THE INNOCENCE OF ADOLESCENCE



I've always avoided teenagers, especially after I painfully went through it myself and then with my daughter. Teens are often unfiltered in their comments when amongst their peers. They might not address you directly but will talk to each other loud enough to know it might be something unflattering about you. It's just how they roll in the individuation process as they transition from childhood to adulthood.

It's impressive that the young people who recently experienced a mass shooting in their school are loudly vocalizing their frustration with the NRA-funded majority rule in our country. It appears they have more of a chance to make a difference than those of us who have been demanding sensible gun control laws for many years. I'm reminded of Psalms: "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength."

My almost three-year-old grandson took my hand yesterday and asked to see the school buses near where we were watching a state-wide high school track meet. Patrick loves school buses from the wheels to the chassis and the steering column to the seats inside.

As we approached one of the many buses, I decided he might want to explore more of the bus than just the wheels. When I noticed several boys inside one of them, I respectfully asked to show my grandson around. To the delight of my grandson, they agreed. He quickly scrambled up the steps. Before I could reach the top stage, he had disappeared somewhere in the back of the bus. I couldn't see the top of his head as I searched row after row until I finally found him, quiet as a mouse and with a huge grin spread across his face.

I asked the boys if they were participating in the track meet. They responded that they were awaiting their turn immediately following the girl's events. The boys welcomed the little guy on the bus, especially when he said in his tiny voice, "Hi, guys!"

It was only a short time before they were fully engaged with Patrick. One of them climbed into the driver's seat and asked where he was going to school. When I told him that Patrick was not in school yet, but would eventually attend Steiner Ranch, he promptly pretended to start the bus while telling Patrick we were going to school. Patrick squealed with delight. It was as if his most fervent dream had come true.
I have a new appreciation for adolescents now. The act of kindness they showed my grandson was remarkable. The advocacy the teens from the school in Parkland, Florida, are displaying gives me faith that there might finally be a bright light shining into the black soul of this country.

The youthful leaders of the gun control movement are like the boys we encountered yesterday on the bus. They aren't tainted by politics or by religious dogma. The strength to make a difference lies within them. It's encouraging to know that they represent our future.

We're going to be alright.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DR MCELROY AND TEXAS A&M

Image
  I’ve lived my life with integrity, compassion, and honesty.  I don’t back down from a controversial subject and will always speak out against injustice and prejudice.  I received many benefits from being White, although I was still short-shafted regarding equal pay as a woman.   Case in point: I was replaced by two men when I retired from overseeing a 36-bed rehabilitation hospital and 6 outpatient clinics serving children through adults. The man who replaced me had great difficulty managing the inpatient rehabilitation services. Hence, the Healthcare System overseeing the services promoted a male physical therapist to manage the outpatient facilities.  Each of the men was paid more than I.  It’s probably not a stretch to guess that had I been a person of color with the same credentials, I would not have been hired, and doubly so if I had been a woman of color with the same credentials.   A tenured UT journalism professor was recently recruited to Texas A&M to kick-start their jo
Read more

MY LIFE WITH TERI FLANAGAN

Image
  (Teri authored a story about me entitled "My Life with Dana Rushing" in the local newspaper after I moved from Horseshoe Bay to Austin. It was a total surprise and touched me beyond words. She is now in hospice at a facility in Marble Falls. Teri's husband has given me permission to publish this story. It will be in The Beacon this week.) I’m incredibly fortunate to have a friend I could call to assist me with the various projects I began or coordinated while living in Horseshoe Bay for five years. Other friends also answered my call to action, but Teri was always the first one I contacted because I was confident she would agree to help. Teri once said when she saw my name on her caller ID, she knew I wasn’t calling to chat and that she was being recruited for another project. Still, Teri answered my call. Teri is a talented artist and an avid reader. Her beautiful painting of a colorful donkey hangs in my home. A burnt orange wooden walking stick David made helps k
Read more

ROSA PARKS AND THE DREAM

Image
I dreamed of Rosa Parks last night.  She was sitting in a seat in the middle of a bus with Black men sitting on both sides of her.  I figured they were bodyguards and had joined her after news got out that this 'uppity Black woman' had dared to take her place amongst the Whites. The days of sitting in the back of the bus were over for her.  She worked long, hard days at low wages for a white family and had to take a bus every...damn...day.  Her great-grandparents had been slaves.  Enough was enough.   She felt she earned something more than a seat at the back of the bus.   She didn't know that this small act would set up a firestorm of millions of people being emboldened by her.  More and more people began speaking out, demonstrating, and even rioting to bring civil rights to the forefront.  The battle continued until, at last, civil rights passed.  Racism became somewhat more subtle over 50 years. But the Rosa Parks I saw in my dreams is still in that seat.
Read more