Reader's Digest

Spring 2017 Issue
By: Allison Piper

Table of Contents
Reese’s Pieces-Humor Story..………………………………………...…Page 2
4 Words-Personal Story……………………………..…………………...Page 3
Spotlight On A School Event: F.A.N Night……………………….……..Page 4
Spotlight On Randa Piper…………………………………………..…….Page 5
Uber…………………………………………...……………………..……..Page 6
Suffocate Poem……………………………………………………...…….Page 8
Strange But True: Birds………………………………………….……….Page 9
Apple Airpods………………………………………………………..…...Page 11
Baked Alaska Recipe…………………………………………..………..Page 12
Summer Options: Colorado………...…………………………………..Page 13

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Reese’s Pieces
One day at lunch, my friends at my lunch table were talking about
their favorite candy. I said ‘Reese’s Pieces’. I pronounced it as the name
Reese’s and my friend corrected me and said that it was pronounced as
Reesie's. We had an ongoing debate about how the famous candy was 
pronounced, we even dragged the teachers into the debate. This argument 
lasted a week. During gym we would talk about. During 4th and 6th hour we 
would talk about it. During lunch we would talk about. Whenever we were 
we would talk about. After about a week and a half the debate finally 
simmered down and everyone forgot about it and pretended that it never 
happened. 

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4 Words
“We’re getting a divorce”.
Those 4 words changed my life.
Those 4 words made me numb. Those 4 words broke
me.
I knew my family wouldn’t be a family anymore.
I knew that nothing would be the same.
I knew that I wouldn’t be hugged goodnight by both
parents anymore.
I knew that birthdays wouldn’t be the same.
My eyes burned from the tears. My stomach did
backflips.
My mind went crazy.
I was frozen in shock.
I looked over to my brother.
He looked scared, confused, angry, and sad all at
once.
I wanted to hug him but I knew that he doesn’t like to
be hugged when he is mad or sad.
From this past 20 seconds, I could feel my heart
shatter into a million pieces.

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Spotlight On A School Event: F.A.N Night at OTMS
F.A.N Night stands for “Falcon Appreciation Night”. It is a fun way for
students to socialize and meet new people. It starts at 7:00 pm and ends at 9:00
pm. Even though it starts and ends after school hours, it still takes place in the
school. There are many different areas while at F.A.N Night such as:
● The Gym​:Students can play basketball in the gym while being supervised
by parent volunteers and/or the gym coach.
● The Library​: Students have the choice of playing board games, read,
socialize, and play on the desktops.
● The Commons​: Students can dance and socialize while the d.j is
performing and playing music.
● 6th Grade Pod​: Students can socialize, play arcade games, and play
ping-pong.
● Main Hallway​: Students can take pictures with their friends and buy pizza,
drinks, and candy.
F.A.N Night occurs once every semester at about the middle of each
semester. Even though F.A.N Night is not for everyone, it is very enjoyable to the
people who go. Overall, it is a great experience to have as a middle schooler and
is always fun to look forward to every year!

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Spotlight On: Randa Piper

During Randa Piper’s childhood, she lived in 2 houses. She was close to her
older brother Rory. She played a lot of sports like: softball, volleyball, track, basketball,
and cheerleading. So she was very active. Randa has been fascinated by the law since
she was in junior high. If she could choose any career except the one she has now she
would choose to be a teacher or a nurse because she enjoys helping people and having
the person-to-person contact. She enjoys the beach because it's sunny, she likes to feel
the sand between her feet and listen to the waves. She also likes to eat fresh seafood. If
Randa could live anywhere in the world, she would choose to live wherever there is
clear, blue water; preferably on an island. She would like to live at the slow pace of
island life. The most challenging part in her life was losing her dad in 2006 from lung
cancer. Taking care of her family, trying to spend time with her dad before he passed,
and deal with the emotions of his impending death made life challenging at that time. If
Randa won the lottery, she would pay off all her debt, buy a new house, give money to
her close family members, travel the world, and invest in her children’s future. Randa is
proud of graduating from Fort Hays State University while working a full time job and
raising a family. She has a strong work ethic and has a drive to achieve her goals.
Randa likes to cook and try new recipes, visit friends and family, and enjoy the outdoors
by taking a walk outside with her two children, Jackson and Allison.

5

Uber
Uber Technologies is a transportation company that originated in San Francisco,
California, United States. It develops markets and operates the Uber car delivery and
transportation mobile apps. It operates in more than 570 cities.

The History of Uber
On a snowy evening in Paris of 2008, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp had

trouble getting a cab. That is how they came up with the famous idea: Tap a button, get
a ride. What started as an app to request superior black cars in a few cosmopolitan area
is now changing the layout of cities worldwide. No matter what it is, Uber uses
technology to give people what they want, at the time they want it. For the women and
men who drive with Uber, the Uber app represents a new, easy, and adaptable way to
earn money in the modern world (Uber).

Pros of Uber
● One of the things that many customers of Uber say is that they consistently have
high quality service. All of the drivers that work with/for Uber have been trained
and they are easy to work with and they are also nice. They know the area that
they work in (Benefits of Using Uber).
● Uber pricing is similar to a taxi and will charge the passenger for every mile as
long as the car goes more than 11 miles an hour. If the car goes less than 11
miles an hour [usually in traffic or a busy area], then the passenger is charged
per minute (Benefits of Using Uber).

Cons of Uber
● If splitting a price with another passenger, the other passenger is also required to
have an Uber account (Understanding Uber).
● Uber can’t pick up at all airports due to fee/licensing challenges. Transportation
to airport is usually allowed. But, pickup upon arrival at the airport might not be
allowed (Understanding Uber).

Based on the information researched and collected, it is obvious that Uber is a
successful company that has emerged to take on the taxi industry and has proved to be

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strong and smart enough to obtain a large profit market while competing with already
existing long term taxi companies.

Sources
● https://www.uber.com/our-story/
● http://uber.mbsf.org/benefits-of-using-uber
● http://www.meetings-conventions.com/Resources/Planner-Basics/Managing-Cor

porate-Travel/Understanding-Uber--Pros-and-Cons/

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Suffocate
ˈsəfəˌkāt/ (v​ erb)
Have or cause to have difficulty in
breathing. To feel or cause to feel
trapped and oppressed.
The trees provide us with oxygen
But I feel like I’m suffocating
The anxiety washes over me like a
wave
The numbness controls my body
With each exhale, I feel weaker
My lungs pulsate with pain
The world becomes blurry and gray
The silence is ringing throughout my
ears
The only thing with color and life

Are the trees in the corner of my
eye
Brown, flaky branches
With vibrant green leaves
I feel lifeless
I take one more inhale
Then I exhale
My eyelids become heavy
The world becomes black

8

Strange But True Facts About Birds
Birds are among the most beautiful and bizarre creatures on Earth. With over 9000
species, our fine feathered friends inhabit almost every inch of the planet, making their
homes in the frozen lands of Antarctica to the hot and humid rainforests of South
America. Here are 15 facts you might not know about 15 amazing bird species:

1. Ravens are great at mimicking human speech and sounds
2. Ostriches have the largest eyes of any land animal\
3. Cardinal like to cover themselves in living or crushed ants
4. Owls devour their prey whole
5. Some ducks sleep with one eye open
6. Kiwis are sometimes called “honorary mammals”
7. Most hummingbirds weigh less than nickel
8. In ancient Greece, pigeons delivered the results of the Olympic games
9. Parrots can learn to say hundreds of words
10. Swiftlet nests are a delicacy
11. Bassian thrushes find food by farting
12. Woodpeckers hoard acorns in trees

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13. The unique black and white markings of a penguin can be used as
camouflage underwater

14. Hoatzin chicks are born with claws on their wings
15. Budgies catch each other’s yawns

I hope from these 15 “Strange But True” facts about 15 different species that you have
learned something.

10

Apple Airpods
Just take them out and they’re ready to use with
all your devices. Put them in your ears and they
connect instantly. Speak into them and your
voice sounds crystal clear. Announcing Air Pods
by Apple. After a simple one-tap setup, Air Pods
are automatically on and always connected.
They can sense when they’re in your ears and
pause when you take them out. All of the
amazing things AirPods can do are driven by the custom-designed Apple W1 chip. It
produces extremely trustworthy wireless for a better connection and improved sound.
And the W1 chip manages battery life so well, you can listen for 5 hours on a single
charge. A voice accelerometer recognizes when you’re speaking and works with a pair
of beamforming microphones to filter out external noise and focus on the sound of your
voice. Optical sensors and motion accelerometers work with the W1 chip to
automatically control the audio and engage the microphone, giving you the ability to use
one or both AirPods. They also enable AirPods to play sound as soon as they’re in your
ear. They provide high-quality AAC audio. And when you want to be heard, dual
beamforming microphones filter out background noise when you make calls or talk to
Siri. They’re made to keep up with you, thanks to a charging case that holds multiple
additional charges for more than 24 hours of listening time. Just 15 minutes in the case
gives you 3 hours of listening time.

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Baked Alaska
-Makes 12 Servings-

Ingredients
● 1 ⅓ cups graham cracker crumbs
● ¼ cup white sugar
● ¼ cup butter, softened
● 4 cups vanilla ice cream
● 3 egg whites
● ¼ teaspoon salt
● 1 teaspoon almond extract
● 6 tablespoons white sugar

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)
2. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter, or margarine together. Set aside 3
tablespoons of the crumbs for the topping. Press the remaining crumbs into one 9 inch pie
plate.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Cool the chill in freezer. Fill the
chilled crust with the firm ice cream. Place in freezer.
4. Beat egg whites until frothy, add salt, almond extract, and slowly add sugar, beating until
stiff and glossy. Spread over ice cream, sealing edges. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs.
Place under broiler 500 degrees F (260 degrees C) for 2 minutes. Serve at once.

Explanation
This recipe is the first dessert I have ever made independently. I would usually have my
mom help me, but I decided to try something out of my comfort zone and hope for the best.
There were some tricky parts that I had to have help with, like the ice cream scooping. I am not
very good at scooping ice cream because I can never get the scoop deep enough to have a normal
sized scoop. Another thing I had difficulty doing was putting the dessert on the broiler since it
was somewhat heavy. I was pretty nervous to do it considering that it was an oven heated to 500
degrees fahrenheit, one wrong move and I could end up with ice cream all over the kitchen floor
and I could end up with a 2nd degree burn! Some of the easiest parts were mixing, beating, and
smashing the graham crackers into tiny pieces.

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Summer Options: Colorado
For many years, I have spent part of my summer in Colorado. It is the highlight of my
summer. Here are some things you can do in the beautiful state of Colorado:

Pikes Peak:​ Pikes Peak, located in the Rocky Mountains, is one of the most famous summits in
the United States. A mountain exceeding 14,000 ft above sea level stands 8,000 ft high over
what is known as the “Pikes Peak region.” This region includes many popular mountain towns at
its base such as Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Cripple Creek, and Cañon City. ​Popular
routes up Pikes Peak include hiking up Barr​ ​Trail, driving via Pikes Peak Highway, or taking a
ride up the Broadmoor’s Pikes Peak Cog Railway.
Garden of the Gods:

Garden of the Gods Park is a registered National Natural Landmark. This world-class
Visitor & Nature Center and museum is the most visited attraction in the region with all new
interactive exhibits. While at the Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center in Colorado
Springs, plan to relax and enjoy a delicious breakfast, lunch or snack at the Café at the Garden.
Dine inside or outside on the terrace. Enjoy spectacular views of the Garden of the Gods Park
and majestic Pikes Peak.
Denver Museum of Nature and Science:

Explore one of Denver's top family attractions. Experience ancient fossils, dazzling gems
and minerals, majestic wildlife dioramas, the latest discoveries from outer space, Egyptian
mummies, exhibits about the human body and more.The Denver Museum of Nature & Science

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is a municipal natural history and science museum. It is a resource for informal science
education in the Rocky Mountain region.

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