The Cousins of Andy

Once upon a time there was a family who was going on a trip to their cousins' house.
In the family was a 8 year old boy named Andy, his 12 year old sister Aggie, and their parents.

On the day of the trip Aggie got up and went to her brother's room to wake him up.
Aggie woke her brother and saw that he was glum,
whereas when they usually went to their cousins' house he had ants in his pants.

Aggie asked, "What's wrong? Have you waken up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Slowly and cautiously Andy questioned her, "Promise you won't tell?"
"Promise," replied Aggie.

So steadily Andy let the cat out of the bag,

"Well our cousins just drive me up the wall,
they kick me and hit me until I'm bruised and scratched,
but I'm too scared to tell mom and dad."

"Well," started Aggie considering.

Just then their parents shouted, "Aggie! Andy! Let's hit the road!"

So minutes later the two of them in the driveway.
Then Aggie suddenly ran into the house leaving Andy to wonder.

Meanwhile, Aggie was spilling the beans to her parents,
reminding them carefully to not tell Andy until the right time.

The family got in their car and drove to their cousins' house which took 4 hours;
to Andy time flew too fast.

When they got there Andy groaned,
caught himself
and quickly changed his pained expression to a wide grin.

His sister whispered, "Take this bull by the horns!"

Andy gulped nervously,
he had butterflies in his stomach.

When the cousins started poking Andy in the back,
he hissed to one of them, Abby,
"Cut it out!"

When Syd kicked him under the table he said,
"Stop being a wet blanket!"

At the end of dinner Andy mustered up all his courage and told his parents,
"Our cousins are a bad egg," while showing them a bruise.

His mom told him that the matter was already settled by telling the cousins' mother.
Andy felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders.
The matter of the cousins was settled.

Helen Stephens

My report is on Helen Stephens. Helen Stephens was born on February 3, 1918. Her parents owned a farm and Helen had to work hard with her younger brother, Robert Lee. As a child she dreamed that she was the fastest runner in the world. Helen went to Middle River School, but it didn’t have sports teams for her.

Luckily, when she went to Fulton High School the P.E. coach, Coach W. Burton Moore, realized how fast Helen could run and he played a part in helping her dream come true. When she was 15, he timed Helen running the 50 yard dash. Coach Moore was amazed when his stopwatch read the time 5.8 seconds, which tied the world record held by Elizabeth Robinson. Coach Moore took Helen to her first official race which was against Stella Walsh, who won a gold medal in the 1932 Olympics. Helen beat her during the 50 meter dash with 6.6 seconds, which set a new record for running on an indoor dirt track. 

Helen went to the 1936 Summer Olympics to compete in the running area. On August 4, 1936, Helen Stephens set the Olympic world record at the 100 meter dash, winning at 11.5 seconds. Nobody could beat it until Wilma Rudolph did 24 years later. Helen also competed in a relay race where she ran the last leg of the race as her team made a new world record of 46.9 seconds in the 400 meter relay race.

When she returned to Fulton, she got her college degree at William Woods College. She also played in the All-American Red Heads basketball team the Helen Stephens Olympics Co-Eds. During the World War II she worked at an aircraft plant and then the Women’s Reserve of the U.S. Marines. After the war she became a research librarian at the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center in St. Louis. Helen faced the challenge of being feminine in a masculine world.

Helen Stephens had no children and was always single. She died on January 17, 1994 at the age of 75. (Reason for death unknown.)

Helen Stephens broke many world records which led to her fame. She is in the Women’s Hall of Fame and the National United States Track and Field Hall of Fame.  She is an inspiration to many people.