Hi. My name is Eric. I'm what lots of young people would call an "old guy", since I'm in my early 40's. I have to tell you, I couldn't agree more. It's amazing how a person ages - you get to keep lots of the same things you loved as a kid, but your body feels different. But this blog isn't about me, nor is it really about the aging process. It's really more about the critical years of a person's life between the ages of about 14 and 24, and what's happening to many people in that age group from which you usually avert your eyes; the pierced, tattooed, unkempt, obnoxious sleepers-in-doorways of our cities.
Let me tell you a bit about this blog and why I am writing it. About 5 years ago, I was observing some fairly obnoxious young people like those I mentioned above in my (then) home town of Salem, Oregon. I thought to myself, "What makes those kids act like that? Do they have parents that care about them? What are their stories?" I also noticed that many people looked down on them, cursed them and were afraid of them. I'd even caught myself feeling that way at times. Since I am one who has learned to say, "there but for the grace of God go I," I decided to act. I bought a digital tape recorder and thought up about 15 questions, intending to start interviewing youth of all types, just to see what makes them tick. The first dozen or so youth I interviewed were homeless or nearly so and had such compelling, heartbreaking stories I haven't interviewed any youth from what I'd call "well-to-do" or even "middle class" homes. After all, I have those in my own home. I am more interested at this time in finding out what I can do and what can society do to assist those people whose first and most egregious sin in life apparently was to be born to irresponsible parents, who are unable to love them and care for them, or were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or a combination of the above. Don't misunderstand me; I am not one of those that feels that we can blame all our missteps on our parents, our situations into which we are born, or any external event or force. We are what we make of ourselves and no one is immune from problems. But let me assure you that as you read these stories (which I will post monthly near the 15th), you will feel for these youth and hopefully thank your own parents for providing you with a better start (presumably) than the bulk of these kids. Anything can happen to anyone. The wealthiest family can be destitute in a day - another reason to to be careful about how you treat someone unlike yourself. Because "there but for the grace of God" ... go ALL OF US.
Unfortunately, the bulk of the interviews I had done were ripped off (they were in a backpack), so I've had to start over. I will post one per month for the next twelve months. I am headed down to LA next week for a seminar and I hope to pick up a couple interviews there. My final goal is to one day make this into a book similar in style to Studs Terkel's classic, "Working". But if not, if reading these stories makes my readers more compassionate towards these invisible siblings of ours, I'll be happy.
One final note. Since I do hope to publish these interviews in book form, please post comments to this page so they can be read by possible future publishers. I would assume that the greater interest I can show for these young people through your comments, the greater chance we have of getting these published! If I do get this published, I hope to continue to raise awareness and to eventually create and operate an environment for those that wish to get off the streets similar to Mammas Hands, a privately run shelter near Seattle. Visit them at http://www.mammashands.com/. Their story is truly amazing.
Eric
Bend, Oregon
4 comments:
Eric I never knew you were a writer or that you did this. What a great outreach and ministry!! That was very moving to read. It makes you aware that we have been very blessed and that there are others out there that need our prayer and help. I was very touched!!
Nikki McClain
Eric,
I am really not suprised that you are undertaking this project. This has you writen all over it. Who knows where this will lead but it is going in a good direction.
Calvin
I just read this first post and am impressed already. It is a great idea. I want to share two things that I think go along with this.
I grew up in a religious home. When I got to high school age I attended seminary and there was always this one family that stuck out in our little group.
Ocassionally one of us would try to say something inviting or kind to try to reach them, but they didn't seem to want to be reached either. They had the whole black leather, chains, piercings, and dyed hair thing going on and I think we just didn't know what to do. None of us were mean to them. They fit in for us simply because they were members of our church, but it was like they didn't want that inclusion. I still think of them from time to time and am just as baffled.
I will say that they seemed to have a nice home. Father in the bishopric and mom was the nicest lady you could ever meet, but one day we all heard they were getting divorced and the next thing we knew the family moved away and none of us ever knew what happened to them, so needless to say things looked fine on the surface for the "normal" parents, but aparently they weren't. Where the kids seemed to show this on the outside.
Last and this seems silly to mention next to what I just wrote, but I like to read teen literature. It helps me to remember those times and relate better to my teen step-daughters. Plus one is such a voracious reader and I'm constantly trying to keep up with her reading. It gives us a lot to talk about. Anyway, the last teen books I read were a series of books called "Vampire Kisses" by Ellen Schrieber. These stories were based on a girl who is "goth" and dresses different then everyone in her "normal" family. I recommend them as a good way to maybe get some small perspective into this type of teen dress and mindset.
Well, good luck with this project Eric. It looks awesome. I can't wait to read the rest of your posts, but I have to hit the hay now, night:)
Thanks hsjacobus for the kind words. I think we all have people we know or have known that seem out there on the fringes and they all have a story. The point of this blog is to get people to realize that fact. After that, they can make the decision to dig deeper and see where they can help or not, but they should certainly never judge them. Who knows what we would have done if we were placed in a similar situation? Indeed, the old saying, "there but for the grace of God go I" applies to every misfortunate person we meet. And I'll say this as well - sometimes we all go through difficult circumstances. The family we see that is struggling may need to go through that for their own good somehow in the grand scheme of things. Of course this line of thinking only works if you believe in a "grand scheme" which you and I do, but of course not everyone does.
Thanks for reading. I need your input and many others input as well for a question I have that I will pose on my next post. I hope to have it done this weekend, so please stay tuned!
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