LINES AND RHYMES 2010
Literary Magazine of
James F. Byrnes High School
Duncan, South Carolina
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The Literary Club
of
James F. Byrnes High School
Duncan, South Carolina
Presents Lines and Rhymes
2009 – 2010
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Sponsors
Kathleen Duncan
Donna Grant
Jamie Gregory
Karen Hill
Carol Isler
Mariesha Pearson
Literary Club Participants
Casey Bluhm
Ashley Cross
Jayme Gaff
Samantha Harley
Shanna Harrelson
Danielle Hawkins
Kersty Park
Seth Thompson
Katie Wood
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Where I’m From
I’m from fist fights, rough play and brothers and sisters who didn’t always play fair.
I’m from tag, to tree climbing, bike riding,
And Mom and Dad always telling me t do my best.
I’m from Sunday dinners after church service,
Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese,
And golden brown jiffy mix cornbread.
I’m from baby Phat, to Air Force Ones,
Bellbottom blue jeans, to my favorite short sleeves.
I’m from a family that talks about each other,
Lies to each other,
And sometimes even hates each other.
“But hey! What can I say?”
Where I’m from is a family that is not even
Close to perfect, but we stand together,
And always know that family comes first.
-Patrice Burgess
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- Bobby Lark Beach
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What is in a Sandwich?
The Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich is probably one of the most complex but yet simplest of foods. It is constructed of nothing more than its name implies: peanut butter, jelly or jam, and two slices of bread. An average Wyatt household Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich contains around 410 calories, 150 calories of which are two slices of Sara Lee Whole Grain
White Bread, 210 calories worth of 2 Tbsp of Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter, and 50 calories worth of 1 Tbsp of Smuckers Concord Grape Jelly. The PB&J is quite a practical sandwich; it contains a balance of protein from the peanuts, fruit from the jelly, and grains from the bread.
PB&J sandwiches contain a savory and comfortably sweet taste. Each bite is different, disproportionate to the last, but just as exciting. The soft bread acts as a cushion that prepares the taste buds for the sweet and creamy taste of peanut butter, which is followed by the cool jelly. The ideal PB&J crumbles when you first bite into it, causing particles of crust to tumble down the front of your shirt. The peanut butter gums up your jaw while the lumps of jelly make your taste buds squint from its sweetness. While other sandwiches like the turkey sandwich,
BLT (Bacon Lettuce and Tomato), Philadelphia Cheesesteak, meatball sub, and hoagie are made up of a gamut of meats, vegetables, and condiments, the PB&J remains simple and unique, comprised of two unlikely cohesive ingredients. However, the preparation involved in a PB&J can evolve into a sticky mayhem. Ingredients can transfer from one container to the other, while the knife and spoon that are used for spreading can stick to you, your clothes, or the countertop.
Even the most experienced of sandwich makers occasionally have difficulty with the PB&J.
The PB&J can vary between cultures, regions, diets, and families. Some people prefer to use wheat bread instead of white while others substitute the traditional grape jelly for their favorite jellies. Some prefer to have their sandwich served in a specific way, with the crust,
6 without the crust, in the shape of a heart, cut diagonally into triangles or other formations; but, no matter what form it takes, it is still a PB&J.
Although it is so appealing, there are some dangers attached with the PB&J. A consumer of the sandwich should take deliberate caution before eating it. Recent outbreaks of salmonella and e-coli have forced some peanut butter corporations to recall their contaminated products.
Traces of these bacterium have been found in jars of peanut butter; so, stay alert to the news before buying any peanut butter. Some serious allergies are associated with the sandwich as well; a person should not eat it if they are susceptible to those allergies. Death or other serious injuries could result from an allergic attack or from food born-illnesses.
A stereotypical thought of the PB&J is typically associated with the image of a child, running around with a huge grin on their face smeared with PB&J. The sandwich has been a delicacy among children since the time of its original popularity. However, some food historians believe that the PB&J sandwich originated during World War II in Europe, not in the American suburbs. Soldiers were rationed peanut butter and jelly while on the front lines during World
War II, and it’s possible that the concept of the PB&J sandwich originated from their ingenuity in consuming the rations. After the war, these soldiers could have brought the idea of the PB&J sandwich back to America, where it became a well-loved piece of culinary artwork.
Consuming a PB&J is like no other culinary experience; it has the ability to ignite old memories and stir buried emotions. PB&Js are characteristically associated with fond and comfortable memories, typically from a person’s childhood. When I was a young lad in 4-K kindergarten, I would spend my morning at school and then retreat home for the afternoon.
Since I was only in school for half a day, I normally ate lunch right when I got home. Every day
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I asked my mom to pull together a “buddy sandwich” for me to gobble down for lunch, and I repeated this regimen everyday for the rest of my 4-K career. Each afternoon she would carefully piece each part of the sandwich together, making sure I had I would have enough to eat.
The time I spent with my mom in these early years of my life mean a great deal to me; and the taste or sight of a PB&J stirs the warm memories of my days with her. The PB&J can help create the feeling of belonging and being home; which, is probably why it became so popular among those soldiers fighting in World War II; it gave them a unique comfort among the horrors of death and the isolation of war. The Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich is a representation of a person’s love, and it is that representation that makes the PB&J so incredible. The physical sandwich itself obviously cannot express these feelings, but it can serves as a means to relay a person’s compassion. Making a PB&J expresses the effort one person takes to care for another person’s well being. There is an unexplainable and personable aspect to the PB&J that is able to relate the love of one person to another; and, it is our responsibility to honor that person and relate the love they gave to us to affect someone else’s life, whether it’s through the PB&J or not.
The Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich is unlike any other sandwich, it is an expression of the joy and love in life.
- Matthew Wyatt
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- Shelly Bushta
Circular Reasoning
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Life Is . . .
Life is an empty book waiting to be filled with all of your memories and adventures Creating your story page-by-page, Making it as long or as short as you wish Filling the pages with the good and the bad Choosing what goes and what doesn’t Life is an empty book waiting for your journey to begin as you choose your way to shine
Life is an ongoing party, never coming to an end Trying new things and marking new beginnings Exploring the continuous world with the sky as the limit Life is a party of unknown prizes in store for you
Life is a clock, losing your life by the second Watching the clock is a waste of time Unable to turn back the hands of time Life is a clock with limited time
Life is a book set with no boundaries Life can be full with many diverse prizes and surprises Life is a fire building violently until its time comes to an end Life is a book that comes in many different stories - Chantella Crosby
- Cody Crandall, Shoe
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Southern Pride. Just because I didn’t grow up on a farm or learn to ride Doesn’t mean I don’t have Southern pride. Just because my daddy doesn’t plow a field or own a cow Doesn’t mean I don’t know how to be proud of where I’m from. I’m not the kind of girl to get knee deep in mud and love every minute. I’m not the girl that wrestles her brother or cousin and wins it. I Wasn’t raised on a farm, or sittin’ on a church pew My daddy always said, kid just do what you want to do I’m Southern and I’m proud to say, I’ll always be that way.
- Lyndsie Cook
Explanation: People always tell me I don’t know what it means to be Southern. I know Spartanburg, South Carolina isn’t the most Southern place in the world, but I know what it means to me to be from the South. Being born and raised in SC and NC has brought me to a new appreciation of my heritage. I was not raised on a farm, in cowboy boots, and getting dirty every day, but I was raised with Southern hospitality and to respect everyone no matter whom they are or where they are from. Being from the South to me means being proud to stand up for what’s right and fight for what you believe in. Being Southern isn’t about owning a truck or what you’re daddy does for a living. Being Southern isn’t a life style; it’s a part of who you are.
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- Zach Hughes Strange
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“Faith Will Always Find a Way” A Poem Written in Love for my Mother
She lies there weak and feeble, Seemingly battered, shattered, and broken, Stripped of her independence, And here Freedom; her life’s tokern,
She rocks herself slowly, Trying to ease the pain, Tears flowing down her cheeks, A river of endless rain,
No words can really sooth her, Gentle hands of love can’t heal, She’s lost her smile and laughter, Her wittiness and zeal.
The plague is violently trying, Harder than ever before, To overtake her body, Past all layers, to the core.
She seems to have lost her smile, The one that could light up the darkest place, It could shame the brightest start, That beautiful sun upon her face.
And beneath all of the pain, One thing is there, I know, I refuse to believe it’s gone, Though she does not let it show.
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Her body’s strength may waiver, Her confidence may even depart, But one think will always be there, I pray, Lodged inside her heart.
That faith that she’ll be well soon, That speaks life and not death, Will somehow overtake that pain, And nurse her back to health.
That faith will not be moved, For this, every day I pray, No matter what, she’ll make it, Faith will always find a way. - Ashley Cross
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- Melanie Robinson Beloved
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Yep. It’s That Important. And I’m Not Talking about Meat.
Music is the only thing that’s remained constant throughout my life. Though it’s weird how it’s changed. I’ve jumped genres for 16 years, from fold, to rock, to rap, to pop, to alternative, to indie. My dad started it. His “inflict culture” nights consisted of dusty records, stacked 45s, scratched CDs, and bootleg copied cassettes. I was the only 2nd grader (besides my sister) who could work a turntable with ease. Stories from Harry Chapin, Jim Croce, and Peter,
Paul, and Mary poured through the big, box speakers, the volume cranked to 10. Car trips had their own setlist-Bob Seger, Meatloaf, Journey, The Eagles, Elton John, Billy Joel, Fleetwood
Mac, traditional car music to me. My oldest sister, for the longest time, couldn’t get through a car trip without falling asleep to Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band. By the time I was five, I knew the most risqué lyrics, without even knowing what they meant! We had a stand-up piano; old, dilapidated, and out of tune, but I could pick out from across the house when my dad started in on “More Than a Feelin’”, “Time Passages”, or “Piano Man”, and I could sing along.
I’ve always had music around me, forever. I’ve always wanted to keep it that way, forever. As long as I can remember, when other little girls wanted to be a ballerina, or a police officer, or anything cliché, I want to rock. Belt it out every night to crowds of thousands. I’d sing to my Barbies if I had to, but I’d sing and I’d play my plastic pink guitar with gusto to the various stuffed animals on the dresser, my “adoring fans.” Music has influenced me in every way.
But eventually, as all children do, I rebelled. I went through a stage of Top 40 Radio, fake beats and all, and danced around my room all night long. I was even into rap for a little while.
However, none of it really stuck (thankfully). But I needed this phase. It introduced me to pop-
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Although now I refer to it as “the dreaded MTV,” I admit it was pretty awesome to see bands that I liked in person, or on television anyway. MTV and VH1 were alternated in the mornings before school so I could get my daily fix of mass produced pop. Eventually, I wandered stations to Fuse, where I found indie and alternative and a little more pop-rock. Suddenly, I had an epiphany- I could find music…and I wouldn’t have to endure the dribble that came through the speaker of the alarm-clock/radio. WHAT A GREAT IDEA! I found SO much new music- AFI,
My Chemical Romance, All-American Rejects, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the disco, Relient K, and
Yellowcard-stuff they were playing on the radio, but better! These artists pretty much define my middle school years. By this time, I related to people through music. Most of my friends had the same musical tastes as me, and we bounced new acts off each other, mostly to see who found something good.
Now, my High School years. Keep with the same method, I found new acts- The
Academy is..., All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cute Is What We Aim For, Flyleaf, The Hush
Sound, Taking Back Sunday, Tegan and Sara, We the Kings, Straylight Run, Paramore-I still listen to most of these today. I either found these on TV, or got them from my friends. A whole new realm of stuff that wasn’t on the radio opened up, and I ran, in full sprint, towards it. I found my favorite band this way, 1997. Possibly the greatest band out of any of the ones listed in this essay. I realized what I wanted to do for the rest of my life through these bands. I wanted music and touring and fans, but not necessarily fame and fortune. If I could make music forever, with only 10 bucks and a pack of gum in my pocket, I wouldn’t care. I would be happy, and I would be a part of someone-out-there’s possible favorite band, making THEM happy, influencing them
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Track Mind, Four Track Heart”)
So, I blame my dad. For giving me great music and forcing it upon me, for making me sick of it until I rebelled, for keeping it all around me as long as I can remember. And by doing this he’s helped me make a plan for my future. I never want the music around me to end, and I’ll keep my talents and knowledge forever in song.
- Jillian Sprague
Leticia Maldonado
Monkey
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- Kara Gregory Self-Portrait
The Importance of Individuality
Why do you pretend To be someone you are not? Don’t ignore your identity. Your feelings are sure to rot.
Stay true to your complexion. Don’t waste your time entertaining a falsity. God handed you the thing that makes you memorable --- Your individuality.
- Arkeia Drummond
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Index of Contributors
Beach, Zach ………………………………………. Cover Art
Burgess, Patrice …………………………………. 4
Bushta, Shelly ……………………………………. 9
Cook, Lyndsie ……………………………………. 11
Crandall, Cody …………………………………… 10
Crosby, Chantella………………………………… 10
Cross, Ashley …………………………………… 13
Drummond, Arkeia ……………………………… 19
Gregory, Kara ……………………………………. 19
Hughes, Zach ……………………………………. 12
Lark, Bobby ……………………………………… 5
Maldonado, Leticia ………………………………. 18
Robinson, Melanie ……………………………… 15
Sprague, Jillian ………………………………… 16
Wyatt, Matthew ………………………………… 6
The literary club would like to thank all teachers who encouraged students to submit their writing and art to Lines and Rhymes 2010.
Discrimination of all persons is prohibited with regard to employment and any other program or activity on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin, age, color, immigrant status, English speaking status or disabling condition in District Five Schools of Spartanburg County as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended. Section 504 Coordinator, Maureen Kriese; Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Scott Turner
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