Ultimate Takedowns!!

Figure 1
John Cena giving The Rock a choke hold!!

Now when you think of wrestling you think of all the cool wrestlers and you want to be just like them and be able to do all there cool moves! Just like the arm bar, or even the choke hold just like John Cena!(See Figure 1) But the cool thing is that you can do those moves but instead of trying to hurt someone you are trying to protect or arrest them, and keep them from hurting someone else.

     One of the coolest jobs to have would be if you are a Police Officer because then you can be just like a wrestler when it comes to Taking Down a bad guy. But you are taking the bad guys down so that you can protect all of the people in your town and all around your area. Not to hurt them like they do to each other in wrestling. Just like John Cena, a Police Officer has to go to training so that they can perform at the top of their field at any moment just like John. Sometimes they even have to go back to training. Like in New York City for example they had to send all of their Officers back for training (1). Unlike Wrestlers the Police have to watch how much force they use on the enemy because if they hurt the bad guy then the officer can get into lots of trouble, but if a wrestler hurts the other one in the ring its a pretty good thing because then they win and they can get that on their record. If an officer uses to much force against the bad guy and hurts him that officer can get into a lot of trouble with the law themselves. Even though they are trying to protect people they still can not hurt the bad guy. Before ever getting into an argument with a bad guy, an officer always tries to deescalate the problem before something else happens and the officer has to use some type of force on the bad guy.The bad guy still has his/ her Civil Rights. Civil Rights are the rights that an individual has to be treated fair and equal in any establishment(2).

What Happened At Training

 

Figure 2
"Policeman De escalating the Problem"

When being trained as an officer you have to go through a lot of training so that you can protect everyone in your town. In New York City they sent back all of there Policemen back for training(1). The reason why is because some of the policemen were hurting people instead of trying to calm them down. Just like a wrestler has to get trained on how to use their moves so that they can protect themselves but also they want to hurt the enemy rather then the police want to make sure that they don't hurt them. When the Officers went to training they learned how to stop the bad guy from making a scene and hurting anyone. they also learned how to use their moves the right way and how not to hurt them(See Figure 2).

Figure 3
John Cena Holding a Belt

 

Times To Use Take Downs

 

In wrestling when it comes to the WWE and takedowns it is a great thing, because once the wrestler gets their enemy in say a chokehold they can get their enemy to tap out, and then the wrestler will Win the fight. That's when its a awesome thing because then the wrestler can get a belt and feel on top of the world(See Figure 3)!!! With Policemen a choke hold is a last resort they don't want to use that move anymore, because they have realized that it hurts the bad guy to much and they don't want that to happen. They much rather use the arm bar because it uses less force and they don't hurt the bad guys as bad. If the Officer hurts the bad guy when the bad guy has done nothing to them they can get into a lots of trouble. They can only use the same amount of force that the bad guy uses against them.

 

 

References

 

               1. Police Misconduct and Civil Rights - FindLaw. (n.d.). Retrieved, from http://civilrights.findlaw.com/civil-rights-overview/police-misconduct-and-civil-rights.html Training on tap for NYPD officers after chokehold. (n.d.). Retrieved, from http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140908/POLITICS/140909866/training-on-tap-for-nypd-officers-after-chokehold

                2.  Training on tap for NYPD officers after chokehold. (n.d.). Retrieved, from http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140908/POLITICS/140909866/training-on-tap-for-nypd-officers-after-chokehold     

3. Retrieved from http://www.wrestling123.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/John-Cena-Holding-The-Belt-in-Hand.jpg

 



 





  

How Do Police Protect Us?

Figure 1: Officer Karen is here to protect and inform!

 Have you ever wondered about the life of a police officer? What do they do for their communities? How do they protect us and fight crime? What do they learn to help them do this? Luckily, Officer Karen (Figure 1) has come to tell us all about her experience as an officer of the law! Just like you have your chores to do at home, Officer Karen has her own list of responsibilities.

Upholding the Law

Police officers must uphold the law. Laws are rules put in place by a community to make sure everything runs smoothly and that everyone acts in a way that won't harm anyone else. Laws make our society happy and safe. There are two types of laws: criminal and civil. Criminal laws are made to prevent wrongful actions, and civil laws are made to help settle disagreements (1). Officer Karen works to help prevent criminal laws from being broken, and gives out punishments when they are. Certain criminal laws have harsher punishments than others, and these are called felonies (2). Felonies are very serious crimes and people who commit these crimes go to jail for a long time. It is Officer Karen's job to arrest these people and make sure they don't do it again. Many factors come into play with a criminals sentencing (the announcement of a person's punishment), but some of the harshest crimes can result in jail for the rest of a person's life! She also arrests people for misdemeanors, which are also serious, but can have less harsh punishments like short jail time or community service (2). These people may only have to go to jail for 1 or 2 years, and/or spend time picking up trash in their community. One of the most common parts of Officer Karen's job is to give out infractions, or violations of less serious crimes, and the punishment for these crimes are usually for the person to pay a fee (2). While your responsibilities may be to make sure that your room is clean and your bed is made, it is Officer Karen's responsibility to make sure that people who break the law are punished.

Why Do Officers Want to Protect and Serve?

Figure 2: Values are a person's moral principles

Police work should be done by a person with good values (Figure 2). This means that police officers are expected to do the right thing. Police officers must have integrity (3). A person with integrity is a person who is honest and moral. Police officers must have integrity because we are trusting them to protect us and make sure our communities are safe, and no one would want that responsibility to lie with an untrustworthy person. It's also important for Officer Karen to value human life (3). This is important because when she values the life of all people, even criminals, she will do her best to come out of dangerous situations without anyone getting hurt. Officer Karen is also expected to respect everyone's dignity. Dignity is the quality of being worthy of respect. All people are worthy of respect, and it's very important for an officer to treat everyone with respect. When Officer Karen talks to someone with respect, that person is more likely to respect her, too. This helps her do her job more effectively. Everyone has certain values that make them who they are and make them either good or bad people. Police officers are expected to hold values that make them very good people, because they hold a lot of responsibility and citizens want to be able to trust their police officers. Having integrity, valuing human life, and respecting the dignity of everyone are all traits that make an officer trustworthy.

How Do Officers Learn to Protect and Serve?

Officer Karen learned all of her skills for police work during her training. An officer's training is the foundation for everything they do. If police work is a skyscraper, training is the beams and walls that hold it up. During training, officers take classes and courses made to prepare them for their duties. One of Officer Karen's biggest duties is to arrest criminals. But before arresting a criminal, she must learn how to investigate a case. In her training, she learns how to open a case and use resources to find evidence to prove that her suspect actually did the crime (4). It is extremely important that Officer Karen makes sure she is not arresting an innocent person. You wouldn't want to be punished by your parents for breaking a plate if it was actually one of your siblings, would you? Just like that, no one wants to be arrested for a crime they didn't commit, and it's Officer Karen's job to make sure she only punishes guilty people. Another skill officers learn is how to protect themselves and others. Officer Karen is often put into dangerous situations, and she needs to know how to protect herself. Many people may see self-defense as a something where you only worry about protecting yourself, but Officer Karen's idea of self-defense is much more complicated. Police officers are tasked with protecting themselves without harming the person that is putting them in danger (5). Wow! That must be really hard. Could you imagine being hurt by a bully, but in order to protect yourself and restrain them, you had to do so without hurting them back? This is something Officer Karen has to consider almost every day. Police officers learn a variety of skills in their training, but making sure they only arrest the guilty and that they don't hurt anyone nor themselves are the most important skills they learn.


Thank Your Local Police Officers!

Police Officers put their communities first and live to protect and serve the citizens. They uphold the law and make sure that people who break the law are disciplined. Police departments are made up of people with integrity, dignity, and respect. They value all human life and work to make the safest community they can. They learn all the skills and qualities of a good police officer in their training, and this training is the key to their success. Your local police department works very hard to be the police force your community deserves, and to make your life safer and easier. Thank your Men (or Women!) in Blue today!



References

Officer Karen. [Photograph]. (2015). Retreived from http://rlv.zcache.com/future_police_officer_girl_cut_out-r6458bed58905471dbcd35265ad823b77_x7saw_8byvr_512.jpg

Values. [Photograph]. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.thecrewcoach.com/images/values_1.png

Officer. [Photograph]. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.clipartlord.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/policeman4.png

Badge. [Photograph]. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.foreign-trade.com/files/HS-029-S.jpg

(1) Commonwealth of Australia. (2011). Types of laws. Retrieved from http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/pl_law_types,9538.html


(2) Nolo. (2015). Felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions: Classifying Crimes

(3) New York City Police Department. 2015. Mission. Retrieved from http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/administration/mission.shtml

(4) New York City Police Department. 2015. Training bureau/police academy. Retrieved from http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/police_academy/police_academy.shtml

(5) Lau, B. (2001). An introduction to police defensive tactics. Journal of Non-lethal Combatives. Retrieved from http://ejmas.com/jnc/

Certified Leader

Figure 1 (See Note)

As a new freshman, you are probably overlooking new ways to get involved on campus. You may have heard speakers say this at orientation the first week of school. Maybe you are involved on campus. But If you are not, here is a great way to help. You can become a certified leader here at Bloomsburg University. The Center for Leadership & Engagement allows you get certified up to three levels each consisting of workshops, community service hours, team building and a reflection you have to write. The office is located behind Northumberland Hall on the lower level (Figure 1). You will see a sign in front of a tree saying "Center for Leadership and Engagement" as seen in Figure 1. 

  When you walk into the office you will notice around the office everything decorative with their logo, four bulletin boards each containing pictures of people who have completed a level of there certification, and more information about what you what they do at the center. In fact, if you are interested in applying, there  is a bulletin board listing for part-time jobs. They also have a waiting area that is set up very nicely. The chairs are blue with a light blue and green octagon pattern shape. Some of the chairs are set upright next to each other that makes it look like a sofa. In the center and on the side of the chairs is a brown coffee table with side tables on the side. On top of the center coffee table their is a bowl filled with Hershey kisses for a refreshment. On the smaller and side tables are different info guides regarding to jobs, study tips and strategies, and college success. On the window they created two trees and each leaf has a name of each people who became certified leader.

Someone will greet when you first walk through the door asking, "Are you interested in becoming a certified leader". He or she will may ask you to have a seat in the waiting area while they are gather a packet of information. Someone that you might interviewing you is Linda Ngohe. Linda is a part time student worker for The Center for Leadership and Engagement. She is a black woman who wears glass and her hair stands out. Its almost like a curly afro. Its unique to me because of how natural and long it looks. As I inteviewed her, even though she had a professional position, you could tell that she was very nervous by the tense look in her eyes.

For level one, someone like or Linda will say that you can complete level 1 & 2 of your certification but you can not work on level three until you complete those levels. Level one, you have to complete a "Campus community assessment, serve as an active member such as a sport or Living Learning Community for at least five hours, serve as volunteer of community service for at least five hours and completion of the self reflection experience after you complete all the workshops. There are eight workshop all together for the first level.

The first workshop is called "Self assessment". The Self Assessment is where you will focus on who you are as a person, identifying strengths,weaknesses, values and needs. It is more of an exercise to seek the uniqueness about yourself that makes you a great leader. The second workshop is called " Self Structure". Self Structure discusses academic career goals and learn ways to organize their week routines effectively manage their time. The third workshop is " Broadening your Prospectives".  Broadening your prospectives is a workshop that you would gain understanding of peoples identity and culture. The fourth workshop is "Stages of group developement & decision making". They mainly talk about theories and practices  in an effort to understand the different roles of leadership Workshop Five, Six, Seven and Eight are Skill set that all tie together. Communication & Conflict Management skills, Critical thinking & problem solving, Public Speaking & engaging with others, and Interviewing Strategies & Skills. They sound exactly what say. These workshops are guides to help shape and form you as a leader to gain a prospective.

Level two is pretty similar process but instead works in steps as seen in figure 2 below. This level has actually has tracks that you can follow. Student Organizational Leadership, Community Engagement Leadership, Group Leadership, and Social Leadership. Having a track helps you to stand out because the track you choose show that you are passionate about that category. When you complete this workshop you have to complete 10 hours of community service and of course the reflection.



Figure 2

Level Three is the maximum level that you can achieve. You have to first speak with a CLE leader to discuss interest and proposal of ideas. At this level you is where you get to test you leadership skills from all the workshops you attended. You must have a minimum of 16 hours of you leading, organizing a large event on campus such as community service (Figure 3). For the  workshop, you have to attend one professional prep workshop about "How to brand yourself as Husky Leaders" and "Connecting your leadership experience with your academic Major or Discipline". The last task of the workshops you have to complete a mock interview of what you did every level, you will be finish every workshop. The last steps are turning in the reflection and you will become certified level three.


Figure 3 See Note.

 For more information, please visit The Center for leadership website for further assistance or feel free to stop by at anytime.

Events, Banquets, and Parties

   Shawnee Inn is such a beautiful resort with so many things going on. "The most popular part of the resort is their banquets," exclaims Jimmy Cox, a banquet server at Shawnee Inn. Jimmy is one of the best servers Shawnee has because of his hard work and loyalty. For being in high school, he still has time to work most of the events that Shawnee Inn hosts. Shawnee hosts from golf outings to sweet sixteen parties to weddings.

Front Entrance of Shawnee Inn

   The historical Shawnee Inn captivates you by its majestic mountain scenery and remarkable charisma. The calm flowing Delaware River sets the mood for this resort and with a beautiful view of the pure green golf course gives a vibrant touch to it. Every day in the spring you can smell the freshly cut grass of the golf course as it lingers throughout the air.  Shawnee Inn offers so much more than just parties and events. "The golf course and the river combined make a really naturalistic view for weddings," explains Jimmy. As you walk through the brightly green short cut grass with the aroma of fresh air filling your nose, you can see the slow moving Delaware River where many people had their wedding next to. On the other side of the river is the tree filled woods. The dark green trees give the area such a graceful and sophisticated feel to it. To the left of the front lawn is the volleyball court, tennis court, and the little hut that holds the rafts and kayaks for the river adventures that Shawnee Inn provides. To the right reveals the antique Shawnee Inn resort.

Actual Picture of Shawnee Inn Golf Course

    Shawnee has events almost every single day. They are always super busy with them because they won't just have one event in one day, sometimes they will have multiple. "There is not a moment you are not moving while working here, "laughs Jimmy.  Most events are held in the Worthington Ballroom or out on the front lawn by the river sanctuary. The Worthington Ballroom is spacious and elegant. As you walk through the doors of the ballroom you step onto a red and black checker carpet with a built-in hardwood dance floor. The crisp white walls capture your eyes as the chandeliers create a welcoming ambience. The large windows give the room a natural lighting as well as having a view of part of the enormous golf course. Just by the set up of the ballroom, the antique look of history flourishes in the room with a modern day touch. Having a party in this room would truly make you feel like royalty.

   "Working at Shawnee Inn as a banquet server isn't just serving drinks and food or just setting up the buffet table, its so much more than you can imagine," Jimmy says as he paces around the plate storage room. He grabs a dark brown cart with two levels to hold all the plates. He starts loading up on everything he needs for this banquet in the Worthington Ballroom. Luckily he is not alone in this. With him he has the managers, other servers, bussers, and also the kitchen staff providing the event with food. Jimmy prances along grabbing everything he needs to set up the long, white linen covered table that lies across from the two entrance doors for the buffet. It practically feels like he is speed walking back and forth grabbing freshly cleaned silver utensils, sparkling water glasses, enormous shining silver chaffing dishes, red napkins as red as blood, and of course all of the plates. He knows he only has a certain amount of time to complete everything as he trots in black dress pants with black non-slip shoes, a smooth, ironed white button up shirt, with a black vest and bow tie as well. He places everything on the buffet table and then starts working on the other tables for the people to sit and eat at. It feels like white takes over the room with the table cloths and seat covers being striking with white color but fortunately the red napkins gave a more flower look to it like roses sitting upon each plate setting. Finally everything is set up. The last thing to bring out is the food but first the people and guests enter. "You are dealing with people the whole time. You have to be kind and understanding with the guests," Jimmy says with a more displeased face. "Sometimes certain guests will have more problems then others. You have to be ready for those who give you more of a hard time. Most events go smoothly with minor problems but you will always get that one or two people that find something wrong in everything," Jimmy clarifies as he laughs.



Actual Picture of Worthington Ballroom

    As the night finishes after the guests eat their food and with music slowly starting to fade, the people start to leave. Now Jimmy and the rest of the staff start the clean up process. They grab all of the linens and napkins and throw them into a large rolling bin for them to be taken to get cleaned. "At the end of the event, all of us move rapidly because at this point we all want to leave," exclaims Jimmy with a tired vibe. Removing the plates, silverware, and glasses bringing them all to the dish washers to clean means getting closer to being done. The dish washers take care of the plates and glasses by putting them away and the banquet servers take care of separating the silverware and bringing them back into the silverware storage ready to be used for the next event. Now that everything is finished the staff comes together to talk about the night and how they believe things went. "I thought it ran smoothly," Jimmy says as he is ready to leave. The staff breaks apart and everyone goes home calling it a rap.

    The ultimate goal that Shawnee Inn tries to achieve is to make sure that the people who are take part in this event are enjoying their time. The staff tries to make everything perfect for them. They strive to make it the best night and a memorable one as well. Shawnee Inn truly cares about their guests and really do want to make sure they've had a good time.

Sabrinas Cafe

Looking for a nice place to get Breakfast or Brunch? Sabrinas is the place to go. Coming through a part of Drexel University at first sight lies a village type building with tall pointed pillars Surrounded by so many houses and looking like an house lies Sabrina's Cafe. With its grass and front lawn so nicely well kept and its pink flowers in the middle of the lawn covered in snow brings out the small bright blue sign in the middle of the lawn that reads " Sabrinas Cafe". Large Windows surrounded around the building lets you see the faces of many customers inside enjoying their food. This well known restaurant in the area has many college students, walking pass back and forth attracting the attention of others.

As customers walk in they are greeted at the register by a tall young looking waitress wearing a bright pink apron who happens to be a local college student. "How many people do you have today" "Just two" a man responds. While walking to be seated you hear various conversations and laughter of customers sitting around enjoying their time. Customers can notice the nice paintings and pictures on the blue and grey colored walls around the restaurant. Most of which include old famous artists like Elvis and The Beatles. The inside of the restaurant was designed into the look of a old house giving everyone an at home feel experience. All woman employees have a bright pink apron and the men employees wear black. 

Many small oval shaped tables and  wooden chairs stationed around to give the customers an at home experience. On top of each and every table consist of a large pitcher of ice cold water for customers to have at their own request. Blue and white laminated menus lie on the table in front of the chair. Inside the menu buyers can see lists of the their traditional breakfast and lunch. The menu also has its separate side for their signature dishes which include the 2 main ones "Famous Red Velvet Pancake "and the "Stuffed Challah French Toast".

"Being a chef and owner at Sabrinas Cafe isn't just about preparing and cooking the food for the customers its my life and what I always wanted to do as a child . Working as a manager at a Carrabba’s Italian Grill in New Jersey and being part of an industry has motivated me to finally have something of my own. I really wanted to open my own restaurant and I wanted it to be exactly the opposite of a large impersonal chain. " Executive chef Lance says as he grabs his ingredients to prepare his meal. He grabs the lettuce and the tomatoes out the bottom of the refrigerator then a cutting knife and board from the dish rack. In the midst of a crowded day he has several workers helping him to get things done in a timely matter. With him he has 2 prep cooks, managers, and sometimes waiters when there is an emergency. " Creating the menus is one of the hardest things I have to do but I have been very creative making a different menu every 2 weeks" Lance takes pride in having different menus of foods so customers don't feel tired of the same thing." Taking the time to teach and show other people how to do things is what I like most about the job and it gets them ready to move up. In this business, it only depends on how far you want to go. The industry is set up to allow people to move forward.”

Standing next to Lance is Melissa Junior at Drexel University standing next to the plate rack in the kitchen. She puts her blonde curly hair out of her face and into a bun and smiles happily as she makes her way from the back of the kitchen. From the moment she greets me you could tell she is a friendly person. "I have been working here for a internship for college for 5 months and I also plan to have my own restaurant someday when I get older" she quietly says "I like to work with the people here , they make me feel welcomed and I love the atmosphere inside of here". Looking up at the kitchen hangs a line near the back counter, there has many different orders on a ticket and which they were placed.The many different orders had different lengths in paper. " The temperature of the water stays at 75 degrees and you have to wear gloves while washing dishes so you won't get burned. Also every dish has to be completely dried before they can be used. "At first Melissa came off as shy but as soon as you get to know her she is a friendly person". Says one of her co-workers

At the end of the night Melissa is still working hard as she cleans up the remaining dishes  to finish her shift. As of from many customers Sabrina's Cafe is the "best place in town to get high quality food at a low price.

Women's Swimming Making a Splash

Upon walking into the pool at the Nelson field house the musky smell of chlorine hits you upon opening the front doors. The Bloomsburg University Women's Swim Team, comprised of 25 talented young women, have proved that they all deserve a spot on this competitive Varsity team. The Men and Women's head coach Stu Marvin who stands 6 feet tall with a thin frame and encouraging smile from ear to ear, and also alumni to the bloomsburg swim team, has lead these devoted women to a so far undefeated season of 7-0. These ladies could be the only team to come close to this goal since the 1978-1979 team. With their team goal in mind, these ladies could become only the second team ever in Bloomsburg Swimming History to finish a regular season undefeated. 

Sitting on deck at the pool, taking in the scenery, a banner on the second level that reads "Club Stu. Its all about you!" along with some well used, rusty, gym equipment that you could hear clanking in the background. Maroon and gold streamers and balloons hanging from he balcony overlooking the crystal blue pool, along with 8 posters all decorated for a different senior who will be graduating at the end of the spring semester. The lights shine bright and the music plays loud, making for a motivating environment. A white board next to the pool reads "21 days until PSACS!" A huge hanging banner reading "Bloomsburg University Huskies Swimming" serves as the focal piece of the pool.

Lauren Minford a brown haired, cheery, well built, muscular freshman who is a distance swimmer walks into the pool. As we begin talking she informs me that "Stu has worked so hard to build up this team and it is really paying off." However she also adds "its not just natural talent that leads us where we are. Every girl on this team works hard at every practice, everyday." The women take this knowledge, that they need to put in hard work, into every practice.

The combined Men and Women's team, who practice together, total roughly 60 swimmers. It takes 3 different practices to fit them all into the pool comfortably. Minford informs us that "Our practices are split up into sprint group and distance group". She also says "Our practices are specific to the events that we swim." If a sprinter did a distance practice it would not be very beneficial and the same goes for a distance swimmer doing a sprint practice. "All practices are well thought out in order for each swimmer to get the most out of every workout." In the morning the team's both arrive at the pool at 6:30am to lift weights and do dryland workouts. Both sprint and distance groups come together in the mornings to build the necessary muscles needed to pull their bodies through the water efficiently.

A typical morning practice is composed of either a 17 station dryland circuit or an hour and a half swim workout depending on the day. The team's circuit works on many if not all of the muscle groups necessary for swimming. The circuit contains exercises from planks to boxing with a punching bag to benchpress and other weight lifting exercises.  "Morning swim workouts are tough because we cram a lot of yards into a short amount of rest, so we don't get much rest in between sets" Lauren declares grabbing her arm as if in pain. After morning practice and a day crammed with classes and studying, these swimmers still have one more practice to look forward to but not before they are split up into their designated groups.

A distance swimmer is an individual who swims the longer events in meets. Meaning "Anything over a 200. So a 500,1000,1650 free and 400 IM." In order to be able to complete these events you have to have stronger shoulder, arm and leg muscles than a typical sprinter because they use these muscles for a much longer period of time. For this reason, distance group or "D-crew" as they nicknamed themselves, has to "swim mostly freestyle", or front crawl as many know it. Along with this, distance group does a lot of what they call "pull". They put a special shaped buoy between their legs that helps them float. With this the swimmer uses only their arm muscles to pull themselves through the water, without using their legs to kick. This helps them build their arms and shoulders muscles. "To strengthen our legs we do a lot of kicking  because when we are swimming a mile which is 66 laps, our arms get a little tired as you can imagine and we have to rely on our legs to take some of the pressure off of our arms". While Distance group pounds out yards at every practice, sprint group trains in a slightly different manor.

A sprinter is considered a swimmer who swims 200's and below of any stroke. For this I talked to sophomore Marykate Boylan, a lean muscular 100 and 50 freestyler. Boylan admits "being a sprinter has much more to do with technique than anything else. Being aware of body position is one of the keys to efficiency." Sprinters tend to be very technically aware because they don't have much time to fix something if they mess up during a swim. "We swim for 4 laps as opposed to 66. If we make a mistake it is harder to recover from it in that short of a time." A typical sprint practice involves a lot of fast swimming with little rest in between swims. "While we might be swimming half the yards that distance group does, we are still getting out butts kicked everyday." All of the hard work from both distance and spring group pays off when it comes meet time.

At swim meets both distance and sprint groups come together under the goal in front of them, to post best times and bring home a win. Swim meets are set up in the way that every event must be swam and every swimmer must swim at least 1 event but no more than 4 events. There are also high pressure and intensity relays at the beginning and the end. Lauren pleasantly states "At meets you will never see anyone sitting down or being distracted by anything. We are all cheering trusting that the hard work we have put into practices pays off with a win." Coach Stu enforces strongly the positive environment on the pool deck. "Stu tells us that during practice its all about hard work and pushing each other but at meets its all about attitude" Lauren tells me, which is a far cry from her High School team coach who's attitude screamed I don't want to be here! "This is because on the pool deck emotions are high and it is easy to feed off of each others energy and vibes, good or bad" Boylan exclaimed smiling, knowing that the Huskies do an excellent job of enforcing a positive attitude. The womens team pulls together to enforce the positive attitude surrounding them by cheering and supporting their fellow team mates. Marykate grinning says "As much as people think swimming is an individual sport, its also a team sport. It would be hard to do any of this without teammates who push you in practice and cheer for you during meets. on the outside it looks like an individual sport, but on the inside its much more than that."

These ladies have clearly been working hard for many months, starting their season in late September, and practicing twice a day 5-6 times a week. Their hard work and drive has lead the way to an undefeated season so far and with a PSAC win in their grasp, these ladies are hoping to reach out and grab a well deserved victory. In order for everything to fall into place they must have a good attitude come meet time and let their hard work show.

Not Your Average Auto Parts

Coming from a small Pennsylvanian town lies a small, privately owned Carquest. Carquest is a national corporation that was, in recent years, bought by Advanced Auto Parts. For Mike Mummey, his Carquest has stayed the same for 25 years regardless of the intentions of Advanced Auto Parts. Owner Mike Mummey has lived in Palmerton, Pa all his life and upon graduating high school, Mike has worked hard his entire life to run the productive business he has owned for a quarter of a century.

Figure 1

Upon walking into this small structured building, the universally loved "new car" smell filled the nostrils. Bolts, tools, and small appliances filled the room as they sat on royal blue metal shelves that reminded me of shelves that a hardware store would have. The white tiled flooring bared a few black streaks from the shelves being moved on them. Straight back from the door was a large desk spread to the width of the store which held four company computers surely used by the cashiers (Figure 1). Hung on the walls were huge pictures in glass casings with black frames. The frames held pictures of old vintage cars that must have been employee favorites.

"This store is a parts importer where we order any kind of auto part you can think of. We buy from large corporations and distribute them to garages or the "do-it-yourself" workers who need the parts. We don't hire mechanics to fix cars, or even fix cars in general." Explained Mike.

The clarification between an auto parts dealer and a garage is needed when there is a fine line separating the two types of business.

"HEY!" exclaimed a new and merry customer who had a grizzly beard and a tan Carhart jacket which seemed to be the jacket of choice in this town.

"HEY! Ron, how are you doing?!" questioned the shorter, glasses wearing cashier that had not been visible behind the cashiers' computer before.

"Do you have those front brakes I called last week about?" the customer asked.

"Sure do. Here you go, and remember, those rear brake rotor sizes are larger in the back than the ones you got in the front. So just make sure you remember that when you're putting this in. Take care Ron I'll see you around buddy." the employee determinedly explained.

"Don't treat me like a woman Rick I know how to do this! Haha! Be good now." replies Ron as he exits the store. 

As Mike walks to the front desk to see what the yelling is about, he returns a loud shout to the now gone customer. Mike was 6'3 and had a lender statue. Dressed in jeans, a Carquest polo shirt, and sunglasses that look like a prop from the movie, The Matrix, the owner Mike retreats back to the back of the store where the main storage area was. This room was much larger than the one used by normal customers and was used mainly for storage. From the time a part came into the store until the time it left, here, on these much larger but exactly the same looking shelves as the front main room was where the part would stay. The shelves were 10-12 feet taller than those in the front and had many more and much larger parts (Figure 2). This room was organized part by part and even had an assembly bench for one or multiple employees to take parts apart or piece together for the customer. Brakes, tires, and mufflers were only a small fraction of the plethora of parts that were in this room. Not only did large parts stay back here but also the expensive, technical ones that are too valuable to hold in the front of the store.

Figure 2

On the way back to the front was the managers office where Mike, his co-manager and wife Michelle, and another assistant had their offices. Cluttered and filled with paperwork were two large brown mahogany desks that had a shine from the large energy-efficient light attached to the ceiling. Above the work spaces were cabinets of matching wood and color tone. In between the woodwork were pictures of family and friends. The 3 black leather rolling chairs looked new and didn't give much walking space in the room.

"The environment of this business has been the same for as long as I can really remember. Some of these workers have been here longer than I have and still teach me about the business that I own. Everything has been kept loose at the shop for a long time and I wouldn't want it any other way. I have a lot of respect for the employees here and they all show me respect as well. Our family here has worked together and made success for years." Mike had talked about while reminiscing a small amount. 

Private business gives many personal connections that do not happen in larger corporations and this shows true in Mike Mummey and his Carquest. His relationship with his family, customers, and employees have never been looked at as separate things. Calmness and friendship filled the air as the "new car" scent had surely become unnoticed. This auto parts store is writing a great story that integrates professionalism with a loose family setting that couldn't have been written anywhere else besides in a small town that holds a small auto parts store.