Background

It's the year 2027 and Tommy is 18 and just got his driver's license. He has two best friends Johnny and Matty. Johnny is the only boy that has a sibling, and her name is Martha. Martha is twenty-two finishing up her degree at ASU. Tommy and Johnny's dads used to take the three boys fishing, camping, and hiking all the time when they were little. But as the boys got older, the busier they became with school, sports, and girls.

It's a hot summer day, in Phoenix, Arizona, and the boys were reminiscing about the old times, the fishing, camping, and hiking they did with their fathers. They boys decided it's been four years since they had been fishing and camping, and it's been too long. Tommy said, "We are old enough to go fishing and camping on our own, let's go on our own." Matty and Johnny agreed and decided to go. So they gathered up the following: a tent, fishing poles, bate, lots of water, food, sleeping bags, ice chest, cooking pans, and wood. They dumped it all into the back of Tommy's truck and headed up to Lake Pleasant.

On the way up to Lake Pleasant on I-17, they notice all the houses and new areas that had been built up within the last four years. So they exit off of the Carefree exit and find more houses, no desert and they wonder what in the world is going on. Matty asked, "Are we going the right way?" Johnny said. "Of course we are, I got the directions from my dad." The boys kept driving and Tommy slammed on his brakes and made a screeching stop. Matty and Johnny both yelled, "What are you doing!" Tommy got out of this truck and said, "LOOK!" As Tommy is reading the sign, Matty and Johnny got out of the truck and started reading the sign with Tommy. Matty said, "What is this, Lake Pleasant closed to the public. Future custom homes in the works." Tommy decided they had driven this far, no one was going to stop them from fishing. The boys got back into the truck and started driving through the construction. All a sudden the boys were stopped by the construction workers and were advised to go back. The boys pleaded with the men to let them go fishing, but it just didn't work. One man said, "I know how you feel, I used to go fishing here with my boy all the time. You need to find a new place; this land has been sold and you need to leave." The boys were disappointed, filled with tears in their eyes, as they drove back home.

The boys pulled into Tommy's driveway and started unpacking the truck. While they were unpacking, Tommy's dad pulled into the driveway. He saw the boys unloading and asked why they were home so early. Tommy told his dad what happened, and asked what they could do. Tommy's dad said, "There is really nothing you can do about it son, and I'm sorry. You can't change what they are building now, it’s done. The only thing you can change is the future."

So later that week the boys decided to get a petition against the future destruction of the woods and desert. It took them about three weeks to get 100 signatures. They designed a letter asking developers to stop the future destruction of the desert and the woods. They received a letter back stating, "In order for us to take this into consideration, you need to get signatures from people which are 18 years of age and are registered voters." The boys were dismayed that their proposal was declined. And little did they know the signatures were to come from adults, which are registered voters.

Again the boys were on a mission. They were talking to Johnny's sister, Martha, asking what they needed to do."This time," Martha replied,"you need to take this seriously and make a plan. Each one of you need to be at a different grocery store taking signatures of "registered voters." Keep in mind you need to be prepared and do some research; they will ask you what this is all about. And you need to give them good answers, even make some brochures." And she left the room. Johnny said, "Okay I will take Fry's, Tommy, you will take Safeway, and Matty, you take Fred-Myers." Matty said, "Before we get the signatures we need to do some research, like your sister said." So the boys decided they would start early in the morning and go to the library and do some research. Then they would make some brochures, with a little help from Martha, to hand out. Then the following weekend, they would start getting those signatures.

So it’s the following weekend, and the boys went their separate ways. The boys tried and tried to get people’s signatures; however, not many would stop and listen. By the time the boys got home from the first night, the total number of signatures was at fifteen. That was including their parent's signatures. The boys were frustrated and ready to quit, so they decided to go to Martha and ask her for assistance. She asked "How did you approach these strangers and tell them what you're fighting for?" Johnny replied, "At first I was nice, I would ask them how their day was, then they would answer and walk on by. So by the end of the day I just gave them the brochure, asked them to read it and come sign my papers before you leave." Martha just laughed. Matty said, "At least you got people to take your brochure and read it. I would come up and try to tell them what I was doing and they would just throw it on the ground." Martha smiled and asked how Tommy did. Tommy bashfully replied, "I didn't do a good job, I sorta got in trouble with the police. Martha screamed, "What!" Tommy said, "Well, at first, I gave people the brochures telling them what I was fighting for, but they would just smile and throw the brochures on the ground. I was calm during the first four hours; I would go pick up the brochure and try again. But, then I just finally lost it. This guy was really rude and took the brochures, ripped it up in front of me and threw it on the ground. (Keep in mind, there was a policeman who was a few feet away that I never saw.) So I picked up the ripped brochure and chased after the guy. I started yelling at him about littering and if he wasn’t interested he should just walk away and leave me the brochure on the table. And that was when the policeman stepped in." Everyone was laughing, then Tommy replied, "that’s not all. Then the policeman gave the guy a ticket for littering, then he pulled me aside. He lectured me and told me not to approach people like that. In the long run, it was well worth it. I got his signature and he told me good luck." So Martha decided the boys needed to learn how to approach people, so they were going to practice approaching her first, then go door to door. The boys got better and next weekend went back to the grocery stores. This time was a success; all boys got 100 signatures each.

Martha advised the boys about some environmental groups like saving the forest etc…that they might want to contact to get some help. So again the boys typed another proposal, with more explanation, and mailed it in with all 315 signatures.

It had been a couple of months, with no reply, and the boys were very frustrated. And as the boys were reading in the paper, they noticed people fighting to keep Bartlett Lake as a lake and not turned into lake homes. The boys tried contacting the mayor, but there was no answer, so they again asked Martha what to do. Martha said, "Getyour brochures, put some nice clothes on, find a slogan, make some signs and let’s get ready to go picket downtown."

Their slogan was build up not out! And sure enough the boys were noticed; they ended up being on the headlines of the papers and the 5&6 o'clock news. Martha said, "Congratulations you are noticed and will make mark in history if you do this right." All of a sudden the boys got to meet with some members of congress, the mayor, and even the President.

After months of fighting and votes, the vote was final: Bartlett Lake stayed a lake. The boys decided to join the organizations that helped them save Bartlett Lake. The boy's made their own environmental club, Saving the Desert and Forest ,in their high school.

Little did they now that you had to continue stopping the builders, because more proposals go through all the time. About a year or two later, there were some more proposals to make a forest in Flagstaff another " Anthem," and the boys started the picketing, brochures, news, and group meetings again.

Unfortunately, this was a bad time for Tommy to help with the picketing and stuff; he was leaving for college in Washington D.C. He now has decided to become a lawyer and he will get a law passed some day for "Build Up Not Out." Now, he has to leave this up to Matty, Martha, and Johnny to finish, which they agreed to do.

A couple of years went by, but with hard work and dedication, Tommy, Johnny, Matty, and Martha got the law passed for "Build Up Not Out."