The are so many stories to tell the Mural and MOre

I have learned so much in this process they call

Teaching

Even though I am tired

Old and mean

It is still a life affirming exp.

The mural

When I started this mural

I didn't know where it would go

I had no direction from the school itself

No help except from my bosses

Who were great

So I designed a mural that would include

Many of the child hood images

That I grew up with

Images that I some times didn't feel a part of

I always loved fairy tales, and legends

And Obama being elected

Is both a fairy tale

And a legend in the making

So I had to do some thing with Obama

I had to use all of this energy that I am getting

From him being president

And reform what they are putting on the walls

In these schools

So I made Obama the pied piper

And I took images of dick and Jane

And the wizard of Oz

And mixed in skateboarders

And graffiti

I wanted to create a hybrid mix

Of now and them

Of what was and what can be

I wanted these kids to take this imagery

And I told them all of the stories

And own it

That what I told them to do with their lives

Own them

Anyway

I have been doing art work for so long

That I can do most things

Standing upside on my head

It don't matter

I figured I show the kids how to paint

Instead they showed me how to live

Oh I taught air brushing for 15 years

and can spray better than most

But that's not what is was all about

Art is important

But there are other things that are more relevant

There is a process to making art

And the first thing that we needed

Was time and desire

And these kids showed me a thing or two

about dedication and desire

I had kids that showed up

and just sat in the chairs of the auditoriums

and just watched

All of the school janitors were so so supportive of me

They Came in and watched

Silent

Willing me to do more

To do some thing that would change

Their view of this place if just for a while

They came because they got what I was doing

How important it was to put Obama on this wall

It was their mural

It was their time

Anyway

They are the old guard

Black men over 55

I learned from them

When it got hard they came in

Sweeping in the back ground

and I was reminded again of how far we have come

they came

Listening watching

And

When I would leave

They would tell me that they liked what I was doing

Keep on keeping on

They liked the way I treat the students

Like little men

I didn't coddle them

And at least once a day

I threatened them half laughing

And I mean half laughing with my belt

And they loved it

They loved the fact that I cared enough

To threaten them………….like a grandfather would

These kids

Who were mostly boys

Talked and talked to me

Telling me more and more about themselves

And their lives

And the days went by

I told them of my losses

Of my failures

And of my triumphs

I told them I was them

I took time out to listen

So many of them have never been heard before

What a silent world they live in

Then I realized that when you get older

How no one here you

How no one wants to hear about what you learned

And when you're young and poor

You are in the same boat

No one listen

So I got just as much out of these kids

Listening to my old war stories

As they got out of my listening to their new ones

It was an even exchange of people

That want to be heard

Anyway

I sat yoda like and learned

Two of these kids

Walked three miles at least three times a week to get here

I can't imagine walking 3 miles to do art work or any thing else

I can't

I can't

Remember when I had that kind of dedication

Kids from gangs

Walking through other gangs turfs

And some of these kids

Had already been threatened by the gang members

That live and go to that school

But it didn't stop them

They still came

Came with smiles on their faces

Even though one or more

Had been sleeping a night or two in a playground

They came

Even though they had problems

With their home

Or lack their of

With cops

With crime

They came

How do you top dedication like that?

You teach them

I showed these young kids

My old cops moves

They were surprised

Gleeful that I would wrestle and show them throw

Holds

They loved my cop stories

And life stories

They cried when I told them of my deceased wife

They listen quietly when I told them

Of my son who died and of how I came to make

This art that I do

Wanted them to see

How we can endure and prosper

I wanted them to know

How strong our souls are

And of how many chances we can have

Some of them

No most of them

Began calling me grandpa

One of them the one with the most problems

Told me that I am now his step father

I cooked for them on two or three occasions

And introduced them to southern cooking

One of the kids ate so much

He got sick

But happy sick

I let the eat like pigs

And they loved it

Hell a lot of the school

Call me grandpa

Most of them call me old

Man

And I have never been prouder

To be a old man

I revel in it

I can show my old lion scars

And they make me proud

Hey old man

And these kids protect me

I had one kids who when he found out that other students

Had threatened the mural

He stopped it all

I had to calm him down

They came

Including the little white kid

Who could out spray most of them

He came from a poor but good home

And had never hung out with guys like these

Or me

And he loved it

He worked harder than every one

The college kids came

And hung out

Jerry gant came

And hung out

Some days we would blast the music

And they would dance

And they would make me dance

And they would enjoy that best of all

The dancing

The community

We would sit at the piano

And I would sing

The few songs that I can play

And instead of laughing

These kids would ask for more

They appreciate music

Love it

One kid I just found out

Comes from a home over loaded with other kids

He is high risk

But as talented and as full of energy

As any kid I have ever met

And he came

And worked

And laughed

What a lesion I learned

The last day of the mural

I had ten kids on the stage

They were black

But mostly Latin

Puerto Rican, guatamalin, Mexican, white

And we put the music on

And wrote in Spanish on the mural

They were so surprised that they would be allowed to write in Spanish

Se si pode

The last day was fun

I felt like I was in a spike lee movie

Spinning around

On this last day

At this last time

I remained quiet

I sat back as if I wasn't watching

And I watched these kids of different colors

The same Class

Poor

Dance together

And make art together

And if they can dance

With all the hell they live with

So can I

I learned about resilience

And about why poor people dance

I understand the carnival now in Brazil

And the festivals

That poor people do all over the world

Its gives them hope

And purpose

And that's

What these kids need

They need support beyond the 3 o'clock limit

But most of all

They just need some one

To see them

To tell them

That they are special

And loved and respected

And then they give it back to you in spades

Fix our schools

Hell we need to fix our selves first

And stop turning up our noses at these kids

These kids that we click our tongues at on the buses

These kids that embarrass us and our manners

Kids are kids

And I have found more talent here

More inspiration

Than any other place I go

It's not so much about teaching

As about being human

Ill keeps this project going

For as long as the kids want it

Maybe because if they can walk three miles

And still be able to dance

So can I

I need this more than they do

This thing

They call hope

I like the kids with fire in their eyes

It just means that the soul is still there