If you have your copy of The Bleeding Dusk, take a pic and email it to cvincent68 at comcast dot net for a chance to win a signed copy of When Twilight Burns….early. You have till midnight EST tonight to enter.

Carl claims he's giving an extra prize for creativity. (There are some really great ones already!) So good luck!

More later. 

I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful young woman last Friday night.

Shay's a teacher who works with middle school children at a charter school in Detroit. She's been there for five years, and some of the stories she tells about her day to day job really settled me back in my seat and got me to thinking. 

And truly humbled me.

Many people say to Shay things like, "Wow…you really make a difference in these kids' lives." and "I don't think I could do what you do."

She says, "You just do it."

But then she went on to say that the frustrating thing, the thing that people who say those things don't understand is that no matter what happens at that school, no matter what positive environment they succeed in creating, those kids go home from school and their real lives take over. Their lives of drunken or high parents, drug raids on their home, parents who don't want them to go to school but instead want them to be home to keep them company/watch their younger children/etc., and so on.

Parents who get angry with a teacher who buys their child a new pair of pants…because the child only has one pair.

Parents who don't want their children to read because they can't. And don't want to.

Even…the most frustrating thing, especially in Detroit, is that these people who fought for education, who fought for equality in the race riots in the late '60s…aren't sharing their victories with these children. They are "aliterate"–they can read, or could at one time, but no longer care to, and so have lost their skills.

Their children are having to fight for it all over again.

In too many cases, the good that the school and teachers do can't have an impact on these kids because they still have to deal with "real life."

These are children whose favorite snacks are apples. Or carrots and ranch dressing–because they never get that at home.

Because crap is cheaper to buy than fresh fruits and vegetables.

This is sort of a rambling blog entry, and I apologize, but I feel the need to express the dismay and yet hope that I felt when hearing about this experience. And the truly humbling feeling I had after talking with Shay and realizing that she is making a difference in kids' lives.

Dismay that even dedicated teachers and schools have a hard time making any impact on a child's life because of the limited time they have. 

And hope because there are people like Shay, teachers in all venues–inner city or not–who are determined to make a difference. Even if it's just a little bit. Even if that difference won't be evident for years.

Shay hasn't had the smoothest life herself, and she's been able to translate her ups and downs into a way to connect with these kids. She says that the eighth grade class they have at the school now is the best class they've ever had…because this is the first class that's been at that school all along. They've had a chance to let those little bits of goodness infiltrate their lives.

And yet, these teachers burn out. They get tired of having lock-downs at the school because of a drug-raid across the street. Or having to deal with the parent of one of the students come running into the school, half-dressed, because a drug deal has gone wrong–without considering the danger that those students and teachers might be put in because he's trying to save his butt.

So, on this very cold Monday morning in Michigan, I'm extending a truly heartfelt thank you and blessings to people like Shay who are making a difference in children's lives, whether they believe it or not…whether they think it's enough or not.

Have you met a teacher or someone who works with children who's really humbled you by what they do? Please share.

It always seems to come in threes, doesn't it? But this time….four public shootings in the last week.

First, the shooting at the Lane Bryant over the weekend near Chicago.

A man barges into his wife's classroom and shoots her in front of her students. 

Then last night's shooting at the city council meeting near St. Louis.

And this morning…a woman just shot two students and then herself at a small college in Louisiana.

Does the first one kick off the rest of them? Or have they always been perking, and for some other reason, they explode?

My prayers and thoughts are with the victims and their families. 

Q: What do you call a bear without teeth?

A: A gummy bear, of course!

Okay, I know. But it's cute, and it's a joke you can tell your kids!

Happy Friday. It's been a busy week!

Have you got Dusk yet? Did you read it? Are you ready for more?

If you'd like to be entered in a chance to win an advance copy of When Twilight Burns, Carl V. might just be able to help.

To enter: Email a photo of yourself (to cvincent68 at comcast dot net) with your copy of Dusk (read or unread) to him by Tuesday, February 12, midnight EST, and you'll be entered in a drawing to win an advance copy of Twilight Burns.

Based on some of the responses to the last, similar contest he held, Carl says he's giving extra points for creativity. (I think that means he'll draw and EXTRA prize for creative pics.) 

(Personally, I think he just wants to see how many pictures he gets of women in black bustiers…but who am I to judge?)  

And in the meantime, my kids are looking for some new jokes. So if you have a particularly good one you'd like to share this Friday morning, add it in the comments.

And hope to see some of you in Flint for the signing this evening…and Brighton tomorrow! 

Oh, God, my heart goes out to all those people who lost their homes and lives in the horrible storms.

Sadness. Hard to believe that even with our warning systems and knowledge that there are still lives lost.

I hope this tragedy is handled better than Katrina was.