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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday July 4, 2008 - 19 Shopping cart tale a Leacock winner A humorous story about the trials and tribulations of a shopping cart has earned Leiney Chiang, an Oakville Trafalgar High School student, third place in a writing competition that saw secondary school students from all across Ontario participate. The Stephen Leacock Association's Humorous Short Story Competition was first introduced to secondary schools in 1976 to honour the memory of renowned Canadian humorist author Stephen Leacock, to encourage high school students in their writing and to publicly recognize the best student writers who have mastered the Leacock writing technique. To qualify students had to enter a story they had written that was no less than 1,000 words in length, which was of a humorous or satirical nature and focused on a local topic. For Chiang, a Grade 9 student, an autobiography of a shopping cart, entitled Kitty Litter, Deodorant and Baby Wipes, seemed appropriate. "My teacher told me about this and she suggested I enter it. I didn't really know what to write about so I just picked something off the top of my head," said Chiang. "I wanted to animate something that didn't really have a life so I just picked a shopping cart because I figured they have an interesting life." Told through the -- eyes? -- of a shopping cart the reader gets an idea of what it's like to be one of the most hardworking, but least appreciated, pieces of equipment on earth. One passage reads: "I've never experienced life outside the parking lot. I mean, sure we see these large gas-guzzling vehicles venture freely through our eternal boundaries, but do we know what's beyond this faded black paint? I imagine a world, free of real estate agents advertising on your back end, a world where people actually wash their hands. I long for a home where humans tote their own darn purchases around and we are seen as gods, not a grocery apparatus." Stephen Leacock would have been proud. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER FACTORY DIRECT MATTRESS SALE D o Not Pay THIRD IN ONTARIO: Leiney Chiang with the award she received from the Stephen Leacock Association for a story she wrote -- placing third in the Humorous Short Story Competition. COMFORT SLEEP PEDIC PILLOWTOP 20 YR. WTY See Store for Details O.A.C. Louverless clean-face design g delivers Traditional Elegance 25 OTHER MATTRESS MODELS 20 YR. WTY SINGLE MATTRESS from$59 · PILLOWS from$299 · FUTON MATTRESS from$89 "MASONRY & FIREPLACE DESIGN SPECIALISTS" w w w. c o b b l e s t o n e m b e r s . c a U Twin Double Queen King 189 229 259 359 Set Set Set Set 309 369 429 599 Twin Double Queen King g 249 279 339 489 Set Set Set Set 419 469 539 849 l n ti Any 3 FREE CHOICES COUPON COUPON OR Bed Frame Mattress Pad Bed Rails Comforter Layaway Up Disposal of Old Set Percale Set of Sheets Set Slip Sticks Pillow Local Delivery With Any Mattress Set Purchased NO GST NO PST With Any Mattress Set Purchased REGULAR MATT PAD Twin Double Queen King 11 14 19 25 MEMORY FOAM PILLOW Standard Queen 24 29 406 SPEERS RD., OAKVILLE ACROSS FROM RONA LANSING 905-337-2066 R THE S 2 O ODEL M R THE S 5 O ODEL M Deep Drawers RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AWNINGS, CANOPIES, PORTABLE SHADE STRUCTURES MATES BED 249 $ Maple Finish PROMO BUNK 209 ELECTRIC BED R THE S 2 O ODEL M $ Bronze Series 949 Twin XL Manufactur Manufactured with your choice of fade Sun proof Sunbrella p fabric, and powered by a reliable Somfy remote con controlled motor. 1099 CAPTAIN BED FUTON BUNK ELECTRIC BED DAY BEDS from$119 · WOOD BEDS from$89 · ROLLAWAY COTS from$139 4 Drawers Black Iron Silver Series Twin XL R THE S 2 O ODEL M $ 349 R THE S 3 O ODEL M $ 229 R THE S 4 O ODEL M $ Burlington Mississauga 666 Appleby Line (Fairview/Appleby) Behind McDonald's 6435 Erin Mills Pkwy. (at Battleford Centre in the Tim Horton's Plaza) Call or visit our showroom at: 4090 Ridgeway Dr. #10, Mississauga 905-569-8566 www.sunguardawnings.com Mon.-Fri. 9:30am to 5pm, Sat 10:00am to 3pm 905-681-9020 905-542-0481 Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 10am -6pm, Friday 10am - 8pm, Saturday 9am - 6pm, Sunday. 11am - 5pm