NORTHWEST JOURNEY Book tells of struggle and joy - The following are a few of the stories from Northwest Journey, a book of short stories written by literacy and adult basic education learners from Northwest Community College and Project Literacy Terrace. Hard Times ~The year was 1985... that was ihe year I started to have a hard time. -E stole food to feed my children. Sometimes I-had to go out to get food twice a day, _. | Living on welfare wasn’t fun at all. They seerned to give enough food _~ for rent and groceries to last for only three weeks. "Being a single parent of two children-was very hard. Their expenses - “for clothes and shoes were outrageous. I went tothe Salvation Army - ‘for clothes. At least the boys would be happy they got some new Clothes. ~ Sometimes I wouldn’t let them go to school because I didn’t have - anything for their breakfast or Iunch until I hit the stores again. It was “very sad, stealing from (he stores. Sometimes I used my children io hide meats under their blankets or in my purse. ‘Sometimes we had plain spaghetti noodles for supper. The boys — «would Jook at me and say: **Thank You, mom It was a beautiful sup- PRE CF PE SS a ee re | as rod x per.” I'd tell them they were welcome and they’d go watch TV. So I'd be in the kitchen washing dishes, crying. I'd think: ‘“What am I sup- posed to do for their supper tomorrow? _ Oh God! If you're listening please grant us this one wish: I hale feel- ~~ ing like this. On Christmas Eve I sat here wondering if anyone knew we were still alive, It was so quiet you could here a needle drop. I inanaged to get a couple of presents for my boys. We had a small tree; - just right for us. -T was sitting there having a cup of tea when I heard a knock at the “door. This was 10 at night. So I went to the door to answer it, My mouth dropped open, tears came to my eyes. There was a Stranger standing in the doorway with ‘two big boxes of toys. I was so happy. He said: “Merry Christmas, I ‘hope you have a good one. This is for you.”’ , - He passed me anenvelope. I thanked him and he left. ~“- [locked the door and put the presents under the tree. I was crying and ‘laughing, and I said: ‘*Thank you, God.” - When I opened the envelope there was $400.00 in it. - Two days later I came to Rupert to have a turkey dinner with the ‘boys’ grandparents, [ never felt so happy in my entire life, having a to- tal stranger do this for me. I’H never forget this stranger who made our ~-Christmas so happy. Being a Hockey Mother Houston is a small town where I have lived for 10 years. I am married _with two children. When I first moved to Houston I said to myself, “This is not the town I want to live in for very long.’’ ‘After a while, I got used to living here. My boys got a little bigger, and they started going to school. [ got busy with them, and I started to like thistown, | Hockey is popular in the North. Lots of poeple like myself are “‘hockey ‘moms,’* Both of my boys play hockey and they enjoy it very much. One is ten years old, and other one is six years old. They go to practice twice a-week, so I am a busy mother. I go to school all day, come homie, make supper, pack up the hockey bags and take the boys for “practice. They go out of town quite often. 1 am.on the road all the time, but I en- . joy it, When those little guys go on the ice in their uniforms with little _ hockey sticks in their hands, they look so nice. 2 HEAD INJURY ae your life forever : _. . Contributed IMAGINE DRIVING your ficulty grasping the complexities of issues. vehicle along Highway 16 west from Terrace to Prince Rupert one fall evening. For whatever reason beyond your control, your vehicle loses control and crosses the centre line, ‘ Bang, it crashes head on into an * Changes in personality. They may act inappropriately, have depressions, mood swings, feel- ings of overdependence, and short tempers. Depending on the extent of damage to the brain, rehabilitia- tion will vary. . of blood supply to the brain, | jury, can Jéad to multiple func- ’ memory impairments. They range - bee ede e ede Sh bere rhe et A ee oncoming vehicie. . Once the crash occurs, your life has changed forever. You have sustained an acquired traumatic brain Injury. You were ‘no longer the same person as you were prior to the crash, October is Head injury/Brain Injury Awareness Month in B.C. The brain is our control centre for everything we think, do and say. Damage to the brain may tesult in physical, behavioural and/or cognitive disabilitics. Once the brain is damaged, it is damaged for life, Causes of brain injury may be a blow to te head such asa vehicle gy crash or a fall, a gunshot wound, lack.of oxygen to the brain, lack E support in severe shaking of an infant, dis- ease or tumour, drugs. oo. Each area of the brain i responsible for a specific func- tlon. Moe Therefore injury to multiple parts of the brain, as commonly happens with Traumatic Brain In- tional deficits. The injury often is not visible and the person may look fine. Sometimes survivors also suifer other injuries such asa spinal .' cord injury, stroke, broken bones ete, a Five functional ‘problem areas that have been commonly identi- fied in people with traumatic. brain injury are: ’s Area of concentration. « Memory. Short term membry problems, are the most common Se from ' occasionally forgetting names 10a total loss of events afer even a few milnutes. + Learning disorder. The injured person will usually have a much hatder time: remembering and learning new. things. . + Absttact and flexible thinking. Stock Car Association would like to thank the following organizations for their We would also like to send special thanks to the countless individuals who give up many hours of work to make each _ and every race day happen. But most of all we have to thank the fans who support our association. It Is they who have kept us going since 1967. Often both my boys have games out of town on the same weekend. I go in one direction, and my husband goes in the olher, We don’t even see cach other on weekends sometimes. For tournaments, we have to stay out of town for a couple of days. It isa good feeling when your child is playing so well and comes home with good feelings. I always tell my boys that winning isn’t everything as long as you try your best and have fun playing, that’s all that counts. When the team is playing, all the parents are sitting there cheering for the team, chewing gum, and getting very excited. Sometimes you get so nervous about it, you are sifting on a edge of a bench and telling your child what to do and reminding them which pesition they are playing. I yell so much, I always come home with no voice. : _— . Although hockey is very expensive and lots of hassle for me, 1 love being a hockey mom. It brings joy to my boys and it keeps them busy all the time, Jaswinder Bul Living in town Living in Terrace wasn’t too bad, because if we ran out of bread we could just walk downtown to Overwaitea, and pick up a loaf; whereas, if we need bread here in the village we'd have to go io Kitwanga Gen- | eral Store, because that's the nearest store around here, By the time I get my loaf of bread it probably casts me at least $22.00, because I don’! have a car and the people around here charge $20.00 to Kitwanga. The best time to do your shopping is when you know that the things | : are on sale. Make sure that you watch the prices, because the monty J that you are savign split even with the car or person that you hired, § adds up. For @ person Hke me, maybe on social assistance, and not knowing how to budget my money, I make sure I get enough things that would The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 6, 1993 - BS Road Sense s m will help get impaired drivers off the road. hen you're looking for the W right person and company to advise you on financial matters, insurance, retirement planning or investments; you want to know: “Who are the best people to call?” For more than four million Canadians... we are. For the best advice, call Monica Peacock 638-1586 last me through the month. I always make sure that all the important - : things are there for the month, like tissue, bread, butter and maybe, juice, - . ; Make sure you save your coupons and use them when buying groceries, because these coupons will help you save if you have a big family like mine. : Baby's Name: Baby’s Name: Brltney Ann Michelle Chemko Joshua Graeme MacKay Date & Time of Birth: Date & Time of Birth: September 28/93 at 6:05 p.m. September 26/93 al 7:40 p.m. Weight: 9 Ibs 2 oz Sex: Female Weight: 9 Its 150zSex: Male Parents; Barb Burrill & Mike Parents; Cam & Adri MacKay Chemko; special thanks to (He’s a Kermode!) Dy. Waterman Baby's Name: Jennifer Yvonne Elaine Pelit Date & Time of Birth: September 29/93 at 5:26 p.m. a GINGERBREAD. PLAYHOUSE | THANKSGIVING SALE § a Of Win DenaiionofNor- LOOK TO US 7 Sy; peshableNemforSalalonAmy fl gee : /Q _Octoberé-12 1-800-661-2990 7 Skeena Mall | 635-5236 The Terrace ne of our very best. a eat ccc: os Thank You A. brain Hnjured peron has dfs $e TERRACE 4916 Hwy. 16 West Dir, 5958 635-7187