Childhood vs. Adulthood

As we get nearer and nearer to graduation, and many kids become legal adults, a certain issue needs to be addressed. The idea of adulthood might be skewed as we approach all of these “lasts.” We might think that there is a border, a line that we cross to take us into adulthood. This isn’t true.

Ishmam, don’t sell your DS.

Specifically, don’t sell your DS so your dad will buy and pay for service for an iPhone. I will get rid of the logistical problems to start. Where would you be selling your DS? If you sell it at GameStop, there will be no reason for you to use that credit. When you go to college, won’t you lose this? Your dad won’t want to pay for your service when you go away in… seven months?

You called this childhood versus adulthood, and I said, yes, so keep your DS.

If we’re going to compare them, we have to see what they have in common.

iPhone games? That’s adulthood? You want to get rid of the games that you can play for fifty hours for games that you’ll play for five minutes?

Do you remember what you went through to get that DS? Do you remember getting caught with that pink DS by Mr. O’Neill? How exhilarating is texting in class? How many people get caught texting in class?

What can you do with an iPhone that you can’t with a DS and a normal phone?

Look, Ishmam. You can’t make yourself an adult by having an iPhone. You are who you are because you have that DS. You and I have so many memories because of that DS. You might sacrifice your DS, your memories, for something you think will make you an adult. You can’t get rid of that part of you, and you shouldn’t want to.

Ishmam, don’t sell your DS. Who would play Pokémon with me?

A New Story

by Daisy Oak - LorringtonPost.com
February 27, 1996

I awoke early in the morning to a loud crash. At first, I worried that it was another explosion over the sea to the South like the one that happened about a year ago. It was the sound of my teenage neighbor leaving his house in a rage. I think he must have broken the door by how loud the noise was. I ran to the window and saw him standing at the edge of the sea. He threw his head back and roared.

"Where are you?!"

I couldn't tell you who he meant, but it was chilling. He sat at the edge of the water for a while. Lights came on in the other houses. Surprisingly, his own house stayed quiet. Red's mother stayed inside. My brother, Blue, decided to put on a coat and go check on his friend. From my vantage point, I could see that the encounter did not go well. Red got up in a fury and ran to the North edge of town, where the tall grass begins.

Blue ran to my Grandfather's lab, and moments later I saw Professor Oak in his nightgown running across the town after Red. He managed to calm him down and bring him back to his lab. Feeling that the situation was resolved, I went back to sleep.

In the morning I went to visit Karen, Red's mother. She was sitting at the kitchen table, looking stunned. "All boys leave home some day. It says so on the TV," she said. She didn't say much else.

I assumed Red was gone, and possibly Blue with him, but when I got back home, I saw the both of them standing in the living room, looking expectant.

"Hey sis, do you have any extra town maps we can borrow?"

I gave them each a town map, and they showed me the new Pokemon they received the night prior. Red seemed a lot calmer with his Charmander there to keep him company. Red left after a while and Blue and his Squirtle stayed to help clean up the dishes from breakfast.

"The Pokemon League better watch out," Blue said, "because Red's out there with a vengeance and I'll make sure to work even harder!"

These two boys might make a difference in Kanto this year, I thought.

Recent Crime Hike has Many Leaving Saffron

by Ed Lorrington - Saffron Star
February 27, 1992

The recent spike in activity of the group calling itself Team Rocket has lead many to leave Saffron City to more rural areas. The number of abandoned buildings and houses continues to increase, as no one is moving in to the city. Those who have stayed are mostly Silph employees, as well as those who cannot afford to find a new place to live.

"In the end, we cannot affect your final decisions," said Ernesto Ruedas, the Mayor of Saffron City, "but we strongly encourage people to stay in the city." The Mayor and the Police Chief affirm that they are working on controlling the crime in the city, but many are dissatisfied.

Karen Ransom does not believe that the city is making any effort to control the rampant crime. "We have to get out of this city, where so much has gone wrong this past year," Mrs. Ransom sai. She and her friend Daisy Oak are relocating to Pallet Town with the aid of Ms. Oak's grandfather, the renowned Professor Samuel Oak.

One of the Saffronians staying had a positive twist on the situation. "Maybe with all these people going, those Team Rocket members posing as normal citizens might also leave, and then the crime will go down," said Karl Ritters, the shopkeeper at the Mart in town.

Silph Co. did not make any statement on the current situation in Saffron. Silph's assets extend across the whole region, and their sales are not limited to Saffron alone. "All these people moving out will still be shopping at Marts-- they'll still be giving their Pokédollars to Silph," said Ritters.

Tragic Accident Leads to Death of Two Police Officers

by Ed Lorrington - Saffron Star
January 4, 1992

An unfortunate accident early this morning lead to the death of two police officers. Captain Jack Ransom and his partner John Oak were found dead at 4:17 this morning inside an abandoned Rocket Corporation building, covered in debris. Part of the building's second floor had collapsed on them. So far, there are no signs of foul play.

The police chief, Randall Evans, said the two were investigating a report that wanted criminals had been sighted inside. The building had been in disrepair ever since the collapse of the Rocket Corporation. Further investigators could not find any evidence of the building being inhabited.

"It was a very unfortunate accident," said Chief Evans, "and the whole force will greatly miss John and Jack."

Captain Ransom is survived by his wife, Karen, and his son, Red, who is six years old.
Oak's daughter, Daisy, is a writer for the Saffron Star, and Oak's son, Blue, is also six years old. The two families were very close.

Neither Mrs. Ransom nor Ms. Oak could be reached for a statement.

The amount of gang-related crime has gone down on the streets, but the Police warn against complacency. "We know that there are underground activities going on," said Detective Sargeant Harrelson, "but in this case we have no evidence that the collapse of the floor was an act of murder."

Unemployment Rate Rises in Saffron

by Daisy Oak - Saffron Star
Dec. 12, 1990

Since the Rocket Corporation closed its doors in October, very few of the former employees have found jobs. Surprisingly, Silph Co. did not re-hire the Rocket employees that it could have repurposed. Instead of taking advantage of the Rocket Corporation buildings, they now sit empty along the streets in Saffron.

Saffron has become a different place since Giovanni left. The police have had a lot more crime to deal with. Most of the convicted criminals are unemployed. Citizens of Saffron don't feel as safe on the streets.

The Saffron Star does not normally report rumors, but we feel compelled by the overwhelming amount of called-in tips. There are rumors that some of the crime is organized by a group calling themselves Team Rocket. There is no solid information on how this group is connected to Rocket Corporation. The Saffron Star will report any further developments.

Rumors Surfacing on Former Rocket Leader

by Daisy Oak - Saffron Star
November 15, 1990

It has been reported that the old laboratory on Cinnabar Island has resumed activity, and that it has to do with Giovanni, the former business magnate and owner of Rocket Corporation.

The loss of Rocket Corporation did not seem to greatly affect Giovanni, and compared to the rest of his sparkling career, this is a minor setback.

Giovanni came into the public eye as a fantastic Trainer with a mastery of Ground-Type Pokemon. Giovanni collected the then-seven badges of Kanto and challenged the Elite Four. His campaign was widely publicized. Unfortunately, he lost against the Champion, Agatha, but he was immediately offered a position as the eighth gym leader of Kanto.

As a gym leader, he took out a research grant for a bold idea. Giovanni used  computer progams to create the cyber-Pokemon, Porygon. The public response was so receptive that Giovanni had to create a way to mediate sales. So he built the Rocket Game Corner, where Porygon was the top prize. The Rocket enterprise was born.

Giovanni was always interested in science, and with his newfound fortune, he began research on what interested him the most: Life.

Giovanni still has much of his initial fortune, and it is reported that experiments have been going on in his Cinnabar mansion along with the experiments in the laboratory.

Rocket Corporation Crumbles

by Daisy Oak - Saffron Star
Oct. 29, 1990

Today, the economic landscape of Saffron City is changed forever. The Rocket Corporation has sold all of its remaining public assets to Silph Co.Rocket has been in trouble over the past year, and this was the last piece of the puzzle.

Rocket Industries, a partner company to Rocket Corporation, had to shut down the power plant north of Lavender Town last winter due to undisclosed issues. The Rocket Game Corner reported that it lost money this last fiscal year for the first time since it opened eight years ago. Then finally, Rocket lost the race with Silph to provide affordable medicine to the masses.

"Rocket Corporation was an interesting venture, but I'm ready to move on," said Giovanni, the former owner of Rocket Corporation. He added, "for those of you still interested in my other projects, I still intend to continue those." Giovanni plans to return to his mansion on Cinnabar Island with his one year old son. The mansion is where he reportedly has these "other projects."

"Taking care of my son is of top priority. I came to realize that over this year," said Giovanni in his final press conference before he left Saffron.

It is February Sixth

I went for a bike ride today.

Ishmam noted how nice it was outside. He said it was so nice that he wanted to blog. We both agreed that was pretty pathetic, so he left to go on a bike ride. About half an hour later, I shoved myself up from my spot in front of the computer. I went upstairs, put on my alpaca fur cap and some shorts, and wrote a note.

I’m going on a BIKE RIDE. Yeah.

The note didn’t matter however, because right as I was putting on my shoes, the garage door opened. My mom and brother stared at me as the car pulled in to the garage. My brother started laughing. “What’re you doing?!” my mom asked. After several questions about my well-being in regards to the cold, I inflated the tires on my bike and took off.

I had to walk for a good ten minutes because the path to the park was covered in snow and ice. I had to improvise a bit in order to bike my way home. When I was walking my bike through the snow, I realized that life would go on, whether or not I blogged about it or not. I thought about why Cross Country runners do their thing, and how it was similar to me riding my bike. I thought about how this was one of the only times I hadn’t brought an MP3 player with me. I usually listen to a playlist while out biking.

There were a lot of people walking, all bundled up. One older gentleman smiled at me and said “That’s the spirit!” I have found that when I bike, I am more likely to blog.

When the snow is all melted, I’m going to bike every day after school, like I did in the spring of tenth grade.

Bring it on!