Dear Editor:
Have you ever considered trying to smoke? If you really wanted, or want to, do not even think about it! Here is a little poem about why you should not smoke and what smoking can do to you.
Do Not Smoke
The most horrible damage you can do to your body is smoke,not only that but it can make you choke.It makes your lungs turn black like the chimney of a trainand makes you stink like manure in the rain.It gets you very very sickand makes you look as thin as a pencil stick.If you keep wanting to smoke as much as you canit will turn you into a fried egg on a frying pan.So if you know what is best and nutritiousgo back to chewing great old Bubblicious.
— Read S., 12, Chicago
It’s bad, it stinks, and I don’t want it in my face. Restaurants should be smoke free.
One reason, if smoke gets on someone’s body it stinks very bad. Also, if someone has asthma and they breathe in smoke from someone else, it can affect their lungs. Finally, smoke is very deadly, and it can harm a lot of people.
This happened to my dad one time: He got home from a restaurant and I went to go say hello, but I couldn’t because his shirt smelled like smoke. It was so bad that I decided not to go near him.
Secondly, when I go into a restaurant, I start to cough from the smoke because of my asthma. This ruins my whole night.
Finally, smoke is very deadly, and it harms a lot of people. My great- grandma smoked a lot, got lung cancer and died because of it.
— Courtney C., 12, Northbrook
SLICE OF THANKS
In response to your article “We hang with the pizza guy” (March 18 Cover): I’m really glad that you printed an article for the forgotten pizza deliverer. Many of us don’t appreciate the delivery person who brings the hot pizza to our door. We just assume that it will get to us, but we don’t really care how it gets to us.
I hope that the next time anyone orders pizza, they will think about your article and will give the person a big tip. After all, you do want to be cool, don’t you?
— Tommy S., 10, Skokie
BUFFY BUFF
I commend you for writing about the new series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (March 18 Cover). I’ve seen a couple of the shows. It was good.
— Amy L., Skokie
WHY FINE ‘EM?
I think that sports athletes should not be fined any money (March 18 Sports). What I think is they should give the players a break. I mean, they practice to give you a game and entertainment and you just fine them and reject them.
— George T., 10, Skokie
I think fines are too much money to the athletes. They have to pay a lot of money just because of one action. It could be up to a million-dollar fine. But I think it is good the money goes to charity.
— Bara K., Skokie
I thought it was interesting that if an NBA player gets a technical foul, he gets fined $500 and if he gets ejected, he gets fined $1,000. I think the problem is that the fines are so little to them it doesn’t make them stop behaving badly.
I also noticed the NFL fines are bigger than the NBA’s. I think the NFL is doing a better job than the NBA. I think that the NBA should raise fines.
— Jeffrey D., 10, Skokie
ANOTHER WORM?
I totally disagree with the article “Another Rodman? Don’t be rude!” (March 18 Sports). There would never be another Rodman and if there was, Dennis would be the best and I think Williams is just acting kinda like him because he wants to be famous like Dennis.
— Amber C., Skokie
ATHLETIC SUPPORTERS
I agree with Troy V. (March 18 Bactkalk) about getting mad at professional athletes when they’re playing a game. Look at Dennis Rodman; he sometimes makes mistakes, but he’s still a good and popular basketball player in the NBA. And what about Frank Thomas? He sometimes gets out when he’s up to bat, but he’s still a great baseball player. These athletes should get respect. They work hard and get tired by doing all that running in the game. They help their teams win.
— Chirag P., 11, Skokie
Troy V., do you think some of the things Dennis Rodman does are OK because he’s famous? If you were kicked by Rodman, would you still think he had that “right”? We don’t.
— Danae E., 13, Melissa R., 13, Homewood
COOL GAME
I DISAGREE WITH FUN AND GAMES (MARCH 18 PLAYING AROUND). I’VE PLAYED ”THE CROW: CITY OF ANGELS,” AND I THINK IT’S A COOL GAME!
THE KICKS, HEAD BUTTS AND PUNCHES BY ASHE NEVER GET BORING. AND THE COOL GRAPHICS AND SOUNDTRACK NEVER GET BORING. I THINK ALL MOVIES SHOULD BE MADE INTO VIDEO GAMES.
— MIKE F., 10, SKOKIE
TELL IT LIKE IT IS
I agree with your article “No lie! Totally telling the truth is tough.” I think only a very strong and brave person can be always honest, because most of the times, people lie in order to escape responsibility. When you lie often, it becomes obvious sooner or later, and you can easily lose respect of your friends or upset the loved ones.
From now on, I will try to do my best to avoid telling lies. Only one thing bothers me in telling total truth: You have to be very careful not to hurt somebody’s feelings.
I plan to see the movie “Liar Liar” over spring break. I will be very interested to see how Jim Carrey handles being totally truthful.
— Greg B., Skokie
I totally agree with this article. It is sometimes impossible not to tell one little white lie. Well, sure you can avoid big ones, but those little ones just keep on hitting you. After all, not telling a single white lie after you have already ruined your rep is not worth it.
— Nima S., 11, Skokie
Editor’s note: Skokie kids ruled this week! Thanks for all the letters! (Who will rule next week?)
HEY, LOYAL BACKTALK READERS:
Forget the half-baked April Fools’ tricks you did in the past. You’ll eat up the following trick. (We ran across it in the current issue of Nickelodeon magazine, which is loaded with fun stunts and pranks.)
BE A SPUD SPAZ
If you’re eating mashed potatoes, sneak a Mr. PoTato Head mustache into your spuds. Then hold it up on a fork, look at the cook, and ask, “How could you?”
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