Monday, February 23, 2009

My Friend

I have had the privilege of visiting a lot of elementary schools in the Tulsa area. Each time I am amazed at the experiences that our children have faced and how time can be the only gap.
For instance, I met a sweet, shy, second grade boy. His naturally highlighted hair, blue eyes and smile could seriously melt your heart. Teachers shared the frustrations that were associated with him. None of them he could help, not one. He was a true victim.
Born a meth baby, he was very slow in understanding. Pushed down to the floor by officers in the middle of a bust that took his mom and live in boyfriend to jail, he had some anxiety issues. Raised by a grandparent because his biological dad rejected him, he dealt with abandonment issues.
He looked at the floor when I talked with him until I told him I had met some "shady" characters when I was about his age. His face was priceless, his smile will never be forgotten. For about five minutes he looked at me like I knew him, really knew him, and all because I wasn't afraid to look back at my own rugged past to sit eye-level with a peer. Sure, he was born a few decades after me, but we would have been friends then, so why not now.

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