Monthly Archives: June 2024

Summer Olympics: Paris, France 2024

The 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in Paris, France later in July. Thousands of international level athletes from many countries will participate in this once every four year, global sports event.

Right now, the 2024 Olympic U.S. Track & Field Team trials are being held right here in Eugene, Oregon, where Skipping Stones is based. Selections for the U.S. Gymnastics Team are currently being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the U.S. Swim Team trials were held last week in Indianapolis, Indiana to select the best swimmers.

Swimmer Michael Phelps represented the United States in the Summer Olympics in 2000-2016. He has earned a record 28 Olympic medals, including 23 gold! Here is a portrait of Michael drawn by Viraj, a ten-year old student in Mumbai, India.

Now all eyes are on Paris! Who will be the next Michael Phelps? Who will get the gold medals in the dozens of different sports and games—athletics, basketball, running, volleyball, and so many other events.

—editors

Michael Phelps, Aquatic Superhero

“It was a great delight to draw a sketch of the most successful American swimmer, Michael Phelps, whose Olympic records are simply commendable and unimaginable, especially for a ten-year old boy like me!
When I read a few articles about him, I was awe-struck as I wondered how a boy who was so naughty and hyperactive in his younger days eventually discovered his strength in his weakness. He is a true inspiration for children like me, particularly those who had a tremendous phobia of water and have now been able to overcome the fear and have seriously taken up the sports to pro level.
His astonishing world record in multiple events, and more importantly the mental toughness that he exhibited, was proved when he spoke about his sheer sacrifice of holidays, birthdays, Christmas and his relentless hard work exhibited in the pool. How right he is, but trust me, very difficult to inculate!
Nonetheless, there is lot to learn from this incredible guy; man of great accomplishments.
So, this is a small token of huge respect to our “Aquatic Superhero” on his upcoming birthday on 30^th June, from this tiny, little Indian boy.”

—Viraj Ajgaonkar, Grade 6, Mumbai, India.

Why Aren’t We?

By Henry Bakos, H.S. Junior, Washington

There are an uncountable number of things I should be doing.
This very instant.
The should-be’s of
working on late homework,
responding to friends,
thinking of my future…

But am I?
No. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

How many late math papers,
waiting friends, unplanned futures
do you think are out there? Why?

The mass of problems plague this world,
climate change, racism, homophobia, misogyny,
and the fact that kids are being slaughtered.
By their own classmates.
Why is nobody else climbing this bloody hill
to take down this monument of debt, death and deceit?

These things should be universally abhorrent,
they should be struck down the moment their ugly head
emerges from their loathsome den.

I’m just a White boy
who checks almost every box for privilege,
who hasn’t seen half of the atrocities that ravage our world.
Compared to many I live in a small, safe haven
that sure has its issues but what doesn’t, right?

I live shielded
in a society that covers up the very thing I’m being shielded from,
letting me ignore the beast
that ravenously takes black men
and imprisons them.
Or the ghoul that makes women watch over their shoulders
every time they leave their house.
Or the fiend whispering in Asian student’s ears,
making them feel worthless
when not living up to the stereotypes that plague them.

Because of who I am,
who I was born to,
who I wish to be,
I have not had to experience these,
only watch from out the window.
And even then, I know things must change.
Why does it seem that
not one person
seems to be sucked into this endless vortex,
this gyre of problems,
that seems to conquer anything foolish enough to approach it?

But wait.
Maybe that’s the problem.
Maybe nobody is willing to sail into this whirlpool
for fear they will be sucked down
and have left no more impact than a small wake that quickly fades
too fast for anyone to even realize it was ever there.
But surely it can’t swallow us all.

Surely if we just tried hard enough,
if we were smart enough,
and if we read the wind,
we should be able to find a path through it,
and get to the beautiful warm shallows
where we find nothing but a cool breeze
and the water is so still that
there is not even a pull of the tides.

—Henry Bakos, High School Junior, Washington.

World Environment Day, June 5

The World Environment Day, June 5

Snow-fed mountain streams bring us water year around. Photo taken in the Oregon Cascades by Arun N. Toké.

Greetings! We wish you all a very happy World Environment Day, being observed today (5 June 2024) around the world with the theme of Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.

World Environment Day is one of the biggest international day for remembering our relationship to the environment. Led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and held annually since 1973, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach (similar to the Earth Day that has been observed in the United States since 22 April 1970). It is celebrated by millions of people across the world.

Our Backyard Garden. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Early this morning, as I began my day, I ventured out in our backyard garden, nibbled on a handful of berries that had ripened, and looked at how the garden was doing in the warm, late spring weather. Then later while I bicycled to work, I enjoyed the clean air that I breathed in and appreciated the shrubs and trees that enlivened my way to work. This daily, relaxed way of commuting to work gives me some time to think on what I need to focus on at work and to plan my day to achieve the needed tasks.

Without the natural environment (aka biosphere) that makes life on our precious Earth possible, we simply can’t exist. We owe Mother Nature our immense gratitude for this lifetime of opportunity to experience the incredible beauty and complexity of life.

Vultures Devouring a Dead Seal on the Waldport Beach, Oregon. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Let us do everything humanly possible to keep the biosphere intact. Let’s appreciate what nature has sustained for millions of years. Human life has been around for just a small fraction of that time. True, with our intelligence and industry, we are able to alter the natural conditions in our surroundings for our temporary pleasures. And that is a big problem! We don’t see the long-term impact of what our technology and industry, economic and political systems, and greedy ways are able to do.

Land restoration is a key pillar of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, which is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Visit the World Environment Day website.

As we observe the World Environment Day, I would like to leave you with some images I carry with me on my cellphone. Whenever I look at them, I remember my immersions in nature—be it working in the garden, camping, hiking, and wandering through the woods, rafting in a river, kayaking in a quiet lake, or feeling tiny in the vicinity of the Pacific Ocean—that these moments represent.

Pacific Ocean near Yachats, Oregon. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Three Sisters, Oregon Cascades. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Many Great Blue Herons Enjoying a Winter Afternoon near the Delta Ponds, Eugene. Photo: Arun N. Toké

A Big Compost Bin in my Friend’s Backyard Produces Rich Soil for Garden. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Paul Dix’s Lettuce and Chives Patch Produced Tasty Greens! Photo: Arun N. Toké

“Walking Onions” in Paul Dix’s Garden Provide Onions, Season after Season! Photo by Arun N. Toké.

Whispers in the Waves

By Ella Schott, h. s. junior, Connecticut

When she first arrived in the small town, she realized how much quieter life was on this side of the world. Everything moved slower in a village that was cradled by the ocean, rocked to sleep every night by its gentle lull. There was a rhythm to life in a world so remote from everything that moves to tick of a stopwatch. Milliseconds and seconds dividing up the days until life is fragmented, shattered by time. To some it is a mosaic, but others can’t swallow the shards.

Few nervous tics remained with her, the scratching at her ears, rubbing of her eyes, clicking of her fingernails. She could walk in silence without the need for a drone in her ears. When she first found herself able to exist in the silence, she was brought to tears.

One afternoon she wandered down to the shore, stripped off her sandals and made her way into the open arms of the ocean.

Since she was a little girl, and her family first visited the ocean, she could hear the waves calling to her. She had lived by a beach, but this was the real ocean, not one gripped by land.

Dancing with the waves, back and forth, the foam playing at her feet. Finally, she gave in, picking up her skirt and running full force against the waves. When she was little her mother would try to hold her hand, pull her away from the rapture of the waves. Her mother would explain that one should wait until the waves receded, then dash for deeper water. But she always plunged in just when she knew she might be knocked down, when the sea was beckoning to her with curling foam.

She reveled in the thump of the wave against her torso. A few more steps and she dove under the wave, eyes pressed tightly together. When she emerged, she could float on her back on waves that were yet to be born.

Lying there, she watched the sun crisp the tops of the waves, closing her eyes every so often. The ocean wrapped its soothing fingers around her.

I wish I could lay here forever.

—Caecilia (Ella) Schott, high school junior, Connecticut. She writes:
“I am an avid writer. My cultural background is German and Norwegian, but my family has been in America for a long time. I speak English and recently earned my seal of bi-literacy in French for speaking, reading, and writing… I find comfort and companionship in animals. I also foster cats, and volunteer at my local pet store. My dream is to become a professor of English and History. I was inspired to write this short story by my own connection with nature, and fear of losing it.”