2019 OCPL WINTER WRITING CONTEST WINNERS - 2019 theme: Self Improvement The Winter Writing Contest is sponsored by the Oldham County Public ...
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2019 OCPL WINTER WRITING
CONTEST WINNERS
2019 theme:
Self Improvement
The Winter Writing Contest is
sponsored by the Oldham
County Public Library Adult
Writers’ Group.
1
CONTEST RULES
Adult Category (ages 18+): Participants were asked to choose an epigraph
from the supplied list and write on the topic of "Self Improvement". Submis-
sions could be poetry, flash fiction, or creative non-fiction and limited to 500
words. Epigraphs supplied:
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving,
and that’s your own self.” -Aldous Huxley
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” -Leonard
Cohen
“Small projects need much more help than great.” - Dante Alighieri
Youth Category (5-17): Young writers were asked to write a personal essay or
flash fiction story (500 word limit) about how they imagined their life would
be in fifty years. Judging was broken down into further age categories
(Children’s 5-8 years; Pre-Teen 9-12 years; and Teen 13-17 years), but reflect-
ed the same prompt.
Judging: All entries were judged anonymously by the members of the Adult
Writers’ Group, based on a rubric of their creation that reflected the submis-
sion guidelines, thematic appropriateness, artistic merit, writing mechanics,
and overall appeal.
The Adult Writers’ Group wishes to thank everyone who participated in this
year’s competition! The Writers’ Group meets bi-weekly at the Main Library
(Saturdays, 10am) and all are welcome.
2Table of Contents
Adult Category Winner: Erica J Scott Pages 4-5
Adult Category Runner Up: Travis S. McClain Pages 6-7
Adult Category Runner Up: Rod Smothers Pages 8-9
Teen Category Winner: Remington A.R. Moslemi Pages 10-11
Teen Category Runner Up: Isha Chauhan Pages 12-13
Teen Category Runner Up: Meredith Kovarovic Page 14
Pre-Teen Category Winner: Jackson LeVeck Page 15
Pre-Teen Category Runner Up: Elisabeth Farmer Page 16
Pre-Teen Category Runner Up: Maximus Spring Page 17
Children’s Category Winner: Tatum Nelson Page 18
Children’s Category Runner Up: Korah LeVeck Page 19
Children’s Category Runner Up: Landon LeVeck Page 20
3Adult Entry Winner: Erica J. Scott (Creative Non-Fiction)
“Small projects need much more help than great” –Dante Alighieri
“Bless This Mess”
My house is a mess.
It is a cluttered, disorganized mess. The walls need a fresh coat
of paint, the carpet needs replacing, and the bathrooms need a
makeover. My furniture is old, cracked, and falling apart.
For almost 17 years, I have lived in this house with my husband. I
have let the clutter pile up. Every year, I make mental plan to
start organizing, cleaning, and making updates. And every year, I
always push those plans aside, and find any and every excuse
not to start. Then, about 3 years ago, I finally had enough. I de-
cided that I could no longer live in disarray. I began to get serious
about getting the house in order. I envisioned what my house
would look like finished. I could practically smell the fresh paint,
and feel the new carpet under my toes.
Like all home projects, it started off with a bang, and then fiz-
zled. We weren’t accomplishing as much as I wanted, and I was
overwhelmed. I would look around the house and all I could see
was a sagging, outdated home. My frustration was mounting.
Then, I had an encounter that would change everything.
A few weekends ago, I was running errands. As I was walking out
of the grocery store to my car, I heard a homeless man playing
the guitar and singing. Every belonging he had in the world was
on ground beside him. I stood still, my attention pulled to this
4scene. I listened to him for a while.
I went into the nearby convenience store. I bought a few hot
sandwiches, some water, a bag of chips, and a hot coffee. As I
handed him the food, along with a blanket and some other sup-
plies that I had in my car, we chatted. He told me his name was
John, and that he worked when he could find jobs. In the eve-
nings, he played the guitar and sang. He said some days if he
made enough, he and his girlfriend stayed in a hotel. He told me
that he felt blessed to have the ability to play; that it was his gift.
We chatted for a few more minutes, and then he left to catch the
bus.
As I drove home, I contemplated my house. The scuffed walls,
the hard water stains in the tub, the old, worn carpet and the
sagging furniture.
I arrived home about a half an hour later, still thinking about
John. I looked around my house again, and took stock of all that I
had. I saw walls that had kept me warm and dry. I saw furniture
that held my exhausted bones after a long day. I saw a bathtub
with hot, running water. I saw a fully stocked fridge and pantry. I
said a silent prayer of thanks to John.
Sometimes self-improvement begins with a new perspective.
5Adult Entry Runner Up: Travis S. McClain (Flash Fiction)
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving,
and that’s your own self.” -Aldous Huxley
I soaked the wall with Chardonnay last night.
I’m not saying I’m proud of it; just that I did it. Also, it wasn’t my
wall. If it makes any difference, I had a real good reason. See, it
was New Year’s Eve and Trish had her annual party and Tony
was insisting….
“Karaoke!” he boomed, holding the mic unnecessarily close to
his mouth. He had only been drinking one beer each hour, on
the hour, so he was pretty much sober. I think this made him
view himself as ringleader of our little circus. There were several
friends, some of Trish’s neighbors, some plus-ones, and a boxer-
Chihuahua mutt that was terrified of everything and everyone
that had been hiding since around 8:30. In the morning.
The thing about karaoke is that timing is everything. You can
have it set up early so everyone expects it later, like Chekhov’s
gun. Or you can wait for a moment to present itself when the
energy seems right and it feels organic. Or you can do what Tony
did: just break it out while half of everyone else is already doing
something else and enjoying themselves.
“Dude, we’re playing a game,” I called back, not wanting to look
away from Rainbow Road and hoping he realized I was shouting
at him. I was holding onto a thin lead on the second lap and I re-
ally wanted to win this time.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun,” he began, setting off a frustrating back-and-
forth that followed me into the third lap. I countered each plea,
but to no avail. The finish line came into sight. And then Tony
reached down from behind me on the couch and shook my
shoulders, causing me to drive right off the track and lose. I said
some impolite things. He laughed and walked back to his micro-
6phone.
That’s when I hurled the bottle of Chardonnay across the room.
It was supposed to be a harmless spectacle. I was aiming for the
bean bag in the corner. I also thought it was empty. I felt that it
wasn’t, but my brain didn’t process that until I’d already chucked
it.
“What the hell, Christy?” Tony shouted.
The christening of her living room wall had roused Trish’s atten-
tion from the kitchen, along with pretty much everyone else.
Everyone just kinda stopped talking all at once and froze. I’d
gone from playing Mario Kart to halting the entire party in a sin-
gle moment. There was a blend of confusion, fear, and anger
washing over everyone.
I shouldn’t have, but I laughed.
“Seriously, what the hell, Christy?” Tony repeated. “You think
this is funny?”
“You were annoying?” Why was I asking, like it was a question?
Tony snorted. “You need to be less violent!” he countered.
I paused.
I reflected.
And I found my New Year’s resolution.
I need to work on my throwing.
7Adult Entry Runner Up: Rod Smothers (Flash Fiction)
“Small projects need much more help than great” –Dante Alighieri
Into the Fire
Sam Ward sat on a bench at a tire dealership on a fine spring day
with a book in his lap. An old Taurus pulled into the parking lot
right in front of him. Later, Sam and the driver exchanged smiles
as she joined him on the bench. She was about 18.
“Looks like you’re due,” he pointed to the steel showing through
the treads.
“Yeah, that car was a graduation gift. If I knew how much it
would cost me, I might have turned it down,” she laughed.
“I know what you’re talking about….one of those gifts that keeps
on taking,” he mused.
“The plan was to use this to get to some college classes in the fall
but the tuition money is all going to be in the car!”
The light breeze ruffled Sam’s hair and felt like an actual caress
on his face….an unseen, cool hand.
“What will be your major,” he asked.
“I’d like to say English literature but that’s not very practical and
money is tight so probably computer science….I’ve done a little
coding,” she replied. She nodded toward his book, “what are
you reading?”
“Dante’s Inferno - I just retired and I’m trying to get through a list
of classics”
“Sounds hellish,” she quipped.
Sam smiled. “It’s not exactly light reading.”
8“I haven’t read it but two people in my class gave presentations
on it,” she said. “So I know a little. Nine circles and all that.”
She paused and looked at the clouds drifting across a vivid blue
sky. “Some know first-hand”
Sam wasn’t sure how to respond….she was only a kid; what was
her life like?
He nodded in agreement. “Life is hard,” was all he could come
up with.
“Compared to what,” she said.
Good question. He thought of the changes he had faced and the
confusion that surfaces after a lifetime of work. Part of the rea-
son for his reading list was an attempt to put it all in perspective,
to understand how life passes so quickly and to figure out his
purpose now.
“All I can tell you is you have to work hard and work smart and
there’s still no guarantee.”
She looked him dead in the eye, “yeah, I think I’ve got that part
down pat.” She paused and then continued, “My Dad lost his job
and my Mom found out she has breast cancer. Not a good year.”
Sam was speechless. She was looking at an uphill climb at the
beginning of her life and he was coasting aimlessly at the far end.
Before he could respond, the door opened and the guy motioned
him inside. He stood and said, “that is a tough road you’ve
got……don’t give up.”
“Yeah, right” was her reply.
Sam felt powerless as he waited to pay. He looked at the title of
his book and remembered a quote of Dante’s as he instructed
the manager to put the girl’s tires on his bill. It was a small pro-
ject.
9Teen Entry Winner: Remington A.R. Moslemi
A Not So Brief Answer to the Big Question of
2069
Tuesday, December 10th, 2069. Oslo, Norway.
A green apple in my left hand and in my right a tattered but be-
loved copy of Steven Hawking’s “Brief Answers to the Big Ques-
tions”, which had survived multiple round trips to both our moon
and Mars, I approach the podium to accept the 2069 Nobel
Peace Prize. “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Royal Family and Nobel
Prize Laureates. In this brief time, I cannot possibly tell you all
the riddles solved, nor can I list
everyone who assisted me on this journey. Therefor, I dedicate
this award to the late Professor Steven Hawking for igniting the
initial spark that eventually led to our colonization of Mars and
Earth’s Moon and to my Sister, Dr. Willow Moslemi, for her con-
tributions in Cosmic Botany.”
“To quote Hawking in 2018: ‘ We cannot continue to look in-
wards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and over-
crowded planet, through scientific endeavor and technological
innovation we must look outwards, to the wider Universe, while
also striving to fix the problems on Earth.’ End Quote.”
I take a deep, appreciative breath of clean, earthly oxygen and
notice my Sis wink to me from the front row. I smile at her, feel-
ing confident as I continue. “Half a century ago, on a snowy win-
ter morning, I’d sat at the kitchen table in Kentucky, having been
challenged by my family and local librarians to write about how I
imagined my life in 50 years. Willow had laughed herself to tears
when I stated that I would be among the great scientists respon-
sible for solving the riddle of Nuclear Fusion, which would lead
to global colonization of our Moon and Mars, end all wars and
eliminate overcrowding as well as famine.” I pause and smile to
myself, reminiscing.
10Glancing towards my apple, I go on. “Each time I hit a road block,
I remembered Hawking’s words and my Sister’s teary laughter.
However, she wasn’t laughing on our first return trip from Mars.
She was, in fact, tightly clutching a barf bag, her face the same
color as the apples she had grown on Mars.” I hold up the apple,
and say, “Trust me, it was easier growing this apple than getting
it past customs.” That caused well-mannered snickers to spread
across the hall. “It was a week ago that I arrived in my
hometown of Goshen, Kentucky. In an attempt to shake off my
Space-legs, I took a walk with my ten-year-old granddaughter,
Phoebe, along the same paths I had hiked at her age in Mahan
Nature Preserve. The forest was barely recognizable to me, if not
for the American chestnut and Birch trees my sister and I had
planted in the 2020s and 30s. Underneath a forty-foot tall Chest-
nut, she asked me the same, burning question that numerous
reporters had been pestering me with since my return to
Earth. ‘Where to next?’”
Lifting the book above my head, I close my speech with, “Today I
officially announce to my fellow Nobel Laureates, and to the Uni-
verse that we will be traveling to, and colonizing, my grand-
daughter’s namesake, Saturn’s moon, Phoebe.”
-Dr. Remington A.R. Moslemi
11Teen Entry Runner Up: Isha Chauhan
The continuing age of technology was haunting. It followed the
soul in a way that was ironically soulless, life tied to an electric
plug, flushed in emotion through a cord, attached to the lifeline
of electric companies that fixed its circuits and transferred into
the escape that we as humans crave. And yet, I imagine 50 years
from now, it is all-consuming, all-enduring and all but ending.
...
“...I understand, but honestly, isn’t it hard to fathom that a cou-
ple years ago, we watched sunsets in the sky, endlessly ema-
nating from pokes in the cloud, and now I see that whenever I
want. One setting on the remote and the windows program that
same orange hue I craved from 6 PM on Saturday nights. One
press and I can feel the same emotions crawling into me as the
purples that painted the sky so many years ago.” I marvel.
“Yes, it is truly fascinating” she replies.
“And the people. I feel so personally attached to everyone. I
know what everyone is up to, I see their lives in the screens in
front of me. I know everyone’s problems. Every life is like the
shows I used to watch on those silly screens so long ago. Reality
TV has never been so literal!” I exclaim.
“Of course, new technology means a new way of interacting” she
agrees.
“Everything has changed and yet, I have never felt such emotion.
Such power. I feel as affixed as I did years ago. Relationships
have kept me as tethered as the technology that connects us. I
don’t know how I lived so long ago. The touch of life is at my fin-
gertips, in the buttons on my remote, in the people I watch on
my screen, in you...”
Suddenly her head slumps. Low battery. Her body, fragile as it is,
falters, as her forehead folds to her legs, an odd sight for those
12who had never seen such dramatic disengagement but I know
exactly what to do. Reaching for the white cord hooked in next
her feet, I drag my hands across her back searching...searching...
“Found it!” I push the head of the cord into the socket and watch
as her eyes flood with light. No worries in losing anyone. Never
preoccupied with anything running out. Never afraid of losing
the touch of humanity. After all, everything’s rechargeable.
...
50 years from now, we gain technology at the expense of human
interaction. And ironically it provides us the same sense of hu-
manity that we feel now, although arguably in a way that leaves
us at the mercy of automation. Salvaging our own humanity, ad-
vancement and technological experience for a longer breath; for
the sake of a friend who lasts forever regardless of whether
they’re tethered to a lifeline or a plug in.
13Teen Entry Runner Up: Meredith Kovarovic
I open the door to the coffee house. It smells of coffee steam,
sweet pastries, and old oak wood. Everyone turns to look at me,
and, upon seeing I am not who they think, or maybe are hoping
for, turn back around to continue working, a staple of society. I
walk in and approach the cash register. I tell the employee I
would like two lattes, please. Nobody knows how to use manners
anymore. They all predicted that we would be using robots as
cashiers by now. They were wrong. I pick the seat by the window
where we always sit; we like to watch the train go by. This is
where it all started. It is tradition now. It has been tradition for
40 years. After about five minutes, I hear the sound of the bell
that lets the monotone cashier, named Steve by his name tag,
know that someone has entered the shop, wanting caffeine. I
turn and see who it is. Seeing her gives me flashbacks of high
school, coming in here for the first time, watching romantic com-
edy movies in my basement, stuffing our cheeks with ice cream.
She is wearing nice jeans and a black and white striped shirt,
slightly tucked in the front, her shoes, three inch heels. I feel a
little underdressed in my paint-worn jeans and t-shirt, but she
doesn’t care. I haven’t seen her in a whole month. That has got
to be a record. We squeal and reach towards each other as fast
as 66 year olds possibly can. We embrace as the rest of the
coffee shop stares in annoyance at us, clearly not wanting our
reunion to interrupt their sacred work. The next hour is bursting
with stories from my trip to more national parks and her tenth
trip to Italy. She tells me that there is this incredible gelato place
in Rome that I must visit. I tell her that she has to go skiing with
me in Colorado before we get too old. We both laugh at that. We
sip our coffee, but we, being too busy sharing our new adven-
tures with each other, could not even finish half. Eventually, we
decide it is time to part ways again. We say our goodbyes, tell
each other we will see the other next week, sooner than last
time, and drive away, both of us still driving with the windows
down. Nothing has changed.
14Pre-Teen Entry Winner: Jackson LeVeck
ME in 50 years
My first goal I will attempt to achieve within 50 years is to attend Berkley
University. I would like to graduate early and earn my Doctoral degree in
Biological science with a minor in physical science and mathmatics. I am
hoping to get into Berkley Univirsity because they have a particle accelera-
tor on campus that would greatly help me in my metaphysical studies.
Once I graduate I will enter NASA's biological astronaut training program.
After my training is complete, I will try to man an expidition to the nearby
keplar-1 system. I want to go to keplar-1 because four of the planets in the
keplar-1 solar system are high probibility planets for extraterrestrial life.
Determining if or if not these planets have life on them would set the bar
for other high life probibility planets. Although it is hard to know for sure
what I want to do when I grow up because acording to job progression
rates, 60% of todays children will be working on jobs that don't even exist
yet! This is especially true because we are on the brink of the quantum age
leading to new tecknologys, transportation, and entertainment.
Speaking of the quantum age, I have created a theory for turning matter
into light and light into matter. This would allow you to convert an object
into light then send it at light speed toa destination, then turn it back to
matter. I would love to patent my theory and someday use it for global
transportation.
Recently, I realized that once you have the object in light form, you can run
it through a solar panel then you can turn it to electrical currents. Once you
do this, you can turn it to radio signal. This means you could send it through
the air, allowing it to go even faster! This tecknology would revolutionize
tranportation forever!
Another possible path I might take in life is a zoological aproach! First I will
attend the louisiville zoo's vollenteer program. Then I will attend any uni-
versity. Once I graduate I will work for the zoo itself. I love animals and en-
joy taking care of them. I especially would love to work with very intelligent
animals like elephants, dolphins, and octopi. I would like to learn how these
species communicate. No matter what the future holds, I always know I can
rely on my family for support:)
THE END 15Pre-Teen Entry Runner Up: Elisabeth Farmer
“The fox struck again” a reporter man said “hi my name is Alex
manhood with today's report this time the fox, a slender old lady
with a fast stealing hand. She stole a large ruby who knows but
the police think Santiago is back. She was forced into hiding
when her writer came back”
I was awaken suddenly,when the dream came to an
end. something odd happened the day that got me thinking,
that day was my birthday and i got a future teller i never liked
them the way they work was you eat a little thing and something
was to happen but nothing happened i think this is my future. I
didn't like the person i was. i was Carmen Santiago but i was not
her. i was not.
The next day was worst i was walking home in m new converti-
ble shoes when a man attacked me.he injected something into
me and i fainted.
When i awoke that night i think to find i was tied up in a red fox
suet i was the “old women “
The man on the news called me i did not like this so i tried to get
up and to my surprise the fox suet cut throw it.
I heard voices in another room i heard that Alex manhood guy!
He was saying those sentences that i heard in my dream. Then
he came out of a door and saw me and smiled “welcome to the
party your mind will be erased very soon.” he said and he disap-
peared.
I looked around looking for an escape ,i saw a window and to my
relief it was unlocked
I climbed out and saw a way out but in order to do so i was going
to have to steal a ruby.
I climbed into the case and stole it ,it was fun. Soon i was out
and found i was very close to my home i climbed in my bed and
fell asleep.
In 50 years or so there might be convert able shoes, future telling
food, shots that change your identity but not yet no, now we
have none of that for now. We might want this but i like now.
16Pre-Teen Entry Runner Up: Maximus Springer
50 Years
In 50 years I see myself making an amazing one handed catch in
the endzone for the New Orleans Saints to win the Superbowl.
It’s Superbowl 102. It is 3rd and 5 at the Minnesota Vikings 30
yard line. Sam Sprimph throws a 7 yard pass to running back
Shane Worrell and he runs it for another 14 yards getting us to
our 49 yard line. There’s 2 minutes on the clock in the fourth
quarter. This will be the Saints first Superbowl win in 50 years.
Karl Jamers runs the ball 3 yards. Second and 7. 1:20 on the
clock. The play call is an outside sweep. 6 yards gained. The play
clock is running down though. The team rushes to the line of
scrimmage. Sprimph suddenly runs to the where the running
back should be. Worrell takes the snap. He looks down field.
Quickly I juke to the right of the defender but keep my speed up.
There is a pain in my chest now. I look back to see the ball being
thrown. The ball sails over my head. Overthrown! Dang. I run
faster than I’ve ever run before. Not in practice. Not in even in
the NFC championship. I’m in the touchdown now. I jump. My
feet are 3 feet off the ground. I soar towards the speeding ball.
My left arm stretches as far as a can make it. My fingertips on
the ball. Got it! I come down so quickly, I can barely even see the
fans. The rule is both feet have to touch on the ground before
you go out of bounds. I stretch my legs and it feels like a ripped a
hamstring. My calf burns. One toe down. The tip of my other
foot touches. Touchdown! We kick the extra point. It’s good! The
other team can’t win. Not even with a 2 point conversion. We
won, thanks to a trick play called by our coach, Hayden Jones.
The End
17Children’s Entry Winner: Tatum Nelson
When I am 50
Wow! Being 50 is awesome! I have a jet car! And a BIG bushy
beard!
Most importantly, I build amazing robots!
I am so very happy!
I even have grandchildren and wow are they GRAND!
I bought a hot air ballon for them and we go riding around the
town.
After having so much fun and happiness I had to get glasses and
a cane! But, it’s OKAY! Life is
still very, very good.
My grandkids call me Pop Pop!
We go fishing all the time and I play Monsters and run around
with them they way my Daddy
also played with me when I was a young kiddo.
I love being 50! But, I loved being a kid too!
Life is amazing, let’s enjoy it no matter how old we are! Family is
what matters most in life,
right? I am so glad I have a happy, wonderful family.
The end.
18Children’s Entry Runner Up: Korah LeVeck
19Children’s Entry Runner Up: Landon LeVeck
In 50 years....
In 50 years I Will be a soccer player .I will live in a tree house.I
love tree houses.
I will help poor people by giving them money because I will be
famous.
I will have kids. I think I
will have three kids . It will be
fun.
The end
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