Holes

Holes

 * by Amber McCrea

Day in

And

Day out,

The same picture

But a different Hole.

Shovel and toss,

Shovel and toss.

Digging deeper and deeper into the ground,

Deeper and deeper into your character.

Water is scarce,

And friendships rare.

A juvenile facility is home.

A place dedicated to helping you find yourself,

While helping THEM find fortune.

They order,

You dig,

One day you will hit bottom.

Writer's Note: I thought that a poem would get across many of the emotions and thoughts that Stanley and the other boys experienced during their stay at Camp Green Lake. The idea was to portray the struggle and difficult times the boys went through. There were many things at Camp Green Lake that were working against them. And, the only thing one could look forward to was the end of the day, and the bottom of their hole.

Diary Entry
by Deborah Dueck

Dear Diary,

I am at Camp Green Lake because they think I stole a pair of sneakers. The sneakers belonged to Clyde Livingston's shoes, he is better known at "Sweet Feet." Mr. Livingston has always been my hero, and now he thinks I stole his shoes, I feel awful. I found the shoes and I thought they would help my dad with his inventions, he is trying to find a way to recycle sneakers. But,now Sweet Feet thinks I am guilty. Now I am stuck digging holes every day. I am only allowed to wear this orange jumpsuit and an orange T-shirt. I have made some friend hears and that is cool. I am teaching Zero how to read and he is helping me dig my hole each day. And they have the ugliest lizzards here with yellow spots, if they bite you, you die. I also discovered a secret I remember seeing the intials K.B. somewhere else, on a lipstick container my mom had. Could it be from the kissin'outlwaw, Kate Barlow? You do know that Green Lake use to be the largest Lake in Texas. I have also been thinking a lot about my mom and dad and how they have been evicted from their apartment because of the smell of the burning sneakers. Well, I better go before I get caught, I know tomoday is going to be a great day,it is almost 4:30 am I better go.

Stanley

Writers Note: I thought it would be fun to write a Diary entry. Stanley was in a tough situation. He was being charged with stealing, when that was not his intention when the shoes fell on him. But, in the end we know that if he hadn't had been at the camp things wouldn't have turned out so good for him and his family and of course, Zero. I loved the fact that Zero discovered that the suitcase said, Stanley spelled backwards, and that was his last name. It was a fun book, a keeper for my future classroom.