"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.
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