It's been a long time. I was looking today and my last writing on this blog was back in April of 2018 and the subject was the Parkland, Florida shooting and my thoughts on school safety. Earlier this summer, I made a quick post on Facebook with a hint that this blog was coming. I have thought and thought about how I am going to take 25 years of experiences and put it into one blog post. I can't promise that this is going to turn out like I want it to, but the simple fact is that 25 years is a little more broad than the specific topic that I usually write about. So here we go...
When someone says that they are 25 years into a mission, or a career, or an objective, they tend to be nearing the end of their professional journey. That is not my case as I started this direction of my career when I was just 17 years old, I was still in high school. It started with my choice to join a group of other students who were working on getting a youth center built in the small community that I grew up in. The group was working in collaboration with another organization that had the same mission, or at the beginning, that was the belief. The other students and I wanted a safe place for other students to go to and that is what the other organization was saying at our meetings. As the next few months went on, the other students and I became a youth service organization called "Youth Action Force" and we were the board of directors. Over this time, we as an organization, felt that jumping right into getting a youth center built in the community was getting the cart before the horse. We scaled back and rethought our position and came to the determination that getting youth involved in the community was a necessary first step before getting the youth center built. The other organization we collaborated with was not a fan at all about our change in thinking and it became quite clear that their goal with having a youth center was to push a religion practice, in addition to the money it could make for their organization. It was at this point, that we decided to move on to our own path and get youth involved in the community. As we went on, Youth Action Force had over 60 other students become members of our youth service organization, in a community that had a school that had a total of about 500-600 students in grades 7-12. Many of them participated in different youth service projects that were opportunities for our organization to get youth involved in. The really cool thing about our organization was that we had a real balanced mix of students which included students who were looking for their "place" socially as a teenager and high school student, student athletes, fine arts students, students who were just making the transition from middle school to high school, students who were struggling to find an identity, and some that just wanted to be involved in everything to boost a college resume. When Youth Action Force hit their stride, we organized a Youth Speaks Out day at the high school and worked with the Rockford School District to change the schedule of the afternoon of a school day and have our over 60 members pair up and go into every classroom and have a conversation with the class or students about how the youth view the community and how they want to be involved. It was so cool to see different mixes of students pair up and lead these discussions. We also were the featured program shortly after that at a community town hall meeting. It all happened so fast. I don't think at the time, that I realized how big this was becoming and what was being accomplished. Other than a few peers, I didn't have really a lot of support with all of this. I could chalk it up to being young and stupid and not knowing what I really was doing, which was probably partially true, but it was probably the most courage that I ever had in my life and it did continue to lead to more opportunities.
I became the official "youth" representative at many community organizations. There was a community collaborative group called Riverside Community Forum where collaborative projects were discussed and executed. This was a group that consisted of school officials, local business owners, religious leaders in the community, city officials, and county participants. It lead to me being a creator of a youth mentoring program called Rocket Buddies, where high school students were paired with elementary students and they met weekly after school once a week to build leadership, relationships, and to give the younger students a potential role model to look up to. Then, the Community Education Director with the Rockford School District approached me to come work with their School Age Child Care program called Creative Corners. It was nice, because I could finally make some money doing this work instead of just volunteering. Creative Corners was a great job. I got along with everyone, as everyone that worked with the program was on the same page and that made an enjoyable climate for the youth that were in the program. It was a team of people that clicked so well, that we offered the parents and students camping opportunities, Minnesota Twins baseball game outings, and even an overnight sleepover in the school. Those were above and beyond the normal service offerings with the program. Again, it was something that took a lot of courage, and was something bigger than I realized at the time when I was doing it.
Over my 25 years of working with youth, I have worked for five different school districts. They are all in Minnesota. They are the Rockford School District, Brainerd School District, Bemidji School District, Crosby-Ironton School District and my current employer, the Onamia School District. My positions in these school districts have included School Age Child Care, Youth Development Coordinator twice, Facility Use Coordinator, Summer Child Care Transportation, Energy Efficiency Coordinator, Paraprofessional, Residential Treatment Counselor, and Behavior Interventionist. In addition to working with the five school districts, I have also worked with two different private child care companies, one called KidNation and the other one called Step and Go. I was also involved with the Wright County Collaborative, which had a focus on asset building and developing asset building in youth. The belief at that time, was the higher number of assets that students had, the higher the chance of success.
I think the most eye opening part of the last 25 years of working with youth is how youth have changed. Society has changed. I think as these changes have occurred, the needs of youth have skyrocketed. It can be kind of scary when you look at it as a big picture model. It is more realistic to look at the task in front of you and take it one day at a time, and that is hard for me. I am one to always look ahead and look at the possible outcomes. My time as a youth had many different challenges. In some ways I was lucky to have what I had, but I had a lot of challenges and that is what made me decide at 17 years old to want to help other youth. Some of my challenges were what would be classified as typical challenges for a child or youth, and some were not. With those challenges, I didn't necessarily have a place where I truly felt I belonged and that was hard. I never resorted to drugs or alcohol and never smoked cigarettes. I was someone with a good heart that wanted to help others. I am still helping youth today, and I work tirelessly at it. There are days and weeks that completely kick my ass, but seeing a student succeed has made it worth it.
Moving forward, as my professional life continues on, I am not sure where it goes. My current role includes working with a high number of special education and mental health students. I have always loved to be innovative and creative and I feel it makes me a valuable part of the team. Over the last 12 years with my current employer, I have been a part of developing a behavior level system, helping push the idea of developing an academic resource room in our school, and coming up with reward systems in classrooms, which my wife will never admit to with her classroom. They say that the average life of a special education teacher is five years. That is crazy with all the commitment it takes to become a special education teacher. I am not a special education teacher, but I work with mental health special education students and when you combine my time as a paraprofessional and behavior interventionist with the Onamia School district, 12 years is pretty good. I have always, and to this day, been an employee that comes to work and works hard. I will tell people that I don't want to be replaceable. We know that every position is replaceable, but I work with the belief that I don't want to be a body, I want to be a person that is valuable. Maybe some of that is because that is what I need, but it was I practice. Moving forward, I want to continue to grow. I want continue to increase my leadership opportunities and I want to continue to grow in the area of coaching people who work with youth. I don't say challenging youth, because all youth have different challenges. When I started this work, I was drinking the Kool-Aid in believing that all students had a healthy home, healthy families, everyone attended school, and everyone's needs were the same. After 25 years, it is nothing like that. There have been experiences in this work that I never could have imagined happening and it continues to this day. When I was 17 and doing a public presentation at a town hall meeting about youth involvement in the community, I didn't realize that I was an effective public speaker. I am not going to say a good public speaker, because that is up to everyone's own opinion. I got away from public speaking for quite a while, but over the past few years I have had some opportunities to do presentations in front of my co-workers at my school site. In 2016, I became a certified instructor for the ALICE Training Institute and that has created the opportunity to do some more larger scale public speaking again and that has been good for me. When I started speaking again in front of people and to larger groups, I learned that my skills in public speaking had become very rusty and that I was very nervous, which never existed before. Now that I am getting rid of the rust, the nerves are tending to go away as well and I am looking forward to more potential opportunities to speak publicly. I want to continue to push myself and grow.
Finally, I have worked with some amazing people over my 25 years in this work. We all have had negative experiences of working with people, but it is the special and talented ones that I chose to remember and will always remember. These people have made a positive impact. Lynn Englund, Anna Varner, Eric Lloyd, Lori Bromley, Ann Mavis, Dale Sova, Curt Hiltbrunner, Midge Robinson, Larry Ronglien, Jason Donahue, Mary Stephens, Lisa Stawarski, and Holly Booth. These individuals are the ones who pushed me and helped me grow professionally. These individuals gave me guidance in the work I do. It has been an interesting path, but it has made me who I am now. I look forward to where the path goes from here.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Friday, April 20, 2018
Parkland, Florida
For those of you who know, I am somebody that will relay the advice to not make a decision based on impulsive feelings. When something impacts you, it is not the time to make a big decision. I am never a fan of overreacting, and I think that is why I took some time before making my feelings truly known about the horrific tragedy in Florida on Valentine's Day. I take school safety very seriously. It is a big part of my job, but also something that I am passionate about. It is this passion that led me to becoming a certified instructor with the ALICE Training Institute.
Whenever such a tragedy happens, I tend to give it a lot of my personal attention because I really try to examine the thinking behind such a poor choice, what the motivations are, and what were the warning signs. It really breaks my heart to see a school in 2018 having to be emptied like Columbine was 19 years ago today. When you put those video clips side-by-side, they look identical and they happened almost two decades apart. This tells me that not enough has been done. I am not going political in this discussion, because this isn't a political issue. It is, instead, a safety issue. There is no reason to make it more complex than it needs to be. In Minnesota, we have carry and conceal laws for guns, which I have no problem with. I know many hunters that use hunting rifles, and I am good with it. In the last two months after the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, I have been looking for anyone to answer a question I had. Whether that question be answered by law enforcement, private citizens, specialty groups or organizations, or most importantly, the politicians themselves, I have not had my question about the purpose or need of assault weapons in society. I am in the belief, that those high powered weapons, that are designed to kill, should only be legal for the military and law enforcement. I don't care what political affiliation anybody supports, I just want someone to answer my question, what is a good reason for a person not in law enforcement or the military to have access to assault weapons?
If the tragedy in Florida wasn't heartbreaking enough, the discussions and actions that were taking place afterwards were encouraging and motivating, but then the favored suggestion as an action to combat these tragedies was to arm teachers. I absolutely do not understand this thinking. In fact, the only conclusion that I came to was that the leaders we have, that have the most power and in many cases the loudest voices, have not worked one day with students or in a school. I work in a high needs school where many of the students I have worked with have experienced extensive trauma. When I work with a student that is triggered from an event that reminds them of past trauma, it sometimes becomes a very dicey and intense situation in an attempt to de-escalate them. Now, my leaders expect me to carry a gun on my hip? Come on, they can't be serious.
I completely agree that there is a mental health crisis in this nation and our youth may be the age bracket in the most dire need of help. I am not exactly sure how our society got to this point. I do know that there are not enough mental health facilities and professionals to address all the needs. Our leaders, those ones with the most power and loudest voices, need to be responsible and make this a top priority. It is the right thing to do. It is easy to be critical about what you would do in a safety crisis, until you have experienced it. When I went through my active shooter training, I had a bad headache from the stress after my first scenario, and that was a just a simulation. When our leader states that he would've went in there after the shooter in Parkland, it just showed me his complete lack of knowledge on the topic.
I also want to address the topic about the bucket of rocks I think a Pennsylvania school mentioned about having in the classrooms. This idea was completely written off right away as many people thought or took it as a joke as they laughed it off. I think the point they were making was the fact that if an active shooter were to enter your classroom, the idea is to throw items at the shooter to decrease the possibility of the shooter getting accurate shots. If you can throw the shooter off, it usually results in lives being saved and I think this bucket of rocks idea really didn't get a fair listen. If it were me, I don't think I would have a bucket of rocks. In my ALICE training, they did suggest keeping expired canned goods maybe in a cabinet to use in case a school shooter enters a room. People also give these shooters too much credit with the accuracy of their shooting. I believe trained law enforcement officers usually hit their target in a situation about 30 percent of the time. We assume these school shooters are 100 percent accurate all the time. I will tell you that the shooter's accuracy does improve when traditional lockdowns, sometimes called Code Reds, are used. The reason for this is because using a traditional lockdown makes you a "sitting duck." All the thought is put into what we can do to try to keep a shooter out. With ALICE, the focus is on what choices I have if someone does get in.
I want to close this by saying that I am disappointed that we have not problem solved this crisis and it has been nine weeks since the tragedy in Parkland. 17 students and staff lost their lives and were disconnected from their families forever for a choice that was not their own. The one thing that is overlooked, in my opinion, is that there were approximately 3,000 students that attended the high school in Parkland and that is 3,000 people that probably experienced different levels of trauma from this incident. How many of those that experienced that incident followed up with talking to someone to make sure that they are processing these feelings appropriately? Many people think they are fine, when really they are not. So look at the ripple effects of this tragedy. You have 17 people killed, which has now impacted all of their families. You also have all of the other students, who survived, who have now experienced a traumatic event. Then, you have family members of those students who are trying to cope. That is a lot of affected people and that is only one incident. I hope I have convinced you of importance of the need to make school safety and mental health top priorities. The active shootings also don't just happen in schools. The schools are the ones you hear the most about, but 40% of all active shootings take place in private businesses. 29% take place in schools. My training with ALICE has prepared me to be aware of my surroundings in any situation.
To students of Parkland, Florida and their families, please talk to people about your feelings regarding this horrible tragedy that you had no choice to be a part of. You are human and it is okay to be affected by this. If you keep those feelings inside that you are struggling with, they will come out when you don't want them to, or not in a way that you want them expressed. I feel with our technological advances in the past decade, our society has gotten away from just talking to each other and supporting one another. Maybe that is a contributing factor to the issues that need to be a top priority in our country. Don't be hurtful when instead you can be helpful.
Whenever such a tragedy happens, I tend to give it a lot of my personal attention because I really try to examine the thinking behind such a poor choice, what the motivations are, and what were the warning signs. It really breaks my heart to see a school in 2018 having to be emptied like Columbine was 19 years ago today. When you put those video clips side-by-side, they look identical and they happened almost two decades apart. This tells me that not enough has been done. I am not going political in this discussion, because this isn't a political issue. It is, instead, a safety issue. There is no reason to make it more complex than it needs to be. In Minnesota, we have carry and conceal laws for guns, which I have no problem with. I know many hunters that use hunting rifles, and I am good with it. In the last two months after the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, I have been looking for anyone to answer a question I had. Whether that question be answered by law enforcement, private citizens, specialty groups or organizations, or most importantly, the politicians themselves, I have not had my question about the purpose or need of assault weapons in society. I am in the belief, that those high powered weapons, that are designed to kill, should only be legal for the military and law enforcement. I don't care what political affiliation anybody supports, I just want someone to answer my question, what is a good reason for a person not in law enforcement or the military to have access to assault weapons?
If the tragedy in Florida wasn't heartbreaking enough, the discussions and actions that were taking place afterwards were encouraging and motivating, but then the favored suggestion as an action to combat these tragedies was to arm teachers. I absolutely do not understand this thinking. In fact, the only conclusion that I came to was that the leaders we have, that have the most power and in many cases the loudest voices, have not worked one day with students or in a school. I work in a high needs school where many of the students I have worked with have experienced extensive trauma. When I work with a student that is triggered from an event that reminds them of past trauma, it sometimes becomes a very dicey and intense situation in an attempt to de-escalate them. Now, my leaders expect me to carry a gun on my hip? Come on, they can't be serious.
I completely agree that there is a mental health crisis in this nation and our youth may be the age bracket in the most dire need of help. I am not exactly sure how our society got to this point. I do know that there are not enough mental health facilities and professionals to address all the needs. Our leaders, those ones with the most power and loudest voices, need to be responsible and make this a top priority. It is the right thing to do. It is easy to be critical about what you would do in a safety crisis, until you have experienced it. When I went through my active shooter training, I had a bad headache from the stress after my first scenario, and that was a just a simulation. When our leader states that he would've went in there after the shooter in Parkland, it just showed me his complete lack of knowledge on the topic.
I also want to address the topic about the bucket of rocks I think a Pennsylvania school mentioned about having in the classrooms. This idea was completely written off right away as many people thought or took it as a joke as they laughed it off. I think the point they were making was the fact that if an active shooter were to enter your classroom, the idea is to throw items at the shooter to decrease the possibility of the shooter getting accurate shots. If you can throw the shooter off, it usually results in lives being saved and I think this bucket of rocks idea really didn't get a fair listen. If it were me, I don't think I would have a bucket of rocks. In my ALICE training, they did suggest keeping expired canned goods maybe in a cabinet to use in case a school shooter enters a room. People also give these shooters too much credit with the accuracy of their shooting. I believe trained law enforcement officers usually hit their target in a situation about 30 percent of the time. We assume these school shooters are 100 percent accurate all the time. I will tell you that the shooter's accuracy does improve when traditional lockdowns, sometimes called Code Reds, are used. The reason for this is because using a traditional lockdown makes you a "sitting duck." All the thought is put into what we can do to try to keep a shooter out. With ALICE, the focus is on what choices I have if someone does get in.
I want to close this by saying that I am disappointed that we have not problem solved this crisis and it has been nine weeks since the tragedy in Parkland. 17 students and staff lost their lives and were disconnected from their families forever for a choice that was not their own. The one thing that is overlooked, in my opinion, is that there were approximately 3,000 students that attended the high school in Parkland and that is 3,000 people that probably experienced different levels of trauma from this incident. How many of those that experienced that incident followed up with talking to someone to make sure that they are processing these feelings appropriately? Many people think they are fine, when really they are not. So look at the ripple effects of this tragedy. You have 17 people killed, which has now impacted all of their families. You also have all of the other students, who survived, who have now experienced a traumatic event. Then, you have family members of those students who are trying to cope. That is a lot of affected people and that is only one incident. I hope I have convinced you of importance of the need to make school safety and mental health top priorities. The active shootings also don't just happen in schools. The schools are the ones you hear the most about, but 40% of all active shootings take place in private businesses. 29% take place in schools. My training with ALICE has prepared me to be aware of my surroundings in any situation.
To students of Parkland, Florida and their families, please talk to people about your feelings regarding this horrible tragedy that you had no choice to be a part of. You are human and it is okay to be affected by this. If you keep those feelings inside that you are struggling with, they will come out when you don't want them to, or not in a way that you want them expressed. I feel with our technological advances in the past decade, our society has gotten away from just talking to each other and supporting one another. Maybe that is a contributing factor to the issues that need to be a top priority in our country. Don't be hurtful when instead you can be helpful.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
An Attempted Reunion, Unfortunately Failed.
Well I'm back, and it has been awhile. According to my records, this is my first writing since the middle of November, so it has been about three months since my last posting. As I have written before, my relationship with my biological father has not been a successful relationship. A handful of months ago, my cousin Debbie sent me a message stating that my dad may possible be facing a serious health situation involving his heart, and that it may require open heart surgery. I was really glad that she reached out to me and alerted me of this situation, so I picked up the phone and called my dad. It had been quite a while since we had spoken, and I think the best way to explain it is that it is two different personalities that couldn't manage to be on the same page when it needed to be. Unfortunately, my dad is a person that had a lot of friends, had his own business, felt a need to have the best material things to sometimes impress others, and had his priorities be himself first. That isn't an insult to my dad, it is just a description of him. We go through this life often times wishing that everyone was alike, so everyone could just agree, go with the flow, and have everyone get along. While that sounds great, the reality is life would be boring if that was the case. Those things that I described about my dad is a mere description, and I apparently am not cut from the same cloth, because that doesn't describe me. I am a guy who will help anyone anyway I can if there is something I can give in that situation. I obviously don't own my own business, I work in education so I can help guide students to get on the right track sooner than what maybe I had experienced. Material things really don't mean jack crap to me because I don't want a bunch of debt over things that you can't take with you when the ride is over. I prefer to be simple, and I like to laugh to enjoy life. Those are two very different personalities that I just explained and it might be an explanation as to why my dad and I can't connect and be on the same page.
So, a couple of months ago, I reached out. I picked up the phone and called him. He did answer, which I do give him credit for, and I asked him how he was. His response, "I'm good. I am with my brother Joe at a car show." I chose to immediately ask about his potential health crisis. He then explained what was going on. I then put myself out there and asked if he would like to me to be there during the procedure for support. He answered by saying that he wasn't sure when the procedure was yet and he was to have more tests in a week or so, and that he would call me back and let me know. I said okay, but please call me back and let me know. I did not a call back.
So, I let a little time go by and once I knew that he had gone to that doctor appointment and had those tests, I decided again to reach out to him. I sent him a text message, which should've been a phone call on my part, and I asked him if he had his doctor appointment yet? He said, "No, it's next Monday." I responded by saying, "Alright. I hope it goes well. Let me know the results when you get them." I received no response after that. Nine days later, I sent him a text again asking if he had gotten any test results yet? He told me that he did and he was not going to have to have surgery, which was good news. He stated that it was a big relief. I responded with, "I bet. I was waiting to hear." Once I knew he was in clear, I then asked him another question.
I was tired of the back and forth, the disagreements, the blame game going all around. If anyone knows me, I am not fan of drama at all. I am a comedy guy, not a drama guy. Laughter is my coping skill. So, I cut through the crap so to say and I asked my dad, "Do you want to have a connection with me?" He responded, "I don't know that's too big of a question now." I was pretty upset with the response since I had done the reaching out and put myself out there as I had attempted to do before. My response was that I explained that if anything brings people together and brings some clarity to a situation, it is a health scare. I went on to say that the ball was now in his court. "Whether it is in a few weeks, years, or ever...The next attempt will have to be from you", I stated. I went on to say, "If there is never an attempt, that will be sad, but it will ultimately be your choice. Later." He responded with, "K", and that was it.
The big thing that has been clearly evident to me in all my life environments the past few months is accountability and the importance of it. Accountability is healthy, and so many people see it as a negative. Sometimes accountability involves things that may be really difficult to hear, but it is so critical to problem solving. This situation with my dad... I was hoping to have a conversation, which would've included me taking responsibility for my part of the falling out that we had almost 20 years ago, and I was hoping that he would've done the same as sometimes time helps or heals differences. Unfortunately, that was not the outcome. I have come to terms with the situation, and am now comfortable with sharing this experience. My goal here is not to disrespect or blame. My dad has chosen to handle his side of our relationship the way he has and that is his choice, no matter whether I agree with it or not. The time now is to focus on myself, which will include getting healthier, because I want to feel better about things in general. The past few months has included many requests for me to be censored and not say anything about certain things, and I need to learn to speak up more once again. It is something that I have always struggled with, especially in confrontational situations. All my coworkers would probably disagree with that last statement and probably say, "That guy never shuts the hell up." My intention is always good, my goal is not to be destructive, but instead be productive and proactive. I will get there. Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment on any of my postings. Be helpful, not hurtful.
So, a couple of months ago, I reached out. I picked up the phone and called him. He did answer, which I do give him credit for, and I asked him how he was. His response, "I'm good. I am with my brother Joe at a car show." I chose to immediately ask about his potential health crisis. He then explained what was going on. I then put myself out there and asked if he would like to me to be there during the procedure for support. He answered by saying that he wasn't sure when the procedure was yet and he was to have more tests in a week or so, and that he would call me back and let me know. I said okay, but please call me back and let me know. I did not a call back.
So, I let a little time go by and once I knew that he had gone to that doctor appointment and had those tests, I decided again to reach out to him. I sent him a text message, which should've been a phone call on my part, and I asked him if he had his doctor appointment yet? He said, "No, it's next Monday." I responded by saying, "Alright. I hope it goes well. Let me know the results when you get them." I received no response after that. Nine days later, I sent him a text again asking if he had gotten any test results yet? He told me that he did and he was not going to have to have surgery, which was good news. He stated that it was a big relief. I responded with, "I bet. I was waiting to hear." Once I knew he was in clear, I then asked him another question.
I was tired of the back and forth, the disagreements, the blame game going all around. If anyone knows me, I am not fan of drama at all. I am a comedy guy, not a drama guy. Laughter is my coping skill. So, I cut through the crap so to say and I asked my dad, "Do you want to have a connection with me?" He responded, "I don't know that's too big of a question now." I was pretty upset with the response since I had done the reaching out and put myself out there as I had attempted to do before. My response was that I explained that if anything brings people together and brings some clarity to a situation, it is a health scare. I went on to say that the ball was now in his court. "Whether it is in a few weeks, years, or ever...The next attempt will have to be from you", I stated. I went on to say, "If there is never an attempt, that will be sad, but it will ultimately be your choice. Later." He responded with, "K", and that was it.
The big thing that has been clearly evident to me in all my life environments the past few months is accountability and the importance of it. Accountability is healthy, and so many people see it as a negative. Sometimes accountability involves things that may be really difficult to hear, but it is so critical to problem solving. This situation with my dad... I was hoping to have a conversation, which would've included me taking responsibility for my part of the falling out that we had almost 20 years ago, and I was hoping that he would've done the same as sometimes time helps or heals differences. Unfortunately, that was not the outcome. I have come to terms with the situation, and am now comfortable with sharing this experience. My goal here is not to disrespect or blame. My dad has chosen to handle his side of our relationship the way he has and that is his choice, no matter whether I agree with it or not. The time now is to focus on myself, which will include getting healthier, because I want to feel better about things in general. The past few months has included many requests for me to be censored and not say anything about certain things, and I need to learn to speak up more once again. It is something that I have always struggled with, especially in confrontational situations. All my coworkers would probably disagree with that last statement and probably say, "That guy never shuts the hell up." My intention is always good, my goal is not to be destructive, but instead be productive and proactive. I will get there. Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment on any of my postings. Be helpful, not hurtful.
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Another Day, Another Shooting... And It Needs To Stop!
You know, I just don't know. As my work day was winding down today, I saw the notification on my phone that yet another shooting has happened in Northern California, and again it involved innocent children. That is the part that gets me every time. I just can't make any sense out of how killing innocent people, and especially children, brings closure to a person. I don't understand how someone is supposed to hear an individual and what they are trying to say when they make the CHOICE to commit such horrible acts. That's right, it is a choice. How does one make a choice to take away a child's opportunity to fulfill their dreams, to take away their families, and for them to not be able to bring their talents to the world where that talent could've been the most positive change for humankind. The elementary children were doing what they were supposed to be doing, going to school and going through the process of learning skills and learning about themselves. I work with students everyday with one goal. That goal is to help give them the skills to be a better person, to express feelings appropriately, and hopefully that allows them to be better set up to take advantage of those opportunities that come along to help them become more successful. I don't know if I have the words to truly express how I am feeling, but I just struggle with these situations. One of the reports that came out hours after the initial report, is that there would have been more victims at the school, but they had options with their lockdown procedures. They had the information and they locked down the school appropriately, which authorities have already stated that those choices had saved a number of lives. The sad thing is that when I was in school, we didn't have to perform lockdown drills. Not only do we have lockdown drills now, but there have been enough of these incidents to be able to learn from them. Schools are now changing how they do their lockdown procedures in schools and it is making a difference. I don't know if the school or schools that successfully locked down used a more traditional style of lockdown, or if they used the newer style that is more effective, but lives were saved. I will be curious to learn more about that. What baffles me the most is that nothing changes. I am not here to be political, because it is not my right to state how anyone else views things in the world. I will say that this is not a political issue. This is a matter of people's lives. We have children that get killed in these acts of pure stupidity before they even have a chance to chose a political side in life, so it is not about politics here. We watch 49 people get killed in Orlando, we watch 58 get killed with over 500 injured in Las Vegas, and still nothing. I am a problem solver when there is an issue. To solve a problem it starts with a conversation. What concerns me is that it doesn't appear that a conversation has even started. It shouldn't matter which party you favor, how much money one has, whether your male or female, or transgender, gay, lesbian, white, black, or any other nationality, it is time to sit down and start talking and problem solving. Disagree in those conversations, that's fine, but at least be respectful enough to have the conversation. I don't have the answers and it is not my place to say what we should do, because I am just one opinion, and it will take more than one person to problem solve this situation. Fortunately, I have been trained to know my options in a situation of an active shooter and I am grateful for that. I hope that I am able to teach those options to the people I care about and I hope to do it soon. The schools get the media attention because the innocent children being killed should get the attention, of everybody. The reality is that these active shooter situations can happen anywhere. They happen more in private businesses than they do in schools. In fact, at last check, 40% of all active shooter situations are in private businesses. I already mentioned a nightclub in Orlando and a concert in Las Vegas, but they have also happened in restaurants, at a political event in Arizona, at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and I am not even done processing the one that happened just nine days ago in a church in Texas that killed 26 more people, and a high number of children. That is just a few mass shootings that don't involve schools. Today's shooting involved a guy that went to seven different locations before being fatally shot. It blows my mind how someone got to seven different places before being caught, but it tells you that each situation is different and it can happen anywhere. I end this with the message that I am not going to give up. I am not going to change my plans because of the what ifs. I hope that I never have to be in a real situation to use the skills I was trained in. I don't wish that on anybody, especially innocent children that deserve to live a long and full life. As after every active shooter situation is learned about, I hope the conversation can begin. Be Kind To Everyone.
A.L.I.C.E
ALERT LOCKDOWN INFORM COUNTER EVACUATE
Endorsed By FEMA, Department Of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, and many more.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Express Your Feelings Appropriately
I don't know, I just don't know. I find myself just not knowing how to express my feelings appropriately on this one. I work with students day in and day out and I find myself telling them often to express their feelings appropriately. I tell them not to bottle it up inside because it will find a way out and that usually comes out sideways. I am using some common vocabulary from within the walls of the Refocus Room at my job, which to many outside the walls of where I work, sounds a little foreign.
Usually when something comes out sideways, it isn't positive. More than likely it comes out angry, hurt, or with some type of sadness. This is where I kind of find myself right now, even though I don't really want to, and it isn't really deserving of that kind of attention. I will explain...
I recently was notified by a relative on my biological father's side of the family, and I was asked if I had talked to him recently. I responded by saying that it had been a while and that I don't think there is much interest there to recover a relationship. Believe me when I say that I know how important a father is in a child's life, but yet I understand when there are circumstances that require a parent to not be in the picture. It was brought to my attention that my dad had a potentially serious health issue going on and I thought I would reach out to him after receiving the news. Now, as I have mentioned before in a previous blog post, Open Letter To The Sarych Family , I have made several attempts to reconnect with my dad. While there were a couple of meals, and brief encounters, nothing ever came of that, which is unfortunate.
My dad and I never truly saw eye to eye, but I was always willing to reason. Since the fallout, I have learned that it isn't about who did what wrong, and it isn't about calling out the other and blaming them. I know that I didn't make all the right choices, but neither did he. My dad did come to my wedding in 2006, but never showed the interest to "be involved", or pick up the phone.
So, with this recent news, I picked up the phone and called him. He answered with, "Hello, this is Mike." So, I talked to him briefly. You could tell that he wasn't interested in the phone call as the cold tone could've been grabbed right through the phone. I asked him what is new and I asked him about his health situation. He quickly explained what was to happen, and then quickly ended with well I will let you go. I am a pretty good reader of feelings as that is part of my job on a daily basis, and that conversation by my dad was as emotionally free as it gets. I was not surprised, but I thought with a potential health crisis in the near future, that it would put the big picture in perspective. I was not upset after the brief phone conversation, because I have become numb to this situation constantly turning out this way. I just didn't understand.
In that phone conversation, I offered to be at the hospital in person for support. I also asked for him to call me after his next doctor appointment with an update of what the plan is. All my intentions were was to be supportive. I was understanding that this situation was being classified as a 9 out of 10 on the risk factor, so I put everything in the past and behind and simply opened the door by asking if he wanted me there. He told me no. I also did not get any follow up phone calls after the appointment which left me in the dark. So, I continued to reach out and I texted him to see what the update was. The reason why I sent a text instead of making another call was that I didn't want it to be uncomfortable for him and cause any extra stress. So when I sent the text, I got a response saying that things were not as serious as once thought and surgery was not needed. He stated it was a relief. I responded by saying, "I bet it is," and then it went dead air. So, I took the plunge and asked him if he had any interest in reconnecting with me at all. He responded with "I don't want to answer that right now." I told him that I felt like the timing was appropriate as health situations tend to make people look at the big picture. I told him that it is now his choosing if there is any chance to reconnect. I have always been the one to pick up the phone, I have always been the one to reach out. I told him the ball is in his court, and he now has to be the one to pick up the phone or reach out since he is choosing to continue to choose to show no interest in his son. All he responded with after telling him this was, "K".
I guess I don't understand why I am like the animal that got rejected by the herd. This is not a poor me and I don't want a poor me. You will not hear me talk about this casually and that is why I am addressing it here. I have questions that will probably never be answered. It isn't fair, I have had my struggles and having a dad for support would've been appreciative. I don't have that. I do want to thank my family member for contacting me of the situation, because that is what family does and I am so appreciative that she did that.
I will continue to sort this out, but it will not dominate my thoughts or my time, because quite frankly, it isn't deserving of so much attention. This isn't breaking news, I am numb to it because it has been a repeated pattern for many years, and I have to take care of me. I wanted to address this not because I'm attention seeking. I am not looking for people to feel sorry for me, because that is not what I want and it doesn't float my boat. I just simply had this inside, and like I tell my students that I work with all the time, I needed to express my feelings appropriately.
Usually when something comes out sideways, it isn't positive. More than likely it comes out angry, hurt, or with some type of sadness. This is where I kind of find myself right now, even though I don't really want to, and it isn't really deserving of that kind of attention. I will explain...
I recently was notified by a relative on my biological father's side of the family, and I was asked if I had talked to him recently. I responded by saying that it had been a while and that I don't think there is much interest there to recover a relationship. Believe me when I say that I know how important a father is in a child's life, but yet I understand when there are circumstances that require a parent to not be in the picture. It was brought to my attention that my dad had a potentially serious health issue going on and I thought I would reach out to him after receiving the news. Now, as I have mentioned before in a previous blog post, Open Letter To The Sarych Family , I have made several attempts to reconnect with my dad. While there were a couple of meals, and brief encounters, nothing ever came of that, which is unfortunate.
My dad and I never truly saw eye to eye, but I was always willing to reason. Since the fallout, I have learned that it isn't about who did what wrong, and it isn't about calling out the other and blaming them. I know that I didn't make all the right choices, but neither did he. My dad did come to my wedding in 2006, but never showed the interest to "be involved", or pick up the phone.
So, with this recent news, I picked up the phone and called him. He answered with, "Hello, this is Mike." So, I talked to him briefly. You could tell that he wasn't interested in the phone call as the cold tone could've been grabbed right through the phone. I asked him what is new and I asked him about his health situation. He quickly explained what was to happen, and then quickly ended with well I will let you go. I am a pretty good reader of feelings as that is part of my job on a daily basis, and that conversation by my dad was as emotionally free as it gets. I was not surprised, but I thought with a potential health crisis in the near future, that it would put the big picture in perspective. I was not upset after the brief phone conversation, because I have become numb to this situation constantly turning out this way. I just didn't understand.
In that phone conversation, I offered to be at the hospital in person for support. I also asked for him to call me after his next doctor appointment with an update of what the plan is. All my intentions were was to be supportive. I was understanding that this situation was being classified as a 9 out of 10 on the risk factor, so I put everything in the past and behind and simply opened the door by asking if he wanted me there. He told me no. I also did not get any follow up phone calls after the appointment which left me in the dark. So, I continued to reach out and I texted him to see what the update was. The reason why I sent a text instead of making another call was that I didn't want it to be uncomfortable for him and cause any extra stress. So when I sent the text, I got a response saying that things were not as serious as once thought and surgery was not needed. He stated it was a relief. I responded by saying, "I bet it is," and then it went dead air. So, I took the plunge and asked him if he had any interest in reconnecting with me at all. He responded with "I don't want to answer that right now." I told him that I felt like the timing was appropriate as health situations tend to make people look at the big picture. I told him that it is now his choosing if there is any chance to reconnect. I have always been the one to pick up the phone, I have always been the one to reach out. I told him the ball is in his court, and he now has to be the one to pick up the phone or reach out since he is choosing to continue to choose to show no interest in his son. All he responded with after telling him this was, "K".
I guess I don't understand why I am like the animal that got rejected by the herd. This is not a poor me and I don't want a poor me. You will not hear me talk about this casually and that is why I am addressing it here. I have questions that will probably never be answered. It isn't fair, I have had my struggles and having a dad for support would've been appreciative. I don't have that. I do want to thank my family member for contacting me of the situation, because that is what family does and I am so appreciative that she did that.
I will continue to sort this out, but it will not dominate my thoughts or my time, because quite frankly, it isn't deserving of so much attention. This isn't breaking news, I am numb to it because it has been a repeated pattern for many years, and I have to take care of me. I wanted to address this not because I'm attention seeking. I am not looking for people to feel sorry for me, because that is not what I want and it doesn't float my boat. I just simply had this inside, and like I tell my students that I work with all the time, I needed to express my feelings appropriately.
Saturday, May 27, 2017
My Friend, Curt Hiltbrunner
Recently, my good friend and former co-worker, Curt Hiltbrunner, recently passed away. Now you have to understand that Curt had a fair amount of health issues, but he seemed to always come out of it every time in good shape. So when I received the news this past Sunday morning that my good friend passed away from my wife, it blindsided me. I was aware of Curt's most recent surgery from a post he made on Facebook back on May 7th. In Curt fashion, he didn't make a big deal about it. He, instead, just mentioned the procedure, and then finished it with Curt humor by saying, "I'm allergic to pain." As always, I wished him a quick recovery and I just figured that everything would be fine, as it was dozens of time before.
I met Curt back in 2008 when I started working at Mille Lacs Academy School, which is part of Onamia Public Schools. Curt had this small classroom, more like an office, where he would work with students individually. Curt was a Special Education Teacher, and he worked with students who had a diagnosis of having a Learning Disability. At the time, I didn't think much of it. I saw that Curt worked with these students very well. I also saw a guy who really enjoyed his cat naps in the chair at his desk to fill the rest of his lunch time. I honestly thought the naps could've of been a food coma sometimes, because he always put the rest of us to shame with his lunches. It was like Manny's Steakhouse with all the fixings and trimmings every single day, it was impressive! I remember telling him that he is lucky to have a wife that cooks so well for him, and he firmly responded with, "I'm the cook in the house!"
That comment introduced me to Curt's true character. He was not afraid to speak his mind, but he also gave everyone a chance. Like I mentioned, he worked very well with his students, and often times that was the key that gave the students he worked with a chance to get their lives back on track and being successful. It wasn't until I worked with Curt, that I realized what the most important trait in working with students successfully is. That trait being the single thing that is a make or break in working with students now, and it is the foundation of my beliefs in working with students today. That trait being relationships. Curt was a master at building successful working relationships with his students. It was a perfect combination of humor and believing in the student that made it work so effectively. To be able to witness Curt in action in working with his students, was magical.
There was a time in my first year with the school that it was common that the paraprofessionals of our school often times had to fill in for the teachers when they were gone. We didn't have access to substitutes to call in really, and we always took care of each other. We had a teacher that needed to be gone for an extended number of days and it was for a classroom of students that were developmentally delayed, which at that time, was our most challenging classroom in the school. There were no plans left by the teacher, and just to simply "wing it" was not an option. So, for five straight days, Curt volunteered to cover the class and teach the students. In fact, he and I did it together. It was a blast, because we both were motivated and determined to make this experience a positive one for the students, and the engagement was amazing to witness, as you saw the students "buy in" because of that engagement. That is when I considered Curt not only to be a mentor of mine, but also a friend, because he never saw me as someone less than him. He didn't identify me as a paraprofessional and him as the teacher. He saw me as an equal and always treated me that way. Curt treated everyone like that at Mille Lacs Academy School.
I remember about seven years ago or so, after Mille Lacs Academy School moved into a new building, Curt had this big classroom to himself. When I say big, I mean it was probably three or four times bigger than the office room he had at the school when it was located at the Crosier Center in Onamia. Even Curt admitted that it was too big for what he needed. Even making his personal desk space bigger, getting a bigger and more comfy chair for his desk, and bringing in his own personal refrigerator didn't help use up all the space. All it did was make him shut off the lights, close his door, and he was set for every fire drill that he refused to evacuate for. As the student base at the school changed, Curt's caseload was increasing and the number of student needs also increased as the school was getting more and more students with a diagnosis of having a Learning Disability. It was becoming more difficult for Curt to meet with every student individually, but yet he had more space that was being unused. I remember the day when another paraprofessional at the school, Cheri Kunesh, and I went to review student IEPs to see how many students that were currently enrolled needed the services that Curt offered. The result was more than ever before, and we pitched the idea to Curt to develop and convert his classroom into an academic resource room, and he was on board with idea from the word go and he became actively involved in making this a reality. This change meant that Curt's workload was going to increase dramatically and that he would potentially have to work with more than one student at a time. He never criticized it, and never even questioned it. He liked the idea because it was simply a way to help more kids. I was lucky as I got to work directly with Curt in that academic resource room for multiple years. I was lucky because it gave me multiple years of learning the importance of building relationships with students and how to do it effectively.
Finally, I want to finish this celebration of Curt by talking about his brutal honesty. Like I said, Curt never intended to be purposely offensive and cared about everyone, especially his family. His brutal honesty often times brought the loud laughs and the greatest humor. I remember hearing from my fellow teachers about a time when Curt was at Special Education training in Little Falls and he was first in line when it came to lunchtime. Like I talked about earlier before, the meals that Curt brought for lunch, really put an emphasis on how important lunch was to him. So, lunch was provided at the training. When the hosts brought out the food, Curt asked them what it was. He was told that it was some kind of pasta salad. His response was, "Yuck! I am not eating that crap, I'm going to Burger King!" He then went on to throw his paper plate and plastic silverware down on the table and walked out and went to Burger King. On a side note, he had his nice name tag on that said he was Curt Hiltbrunner from Onamia Public Schools on. I laugh to this day about this story, because it fits Curt perfectly when describing him. Most importantly, the impact he made on me was the ability to laugh, enjoy life, and he gave me great tools for me to continue to work with students today.
Curt loved his family more than anything and he was clear about that at work, especially when it came to his grandchildren. Curt was proud of everyone of them, and I share their sadness as we celebrate his life. Thank you.
I met Curt back in 2008 when I started working at Mille Lacs Academy School, which is part of Onamia Public Schools. Curt had this small classroom, more like an office, where he would work with students individually. Curt was a Special Education Teacher, and he worked with students who had a diagnosis of having a Learning Disability. At the time, I didn't think much of it. I saw that Curt worked with these students very well. I also saw a guy who really enjoyed his cat naps in the chair at his desk to fill the rest of his lunch time. I honestly thought the naps could've of been a food coma sometimes, because he always put the rest of us to shame with his lunches. It was like Manny's Steakhouse with all the fixings and trimmings every single day, it was impressive! I remember telling him that he is lucky to have a wife that cooks so well for him, and he firmly responded with, "I'm the cook in the house!"
That comment introduced me to Curt's true character. He was not afraid to speak his mind, but he also gave everyone a chance. Like I mentioned, he worked very well with his students, and often times that was the key that gave the students he worked with a chance to get their lives back on track and being successful. It wasn't until I worked with Curt, that I realized what the most important trait in working with students successfully is. That trait being the single thing that is a make or break in working with students now, and it is the foundation of my beliefs in working with students today. That trait being relationships. Curt was a master at building successful working relationships with his students. It was a perfect combination of humor and believing in the student that made it work so effectively. To be able to witness Curt in action in working with his students, was magical.
There was a time in my first year with the school that it was common that the paraprofessionals of our school often times had to fill in for the teachers when they were gone. We didn't have access to substitutes to call in really, and we always took care of each other. We had a teacher that needed to be gone for an extended number of days and it was for a classroom of students that were developmentally delayed, which at that time, was our most challenging classroom in the school. There were no plans left by the teacher, and just to simply "wing it" was not an option. So, for five straight days, Curt volunteered to cover the class and teach the students. In fact, he and I did it together. It was a blast, because we both were motivated and determined to make this experience a positive one for the students, and the engagement was amazing to witness, as you saw the students "buy in" because of that engagement. That is when I considered Curt not only to be a mentor of mine, but also a friend, because he never saw me as someone less than him. He didn't identify me as a paraprofessional and him as the teacher. He saw me as an equal and always treated me that way. Curt treated everyone like that at Mille Lacs Academy School.
I remember about seven years ago or so, after Mille Lacs Academy School moved into a new building, Curt had this big classroom to himself. When I say big, I mean it was probably three or four times bigger than the office room he had at the school when it was located at the Crosier Center in Onamia. Even Curt admitted that it was too big for what he needed. Even making his personal desk space bigger, getting a bigger and more comfy chair for his desk, and bringing in his own personal refrigerator didn't help use up all the space. All it did was make him shut off the lights, close his door, and he was set for every fire drill that he refused to evacuate for. As the student base at the school changed, Curt's caseload was increasing and the number of student needs also increased as the school was getting more and more students with a diagnosis of having a Learning Disability. It was becoming more difficult for Curt to meet with every student individually, but yet he had more space that was being unused. I remember the day when another paraprofessional at the school, Cheri Kunesh, and I went to review student IEPs to see how many students that were currently enrolled needed the services that Curt offered. The result was more than ever before, and we pitched the idea to Curt to develop and convert his classroom into an academic resource room, and he was on board with idea from the word go and he became actively involved in making this a reality. This change meant that Curt's workload was going to increase dramatically and that he would potentially have to work with more than one student at a time. He never criticized it, and never even questioned it. He liked the idea because it was simply a way to help more kids. I was lucky as I got to work directly with Curt in that academic resource room for multiple years. I was lucky because it gave me multiple years of learning the importance of building relationships with students and how to do it effectively.
Finally, I want to finish this celebration of Curt by talking about his brutal honesty. Like I said, Curt never intended to be purposely offensive and cared about everyone, especially his family. His brutal honesty often times brought the loud laughs and the greatest humor. I remember hearing from my fellow teachers about a time when Curt was at Special Education training in Little Falls and he was first in line when it came to lunchtime. Like I talked about earlier before, the meals that Curt brought for lunch, really put an emphasis on how important lunch was to him. So, lunch was provided at the training. When the hosts brought out the food, Curt asked them what it was. He was told that it was some kind of pasta salad. His response was, "Yuck! I am not eating that crap, I'm going to Burger King!" He then went on to throw his paper plate and plastic silverware down on the table and walked out and went to Burger King. On a side note, he had his nice name tag on that said he was Curt Hiltbrunner from Onamia Public Schools on. I laugh to this day about this story, because it fits Curt perfectly when describing him. Most importantly, the impact he made on me was the ability to laugh, enjoy life, and he gave me great tools for me to continue to work with students today.
Curt loved his family more than anything and he was clear about that at work, especially when it came to his grandchildren. Curt was proud of everyone of them, and I share their sadness as we celebrate his life. Thank you.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Guns 'N' Roses in 2017... Yes, Please!
Growing up as a kid, I was pretty well-behaved-as I have mentioned before in previous posts. I was a kid who never got in trouble with the law, and I always followed the rules in the house. Through the growing up years, I became a fan of rock music. Music was helpful for me growing up. I loved music.
So, here is this geeky kid that was well behaved, and loving rock music of the 1980s hair bands. Now, I did not like heavy metal as a rule, instead I loved hard rock music. For example, as legendary of a band that Metallica is, I didn't care for their early stuff, because I wasn't into the head banging music. The music that I became to love, the music that struck the chord, was the music of Guns 'N' Roses.
"Appetite For Destruction" was Guns 'N' Roses debut album in 1987. I was 9 going on 10 years old, and I loved it! Along with myself, I think this is an album where many listeners will listen to every track on this album. With the mega hits of "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City", and the legendary "Sweet Child O'Mine", there were some other tracks that were popular masterpieces on this record. There was "It's So Easy", "Mr. Brownstone", and "Rocket Queen". They instantly became the kings of rock, and my new favorite band.
The next year, in 1988, they followed up Appetite with four new acoustic tracks and combined it with four tracks from their minimally released "Live Like A Suicide" LP to release an album called "Lies". The "Live Like A Suicide" LP is one of the most collectible records to be found as there wasn't many of them. There are many that say that Guns 'N' Roses were responsible for putting acoustic music back on the map with the release of "Lies", and much of that talk began because of another mega hit called, "Patience".
Out of all the songs that I loved on Appetite, "Patience" may be my favorite song of all time. It is close though as I go back and forth between "Patience" and "Sweet Child O'Mine". While the kings of rock were leading the way, their track "One In A Million" brought some negative press to the band.
Fast forward to the present day. Ever since GNR self destructed in the late 1990s due to many clashing egos, I always hoped that the original band would get back together. That seemed impossible and only a dream for the past 20 years. Finally, in early 2016, guitarist Slash admitted in an interview that he and Axl Rose were finally "cool" again. This sparked the questions and also the rumors that a reunion was now finally possible. In the spring of 2016, Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan, the original three members announced that they were reuniting for a stadium tour in the summer of 2016. I was pumped, excited, and ready to shell out some serious money to go see this. Then, after the tour stops were announced, I realized the closest venue was going to be Chicago. This was disappointing.
Once the summer "Not In This Lifetime" tour came to a close, GNR announced some dates across the pond. Fast forwarding to now, at the beginning of this month, Guns 'N' Roses again started putting up some random billboards across the United States and Canada. Some of them said "Patience", and some of them said "Welcome To The Jungle". One of those billboards ended up popping up in Minneapolis, which only meant it was a matter of time for an announcement. A few days later, it was announced that GNR was going to be performing with the original trio on Saturday, July 30th, 2017 at the shiny and new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. I am pumped and excited! I never thought this day was going to come as it puts over 20 years of hope finally to sleep, and I am going!
Throughout all these years and how rock music has evolved, and in a lot of cases disappeared, Guns 'N' Roses is still my favorite band. Their music opened me up to rock music and other great bands like Def Leppard, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and most recently Shinedown. Whenever I hear that opening riff of "Sweet Child O'Mine", it sounds as fresh as the day it was debuted. For some reason, much of "today's music" doesn't carry that timeless quality.
#GnFnR
So, here is this geeky kid that was well behaved, and loving rock music of the 1980s hair bands. Now, I did not like heavy metal as a rule, instead I loved hard rock music. For example, as legendary of a band that Metallica is, I didn't care for their early stuff, because I wasn't into the head banging music. The music that I became to love, the music that struck the chord, was the music of Guns 'N' Roses.
"Appetite For Destruction" was Guns 'N' Roses debut album in 1987. I was 9 going on 10 years old, and I loved it! Along with myself, I think this is an album where many listeners will listen to every track on this album. With the mega hits of "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City", and the legendary "Sweet Child O'Mine", there were some other tracks that were popular masterpieces on this record. There was "It's So Easy", "Mr. Brownstone", and "Rocket Queen". They instantly became the kings of rock, and my new favorite band.
The next year, in 1988, they followed up Appetite with four new acoustic tracks and combined it with four tracks from their minimally released "Live Like A Suicide" LP to release an album called "Lies". The "Live Like A Suicide" LP is one of the most collectible records to be found as there wasn't many of them. There are many that say that Guns 'N' Roses were responsible for putting acoustic music back on the map with the release of "Lies", and much of that talk began because of another mega hit called, "Patience".
Out of all the songs that I loved on Appetite, "Patience" may be my favorite song of all time. It is close though as I go back and forth between "Patience" and "Sweet Child O'Mine". While the kings of rock were leading the way, their track "One In A Million" brought some negative press to the band.
Fast forward to the present day. Ever since GNR self destructed in the late 1990s due to many clashing egos, I always hoped that the original band would get back together. That seemed impossible and only a dream for the past 20 years. Finally, in early 2016, guitarist Slash admitted in an interview that he and Axl Rose were finally "cool" again. This sparked the questions and also the rumors that a reunion was now finally possible. In the spring of 2016, Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan, the original three members announced that they were reuniting for a stadium tour in the summer of 2016. I was pumped, excited, and ready to shell out some serious money to go see this. Then, after the tour stops were announced, I realized the closest venue was going to be Chicago. This was disappointing.
Once the summer "Not In This Lifetime" tour came to a close, GNR announced some dates across the pond. Fast forwarding to now, at the beginning of this month, Guns 'N' Roses again started putting up some random billboards across the United States and Canada. Some of them said "Patience", and some of them said "Welcome To The Jungle". One of those billboards ended up popping up in Minneapolis, which only meant it was a matter of time for an announcement. A few days later, it was announced that GNR was going to be performing with the original trio on Saturday, July 30th, 2017 at the shiny and new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. I am pumped and excited! I never thought this day was going to come as it puts over 20 years of hope finally to sleep, and I am going!
Throughout all these years and how rock music has evolved, and in a lot of cases disappeared, Guns 'N' Roses is still my favorite band. Their music opened me up to rock music and other great bands like Def Leppard, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and most recently Shinedown. Whenever I hear that opening riff of "Sweet Child O'Mine", it sounds as fresh as the day it was debuted. For some reason, much of "today's music" doesn't carry that timeless quality.
#GnFnR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)