Georgia’s Top 9

Avid movie watchers will tell you picking their favorite movies of all time is impossible.
And I am no exception.
So the following nine movies are not by any means my “favorite.” Each work has elements that are both exquisite, and not.
These movies are, however, a sample of my most watched, most recommended and most loved.
• “Bagdad Café” (1987)
This is one of my favorite movies to watch alone. Its slow pace and subtle messages really require the viewer to pay full attention.
The film follows a German woman’s life and transformation while living in the American southwest. Jasmin Münchgstettner leaves her husband while on a road trip and is forced to make her way on her own. She finds lodging at the Bagdad Café, a desolate truck stop and motel, with equally desolate occupants.
As her stay wears on, she manages to bring magic to her hosts’ lives as well as her own. Starring Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder and Jack Palance, this movie is full of simple beauty.
• “The Birdcage” (1996)
This is perhaps one of the funniest movies of all time. It has created many happy moments with my family and is one of my most highly recommended films.
Armand Goldman, played by Robin Williams, is the owner of a gay night club called The Birdcage. When his son wants to get married to a girl whose family would never accept gay in-laws, Armand and his partner play it straight for the sake of their son’s happiness.
“The Birdcage” also stars Nathan Lane, Dan Futterman, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Hank Azaria and Christine Baranski.
• “Amélie” (2001)
A girl with eclectic tastes and a complex personality, Amélie, played by Audrey Tautou, is a French girl living alone in Paris.
She creates her own whimsical world in which she loves to help others. It is when she needs to help herself that she hesitates.
I love the fact that his movie celebrates the unexpected and highlights the simple joys of life. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, “Amélie” is in French with English subtitles.
• “The Breakfast Club” (1985)
When a group of strangers are trapped together for hours on end, you never know what kind of relationships will result. This is even more true for a group of teenagers.
A classic movie chronicling the teenage experience, “The Breakfast Club” — written and directed by John Hughes — stars Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy as five teens in detention.
“The Breakfast Club” is one of the few movies I have experienced that truly captures the mind of the teenager, and accurately chronicles the stereotypical personalities of various high school cliques.
• “Down With Love” (2003)
This film takes place in the 1960s, a time when the movies were all about having fun in bright colors with amazing hair-dos. This movie, staring Rene Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, was made in that style with cheesy pick-up lines, suave playboys and New York apartments the size of warehouses.
The movie chronicles the lives of its two main characters, Catcher Block and Barbara Novak, as they spin devious plans to make each other fall in love with them. It’s perhaps one of the funniest movies I have ever seen staring Zellweger or McGregor.
• “The Thin Man” (1934)
William Powell and Myrna Loy star in “The Thin Man,” the first movie in a popular and thrilling series.
Former detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora are visiting New York when Nick is swept up into a murder case involving family friends. Witty lines and the constant guzzling of cocktails perfectly complement the suspenseful plot.
I love the fact that this movie fully embodies the spirit of the time in which it was made, the 1930s.
• “The Science of Sleep” (2006)
After seeing this movie only once, it is already one of my favorites.
Gael Garcia Bernal stars in this sweet movie about a man who dreams as often as he is awake. He lives in an apartment in France and often confuses his dreams with his real life, especially when it comes to love, and his beautiful next-door neighbor.
“The Science of Sleep” is a slow-paced, whimsical film with inspiring stop-animation and tons of creativity, in English, Spanish and French (with English subtitles).
• “An Affair to Remember” (1957)
This is perhaps one of the most beloved old movies of all time.
The classic love story, made popular again by its integral inclusion in Nora Ephron’s “Sleepless In Seattle,” combines 1950s charm with the timeless “will they, won’t they” plot.
My favorite scene in this movie takes place in an Italian villa, where Nickie and Terry, played by Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, visit Nickie’s grandmother. In my opinion, it is one of the most romantic scenes in this desperately romantic classic.
• “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” (2008)
This is a whimsical, flirtatious interpretation of London life just before the Second World War.
Miss Pettigrew is an unsuccessful governess living on the streets of London. Through determination and extraordinary common sense, she meets Delysia Lafosse, a bubbly show girl, and teaches her to follow her heart.
Starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams, “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” is perfectly suited to cheer you up after a bad day.

— Georgia Gempler is a junior at Davis High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.

Unleashed Around the World: Hoh Rainforest

Unleashed writer Georgia Gempler, an incoming junior at Davis High School, holds a recent copy of Unleashed at the beginning of the Hoh River Trail in the Hoh Rainforest.

The Hoh Rainforest is located in the Olympic National Park on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula.

Georgia visited the park this summer. The Unleashed she’s holding features a column she wrote about her family’s roots.

The art of airplane conversation

There’s hardly anything more interesting than listening to your neighbors on an airplane.
Whether they’re arguing, chatting, getting to know each other for the first time, being reunited or communicating in silence, there’s always something to be learned.
My interest on a recent trip was sparked by the two gentlemen behind me. I can honestly say I have never encountered two people who have gotten along better. They had been chatting it up non-stop since we boarded.
The conversation ranged from one topic to another — from love to dogs to cats to family to girlfriends to foreign countries to retirement to hospital visits and much, much more.
It was very clear they both loved to talk about their wives. Throughout the flight, I heard my wife this and my wife that.
Their stories were sweet and annoying, dull and strangely personal. The odd thing was, from my position as eavesdropper extraordinaire, I got the impression these two men had just met.
Now, personally, when I fly next to strangers, or even my family, I don’t talk that often. Most people don’t.
If you were a flight attendant, the only conversations you would usually hear would be between families, lovers, friends, and strangers working out how to adjust their seating positions so the person next to the window could get up to go the bathroom.
Of course, there are the expected pleasantries.
“Where are you going?” “Oh, how interesting.” “Do you have family there?” “How long are you staying?” “Have you been there before?”
But usually, it’s pretty quiet.
I don’t know the reason for this mass silence. I’ve always assumed it was part of flying etiquette, sort of a “Don’t bother me, and I won’t bother you,” policy. Maybe the roar of recycled air and uncomfortable proximity to strangers causes one to retreat inside themselves.
In any case, I know the kind of conversation I had been listening to doesn’t occur often. It’s rare when two people find enough in common, personality-wise, to keep up such a long talk, especially in our current world of impersonal technology.
Maybe the two men behind me could no longer suppress the desire to share their lives with each other. Afterall, their elbows were connected on the armrest.
Maybe they just needed to fill the silence. Maybe they were afraid of the silence or couldn’t stand the awkwardness.
Or, maybe they genuinely wanted to get to know each other better. They certainly had ample time on the four-and-a-half hour flight.
Whatever the reason, those two had completely mastered the art of conversation. And it was a wonder to listen to.
They took turns swapping stories, even sculpting their anecdotes to fit something the other had said.
Their conversation ended naturally when one of the men got up to use the restroom. When he returned, they both dropped off to sleep.
In a way, it’s sad to me that I can write a column about something as unremarkable as a good conversation. But the reality is that anymore, especially on airplanes, connecting personally with a fellow human being is just not done that often.
I wonder how we’ve  come to this?

— Georgia Gempler is an incoming junior at Davis High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.

Baby Love

The baby in front of me had just fallen in love.
I know that may seem like a somewhat strange statement, but there it is.
The little boy was sitting in front of me with his mother on a shuttle bus traveling to Seattle.
Having witnessed their goodbyes from the back seat of the bus, I know he is well-loved. His parents are the type of people who look to be the typical eco-friendly parents. He’s probably being raised on organic baby food and the home-puréed vegetable goo so typical of that stereotype. (By the way, if I were a parent I would be in this category as well.)
During the first half hour of the trip, his mother held and cuddled him in a soft white blanket. He was glaring at me from between the seats the entire time.
His little blue eyes gazed back at me with confusion, completely understandable for 5 a.m. But then his cute little eyebrows bunched together in a completely different expression: Dislike.
I won’t say hatred, because it wasn’t. I wouldn’t want to accuse such an innocent being of such a vile emotion. But this baby just did not like me.
Usually I’m great with kids. I like them, and they like me. So even though I didn’t really take it personally, a small corner of my heart died inside.
That was fine. Really. I didn’t even know the kid. And then I realized what the problem was: I wasn’t his type.
Directly across the aisle from his seat were two teenage girls, about my age. They were either sisters or good friends, because they were giggling and carrying on, even at such an early hour.
As soon as the little baby boy was finished with his latest round of eyebrow-bunching at my smiling face, he turned 90 degrees to stare at my competition. In the span of a few seconds, several discouraging changes occurred. Baby’s eyebrows un-bunched, his eyes sparkled, and his little frown turned up-side-down.
These girls, being more awake and coy than I care to be at what was now around 6 a.m., captivated the baby fully. He was enthralled. I was nearly livid.
He crawled down from his mother’s lap and settled down sideways in his seat, all the better to view the girls of his dreams. Of course, they didn’t care. I doubt they even noticed the smiling little cherub gawking at them like a cupid who fell on his own arrow.
After that, things were relatively uneventful. Baby’s love affair lasted 10 minutes maximum, which on one hand made me feel better, and on the other made me glad I hadn’t invested in a long-term relationship.
We all fell back into our respective worlds. The girls giggled and carried on, baby played with some brightly colored balloons (ignoring me), and I sat, thinking about my unusual close brush with the trials of love.

— Georgia Gempler is an incoming junior at Davis High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.

One to Rent: “Babette’s Feast”

Even sublime pleasure has a place with the most extreme piety.
And, to the most secluded of places can come the most cultured of people. In fact, such opposites often attract, and in meeting, teach that moderation can supply the best of both worlds.
In the 1987 film, “Babette’s Feast,” directed by Gabriel Axel, Martina and Philippa are sisters in an isolated Danish village. Their father was the founder of a local church, and the villagers are devout to the extreme.
The sisters are beautiful, and in their youth had admirers who were desperately in love with their gentle natures.
The movie progresses from their early lives to much later, when the only significant characters still in the story are all over the age of 60.
One of the women’s long-lost admirers sends Babette to them. Babette is a French woman who needed a way to escape counter-revolutionary bloodshed in Paris. She came to work for the sisters as a maid and cook.
For 14 years, she spends her time learning the language and cooking for Martina and Philippa, as well as other members of the village to whom the sisters give aid.
For the upcoming celebration of their father’s 100th birthday (he had already died, but it was still a momentous occasion in the village) Babette asks permission to make her employers a real French dinner.
They agree, but they are not without their misgivings. Such pleasures may lead to sin, and so the entire invited congregation of villagers agrees not to comment on the dinner, which turns out to be a tremendous success.
An old lover of one of the sisters is invited, and — as he had lived in France and had made no pact of silence — is deeply pleased with the evening.
Now, quite frankly, when I read the description on the back of the movie cover, my first impression was that this would be a generic story of how a newcomer to a secluded and tradition-set village upsets order, but makes everyone happier in the long run.
It is much more subtle than that.
Babette’s dinner is one evening of enjoyment, one evening of her old life for her to relish and remember and to share with her friends. It is a gift.
Babette knows the villagers are traditional, pious people, and she respects that. But she also knows there are some things that just need to be experienced for the sake of being able to appreciate them.
The best scenes of this movie are the feast and the unrest. During the feast, the true natures of all the characters can be seen by the observant eye. It is amazing how much the actors added to their characters. Every person has a different way of enjoying the food. The general, the admirer, is open but wise in his praise.
One woman, in particular, simply sat with her head bent and eyes closed, slowly chewing the food with her hand up to her mouth.
Another woman sipped at some water, made a face, then quickly picked up a glass of very expensive wine, took a big gulp, licked her lips, and practically downed the rest of the glass.
Keep in mind the majority of these dinner guests are over 80.
During the scene of unrest, earlier in the movie, the ugly sides of the characters can be seen. They bicker and accuse, even though they know all about the other side of the argument, having lived with these people all of their lives.
The things they confess aren’t terrible, in the grand scheme of things, but in that village they could be considered capital offenses. The sisters, ever gentle, try to keep the peace and instill forgiveness in their neighbors.
But, people being people, arguing is sometimes necessary to validate yourself as a human being. I mean this in the sense that it allows you to feel emotions that are not felt if one is constantly peaceful and serene.
This movie’s gentle pace and simple images gives it an almost listless tone, which adds incredibly to the script itself. “Babette’s Feast” is an original work, and it will make you ponder your own existence.

— Georgia Gempler is an incoming junior at Davis High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.

My branch of our family tree

The year was 1630.
Thomas Tolman II arrived in America with his daughter Mary and his wife Sarah, coming from Devonshire, England. He was the first member of my paternal family to settle in America.
Tolman and his family helped to settle Dorchester, Mass., just north of present-day Boston. He was one of the first settlers to sign the covenant of the first church of Dorchester in 1636. And throughout the rest of his life, he had seven more children with his first wife, and two others with his second wife, Katherine.
Tolman’s descendants were instrumentally involved in shaping Dorchester over the years. The family name appears on payrolls and church meeting rosters numerous times. In 1800, Ezekiel Tolman made potatoes and fried eels a regular dish, and earlier Tolmans built cannons and killed wolves for money.

Of the many interesting people who make up my ancestry, one of the most notable is Captain John Tolman. He was born March 18, 1753, in Massachusetts, and became a captain during the Revolutionary War and took part in the Battle of Lexington.
On his and his wife’s tombstone, it says, “… and in the memorable Battle of Lexington distinguished himself as a fearless defender of his country’s liberty.”
However, most of those Tolman descendants were outside of my direct family line. My ancestors moved around Massachusetts, then to New York, Illinois and eventually Nebraska, where the name Tolman is still carried by relatives.
In 1982, my grandmother went to Colorado to meet Dr. Nathaniel E. Tolman and his wife in order to copy down the family history. The doctor was born in 1902 in Silver Creek, Neb., where his father and grandfather are buried.
The real branch of my family tree, when it comes to surnames, first starts with Charles Warren Tolman (1824-1878) and Sarah Haigh (1825-1910). The couple, the first of my family to settle in Silver Creek, had six children. One, William Hubert Tolman, is the person to whom our relatives in Nebraska and Colorado trace their ancestry in the Tolman family. His sister, Edith Julia Tolman, is my family’s connection.
Edith Julia Tolman (1857-1913) married Charles Holden in 1870. They had six children, a recurring pattern with my family that goes back to Nathaniel Tolman (1691-1729). One of them was my great-grandmother, Marjorie Frances Holden.
She married a man by the name of William Burl Holden. From what I can make out on my family tree, that means she married her cousin. However, they were divorced by 1942 after having six children.
My grandmother, Katherine Elizabeth Holden, was one of those children. She was born in 1918 in West Virginia and lives in Yakima today. She married Edward B. Gempler in 1944, and they had two children, Michael and Susan Gempler.
Michael is my father.
While the Tolman line is very interesting, my other ancestors in the Gempler line are just as exciting. The original Gemplers were from Ulm, Germany. Ulm is in south central Germany and, according to my father, our family were bürgermeisters — town leaders, mayors, administrators — there.
The first known Gempler in my family to come to America was Hof Gempler. Born in 1814 in Ulm, he and his wife Amalia Blust came to New Jersey with their son, Adolph, who was born in 1851. He married Sophie Praet, and their son, Adolph Bernard Gempler, was my great-grandfather.
Adolph Gempler’s family had a meat shop in Jersey City. Called the Meat Market, the shop was a typical butcher store of the early 1900s. My family has a picture of Adolph and his children in front of the store.
My Gempler ancestors in America were members of German clubs called bunds. Bunds were German political and heritage associations. They were later thought to be pro-Nazi organizations. However, my family were members before World War I.
My family also has a picture of the bund that my great-great-grandfather belonged to. In the picture, the members are wearing pointed helmets and are in battle armor and tunics. One of the members is dressed as a king and is sitting in a huge throne. They were probably recreating the scene of ancient German royalty.
My ancestors were mainly from western Europe. Some of them came to America earlier than others. They also came from different places and under different circumstances. But they all were a part of what this country is today, and of what I am.
I am grateful that my family was here to help shape this nation and my life.

— Georgia Gempler is an incoming junior at Davis High School and a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.

Georgia Gempler goes to the Olympics

When my dad told me we were going to the Olympics, my first reaction was utter disbelief.
We had talked about entering the ticket lotteries in the late summer of 2008. But back then the games were so far off that I forgot about them for a while.
About a year later, last summer, my dad learned we had gotten tickets. And my expectations were sky high. I couldn’t wait to go.
My family and I left Yakima the Friday night of Presidents Day weekend, driving to Bellingham to stay with a family friend.
The next morning we all left for Whistler, British Columbia, where the alpine and Nordic skiing, luge, ski jumping, skeleton and bobsled events were being held.
After getting there and riding up the smaller of the two gondolas, we learned the women’s alpine skiing event had been postponed. Severely disappointed, we decided to ski around Whistler ourselves in the rain.
Even though the Olympics were going on, the ski area was still running in full force. Whistler is a huge ski area, and the actual Olympic events take up relatively little room.

The concept of skiing and doing the same sport as the professionals competing at the Olympics was interesting to think about.
On the way to Whistler, I kept hoping I wouldn’t crash or do anything embarrassing while I was there. Messing up in front of the best athletes in the world would probably be among the most embarrassing moments of my life.
I kept thinking that even if the athletes didn’t see me, everyone else would look at my skiing and compare me to the professionals. Luckily, none of that happened.
In fact, there was a lot of camaraderie among the skiers and snowboarders. People were there simply to have a good time and watch some of the most amazing athletes in the world.
After getting down the mountain, we watched the end of the ski jumping competition on the giant television in Whistler Village.

When it was announced the Swiss athlete Simon Ammann had won the gold, every Swiss person in the vicinity cheered. Every country had a “house” — a place where people from that country could talk and where souvenirs were sold — and that night they had a big celebration at the Swiss house in the village.
The next day, we were disappointed yet again when it became clear the men’s alpine ski event was also being postponed. Luckily, we were able to score some luge tickets, so we went to see the men’s singles luge event.
This was my first experience at an Olympic event. It was some of the most extreme crowd spirit I have ever experienced. The crowd was enthusiastic for every single competitor. Even if they were from a different country, it was simply a joy for everyone there to see the best athletes in the world at top form.
However, seeing as the Olympics are in Canada, every Canadian luger was cheered ecstatically. Cowbells and flags and whistles and shows of support of every kind were displayed as the Canadian team whipped by in the blink of an eye.

In my opinion, that was one of the best parts of actually being there: Getting to experience and feel the support that a host country gives its team. There is nothing like being a part of all that supportive energy.
While we were at the luge, we got to see the flower ceremony, which acknowledged the winners right after the race at the racing venue. They are given bouquets of flowers and get to stand on podiums, just like in the medal ceremony, which happens later in a separate arena.
Tons of people crammed into a tiny arena or on the sidewalk, where we were, to see the winners stand on the podium and receive recognition. It was great to be able to see the athletes up close and see their own excitement in person.
My favorite part of the ceremony was when the bronze and silver medal winners lifted the gold medalist, Felix Loch, onto their shoulders and then all three proceeded to wave and smile at the crowd. That kind of happiness for someone who has just beaten you for the most prestigious athletic award around is something I find truly wonderful.

Experiencing the Olympics live is definitely not the same as watching it on TV. This fact was solidified for me the next day, Monday, when we finally got to see the men’s alpine event. We skied to the viewing area very early so we could get a good spot. We were right up against the fence, and our view was spectacular.
As more and more people started to show up, the excitement and energy grew. We were eager to watch. Finally, the first athlete started down the course. On television, it is possible to see every little detail of what is happening to the skier. But in person, the best glimpse you have is a fleeting moment of wonder.
From our position in the viewing area, we could see the start of the race and the first few major curves. The last thing we saw each time was the athletes landing a spectacular jump and speeding away. It was exhilarating, especially when Bode Miller’s turn came. Every American there screamed and cheered their hearts out when he came whizzing past.

Some people even started a chant a full five minutes before he actually started. Although it didn’t quite measure up to the support the Canadian team received, it was still nice to hear that much American spirit.
The rest of the day consisted of skiing around Whistler and doing some nice powder runs. Later, we wandered around Whistler Village for a few final hours before leaving for home.

— Georgia Gempler is a sophomore at Davis High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.

‘The Answer Man’

Unlike the many other movies highlighting the difficult lives of the high and mighty stars and politicians of our time, Jeff Daniels’ and Lauren Graham’s movie, “The Answer Man,” recently released on DVD, explores the subject on a deeper and slightly more disturbing level.
Jeff Daniels plays Arlen Faber, the man who knows everything about God. After writing the biggest religious bestseller and cornering 10 percent of the religious book market, he’s one of the most beloved — and elusive — authors of modern times.
Bitter, frustrated and definitely not a people person, he hides from the world, fearful that if people somehow get close to him, they will find out it’s all a lie: he doesn’t really know everything.
Lauren Graham is Elizabeth Danson, a young chiropractor opening her own practice. As a single mom, she’s under tremendous pressure to succeed for the sake of her son. Understandably a worrier, she struggles to find a means of balance in her personal life as she provides kindness and stability for others.
One of the most interesting aspects of “The Answer Man” is the way all the supporting characters are included to show the personalities of Arlen and Elizabeth. One such character, a recovering alcoholic named Kris, brings out the best and the worst of the pair.
Kris (Lou Taylor Pucci) is the typical movie character interpretation of a guy with problems. When he first meets Arlen, the two clash, demonstrating the horrific extent of Arlen’s behavior. But, as they interact more and more, Arlen improves, realizing that he does appreciate others’ friendship.
With Elizabeth, Kris can open up. She possesses that certain quality that allows people to relax and to feel better, a natural mom’s gift.
Elizabeth also forces Arlen to take a good look at himself and how he treats other people by showing him that people can accept who you truly are.
Arlen, in turn, gives Elizabeth some assurance that what she is doing with her life is right and that she can relax. Through his terrific insight into others’ problems and answers that just make sense, his relationships with everyone he meets could be much better, if only he would let them.
“The Answer Man” is one of the few movies that I have seen in a long time that actually made me laugh and cringe with appreciation. Jeff Daniels plays his bitter, unfriendly character to a tee, managing to make Arlen Faber a likable mess.
For me, his performance was the best part of the movie, as his transformation was realistic, unlike so many movies today. Other similar films — such as “Notting Hill” with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts — portray celebrities as troubled, but often create a dreamlike tone, as if falling in love with a superstar doesn’t also involve pain on some levels.
But “The Answer Man” does. The film highlights the struggles of Arlen and Elizabeth and makes them realistic. Despite a slightly overused plot line, “The Answer Man” is one of the most refreshing movies I have seen in a long time.

— Georgia Gempler is a sophomore at Davis High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.

Taking the bus route

By GEORGIA GEMPLER
DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL
At the bus stop outside Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center — not too far from Davis High School — students wait for their ride.
One, a 17-year-old Davis junior, stands in the forming crowd. The group is quiet on this recent afternoon, and Ahmad Yaghmour stands alone.

He usually doesn’t do much while he’s waiting. Sometimes, though, he reviews vocabulary for English class or tests like the SAT. He also studies while he’s on the bus.
“I get to study for vocab instead of having my hands on the wheel while driving, or whatever,” he says.
The No. 2 Yakima Transit bus, which stops near the hospital and high school at 2:49 p.m. Monday through Saturday, is crowded and hot as Yaghmour steps aboard. Most of the seats are taken, so he stands up front, next to the driver.
Yaghmour lives about two miles from school, and usually takes the bus both ways about three days a week.
He says he rides the bus because it picks him up and drops him off near his house. It’s convenient, he says. And, sometimes, he just doesn’t have the gas.
“I ride the bus to save gas, as a study time, and to talk to friends,” he says.

Free Yakima Transit bus passes are available to students through their schools, and are paid for by the Yakima School District.
According to Alta Micone, director of transportation for the school district, about 540 passes are given to students each month. At $12 per youth pass, that’s about $6,480 worth of passes per month or $58,320 per year.
Micone says the district offers this option because it saves money.
“With high school kids, we can only get 48 into a school bus,” she says.
Instead of providing school bus routes for all high school students, the district saves money by purchasing the transit passes, Micone said.

Most bus passes go to students at Eisenhower and Davis high schools. On average, according to Micone, about 190 passes per month go to Ike and 185 go to Davis. Another 130 go to Stanton Academy, the Yakima School District’s alternative high school. And another 80 go to the Yakima School of the Arts.
Students from Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center also use youth bus passes.

Claudia Pineda and Veronica Palomares, both 14 and freshmen at Davis, ride the bus to get from home to school and back. On this particular ride, they are surrounded by their friends.
Pineda, sitting in the front of the bus, says she likes that its temperature is “warm in the winter and really fresh in the summer.”
Palomares says she usually looks out the window and sends text messages while she rides the bus. Pineda says she listens to music and does homework.
“Yeah, right!” exclaim three of her friends, sitting next to her on the bus. They laugh, and Pineda replies, “Well, it’s the truth!”

Palomares has been riding the bus for two years, while Pineda has been riding the bus for five.
The driver of the No. 2 on this particular run is 67-year-old Dick Hernandez. He says he usually transports about 300 students after school. He also says Wednesday is his busiest day for driving students.
It depends on the stop. But Hernandez says he can pick up around 20 to 30 students at a time. He also says he enjoys his job. Driving students is “my pleasure, really.”
Usually, the students who ride his bus are well-behaved.
“They’re great,” Hernandez says. “They’re pretty happy kids.”
In fact, he says students are one of the reasons he chose this route. And he’s had the same route for 12 years.
“It’s a busy route, and I enjoy driving, and I enjoy meeting people,” he says.
If riders do get rowdy or use profane language on his bus, he’ll give them a warning.
“If they continue doing it, they’re asked to leave the bus, Hernandez says, adding that his strategy is simple: “You work with me and I’ll work with you.”

Darrylynn Reid, an 18-year-old freshman at Yakima Valley Community College, has been riding the bus for about three years, starting when she was a junior at Davis.
Now, she takes the bus every weekday to and from college. While on the bus, she says, “I text a lot. Sometimes I read, but I text a lot.”
She also enjoys the ride: “It gives me time to think. I just sit here and relax.”

While hundreds of students use the city bus system for transportation, the Yakima School District’s transportation system is also heavily utilized.
According to Micone, approximately 1,500 high school students in the school district use the school bus every day.
Elvira Zuniga, assistant registrar at Davis, says all Yakima students who live within a mile of a school bus stop can ride the school bus. Those who live within a mile of their schools, though, need to find their own transportation — whether that’s walking to and from school, carpooling, driving themselves, or getting a ride from parents or friends.
Back on the No. 2 bus, Yaghmour is preparing to disembark.
The bus has been steadily emptying. Yaghmour exits the bus at the stop on 22nd Avenue and Tieton Drive. As he begins to walk the rest of the way home, the No. 2 pulls away, off to deliver other students and passengers to their destinations.

• Georgia Gempler is a sophomore at Davis High School and a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.

Working: ski lift operators

By GEORGIA GEMPLER
UNLEASHED STAFF
WHITE PASS — Thaddeus Doolin has worked in restaurants, landscaping, a blueberry field and a casino. In the summers, he works construction.
For the past two winters, he’s worked as a lift operator at the White Pass Ski Area, commuting from Mossyrock, about an hour away.
“If I lived a little closer, it would just be the best job in the world,” he says.
The 22-year-old loves his job supervising the triple chairlift, which seats three people.
“You definitely have to be alert at this job,” he said.
Doolin’s scheduled work hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. He usually arrives at the ski area about 7 or 7:30 a.m.
The busy wintertime season means he works holidays, but Doolin says there are fringe benefits. Employees get discounts on gear and food, and they ski for free. They also can participate in a ski exchange program that allows them to ski at different areas for free.
According to Cameron Bodine, lift operations manager, the starting wage at White Pass is $8.75 per hour. Doolin said he got a raise this year, up from the $9 per hour he earned last year.
“I am able to pay my bills and take care of my kid, really,” he said.
Doolin particularly enjoys watching people use the platter, which tows skiers on the bunny slope. It’s used by people of all ages who are just learning to ski and snowboard.
“The platter is my favorite place to go,” Doolin said, adding there’s no better feeling than watching kids become confident on skis and snowboards.
When asked what he loves about his job, he said, “The kids, the people, mingling. I like to see ’em leave with a smile,” he said of White Pass patrons.
According to Doolin, a good day on the job is any day when there is more than 8 inches of new snow: “As long as it’s not icy, it’s a good day for me.”
Icy days are the worst, he says, but so are times when the weather is lousy and the area has to shut down.
Bodine, 29, said his best days come in the middle of the week in early spring, when it’s sunny and warm and he can work in a T-shirt.
Kevin Rink, 19, is in his first season on the job. The 2008 Eisenhower High School graduate started in December. He plans to keep working at White Pass “as long as I’m living in Yakima.”
His worst day on the job so far? The day the quad lift’s engine stopped working. The lift had to run on diesel fuel, making it slower and causing long lines.
Like Rink, 23-year-old lift operator Chris Wolfe plans to keep working at White Pass “as long as I can.” He’s in his second season.
“It’ll always be something that I think about coming back to,” he said. “This job means fun. I look forward to coming to work.”
Even though Doolin is interested in someday going back to school, he’s not planning to leave his White Pass job anytime soon. One of his goals is to join the ski patrol.

• Georgia Gempler is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Davis High School.

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