It might interest you to know, President Trump’s bipartisan First Step Act was "designed to promote rehabilitation, lower recidivism, and reduce excessive sentences in the federal prison system." Also, Trump's Executive Order 13980, was to spare Americans from unknowingly and unintentionally violating obscure laws and suddenly finding themselves branded as criminals and sent to federal prison.
That hurts. Because it reminds me of what I've seen up close. We surely admit it is very complicated, but can we ever hope to rise to a higher level of compassion, of understanding, of curative action?
I've been diagnosed with a mental disorder decades ago. I am able to shelve books in a library part-time. I've seen "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and how mental patients were treated or lack thereof. I am a champion of genuine kindness although most people dismiss it everyday. It is important to thank strangers and compliment them. I feel like an old soul often. I try not to allow ideology to dampen my poetry. I let the words do the speaking. I am neither a radical nor an idealist. I believe in cultural inclusion but in my own way. I often wonder why people who are different are dehumanized and defamed without explanation. It is cruel and quite unprofessional. So yes I do believe in things other non-believers might scoff at. I just have zero toleration for insensitivity. Thank you for your time and patience.
After the experience we have had with our son, we think another emergency number should be available. 911 for police and more relevant, say 511 for mental and behavioral health issues. It would keep autistic and bi- polar folks out of jail.
THANK GOODNESS EYE COLOR HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH US. BUT WE ARE DRIVEN BY WHAT WE SEE....AND DON'T. ABOUT 50+ YEARS AGO OUR LEADERS PASSED A "LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT" AND ALL THOSE IN NEED OF HELP AND CARE WERE SHOVED OUT THE CARING DOORS ONTO THE STREETS.....WHERE MANY CAMP TODAY, IN THE WINTER TOO, AND MANY WITHOUT A TENT, AND SOMEHOW SELF-MEDICATING WITH MEDS DANGEROUS AND OFTEN LETHAL. THESE CAMPS DIFFER FROM RIKERS IN THAT THE INMATES ARE FED AND COTTED WITH A BLANKET. IT'S CLEARLY A CASE OF WHAT CONSTITUTES REACHING OUT TO HELP THOSE IN GREAT NEED. LEAST RETRICTIVE HAS BECOME GOSPEL IN THE SENSE OF NO ONE CARES ENOUGH TO RESTORE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT CARES AGAIN.
WHAT WE ARE DOING KNOW IS RIKERS AND YEAR-LONG TENTS AND VIRTUALLY NO HELP AT ALL. IN THE GOSPEL, THE SAMARITAN REACHED OUT TO THE BEATEN MAN AND HELPED HIM BACK TO HEALTH AGAIN, PERHAPS TO HELP ANOTHER.
This story about a “brown-eyed girl” reminds me of an experience I had in college, many long years ago! A Special Olympics meet was scheduled for Saturday. They posted a note: “Needed: Companions for S.O. athletes: Sign up at the Student Union.” That sounded interesting, so I put my name down. When I got to the organizing room on that day, they paired me up with (Was he brown-eyed? I don’t recall!) - I’ll call him “Houdini,” you’ll soon see why! He was probably 12 years old or so, and came up to my waist. But, FAST! He was dressed in a Special Olympics t-shirt, just as I had some sort of indicator that I was a “companion.” I was given his schedule of events to compete in, complete with times, and location. “Your number one responsibility is Not To Let Your Contestant Out Of Your Sight!” they emphasized.
So, there we were. Houdini didn’t have an event for an hour or two, so we climbed into the largest stadium and sat down to watch. After the first or second race, Houdini decided he’d pull a disappearing act. He went on a bee-line, over the tops of the stadium bleacher benches, until he literally jumped into an entrance tunnel for team players, and out toward the field. You can imagine how I felt (they had told us “Don’t Make a Scene!” ), leaping down bench seats, two rows at a time, and dropping into the entrance tunnel! Yes. I did catch up with him before he got fully into the main event. And somehow we managed to get off the field.
I expected some of the Event “Guards” to hone in on us, but we managed to mingle with the folks outside. “I’d like something to eat,” I said, trying to act as I jumped over stadium seats on a daily basis. He saw a food stand and pointed to the Mr. Good Bars. I bought two, and we settled down to just get back to an “ordinary day.” I tried not to probe too pointedly, and soon I got the impression that Houdini couldn’t be less interested in athletics, of any kind. He saw the size of the campus – and he’d like to “Just Look Around.” So, that’s what we did. There was a “Rose Garden” with a gravel path, and some “Birds and Bees.” Then he discovered the Student Union. Inside, there were a number of computer games – racing cars and such. I got a roll of quarters at the booth, and he went through the whole role – increasing in competence as he went along. I was finally able to tear him away long enough to grab a meal and show up at the finishing location. I scrammed before anybody could challenge me on my “supervisory” performance.
Needless to say, I didn’t get any notes in the mail inviting me to be a chaperone again! However – if you ask me, I’d count the day as a “Success.” It seems to me that sometimes we can be “over organized.” I got the impression that what Houdini needed, more than anything else, was a chance to “Be Himself!” Perhaps he even found a new hobby in the form of computer games. I don’t know.
And, speaking of a Brown-eyed girl, I had a chance to spend most of a day near the heroine of this story! We were on an HAL/APHC cruise. We had landed in a port in Central America, and had opted for a bus ride to a national park in a tropical forest. The “Brown-eyed Girl” and the couple who were escorting her were seated on the long bench seat in the back of the bus. I happened to take a window seat right in front of them. I was really impressed by the way those three got along together! Some people might be tempted to be “pedantic” – to be “Tour Guides” – and demand that the child paid attention, noted things that adults would feel were significant, and so on. Not these two! They were sensitive to her interests – they found ways to expand on topics without being “school-teacherish” about it! It takes special people, it seems to me, to catch a child’s stride, and match it – and they did! I think that “Brown-eyed Girl” was lucky, to have such wonderful, personalized attention, on what might otherwise be a long, boring cruise!
What marvelous sentiments. Many of our generation did seem to drop the ball and become what we all wanted to change. Sad
Mental health facilities were destroyed by Ronald Reagan in California long before liberals got into the picture.
Simply wonderful .. I should take up Dancing !!
It might interest you to know, President Trump’s bipartisan First Step Act was "designed to promote rehabilitation, lower recidivism, and reduce excessive sentences in the federal prison system." Also, Trump's Executive Order 13980, was to spare Americans from unknowingly and unintentionally violating obscure laws and suddenly finding themselves branded as criminals and sent to federal prison.
That hurts. Because it reminds me of what I've seen up close. We surely admit it is very complicated, but can we ever hope to rise to a higher level of compassion, of understanding, of curative action?
I've been diagnosed with a mental disorder decades ago. I am able to shelve books in a library part-time. I've seen "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and how mental patients were treated or lack thereof. I am a champion of genuine kindness although most people dismiss it everyday. It is important to thank strangers and compliment them. I feel like an old soul often. I try not to allow ideology to dampen my poetry. I let the words do the speaking. I am neither a radical nor an idealist. I believe in cultural inclusion but in my own way. I often wonder why people who are different are dehumanized and defamed without explanation. It is cruel and quite unprofessional. So yes I do believe in things other non-believers might scoff at. I just have zero toleration for insensitivity. Thank you for your time and patience.
MAY THAT TIME AND PATIENCE ALSO INCUDE REACHING OUT TO HELP....
Lovely Garrison
Go Emily!
She’ll burn out to pursue something else after not too long but, go Em 😊💯
After the experience we have had with our son, we think another emergency number should be available. 911 for police and more relevant, say 511 for mental and behavioral health issues. It would keep autistic and bi- polar folks out of jail.
THANK GOODNESS EYE COLOR HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH US. BUT WE ARE DRIVEN BY WHAT WE SEE....AND DON'T. ABOUT 50+ YEARS AGO OUR LEADERS PASSED A "LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT" AND ALL THOSE IN NEED OF HELP AND CARE WERE SHOVED OUT THE CARING DOORS ONTO THE STREETS.....WHERE MANY CAMP TODAY, IN THE WINTER TOO, AND MANY WITHOUT A TENT, AND SOMEHOW SELF-MEDICATING WITH MEDS DANGEROUS AND OFTEN LETHAL. THESE CAMPS DIFFER FROM RIKERS IN THAT THE INMATES ARE FED AND COTTED WITH A BLANKET. IT'S CLEARLY A CASE OF WHAT CONSTITUTES REACHING OUT TO HELP THOSE IN GREAT NEED. LEAST RETRICTIVE HAS BECOME GOSPEL IN THE SENSE OF NO ONE CARES ENOUGH TO RESTORE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT CARES AGAIN.
WHAT WE ARE DOING KNOW IS RIKERS AND YEAR-LONG TENTS AND VIRTUALLY NO HELP AT ALL. IN THE GOSPEL, THE SAMARITAN REACHED OUT TO THE BEATEN MAN AND HELPED HIM BACK TO HEALTH AGAIN, PERHAPS TO HELP ANOTHER.
TOM
LET'S REACH OUT AND WELCOME IN....TK
Beautiful.
This story about a “brown-eyed girl” reminds me of an experience I had in college, many long years ago! A Special Olympics meet was scheduled for Saturday. They posted a note: “Needed: Companions for S.O. athletes: Sign up at the Student Union.” That sounded interesting, so I put my name down. When I got to the organizing room on that day, they paired me up with (Was he brown-eyed? I don’t recall!) - I’ll call him “Houdini,” you’ll soon see why! He was probably 12 years old or so, and came up to my waist. But, FAST! He was dressed in a Special Olympics t-shirt, just as I had some sort of indicator that I was a “companion.” I was given his schedule of events to compete in, complete with times, and location. “Your number one responsibility is Not To Let Your Contestant Out Of Your Sight!” they emphasized.
So, there we were. Houdini didn’t have an event for an hour or two, so we climbed into the largest stadium and sat down to watch. After the first or second race, Houdini decided he’d pull a disappearing act. He went on a bee-line, over the tops of the stadium bleacher benches, until he literally jumped into an entrance tunnel for team players, and out toward the field. You can imagine how I felt (they had told us “Don’t Make a Scene!” ), leaping down bench seats, two rows at a time, and dropping into the entrance tunnel! Yes. I did catch up with him before he got fully into the main event. And somehow we managed to get off the field.
I expected some of the Event “Guards” to hone in on us, but we managed to mingle with the folks outside. “I’d like something to eat,” I said, trying to act as I jumped over stadium seats on a daily basis. He saw a food stand and pointed to the Mr. Good Bars. I bought two, and we settled down to just get back to an “ordinary day.” I tried not to probe too pointedly, and soon I got the impression that Houdini couldn’t be less interested in athletics, of any kind. He saw the size of the campus – and he’d like to “Just Look Around.” So, that’s what we did. There was a “Rose Garden” with a gravel path, and some “Birds and Bees.” Then he discovered the Student Union. Inside, there were a number of computer games – racing cars and such. I got a roll of quarters at the booth, and he went through the whole role – increasing in competence as he went along. I was finally able to tear him away long enough to grab a meal and show up at the finishing location. I scrammed before anybody could challenge me on my “supervisory” performance.
Needless to say, I didn’t get any notes in the mail inviting me to be a chaperone again! However – if you ask me, I’d count the day as a “Success.” It seems to me that sometimes we can be “over organized.” I got the impression that what Houdini needed, more than anything else, was a chance to “Be Himself!” Perhaps he even found a new hobby in the form of computer games. I don’t know.
And, speaking of a Brown-eyed girl, I had a chance to spend most of a day near the heroine of this story! We were on an HAL/APHC cruise. We had landed in a port in Central America, and had opted for a bus ride to a national park in a tropical forest. The “Brown-eyed Girl” and the couple who were escorting her were seated on the long bench seat in the back of the bus. I happened to take a window seat right in front of them. I was really impressed by the way those three got along together! Some people might be tempted to be “pedantic” – to be “Tour Guides” – and demand that the child paid attention, noted things that adults would feel were significant, and so on. Not these two! They were sensitive to her interests – they found ways to expand on topics without being “school-teacherish” about it! It takes special people, it seems to me, to catch a child’s stride, and match it – and they did! I think that “Brown-eyed Girl” was lucky, to have such wonderful, personalized attention, on what might otherwise be a long, boring cruise!