As Promised, Though Considerably Late.

So, my apologies for taking so long to send out this blog post, but the wireless internet access has been down the past week or so, and I haven't had the opportunity to write any blogs. But anyway. Here I am. I'm going to resist the urge to "briefly" update you with current goings on before launching into what I really want to talk about, because every time I've tried to do that I end up investing too much time on it and don't have the energy to talk at all about my main point. So the deal is, I have a bunch of pictures of people and places, and I want to share them. This is Hands-On:

Well, I suppose we'll start with me. That's me in a Tyvek suit and full-face respirator. That is also me looking bad ass.

This is Reggie. He hails from South Africa, and came to America a couple of years ago, right after graduating high school. He wandered around the country for those two years until finding his way to Hands-On five months ago. He has completely embraced the expression "work hard, play hard." Every time I go out with him it turns crazy. But he's usually up at 6 a.m. every morning, and works as hard as anyone I've ever met.


Right. Now. This is Tyshon. I mentioned him a long time ago in a previous post, but haven't dedicated any real time to talking about hm. TyShon is a kid from the neighborhood of Hands-On. I actually don't know his story that well. He's 14, he's in 7th grade, and he got in touch with Hands-On in the spring of last year through a volunteer who was doing a program at Tyshon's school. The volunteer, Tom, ended up taking TyShon under his wing, and almost every day for a solid month dedicated time to doing something constructive with him. I've basically taken on that role indefinitely.

I think the biggest challenge with TyShon is that he's a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy. TyShon is 14, but he certainly doesn't act it. Usually he's rude, he talks a lot of shit, and he likes pushing people's buttons. So, people at Hands-On treat him like a kid. He gets loads of attention and rarely gets scolded, but TyShon frequently tells people that he wishes they would stop babying him. At the same time, when it comes to me taking him out in the evenings, or having conversations with him, I tend to treat him like an adult, like a peer. In these situations, TyShon says something along the lines of "Go-lly Mathias! I'm just a kid!" TyShon craves to be taken seriously without wanting any of the responsibility that comes with it. I guess this is something everybody has to go through, usually around TyShon's age, but what makes it harder in his case is his seeming unwillingness to be nice and warm to people. He's always insulting guys and flirting with girls, and this pushes some people away. This is what I've been working on with TyShon the most.

At the same time, TyShon has a good head on his shoulders. TyShon gets a lot of peer pressure from friends and neighborhood to not trust white people. Thankfully he understands that thinking this way is stupid and shallow. I think a place like Hands-On is one of the best things he could have, because it gives him a window outside of the closed-mindedness of the ghetto-street mentality. He gets a lot of support and attention at Hands-On, two things that living in a bad neighborhood and having a questionable family life don't give him.

So, I guess that's what keeps me going, knowing that his time here is necessary for him turning in to a good kid. He can certainly test my patience, because, again, it's frustrating to hear him ask constantly to be taken seriously but then object to me not babying him. The whole time with Tyshon, though, is giving me a different perspective of New Orleans. I get to hang out with a local kid at his peak period of self-consciousness and emotional development. It's an interesting scenario.



This is a shot of our bunk house (at a rather unoccupied moment). It's rows of bunks with little space in between. You have your bunk, you can put up a privacy sheet to sequester yourself in, but that's as much personal space as you get. This lack of personal space hasn't really bothered me yet, although it can be frustrating to have absolutely no place to catch your breath in solitude. But, that bunk is my neighborhood.



This is Reggie with his best friend, Amanda. Reggie just turned 21. Amanda is in her mid-thirties. They're both South African, though they met at a Westchester country club they were both working at. Since then, about a year and a half ago, they've been completely inseparable. They've lived all over the country together, and they've been here for the past six or seven months. Amanda is one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life, absolutely ridiculous and profane but a heart of gold. She makes everyone feel loved when she's talking to them. She is unique, and it's satisfying knowing that I will never meet anyone like her in my life. Thank you, Hands-On!


And speaking of unique people I'll never again meet, Chet falls comfortably in to that category. Chet is a hardened dude. He's spent 12 of his 43 years in prison, something that I'd probably be apprehensive writing here if he talk so openly about it himself. He has, for instance, a MySpace prison blog, where you can read a few of his wild and crazy tales about life in the joint. He's also battled with drug and alcohol addiction, some troubling family issues, and then, of course, his own inner demons. Since his time here, though, he's mellowed incredibly. I'm not saying he won't yell at you if you're doing something stupid. But, usually he's yelling because...well...you're doing something stupid. Yes he's the first to criticize, but he's also the first to compliment, the first to praise, and it's qualities like this he's developed at Hands-On that, in a similar way as with TyShon, make it a perfect place for him. He has a strong support group here to help him out, and on the flip-side, being in such a social environment helps his people skills.
I love Chet, even though he can be a real hard ass sometimes. And I will never, ever, ever, meet a guy like him again.

A little sample of Chet's softer side.

That's it for now. If I can get more pictures I certainly will. Again, I am soo sorry it's taken me two weeks to write this. And to the select few dedicated readers of this blog, I promise I'll be more consistent in the future.

Peace!