Cheers

I've begun work with Ada S. McKinley, at their Neighborhood House in the deep South, almost Indiana, of Chicago. It's a big house that incorporates all ages in study and activities throughout the day. Bingo in the morning for the seniors, tutoring in the afternoon for the kids, computer lab time in the evening for the teens, with soccer and foosball mixed in between. I hang around with the kids mostly. Their youth has taught me crazy things in the short time I've spent with them, and it brings me back to Rio and Two Brothers, whether I want to be there or not. That city taught me difficult lessons, but ones that have paved the path that I stumble along now. This city is round two, knock down and out. Get back up and swing again, miss, hit, miss. I hit, and look for round three, where will that take me?

The after school crowd comes around 3pm, and the other day one of the girls, Nina, asked me "are you black, white, or mexican?" I smiled inside, someone was actually not assuming I was white. She was barely over four feet, but she stood so tall. I said I was white, and asked her what she was. She said "I'm all three!", and then broke into a traveling song and dance.

So here's to the the youth of America and Brazil, all of the worlds' youth, for that matter, you teach me things I could never learn in books, on the internet, or from my peers.

Fucking Awesome.