[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1272-E1273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING BRYAN BARDIN OF ST. PETERSBURG, FL FOR HIS AWARD WINNING 
                       TRIBUTE TO HIS GRANDMOTHER

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                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, during the observance of ``Older 
Americans Month,'' the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council's Area 
Agency on Aging, in cooperation with the Pinellas County School Board, 
sponsored an essay contest in which young students were asked to write 
about their favorite older person.
  Bryan Bardin, an 11-year-old student at Bay Vista Fundamental School 
in St. Petersburg, Florida, was awarded first place for his essay 
honoring his grandmother, Mary Aucremann. This outstanding essay was 
published in The St. Petersburg Times and I would like to share it with 
my colleagues today. Not only do I commend Bryan for his writing, but I 
also thank his grandmother for being such a great inspiration to her 
grandson and to each of us who learn of her good works through his 
words.

                     Bryan Bardin, 11, First Place

       It's almost as hard to find a Good Samaritan as it is to 
     find a needle in a haystack. By definition, Good Samaritans 
     are ready to give a helping hand, do for others before doing 
     for themselves and set a good example. I think my grandma is 
     a true Good Samaritan. She is always giving of her time and 
     energy, she sets a good example all the time, and she has the 
     biggest and kindest heart of anyone I know.
       My grandma Mary Aucremann (Granny) is a very busy person. 
     If you were to graph how she spends her time using a pie 
     chart, you would find there is only a small slice left for 
     herself. She takes Meals on Wheels dinners to people she 
     doesn't even know. She volunteers some of her time at 
     Cedarkirk, our church camp, repairing anything that needs to 
     be fixed. Some of her time goes to her friends who need her 
     to help them with their errands or problems.
       A large slice of her time is used helping us, her family, 
     with our projects, problems and periodic puppy demands. For 
     example, we went to Michigan last year, and Granny was able 
     to pet-sit our three hamsters and our dog. She had to take 
     our dog, Zoe, and three times a day and feed her once a day. 
     She also had to feed and clean all of the hamsters. This 
     sounds easy, but it rained 90 percent of the time. Zoe got as 
     dirty as a pig that had rolled in the mid. So Granny had to 
     give her a bath. Even though all this happened, I think she 
     will do it again this year.
       I look up to many people, but Mom says Granny is the best 
     role model for anyone. Like the Boy Scout oath, which says, 
     ``To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and 
     morally straight,'' Granny exercises regularly to keep 
     ``physically strong.'' When she turned 60, she went back to 
     school to learn accounting so she could do the taxes of her 
     children and anyone else who needs help. This keeps her 
     ``mentally awake.'' Granny is a Christian and lives by the 
     Bible to keep herself ``morally straight.'' My grandma loves 
     to keep busy by square- and line-dancing. I love her and I 
     love being with her.
       Granny has the absolute biggest heart I've ever seen. I 
     think her heart is what holds the family together. She's 
     always there for me and probably everyone else in the world! 
     She loves everything and everyone she comes across. Once, 
     Granny, my mom and I went to Sam's for some food; Granny saw 
     a calendar full of cute puppy pictures and cried over it.
       She also comes to all of our school, Scouts and other 
     events. For example, she and my grandfather, Poppop, came to 
     look at my science fair open house, my music concert and my 
     spaghetti dinner. They also came to the Great American Teach-
     In.
       Very recently, Granny had open-heart surgery. We all missed 
     her turkey for Thanksgiving, even though my mom's turkey 
     wasn't that bad. I still don't understand why the doctor had 
     to fix Granny's heart; it seemed fine to me.
       I love my Grandma, my true Good Samaritan, good role model, 
     always giving, big-hearted, kind and loving grandmother. Even 
     if her heart was broke one time, it was, is and will always 
     be perfect to me.


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