For some, it takes just a few minutes to find the perfect Christmas tree… and cut it.

But for the Young family, it takes even seventeen years… to grow it.

Gordon and Carol have spent their married life together at their tree farms in the countryside, north of Fredericton.

For mor than forty years they have grown trees, a full-time job they say it’s worth it.

It is a traditional things and families love it. And I think it unites families together to have a beautiful tere, particularly one growing in Cardigan, New Brunswick!

Carol says the Christmas tree business is more than profit and money. It is about friends she has made over the years, and moments she has shared with them.

I was always inside in the cottage, making hot chocolate, tea, coffee and cookies. Of course little children love hot chocolate. And some of the..big children too!

I guess we are in our slowdown stage now a little bit. It is just nice to sit back and think about all that in the past.
It kind of makes us sad sometimes… but we do enjoy people coming in. We have fun.

For Gordon, though, fun is being outside in his tree-land,
where families cut their own trees.

And quite often, quite frankly they take a tree that I don’t think is THAT good, but that is the one they want and that is the one they take.

But what makes a good Christmas tree?

First of all, it has to have a nice natural aper and a nice deep green colour and be uniform thick here, thick there, but some people like to put it against the wall, so iti is what I Call a tree weak in the back.

Sound up
Gordon sells about three hundred trees to Canadian families every year.
A few thousand of his trees are exported to the United States, as most of New Brunswick’s forestry products.

But for Gordon, the numbers become less important, as he and his trees grow older.
For STU journalism, I am Makedonia Koutsoumpeli.

And the freedom feels wonderful.

They get to socialize with their friends, play ball and tag, and get a little rowdy.

But now that winter is coming, the dog park is missing some of its regular visitors.

With the snow finally falling, people on the south side are having a harder time getting to the dog park.

Especially those who have to walk. Pamela Austin is a third year university student. Her and her husky Dier are beginning to miss out on the afternoons of fun at the dog park.

“It’s too far away. I mean, it’s a long enough walk as it is and if it’s bad weather in the winter I can’t really take my dog so I have to take it for a walk in the park or something like that.”

This not only affects Dier, but Austin as well. Huskies are high energy dogs and not being able to let him run free from time to time can take a toll.

“He’s all wound up, he doesn’t tear apart the house but definitely energetic, more whiney.”

Austin says there should be a dog park on the South Side.

There have been discussions on building one in the past.

A public meeting was held in May of 2008 and further talks took place in July of 2009.

But there are still no concrete plans.

The North side dog park was opened in 2004.

It’s used heavily throughout the summer and fall months. But it’s looking more and more empty as winter sets in and the north side dogs are missing their south side counterparts.

For STU journalism, I’m Samantha Both.

For some people the sound of a tattoo gun is exhilarating. It’s a painful experience but the final product is worth it in the end.

Or is it? Tattoos can have unexpected consequences.

Jon Malley says tattoos are a natural part of who he is. About 60 percent of his body is covered and he plans to finish the rest in the future. He says it’s just like a shirt he wears every day.

“I think it’s just the way that you picture yourself when you close your eyes and that’s how I pictured myself. I feel that if I woke up without them someday, I’d feel …it wouldn’t be me, it wouldn’t be myself at all.”

Malley is a professional drummer. He’s endorsed by Los Cabos drumsticks and Soultone Cymbals.

But his tattoos have led to issues when it comes to getting a job. He says it’s because people affiliate tattoos with drugs, gangs, and prison time.

Everyone has their own reasons for getting a tattoo. They’re about spirituality, religion, and art says Malley.

“A person who has a tiny tattoo is the same as me. It’s just that I went this far and they went that far.”

Adam Grant, a piercer at White Lotus Tattoo, says that people need to take the decision about body modification more seriously. People should do research about who is going to be doing the work on them.

Only one in 20 people come into the shop with concerns according to Grant.

He says he always try to make sure the person knows what they are getting into.

At White Lotus they won’t tattoo hands or neck without good reason and full disclosure about your line of work.

Grant says that people will always judge each other though. Despite the rising popularity of body modifications, Grant remains pessimistic about the possibility of shedding the stigma.

“Everybody is going to judge everybody. That’s just how it is. Every single person judges everybody else, it doesn’t matter if you know them or not, that’s just how it is. Someone could be tattooed head to toe with every single body piercing on them and they could be the nicest person in the world and everybody is going to judge that person. People just people for everything, haircuts, clothing, tattoos, piercings. It’s just how the world works now.”

Malley feels the same. He’s been beat up, had things thrown at him, and been called derogatory words on almost a daily basis.

But he’s determined to overcome the barriers. After a lot of searching, he has a full time job in Moncton.

And his mission to cover the rest of his body in tattoos hasn’t been forgotten.

For STU Journalism, I’m Samantha Both.

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By practising Belly Dancing!

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