Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 23, 1993 TAG: 9312220066
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Beth macy
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
She hates brussels sprouts, plays minor league baseball and once bloodied a boy's nose (he deserved it, sort of).
She believes people who work at Kmart, Kroger, banks, the newspaper and Food Lion should make $100 an hour. (OK, so I talked her into throwing the newspaper in there.)
For three years now, a PTA parent has called at the last minute to ask me to judge the annual Reflections writing contest. This year, a co-worker's wife saddled me with the stack from Green Valley Elementary.
The writing topic this year is "If I Could Give the World a Gift . . . " As with the previous years' entries, most students wrote a few sentences or a poem about feeding the hungry, clothing the poor and fostering world peace.
Aleah Rios, who is 9, said what she really wanted.
She said it succinctly, organizing her highly original thoughts into a five-part series. Her words were poignant - some of them - and she made me laugh.
Here is her unedited and un-spell-checked Christmas wish for the world:
One. Healthier Hamsters.
I want every hamster to be healthier than it has ever been. When I used to have 10 hamsters, one day I only had 8 hamsters. They died because they were not very healthy and the mother ate them instead of letting them suffer. If the world didn't have hamsters, and that is one of nature's animals. We want healthy hamsters so they can live, same thing with trees. We need trees for oxygen. I don't want hamsters that are not healthy, I want healthy hamsters. I think everyone in the world should have a hamster even if you live in an apartment, a house, a cabin, a townhouse, a loghouse, a shack, a mansion, a palace, or even the White House.
I asked Aleah what happened to the remaining eight hamsters. "I had to get rid of 'em - they were taking too much money to keep up, and we were moving here."
The third-grader - who moved to Roanoke with her mother, Andrea Rios, in July - has had a rough couple of years. After her parents divorced, her mom went on AFDC, then worked her way through nursing school as a grocery store clerk.
"She's had a tough time coming through all that," said her mother, who's now an oncology nurse. Which goes a long way toward explaining Aleah's second point:
Two. $100 an hour job.
I want at least two $100 an hour jobs. I think men and women are not getting payed enough. Most jobs only get payed $4.25 an hour. I want at least some jobs to pay more than $4.25 an hour. I think some jobs should pay $100 an hour like, Kmart, Wall Mart, Kroger, Food Lion, Banks, Tanglewood, Valley View, and in the Army. Some people live on the streets and need money. If I had left over money I would give some of it to them. I think if you are caring and loving, you would give some to them, too.
For instance, if Aleah had two $100-an-hour jobs, she would buy two very important things, she said.
A radio and a color TV with cable - for her bedroom.
Three. "No Nasty Food."
I don't want nasty food like, "spinach," "brussel spourts," "squash," "onions," and "green beans." Almost all my friends hate brussel spourts, onions and squash. I hate everything except. . . ooooooh, nothing. I would rather have pizza from Pizza Hut and tacos from Taco Bell. I even wish there weren't any restaurants that served "spinach," "brussel spourts," "squash," "onions," and "green beans." I wish that spinach, brussel spourts, squash, onions and green beans never existed on earth.
So what's she got against brussel spourts - I mean, sprouts?
"Ooooooh, they just gag me," she said.
Has she tried them?
"I've ate 'em before and they're icky."
When was the last time?
"Thanksgiving, at my aunt's house."
Did she protest?
"No, I just put 'em in my napkin."
Four. Peace to the World.
I want peace to the world more than anything in the world. The kind of peace I want is, one that has no hunting near houses, that can disturb people who live there, no fighting, that makes the world violent instead of making it peaceful. I think peace is, birds singing, bunny rabbits hopping around, and all kinds of animals in the world make peace to us. One of the commandments says, "Do unto others as you would want Done unto you." Why can't we all do this?
Nice sentiments, these. But I detect a slightly different tone of voice. Did her teacher make her write this one?
"That's right," she said.
Five. No Boys!
I have a lot of reasons for not having boys around. One reason is boys are picky about how barbers cut there hair. They sometimes don't flush the toilet and they often don't put the toilet seat down after they use the bathroom. I hate boys because some boys call me bad names and some boys punch me in the stomach.
Here's A Story.
One time, in my old school a boy named Bryan was on my desk top. I said "You better get off before I punch you in the stomach" and he said "Punch me in the nose." He thought I was going to hit him easy but I hit him hard and his nose was bleeding bad and he said it didn't hurt. I didn't get in trouble by the teacher because Bryan didn't tell. That's why I hate boys. Except my cousin William.
Tough talk from a tough little girl.
Aleah wants to be a doctor or a nurse or a baseball player when she grows up. And as her mother says, "When she gets it in her mind that `This is what I want to do,' she does it.' "
Promoting healthier hamsters, for instance.
She likes riding the new one-speed bike her mom bought her with her new salary, and she can't wait to start gymnastic lessons next month. She loves cartwheels, but she doesn't want to be a cheerleader. Her favorite color is black.
I asked her how she felt about winning first place for her school in her age group.
"Thrilled," she said.
And then she asked, "So what do I win for it?"
by CNB