A VETERAN'S DAY I WILL NOT FORGET

When my daughter called to say my grandson’s school was putting on a Veteran’s Day program and my WWII Veteran father was to be an honored guest, I looked forward to a sweet little presentation and afterwards having lunch with my family.

I was not expecting the New Summit School in Jackson, Mississippi to have been working for months to pull off an extravaganza. It seemed all of the approximately two hundred and fifty students were involved.

When we entered the gymnasium, an entire wall held framed pictures of veterans who were family members of the students. Centerpieces of elegant red roses graced every table. The posting and retiring of the colors was done with military precision.

 Adorable kindergarteners tapped to the tune of “The Grand Ole Flag”.  School choirs sang. Poems  

were read. 

The culinary students (yes, they have a culinary class) made French pastries to rival any bakery in Paris.

The highlight of the day was to honor two WWII veterans, Hugh Grant Caradine, age 96, and Nailor Jerome Adams, age 93, my father. Their great-grandsons presented them with ‘Honorary Veteran’ sashes. Videos were made of them, telling their stories of the war.

When Pap was introduced, he stood in his WWII uniform and said, “I just didn’t know there was so many of you who still remember what we did.”

The entire crowd rose to their feet with a thunderous ovation. Pap, with tears streaming down his face, looked around and then saluted us. Forget trying to save the makeup.

I’ve thought a lot about the significance of that day. The obvious was, of course, honoring all vets. A week after the ceremony, my father still talks about that morning with shining eyes.

But, the impact goes so much further. The Scriptures exhorts us to “Teach the children.” New Summit is doing that. Among other values, the students learned:

·         Patriotism and pride in our flag. I’ll dare say, there won’t be any flag-burners in that bunch.

·         Respect for our veterans and their service. The kids were shown what our freedom cost others.

·         Respect for the elderly. Those two old vets are now frail and walk with assistance, no longer the strong, young warriors they once were. The students treated them with the utmost dignity and respect. After the ceremony, dozens of high school students stood in line to shake their hands and thank them for their service.

·         They were being taught to give back. Each student worked on the program. The first graders colored pictures of the flag, then the older kids laminated them to make placemats for the tables. The middle and high schoolers served the tables. And it goes on and on.

As I drove back to New Orleans, my heart was full. New Summit is teaching, by example, the core values that make a person and a nation strong.

If I still had school age kids, I would hope and pray for a school of the quality of New Summit, now that I know one exists.

MADE IN THE GHETTO

   Martin Luther King wasn’t the only one with a dream.

Russell Gore sat across from me in the coffee shop on the corner of Decatur and Barracks, in the

French Quarter.

He frowned and looked past me as if talking to himself. “I grew up in the projects. They’re like Spanish fly traps. You get stuck in ‘em and can’t get out. You just sit around waiting on the next check. The blight passes from one generation to the next.

“My mama would go to the grocery store on the corner and buy what she needed to feed us on credit until her food stamps came in.” His voice thickened. “It hurt me to see her struggle like that, but I couldn’t do nothing to help her.

"All of us don’t want that. We want to get out if given a chance.

"I made up my mind back then I wouldn’t go down that road."

And Russell didn’t.

He attended and graduated from Delgado Community College in New Orleans with a Fine Arts degree. Today he creates original jewelry and sells it in the French Market. He had used the same product for twenty years when he woke up one day to find it had been discontinued. He was confronted with his greatest fear, that he wouldn’t be able to feed himself.

But, according to Russell, when God closes a door, he opens another one.

He grinned. “You’ve heard ‘em say, birds of a feather flock together. Well, I think, sometimes you’ve got to leave the flock and soar with the eagles. When I couldn’t get the material I needed to make a living, I found me an eagle. A woman showed me an even better product.

Russell creates a lovely line of jewelry of unique jewelry, made by combining and firing various colored clay.

But, his jewelry is only a means to an end. His life goal is to show other people, his people, he calls them, a way up and out of poverty. One day he wants to teach others how to make jewelry.

He has principles he lives and is constantly teaching others. Some are:

·         We all make mistakes. Quit blaming others for your failure. Don’t point the finger. Own up to your own mistakes.

·         You can find a job. Don’t give up. Keep trying.

·         Work. Find something to do. Get the best job you can today and work hard. Better yourself.

·         Never forget where you came from. Once you get out, reach back and pull someone else out with you.

·         You can fall, but you have to get back up.

·         Never forget where you came from.

·         Be around positive people. Find yourself an eagle and soar.

 

Russell's jewelry line is called "Made in the Ghetto". He said he never wants to forget where he came from.

He's a delightful man. You can meet him everyday at the French Market in New Olreans, Booth 107.

Mention you saw this blog and he’ll reward you with a 25% discount off any one item.

His jewelry is not painted. It's made by combining various colors of clay, that when fired, create this exquisite jewelry.

I love it! I've never seen anything quite like it. I think you will, too.