I Had to Do More Than Just Gargle
Deep thought: Sometimes the beauty of the world is so overwhelming, I just want to throw back my head and gargle. Just gargle and gargle, and I don’t care who hears me, because I am beautiful.
It was the movie Dangerous Minds, not to be confused with the movie Beautiful Minds, which is a good movie, but it was Dangerous Minds, also not to be confused with Dangerous Mimes, which is a not too well known but ruthless gang in LA (they call themselves the Silent Killers, but I digress). Anyway, it was the movie Dangerous Minds that inspired us to start visiting these kids in their neighborhoods and homes.
So, I began to visit kids every Friday afternoon. Sometimes I would ride my bike down there, other times I would drive. At first, I would get stopped by the police. They thought I was either a white boy lost in the wrong neighborhood (not good) or I was there to buy crack (also not good). But after awhile, they got to know me and encouraged me. Actually everybody got to know me, including the crack dealers, who were most of these kids’ big brothers, sisters, aunties, and even their moms. They liked me, as well, because they would say, “If you can keep them from doing what I am doing, power to you.”
It got to where every Friday afternoon the kids would be waiting for me. I would play with them, encourage them, and be excited for their grades or sporting accomplishments. I would brag on them to their moms and even listen to their moms’ issues and give them some counsel if the timing was right.
Also while visiting kids, I began to see needs. There were families that didn’t have enough food. I saw kids who didn’t have proper footwear. There was a family with 3 boys that didn’t have enough beds to sleep in and consequently the 3 boys slept on the concrete floors. I saw kids with a lack of proper clothes to wear. I also saw so many social needs; a lack of mentoring for these young boys, absent dads, no tutoring for the ones struggling in school, and no support system for those who liked to learn. Generally, just huge opportunities for getting into trouble.
Something had to be done. They needed some help. I couldn’t just stand back and gargle. Yes, that complimented my beauty, but it didn’t help them. Something needed to be done. But what?
