cabbing

[nighthawk]

I am remembering a nineteen year old girl I saw on Saturday night. She had been drinking and was feeling emotional and somewhat at the end of her rope. And her nose was bloody. It didn't look permanently damaged. I was chatting with the other driver and standing by his cab, probably having a smoke. The girl approached us and wanted a cab and went around the back of the car to get in. She fell on her face in the snow and came up with a snow mask on. Her face was completely covered in snow .. except for her eyes and the tip of her nose. If I wasn't feeling so sad I would have broken out laughing. She got in the front seat and, when they got to the other end, she went in the house and didn't come back with the fare as promised. She probably passed out as soon as she got in the door.

I wouldn't have cared. That poor girl is one of those who thinks that to grow up is to go to the bar and get drunk. It's a paradigm, a culture, which is nurtured particularly by some bar owners, and is one of those sad pieces of fallout from this consumer society we live in. The kids don't stand a chance, but they have to pay the price. I felt empathy for her .. and 'sympathy' which is unusual for me .. and I just wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and tuck her in under the covers where she could be safe and have a good sleep. It was the dad in me.

The driver, who was the one who lost the fare, was just pissed off. He was of a mind that she was the one who chooses that way of life and she needs to be ready to pay the price. True 'nuff. I know where he's coming from, and I was just feeling like a dad who wants for his little girl to be okay. Sending a prayer her way .. whoever she is .. wherever.

Tim

[prady]

we are starting up a kids dharma library . i really hope that we can get our stuff into schools and homes. it is of great importance to me that we don't just teach our kids to read, write and add up....why don't we teach our kids how to manage their emotions and lives as well? it leaves me baffeled

[JCL]

prady said:

we are starting up a kids dharma library . i really hope that we can get our stuff into schools and homes. it is of great importance to me that we don't just teach our kids to read, write and add up....why don't we teach our kids how to manage their emotions and lives as well? it leaves me baffeled

just make sure it doesn't turn in2 the church school experience i had.

[prady]

admin said:

prady said:

we are starting up a kids dharma library . i really hope that we can get our stuff into schools and homes. it is of great importance to me that we don't just teach our kids to read, write and add up....why don't we teach our kids how to manage their emotions and lives as well? it leaves me baffeled

just make sure it doesn't turn in2 the church school experience i had.

did you go to church in a library?

[JCL]

prady said:

admin said:

just make sure it doesn't turn in2 the church school experience i had.

did you go to church in a library?

lol, no, but my primary school was a church school where we had 2 go 2 church a lot. i'm just saying make sure it's voluntary and taught like RE rather than science.

[prady]

admin said:

prady said:

did you go to church in a library?

lol, no, but my primary school was a church school where we had 2 go 2 church a lot. i'm just saying make sure it's voluntary and taught like RE rather than science.

why thank you for your wise advice we will do as you suggest

[alexandra]

"What we learn with pleasure, we seldom forget".

In my experience, when you sit with kids and talk to them with respect, and interact with them, and seek their opinion, they are far more willing to participate and share.... they feel listened to rather than talked to, and it gives them a burgoning feeling of self-worth... If you tell all the kids that every comment has purpose, and deserves being listened to, even the most bolshy, sarcastic and wise-crack smart-ass kids come round to it eventually....

If you do indeed have a project lined up and under way, Prady - good on you, and good luck - !

[nighthawk]

alexandra said:

<snip>

In my experience, when you sit with kids and talk to them with respect, and interact with them, and seek their opinion, they are far more willing to participate and share.... they feel listened to rather than talked to, and it gives them a burgoning feeling of self-worth... If you tell all the kids that every comment has purpose, and deserves being listened to, even the most bolshy, sarcastic and wise-crack smart-ass kids come round to it eventually....

<snip>

So true. I'm finding too that nothing really needs to be said. Being with people as though they are honest and forthright humans beings has the effect of drawing out those very attributes and making them real. People like being known for who they really are .. and sometimes they don't.

[nighthawk]

.. and how come I am not getting email notifications. I was and in the last couple of days not. Hmmm.

Tim

[JCL]

nighthawk said:

.. and how come I am not getting email notifications. I was and in the last couple of days not. Hmmm.

check ur profile prefferences. can't think why it'd suddenly stop.