RALLY URGES KIDS TO GET HIGH ON LIFE

Tim Huglin and his Cub Scout buddies already have been through DARE
classes, so they thought they'd heard it all before. They showed up at
the Get High on Life Rally Sunday expecting someone to tell them they
shouldn't do drugs and to explain ways to say "no."

But what they found in the gym of Naperville's Neuqua Valley High
School was a lot more like a concert than a classroom discussion.

They laughed at jokes, sang and danced, marveled at the Jesse White
Tumblers and heard a few reminders about respecting themselves and
making good, healthy decisions.

"There's no singing in DARE," said Tim, a fifth-grader at Steck
Elementary School, who liked Drug Abuse Resistance Education. "This is
fun."

That's exactly the impression rally organizers wanted to give the
children who attended the event Sunday.

Barbara and Hunter Byington, a Naperville couple, launched Get High on
Life last May as a way to show children and teens they can have a good
time without resorting to using drugs of any sort.

Their hope was to give the children and teens a fun time, slip in a
few positive messages along the way and help them meet other kids
their age who aim to keep away from alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

Sunday's rally, supported by donors and Camp Fire Boys and Girls,
featured a range of performers - from musicians to magicians,
comedians to chalk artists, dancers to tumblers - each with a message
about being strong and confident.

Karl Anthony, a guitarist and songwriter, got the audience to sing and
dance by weaving sign language and gestures into his performance of
songs with lyrics such as "I am who I am because of what I put in my
mind."

Chalk artist Ben Glenn mesmerized the children and adults by drawing a
mountain landscape in just minutes, then explained to the children how
his art is like life.

"Every time I draw, I work from a palate of colors. With some colors,
I make big strokes and with other colors I make details," Glenn said.
"You guys are a palate of many colors of gifts and talents. The
choices you make allow you to discover those talents and gifts."

The message was clear to kids in the audience.

"They said 'don't do drugs' in a good way," Steck fifth-grader Brian
Dobiyanski said.

Organizers had put together back-to-back rallies last spring, one for
teenagers and a second for the elementary school crowd.

This time, they focused on a rally for fourth- and fifth-graders. They
worked with schools in Naperville and Aurora to publicize the event
and encourage children to come with friends and family.

The shift paid off with a family crowd twice as large as the one that
saw the elementary rally last year, Barbara Byington said.

Organizers already are at work on the next rally, set for Oct. 24.
That event will be aligned with Red Ribbon Week, a national
celebration of self-esteem and drug-free living observed in schools
and by towns.