A Super Dream Comes True

December 11th is a day that will be remembered by Rafe Tangorra for the rest of his life. On this special day, Rafe found out that he had won Scholastic Book Clubs "It Should Be Me" writing contest and was awarded a pair of tickets to the Super Bowl. On the same day he also was in a play at his school called "The Schools Christmas Show," in which he performed a drum solo and also played a part in the show as a soldier.
He addressed the essay to Tiki Barber of the New York Giants, and wrote about the sadness he had about not being allowed to visit his grandfather in the hospital in the last six months of his life.
"I was only able to talk to him on the phone and we always talked about sports," he wrote, adding, "I miss my grandfather very much; he was a big part of my life and I think about him everyday."
Rafe wrote about believing that his grandfather would be at the Super Bowl and wanting to join him there.
"I know if there is a heaven my grandfather will definitely be at Super Bowl XXXVIII and I wish I could be there also sharing in his memory and all the great excitement we always shared together."
He wrote the letter only eight weeks after his grandfathers death and believes that his winning the contest would be a sign that his grandfather is still with him.
"He was in school the day he found out, he was really surprised, but he told me I told you so mom. It was not so much the football game, but that he put that much into it," said Rafes mother, Mrs. Tangorra.
Rafes talents expand past essay writing. He has been an honor student dating back to the 1st grade and has been published on two occasions in the Woodside Herald. He wrote a story on councilman Eric Gioia visiting his school for career day and wrote a review of the movie "Spider-man" as well.
Rafe is not only a stellar student and aspiring writer, he plays baseball, football and hockey, which his grandfather taught him how to play.
It doesnt surprise him that he does so much at such a young age.
"Im just interested in a wide range of things," said Rafe, whose favorite subject is language arts.
Rafes heartfelt 250-word essay was picked out of thousands of entries in the Arrow book club (4th and 5th grader’s).
"When youre holding an essay like that, you get a chill reading it. He was so sincere about his grandfather. The emotion that is packed into 250 words, that made his essay stand out so much," said Francesco Siddita, the manager of creative marketing at Scholastic Book Clubs and a member of the panel at Scholastic Book Clubs, which narrowed down the finalists.