By JOEL FARRAR

NAMS correspondent

The Jackets are busy as bees this month! It's December and with Christmas vacation just a wee bit off, Jack Frost took a clean bite out of our nose! With a bit o' chilly weather passing us by, it's nice just to kick back in front of a fire and have a nice cup of hot cocoa. Speaking of chocolate, why not satisfy your sweet tooth? NAMS is selling some excellent chocolate bars, free shipping and handling, and only $1 each. Based on customer consumption, almond bars would be the favorite; personally, however, your humble writer would say that Wafer Crisp bars beat Almond to mulch.

In other news, the eighth grade got a special treat for the holidays; Roy Lee Cooke, one of the original Rocket Boys, came to say hello. Since the whole eighth grade was reading Rocket Boys, Mrs. Laurie Frazier decided, "Hey! Let's get one Rocket Boy over here!" So, just this past Friday, Mr. Roy Lee Cooke stopped by and gave us a good inside view on Rocket Boys and the movie later based on Rocket Boys, October Sky. Now, some people groaned when eighth period rolled around, saying, "Man! We've got to spend a two whole periods with this guy?" But soon the "Rocket Man", as Mrs. Tracy Hamilton, the eighth-grade South Carolina History teacher, dubbed him, had the entire crowd enthralled with stories of his youth and how it affected him. As amazing as it may seem, Mr. Cooke held the attention of a gym filled with teenagers for more than an hour. Once Roy Lee finished his speech, many students were called on by Mrs. Frazier to ask questions, which he answered with energy and vigor. Everything from "How did you meet the other Rocket Boys?" to "How was the movie different from the book?" was asked. After the long standing ovation, Roy Lee disappeared into a crowd of teens wanting autographs on pieces of ripped paper or even arms. (I have heard one story where someone even asked to get a piece of band fruit -- an orange -- signed!) Thank you, Roy Lee, for a wonderful and memorable speech.

Once more, the Little Band from Jacket Land has come through. The NAMS band played just a little "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", but what we didn't play in variety, we made up for in style. We marched down Georgia Avenue with heads held high and played with a steady beat and a twinkle in our eye. Afterward, Mrs. Jenkins, the band director, looked down the straight rows of our band and said, "I'm proud to have walked with you." Not so shabby after all! Hopefully, we'll play it loud and proud again at our concert this Tuesday. That's the eleventh for any of you who would like to come. See you there!

Mrs. Emily Hobbs took her drama classes for a special ride to the production of A Christmas Carole in Augusta, and then to the Mellow Mushroom for lunch. Lucky! But I'm sure it was a fun trip.

Well, as you can see, the Jackets are as busy as ever, even with Christmas Break just around the corner. With semester exams just a little away, we're all studying hard, but it's just a little while until Christmas. So Merry Christmas from your new man, Joel Farrar. Rebecca and Mark say hi, too, by the way.