What does Lutz have to offer ?

The Roots of Lutz

Do you know what it’s like to be in an action packed war-zone in Egypt as an M16? Well ...you sure can find out! Page three is where you can find this interesting story, just keep flipping!

The Roots of Lutz wasn’t written for it to become famous, but it was written and designed for a countless number of people in the United States to acquire a personal connection to the small town of Lutz and its atmosphere. Each article/interview in this new and upcoming magazine explain what it’s like to live in Lutz as a parent, mother, or even a teenager and what unique activities that this city has that differs from other suburban cities.

The design and arrangement of this magazine is to be comforting and an informative magazine. The visuals in this magazine are placed specifically where they are to grab your attention and persuade you to read the articles. To change it up in the magazine I switched up the format of each article, for instance one article is placed in columns and ads on the opposite side while another article is spread out across the pages. I tried to keep the colors to a minimum and not overpower the readers so I made it easier on my viewers. In my first article, I described the not-so-popular things to do in Lutz so that if you ever decide to visit, you know where to go for a great ex-perience, however it will not be flooded with tourists. There are also delicious tasty restaurants in my first article as well as irreplaceable fun facts about Lutz. Hopefully this magazine helps you understand more what Lutz is about overall and it should inform you on why it is such a perfect place to live your life.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at steelersfan1202@yahoo.com

Enjoy,

Evan

Table of Contents

Table of ContentsPage 1: Cover Page

Page 2: Table of Contents

Story 1: Luxurious Lutz Interview 1: Marvelous Mother

Story 2: Life of Marcus, an M16

Interview 2: Father Samuel

Interview 3: Coolin’ it with Cristina

Letter: Letter to the Editor

In this paper, I first made a list of the unique things to do in Lutz/Tampa that only the locals know about. After that, I thought of unique and abnormal places to go in Lutz for entertainment that was considered to be a luxury. This helped me visualize what there is to do and when I was able to see the full list, I categorized them on how I could transition smoothly from one paragraph to the next. What did one thing have to do with the other? Car accidents are quite common in Lutz because of the exclusive cars people own and I was discussing the major roads and how congested they become every day which end up causing accidents. All of the things I just listed had a common similarity of where they took place and had to do with cars. After I categorized all of the events and things to do in the area, I researched about them and wrote about them. I would weed out some other facts I decided were not appropriate or if they weren’t accurate. Sometimes, I had to expand on a certain paragraph or subject in the paper because there was so much to say about it or I would reduce the paragraph because some of the sentences didn’t make complete sense or was just worded incorrectly. Alternative ways of getting informa-tion about Lutz other than just facts were to get someone else’s perspective on it. I called my mom, dad, aunt and best friend to get unique facts and helpful tips about Lutz along with interviewing them on their history with the town and what they think about it in general. This helped me cover a wide basis and not to stay narrow-minded and focus on one thing. After all the easy tasks were done, it was time to sit down and get to work. As I was writ-ing my paper I proceeded to research, just in case I needed to add any crucial information. After my colleagues edited my paper, I really understood what needed to be fixed and shaped up. I started right away editing again and putting certain paragraphs next to others. My colleagues really helped me remember I needed to form a thesis and conclusion to my paper because I totally forgot about them. After my final draft was completed I went back and read the whole thing through to get a feel for it and see what needed to be changed …AGAIN! I fixed punctuation and spelling mostly, considering the fact I did all of the difficult work.

* Lutz started off with the building of a small train depot on the Tampa Northern Railroad. The area around the train depot became known as Lutz when the U.S. Postal Service demanded that there was a post of-fice. Lutz expanded quickly in the late 1940's and 1950's. In 1948, Lutz was establishing quite well and you could easily see the advantages of being within a close vicinity to Tampa. Lutz’s location is so close to the metropolis of Tampa that it offers every pleasure of country life yet has the advantages of the city life. The small town of Lutz is ten minutes from the city limit of Tampa.

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LUXURIOUS LUTZ

In modern day Lutz, the small roads of Van Dyke, Lutz Lake Fern and Hutchison are all major roads of the small town. They have recently been closing roads due to the construction of making roads larger because of the traffic that is built up on a daily basis. The Veterans Express Way was built about fifteen years ago; the expressway ran north and south through Lutz, but never an exit into Lutz until about four years ago when they realized that the area was becoming busier and more populated. They are knocking down pieces of the highway and allowing them to connect to other major highways for easier access. Luckily, everyone in Lutz has the abil-ity to be traveling freely and not always backed up in traffic anymore. We have the luxury of being able to leave somewhere with an estimated time of arrival and expect not to run into awful traffic, however just ten minutes north, the traffic is horrendous because of the small roads and over-populated area.

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LUTZ“ BOOM!” “CRASH” “Ahhhh!!” That’s a very common sound that I hear multiple times a day. Car crashes are everywhere in Lutz, Florida. I don’t know if it’s because of the brand new drivers at the age of sixteen that just received the latest BMW 3 series or the old people that actually drive fast in their old Cadillac, but don’t exactly know where they’re going. The car crashes in Lutz usually involve teenagers that drive really expensive cars. For example, a friend of mine named Alex Ansel received a 2012 Jeep that was lifted, blacked out and stick shift! Al-though the Jeep was spectacular in every possible way, she wrecked it within a month in the school parking lot! After she got her Jeep back, she of course received five tickets within ten months.

* Although there’s only about five gas stations in Lutz, the two closest to my house happen to be the most common throughout the locals. These two gas stations are a 711 and (now) Citgo which runs north and south on Dale Mabry Highway. The 711 is the one that heads south while the brand new Citgo is on the side that runs north. These gas stations are probably the busiest in Lutz. On any given work day you’re more than likely going to have to wait for gas for at least ten minutes. It was a very good idea to put at least one gas station running each way on Dale Mabry so people that are driving opposite ways do not have to turn around for a gas station. The 711 has been there for fifteen + years while the Citgo just took place of the BP that ran out of business. The 711 is the better one out of the two, in my opinion. The reason why the 711 is better and more convenient than the others is because it’s the cleanest out of them all and most organized. If the 711 is closed for some reason though, I still have the ability to drive to the nearest gas station and use their facilities.

* The local McDonald’s is basically the center of Lutz. This specific McDonalds is on Dale Mabry, which is populated throughout the day; so you can think about the business they must have there. To add to the busi-ness, a number of the upper-class in the surrounding high schools use this McDonalds as a meeting ground for after school, to hang out, and after the high school parties get busted by the cops. My friends and I have ran our behinds off straight to our cars and everyone knows exactly where to go; McDonalds. This specific McDonalds gives me a sense of comfort and acts as a safe zone. I’m comfortable there because anytime I go there alone or on any given day I am guaranteed to see someone I know. It also acts as a safe zone in a way that it allows me to es-cape from all the dangers in a way you couldn’t imagine. One day after school, I’ll grab something to eat and un-wind after a difficult school day. Then I realize that I need to run off a few cheeseburgers I just ate and walk only about five hundred feet to the nearest gym, L.A Fitness. After a rough work-out, I’d walk back to my car which is at McDonalds and I’d sit at the outside tables and enjoy the scenery. The tables face outwards to Dale Mabry and show a nice city sunset. This allows me to relax myself and just stop worrying or stressing and just enjoy the mo-ment.

*

Working out is big in my community, probably because the two gyms everyone attends are within 3 miles of each other. It’s awesome to see familiar faces at the gym on a regular basis and how everyone in the area has an opportunity to be able to work out and always maintain a membership throughout the year. The majority of the surrounding high school students go to either, L.A Fitness or Crunch Gym. L.A Fitness has an indoor basketball court, pool and locker room which includes a sauna. Crunch gym just has all the work out accessories and what-not, including a locker room and sauna. The main reason why these gyms are the most accessed is because L.A Fitness is a little more expensive, but worth the money because of the indoor pool, basketball courts and racquet-ball courts while Crunch Gym costs a clean, low cost of $15 per month. The families attending these gyms don’t mind the price because the families are financially stable and don’t have to worry about it, plus they are frequent-ly used so it makes the monthly bill worth it. Going to L.A Fitness really helps me maintain my temper. I’m glad I have the opportunity to keep a cool temper and release my anger in the gym instead of at my house punching walls or even people. L.A Fitness also has a punching bag which I take advantage of quite frequently as well as the pool. I’ve trained myself to think that anytime I walk into the gym I am entering my own world where I can work as hard as I want and no one will say a word to me or judge me. As soon as I’m done working out though, I am famished and need a good meal as soon as possible.

* Since money isn’t exactly a problem where I live, a luxury most of my friends and I have is eating a deli-cious protein filled meal. Hungry Harries BBQ is probably the best Barbeque ever cooked or smoked! It’s the place to be because it isn’t franchise owned, which means only the locals know about it. My family and I have been coming to this restaurant for a long time now. We do not only come to this restaurant because of the food, but because of the environment. I enjoy and find it very humorous when someone orders ribs or chicken, as they are serving you your food; they also bring you a bib because you are expected to make a mess. It’s a loud restaurant which is good because my family is obnoxiously loud. It doesn’t help either that it is open seven days a week. Hungry Harries originated in the Lutz area in 1985 because of one sole reason; the owner (Harry) couldn’t find a decent Barbeque meal in the area, so he was determined to make his own. Finding good quality barbeque isn’t very common in the Lutz area, therefore Hungry Harries makes a good family outing a few times a month. Sonny’s BBQ is referred to as “fake” or “artificial” BBQ because it doesn’t seem as freshly smoked or as meaty as Hungry Harries. There is one more location for this restaurant that is in Seffner, Florida. It’s a common restau-rant in our little town that everybody knows about. It doesn’t even look like a restaurant though; it’s a tiny red shack that barely sits 30 people which is the reason why they built another red shack next door!

*

The Breakfast Nook is another common restaurant in my hometown. It is on the side of Lutz that first became known as the Lutz Junction which is on a road called U.S 41. What’s very astonishing about this place is that it is set up sort of like an actual house which is different than most restaurants. I’m sure the way the house is set up is to make the environment very homey and the employee’s attitude is very welcoming. It is a very family friendly place that has comfortable dining couches and areas. A new feature to this remarkably delicious restau-rant is the option to sit outside on the patio. It is pet friendly which is surprising, but nice at times. Being able to sit outside on a nice warm sunny morning with your family and pets makes a great experience for brunch that you can’t have at just any restaurant. It’s a great place to reconnect with others and have a nice social outing. My mother and I have made this a Sunday Morning tradition to go the Breakfast Nook. Her and I sit outside on the patio eating while it is just hitting noon which is when it is the most peaceful because noon is usually a slow hour for them. Usually after a big brunch I will get together with some friends to play football for a few hours.

* Lutz Park is used for multiple reasons by a variety of types of people. It used to only contain softball and baseball fields with one football field. They recently built two new football fields and multiple soccer fields along with a children’s park and nature walk. The old football field just lies there worn out with brown grass and not used like the last piece of bread in a loaf. Another use to this place is that it is common meeting grounds for high school students in the surrounding area to do two things. One activity is to play pick-up games of tackle football twice a week, of course on the old football field due to the fact that we get yelled at for playing on the new ones. My friends and I are extremely competitive and will normally play for about four hours at a time. This gives us an opportunity to become competitive, but still friendly with people. It feels as if nothing else matters for the four hours that we play, except for the pig skin. The other “recreational” activity that high school students partake in at Lutz Park is smoking marijuana. The typical conversation would be, “Yo, LP ten mins?” People have nick-named it L.P because of its initials. It is such a great place to join in on this recreational activity because nobody can see you. There are pavilions behind the tennis courts so you are able to watch to see if any cops show up, however the tennis courts are blocking the pavilions. Having such a large park and a variety of things to partici-pate in at this park that is only seven minutes away from my house is very beneficial to my friends and me. We are there very often and use it to our best use. I treat it as if it’s one of my houses because I appreciate that space. I definitely consider it a luxurious item of Lutz in a sense that not every city has a place that is considered yours, but publicly used on a daily basis. After a long day of football we like to cool off, but not in the shower!

* There is a lake called Lake Rogers on Lutz Lake Fern Road that all teenagers go to swim, boat, tube, hang out on the dock and fish. It is a great lake to go boating on and tube. Another reason why this lake is such a fas-cinating spot in Lutz is because of the sunset. For some reason, the sunset is absolutely perfect. You have to take advantage of this view or you are going to miss out. Fortunately, I was able to take advantage of this opportunity as frequently as possible and go there multiple days when I lived in the area. I didn’t take this detail of Lutz for granted, so I exposed as many people to this as possible. The way the sun comes down over the trees while you’re sitting on the dock over the water looking at the peach colored clouds is absolutely beautiful. When I’m sitting there with my girlfriends or just enjoying a nice beer with some friends, I feel as if time just stops. Anytime you go there, whether it’s by yourself or with someone, you’ll always see another person you know there. For exam-ple, my group for prom decided to take pictures there for the sole purpose of the sunset. When we arrived there, we realized that another group of kids were taking their pictures there too! Only the teenagers in the area know about this lake and we like to keep it that way because it serves as a place to get away, if needed.

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Attict brewery during Prohibiton in Tampa

Head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts, Tony Dungy, had his son’s funeral at a church about seven minutes from my neighborhood. This church is called Idlewild Baptist Church and is over two football fields long and wide with multiple buildings. Idlewild is home to many Christians including Tony Dungy and his family. His son hung himself on U.S.F campus and the funeral took place at Idelwild. Tony Dungy and his family have been residents of the Tampa/Lutz area for at least a decade. Although I was not immediate family, they had a public funeral as well which I went to. Mr. and Mrs. Dungy were there greeting people and looking really melancholy and nostalgic. Tony’s son was only a few years older than me at the time and attended a local high school that wasn’t too far from me. We went through the same English curriculum and probably found that the movie, Edward Scissorhands was quite bizarre but could maybe make a connection to where it was filmed.

* The movie Edward Scissorhands was filmed in my hometown. The movie is about a creator’s best cre-ation. He created a near complete person named Edward, but dying quickly due to cancer, he couldn’t finish Edwards’s hands. For a solution, his creator put scissors on instead of hands. He lived up in the attic of an aban-doned house until a lady named Peg was going door to door selling make-up and discovered him. She brought him home with her and he started living in the little town until things took a change of course. This movie is used in all of Hillsborough County Public Schools English classes to teach central message/theme, this movie was filmed in Lutz. What I noticed is that when we watched this movie in class before, everyone seemed inter-ested only because it was filmed in the town we lived in and they could make an immediate connection. After I watched this great film, I asked kids I knew in different areas if they enjoyed it and their response simply was, “Ehhh it wasn’t too bad, but I didn’t pay much attention and it didn’t keep me interested.” The weird thing about the movie was that in the neighborhood they filmed the movie in was really plain and simple, like the neighbor-hoods in my area. In Edward Scissorhands, the residents of the neighborhood lived a simple life with nothing burdening them. It was almost a perfect life with no drugs or alcohol, until the meeting of Edward.

* Tampa was one of the top distributors of illegal liquor in the United States during the prohibition. The prohibition was a time in the early 1900’s when the selling and purchasing of alcoholic beverages was made il-legal. During this time, people became rebellious and made little “stores” underground called speak-easies. To be permitted into these speak-easies, you would have to know a specific knock to make at the front door. In Tampa, people would have attics with breweries in it producing all sorts of beer and liquor because they did not have basements. The three main sources Tampa civilians got their alcohol from is international smugglers, bootleg-gers, and rural bootleggers. Just like during the prohibition, underage kids still manage to find loop-holes in the system and purchase alcohol. The ways today might be a little different. Today underage people get their alcohol through a person who’s twenty-one, a fake I.D, stealing it, etc.

*

The world's first scheduled airline service was established on January 1, 1914, with flights from St. Peters-burg to Tampa and landings that took place in the Hillsborough River. The Hillsborough River is a major river in the city of Tampa that is used quite frequently for multiple reasons. It is about fifteen to twenty minutes away from my neighborhood via car. I find it really astonishing that almost exactly a hundred years ago where I lived, the first airline was becoming established. Not a lot of people can say that and to me, this fact brings a sense of pride to myself. Although the first airline service flew from St. Pete to Tampa, multiple flights in the future would get cancelled due to the horrifying weather we experience here in Tampa.

* A fun fact about Tampa is that it’s Florida’s largest city. Two very contradicting facts about the city of Tampa is that Tampa is in the Guinness World Record Books for the most ongoing days with sunshine while it is also known that Tampa is the lightning capital of the United States. As I was living there, I experienced this every day of every year for eighteen years. The weather could go from a sunny blue-skied day to a black ominous sky within minutes. The weather in Tampa that occurs on a daily basis is enjoyable to me because this is one of the few places in the world where the weather/climate can change that quickly. Last year, the weather was as bad as it could get and Tampa hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention.

* Tampa hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention. The morning of the convention I was at a stop-light at Dale Mabry and Van Dyke sitting at a red light. All of a sudden there are cops everywhere. They stopped in the middle of the intersection and didn’t let anyone into the intersection. (This scared me for a second, I had no idea what was going on) Minutes later a line of probably a hundred cop cars entered the ramp to the Veterans Express Way and made their way downtown to the convention. I didn’t know at the time what was going on until I called my mom to find out why this happened. This convention created a lot of publicity for the city of Tampa. All of the cops had to be watching out for every little thing to make sure nothing bad would happen to the candi-dates.

* The Port of Tampa is Florida's largest port. It is used for multiple things, legal and illegal. For starts, I just recently went on a cruise in February out of the Port of Tampa. Not only is it used for cruises and what not but it serves as good scenery for a dinner date. Multiple cruise lines a day leave from this port. Another use for the port is for major foreign drug dealers.

* The Seminole Hard Rock & Casino is something else! It is absolutely beautiful and just recently reno-vated. This is a huge place that people come to from all over the world. The Indians built it on a reservation which is why it is so popularly known. The weird gambling rules they have is another reason why this place is so unique. To play poker you may be eighteen or over. However, to play any other games, including slots, you must be at least twenty one. Twice a month, my mom and I visit the casino and play black jack. My mom taught me how to play at a young age and has been playing with me consistently over the years. When I reached the age of eighteen, my mom decided to take me to play and see if I wouldn’t get carded. That plan was successful probably because since I was with my mom at the time, they didn’t bother asking any questions.

*

The Raymond James Stadium and the Tampa Yankee Stadium have a unique set up in Tampa. The location of these stadiums are on Dale Mabry and MLK. The unique part to this set-up is that they are actually right next to each other with a manmade walkway over Dale Mabry that you can walk to and from each stadium. This makes it very easy to go from one stadium to the next, if needed. Another purpose of this walkway is that if you parked on the Raymond James side to go to a Yankee game, you do not need to cross the street. Raymond James Stadium hosts the Buccaneers and USF Bulls Football games. Growing up, my father bought season tickets to the University of South Florida Bulls football team and to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football games. This was a common Saturday and Sunday tradition with my father. This helped me escape from everything else except for the two things I love the most: my father and football. However Raymond James Stadium hosts a lot of non-sports related activities. During the winter they’ve had ice skating there and during the summer they host huge concerts (Sunset Music Festival).

*Lutz and Tampa were my home for eighteen years and I wouldn’t want it any other way. These odd facts are what make my city unique. You will never come across another town that has the ability to have a suburban environ-ment, yet be so close to the city and enjoy the city atmosphere. You can easily benefit from this by getting the ‘best of both worlds’. It has many things that you can utilize if you just look at the big picture, instead of looking specifically for places like Busch Gardens or a water park. Lutz has many luxurious items and memories to offer to its residents to show how special this town really is. It has anything from a beautiful sunset to home of the best barbeque in the area. It is what you make of it.

ME: How did you first encounter this place?

MOTHER: We came to know Lutz after we relocated to the Tampa Bay area in 1991. I was recruited as a Director of St. Joseph's Hos-pital in Tampa. After having Evan and settling in, I decided to open up my own mortgage business which moved us even closer to Lutz. We found Lutz to be a great place to buy and build a home and start a family that was only about 20 minutes to the hospital and then closer to my new office. This was also only a few minutes from the heart of Tampa, a big city.

ME: What is the significance of this place to you as an adult and mother?

MOTHER: Lutz has a small town resi-dential feeling with small, private owned shops, quiet neighborhoods, small fishing lakes, quaint restaurants and schools. Only 10-20 minutes away are the immense shopping centers, city hospitals, nation known museums, movie the-atres, and Tampa’s baseball and football stadiums. Also, the University of South Florida, H.C.C and University of Tampa are all within 25 minutes of our house. Lutz has been the perfect place to establish a life and a family. We purchased a home in a golf club community with a large number of children, country club with a pools and activities. The country club pool even hosts a Memorial Day bash with a water slide and everything!

ME: What kind of knowledge does one need to better understand this place?

MOTHER: You need to understand the direction you are going in and where all the necessities are compared to where you live so you can have easy access to them. Understand where the community development, schools, neighbor-hoods and religious affiliations are.

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MARVELOUS MOTHER

ME: What types of activities can one undertake to better understand this place?

MOTHER: To learn about a city, you need to get out and speak to residents in the community, visit neighborhood establishments and research the city on the internet and the library. One can speak to religious affili-ations to obtain information about local synagogues and other religious affiliations. Understand the history of the place so that you will feel more comfortable in this specific environment.

ME: What characteristics of this place make it special compared to places like it?

MOTHER: It is the place where I raised my family, we have a beautiful home, great schools, wonderful friends and neighbors. For that, it will always be a very special place for me.

ME: What are the societal stereotypes that challenge this location?

MOTHER: Lutz is known as a small, upper middle class town. All of the schools which my son attended were built recently and have exceptional reputations. As a result of the emphasis on education and the caliber of the edu-cation, a large portion of the graduates from Lutz high schools attend college.

ME: How will these stereotypes affect those that go there?

MOTHER: Lutz has a well-known reputation in the Tampa Bay community for how prosperous it has become and wealthy. The families that live in this town are well off and teach their children the correct way to be a good person and later on become successful. It is known to have fine schools, beautiful suburban neighborhoods with lakes and lots of families raising their children.

Come look at the niehgborhoods and fami-lies that surround the area of Lutz and see what aspects benefit you. The two pictures here are showing you what one development, Heritage Harbour, in the area has. They have anything from a fun-filled all age appropriate community pool to a nice set-up for multiple different occasions. The other neighbor-hoods are just as eloquent It’s a blistering hot summer day, highs climbing to 105 degrees in Israel and I’m still as happy as a kid in a candy store. Although my firing pin is drying out and needs a greasing, my attitude is up in

It’s a blistering hot sum-mer day, highs climbing to 105 degrees in Israel and I’m still as happy as a kid in a candy store. Although my firing pin is drying out and needs a greasing, my attitude is up in the skies because today is the day where I find out who my owner is. The only thing I’m not really excited about is how sweaty hu-mans are and how sweaty they make us when they are holding us intensely! Not only do humans make us feel grimy because of the sweat, but they make us smell like dried up salt and rotten eggs too! “General Kaufman, grab that M16 ASAP and get to basic!!” yelled Lieutenant General Martin (m-are-teen). And there he is! Fi-nally! My owners name is General Kaufman? Wow, Kaufman started out as a general? I must say, that is pretty impressive. Ew, here comes the sweat …but how could you blame these soldiers? They’re wearing multiple layers of clothing with backpacks that probably ad at least 45 pounds in this 100 degree weather!

Life of Marcus, an M16

Off to Kravi we go! Kravi is a different type of basic training specifically established for combat soldiers going into the front lines to participate in fighting. I’ve overheard some of the commanders talking about Kravi and this type of basic training is significantly more difficult than any other train-ing because they are preparing for some of the soldiers worst endeavors yet. Some major areas they hit in basic training are the normal gun training with YOUR gun, challenging physical training and to learn how to help the guards at base. Learning how to help the guards out at base or just learning about the base is important because if they are ever under attack, the sol-diers know exactly where to go, even that isn’t their designated spot. In Kra-vi, they even teach you how to suffer when hungry and not being able to eat for a period of time as with not being able to sleep for a certain number of hours. I bet my owner, General Kaufman, is going to be a prime candidate for the best soldier here on base. I mean look at him, he’s 6’3 at 210 pounds; pure muscle with dark eyes and a defined jaw line. He seems to be pretty athletic with a good endurance! I am proud to be such a great gun for him, he treats me well and cleans me thoroughly twice a day. I couldn’t be luckier and happier with my owner. Here’s my time to shine! General Kaufman just arrived at gun training. People are yelling and demanding here, but I feel that General Kaufman will succeed in whatever he does. General Kaufman has to score an eight out of ten to move on to the next step so I have to put my all into helping my owner. Yes! General Kaufman nailed a nine out of ten with time to spare on shooting a target. Guess I’m not doing too bad myself! Now General Kaufman has to go through the rigorous steps of physical training where he doesn’t need me, but has to army crawl through thick and smelly mud, run his ass off for miles, climb up a wooden, half broken wall and other multiple endurance demanding activities. Hopefully he doesn’t do too badly so we can get moving on the shooting. Luckily, I am just a gun and not a human because what I’ve seen, it can get pretty gory and repulsive out there. Even though the soldier’s minds are going insane, it’s still a pet peeve when some soldiers pick us up and handle us roughly. You know, we are doing them a favor and helping them out and the soldiers treat us like we are the dirt/sand they step on, on a daily basis. Now I see my owner walking back, looking worn out. His hair is all messy with dirt on his cheekbones and his clothes all untucked. Just from the look of it, I can tell he had a tough time at this check point. Now that he’s cleaning me and I have a chance to eavesdrop, I know exactly what he encountered that day. Surprisingly, he passed the tests with borderline scores when I thought he’d pass with shooting stars. The climbing up a wooden wall and crawling through mud were just a few things he encountered on this memorable day.

1. 2.

Now that he’s done cleaning me, we’re walking to the barracks because it is time to go rest and reenergize for the next day. The barracks are terrible for guns like me, however the only time that it benefits me is when my owner gives me his best cleaning. It is much more thorough than the other cleanings during the day because he has more time than he normally does. He gets to fully take every piece of me apart and clean it with a special liquid that makes me look and feel great! This benefits me the most because not only am I shiny for the night but for the morning also. The down side to the barracks though are that I’m put in a terrible case that’s ridiculously tight and uncomfortable and to add on, I am there for about roughly 7 hours. The nights here in the barracks are absolutely freezing cold, making me shiver like never before because I don’t have the abil-ity to have a blanket like I see all the humans have. Also, its pitch black in there like a deep abyss that leads to nowhere. I sometimes feel as if I am looking into space because it is so si-lent and dark in the barracks. Anoth-er terrible thing about the barracks is the fact that it is silent, you could hear a water droplet hit the ground. I hate silence considering the fact I am a gun and used to producing so much noise on a daily basis. Now that it is the morning and General Kaufman has had his breakfast he grabs me from the case and were out the door!

3.General Kaufman graduated basic training four months later with me tagging along right by his side. He graduated in the top five of his class moving to infantry within a week or two. I can tell by his facial expressions that he is really excited and rather nervous about going straight into the enemy lines. It’s the first day on the job and we’re at base relaxing. General dropped me on what felt like hundred degree sand and I’m burning up! General Kaufman is throwing the football around with his friends in his company. They were playing two hand touch football and getting really competitive until two Middle Eastern men with turbans on started walking towards them, about a half mile down the desert. Gen-eral Kaufman immediately picked me up by the barrel and put me into shooting position just in case he had to use me, worst case scenario. I was extremely nervous because this is my first time with General Kaufman where I actually am put into action. I feel great though, ready to shoot. I can feel the different parts of me as well and they seem ready, not rusting or malfunctioning. General Kaufman and his company approach these two dangerous looking men cautiously and the men explain that they mean no harm and “prove” to them that they are not terrorists or a part of a terrorist group. As they are walking past the base, they unravel their tur-bans and clothing to reveal bombs and messages written on their bodies. It was obviously- *shooting* *shooting* Holy cow! I just killed those S.O.B.’s! General Kaufman sprinted towards them after he shot them to see if they were still alive and if they could get any information out of them. Turns out, one of the terrorists was still alive but still threatening them saying they would shoot them. One of the Israeli soldiers kicked the gun away from him, pinned him down and got information out of him before he died. They figured out which terrorist group they belonged to and immediately told headquarters. Unfortunately, General Kaufman and his company were completely wrong about these men not being terrorists, later finding out they were and found out what the messages on their bodies were. What was written on their bodies were derogatory sayings about Jewish people and their religion. General Kaufman wasn’t too happy about this, but hey what can I do? I’m only a gun! I’m glad that I finally saw some action though, it really breaks the ice for future incidents. This helped me for next time when some-thing like this happens so that I will not be ill prepared or get too excited and accidentally mess something up. After all this was completed I was put in a barrack and left alone.

4.

Next thing I knew, my owner grabbed me at the speed of lightning and sprinted outside. I must have been moved from the barracks because we were in an in-ner city where bombs were going off and people were shouting. Tanks were crushing cars like a shoe stepping on an ant and planes were shooting everywhere. This is more of what I am used too, although I don’t want to see my owner getting injured. I’m determined though and this is more of the environment I am used to work-ing in so I know I will do well. So we’re together now, about 6 soldiers and we’re rushing into a building that is smoking at the top. The soldiers are signaling each other to go to different places and do different things. General Kaufman is the guy who busted down the first door to enter the building and oh man, must I say what went on? I was firing bullets like I had twenty years under my belt! We must have shot at least fifteen ter-rorists, just General Kaufman and me. As a team, we emptied out the whole building, but one of the soldiers in the company got shot in the leg and my best friend was his gun! The soldier immediately dropped his gun because of the pain. I couldn’t believe that my best friend, another M16, could get left behind in the matter of seconds. As General Kaufman picked up the injured soldier over his shoulders, he grabbed his gun and kept shooting. Thankfully he needed his gun at the time or else he wouldn’t have picked it up and I wouldn’t have a best friend anymore. During that time, I had a major adrenaline rush and my head was spinning! Turns out, as soon as we got back to base, something was bother-ing General Kaufman in the back of the thigh. It turned into an excruciating pain and he later found out after going to the hospital, a piece of shrapnel from a bomb penetrated the back of his thigh and he didn’t even real-ize or notice it because of the adrenaline rush he had trying to save a colleague. This caused him to be put on bed rest and man did he disliked the idea of bed rest but understood what had to be done to get back out into ac-tion. For now, I wasn’t going anywhere fast; I stayed by his bedside because he wanted me there. I was the only thing that could act as a sanction because I allowed him to think about what he wanted to be doing at that exact time.

4. CONTINUEDGeneral Kaufman was sent home for a few months back in Lutz, Florida because the injured part of his leg became infected due to the fact that they couldn’t treat it fast enough. When General Kaufman finally got home I was laid down in a case with the case faced open right near a window. The neighborhood seemed to be really nice, obviously not for my kind. It was always really quiet around and seemed to be away from the city. Every time I peered out of the window I could see multiple rows of forests and brush. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much physical activity and just sat in my case for hours at a time. I disliked it here a tremen-dous amount. For starts, General Kaufman would try and work out, but later fail because every time he would try to position himself the correct way he would start wincing and scream (in a quiet manner). All he wanted to do was get back out there and fight for his country. At his house, I just sat against the wall, day dreaming about a war zone and explaining to myself what I’d do in any given situation. This only mentally prepared me and I needed to be physically prepared too, being shot on a daily basis. I haven’t been cleaned or kept up to date at all lately and I am starting to really miss it. I’m starting to feel like I am a gun from World War II because I feel so out of date. What I miss the most about a war zone is the noise! Do you have any idea how it feels to just sit here?! Si-lent?! When I start thinking about this I glance to General Kaufman and see he is watching some box shaped thing. Coming out of this box shaped object are noises that sound exactly like war, it’s amazing! I don’t know how one is recording this during the actual war! It blows my mind that the person behind the camera is never getting shot at or actually shot. Me being able to watch this when General Kaufman does on a regular basis really puts me at ease and helps me keep my mind off of wanting to get back out there.

5.

This is the only thing that really puts me to sleep at night. I can tell this helps General since before he watches this box looking object, he acts very melancholy and moves around his house nostalgic-like.

General Kaufman isn’t doing too well; he had to be rushed to the local hospital after being home for a month. We are at a hospital that is located five minutes from his house and the paramedics couldn’t get him into surgery fast enough. My owner, General Kaufman, has officially passed away. I am ab-solutely devastated, hoping that this is all a dream; however I don’t think it is. I haven’t seen any civili-zation in weeks until an army mar-shal walks in and looks around. He picks me up roughly and picks up his cellphone and mentions to the person on the other line that he has me secured and we’re on the way back to Israel. Now I have to start a new life with a new soldier. I wonder what awaits me in the future.

5. CONT’D 6.

ME: How did you first encounter this place?

FATHER: Since my wife and I needed to be in the Tampa Bay area for our careers, we researched the neighboring cities of Tampa and discovered the Lutz area to have a "country" set-ting, however was still close enough to take advantage of what the Tampa Bay area had to offer; such as shopping malls, close to major highways, restaurants, museum and sporting venues. It has a country setting because it is a suburban environment. There is a lot of space around here, including farms and barns. Tons of cows populate the land, but because it is so close to the city of Tampa, it isn’t considered to be a hundred percent country.

ME: What is the significance of this place to you as an adult?

FATHER: Since my wife and I came to Lutz when it was first being established, we had the ability to build and construct our own house in a fairly new neighborhood. After moving into a nice neighborhood we realized that there wasn’t enough chil-dren for Evan so we decided to move into a brand new neigh-borhood called Heritage Harbor. Because I am a contractor, I was able to build my own house for my family exactly the way they wanted it. Lutz not only allowed us to establish a family, but amazing friends next door and across the street that we still converse with on a daily basis. Another thing Lutz had to offer was a great Jewish Community in the area; it is great always running into another person with the same religion.

ME: What kind of knowledge does one need to better under-stand this place?

FATHER: Research the neighborhoods in the surrounding area to see which has more to offer. One day at the community pool, I had a young couple come up to me and ask if I’m living in paradise; I was quite stunned at first but then responded, yes I enjoy this neighborhood a lot. After having this discussion, the young couple then explained to me they are looking for a house to raise their family in. Another thing to do is to go on google maps and get a feel for the area and also getting first-hand experience can help too. Go visit different places in Lutz and check out all the entertainment and what there is to do.

FATHER SAMUEL

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ME: What types of activities can one undertake to better un-derstand this place?

FATHER: Visit the area to get first-hand experienced (like said above). Get involved in the activities and religious organi-zations, speak to the neighbors to find out their opinions of the schools, neighborhoods and communities.

ME: What characteristics of this place make it special com-pared to places like it?

FATHER: The Convenient location to schools is number one. We live about 2 miles (if that) from a Pre-school, Elementary School, Middle School and High School. It’s great because if Evan ever missed the bus or forgot an assignment at home, it wasn’t difficult to fix the dilemma. The country setting really makes it unique because we can fish, hunt or even just gaze at the wildlife whenever you want. Another reason why Lutz is so unique is because it is just so family orientated and a genuinely happy place to be.

ME: What are the societal stereotypes that challenge this loca-tion?

FATHER: Because it is in a more country setting, some ste-reotypes are that the residents are “rednecks”, while others think of Lutz as an upper middle class town due to the upscale neigh-borhoods. You will often see multiple trucks that are lifted and “decked” out with country apparel. However, the upper-middle class is now the majority of Lutz and people are soon beginning to understand that.

ME: How will these stereotypes affect those that go there?

FATHER: People will draw stereotypes from their experi-ences and social environment. For example, on Urban Dictionary the definition of Lutz is that you will see multiple red necks and that is it. They’re assuming the only type of people that populate Lutz are the trashy white people, which is completely wrong be-cause it is much more than that.

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ME: How did you first encounter Lutz?

CRISTINA: I was born in Tampa, but my family already lived in Lutz prior to me being born. My dad built a majority of the houses on my street. I was raised in Lutz, not moving anywhere till I was of age at 18.

ME: What is the significance of this place to you as a student, as softball player, or as an employee?

CRISTINA: As a student in public school in Lutz, you begin to realize everyone you see, you know. I’ve known the same people from elementary all the way up to high school. You will always be making new friends in Lutz, but keeping the same friends throughout your life is pretty common. If I were to go to the movies or to the mall on a Saturday, you will easily see at least 5 people from your classes there. Being a little league softball player in Lutz isn’t too hor-rible. Since the town is pretty small, the coaches know every player by name. It wasn’t hard for me to get onto a team since the coaches did know me for at least 5 years. When coaches got to pick players via the draft, supposedly they would fight over players because they knew some of them personally. Due to the fact that my family knows everybody in Lutz it wasn’t to difficult for me to find a temporary job. I enjoyed working at Publix because I saw so many familiar faces there. For example, I saw your dad at least twice a week shopping. It was just pleasant knowing the customers at my store aren’t going to be rude to me be-cause they knew me so well.

ME: What kind of knowledge does one need to better understand this place?

CRISTINA: For starts, it is pronounced, “L-O-O-T-Z” not “L-U-T-Z”!! Every-body that has lived there their whole life knows how it is correctly pronounced. That is a huge thing in Lutz because a lot of out-of-towners butcher that word. Another thing you need to know about Lutz is that if you mess with one per-son, you’re messing with a lot more. If you can memorize how U.S 41 and Dale Mabry run and that they are the main roads of Lutz then you will know how to get everywhere. These main roads are populated day in and day out. To compre-hend Lutz in a better way, you have to understand that Lutz transitions from a wealthy neighborhood to a street of run down houses in about a miles length. You will see anything from a Bentley to a Mercedes to a 1995 Honda Accord. Also, if you live in Lutz, you might need to understand that there is a Pre-School, Elementary school, Middle school and High School all within a half mile of each other; therefore this is the reason why people are so familiar with each other.

COOLIN’ IT WITH CRISTINA

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ME: What types of activities can one undertake to better understand this place?

CRISTINA: One activity you can do to better under-stand this place is to just show up at a party, preferably a high school one. By doing this, you will see just how close everyone is. Another thing you can do is just take a joy ride around Lutz and you will immediately feel out the place. You’ll see where people hang out, popular stores, and where everything is. A major social activity where you can see how people interact and get a better understanding of the place is to smoke marijuana with a couple of people. Nearly everyone is in possession of marijuana and kids get together after school to par-take in large smoke sessions.

ME: What characteristics of this place make it special com-pared to places like it?

CRISTINA: Knowing just a few people can give you end-less connections. Although, a lot of kids enjoy smoking mari-juana, it doesnt side tracked them. The education system is phenomenal as well as the athletic departments too. Just in my senior class, I know at least 15 kids with scholarships for sports. Also, the valedictorian at my school graduated with a 7.2 G.P.A. Nearly 60% of the senior class graduated in white (honors)

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I would like to just briefly say thank you to the following magazines and their producers/editors for giving me the opportunity to use ideas or designs in their magazines. I was able to spark thoughts and concepts for my magazine by reading and flipping through these magazines.

Appearance

Diction How to go in periodic se-quence

Examples

VisualsAds

Design

Set-upPurpose

How to place visuals

My audience

How to appeal to viewers

Entertainment

Which questions to ask during interview

How to connectDifferent ways to communicate (pull quotes, etc)

What was useful from specific mag What was useful from specific mag

THANKS TO PAGE