Palo Alto Weekly 19th Annual Short Story Contest Child Second
Place  Taré the Short-Tailed Quetzal  by Alexi Kenney  About
Alexi Kenney  Alexi Kenney, 10, got the idea for "Taré the
Short-Tailed Quetzal" from his favorite animal.  "It just kind
of popped into my head because it's beautiful and cute," Kenney
said about the Central American bird, which is known for its
decorative tail feathers.  The sixth-grader at Jordan Middle
School has been writing since early elementary school, when his
class learned to write short stories. Kenney said he initially
wrote the award-winning story about two years ago, and just
recently did a lot of re-editing.  "I'd been thinking about
entering the contest for a few years but wasn't old enough until
now," he said.  In his free time the Palo Alto native likes to
play the violin, fold origami, read, and write Kenney may even
have a future as a writer.  "I just want to do a lot more free
writing because it's fun and I like it," he said.  "He's very at
ease writing and reads a lo