"Hope of the world is in our generation
It’s all left up to us to change this present situation
Our leaders make us fight, and we don’t know what for
If they want people killed, let them fight the war
It’s gotta end somewhere, this killing’s got to cease
If no one were to fight, we’d all live in peace."
John Legend: Our Generation
Saturday I worked my first catering job ever. Twenty eight years old, I have a career in retirement plans and no desire to enter to food world, but Saturday night I was passing out Hors d'oeuvres. If you know me, you know I am a HUGE college football fan, and an even greater Florida Gator fan. Some might call it an obsession, some might call me crazy...I can not disagree with either. Saturday though, while Florida was putting their foot about 6 inches up Kentucky's rear end I was not watching the game. Why? "It's all left up to us to change the present situation."
The young men I volunteer with can earn "home visits" from their juvenile detention center if they have good behavior during the week. This is great incentive to do well and stay on track with what their goals are for succeeding in their program. It also gives them the chance to go back into the "real world" for short intervals and see how they handle the freedom and choices they face. Now, while there are lots of positives to this program, it can also be the downfall for a few. They are back in their old neighborhood, with the people that possibly influenced the negative behaviors that got them locked up to begin with. As a teen this can be like throwing a sheep into the lions den. It also can create men. In growing up there comes a point in all our lives where we must decide which path we are going to take...
What does any of this have to do with catering? (yes I ramble and get side tracked, but I promise I will go somewhere with this) There is a program we have been developing that takes our young men, and teaches them culinary skills and then gives them the opportunity to work in restaurant/food service environments. Saturday night was one of these events. It was the first event where we used guys who were actually out on home visits to service a function. I won't bore you with the logistics of getting this done, but lets just say getting three young men who are all under the age of 18, do not have cars, and limited parent involvement to a certain place at a certain time can be somewhat of a challenge. Not to mention it is Saturday night, I am 28 and would rather be at home watching football. Take the average 17 year old and give him the option of spending time hanging out with friends on a Saturday, or working from 4:00 till 9:30 and which choice do you think they would make...now take that same teen and incarcerate him during the week, but give him free time on the weekend. Decisions, Decisions.
To some, amazingly we had three young men ( I will say, we actually had several more who would have come if we had needed them) who were eager to take this opportunity and earn some extra cash, as well as gain more work experience. If the lines I quoted above are true and hope of the world is in our generation, then yes we must change the present situation. We must facilitate and give the youth of our country an opportunity. We must show them an alternative option to what they have seen on a daily basis growing up. These youth want a different option. They have sold drugs, they have robbed stores and people, but they are at a critical point right now where they would like to see if there is a less dangerous way to make money. Do not kid yourselves that these guys do not know the dangers of the illegal activities they are involved in. They know very well the realities of what faces them if caught, but as one guy put it to me "I was seeing $400 a day pass through my hands at 14". What would you have done?
I have watched many a great Florida football game, plan on watching many more, but Saturday night I learned a valuable lesson. You take some time out of your day and give it to someone else, and there isn't anything more rewarding. I have known this for years, it's why I volunteer, but amazingly it is something that always feels great when reinforced again and again. The rest of the song I quoted has to do with war. In specific terms war on foreign soil, but I want to relate it to the war being raged here at home. "It's got to end somewhere, this killing's got to cease. If no one were to fight, we'd all live in peace." I am not going to act naive and think that the problems our youth, especially our impoverished youth of this country, will be solved over night. We didn't get to this point in the road over night and we won't get away from it that quickly either, BUT everything begins with a start. We all know how a child learns to walk. They slowly put one foot in front of the other and take a step at a time, usually someone holds on while they do it. I don't think our leaders want people killed (once again I'm changing the definition of "war" here) but the reality is our youth are dying. They are dying on the streets, they are dying inside, but they want an alternative. I sincerely believe this.
It's up to our generation to change the present situation, and if that means missing entire seasons of Florida football games, or learning a second career in the, "you know you would like a strawberry tart mam, they are to die for" catering business, I say we do it. In 2008 America said we wanted "change we can believe in." You know how we create change? Through action...and it happens for either good or bad.
X
Monday, September 26, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Ride
"Dear God, why are there gnats?" My silent yet very heartfelt prayer offered up tonight around dusk as I approached White Rock Lake. At this point I had come to the realization the only way I could make it past this stretch of the trail was to cover my face, fingers slightly spread, with one hand and hold on to the bike handle with the other. Lord help whoever might be in my way because I couldn't see ****. Unintended consequence.
People who have known me for a LONG time have known that I am generally an active person, people who have known me since college, less active, and people who have known me for the past year now know I like to ride my bike. (Follow the trail there if you can...hint: I got lazy in college) It is not a "road" bike as they say, but just a general run of the mill mountain bike. It has gears, front shocks, and a chain that I manage to dechain quite often. (buy gloves with fingers) It gets me from point A to point B, and lets me experience the outdoors at a faster pace than walking. Since the beginning of Summer I have put almost 700 miles on it (people with road bikes, just smile). I have taken it to Florida, Austin, and covered most all of downtown Dallas. It is simply, my escape.
My normal ride during the week has me leave my apartment, head east on surface streets and ride about a mile over to the Katy Trail. I pick the trail up, ride it all the way south to the American Airlines Center then turn around head north and ride to the end of the trail just south of Mockingbird lane. I once again turn around ride south the length of the trail and then slightly north to exit where I got on. From door to door it is about 12 miles and takes me around 45 minutes.
I like this ride during the week because it is simple, well known to me, and routine. I know the exact route, I know how long it will take, and I know for the most part what I will see on my ride. Lots of people that look just like me. There is nothing extraordinary about this ride. I can ride it on cruise control. It is a great stress reliever, but in the world of excitement it is very Vanilla. There is the occasional "odd" sight (cowgirl who lost her horse, but had the outfit on in case she found it, old man in what I hope was a small Speedo on a large bike, and lady with pig tails and the biggest tricycle I have ever seen) but nothing you would get scared of or even cause you to really stop and think.
Today I wanted a change. I wanted variety, not my run of the mill normal Vanilla route. I wanted my "urban" route. This is the route I take on weekends when I want a slightly longer ride and to see a different part of town, and by different, one where the buildings have bars on the windows and razor wire makes a nice accessory along the tops of fences. I would not say that this is really a dangerous neighborhood or area, just more colorful. The thing is the trail that runs through it is actually my favorite of all the ones in Dallas. It's called the Sante Fe and it runs from Downtown Dallas to White Rock Lake. It is wide, not heavily traveled, and much more scenic. In order to get to this trail during the work week though, I have to ride 3 miles of surface streets as dark approaches. Not a big deal to me, but I can always hear my mother's voice, "is that the smartest thing to be doing as it gets dark?"
Tonight I ignored the motherly voice in my head and decided I would turn on my awesome blinking lights, strap up my helmet and slow down traffic for all those tired people heading home from work. I do stay to the far right, but I refuse to ride on the sidewalk. I like to feel that I am on a real vehicle and part of traffic like an adult. :) As I made my way to the trail I passed by lots of people. The variety was definitely greater than my normal ride. It wasn't the familiar "Vanilla" crowd and I had time to think and reflect about the differences between the people I was currently passing and the people I normally passed. The foot traffic gradually picked up as I made the trail and headed north towards White Rock Lake. Now for those of you from Dallas you know the difference between foot traffic picking up on the Sante Fe Trail and foot traffic picking up on the Katy Trail is like the difference between traffic flow on the Tollway on weekends and traffic flow on 75 during the week. There really is no comparison between the two, but there were definitely more people on the Sante Fe Trail tonight then I had ever seen at one time before. It made me feel alive and part of the city, it also made me aware of the diversity of the city I live in. I would be lying if I said there weren't a few times that I didn't feel a little uncomfortable when cruising through certain areas, but at the same time I felt like I was out experiencing something new and exciting.
"Dear God, why are there gnats?" I have come to the conclusion after my ride that there are gnats to keep things fresh and us on our toes. I can go through life and do the same routine everyday. I can never look at anything different or make myself uncomfortable, and I can lead a very dull life. The other option is I can take a route that is unknown. This route may have gnats and it may make me uncomfortable at times, but it will push me in ways I didn't know I needed to be pushed. It will provide excitement, confusion, questioning, and even fear, but in the end it will give me quite the ride. I don't know which route I will take tomorrow, but I definitely know I'll try and learn something new from wherever it leads me.
X
People who have known me for a LONG time have known that I am generally an active person, people who have known me since college, less active, and people who have known me for the past year now know I like to ride my bike. (Follow the trail there if you can...hint: I got lazy in college) It is not a "road" bike as they say, but just a general run of the mill mountain bike. It has gears, front shocks, and a chain that I manage to dechain quite often. (buy gloves with fingers) It gets me from point A to point B, and lets me experience the outdoors at a faster pace than walking. Since the beginning of Summer I have put almost 700 miles on it (people with road bikes, just smile). I have taken it to Florida, Austin, and covered most all of downtown Dallas. It is simply, my escape.
My normal ride during the week has me leave my apartment, head east on surface streets and ride about a mile over to the Katy Trail. I pick the trail up, ride it all the way south to the American Airlines Center then turn around head north and ride to the end of the trail just south of Mockingbird lane. I once again turn around ride south the length of the trail and then slightly north to exit where I got on. From door to door it is about 12 miles and takes me around 45 minutes.
I like this ride during the week because it is simple, well known to me, and routine. I know the exact route, I know how long it will take, and I know for the most part what I will see on my ride. Lots of people that look just like me. There is nothing extraordinary about this ride. I can ride it on cruise control. It is a great stress reliever, but in the world of excitement it is very Vanilla. There is the occasional "odd" sight (cowgirl who lost her horse, but had the outfit on in case she found it, old man in what I hope was a small Speedo on a large bike, and lady with pig tails and the biggest tricycle I have ever seen) but nothing you would get scared of or even cause you to really stop and think.
Today I wanted a change. I wanted variety, not my run of the mill normal Vanilla route. I wanted my "urban" route. This is the route I take on weekends when I want a slightly longer ride and to see a different part of town, and by different, one where the buildings have bars on the windows and razor wire makes a nice accessory along the tops of fences. I would not say that this is really a dangerous neighborhood or area, just more colorful. The thing is the trail that runs through it is actually my favorite of all the ones in Dallas. It's called the Sante Fe and it runs from Downtown Dallas to White Rock Lake. It is wide, not heavily traveled, and much more scenic. In order to get to this trail during the work week though, I have to ride 3 miles of surface streets as dark approaches. Not a big deal to me, but I can always hear my mother's voice, "is that the smartest thing to be doing as it gets dark?"
Tonight I ignored the motherly voice in my head and decided I would turn on my awesome blinking lights, strap up my helmet and slow down traffic for all those tired people heading home from work. I do stay to the far right, but I refuse to ride on the sidewalk. I like to feel that I am on a real vehicle and part of traffic like an adult. :) As I made my way to the trail I passed by lots of people. The variety was definitely greater than my normal ride. It wasn't the familiar "Vanilla" crowd and I had time to think and reflect about the differences between the people I was currently passing and the people I normally passed. The foot traffic gradually picked up as I made the trail and headed north towards White Rock Lake. Now for those of you from Dallas you know the difference between foot traffic picking up on the Sante Fe Trail and foot traffic picking up on the Katy Trail is like the difference between traffic flow on the Tollway on weekends and traffic flow on 75 during the week. There really is no comparison between the two, but there were definitely more people on the Sante Fe Trail tonight then I had ever seen at one time before. It made me feel alive and part of the city, it also made me aware of the diversity of the city I live in. I would be lying if I said there weren't a few times that I didn't feel a little uncomfortable when cruising through certain areas, but at the same time I felt like I was out experiencing something new and exciting.
"Dear God, why are there gnats?" I have come to the conclusion after my ride that there are gnats to keep things fresh and us on our toes. I can go through life and do the same routine everyday. I can never look at anything different or make myself uncomfortable, and I can lead a very dull life. The other option is I can take a route that is unknown. This route may have gnats and it may make me uncomfortable at times, but it will push me in ways I didn't know I needed to be pushed. It will provide excitement, confusion, questioning, and even fear, but in the end it will give me quite the ride. I don't know which route I will take tomorrow, but I definitely know I'll try and learn something new from wherever it leads me.
X
First Attempt
I have come to the conclusion I will start a blog. It seems like everyone is doing it, so why not, right? I will be the first to admit I am horrible at spelling, grammar and anything else that goes with the English language, but that hasn't stopped others. This blog will be about my thoughts on what is going on in our society, and what I am constantly learning from others. It may not be original or inspirational, but then again I am not asking you to read it. :) I am writing for me, for anyone else who would like to look and see. I will go ahead and say "the names are changed to protect the innocent". You may recognize yourself in my writing, but that can stay between you and I.
I volunteer with youth for fun...that sounds creepy. I feel compelled to give back to our juvenile male population which I see as the future of our great yet troubled country. In doing this I find enjoyment and pleasure, better than "I volunteer with youth for fun"? The enjoyment and pleasure is something that cannot be purchased at a store or bought with money. Honestly I can't explain it and wouldn't want to. Words don't cover the emotions you feel. These emotions span the spectrum from great to sad. Yesterday was a sad day. A kid I worked with, cleaned plates with and discussed his future and life took a wrong turn. He violated his terms of incarceration. Last night I laid awake thinking about why he took this turn. This was not a "bad" kid as some people like to label others. This was a good guy who had made a bad decision, but was slowly working his way back from it. He had a plan, he had goals, and I like to think he had a future. After this weekend though, his life was changed. As we venture down this BLOG together, we'll see where things end up. I have a plan, I have a goal, and would like to think I have a future, but who knows where or what that is. As I am learning from the young men I work with, and the people around me life is full of unintended consequences. Some good...some bad, all the result of an action. My action today is starting this blog, the action of the young man above was not returning from his home visit. What will be the unintended consequences only time will tell, but I'll write about it, and if you're still around maybe you'll see.
X
I volunteer with youth for fun...that sounds creepy. I feel compelled to give back to our juvenile male population which I see as the future of our great yet troubled country. In doing this I find enjoyment and pleasure, better than "I volunteer with youth for fun"? The enjoyment and pleasure is something that cannot be purchased at a store or bought with money. Honestly I can't explain it and wouldn't want to. Words don't cover the emotions you feel. These emotions span the spectrum from great to sad. Yesterday was a sad day. A kid I worked with, cleaned plates with and discussed his future and life took a wrong turn. He violated his terms of incarceration. Last night I laid awake thinking about why he took this turn. This was not a "bad" kid as some people like to label others. This was a good guy who had made a bad decision, but was slowly working his way back from it. He had a plan, he had goals, and I like to think he had a future. After this weekend though, his life was changed. As we venture down this BLOG together, we'll see where things end up. I have a plan, I have a goal, and would like to think I have a future, but who knows where or what that is. As I am learning from the young men I work with, and the people around me life is full of unintended consequences. Some good...some bad, all the result of an action. My action today is starting this blog, the action of the young man above was not returning from his home visit. What will be the unintended consequences only time will tell, but I'll write about it, and if you're still around maybe you'll see.
X
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