High Life : A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : ‘4 Turkeys, 3 Hams and 25 Pies . . . ‘ Add Up to Best Yule

‘Tis the season for making memories--either happy ones or sad, good or bad. Maybe you recall a warm family gathering, a particular present you received--or didn’t receive--or a special vacation trip.

Hot Topics wonders: “What is your best or worst holiday memory?”

“My best memory has to be when one year my dad invited the whole family to dinner, all 170 of them. We had four turkeys, three hams, 25 pies and tons of mashed potatoes and gravy.”

Alona Studerbaker, 14,

freshman, Katella

“It wasn’t really my best or worst, but it was my weirdest. When I was about 4, someone gave me a big pack of cheese for Christmas.”

Tracy Nickens, 15,

sophomore, Western

“Three years ago at Christmas when we went camping in Utah. I didn’t get any Christmas presents, and I got bit by a dog.”

Joe Thitathan, 17,

senior, Huntington Beach

“The Christmas my grandfather died, because just before he died he bought me a beautiful jewelry box with a card saying how much he loved me and missed seeing me since he was so far away.”

Midori Ferris, 17,

senior, Connelly

“One year, my mother hid all of our Christmas presents at a neighbor’s house. But the neighbors were away, and she forgot about that. My mom had to break into a house after calling hundreds of miles away for their permission.”

Lisa Murray, 18,

senior, Western

“My brother and I wondered why Santa and my parents both used the same wrapping paper.”

Mike Hallock, 17,

senior, Cypress

“My worst Christmas is going to be this year, because my mom is going to Atlanta with Operation Rescue. But then I think about all the babies that will be saved, so, in a sense, this is also the best Christmas.”

Kimberly Goodsell, 16,

junior, Bethel Baptist

“My worst memory is when I was about 10, and I had to choose which parent to spend the day with.”

Stephanie Person, 16,

junior, Ocean View

“My best holiday memory is when I left for New York and spent seven days last year seeing seven Broadway shows.”

Michael B. Tabb, 18,

senior, University

“My worst holiday memory happened last year. My family and I went up to our house in the Sierra to spend Christmas in the snow. We encountered an enormous storm which blew through and knocked out the power, heat and water to the area for about 12 hours. We had to work everything over our fireplace and had to cook snow for water.”

Robert Benefield, 17,

senior, Savanna

“When I was 6 and we had a family--we had our dad with us.”

Miho Murai, 15,

sophomore, Huntington Beach

“I woke up and there were no toys. My mom handed me the keys to the car and when I opened the trunk, there were all these really cheesy gifts. It was a major disappointment.”

Rita Mercado, 16,

junior, Connelly

“It’s around Christmas that I feel most depressed. I think about the things that I’ve done and things that have happened this past year of my existence, and I wonder, what happened? What did I do to add some meaning to my life or to the lives of those around me? The answer is usually the same: ‘Not much.’ ”

L.Q. Nguyen, 17,

senior, Santiago

“One of my good memories was in Georgia, going up to the mountains, picking out our Christmas tree and cutting it down.”

Ashlea Kaas, 15,

sophomore, Brea-Olinda

“My worst holiday memory was three years ago when my dad cut his thumb wide open on Christmas morning with the whittling knife that I gave him.”

Jennifer Stubbs, 16,

junior, Katella

“I got my first case of chicken pox on Christmas morning.”

Jennifer Watkin, 17,

senior, Savanna

“Best--the Christmas I got my guitar. Worst--whenever I see a homeless person on the street during the holidays.”

Joe Clevenger, 15,

senior, Heritage

“When I was 7, I woke up on Christmas Eve to see if Santa had arrived yet. Under the Christmas tree, I found a purple Barbie Corvette. I took it out of the box, put stickers on the hood, then tried to get it back into the box. I couldn’t quite get it the way it was originally. The next morning, my mom couldn’t figure out how it got opened.”

Angie Gregory, 17,

senior, Mater Dei

“My first and best holiday memory is when my whole family went to Hawaii for the entire Christmas vacation.”

Gen Smith, 16,

sophomore, Pathfinder

“When I received the Barbie camper and the Barbie kitchen.”

Cin Lopez, 16,

junior, Rosary

“My worst was when I was sick and I had to watch other people have fun while I was miserable.”

Sacha Metzler, 15,

sophomore, Century

“My worst Christmas memory was when my stepdad came home from work late Christmas Eve and ran over a dog. She died. I was 8 then.”

Barbara Summers, 17,

senior, Katella

“The worst Christmas I had was the first one I had in California. When Christmas Eve came and it didn’t snow, I was disappointed.”

Tung Truung, 16,

junior, Santiago

“This Christmas, because it will be my first Christmas with my girlfriend.”

Tony Suneson, 16,

junior, Woodbridge

“My most memorable Christmas was three years ago, when I received my most treasured gift--my dog.”

Aimee Bradley, 15,

sophomore, Brea-Olinda

“Last Christmas I went to the Philippines with my family for my grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary.”

Gina Certeza, 15,

sophomore, Connelly

“The worst was when I was on a plane for 11 hours during Christmas vacation.”

Lisa Mohanty, 16,

junior, Ocean View

“When my dad had to work on Christmas morning and everybody had to open presents at 3 a.m.”

Heidi Kachelmeyer, 16,

junior, Rosary

“My most memorable Christmas was the year I got my first stereo. I was 10 years old. I played it and played it. It was great. But I had no idea it would last six years.”

Colby Johnson, 16,

junior, Savanna

“My best Christmas experience was when I went with a nun from our church to visit elderly convalescent homes. It was really nice to see them smile and it sure made me feel really good.”

Roberta M. Flores, 17,

senior, Western

“Three Christmases ago I was free-styling on my bike and I fell off. I thought I was paralyzed because I couldn’t move my legs.”

Rick Gonzales, 17,

senior, Woodbridge

“We borrowed a relative’s house in the mountains and had Christmas all by ourselves. I beat my dad at chess.”

Ian Fagan, 15,

sophomore, University

“When my whole family was at my house at 6 in the morning opening presents, and we all got Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. My sisters and I are 10 years apart, and this is one present we all share in common.”

Jennifer Norton, 17,

senior, Ocean View

“When I was 7, I went to my grandmother’s cabin in the mountains to catch my first glimpse of snow.”

Charlie Mizer, 15,

freshman, Century

“My best is when I received my racing bike for Christmas the year I was 13.”

Matt Paulin, 17,

senior, Bethel Baptist

“My favorite memory was when I went skiing at Mammoth for the very first time.”

Elice Crowder, 16,

junior, Brea-Olinda

“Last Christmas was my favorite because I enjoyed a weeklong cruise in the Caribbean.”

Anthony Heard, 13,

freshman, Century

“I was dying for this beach cruiser and it had to be a certain color. My parents looked for it for a couple of years, and I all but gave up on my wish. But one Christmas after all the other presents had been opened, there it appeared.”

Lysette Lastra, 17,

senior, Heritage

“My worst memory is when the day after Christmas I totaled my father’s Jeep.”

Damon Sandler, 18,

senior, Pathfinder

“When my relatives had to do a skit. It’s become a tradition at my house.”

Clare Climaco, 14,

freshman, Rosary

“All my best memories of Christmas were when we lived in Portland, Me. Every Christmas Eve, before we opened the gifts, it would snow and we would have a white Christmas.”

Tung Truong, 16,

junior, Santiago

“The best Christmas is when I got my first bicycle. It was really neat.”

Kevin Gilbert, 16,

junior, University

Next Week’s Hot Topic:

If you could give the student body of your school a single gift, what would it be and why?

Hot Topic responses gathered by Roxane Dyrud (Bethel Baptist), Jooyoung Lee (Brea-Olinda), Jason Welty (Century), Jennifer Chen (Connelly), Blythe Latimer (Cypress), John Doney (Heritage), Amy Johnston (Katella), Jane Wey (Huntington Beach), Debbie Maddox (Mater Dei), Felice Wu (Ocean View), David Bell (Pathfinder), Asra Hashmy (Rosary), Tam Vuong (Santiago), Jonathan Han (Savanna), Kiley Coble (University), Heather Orey (Western) and Tomarra Wilds (Woodbridge).