KCPS High School Outstanding Author
Quarter 1 SY15-16
This quarterly celebration of KCPS student writing features one middle school and one high school
writer. First quarter submissions are narrative, which convey experience, either real or imaginary, using
time as deep structure.
KCPS High School Outstanding Author:
Tomson Touch
“Best Day Ever”
East High School 10th Grade
In the interview below, Tomson Touch shares his thoughts
about writing and life.
Q: Tell me about your narrative piece, “Best Day Ever.”
Tomson: Mrs. Brignoni assigned narrative writing to our English class. Our focus was using
descriptive details to share an important life experience. I wrote about fishing with my family.
Q: Why is this topic important to you?
Tomson: My story is about fishing at the lake with my family. This is my favorite memory of my
dad, who passed away three years ago. My dad was always trying to get us outside. He
especially loved fishing. This story is important because it’s how I remember my dad.
Q: What are you most proud of in this piece of writing?
Tomson: I included a lot of descriptive details in the story. It was easy to remember every detail
of that day. I like to visualize what I’m reading and tried to do that when I wrote this story.
Q: What are you reading and writing now?
Tomson: I’m reading Finding Fish by Antwone Fisher. I like reading about personal stories,
memoirs about people who came from tough situations. Writing…. outside of school… mostly
just texts.
Q: Describe your writing process.
Tomson: I create an outline, rough draft, usually two revisions, then final. Getting started is the
most difficult part of writing. Once I get the introduction down, the rest flows pretty easily.
Q: What is the best part of your day?
Tomson: Being outside. Like my dad, I love being outdoors. I don’t even watch much TV, I’d
rather be outside doing something like fishing.
Thank you for being the KCPS First Quarter Outstanding Author. Keep writing!
Tomson Touch
East HS, Mrs. Brignoni
English 10
10 October 2015
Best Day Ever
There are many days in life that stand out. These days can range from exciting and fun to scary
and embarrassing. One thing is certain about these days, you will never forget them. A memorable day
in my life involves my favorite thing in the world, fishing with my family at Hillsdale Lake. My love for
fishing comes from my dad, always driving us out of the house because he hates being inside. This is the
best day ever.
The temperature was a perfect 80 degrees. The sun was hot, but not so scorching that the rocks
burned my feet. A light breeze flowed through my shirt. The sun was at the right spot where I could see
through the water. The water was so clear I could see deep down to the bottom of the lake. Looking
across the shoreline I could see large rocks with green moss on top. One rock stood the out the most
because of its size and shape, oval like a comfortable love seat. I walked to the rock and laid across it,
noticing many different layers of red and gray. The rock’s texture was so smooth it gave me a tingling
feeling in my fingers, causing me to laugh. I knew this was the right spot for us to begin fishing.
I was getting my fishing pole prepared to cast into the water when I noticed it was missing bait.
My choices were minnows or worms. I decided to use a worm because I was a little scared to grab the
minnow – I know, it’s just a tiny fish. The worm wasn’t much better, feeling slimy and smooshy. I had to
break the worm in half because it was too big for the hook. When doing that, all its insides oozed onto
my hands. I was so disgusted that I had to wash it off as quickly as I could. Even though I washed it off it
still left an awful smell behind. I carried on and cast my line into the water. The line was set. All I could
do was relax and watch the red bobber.
Only a couple minutes passed before I got my first bite. I reacted as fast as I could to set the
hook. Whatever was on the other end of my line was not going down without a fight. My arms grew
tired while I fought to bring the fish to shore. It finally reached the shore line and I noticed its fat body
and long whiskers. It was a three pound, fifteen inch channel catfish. Reaching to grab the fish was really
hard because it was so slippery I could not get a good grip on it. “Dad, I caught one!” I shouted and he
rushed over to help.
That was just the first of many fish we caught that day. We also told each other stories of “the
one that got away” from past fishing trips. My dad told his famous story of the giant walleye that
snapped his fishing line with its sharp teeth. In my head I knew most of the stories weren’t true because
things just didn’t add up. I laughed anyway, enjoying the perfect day.
As the day was winding down, I saw my mom take out a cutting board. I got excited because this
meant we caught enough fish to cook at the lake. She let me pick out the first fish to prepare. Of course,
it was my best catch of the day. I cringed when my mom made a clean cut from head to tail. The sight
turned my stomach so I decided to go back to fishing while she prepared the grill. Unfortunately, she
called me back to clean up the mess of blood and guts.
After preparing the fish, mom placed them on the campfire to grill, flipping each side every five
minutes, waiting for it to get brown and crispy. The delicious smell overwhelmed me and my mouth
began to water while waiting for the fish to cook. After 30 long minutes it was finally time to eat. I
grabbed a piece of flaky white fish and placed it in my mouth. It was crunchy and delightful. The texture
of the fish was divine. The meal mom prepared was one of the best I have ever eaten.
Perfect weather, catching fish, eating food at the lake with my family – this was the best day of
my life. No other day could ever compare.