Man Tries to Turn Over a New Leaf

PORTLAND, OR, USA. Deandre Deangelo seemed like a normal 17-year-old student. When he arrived at Grant High School in Portland in September 1998, he made many friends right away. He was a first-rate student, signing up for a full load of classes, including government, Spanish and geometry. He always handed in his homework on time. He even sang in the school choir.




But three months later, police interrupted the choir practice and arrested Deangelo on the spot. It turns out that he was 17, he was 31! and his real name was not Deangelo, but Michael Backman and forged documents to change his identity and become a high schools student again. He was trying to hide from police for many different crimes.




Grant High School was the chool that Backman attended 13 years earlier. He wanted to turn over a new leaf. " I was trying to return to a time when I was not a criminal, to start again, to get a scholarship and go to college," he told police. Backman is not behind barsfor his new crime as well as his old ones.






About You:




1. Do you sometimes feel that you should turn over a new leaf? If so, what do you want to change about your life?




2. Is it easy to make new friends in your school or town? How do you do it?




3. Do you want to sign up for a class in the future? Which one(s)?




4. Do you always hand in your homework on time?

Engineer is Enthusiastic About Odd New Home

PORTLAD, OR, USA. Bruce Campbell recently bought his dream home. Cambell, 49, is not someone who follows the crowd. Instead of a traditional house in the suburbs, he got a 727! He paid $100,000 for his new home, which used to belong to the Greek Airline Olympic Airways.




Cambell's unusual home is parked on his rural property near the city of Portland. He cleaned the cabin and took out most of the seats. "Now it's a palace in here!" he says. The cabin is huge, but the bathrooms, on the other hand, are tiny. Cambell plans on using the cockpit as his office.




Campbell, an engineer, is enthusiastic about his new home. The plane is much stronger than most homes, he points out. And the roof will never leak!




At present, Mr. Campbell is a bachelor. But what if he meets his soul mate? Then, he jokes, he'll buy a huge 747!






About You:




1. What are you enthusiastic about?




2. Do you like to follow the crowd? (In fashion? In music?)




3. What kind of person would be a sould mate for you?




4. What things do you have to pay for every month?




5. Where are you living at present?




6. What do you plan on doing this weekend?