Learnedsofar Eddie's Choice
What I've Learned So Far...
"So what's on your minds, guys?" It was a really open-ended question to ask a group of incarcerated teenage boys, and the range of answers I got pretty much lived up to my expectations;
"Eatin' Pizza;" "Girls;" "Eatin' Pizza with girls!" There were a few other topics that I am probably better off leaving to your imagination.
Josh White, Jr. and I were working our way through the first session of a new idea we were developing, helping severely troubled young people explore some of their deepest feelings by writing and performing folk and blues songs. At the time we were calling the program "Project Roots," referring to the fact that traditional folk and blues, or "roots music," forms the foundation on which all other American music is built.
On that day we were not really sure where to start, because nobody else had ever tried to do exactly what we were doing. I had been running creative writing workshops at this facility for nearly two years and some of these boys had been in at least one of my groups. They all knew me. This was a big advantage, since I had already had a chance to earn their trust - and trust is something that never comes easy for these kids.
If you enjoy What I've Learned So Far... and would like to see it in your local paper, just send the editor an impassioned plea and this link to my syndicate, North Star Writers Group.
Also, chase all your friends on over to my Web site to sign up, so they can enjoy it too! They'll thank you, and so will I.
- mike
Mike Ball
Author of What I've Learned So Far...
Winner of the 2003 Erma Bombeck Award
Web: whativelearnedsofar.com
E-mail: mike@whativelearnedsofar.com
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posted by Mike Ball @ 1:26 PM
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