So it should come as no surprise that Homer’s hip, modern youth have been swilling Red Bull this week in anticipation of school starting Tuesday. Students heading back to school are even willing to suffer through marathon shopping expeditions — complete with lectures from Mom on fashion.
Wanting school to start? Who woulda thunk it? Reading “Silas Marner” and doing quadratic equations might actually be bliss. Deep in their hearts, students know that compared to the working grind, school is a vacation.
So get out and enjoy one last weekend of manic craziness, like some of these Best Bets:
BEST FAIR TO MIDDLIN’ BET: Those Valley kids have the Alaska State Fair with traffic jams, but here on the lower peninsula, we have the Best Little Fair in Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula State Fair starts at 10 a.m. Friday and runs through Sunday at the Ninilchik Fairgrounds.
BEST TOLD YA SO BET: With a heat wave socking it to the Lower 48, even some skeptics have been heard to mumble, “OK, maybe Al Gore is right.” The big film he narrates starts this weekend at the Homer Theatre, with the 6 p.m. Friday showing of “An Inconvenient Truth” a benefit for Cook Inletkeeper’s salmon stream monitoring research.
BEST SHAVE AND A FOOTSTEP, TOO BET: Homer’s 12th annual Breast Cancer Run reminds us of our friends who cope with that dang disease. You can show your support by running or — a new twist this year — going for the cue ball look with a finish-line head shave. Late registration starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Mariner Park, with the race starting at 10 a.m.
BEST GET PAINTED BET: Sometimes art in Homer gets a little too precious, but not at 7 p.m. Saturday night when art gets outrageous. It’s the ARTrageous Ball at the Homer Elks Club. Wear white or just some old clothes and get painted by local artists. Music is by Tamba! Marimba. Tickets are $25.
BEST AND WE THOUGHT WE HAD A HARD JOB BET: Sure, we Snewsies get a lot of cranky letters, but nobody kidnaps us or tries to blow us up with car bombs. A journalist in the Middle East has a few more challenges meeting that deadline. Hear about some of them when independent Alaska journalist Karen Button speaks at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Homer United Methodist Church about the Iraq situation. Button is joined by Rana Musfafa, an Iraqi woman affiliated with the humanitarian group International Peace Angels.
BEST DON’T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED BET: Democracy might be a challenge in Iraq, but here in the United States, we sometimes get so complacent we forget the importance of basic rights like freedom of speech, freedom of religion — and the right to vote. The slate is jam packed with candidates for state office with the primary election on Tuesday. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Will Sarah beat John and Frank? Will Eric pull a hat trick against Tony? Do your part, and then check out the drama of representative democracy as the results come in.
Not so for today’s youth. Now it’s an over-programmed schedule of piano lessons, eco camp, art camp, sports camp and camp camp. Heck, a kid might even have to work — and we’re not talking mowing old man Walker’s lawn once a week, but actual wage servitude with like mean bosses.
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