Cardinal News

A true story about signs from McKena Ludemann

We all encounter many signs in our lifetime. Some of these signs are good and some are bad. There are signs that guide us along the highways. Signs that tell us when we can go and when we have to stop or when we have to turn left or right. Signs can also be something that reveals what is about to happen. A good sign could be when its nice out in the morning and its not humid, that means its going to be a nice day. There are signs that the world is going to end and hopefully we will not see those signs in our lifetime.
So what is a sign in my life? There is one big sign that is coming soon and that would be that of a diploma. This sign signifies FREEDOOOOOOOMMM!!!! This freedom is the release from this penitentiary and all the abuse that has come along with it. The diploma can also be a sign of maturity as after high school we will be on our own, going to college, and then into the real world and if we are to do this we need maturity and thats what you gain when you receive that scroll of paper. Along with maturity, it shows the great success that we have accomplished throughout our high school career.
A new road, this road is what we turn onto when we receive that infamous piece of paper. This road will not be easy and we will have to work just as hard as we did in high school from which we receive that paper.
A diploma is also a sign of many great and possibly some awkward memories but mostly good ones. These are the memories that are going to stick with us till we leave this earth. Those memories are what we are going to cherish and look back on when we are not having a good day or week or month.
Lastly, this thing they call a diploma is a great sign of the relationships that we have gained since joining this maximum security prison. We will never forget those friends we made in high school, those teachers that just didnt care if we did anything or not, and all the fun trips we all had together along the way.
Well to wrap this up, I just want to say I hope that all the signs in your life are good and bring good things to you. Well there you go. You now know a good example of a sign people get every year. As for the SMH Class of ‘09. Let’s roll out!

When the word sign comes to mind for me it means, things that happen in your life that don’t just happen by coincidence. So my experience with signs is going to deal with that and with something in life I really happen to enjoy, music.

This is something everybody has probably experienced in their life before. Your having a rough day, you get into the car or turn on the radio and either you are flipping thru the stations or it’s the first song that comes on and it’s this song that describes your life at that exact moment. You think of how you can relate to it on so many levels. The song might make you feel better or it might make you feel worse but it is there. It’s describing your life and your loving being able to relate to it.

To me something like that doesn’t just happen by coincidence you were meant to hear that song that you love at that moment or meant to discover it at that time. In the story about myself, I’m going to share with you my experience with a sign and a song. I already knew the song and it described the relationship I had with someone else to a T. But first, I’m going to share this story of one of my friends and her experience with a song that came on the radio and was a sign for her.

My friend Emily and I are heading back from somewhere we both can’t seem to remember but the place isn’t so much important as the memory that came about by it. The radio is playing and we are listening to it and more than likely singing our hearts out like crazy people. The song “Apologize” comes on and Emily turns to me. She tells me that this song is the song that describes her and Connor A.’s relationship perfectly. It describes how they are constantly fighting and he always trys to apologize for acting overdramatic. Ever since then when either of us hears that song come out through the speakers it reminds of both of that boy in her life. Even though it says in the song, “It’s too late to apologize.” usually she forgives him but sometimes it really is just too late. The song is only on one or two CDs that we barely listen to anymore. But still, there will be times we randomly listen to those CDs. We will have literally just been talking about him and that song will play. It freaks us out because we never notice the songs on the CD unless we have been listening to it a lot. So when we randomly put in one of those couple CDs with that song and that situation happens again and again it is really freaky but it is definitely a sign for her. I believe so as well, it really is their song.

My story is of a time in my life when I told a person that there was a song that described us perfectly. The song is completely cheesy and embarressing to admitt but it was “Fall For You”. They had never heard the song before until I burned it onto a CD and gave it to them. After hearing it for the first time on that CD every time we were around each other after that it always seemed to find a way to end up being played on the radio or whatever. One night, we both weren’t ready to go home yet so we were driving around talking and we couldn’t decide on a station because they all were playing really bad songs so we just turned off the radio. We had spent hours together but finally we decided that it was time to go home. I turned the radio back on for one last song and the first thing we heard is that song playing. He doesn’t believe in things happening for a reason but I could tell by the look on his face, he was in complete shock. I laughed and said, “It’s probably just a coincidence.” Something he used to always say to me that I never believed. In that moment all the words in that song were true and for me it was a complete sign and I know for the first time in his life it was a sign for him too.

Signs are everywhere we look. They come up in the most interesting situations. Sometimes they are good and sometimes we wish they wouldn’t have happened. They come in any shape or form it just depends on how you perceive things. I think everything happens for a reason. Some people only see them as coincidence but who is to say what is a sign and what is just something that accidently happens? Signs are happening all the time just look and you’ll find one. For all you know right now reading my story about signs was a sign for you. =)

One day, not too very long ago, on a chilly St. Patrick’s weekend in O’Neill Nebraska, Merle had been camped out at the bowling alley…I’ll take this moment to describe Merle. A high school senior, typically wears tennies with his shirt and tie, he’s had…a couple girlfriends, plays some sports, and quite often slightly imbelishes his stories. Just for your information, Merle’s name isn’t really Merle, it’s Michael. I’m not really all that clear on why he’s referred to as Merle. No one is. Also, we’re related. I spend holidays, birthdays, and most all of my Sunday mornings with this kid. We were born five months apart. I’d say I know him pretty well.
So back to our story, on this chilly St. Pat’s evening, On leaving the bowling alley, he approached a stop sign. This stop sign was just like many other stop signs in the town of O’Neill, pointless. Now when passing this seemingly pointless sign, Merle didn’t find it a good idea to stop as completely as he should’ve. (If you ask Merle he will inform you that this situation was more or less unfair.) So as Merle pulled away from the red sign, with his younger siblings along for the ride, he saw another type of red sign. This red sign was a light, this red light was mixed with blue light, the sign of a police car. At this point in time Merle’s thoughts went something like this: “#&*@”. (Merle’s thoughts will be edited for content throughout the telling of this story.) Because Merle saw both of these signs, refrained from obeying the first, and was seemingly reprimanded by the second, he put himself into quite the pit of despair. Also known as, Merle received a ticket. This ticket, the sign of the money that would come out of our little Merle’s pocket, cost exactly one hundred and nineteen dollars. Merle’s first thoughts here? “What the heck!?” (once again, Merle’s thoughts have been edited for content).
Merle’s sign story is a story that can be told simillarily by many other people in about the same situation, but through these signs Merle learned a lesson, or he should’ve: to stop for a full three seconds at each stop sign, no matter where you are and how pointless that sign seems. Because sometimes signs seem pointless and we learn from Merle’s encounter with the fuzz that we should always stop to find the meaning in the signs around us, no matter how pointless they may seem. Because maybe, ignoring the signs we see could lead us into a pit of despair, or cost you $119.

-Katie

When you say the word signs to somebody there can be many thoughts going through their head. They could be thinking, “Oh yeah, that movie about aliens,” or if they are in drivers ed they could be thinking about signs along the road and what they all mean, the person could possibly even be thinking about signs in their life, things that meant something to them. Well when I think about signs I think, “What are these kids doing?!”

Well obvously they are making the same hand sign as the one that is on their shirts. (If you didn’t notice this the first time it is ok to look again.) But the question still remains, why is the sign even on their shirt, and why are they making it with their hands? Well I talked to one of the students in the photo, no not myself, so I could better explain it to you. Well as the story goes, during one-acts this year a team from Wausa had come up with a way to show how much school spirit their team had. One student would yell, “We are…” and the remainder of the students replied,”Wausa!!” at which time they would make a W with their hands. Well the St.Mary’s students found this entertaining so they swiched the W upside down into a M for Mary in SMH. They had this sign put on their speech shirts and also made the sign in their speech photo.

I talked to one of the students who witnessed the Wausa group making this hand sign and asked why they found the Wausa people so entertaining. The student expalined to me that they were just so excited about their fine arts program and they were willing to do everything. Not only did they proudly yell their chants of “Wausa” at one-act meets, but they also sang enthuastically along with the St. Mary’s students when they would start a song at district speech, which was held at Wausa by the way.

So when people say the word “signs” to me, I don’t think of movies, or road signs, or even things that have a significant meaning to me, I think about a group of kids posing in their speech shirts making a “M” sign with their hands. Maybe next time someone says signs to you, you will think of this also, maybe not, but in the end it doesn’t really matter.
-Brigette Ascherl