“Can I join?” Lorenzo asked. “I heard your music, so I
assumed you were doing gymnastics.”
“Sure!” Lorena, Alonzo, and I all answered at the
same time. I was surprised by everyone’s quick response,
since usually my cousins argue. I was happy that my
example of being nice to each other was being taken
seriously. We had the best time that day because we
were kind to each other.
Second prize 11 and up
Ebba Cha, age 12
Herndon, VA
Shining Shoes
A frayed cloth. A bottle of flaxseed oil. A foldable
chair. Unlike my friends who carried a backpack to
school, I carried these to the military base in Busan. I was
f ifteen and I was a shoe shiner. As the sole provider for
my family, I set out to work every day.
On a good day, I had seven customers. My custom-
ers gave me chocolate and powdered milk. At the market
I would trade these for rice and vegetables for my family.
I could have survived with this, but no one treated me
kindly except for John. Sergeant Wilson, to be exact.
Unlike others who didn’t look at me, John looked at me
with a kind tint in his eyes. At the end of the shoe shining
every day, he would shake my hand and thank me for myhard work. I shined John’s shoes brighter than anyone
else’s. We were like family for each other.
One day, John gave me a page out of a newspaper.
He wanted me to learn English. After long nights of
studying, I could read the whole newspaper page. The
following week, John left. I was determined to speak
English with John in the future.
I started school a month later. I started as the dumb-
est in class and graduated the smartest. I went to college
in Seoul and came back to Busan years later and became
an English teacher. Through the Revisit Korea Program
by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, I vol-
unteered every time veterans came to Korea, hoping to
meet John. Each time, John never came.
During my service on the 6.25 Korean War Memorial
Day, I saw a man resembling John. “Excuse me, sir,” I said.
He turned around. “John?”
We gasped. “Yeong-sik?” Both of us had changed, at
least on the outside.
“I’m an English teacher now,” I said.
“Wow,” he merely replied.
I dropped down to my knees and pulled out my
handkerchief.
“No... ,” he began.
“Yes.” I scrubbed John’s shoes shinier than anything
else, like always.
“Thank you.”Third prize 10 and under
Jonathan Samulak, age 9
Cleveland, OH
An Act of Kindness
Over summer vacation, my family went on a camp-
ing trip. On the way back we stopped at a restaurant. I
was attracted by the arcade games and saw many people
playing. I snuck in the arcade and took a look around. I
found one game that really interested me. It was a crane
game with different types of ducks that squeak. Some
were yellow and others had patterns. A few were even
Minecraft characters! The game gave players unlimited
tries until they won! Sometimes the sensor didn’t see
the duck fall, so they could play again and win two prizes
instead of one.
While my dad was ordering, I went to the crane
game. Three children were already playing, so I decided
to watch. After thinking it over, I decided to ask Dad for
some money to play the game, but I f igured he would say
no. I then wondered if I could ask the kids if I could play
one of their turns, but I was too shy. I watched them play
until it was time to eat.
Near the end of our meal, those same children came
over to me and handed me a one-dollar bill to play the
game. Since they had left to eat earlier, I thought they
were gone. I was amazed at their kindness. They mustWHAT
CASE? YOU WON’T EVEN LET
US TALK.THE JURY CAN’T LEAVE UNTIL THE CASE IS
SETTLED. (WOW! THIS GAVEL IS GREAT!) SHE WON’T LET
ANYBUGGY
TALK. SO, ARE
WE DONE
HERE?ABSOLUTELY!
THIS IS WAY
MORE ANNOYING
THAN YOU!ORDER! ORDER IN THE COURT! (I SHOULD HAVE GOT ONE OF
THESE A LONG TIME AGO!)HELLO,
EVERYBUGGY?
TAIL AND I
HAVE COME
TO AN
AGREEMENT.
BIG FUSS ABOUT
NOTHING. NO HARM,
NO FOUL, ALL FRIENDS!
SOOO... BUH-BYE! HEY! I DID NOT
SAY YOU COULD
AGREE! I NEED TO
MAKE A RULING!
I NEED TO DISH
OUT FINES AND
PUNISHMENTS
AND TIME-OUTS.HEY! HEY! COME
BACK HERE!
SORRY! CASE
DISMISSED.
WE’RE CALLING
A RECESS.I PLEAD GUILTY—
TO CONTEMPT OF
COURT!EEP!YAY!WELL DONE!