POPALOCKKY.COM
KEYSTROKE MONTHLY THE
OCTOBER 2019 IN THE LINE OF FIRE
Facing Down What Scares Us Most
W as there ever something that unnerved or frightened you so much as a child that it stuck with you into adulthood? I’m sure this phenomenon is common for a lot of us, but, in my experience, those fears are almost never worth the anxiety we allot them. One fear that stuck with me from my early childhood into my early adulthood was the idea of crawling underneath machine gun fire in basic training for the army. Let me explain. I was the youngest of five boys growing up, and, when I was around 6 years old, my oldest brothers, who were twins, went to basic training after they were drafted for the Korean War. When they came back home to visit, they told us stories of their grueling time at basic, and among those stories was one about crawling under machine gun fire. It was exactly what it sounds like; new trainees would have to crawl on their bellies through the dirt, all while a machine gun blared over their heads, simulating the turmoil of the battleground. Now, my older brothers might have made the experience sound more harrowing that it actually was, if only to scare me. Exaggerating events to younger siblings to frighten them is a hallmark pastime of older brothers everywhere. However, fact or fiction, the idea of bullets flying overhead before they even got to the battleground stuck with me. About 18 years later, I joined the Army National Guard, and I had to go through Army basic training. My brothers’ story came back to haunt me as I was on my way to Fort Campbell in Kentucky. I realized I would probably have to do the very thing that scared me so much. Part of basic training for me and the other new trainees was bivouacking at the fort in December. Even in Kentucky, camping out in the middle of December is freezing, and talk of crawling under machine gun fire permeated the camp. The stories were reminiscent of some of the things my brothers had said. A few trainees claimed they heard the machine gun fell off its mount while the last group was completing the exercise, but I don’t know how true that was. It certainly didn’t help me feel less anxious about the whole ordeal, though.
The day finally arrived, but it did not go as I thought it would. As I stood in line at the mess tent, my drill sergeant called on me and five others to get on a personnel truck once we were finished eating. They were taking us back to our quarters to do KP duty for the night, and then for breakfast the next day. That meant we were on a truck right when we were supposed to crawl. Long story short, we watched a lot of trainees crawl under machine gun fire — but I never had to do it myself. Now, I don’t mean to apply my experience to say you’ll never have to face the thing you’re afraid of because you might have to do just that. But I think there’s a lesson here about not worrying about things you can’t control because you simply don’t know if what you’re afraid will really ever happen. We’ll all come face to face with the things we’re afraid of, but, if we can accept that some aspects of facing our fears are out of our control, I think we’ll ultimately come out alright. -Doug Barnes
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FALL FAMILY FUN
Decorate Your House With Your Own Creations!
The leaves are turning, the weather is changing, and the holidays are right around the corner, which means it’s time to bring out the fall decor! To make this season especially memorable for your family, create your own decorations with these fun ideas below. PINE CONE PAINTING Go on a family walk through the park to pick up a few fallen pine cones or take a quick trip to the store to buy a bag. Once everyone has their own hand-picked pine cone, grab a paintbrush and a few colors and have at it! For extra flair, add some fixings like glitter, beads, sequins, string, and more. LEAF PAINTING Take a trip outside with the kids to pick out some large, unbroken leaves, then head back inside and get creative! You can pull out the construction paper and paint trees, using handprints and “arm prints” as the
trunks and branches. Paint the leaves you found to spruce up your trees or use them as decorations on their own. You can also use them for leaf printing or leaf pressing. FUN FINGER FOOD When you’ve got multiple friends and family members coming over and you need snacks, edible decorations are the way to go. You can get a little creative and make elaborate treats, or you can opt for delicious and easy-to-make finger foods with your kids. A good starting treat for your family is a batch of pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats. Add orange food coloring to the mix and get your kids to shape the treats like pumpkins before using a few pretzel sticks to make sturdy stems. THANKSGIVING CRAFTS Thanksgiving is only a month away, and your possibilities for holiday-themed crafts are endless with just a few supplies like
paper, scissors, markers, and string. You can make turkey placemats, tissue paper trees, pumpkin garlands, paper pumpkins, or leaf mobiles to hang from the ceiling. Compile a list of ideas and have your kids pick out which craft they want to do first, then get to work together to create as many decorations as you want to display for Turkey Day. With these engaging craft ideas, the whole family will be eager to make their own decorations and show them off for months to come!
How One Company Fights Pediatric Cancer
HATS FOR EVERY HEAD The annual revenue of apparel company Love Your Melon, which produces knit cotton beanies, is projected to hit $40 million this year. It’s hard to believe it started out as a project for founders Brian Keller’s and Zachary Quinn’s college entrepreneurship class. However, Love Your Melon didn’t become what it is today until the founders saw a need to fill in the fight against child cancer. Nearly 16,000 kids under 19 are diagnosed with cancer every year according to the American Childhood Cancer Organization. When Keller and Quinn first began selling beanies, they were just helping residents of St. Paul, their university hometown, cope with the frigid winters. Quinn credited Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie for the idea to introduce a “buy one, donate one” business model. After he and Keller sold their first 200 beanies, they donated 200 to the oncology department of a nearby children’s hospital. The rest is history. Keller and Quinn leaned hard into their mission to provide every child fighting cancer with a hat, and they achieved it. Instead of stopping there, they started donating 50% of Love Your Melon’s profits to like-minded organizations like the Children’s Cancer Research Fund and the Foundation for Cancer Care in Tanzania. At the same time, they’ve also diversified their products to include T-shirts, tank tops, pullovers, and other apparel. Love Your Melon’s successful ongoing mission has earned it a spot on the growing list of successful businesses that put their mission before profit. When asked about the company’s success, Quinn attests to the power of social media in
raising awareness for Love Your Melon’s mission. One ad campaign on Facebook earned them a 14-fold return on their investment. Social media campaigns have been essential in bringing millennial and Generation Z customers to online businesses like Love Your Melon. Their mission may earn them loyal followers, but their social media savviness connected effectively with their market. In the age of information, philanthropic business like Love Your Melon take off because a clear mission and means bring awareness to the masses.
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LOST TO TIME
History’s Long Locked Doors
At Pop-A-Lock, we like to think we can open any locked door, no matter how stubborn the lock may be. But around the world, some doors, for one reason or another, simply will not be opened. Many ancient temples, tombs, and haunted hotel rooms remain sealed off to this day and contain mysterious things we can only speculate about. INDIA’S TEMPLE TREASURE TROVE The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple (try saying that five times fast) in India is the richest temple in the world. In 2011, five sealed vaults beneath it were opened to reveal vast amounts of gold and precious jewels worth $22 billion. But a sixth vault remains sealed. Indian Astrologers believe anyone who opens that chamber will be cursed unless they recite a sacred chant before entering. The only problem is no one alive today knows the chant. Like the contents of the vault, it has been lost to time. BANFF SPRINGS HOTEL’S MISSING ROOM An entrance to a room at this hotel in Alberta, Canada, has been sealed shut with bricks and covered with wallpaper, concealing it from their guests. This is Room 873, outside of which many visitors have reported seeing the ghosts of previous guests. One common ghost spotted is a bride who was staying in room 873 and tragically died on the hotel stairs. Whether the hauntings are true or not, the room is real — even if it is sealed off for the foreseeable future.
THE TOMB OF CHINA’S FIRST EMPEROR Under a great hill outside the city of Xi’an,
recipe title archeological technology, so they can better preserve whatever they find. It is the country’s first emperor, after all. But still, it’s disappointing that some of us may never know what lies behind the door of his mausoleum. surrounded by a terracotta army, is the final resting place of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. While the thousands of terracotta soldiers were a massive discovery alone, historic documents promise even greater treasures in the tomb itself. There’s just one problem: The government of China won’t open it. It’s not for any supernatural reason — China simply wants to wait for more advanced
TAKE A BREAK
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
On Tim Hudgins
When you lock yourself out of your car, it can be nice if your locksmith empathizes with the panic and frustration you feel. As someone who used to have a bad habit of locking himself out of his own car before he became a car door unlocking technician, Tim Hudgins understands those feelings all too well. Tim has been working at Pop-A-Lock for nearly four years, and in that time, he has never failed to make our customers feel comfortable in an incredibly uncomfortable situation. He always shows up with a smile on his face, and his cheerful demeanor disarms even the most frustrated of customers.
Tim spends any time he’s not working with his 4-year-old daughter, Aurora. She is the center of his life, and anything he does, he does for her.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
FACING DOWN WHAT SCARES US MOST PAGE 1
FALL CRAFTS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
HATS FOR EVERY HEAD PAGE 2 WILL THESE DOORS STAY LOCKED FOREVER? SPOTLIGHTING TIM HUDGINS PAGE 3
THE REAL LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW PAGE 4
HAYRIDES AND HEADLESS HORSEMEN Halloween Celebrations in Sleepy Hollow
In 1790, a school teacher named Ichabod Crane was riding home alone from a harvest festival in the village of Sleepy Hollow when he encountered a mysterious rider on horseback. Crane, horrified by the horseman’s missing head, turned and ran in the opposite direction. The Headless Horseman gave chase, hurling his own decapitated head at the terrified teacher. Ichabod Crane was never heard from again ... or so goes “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving.
“Dark Shadows” will be delighted to enter the crypt of famed vampire Barnabas Collins.
Another highly anticipated stop for many guests is Sleepy Hollow’s premier annual attraction, Horseman’s Hollow, an experience not for the faint of heart. During the event, the 300-year- old Philipsburg Manor is transformed into a living nightmare, where vampires, witches, ghouls, and undead soldiers lurk in the shadows. They all serve the dreaded Headless Horseman and are determined to make sure guests don’t leave alive! But it’s not all scares in Sleepy Hollow. There’s plenty of Halloween fun for all ages. Sleepy Hollow boasts relaxing hayrides, tours of Irving’s home, live readings of famous Halloween stories, performances of a brand-new musical based on Irving’s spooky tale, and the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, an incredible exhibition of over 7,000 hand-carved pumpkins.
This story, first published in 1820, has become a Halloween favorite. The legend is so beloved that in 1997, the village of North Tarrytown, New York, where many events of the story take place, officially changed its name to Sleepy Hollow. Today, the town becomes one big Halloween party during the month of October.
Sleepy Hollow is home to many historic landmarks, including the Headless Horseman Bridge and the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where Washington Irving himself was laid to rest. Evening lantern tours of the cemetery are a popular attraction, and Irving isn’t the only spooky celebrity buried there. Fans of the Gothic soap opera
If you want a real Halloween experience, you can’t go wrong in Sleepy Hollow. Just be careful not to lose your head!
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