Wyuka Cemetery

Staring for miles on this dreary, gloomy day I feel the pain and hardships of losing someone close. The thousands of gravesites lying beneath me instantly put a frown upon my face. It hurts the most to see the death dates on many, knowing that some did not get to live a full-filled life, and parents having to bury their young, innocent children. Or the others where you can see the death of a family, all having the same rest in peace dates. The Wyuka Cemetery located in Lincoln is one of the nicest funeral gravesites I have ever visited. Going to any gravesite has always been a slight fear of mine, fearing that the pain I once endured would be again experienced. Having to lose someone close to me is one of the hardest experiences I have gone through in my lifetime, especially the suicidal or accidental deaths. As the wind blows, I sense a feeling of spirits swimming around me. The thought worries me, but I know that these people are only trying to help, watching over the ones they left behind. I cannot fathom how many dead people there are in this cemetery, or all the others in Lincoln, let alone the rest of this world. Walking around here makes me question death and the understanding. Why can’t everyone just live until how long WE want? In my religion, I am taught that God has a plan for everyone. I do believe this statement, but sometimes it’s just hard understanding WHY. My eyes are suddenly drawn to this gravesite by the name of Ryne, tears instantly fill my eyes. This boy only lived a few years, but the Ryne I knew lived until he was nineteen, ending his life just a little over five months ago. The images flashing in my mind, the hurt and the pain of losing him, a best friend is indescribable. As I force myself to move on, I find myself stumbling over a gorgeous guardian angel statue, I feel this as a sign Ryne has sent me, reaching out and telling me he is watching over us. At once, my body is warmed and can sense a touch of security. For a moment I can feel at peace knowing that he is in a better place. I am happy that I am leaving this funeral home with the thought that I am being watched over, by all the ones I’ve lost.

Is being gay a personal choice or were people born like that? This has been a very controversial question for many years. Priests are now responding in the Lincoln Journal Star Newspaper. Reverend Stephen Griffith wants the community to know his feelings about gays, responding to an old article saying “homosexuality is a sin”. Him, along with seven other local priests, agree that the gay population should not be shunned away or discriminated because of their sexuality arguing that God made them that way.
As a child I wasn’t really aware of the gay community, and was confused on why people would make that choice. As the years passed, I met many new friends, mostly straight but a few homosexuals. I came to the realization that being gay was not a choice and you are born that way. It is sad that our nation allows companies to fire a person, male or female; if they find out they are gay. Nebraska, along with thirty other states permits it. How hard would that be to lie on a day to day basis and feel undermined because of your sexual orientation? That has to really take a toll on many people. This is sad that many have to hide their true identity from the world just to hold a job or maybe keep friends.
I was born into a religious Catholic family. We went to church every Sunday and I attended a private school from the age of four to fourteen. Some priests made it seem that being gay was wrong and it was against our religious views, others had no comment. Yes, in the Bible there are some verses that reject homosexuality but does that mean everyone has to? The Bible also says slavery is part of the social system and stoning people to death is okay but we have come to the realization that the Bible is not always right. I am glad that these local priests are speaking their mind, helping people understand that every person in the community should be treated fairly and with respect. Hopefully our local readers are touched by this article and can maybe put their feet in homosexuals’ shoes one day and get a feeling on how they are treated.

National Museum of Roller Skating

As I entered the house-like museum of Roller Skating, I was amazed by the thousands of pictures, costumes, trophies, skates, pins and much, much more. As I curiously looked around the museum, I was drawn to the hundreds of different types of roller skates that have been traced back since the early 1700’s. The first roller skate had a huge problem; they wouldn’t turn, making skating unsafe and hard to control. This problem was fixed when the father of roller skating, James Leonard Plimpton patented a safer and more efficient roller skate in 1863. Thereafter he opened a skating factory in New York City and Rhode Island, thus turning roller skating into an enjoyable family activity. Since then, there have been rinks on wheels; a traveling rink, ice rinks, roller rinks, and hockey rinks.

There have been many odd and unusual skates, some looking as if they would be impossible to ride. I was drawn to a few certain skates. One was composed of three wheels, each weighing slightly more than seven pounds. Another looked as if the roller skate was sitting on metal stilts, floating a couple feet in the air. Since those skates, patentees have decided there needs to be ways of enforcing to skate safe. Using knee-pads, helmets, elbow pads, and wrist guards have helped this problem. Skating has revolutionized across the world, not only being used as a leisured activity, but also as a competitive sport and delivering meals to people at fast food restaurants. This sport 'rolls' with a few down sides; easily falling, spraining ankles, breaking bones, running into each other, thus explaining why safety is so important.

Same as the roller skate, costumes have changed over the last few decades. The art of skating is enhanced by the costumes that the roller skaters wear. The style has changed dramatically from the 1950’s to today, going from highly decorated to very simple and back to flashy. This museum gives information not only about roller skating but alot of other intersting facts that I would have ever imagined. Since going to this museum, I have a greater appreciation for the sport of skating and a better understanding of where roller skating was invented and how it is used across the world.