Thursday, December 21, 2006
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Mark your Calendars
I (johnny) will be playing a free concert at Mississippi Pizza Pub in Portland on Wednesday December 27th from 6-8PM. The show is free and we would love to see you there for a fun night of music, pizza and friends.
P.S. Portlanders please feel free to print off the above flyer and post them around town.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Mentoring Program
Emily and I have been busy lately as we've been involved in starting a youth mentoring program here in Jackson. Jackson is in a crisis right now. Crime is out of control and most of it is being perpetrated by minors under the age of 18. Those of us who are working with youth see these problems daily and realize that we are almost powerless to fight these negative trends on our own. We see that it is going to take a community-wide effort—even a citywide effort if we are going to see Jackson become what we dream it could be. As a result we are developing a mentoring program that seeks to get community members involved in mentoring youth within the public school system for one hour a week.
As I look around the streets in our neighborhood one of the main things I see that is lacking, is the transfer of wisdom from the old to the young. This is largely due to the lack of stable male figures in the community. The "men" of the streets are 14 or 15 years old and most of them don't have any clue how to be a man, because their father left them or is in prison. Somehow we've got to find a way to transfer life wisdom to these young and developing kids. We believe this mentoring program is a good first step. Mentors will go into the schools and meet with 3 children for one hour a week. Together they will read through a book called "Talks My Father (Mother for the girls) Never Had With Me." The goal is to get the kids talking and thinking about things like self-discipline, future goals, and social skills. The book starts at square one. In the first chapter of the boy’s book the children learn how to shake someone's hand and introduce themselves. This may seem weird to some of you but I've noticed in our neighborhood the boys don’t know how to shake someone’s hand or introduce themselves. They usually just hang their heads.
We are starting with one school in January and if all goes well we will adopt 2 new schools in the fall of 2007. We have to do something. I think deep down my hope is that the wealthy white people from North Jackson will see this program and its ease of one hour a week and choose to get involved in change. That they wouldn’t just drive through the crime ridden areas of West Jackson and think that there is no hope; but that they might chose to build relationships with three children and through those relationships get involved in reconciling and unifying our city.
Johnny
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Voting : Alive and well in Jackson
Tuesday November 11th, was an exciting day in Jackson, Mississippi. The day before election day I was invited to a training to be a poll campaigner for the Jackson Public School Bond Issue. The public schools are in such disrepair, not to mention the poor internal infrastructure. Year after year bonds come and go, never receiving the support necessary to be passed. This year it was proposed to give $150,000,000 to the struggling school district, who by the way is made up of 98% African American children. I didn't know what to expect- taking into account the segregation of Jackson and its unjust past.
My friend Cassandra and I were assigned to take breakfast, snacks, and lunch to those campaigning for the bond outside of polls all across Jackson. This was my very first experience voting at a poll, as Oregonians have the option to skip all human contact and vote by mail:) What I saw during our long day amazed me. For the first time I witnessed a generation of local citizens out in political force. And this force wasn't made up of the privileged white population with a narrow agenda, they were my neighbors. I often have wondered where the people are from the civil rights movement, just as I wonder what happened to all of those anti-materialism/anti-violence hippies. But on election day Jackson was alive. People were on street corners, at schools, restaurants and churches, utilizing the right they and others fought so hard to achieve. Hundreds of folks volunteered their time and energy for 12 hours strait to encourage their fellow community members to support the children. In months passed I had considered how to get the community to vote; door-to-door registration? Fliers? But what I quickly learned driving around with Cassandra, is that this part of the deep south bled and died for their right to vote. And some idealistic white girl from the North can't touch the empowerment that still exists within native Mississippians today.
The fact that the bond passed with flying colors (80% in favor), gives me hope that slowly but surely our city is changing.
Emily
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Monday, November 06, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Ankle
For over a week now I have been laid up with a pretty bad ankle sprain. It happened while I was playing basketball last Sunday with my friend Cortez. We were just shooting around, I was still in my low-top (no ankle support) boots and went up for a reverse lay up and came down on my ankle which bent sideways all the way to the ground. I heard/ felt a pop and fell to the ground. I immediately thought it could be broken but it seems to just be a severe ankle sprain. I was in so much pain that we decided to go into a clinic to get it looked at even though I have no health insurance. We were expecting to pay over $300 for the x ray and visit but the doctor had mercy and charged us only $67 dollars for everything including the X ray. I was blown away! Over my 5 plus years working in hospitals I saw first hand the cutthroat, profit driven healthcare industry. I have a renewed hope that another world is possible through love. Now if only my ankle would heel so I can get off these crutches.
(P.S. sorry about the nasty ankle photos and yes I am a baby)
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Minority
(written 2 weeks ago)
On Saturday night we attended our second Jackson State football game of the season. For those of you who may not know Jackson state is a historically black university and remains over 90% African American today. Emily took a class there last summer and plans to enroll full time in January. Emily and I both enjoy sports and I must be honest there’s nothing quite like attending a college football game in October. Thanks to a co-worker we were able to score some discounted tickets for ourselves and a friend who was visiting from Portland. When we go to the JSU games we are usually some of the only white people there. This past week’s game was a big one with over 50,000 people in attendance. We always arrive just at kickoff and enter into the giant stadium packed with people, energy and marching bands. It’s a different football experience for me. I grew up going to Boise State football games where the crowd was mostly white. As we make our way from the neighborhood where we park, through the huge parking lot of tailgaters and into the stadium its hard not to notice the looks that we get. This week even more so because it was not only Emily and I but also Elisha who was born in Korea. While we made our way through the crowd to our seats I overheard one man say to another, “look at these people, they are in the wrong place”. I turned the guy and said, “No, we are in exactly the right place. This is where the action is right?” He just smiled. The truth is I like going to places where others wont go because it’s my belief that we all need each other. Jackson has an enormous population of white’s who love football but I don’t see them in any significant numbers supporting JSU. We choose to be separate instead of engaging in each other’s cultures. I feel at home at the Jackson State games. I almost feel privileged to be included. To be a minority in such big setting gives me a greater perspective on what other minority’s feel. Being some of the only white folks in attendance reminds of the race issues that still exist in our city. We plan to attend as many games this season as we can.
Johnny
(Emily and Felicia (a parent of 2 of our afterschool program students at the game)
On Saturday night we attended our second Jackson State football game of the season. For those of you who may not know Jackson state is a historically black university and remains over 90% African American today. Emily took a class there last summer and plans to enroll full time in January. Emily and I both enjoy sports and I must be honest there’s nothing quite like attending a college football game in October. Thanks to a co-worker we were able to score some discounted tickets for ourselves and a friend who was visiting from Portland. When we go to the JSU games we are usually some of the only white people there. This past week’s game was a big one with over 50,000 people in attendance. We always arrive just at kickoff and enter into the giant stadium packed with people, energy and marching bands. It’s a different football experience for me. I grew up going to Boise State football games where the crowd was mostly white. As we make our way from the neighborhood where we park, through the huge parking lot of tailgaters and into the stadium its hard not to notice the looks that we get. This week even more so because it was not only Emily and I but also Elisha who was born in Korea. While we made our way through the crowd to our seats I overheard one man say to another, “look at these people, they are in the wrong place”. I turned the guy and said, “No, we are in exactly the right place. This is where the action is right?” He just smiled. The truth is I like going to places where others wont go because it’s my belief that we all need each other. Jackson has an enormous population of white’s who love football but I don’t see them in any significant numbers supporting JSU. We choose to be separate instead of engaging in each other’s cultures. I feel at home at the Jackson State games. I almost feel privileged to be included. To be a minority in such big setting gives me a greater perspective on what other minority’s feel. Being some of the only white folks in attendance reminds of the race issues that still exist in our city. We plan to attend as many games this season as we can.
Johnny
(Emily and Felicia (a parent of 2 of our afterschool program students at the game)
Monday, October 16, 2006
Bowling with the Boyz
Our boys club went bowling last Thursday and had a blast. Thought I'd share a few photos.
Mr. Ryan and Jimmy
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Philly
Jacinda, Emily, and Sarah jumping in Philly
After our return from Oregon we enjoyed a week back in Mississippi before leaving for the annual CCDA conference in Philly. CCDA ( Christian community development association) is an association of people who live and work among the poor in cities all over the country. It was founded by John Perkins and Wayne Gordon and every year seems to grow.
We had a great time at the conference. Its always rejuvenating to be around others who are involved and passionate about the same things that you are. This was our 4th time attending the conference and we continue to learn from the amazing people who are a part of CCDA.
We were able to meet up with our good friends Matt and Jacinda from New York as well as Sarah from Mass. It was great to see and hang out out with our friends. One day we rode the subway out into north Philly with a new friend whom we met at the conference named Brian. Brian showed us his neighborhood where he is working to create economic opportunities for low income people.(check out the organization Brian works with here) North Philly is the part of town that wealthy white folks downtown told us to stay away from. It is also the place where The Simple Way is located. It was very interesting to walk around the community and to observe the social dynamics of the city.
We drove to and from Philly in a van with the Perkins center staff. It was two long 19 hour trips straight through. We actually blew a tire on our trailer right as we exited the freeway back in Jackson at 5:00 am on Monday. Luckily we were able to get the van back to the center.
We are back in Jackson now and ready to continue our work here. Emily and I are both working in the after school program. Emily has been doing a lot of research into grant opportunities as she prepares to become a grant writer for the foundation. Stating in January she is planning on enrolling full time at Jackson State University.
In the mean time we seek to love our neighbors and to invest quality time with the children we work with.
Johnny
Johnny and Matt try to out jump the girls
The girls strike back by adding a man from the street to thier jumping team
Matt wins
After our return from Oregon we enjoyed a week back in Mississippi before leaving for the annual CCDA conference in Philly. CCDA ( Christian community development association) is an association of people who live and work among the poor in cities all over the country. It was founded by John Perkins and Wayne Gordon and every year seems to grow.
We had a great time at the conference. Its always rejuvenating to be around others who are involved and passionate about the same things that you are. This was our 4th time attending the conference and we continue to learn from the amazing people who are a part of CCDA.
We were able to meet up with our good friends Matt and Jacinda from New York as well as Sarah from Mass. It was great to see and hang out out with our friends. One day we rode the subway out into north Philly with a new friend whom we met at the conference named Brian. Brian showed us his neighborhood where he is working to create economic opportunities for low income people.(check out the organization Brian works with here) North Philly is the part of town that wealthy white folks downtown told us to stay away from. It is also the place where The Simple Way is located. It was very interesting to walk around the community and to observe the social dynamics of the city.
We drove to and from Philly in a van with the Perkins center staff. It was two long 19 hour trips straight through. We actually blew a tire on our trailer right as we exited the freeway back in Jackson at 5:00 am on Monday. Luckily we were able to get the van back to the center.
We are back in Jackson now and ready to continue our work here. Emily and I are both working in the after school program. Emily has been doing a lot of research into grant opportunities as she prepares to become a grant writer for the foundation. Stating in January she is planning on enrolling full time at Jackson State University.
In the mean time we seek to love our neighbors and to invest quality time with the children we work with.
Johnny
Johnny and Matt try to out jump the girls
The girls strike back by adding a man from the street to thier jumping team
Matt wins
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Music Site
Ive set up a webpage at purevolume for my music. If you are interested you can check it out here.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Update coming soon
We were in Philly last week for a conference and had no interenet but I promise an update is coming this week.
until then enjoy this photo. Boise State 5- 0 after saturdays whooping of Utah 36 to 3
until then enjoy this photo. Boise State 5- 0 after saturdays whooping of Utah 36 to 3
Friday, September 15, 2006
Back in Mississippi
We are back in the magnolia state after 3 and 4 week vacations in the Northwest. We had such a great time seeing friends and family. As we talked with people I realized what a support network we have from our friends and family around the northwest and the country. We truly feel loved and cared about and we are grateful for it.
We had a great time with Em's family in Sunriver OR. Thanks to the network of bike paths we were able to ride bikes everywhere.
Julian and I golfed several times and enjoyed playing the nice courses of central Oregon. Emily's Aunt Carole bought a raft so we could float a beautiful section of the Deschutes river that runs through Sunriver. Emily and I floated it twice. The first time we did about a three hour float the last half hour of which was in the dark. There's nothing like being in the middle of a river in a tiny raft in the dark with bats diving all around your head. We loved it.
Playing in the Sunriver open tennis tournament
Emily floats on down
check out our make-shift snow shovel paddle, it worked great!
At lunch with Em's mom
Outdoor office on the back deck of our sunriver house
Emily's Dad Dave snapped this shot while waiting for us to come down the river. 30 min later we made it
Em and her son
on poker night Paka the cat says, " im all in"
Our time came to a close with 3 days in the Rose city where we visited Powells city of books, Petes coffee and tea ( again), Old wives tales cafe, Henry's Cafe, Everyday music, Music millennium, the Laurelthirst Public House, and many other places we love in Portland. We also got to see one of our favorite bands, Old crow Medicine Show, perform at the Aladdin theatre. We met up with Katie, Bobi and Mike at the show and none were disappointed.
Last night when we got back in to Mississippi Emily and I we're trying to figure out whether we'd just got home or just left home. I guess we have a lot of homes which is nice. We are looking forward to this next season in our lives. I am particularly looking to re-invest myself into our community here in Jackson. I want our time here to continue to be one of growth and learning. I want to find the passion again that drives us to get beyond ourselves and to become concerned with the needs and wellbeing of our neighbors. Im sure seeing the children later today will help to inspire that passion. We have missed our young friends.
come visit us,
Johnny
We had a great time with Em's family in Sunriver OR. Thanks to the network of bike paths we were able to ride bikes everywhere.
Julian and I golfed several times and enjoyed playing the nice courses of central Oregon. Emily's Aunt Carole bought a raft so we could float a beautiful section of the Deschutes river that runs through Sunriver. Emily and I floated it twice. The first time we did about a three hour float the last half hour of which was in the dark. There's nothing like being in the middle of a river in a tiny raft in the dark with bats diving all around your head. We loved it.
Playing in the Sunriver open tennis tournament
Emily floats on down
check out our make-shift snow shovel paddle, it worked great!
At lunch with Em's mom
Outdoor office on the back deck of our sunriver house
Emily's Dad Dave snapped this shot while waiting for us to come down the river. 30 min later we made it
Em and her son
on poker night Paka the cat says, " im all in"
Our time came to a close with 3 days in the Rose city where we visited Powells city of books, Petes coffee and tea ( again), Old wives tales cafe, Henry's Cafe, Everyday music, Music millennium, the Laurelthirst Public House, and many other places we love in Portland. We also got to see one of our favorite bands, Old crow Medicine Show, perform at the Aladdin theatre. We met up with Katie, Bobi and Mike at the show and none were disappointed.
Last night when we got back in to Mississippi Emily and I we're trying to figure out whether we'd just got home or just left home. I guess we have a lot of homes which is nice. We are looking forward to this next season in our lives. I am particularly looking to re-invest myself into our community here in Jackson. I want our time here to continue to be one of growth and learning. I want to find the passion again that drives us to get beyond ourselves and to become concerned with the needs and wellbeing of our neighbors. Im sure seeing the children later today will help to inspire that passion. We have missed our young friends.
come visit us,
Johnny
CD now available
I have recorded a 6 song acoustic EP that is available for order now. If you would like one please email me ( johnny.bertram@gmail.com ) with your name and address. I had several people request them while I was away in Oregon if you are one of those people please remind me via email that you would like a copy.
track list
1. Come Down
2. Change
3. Fortification
4. Hurricanes
5. Stabbed By an Unseen Blade
6. Flying in patterns
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Recommended listening
I haven't recommended any music for a long time but I found a couple of new releases that are worth a listen. Emily and I picked up two new albums while here in Portland and have nearly worn them out on our travels.
Former Portlander M. Ward's new album is the greatest music Ive heard in a long long time. This album is full of songs that to me seem timeless. I cant stop listening to this great collection of songs. Highly recommended!
The Old Crow boys are back with another stellar album. This five man old-time string band puts on the best live show Emily and I have ever seen. After stumbling across them at a Be Good Tanyas show about 4 years ago we will be seeing them for the 4th time this Monday night. The new album is produced by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch lends a hand on drums. Great album and amazing song writing.
Former Portlander M. Ward's new album is the greatest music Ive heard in a long long time. This album is full of songs that to me seem timeless. I cant stop listening to this great collection of songs. Highly recommended!
The Old Crow boys are back with another stellar album. This five man old-time string band puts on the best live show Emily and I have ever seen. After stumbling across them at a Be Good Tanyas show about 4 years ago we will be seeing them for the 4th time this Monday night. The new album is produced by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch lends a hand on drums. Great album and amazing song writing.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Oregon And Idaho
Emily and I have been thoroughly enjoying our 3 week visit to the great northwest states of Oregon and Idaho. We are currently in Sunriver OR, just north of Bend where we will be vacationing with Em's family for a week. So far we have been to some of our favorite places including: Petes Coffee and Tea, Cannon Beach, Old spaghetti Factory, McMenamins Edgefield pitch and put golf coarse, Redfish Lake Idaho and many more. Not to mention the time with our close friends and family. I guess I'll post pictures and explain them as a way of documenting our time.
thanks for reading!
Johnny
Johnny is thrilled to be back in Portland
A concert was played to friends and family
Em plays like a pro at Edgefield
Em gets some instruction from her brother Julian
WE went to Cannon Beach for a day trip. This is the small coastal town where we met and fell in love. Its always hard for us to leave this beautiful place.
We did a hike down into Cresant Beach
EM does yoga on the beach
While visiting my family in Idaho Emily, Julian, and I went camping for a night at Little Redfish lake.
thanks for reading!
Johnny
Johnny is thrilled to be back in Portland
A concert was played to friends and family
Em plays like a pro at Edgefield
Em gets some instruction from her brother Julian
WE went to Cannon Beach for a day trip. This is the small coastal town where we met and fell in love. Its always hard for us to leave this beautiful place.
We did a hike down into Cresant Beach
EM does yoga on the beachWhile visiting my family in Idaho Emily, Julian, and I went camping for a night at Little Redfish lake.
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