Scary spiders, sweet smoothies and a new policy for LDS missionaries are the topics of our newest installment of Trending With TX.
To the rescue
Spiders are one of my biggest fears. I hate to admit it, but they scare the living daylights out of me! Even though they are small and they seem harmless, they aren’t. And every time I see a spider I immediately go to my mom. She is the expert spider killer in my house and I honestly don’t know what I would do without her.
Recently, I was reading the newspaper like I always do before school and my eye was drawn to the word “spider.” It turned out to be an article headlined: “Sheriff’s deputy defends use of deadly force — on a spider.” It was a very amusing article about how Davis County Sheriff’s Deputy Dave Passmore was asked to get rid of a spider that was in a woman’s car. He was shown where the spider was and, “in a quick and humane manner ... ended the life of the creature,” he said in his police report.
To Deputy Passmore, can I just say, thank you! Even though it wasn’t me who freaked out over the spider in my car, it is the type of thing that I would have done. It was very kind and considerate of you to stop what you were doing, and help this woman out in getting rid of “a rogue arachnid.”
— Brynn Whaley, Syracuse High
Time to serve
Astonishing!
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turned their heads in shock on a recent Saturday morning during the address by President Thomas S. Monson at the annual General Conference. Admist his greetings to church members, Monson boldly stated for all to hear that the age requirement to serve a church mission — a two-year service for men and 1 1/2-year service for women — was being lowered to age 18 for males and 19 for females.
Eyebrows shot to the ceiling and jaws hit the floor! What? Did I hear that right? Young men may now leave at the age of 18 and after graduating high school? What a momentous occasion!
I see more pros than cons to this announcement, but there are some downsides. One con is the young men who have been waiting so long to go on a mission could have submitted their papers earlier; however, that’s only a disappointment rather than an inconvenience. Also, as young men put away money for a mission, they now have to cut short their long-term savings plans and realize that they need to prepare now.
The age change also affects young women, who used to have to wait until age 21 to serve. Two years is a big difference, and women no longer have the excuse to wait and see if they get married first or, if not, go on a mission.
On the plus side, both men and women will come home at relatively the same age from missions, so it will be easier to wait for a missionary. It will also be good to eliminate the limbo period between when boys graduate high school to when they leave on their mission. A lot of young men get into trouble, or decide not to go in that time; it is simply too long for them to stay and think about all the things they might miss.
The age change is better for young women because they now have the same weight on their choice to go on a mission. Most girls get married or engaged before 21, so a mission used to be out of the question. This new opportunity now requires serious pondering among all young LDS women. I know that I’ll be thinking long and hard about my decision because I have realized how close 17 is to 19.
— Taylor Deem, Fremont High
Frozen delights
What is Red Mango? Sure, if you replace the capital letters with lowercase ones, it’s just a fruit. But the other Red Mango is a relatively new smoothie and frozen yogurt chain that started up in 2007 with a location in Layton.
What makes it different from stores like Menchie’s and SubZero is the fact that it’s “all-natural, nonfat, kosher, and certified gluten-free,” and has calcium, protein and probiotics, according to the company’s website, www.redmangousa.com. Better for you than overly sweet ice cream, Red Mango has classically sweet and creamy frozen yogurts, but also tart frozen yogurts smoothies, parfaits, frozen lemonades and frozen coffee chillers.
TX. writer Danielle Collier, a Red Mango employee, says, “My favorite flavor is nutty potion, which is made with Nutella and the classic yogurt base.”
Personally, my favorite is the mocha coffee chiller. I love the taste of coffee, but it’s not bitter, it’s sweet and creamy because of the yogurt.
— Minna Wang, NUAMES
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