projects will be to construct the
essential services for the people of Iraq.
Those projects include building 364
schools, 67 public health clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad stations, 93 water and
sewage facilities and 69 electrical facilities.
Of these essential services, 1,400 reconstruction projects funded by the $18.4 billion have already begun. As of Dec. 29,
2004, more than 108,000 Iraqis have been
hired to work on the U.S.-funded reconstruction projects, according to D.O.D.
reports.
One of the most significant changes in
the country just might be the inception of
an independent media. Seventy-Five radio
stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television
stations will now be allowed to report to
the people without the government interfering with the process.
Cost
The National Priorities Project reports
that the cost of funding the Iraqi War,
equipping troops in the region and establishing a stable government has reached
approximately $207.5 billion.
President Bush asked Congress for an
additional $81.9 billion last February. The
majority of this money would go to
“ensure that our troops continue to get
what they need to protect themselves and
complete their mission.”
The request called for $12 billion to be
spent on replacing worn-out and antiquated
equipment—including $3.3 billion to provide better armor and other protective gear.
The equipment situation was called into
question when soldiers raised concerns
about the lack of sufficient equipment during a visit from, then Secretary of Defense,
Donald Rumsfeld.
Almaguer said that whenever you are in
any kind of conflict, you have to make sure
that the troops are well prepared.
This package would go to ensure that the
needs of the men and women in Iraq would
be sufficiently equipped.
But the total cost for this endeavor is
estimated to increase $6 billion per
month—even after the supplemental funding was approved.
The future
A nationwide poll taken in Iraq showed
the general perception of the people: 53.8
percent agree that Iraq is headed in the
right direction; 66 percent say that life will
be better a year from now; and 49.1 percent
believe the Iraqi government has been
effective to date.
But what type of government could be
established in such a short period of time?
The United States fought for nearly a century against rival nations, and against
itself, to put in place the representative
government known today.
The questions still remain about whether
or not the government can govern effectively in the region; but now, at least, the
people have a voice.
The answers may not be seen for years to
come, but for now, this is the first time the
Iraqi people have the opportunity to
express real hope and optimism towards
the future of their country.
(Polling from November and December
2004).
25
Combat Zone:
By Michael Flax
Real Life
26
W
Part III of IV
In March of 2003, I was one of many who entered Iraq during the
beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. There were many bad and scary
moments during the invasion. These are not about those moments.
hen you’re out in the field, you miss out on
For more than two hours he walked around, trying
a few modern conveniences. One of those to find his platoon. But he never did.
is having a restroom. Well, sometimes
Then he found himself in front of a line of large
Marines get creative.
vehicles. He followed them until he found a tent. Then
We found a draw wash about a hundred meters he was challenged.
behind our defensive position, so we made that the
Let me explain that part. In the field there is a guard.
restroom. Some of the guys got some boards and built When you walk up to that guard they are supposed to
a dual toilet. It was two seats, back to back, with a stop you and challenge you, using a password in a
cover and a wooden seat (hey, it was better than noth- sentence.
ing).
Then the person that approaches is supposed to give
There was only one problem, if you didn’t see the proper responding password in another sentence.
where you were, you could easily get lost.
Now, if the person that approaches does not give the
Now, my friend Mike Martinez had two friends proper response, that person is supposed to get shot.
among the rest of Psycho Icho. Together the three had
Well, Little Bolsa had forgotten the password.
become known as Big Bolsa, Little Bolsa and Bolsa.
Thankfully, the guard didn’t follow orders to the “T”
The reason I give you these names is because, that night and took him to see his sergeant.
besides Mike, I can’t
Little Bolsa had found a
remember their names.
platoon of Army Bradleys at
Well, one night Little
an Army camp. To this day I
Bolsa went to the resthave no idea how far away
room. Now, any of you
this base was or which one it
who have gone campwas.
ing know that if the
All I know is that the closmoon isn’t full, it’s
est base was three miles
pretty dark. That night
away, and the Marines and
it wasn’t full.
the British only occupied
Little Bolsa made it
that.
to the restroom just
The Army brought him
fine. But when he startback to us in a humvee that
ed walking back he
night. He made it back just
realized that what
in time to stand his watch for
should have only taken
the night, so he didn’t get
him five minutes to
much sleep.
walk back to his twoThe next day he told us all
man tent had taken him
about it during breakfast,
twenty.
Photo courtesy of Michael Flax and then Gunny told us that
So, what did he do? Convoy travels down road in Iwo Jima, Japan.
from now on we would go in
He turned and went a
pairs to the restroom.
different way. And when that didn’t work, he turned
That night Little Bolsa and his buddy almost got
again. And again.
lost again.
Combat Zone:
By Michael Flax
Real Life
he was not a professional.
But let’s back up to when they first got off the humvee.
Now, the company was set up along a berm facing toward
Baghdad. To our left was an artillery battery (company).
To our right was an artillery battery. And directly behind
us, just far enough back for us to be safe, was another
artillery battery.
They were close enough for me to hear their radio
speakers when the call came, “Stand by! Fire!”
I’ll go ahead and throw this in here. I’m an artillery forward observer, so it’s a little bias of me to say it was
artillery that won the war. But when just about every
infantry person backs that claim, then I’m willing to stick
to it.
My parent unit was Kilo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th
Marines. Back home in California the unit was often
referred to as Kilo Kriminals. But in the field, and especially during the war, the unit earned the title Killer Kilo.
The first night they fired over 400 rounds into Iraq, helping to make a prominent mountain into a not so prominent
plateau.
And every time the sand blew, the air support disappeared. But the artillery batteries were always there to
back us up, oftentimes getting us out of a jam.
So here we are, in our skirmish trenches, reading books
and writing letters, and here were these new guys stepping
off the back of the humvee. “Stand by! Fire!” I heard and
six artillery howitzers behind our position fired as one.
Have you ever seen a rabbit when it runs? It runs one
way and then splits left or right to evade capture, whether
you chase it or not. And then you see a puff of dust as it
reaches its destination. Well, it looks pretty cool in the
human form as well.
Five different guys took off in five different directions.
They jumped in the closest holes they could find. In most
cases the holes were already occupied.
So much for making a good first impression.
Those guns fired all throughout the day and night. I
don’t think those guys ever managed to calm down.
Part IV of IV
W
hen the war got going, so did we. It amazed
everyone that we were able to travel so far so
fast in such a short period of time.
And because of that, our supplies got left behind. The
trucks with our food and water were behind the entire time,
but it didn’t take long before they couldn’t keep up.
For roughly a week we ate one Meal Ready-to-Eat
(MRE) a day. Most of us had to share that one meal with
the others, because no one thought that we would ever
have to actually use our emergency supply.
But they eventually caught up to us and we got more
food and water. We even got our mail.
We pulled into a farmland just outside of Baghdad to set
up for a couple days. The first thing Martinez and I noticed
when we stepped out of the back of the amtrack was a big
yellow bag beside one of the company’s humvees.
We both stopped at once and looked at each other.
“Couldn’t be,” we had both said and continued to find a
spot to set up. Sure enough, I received three letters that
day.
Now, for some reason the other guys started wanting me
to read my letters to them. Even the officers would stop to
listen. Letters from Mom were okay. Letters from David,
my brother, were cool. But letters from Aunt Judy drew the
crowd every time.
Aunt Judy didn’t say much. She talked about the weather and about living next to Lake Erie. She talked about her
two sons. And she talked about her two daughters, who are
both attending college. Just because they both had
boyfriends didn’t slow any of the guys down from wanting
to know more about them.
Anyway, along with all of that we also received some
replacements for the company. We picked up three new
troops, straight out of school, and two new lieutenants.
One of the lieutenants, the one that ended up joining the
FIST team, had a set of num-chucks attached to his pack.
If it weren’t for those num-chucks, I probably would have
forgotten him. I remember him taking them out some
mornings and giving them a swing. It was easy to tell that
Marines watch impact zone in San Clemente, California.
27
One for the road...
Real Life
28
By Ruby Moore
F
or the nation, Dec. 7, 1941 is a day that lives in infamy. For Mothers Against Drunk Driving, that
day was July 17, 1984. It was on that day that President Ronald Reagan signed into law the
Federal 21 Minimum Drinking Age Law.
This law has saved more than 20,000 lives in the last 21 years. It is with great honor that MADD celebrates 21 years of the 21-year age limit.
Since its inception in 1980, MADD has backed several issues that were later passed as laws. In its
first three years alone, more than 129 new laws were passed that dealt specifically with drunk driving.
Overall, MADD has been influential in passing more than 2,300 laws nationwide since its founding,
said James Bryant, Youth Program Specialist for MADD.
Every law that MADD has supported has been done with the intention of saving lives. But laws can
only do so much, Bryant said.
When MADD was founded, its goal was to reduce the amount of drunk driving. In 1990, it introduced the “20 by 2000” plan; the goal was to reduce the proportion of traffic fatalities that are alcoholrelated 20 percent by the year 2000.
That goal was reached three years ahead of schedule. In 1997, the percentage of alcohol related traffic crashes fell below 40 percent. In 2004, alcohol-related traffic fatalities and injuries still accounted
for more than 40 percent of all traffic crashes.
According to Bryant, drunk driving fatalities have decreased by 40 percent since MADD’s inception.
In 1980 more than 26,000 people were killed. By 2003, the number had dropped to just over 17,000, a
huge decline, but still a large number.
“Unfortunately, drunk driving fatalities have leveled off in the last seven years or so,” Bryant said.
A 1992 Gallup survey of attitudes toward drunk driving showed that Americans listed it as the number one problem on the nation’s highways. The second poll in 1994 showed that the public was becoming increasingly less tolerant of drunk driving offenders and were leaning toward support of stiffer
penalties.
One of the difficulties of enforcing stiffer penalties is that every state had its own law that regulated
the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) limit. MADD’s project became pushing a national standard BAC
of .08. In 1998, the U.S. Senate passed the bill, but the House of Representatives would not vote on the
issue. Two years later, on Oct. 23, 2000, a national .08 BAC measure was signed into law by President
Bill Clinton.
One thing that MADD has always been clear on was its support for the victims of the crime of underage drinking. In
1999, the board
voted to add the
prevention
of
underage drinking
to the mission
statement.
“MADD realized from scientific research that the
prevention
of
underage drinking
actually reduces
the likelihood of
youth developing
alcohol
related
problems as they
reach adulthood,”
Bryant
said.
Photo courtesy of the Midland Reporter-Telegram
“Basically, by preventing underage Firefighters work the scene after O’Neil’s pickup collided with Lester’s van.
drinking you can
Alcohol-related deaths since 1979
prevent people from becoming drunk drivers as they get older.”
In the years following MADD held a number of camps, rallies
and summits to involve youth in the legislative action and to help
them step up and make a difference in their community.
Laws are still being passed, MADD is still advocating and people are still drinking.
Each year, the number of drunk driving traffic fatalities increases and each year people say they are going to do something about
it. When will that time come?
For Bob and Shirley Lester, the day was Jan. 30, 2004.
It was slightly more than a year ago that a drunk driver killed
their oldest daughter, Angela Lester.
“This year has been like one day in my life. It’s like it was yesterday; it will always be yesterday,” said Bob Lester.
To Bryce O’Neil the laws didn’t mean a thing. After a two-day
drinking and drug binge, O’Neil had a BAC of .345, four times
the legal drinking limit, and traces of cocaine in his blood when he
ran his Ford Ranger pickup through a stop sign and struck the side
of Angela Lester’s van, launching it into a utility pole.
One of his passengers died instantly, the other suffered memory
loss and severe cuts to the face. Angela Lester’s 11-year-old son
and his friend were transported to the hospital where they were
treated for minor injuries and later released. Angela died on the
way to the hospital.
“I was broken hearted to know that a young man sacrificed the
rest of his life for a few days of what he called fun,” said Patrick
Mayers, Agent II for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
and friend of the Lester family.
“People always say, ‘It’ll never happen to me,’ then it does and
you can never undo it,” said Shirley Lester, Angela’s mother.
“There’s a hole in your heart; a void in your life that can never
be filled,” she said. “I know this
is a feeling I’m not going to get
over. It’s just something I have
to learn to deal with.”
In a society that accepts
underage drinking as a “rite of
passage,” the number of mothers, fathers, other family members and friends who have to
“learn to deal with it” will continue to rise.
In 1995, MADD announced a
goal of reducing the number of
alcohol-related traffic fatalities
to 11,000 or fewer by the end of
2005. In 2003, the number was
at 17,419 deaths, the third year
in a row that the number
increased.
That number would be equivalent to two 757 passenger jets
crashing each week for an entire
year. A tragedy on the level of
www.statistics.gov
the Sept. 11 attack occurs every
week. That number came from
two years ago, and the number is still rising. Why isn’t there more
being done about it?
“Obviously, MADD will continue to fight to reduce the number
of alcohol-related fatalities. But we have to re-energize the public
to remind them that the problem is long from being solved,”
Bryant said.
In 2003, Texas had the second highest number of alcohol-related deaths among states in the country. Forty-seven percent of all
traffic fatalities accounted for 1,745 deaths. The good news is that
Texas is one of the 26 states that make it illegal for minors to consume, purchase, possess, attempt to purchase or consume alcohol
in any private club or residence.
The bad news is we still have the second highest number of traffic fatalities in the country.
It is up to each person to make the decision not to drink and
drive or not to drink at all if they are under the age of 21. The argument has come up that if a person is old enough to die for their
country, they are old enough to drink, but that’s scientifically
untrue.
At age 18, people can physically and physiologically handle
combat. According to Aaron White, assistant research professor at
Duke University Medical Center, the brain is still developing at
age 21.
At that stage in development the consumption of alcoholic beverages can cause irreversible brain damage.As each person makes
the choice for himself or herself whether or not to drink, it should
not be an option to get behind the wheel.
If the trends don’t start changing, the “Bryces” of our society
will continue to ruin the lives of innocent families. If the numbers
don’t start declining, we’re going to keep losing the “Angelas.”
29
NASCAR
Speeding for a living
By Ryan Alexander
T
he process of change and progression is what defines
the longevity of any given sport. None of the American
based sports has done so more than Nascar.
Nascar has been thrilling its fans since the late 40s and cotinues to do so today, thanks in part to its ability to change with
the times. During its inception and all through the early 90s
the wily veteran was the driver of choice, with rookies typically being in their mid thirties and not accomplishing much.
That all changed and the new face of Nascar was born in
the winter of 1993 when a bright-eyed kid named Jeff Gordon
came on to the scene. At the fresh age of 21, he would set the
new standard for driving and quickly made the most significant impact in the racing world since the invention of the
paved track.
His age was the topic of discussion at any round table and
he faced many harsh criticisms for his so-called careless driving style, but what nobody new then was that this was a sign
of things to come.
In 1995, Gordon won his first championship at the age of
24 becoming the youngest to do so. That would prove to be
the beginning of the young-gun era and the demise of the seasoned veteran.
Now here we are in 2005, and with the new season underway, the most significant change is the age of the drivers. At
33, Gordon is now the veteran with a new breed of Nascar
drivers developing underneath him.
With only five drivers over the age of 40 in contention, the
young guns rule the race. And with this year’s additions of 19year-old Kyle Busch and 21-year-old Brian Vickers, the sport
has taken the left turn to immaturity. The majority of the field
consists of 20 something’s with many still lurking in their 30s.
It’s not as if the older vets just rolled over and gave their rides
away, it’s due in part to the other driving force behind Nascar
sponsorships.
In order for a team to be
competitive, they rely on
millions of dollars from their
sponsors. This in turn gives
a given sponsor some decision-making authority in the
team’s progression.
Drivers in this day spend a
lot of their off-track time
doing public relation events
and commercials for their
sponsors. So it seems that
the good looking young man
would be the way to go to
help sell the sponsor’s wear.
That is only one factor in
picking a new driver. The
behind-the-wheel talent is
still number one, and these
young guns certainly have
what it takes to win races
and championships.
Grooming the young guys
www.nascar.com
is
a total team effort and is
Jeff Gordon celebrates his Daytona 500 win in February 2005.
30
what makes Nascar the total team
sport that it is.
Many rookies rely on the tutoring and support of the older guys
and the support that is given to
them is seen in every race.
In 2002, Gordon, along with his
car owner Rick Hendrick, started a
new team and brought on 26-yearold Jimmie Johnson.
Johnson’s impact was immediately felt, winning three races in
his rookie year—a feat that tied the
rookie record.
He went on to finish second in
the championship race his sophowww.nascar.com
more season and has done so twice
more in his young career.
Nextel Cup Series 2004 winner Kurt Busch holds the trophy in New York’s
His tutelage can be credited to
Time Square during a week-long celebration after last season.
his strong team, his driving skill
years.
and the leadership of his then mentor, Gordon.
Its 80 million fans world wide will make Nascar racing a
With the veterans and the young guns working together, it
has brought about the most prosperous era in Nascar racing. premier event in America as long as the racing does what it
And with new sponsors and exciting racing thrilling fans of does best—entertain and support the changing world around
all ages, Nascar is on track to go even higher in the following it.
The cars of the top
ten drivers line Times
Square in New York
in recognition
of NASCAR's Nextel
Cup Championship
festivities during the
first week of
December 2004.
www.nascar.com
31

Chaparral - Midland College

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