Picking up Bob

Mark Krueger: Among the members of our research group, Joseph Stanley's style is the most free flowing. He lets his stories come out naturally as was seen in his first stories in this column. I think of him as Kerouac-like in the sense that he is a stream of consciousness writer, and in so being, he captures the essence of his experiences as a youth worker. The following story/poem is an example of his work, what he has learned, and his influence on youth.
In this column we simply share our stories without our interpretation, which is left up to the reader with the hope that the story will ring true with and shed new light on his or her practice.

I stroll down the street “
My mind races
Numerous thoughts “with no cohesion
It has been a busy day “one crisis after another–-the next starting
Before the last finished
Remember to breathe
Slowly I breathe in and out
I picture the tension flowing out of by body
A couple of minutes later “the tension is gone
Still thoughts race through my mind
I’m picking up Bob
Bob has a lot of energy “and seems to have a strong affect on his teachers
He can be a challenge
I’m tired
Remember to breathe-I think about Bob-he can
Remember to breathe
I picture my center as I breathe “tolling toward the school
I laugh “one of us needs to be there
I pull up to the curb “backpack coat going in every direction
The car door opens
Joseph “Joseph you’re late “I’m going to tell my Mother you left me
I left you–You told me to pick you up at 3pm
Yeah but I wanted you to pick me up early
Oh–I forgot to turn on my superpower mind reading today
Seatbelt
Seat belt is latched
At the same moment the radio is adjusted
Singing begins even before I hear the song
I slowly pull away“Wishing I did have superpowers to deal with the energy
I laugh–bob laughs
We slowly talk about school/family/his weekend
He speaks rapidly at times
At times I breathe
We move onto what worked for him today “what didn–t
I breathe
We laugh

* * *

For some of the youth I work with “being centered doesn’t happen for them. This can lead to barriers to them functioning in the community. One strategy that seems to work is to center myself, and providing a calming in the eye of the storm.

Joseph Stanley