Red Beans and Rice

2008-12-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Pay what you want

2008-08-08T09:38:00.001-07:00

For those of you who never got to hear the album that some friends and I did late last year now is great time to download it. NoiseTrade.com allows you to pay what you want for it. We don't care as much about making money as we do people hearing the album so please tell friends about it if you like it.

Life is hot here in Mississippi.

johnny

ALASKA

2008-06-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you who were wondering, yes we are still alive! The blog has been lacking in content for quite some time but things have been good for us. We recently returned from a nearly month long trip to Oregon and Alaska. We took a cruise with Emily's family in Alaska and her brother Julian got married in Portland. We drove a car back to Mississippi so we also did yet another cross country trip. We stopped and visited my family in Idaho for a day as well.

As far as life in MS this summer we have been pretty busy. Ive been playing a lot of music and have several shows coming up in the next month. Emily has been enjoying a summer off from school and working 2 gardens. One here at our place and another with the summer camp kids at the Perkins center.

If anyone still reads this drop us a line and let us know how you are.

johnny

ps

here are a few links to check out

www.onetoonestudios.org (this is a project that we are a part of and takes place where we live)
www.thecode.us (a video of one of my songs is there)
www.oldhousedepot.com ( this is where i work)

2008-02-11T20:53:00.001-08:00

Em Heads to Central America

NOTE FROM JOHNNY- (Emily left on Saturday Morning for Nicaragua and wanted me to pass this message onto all of you who might be interested)

An opportunity spontaneously arose over a holiday visit to Oregon, for me to join a group going to Managua, Nicaragua. Through the humbling generosity of friends and family (and countless other ways that the universe miraculously aligned) I was able to buy a last minute ticket.
I’m joining my friend Sharon and a group called Forward Edge International that serves communities in third world poverty around the world. We will spend 10 days in the midst of a garbage dump (landfill) where 300 families dwell and dig through trash everyday for their livelihood. Many of the families are forth generation- parents and grand parents have never known life outside the dump. Everyday is the same, hopelessness thrives. Girls are prostituted to garbage truck drivers in return for first dibs on their loads. No running water, no electricity, much pollution.
Hurricane Mitch destroyed most of the scrap metal homes and after 9 years the community still hasn’t recovered. In the Middle of the dump a cinderblock school was recently built for kids ages 4-7. They are given a meal and a break from routine.
I don’t know exactly what the focus of the trip will be. We may work with and bathe children, and we’ll definitely build at least one home.
At the Perkins Center we saw many groups come and go. Seeing the way these trips work I recognize that my time will change and challenge me more than those I hope to serve and love. I am so grateful for that.
Issues of poverty, injustice, youth, and “the least of these” have called to me for as long as I remember and as I’ve told those around me about the trip I see that these issues touch everyone in one way or another. What a privilege to get to go see first hand the reality that much of the world lives with.
This experience has brought me such a sense of gratitude to God and deep joy…and I haven’t even gotten there yet!!
I hope to gain perspective and to grow. I hope to develop new relationships and possibly gain direction for the future. I look forward to learning from a new culture and from the beautiful and resilient Managuan's.
Johnny is so tender. He is nervous for me, but supportive and encouraging. He has lots of friends to look after him but it’s a sad and scary to be so far apart.
Thanks for everyone’s encouragement, prayers, and love.

Peace,

Emily

(Emily wrote this post from the airport in Atlanta. She has since arrived and met up safely with her group. I will post updates as I receive them. – Johnny)

2008-01-16T16:05:00.001-08:00

a sad day

2007-12-11T13:03:00.000-08:00

December 5th
(posted by emily)

This is the most disappointing collegiate day of my life. I am so disgusted with the lack of standards and expectations. I am appalled, disgusted. I prepared all afternoon and evening yesterday for a big Urban Affairs test this morning. The professor made it surprisingly easy to prepare by providing us with a pre-test which included all the answers. Beyond this she allowed us to make flashcards and use them during the test for all the short answer and definitions components (this in itself is a joke and creates an absolute non-learning atmosphere). I came to class prepared. Immediately each student let out groans of complaint. They weren’t there last class…why are there so many questions? Can she please write vocabulary words on the board? The professor began by saying we could take out our old study guides to see vocabulary and definitions. She then proceeded to give us several minutes to bring out the pre-test with all the answers. Then she called each one of us individually up to her desk to directly give us the answers to five questions of our choice (I awkwardly declined). Finally, she allowed us to take out our books to find any final missing answers. All throughout this class period she was laughing and calling us “welfare” (we just take and take), “un-studious,” "sad,” “pathetic” (these are the same students who wouldn’t dare come in late, leave their phone on, or “forget” to study for tests in other classes. It’s the professor’s job to create standards and an environment that nurtures learning. It’s up to students to apply themselves. After all, most of us are paying for this education.). During the test the professor received and accepted three phone calls and spoke loudly with her little robotic ear piece at the front of the room.
I told myself not to be self righteous. Why was I worrying about these other students? Yes, it’s a little disheartening to spend hours of preparation and then watch as every other student who did not study literally be given each answer. But an explosion was growing within me beyond this injustice. This professor was stripping the dignity right out from each one of us. She was treating us like idiots and we were gracefully accepting this stigma. It was all I could do to finish that stupid test and rush out of the room (thankful all the while that I would never have to set foot in this room again).
This was the worst class I have ever taken or could ever even imagine. I can honestly say that I did not learn one thing the entire semester (oh, except what an edge city is and that I surprisingly have no more interest in urban studies). Every other class period was canceled and when we did attend class we discussed things like whether or not Sponge Bob Square Pants is gay. The professor would open up class with the same phrase, “what ya’ll want to talk about today?” Any assignments were laughable and we never once received anything back graded…or back at all. What an atrocity to keep students from learning. The atmosphere that this professor created was one of ‘do the least to get by,’ ‘cheat when possible,’ ‘bullshit your way through life,’ and ‘nothing is worth learning or being impassioned about.’ Then she has the nerve to call her students dehumanizing names when she was our leader. How dare she aid to the stigma and injustices of these young black people. This is a University but far worse than any middle school or high school class I’ve taken. I am disappointed in my University. Don’t get me wrong. I have had a few wonderful teachers who challenge me, notice hard work and reward it. They drive me to do well, learn, and build up my confidence (isn’t that why we are here?).
After class I immediately went to the foreign exchange information area desperate to get out of here. I plan to look into Millsaps College and Portland State University. I plan to complain to JSU administration and also to send an email to my professor voicing my deep discouragement.
This experience was just another reflection of a history wrought with cycles of oppression and poverty. We stripped Africans of family ties and dignity when we made them our slaves, we stripped away their man/womanhood and self-respect when we made them dependent sharecroppers. We didn’t apologize. We didn’t provide mules and land, we didn’t fix things. Now all I see around me is materialism, consumption, check cashing storefronts, pawn shops, dollar and liquor stores, and boarded-up businesses. A laughable minimum wage, no diversity, trash everywhere, stray and starving dogs, enormous potholes, no bike lanes, burned down and abandoned houses. People are stuck. There is no travel, no cultural enlightenment.

Hopelessness is contagious in this ghetto.

Black people are obviously not stupid; they are full of potential, beauty, intelligence, humor, grace, and dignity. But around here they are taught at a very young age that they are dumb, disobedient, unworthy, and powerless. They accept this role in the public schools (taught by those who experienced the exact same thing just a couple of generations earlier), and it seems almost impossible to shed this identity. It’s almost like people here become teachers just to gain power that they never had…even if it’s used negatively toward their children.
Yes, I am deeply grateful for my upbringing. I was abused, carrying life-long scars. I was hungry at times and was made fun of. However, this did not take place in the South and my skin is not black. I got a good public school education and was lucky to have older people in my life that gave me wisdom and exposed me to life experiences. By the grace of god I grabbed onto the fact that giving is living, that simplicity brings joy and that there are answers tucked away in this complex universe.
I tell myself to believe in the power of redemption. I usually look around and see a god that is good. These very sad and confusing issues are not fair. I don’t see a solution, and I have accepted that I don’t have the answers.
Lately I’ve thought more and more about going to a third world refugee camp and living out my days in the midst of poverty. At least there may be an air of gratitude in a place like that; a sense of community striving together, using what little resources are available to create a simple, yet joyful experience.
I believe that life doesn’t end here and that utopia will not be reached in my human existence. Yet I feel that I was created for it.
I honestly don’t know how I ended up in this god-forsaken city. But for now I’ll keep riding my bike, waving to strangers, recycling my beer cans and speaking up in class. How we spend our days is how we spend our lives…some are just given a better shot than others.

pot holes

abandoned gas station

old shipping yard across from our place
href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_JG2P1hi0S6I/R179UyQY4sI/AAAAAAAAADM/MDw2avf28Zc/s1600-h/102_5663.JPG">

garbage

burned down house

more trash

4 stray dogs (possible Junior relatives)

boarded-up Habitat houses

security system

Midtown Foodery

*All photos taken within a 3 block radius of our place

hey

2007-11-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

sorry for the lack in updates. I will be updating the blog very soon with stories of screen printing, cross country road trips, writing a Christmas song, getting the best grades in the class,
becoming a sous chef, dog walking, meeting new people, waitressing , bikes, and did i mention screen printing?

thanks for checking in with us.
visitors always welcomed here in Jackson!

johnny

Heading South

2007-10-03T23:51:00.001-07:00

Johnny to play Portland and Boise

2007-09-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

September 20 2007- Portland OR (Mississippi Pizza Pub) 6:30

October 3rd 2007- Boise ID ( Reef ) 7:30

Limited quantities of the new Synthar album will be available at the shows!

Andrew has been in town for the last 9 days and we've been working almost non stop on finishing the Synthar album. Synthar is a synth-rock-pop band. Im really excited to have this album done and to be able to share it with people.

Release date coming soon.......

here are a few photo's from the studio

Andrew laying down tracks on the Hammond organ we bought at the thrift store across the street

Johnny working with the Moog synthesiser

Dee's Visit

2007-09-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Shimmels

FREE DOUBLE SHOT FRIDAY!

Playing washerboard in Brad & Sage's back yard

Bellhaven Market

My very special life-long friend Denise came all the way to Jackson for a visit last week. Denise and I go way back; we've shared weddings, witnessed births (just one so far), and were partners on our high school b-ball team. It's so special to have known someone for so long and despite years and miles, to be more connected than ever. We had a wonderfully jam-packed and girly weekend together, it was so sad to see her go…
Highlights of the weekend include: free double shot Friday at Cups Coffee Shop, happy hour at Shimmels, being with Denise the first time she did yoga, eating fried green tomatoes and stewed okra at my tennis friend’s soul food restaurant, watching an Elvis movie in the middle of the street in Clinton, MS, and singing Dixie Chicks with Johnny late into the night in the back yard.

2007-09-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

Check out some pics of our trip to Autsin's farm last weekend over on brad and sage's blog

p.s.

my friend Andrew is in town and we are finishing the synthar album. Everything is turning out very well and I cant wait share the music with you all. stay tuned...........

www.syntharmusic.com

RAD

2007-08-31T10:22:00.001-07:00

The best movie ever? I say yes

Old Crow Medicine Show - I Hear Them All

2007-08-25T15:07:00.001-07:00

Our New Baby

2007-08-20T14:03:00.001-07:00

...or at least it’s the closest we’ve come to parenting. Junior and his brother Ziggy showed up in our new backyard the day before we moved into the new apartment. For being stray street pups they were quite clean and healthy looking (besides the flea and tick infestation). We quickly accepted our fate when our friends Sage and Brad decided to adopt Ziggy. In the past 2 weeks Junior has become our son, and has brought us immeasurable joy. He is a 7 month old 40 pound mostly rotweiler, but the mutt in him will keep him from getting too gigantic (we hope). He is grateful, mellow, faithful, potty-trained, and overly affectionate…PERFECT! We hope Junior will satisfy my mom’s desire for grand babies, for at least five years… :) just joking, sort of.

After spending the first week cleaning, painting, sneezing, and getting shocked (literally), we’re finally feeling at home in our sweet new loft apartment. It is equipped with a sound proof room for Johnny’s music, an office for me, high ceilings, brick walls, and a fenced-in 3 acre backyard (today Johnny and Brad turned black trimming bushes and trees, mowing, leaf blowing and scrubbing the back while Sage and I had a glass of wine and chatted). Our new neighborhood is in a run-down slightly diverse art district not far from the Perkins Center. Our building seems to be an old warehouse/restaurant that has been converted into two very unique apartments (Erin, and Nuno from Portugal, live in the other apartment and have a plastic furniture hobby/business), a garage used by friends for a concrete counter top business, and a massive photography studio.
So if you’ve ever considered visiting Jackson, now is the time to COME VISIT US! We are eagerly anticipating upcoming visits from good friends Sarah, Denise, Andrew and Luke.

Johnny has really been enjoying his new job as slicer, dicer, mixer, and baker at The High Noon Vegetarian Café inside Rainbow Whole Foods Grocery Store. He is a natural in the kitchen (news to me:) and of course, everyone loves him. He eats for free, brings home tasty things to sample like egg-less salad, tofu tuna, fake bacon BLT’s, and Johnny B’s Vegan Chili, and we get 25% off everything in the grocery store where we do most of our shopping.

Through much persistence and nagging, I’ve finally received a full ride to Jackson State University through an academic diversity scholarship (for being one of only a handful of white girls). I’m grateful and eager to get back in the classroom, taking Political Science, Economics, Dance, Urban Studies, and Social Work courses.
I was also just offered a waitress position at a local gyro restaurant and start training today. We’ll see if it fits.

We are welcoming these transitions, excited for a new sense of freedom and change of scenery. Peace and love to you family and friends,
Em

Hopefully all these photos make up for the past couple months of inactivity…

Junior and Ziggy

Happy family

Sage and the brothers

reading time

Sleeping loft

courtyard

back deck

backyard

Johnny and Austin getting carried away with a burn pile out back

Em's Study

living room

kitchen

father son bonding

my baby

I'm not cryin.

2007-08-12T11:15:00.001-07:00

may we never forget

2007-07-30T17:28:00.001-07:00

Last days.......

2007-07-18T07:15:00.001-07:00

We are in the midst of our last week of summer camp. Its been a pretty great summer so far and we are busy preparing for tomorrow evenings art show. The show will include drama, mime, music, film, and visual art displays including paintings, sketches, and photos. All of this created and performed by the children in our camp.

thanks for checking in with us.

johnny

3 shows this week

2007-07-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you who live in the south I will be playing three shows this week.

Wednesday July 11th Swell-O-Venue (Jackson) 7:30 w/ Wooden Finger and Chase Pagan

Friday July 13th Speakeasy (Birmingham) 10:00 w/ Joshua English

Saturday July 14th Cups in Fondren (Jackson) 7:30 w/ Joshua English

The TSW Kensington Fire Story

2007-06-27T15:48:00.001-07:00

2007-06-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of June we passed the 2 year mark since we moved to Jackson. What a 2 years we've had. After much consideration we have decided to leave our roles here at the Perkins Center. Emily has been volunteering here for the past 2 years and I have been the youth director. I have resigned my position effective at the end of our current summer arts camp. So much could be said about our reasons for leaving of the Perkins Center but the simple version is that we feel it is time for us to move on.

As we thought about where to go and what to do next in our lives we were leaning towards heading back to the northwest for a season. With no real ties to anything or anyone beyond the Perkins Center, Mississippi seemed like an unlikely place to stay. It was around this time of deciding to leave and what to do next that we met some new people who have become close friends. For the first time in a long while we began to feel part of a community. Turns out our friends Joe and Elli are moving out of their apartment/art space in an area of town called the Milsaps Art district at the same time that our commitment to the Perkins Center would be up.
The idea of us moving into Joe and Elli's place began to get tossed around and few weeks ago and on a train ride down to New Orleans we got a call from Joe saying that if we wanted the apartment we could have it but we had to act quickly because other people were showing interest. So in a moment of excitement and uncertainty we made the decision to take the apartment and stay in Jackson .

As we've become more involved in the city we've come to see a beauty in its people and culture that seemed invisible to us for quite some time. There is something going on that seems unique and new. We don't know how long we will stay but we are excited to be staying in Jackson. The new space we'll be living in has a room that is set up for music recording so I'm looking forward to setting up my home studio there and investing more time into my music. Emily is looking to continue her education at Jackson State University and is glad that she will be able to keep in touch with most of the children we've become friends with over the past 2 years.

I don't know what the future of this blog will look like as it started out as a way to document and keep you in touch with our time working here at the Perkins Center. The name may change but we will hopefully continue to post updates.

I have also started a myspace page for my music (thanks Katie). So if you are into being virtual friends stop on by www.myspace.com/johnnybertram or if you want to be real friends that's even better.

We hope all of you are enjoying the summer season. Im pretty home sick for the mountains of Idaho these days. I find myself day dreaming about swimming at Warm Lake a lot lately.

Emily and I wish to thank all of you have supported us and encouraged us through out our time here. I m blown away when I think about all the people who have chosen to stay connected with what we've been doing. Your love and friendships have helped make this a life changing experiance for us.

Peace,

Johnny

p.s. go see Sicko

It's getting hot down here.

2007-06-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

Our Summer Arts Camp is up and running. We are having a blast but between the heat and the 45 students enrolled we are very tired. Things seem more in control this year. I can see a lot of maturity in the staff. We have really been focusing on stepping back and letting others lead which has been a great thing. I see young leaders stepping up as they are given more responsibility which is pretty encouraging.

Our days consist of a variety of activities including, swimming, photography, baking, gardening, going to the library, singing funny songs, playing basketball, dancing, singing, learning to play piano, studying for the up coming spelling bee, and of coarse kick ball.

On evenings and weekends we've been hanging out with new friends Brad, Sage, Joe, and Elli. Its nice to have a crew of like minded yet unique people to encourage and challenge us.
Emily on the train they call the City of New Orleans

Johnny and his mustache getting mocked

A New Orleans Weekend

2007-05-27T17:06:00.001-07:00

We are in New Orleans this Memorial day weekend. We rode the train down from Jackson for a cheaper price than it would have been to gas up the Subaru and park. We are currently headed out the hotel door to a benefit concert featuring "My Morning Jackets" Jim James and the Indigo Girls at Tipitinas.(very excited!) Spent the day walking all around downtown, the french quarter, and Frenchman street. Nice little getaway!

thanks for reading our rarely updated blog,

Johnny n' Em

2007-05-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

My maimed feet
posted by Emily

I am a lover of living things, frequently protecting toads, lizards, turtles, dogs, and cats from bored little boys. But last week in the garden with Pierre, I realized that I hold some profound hatred for the fire ant. There is no warning when they attack—a several second delay leaves prey exposed and vulnerable. Their bites last at least a month and cause almost unbearable itching and misery. I am a non-itcher, an anti-scab picker, but you MUST scratch these bites to get the poison out. So as I stepped on an invisible hill in the garden and got several bites last week, I cursed the tiny insects aloud to little Pierre. He replied, “but God made them,” probably quoting one of Miss. Emily’s ‘do good to all’ lectures. But I found myself adamantly disagreeing with Pierre saying, “no Pierre! They’re from the devil!” It was at that point that I realized if I had to choose between living with monstrous roaches or cursed fire ants, I would take roaches.

"American cockroaches are 1,5 inches long, making them the largest of the house-infesting cockroaches. American cockroaches generally live in moist areas, but they can survive in dry areas if they have access to water. American cockroaches prefer warm temperatures. In residential areas, these cockroaches live in basements, around pipes and sewers, and may move outdoors into yards during warm weather. These cockroaches can be found in basements, crawl spaces and foundations."

Garden Photo Gallery
The new squash garden is in the foreground, and the original garden behind it

Our herb garden includes lavender, oregano, basil, chives, lemon balm, mint, sage, rosemary, thyme, and cilantro.

Tomato row

We have 32 tomato plants this year, with 6 different varieties

First white scallop squash and zucchini of the year!

Before and After

2007-05-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

After

"How we spend our days is how we spend our lives." - Annie Dillard

update soon

shalom,

johnny "CATFISH" bertram

Jackson folks

2007-05-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

I'll be playing at Cups in Fondren this Friday. Stop in and enjoy a skinny decaf latte no foam.

Peace,

johnny

Pickin' and Paddlin'

2007-04-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

Emily, Jerica, Jeremiah, Jamicia and I went out to the pickin' and paddlin' festival last Saturday. Despite the cold weather we had a great time. The kids loved the climbing wall and we liked the bluegrass music. My friend Austin and I entered the canoe race and lost horribly.

Photo Journal

2007-04-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

We've been working to get our youth garden started again this year.

On St. Patricks day Emily took some of the girls downtown to the annual parade. (Peaches)
(Emily, Peaches, and Jerica)

Hanging out with kids in the park.

I finally was able to hook and catch a large mouth bass even though it was pretty small. I had a blast Saturday morning fishing with friends Eric and Dylan at Roosevelt state park. We each caught several fish but no keepers. Eli (Dylans dog) enjoyed licking the fish before we threw them back.

Yesterday Emily and went and visited this amazing swamp just north of Jackson. We saw several small snakes and even a gator!

No More War

2007-03-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

Recently the 4th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war passed. For the last 4 years Ive noted that day and reflected. My emotions have ranged from anger to deep sorrow as we see daily the toll of war on lives. On the PBS news show, "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" They frequently show tribute to fallen soldiers in combat by posting a photo, how old they were, and where they hailed from, all in silence. Three years ago when I first saw them close the newscast this way it choked me up. To see images of 18, 19, and 23 year old soldiers who had died at war and for what? Slowly my sorrow turned to anger as Jim would end is news cast with, "here in silence are 12 more". Now 4 years into the war I find my self numb to the faces as they flash across the screen. And how much more have I grown numb to Iraqi civilians who have been killed. We rarely see them. Much less view them as equally important and as dignified as any American. Reports now show that 59,405 Iraqi civilians have been killed throughout the war and that is the minimum. It could be as many as 65,ooo.

I don't desire to debate the war here on the blog but simply to reflect on the reality of what is taking place. As Americans we often forget the power we have in the world. We have been given so much by being born in the wealthiest empire in the history of the world. I feel the pressure of that responsibility. I feel a tug at my heart like something in my DNA telling me to stand up for the broken and poor in the world. And when 59,000 thousand innocent civilians have been killed in an unjust war something is grossly wrong.

Last week on the anniversary of the beginning of the war, Jim Wallis of Sojourners led a group of concerned Christians to March on the white house in all night vigil and protest of the war. In his speech before hand he said,

"By our deepest convictions about Christian standards and teaching, the war in Iraq was not just a well-intended mistake or only mismanaged. This war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong – and was from the very start. It cannot be justified with either the teaching of Jesus Christ or the criteria of St. Augustine’s just war. It simply doesn’t pass either test, and did not from its beginning. This war is not just an offense against the young Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice or the Iraqis who have paid such a horrible price. This war is not only an offense to the poor at home and around the world who have paid the price of misdirected resources and priorities – this war is also an offense against God.

And so we are here tonight, very simply and resolutely, to begin to end the war in Iraq – not by anger, though we are angry; not just by politics, though it will take political courage; but by faith, because we are people of faith.

This service and procession are not just another political protest, but an act of faith, an act of prayer, an act of non-violent witness. Politics led us into this war, and politics is unlikely to save us by itself. The American people have voted against the war in Iraq, but political proposals keep failing one after the other.

I believe it will take faith to end this war. It will take prayer to end it. It will take a mobilization of the faith community to end it – to change the political climate, to change the wind. It will take a revolution of love to end it, because this endless war in Iraq is based ultimately on fear, and Jesus says that only perfect love will cast out fear."

Following the march 222 people were arrested for acts of civil disobedience.

In the bible I remember reading once that Jesus said, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you". I kind of think he meant that.

2007-03-20T06:58:00.000-07:00

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you
come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who
have come alive."
~Howard Thurman

Thank you to Erik for sharing this with me.

Backwards Hamburger

2007-03-19T10:29:00.001-07:00

The times they are a changin

2007-02-27T08:07:00.000-08:00

I’m going to start this post with the most used grouping of words in all of blogosphere. So be forewarned cause here they come………

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.
Only this time I really mean it. I realize that the blog has slipped a little as of late but I will attempt to bring you up to speed on things. Honestly there have been some hard times in the last few months. Things have happened to us in our work here that have left us at times feeling very discouraged. We have questioned how much longer we want to stay in here in Jackson and discussed what our next step might be. I can’t go into full details but know that we are cared about here. I think it is healthy for us to evaluate our situation and to question staying or leaving because if its time to go we can figure that out and go but if we are to stay I think we can renew our commitment to what we are doing and find renewed passion. I can say that some of the frustration comes from witnessing the depth of the problems in our community. It’s a fight each day to keep up hope. The odds are so stacked against a child growing up in certain situations that we see. The older they become the harder it seems to connect. We are reminded that we can’t fix these problems alone. We understand so much more now the power of indigenous leaders who could potentially have a great impact on their community. Even amidst the hopelessness and discouragements there are still glimpses of hope.

Cortez is a ninth grader at Provine High School down the street from our house. Last summer he was my assistant for our summer camp and we had a lot of time together. He and his family recently moved into a Perkins center owned home 4 houses down from us. Cortez loves to play basketball and I actually met him over a year ago out on the basketball courts behind our house. We have a policy that our park at the Perkins Center is closed (gate locked) unless a staff member is there to supervise the grounds. Many times Cortez would ring my doorbell wanting me to open the park so he could shoot hoops. As I got to know Cortez more I began to value his friendship and I could also see how he responded to encouragement from me. I began to tell him that I had big dreams for him. I tried the to plant the idea in his head of him taking over for me as Youth director someday. My intention was to let him know that this park and place was his so he would begin to take ownership of it. I told him a good starting point would for him to be in charge of the park and I talked of him getting his own key. He took the idea and ran with it. He hasn’t received his own key yet but on most weekends you can find him out in the park. This past Sunday he kept the park open from 11 am til dark. I watched as kids flooded the park throughout the day. The park is such a valuable resource in the community. It gives kids a safe place to come and play and keeps them off the streets. As the sun went down Sunday evening I peeked out the back window to see only 3 people still playing basketball. I noticed plastic bottles littering the ground everywhere from drinks purchased and consumed from our drink machine. We have several garbage cans throughout the property but for some reason people prefer to throw it on the ground. I looked out a few minutes later to see Cortez walking around the basketball court with a recycle bin in hand picking up the trash everyone else had left behind. In that moment I realized that Cortez had taken ownership of his park. I’m amazed how the smallest of actions can bring the greatest of hope.

Black History Month

2007-02-21T07:58:00.000-08:00

John Perkins

American Hero

Mp3's and a Review

2007-02-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

I've posted some Mp3's at johnnybertram.com and a fellow blogger has written a nice review of my songs. Check out the review here.

2007-02-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

02/02/02 - 02/02/07
5 years and counting

2 things + 1 thing =

2007-01-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

1. johnnybertram.com is up and running. This site will be devoted to my music.

2. Our friend Pam is letting Emily borrow her graphing calculator so we no longer need one. Thanks everybody for searching your closets, garages, and dog houses for that old calculator that never really use anymore.

3. Does anyone out there use algebra in their everyday lives? Seriously if you do please leave us a comment explaining how so. I asked myself that question everyday in high school and now 8 years later as i watch Emily struggle through stuff like "x (f-) + y'*44(y)= s" the question still feels relevant.

Summer Plans

2007-01-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

Curious about what we do in the summer? Check out our grant proposal for our Summer Arts Camp. Emily wrote this and all I can say is that she is very gifted and im amazed at her vision.

The Spencer Perkins Center (SPC) Summer Arts Enrichment Camp is an eight-week program for youth grades kindergarten through seventh. Camp is held on the grounds of the Perkins Center on Robinson Street in West Jackson. The center includes a clubhouse, two full-length basketball courts, a baseball field, our youth garden, a volleyball area, and a playground. The cost of camp is $35.00 per week per child. We offer full and partial scholarships to qualifying individuals, as well as family discounts.

SPC desires to enroll youth from the immediate area, as there is much need around us. However each year there seems to be a great balance of children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. A handful of affluent families deeply value our program and continue to tell others about it, but we are also intentional about holding spaces for new and returning campers whose families can’t afford tuition. We offer full and partial scholarships to those families depending on their ability to contribute. The mix of economic classes has proved a positive experience for youth. Children so often lack the stereotypes that many adults project, and tend to accept others and intermingle freely. Youth have learned valuable social skills, as well as the ability to judge others on character and personality.
Each summer college students come from across the country to become summer interns at the Perkins Center. In exchange for serving as counselors to our youth, interns receive a weekly food stipend as well as a $2,000.00 scholarship toward college upon completion of the summer. We strive to draw a diverse group of young interns, male and female, who are passionate. Our belief and experience is that this passion and diversity will make a lasting impression on our youth. We also run what we call our Junior Internship Program, where high school students who’ve come up through our programs, are given positions of leadership. When given responsibility and trust, our Junior Interns tend to blossom and rise to the occasion. They act as role models to youth, coming from the same community that they do, and give campers a goal to reach for. Junior Interns are then paired with college interns during academic time and afternoon activities, and tend to look up to and learn from the college interns. Junior Interns continue to return year after year, remaining steady figures in their students’ lives. The foundation pays Junior Interns a stipend every other week.
Everyday of summer camp students split up by grade level and attend two hours of academics in assigned classrooms. The average student to teacher ratio is 3-1. SPC takes academics very seriously and attempts to get students at or above grade level by the end of the summer. We offer individual tutoring as well as addressing the core subjects of math, language arts, spelling, writing and history. Teacher teams complete a lesson plan each week and follow a list of grade-appropriate objectives. SPC works with Jackson Public Schools to help children complete their mandatory summer reading projects. Each class takes a weekly trip to the library to conduct research, check out books, or attend activities. Students also spend time in the computer lab twice a week during academics. After class time campers and interns attend the JPS lunch program, followed by a period of rest and snack. Students will then have the opportunity to participate in our proposed art enrichment courses in the afternoon. Students will again split up into assigned age-appropriate groups of eight. College and Junior interns will be responsible for teaching one enrichment course for the entirety of the summer based on their skills and interests. Students will attend each enrichment course once per week, totaling four different mandatory courses each week. Interns will create a course outline and timeline for all eight weeks during orientation, before camp begins. "Enrichment teams” of interns will be responsible for scheduling at least one professional guest teacher throughout the summer. The enrichment courses include digital photography and film editing, Piano/guitar and performance, baking and nutrition, and painting and sketching.

Digital Photography and Film Editing

Digital photography not only is the prominent photo style of the present and future, but it is affordable, offering endless outlets for creativity. Equipping youth with the ability to capture moments and experiences in their own style is a wonderful form of empowerment. All summer campers will participate in photography class once a week. Lesson plans will include basic framing, timeliness in taking a shot, still life, action, flash and lighting. Each lesson will be altered to an age-appropriate level. By the end of eight weeks each child will have both a physical and a DVD portfolio of all the work they completed throughout the summer. The older group of children (5th-7th grades) will have the option of taking our film and editing class. Here they will learn the basics of filming and various filming styles, on top of digital photography. By the end of eight weeks these youth will have completed an entire short film as a group. We will utilize different forms of media to instruct youth, including film clips, Internet research, and book exerts. Computers and printers will be essential in conducting this course, as they will be used for creating photo slideshows, burning DVD’s, editing film, printing out photos for take home portfolios, as well as storing, altering, and processing photos.

Piano/Guitar Performance

Youth will have the choice of attending either piano or guitar lessons once a week. We have an extremely talented, passionate and musical staff to head this course up. Our belief is that by giving youth the opportunity to get the basics of a musical instrument down, their confidence, talent, and creativity will be drawn out. The door will be open and the foundation set for them to pursuit musical interests in the future. We will also incorporate song writing, poetry and vocal performance into this course. By the end of eight weeks, each student will have written and performed an original song.

Baking and Nutrition

Mississippi currently has the highest rate of obesity for adults and high school students in the country, along with the highest rate of deaths due to heart disease. We also hold the highest rate of diagnosed diabetes among adults in the U.S., as well as having considerable problems with type 2 diabetes in youth and young adults (as a results of high rates of childhood obesity). Each SPC student will be required to attend introduction to baking and nutrition once a week. Our goal is to expose students to healthy eating habits and choices, and to increase their confidence, knowledge and enjoyment of preparing food. We will utilize fresh organic herbs, vegetables and fruit from our youth-run garden, when available, for recipes. Each student will have opportunities to work in the garden and take produce home to their families. We will compost all of our biodegradable scraps and teach about conservation and recycling. Youth will make the connection between where their food comes from, how to prepare it, and that healthy food tastes great. With instruction, children will prepare a different dish each week and have the opportunity to take a sample home to their families. We will host two guests including a Kenyan baker and a native Mississippi culinary chef. By the end of eight weeks students will show their knowledge by creating an ingredient list, following a recipe, and creating a dish of their choice together as a group.

Painting and Sketching

Self-expression through painting and drawing is another wonderful venue for youth. Many times young people have the desire and talent to do art, but are unable to develop their skills due to a lack of formal training. With an impassioned team of interns and community volunteers, students will learn the basics of sketching, shading and dimension, as well as painting with acrylics. By the end of eight weeks of class each student will have completed an acrylic painting on canvas to take home, as well as a sketchbook of all their summer work.

All materials that we are requesting including computers, printers, cameras, baking equipment, paint supplies and musical instruments, will be used weekly at our after school program which runs Monday through Friday from August to May. We will also continue to offer courses and utilize equipment in our future summer art camps.
JMPF believes that poverty is affected by cultural influences, oppressive societal structures, and personal responsibility. We feel responsible to expose at-risk youth to experiences beyond their “four walls.” Cycles of generational poverty often occur because those involved cannot see that another world is possible, or that there are tangible ways to achieve and develop aspirations. By offering Jackson’s youth opportunities to take part in an array of arts enrichment (along with providing academic instruction and committed counselors), we believe they will gain enlightenment, discipline, and vision for their lives as future participating members of society.

Happy New Year

2007-01-09T11:10:00.001-08:00

Johnny and Emily here wishing you and yours a happy new year. We returned to Mississippi this week after spending the holidays in Hawaii, Oregon, and Idaho with family. Our month long vacation provided us with some much needed relaxation and time with loved ones. We are dealing with the post vacation blues right now as we return to our work here in the south. We were very happy to be reunited with our after school program students yesterday. Here is a breaf photo journal of our holiday.

Hawaii
Johnny in old Hanapepe on the island of Kawaii

We sailed 1000 miles south west of Hawaii for 2 days to visit Fanning Isand. This is Johnny in front of the only store. We rented bikes and rode into the islands interior where we met some local children at a swimming hole. Though they couldnt speak English Emily was able to show them how to plant the vegetable seeds we brought to give them.
Julian being attacked on Fanning island
Emily's Mom ( Becki), Aunt Carole, and brother Julian shopping on Fanning Island

Emily on the deck as we left Kona.

Hawaii is beautiful. We fell in love with the islands.

We tried to spend as much time as we could in the water. Heres Johnny splashing around on Maui.

Emily does some yoga on a Kawaii beach park.

Portland
On December 27th Johnny played an acoustic concert at Mississippi Pizza Pub in Portland. It was a great night! Thank you to all who came out. Thanks for the great photos Ruth!

My favorite brother Luke drove up from Boise with friends Chris and Jeanie for the concert. We had breakfast the next morning at the Laurelthirst.

Our friend Ruth drove down with a friend from Seattle for the show.
Boise
We spent christmas in Idaho with Johnny's family and had a wonderful time.

Johnny and Luke feeling the Christmas cheer

Luke still has all his tramp skillz
A tale of 2 johns
Katie
Allie and Em

Thanks for reading!

Johnny and Emily

BRONCOS WIN ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

2007-01-02T12:13:00.000-08:00

If you missed last nights game you missed the greatest game this bronco fan has ever seen. Ive never cried over a football game but last night I was weeping. You see growing up in Boise we didn't have any pro teams we had the Boise State Broncos and we rooted them on with all we had. Last night wasn't just a great football game it was a special moment for all Boisians past and present. As I watched I couldn't help but think of all the people who I knew that were watching the game and I also knew what joy a win could bring to those people. So when it looked like we thrown the game away with a minute remaining it became a very real possibility that we were going to lose. For the first time all game I had to face the fact that we might not win. Then just when I had given up, the broncos didn't. They played with heart and made 2 4th down play calls that worked to perfection. If you haven't seen the ending check out highlights at www.ktvb.com. We had tasted the bitterness of defeat yet come out victorious. I'm not sure I'll ever watch another football game.

Great job Broncos

GO BRONCOS!

2007-01-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

Today our beloved Boise State broncos will play the biggest game in school history against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl. Growing up in Boise and attending most home games as a child with my dad this is a very exciting day. The Broncos will win the game and cap off a perfect season with a record of 14-0. Though I wish I could be in Arizona today for the game I will settle to watch it here in Portland with Emily and her family, all of whom are converted bronco fans. I will have my phone handy to check in with my Dad in Boise so we can discuss all the big plays.

GO ORANGE! GO BIG BLUE! FIGHT! FIGHT! BSU!!!!

2006-12-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

My friend Joel has written a little blurb about my music and my upcoming Portland show on his blog. Check it out here and in the Portland Mercury later this week.

2006-12-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
TO YOU AND YOURS FROM EMILY AND JOHNNY

Mark your Calendars

2006-11-29T11:55:00.000-08:00

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.

Mentoring Program

2006-11-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

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

Voting : Alive and well in Jackson

2006-11-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

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

Late Halloween Photos

2006-11-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos from halloween

2006-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

New Song

2006-11-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

I wrote and recorded a gospel song called "The plow" this weekend.
Listen and dowload for free here

Ankle

2006-10-30T09:15:00.000-08:00

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)

Minority

2006-10-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

(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)

Bowling with the Boyz

2006-10-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

Our boys club went bowling last Thursday and had a blast. Thought I'd share a few photos.

Mr. Ryan and Jimmy

Jumping Photos Really Catching On

2006-10-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

Philly

2006-10-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

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

Music Site

2006-10-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Ive set up a webpage at purevolume for my music. If you are interested you can check it out here.

Update coming soon

2006-10-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

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

Back in Mississippi

2006-09-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

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

CD now available

2006-09-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

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

Photo of the Day

2006-09-09T23:40:00.000-07:00

Poker Face

Recommended listening

2006-09-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

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.

Photo of the Day

2006-09-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

Emily Photographs Little Redfish lake at sunset

Photo of the Day

2006-09-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

cannon beach last week

Oregon And Idaho

2006-09-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Live! In Katie’s Back Yard

2006-09-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

a review of the concert by Dave Martin

The air was balmy and the atmosphere convivial as 30 or so family and friends gathered in Katie Perkins’ back yard in southeast Portland August 27 to hear our own Johnny B. Johnny had been hard at work the past week in his Mississippi home laying down tracks and burning discs so that attendees could take home their very own “Live in My Bedroom” CD.

As darkness fell and JB skillfully worked his way through a set of his own compositions, ranging in theme from Hurricane Katrina to religious hypocrisy to the pain of love betrayed, wife Emily glided among the guests making sure that liquid and solid refreshments did not fall to dangerously low levels.

East Asia was well represented at the concert as several English language students sat on blankets in the front row, basking in the headliner’s aura. Though many of us were strangers to begin with, we experienced the unique sense of community that a shared appreciation of good live music can engender.

The appreciative audience was not about to let Johnny close the show without a struggle, and he obliged with a Bob Dylan tune, an unfinished composition, and (at the special insistence of Em’s folks and Aunt Carole) a beautiful song he wrote a few years back about his girl when they were in the first blush of true love. Not to say they’re not still in love…not at all.

(If you have any photos from the show, email them to me and i'll post them on the blog. thanks to all who came or wanted to come. It was a fun evening)

Johnny Live in Portland this Sunday

2006-08-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

I will be playing an acoustic show this Sunday in Portland Oregon. Everyone is invited. It will be in Katie Perkins backyard so you may want to bring a lawn chair or blanket. Bring your own beverage(s) and one for me. The EP ive been recording this week will be available at the show. Come on by, hear some new tunes, and say hello!

Sunday August 27th

7:30 pm

6608 SE 48th Ave
Portland OR 97206
( Woodstock area)

Bertram's in the South!

2006-08-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

Katie helps Jakalah with her homework

Mr. John gives Melvin a practice Spelling test.

Last week my family (Johnny's) came to visit us for a few days. My sisters, Allie and Katie, and my dad arrived on Thursday just in time help out in the after school program.
It was great to have them here. My dad immediately went to fixing things including our outdoor lighting system and the foose ball table. The next morning we went down to Millsap’s college where the New Orleans Saint football team has been holding their pre-season training camp. We were able to get a close up look at Reggie Bush and let me tell you, he’s fast. Next we hit up a local thrift store where Emily scored a used bicycle that she’s pretty excited about. It was short trip but we're so glad they made the drive down from Little rock where they were to attend 2 weddings on Saturday. I met them in Little Rock on Saturday while Emily hopped a plane for the great northwest. She is home with her family and friends now and I will be heading for Portland myself on Saturday.We're really excited to have 3 weeks up yonder with ya'll. It looks like I will be playing a solo acoustic show this Sunday evening in our friend Katies back yard in Portland. Everyone is invited. Im really looking forward to playing several new songs and hopefully I will have a little CD available.

Reggie Bush catching a pass

Johnny and Dad check out the Saints

On Friday we had Breakfast on the deck with John Perkins

Jp and the Fam

Allie tutors and tutors well!

Emily's welcome home sign in Portland. Her parents suprised her with a new Honda Night Hawk motor cycle! Just kidding :)

Dont forget to bring ya jacket!

New Orleans and Emily's Speech

2006-08-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

(We Recycle! Summer camp students with a truck load of bottles, cans, and paper before Cortez and I took it to the recycle center)

Hello, sorry for the lack in updates. Summer camp ended and we have had 2 weeks before after school program begins. Last week Emily and I headed down to New Orleans for a 3-night getaway in the big easy. We booked a room downtown for really cheap and enjoyed a few days of relaxation. Down in the south there is a hotel chain called Drury Inns. They pride themselves in high quality service and cheap rates. They give you free full breakfast every morning as well as 3 complimentary beverages every evening. Needless to say they won my heart. Emily enjoyed the rooftop hot tub and pool despite the 100-degree heat. I guess I can’t really complain about the heat down here right now since most of you have experienced it yourselves around the country over the past few weeks. We took time to check out the lower ninth ward and St. Bernard’s parish where the flooding was in some places over 10 feet. It’s like driving through a war zone. Houses on top of cars and piles of trash everywhere. To see the devastation up close helps you to understand how long this rebuilding process is going to take. We drove right up to where the levies broke in the 9th ward and for about 4 blocks in everything has been bulldozed. Every few blocks you come upon someone or a family that is living in the devastation via a FEMA trailer in the front yard as they rebuild their home. You also pass by little cities of FEMA trailers all crammed into parking lots where people are living as they rebuild or wait for more options. Wallmart has become the community center for most. It seems that federal programs are setting up there to offer assistance because with all of the local business’s wiped out that’s where people go to get every thing they need.

Downtown the effects are less evident. The touristy French Quarter is thriving and businessmen walk the streets of the business district. The Saints almost have the super dome ready and refurbished. They have sold a massive amount of season tickets thanks to acquiring the star USC running back Reggie Bush in the NFL draft.
One day while walking through the square in the middle of the French quarter we witnessed some New Orleans police officers approaching a man who was sleeping in the park. They went over with their clubs in hand and began tapping on his foot. The man awoke and appeared to us to be cooperative but the police didn’t see it that way. Right before our very eyes we saw the cops get violent. They jerked him up and threw him onto his stomach then one threw his knee into the guys back. They then preceded to hand cuff and arrest him. Emily and I looked around the park for signs that prohibited sleeping on the grass but couldn’t find any. We walked over to the police van where the man was being detained and Emily, with the officers looking on, recorded the vehicle number and phone number. She called in and filed a report and the detective took it very seriously saying that she would, “ Personally look into the issues and get to the bottom of it.” A few days ago Emily got a call from the N.O. police saying that an investigation had begun.
This incident reminded me of the power have as citizens. I think most of the time I would be lazy and even though I thought what the officers had done to the man in the park was wrong, I wouldn’t do anything about it. Emily was determined though and maybe a difference will be made through her reporting of this incident.

Speaking of Emily’s awesomeness. I’m not sure if all of you heard that she was named Americorps member of the year for her program. She was asked to give a speech at the statewide closing luncheon and graduation. I will attach a transcript of her speech at the end of this long blog. Great job Emily!!!!

In other news the summer program ended with an amazing closing program. Many people who have been seeing these programs every summer for years and years told me it was the best they had seen. The amazing thing about it was that the kids did it. We guided them and helped them learn their dances and songs but on the night of the performance it was all them and they did an amazing job. I think it was moving for the parents to see their children involved in something beautiful. I edited a video and slideshow that we showed on the big screen and the kids again loved seeing themselves. It was a great ending to a great summer camp. Our CEO, Elizabeth surprised Emily and I with awards at the end of the night. She got emotional as she spoke of her appreciation for us. The whole night made us feel pretty good about all sweat and love we poured into the program.

This week we have been out in the neighborhood passing out flyers and spreading the news about our after school program which begins on Monday. We are expecting 27 students on Monday and the applications are still coming in. Here we go again!
Stay cool friends

Idaho and Oregon, heading your way at the end of the month.

Johnny

Emily's Speech-------------------------------------------------

Good Morning!

Well, what a year!!! I’m tired—is anyone else tired? Tired but energized.
For me this year in AmeriCorps has been
CHALLENGING, STRETCHING, EXHAUSTING, & JOYFUL.

I’ve learned so much about leadership and teaching.
But something I continue to be reminded of,
Is that you get out of Americorps
what you put into it.

If you put in your time
you’ll get a paycheck…….. a SMALL paycheck, but a paycheck.
But if you put in your heart
What you’ll receive in return is unlimited.

It’s not always easy to invest our energy, passion, love, and sweat into young people,
But it IS worth it.
The joy and meaning, and the growth, we experience in the process--is priceless.

After giving your heart to children,
it doesn’t take long to realize that by giving and serving others
we find real joy and true life.
What a crazy concept!!!
Especially in a society that constantly tells us to serve ourselves.

There’s a quote on my wall by Annie Dillard that reads:
“How we spend our days is how we spend our lives”
As simple as that quote is, it continues to challenge me to LIVE everyday.

If we’re floating through life, living for the weekends--
Then something isn’t right.
That’s NOT how life was intended to be.
That’s just existing.
If we’re putting off life until we finish school,
Or until we get that dream job, or home…….or man--
Then we are missing out of life NOW.

Sharing our lives with the youth in our community is the smartest investment we can make.
They’re the future,
and will ideally grow strong, discover the world, then come back to our community to invest in the next generation

A bumper sticker on my car,
says that “GIVING IS LIVING.”
That always sounded cool to me, but this past year has taught me that it’s true.
The real secret is that in giving, we actually receive too.

So after AmeriCorps, I’m going to take this service mentality with me.
It’s more than a job to me now--
It’s a lifestyle.
The growth and lessons I’ve experienced this year, don’t end here-
But instead, are a platform to a future of service.

So remember! We get out of life, what we put into it

THANK YOU & CONGRATULATIONS!
(Go JSU!)

Tom Brokaw report profiles our hood.

2006-07-24T10:20:00.005-07:00

I hope most of you were able to see Tom Brokaws report entitled " separate and Unequal" last night. If not I should have them available on DVD in the next few weeks. NBC used Jackson Mississippi and specifically our neighborhood to profile the problems of race and education. The program featured an interview with Vince Gordon who we work closely with. Vince runs the Young Life program that meets here at the Perkins center. If you look in the back ground you can see shots of the Perkins center and our house.
To answer Michaels question in the previous post, I do think it was a fare portrayal of Jackson. The report pointed out what we've been seeing ever since we moved here. A cycle of poverty that is repeating over and over. We just found out last week that a 14 year old girl who was in our after school program and dropped out is pregnant. The breakdown of the family and the lack of positive male figures in our community is killing our people. The report also touched on how separate black and whites live here in Jackson. After integration the whites moved out of the city and started private academies for their children to attend. This made most of the public schools entirely black which is still the case today.

the transcript of the report is available at www.msnbc.com. click on the Brokaw Reports link under Dateline.

Lets discuss this.

I feel that bringing this issue to the nation is a great step but now we need a follow up report on what we can do. Here at the Perkins center we have a plan and are dreaming of ways to change this community.

If you missed the report and would like a DVD copy let me know.

Johnny

2006-07-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

Update!

2006-07-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

I was able to recover the photos! Im a nerd!

Emily on her 25th B- Day

The nerd always gets the babe in the end.

Finally an update! It seems like we've created a little online community with our comments on the last post. Please keep the comments coming, it was great to hear from ya'll.

Well this summer has been something. Being still in the midst of it I can hardly reflect yet but I can post some pictures and a few stories. We are in our 6th week of summer camp and our closing program will be one week from today. I've been capturing photos and video ( thanks to Jason!) all summer and will be putting out another DVD of our summer camp. This years DVD should be a good one. I will make those available for order so stay tuned.

Compared to last summer this one seems so different. Emily and I have gone from the kindergarten class teachers to the camp directors. I've had my fare share of frustrations. I never realized what a challenge it is to manage a large staff. You don't always get to be the nice guy or everyone's friend but the standards of the program must be held to. The kids are awesome! So many new and old faces this year, we love them all. I think we do well with the children because we are friends with them. Sure we have to discipline them and remind them of the rules sometimes but we always come back to the foundation of friendship. Emily is very good at this. Honestly I've learned a lot. Im planning on writing a report for myself when camp ends. It will be called " What to do and what not to do". But I guess that sometimes the best way to learn and grow is through experience.

Last night Emily and I went to the gym to work out and for the first time we really struggled to get our 30 min run/elliptical done. I think its a sign of how tired we are. At the end of the day we kinda just collapse into bed and enjoy the air conditioning. Lowell and Dixie left for the summer 2 weeks ago. When they left our house was full of people who were here for and intimate leadership retreat with John Perkins. Every bed in the house needs to be washed and made and we still haven't started. I just cant bring myself to make beds in 100 degree rooms at the end of the day.

The cockroaches have made a big return in the last few days. Emily and I caught a big one walking up the wall in our room last night. Oh and speaking of last night......
It was 10pm and I hadn't had dinner so I went down stairs to grab a bite to eat. Its always a bit creepy coming down stairs at night. For those of you who don't know we live in a big old house with 10 bedrooms and six bathrooms and we are living there alone for the time being. So I was a little creeped out and went to make sure that the front door was locked, and it was. I was making my food when all of the sudden the outdoor light on the back porch which has a motion sensor clicked on. I froze....My heart started beating very fast. I had just been thinking about that light the other night when I took the garbage out. I remembered thinking that If I ever saw that light come on I would know that someone or thin was outside. Our back yard is basically a park. The park has 2 gates which are both locked at night and a fence surrounds the entire area.
It took me second but I realized that there was someone out side on the deck. I went to the window and locked out. All of the sudden I saw a hand pass by on the railing to the steps. Someone had just darted past the window apparently running away. I hesitated for a moment then ran outside yelling but all I could see was darkness. I was really freaked out.
After giving it some thought I realized that it was probably this highschool aged neighbor who has been accused of looking in peoples windows in the past.
This was the first incident in over a year where I was scared in our community which is surprising since most people would call our part of town the hood.

Here are some pictures from our zoo field trip a few weeks ago. Check out our "Grow Strong" t-shirts. My second ever t-shirt design. Those of you from the Whitney Youth group Chicago trip of 98 have seen my other one.

Zebras make Joseph real mad

the garden is thriving! Emily takes children over there everyday and they love it. Our staff and kids are all taking veggies home every week. This week we began purchasing our youth garden supplies thanks to a thousand dollar grant we received.

Thanks for reading our blog!

100 comments Party!!

2006-06-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Thanks again for checking up with us via the blog. This blog has been up and running for over a year and we think that this deserves a digital celebration. So if you are reading this blog please take a minute to leave a party comment. This is a way for us to see who all is out there and a way for you to let us know what you think. Our goal is 100 comments in response to this post so tell your friends and family to come leave a comment. Feel free to be funny, serious, and crazy but please no making fun of my beard. Tell a story or a joke or just share your thoughts on the blog. Improvements needed? Let us know.

Im making this up as I go but im really starting to like it. I think we can do 100 comments, dont you???
We want to hear from you so Speak up!
Once we've achieved our goal of 100 comments I will do something crazy and drastic...like post an update.

Lets get this Party started!!!!!!

( oh we will also be putting our newsletter through the us postal service and would love for you to recieve one. Please email us your address johnny.bertram@gmail.com )

2006-06-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

check this out. A little article on our website about our internship program.

Summer is here----->

2006-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, sorry for the lack of updates. Its been a busy couple of weeks for us here. Our summer camp is going strong as we wrap up our second week. Emily is taking her first class at Jackson State university. Johnny is playing drums at church. Our softball team fell to 0-6 last Tuesday but hey, were having fun. This weekend Emily goes to Seattle for an americorps conference. Shes looking forward to meeting up her mother and aunt who will be traveling up from portland to see her.
I ( johnny) am really loving what im doing. I love these kids! Everyday I get to go around to all 45 of them and tell them how happy i am that they are at our camp and how special they are.
More summer camp stories to come.

side note- I caught a foul ball last night at the Mississippi braves game.

Love you all.

Matt, " man I want to be that hot dog guy"

Jerrod, remember when we used to meet at coffee shops in the morning to work on our movie script "room mate", I miss those days.

A year in the life

2006-06-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know that I've ever felt this busy. Emily and I are officially running the Summer program here at the Perkins center for the next 2 months. That means 35-40 children and a staff of almost 20 interns, five days a week. We've been putting the interns through orientation this week and camp begins on Monday. Tomorrow morning we will be having a parent orientation where the parents will meet the staff and here about our plans for the summer.
I guess we're kinda learning how to be leaders. For me that means delegating responsibility and trusting that the goals will be accomplished. Im not sure what it means for Emily because she seems to be taking it very well. Meanwhile I have an ulcer and a stomach full of anxiety. I never prepare well enough for anything.
All this is happening at our one year anniversary of being here in Mississippi. What a year! I cant even begin to explain the things we've learned and felt. The pain of the people becoming our own, the desire to quit and leave, the seeds of love sprouting in the lives of our young friends, the mistakes, the unexplainable joy of seeing Deanthony learn to read and dream of what he could be. So much in a year. How can the next even compete? How do we keep from becoming complacent? How do we run a summer camp?

"California.....beautiful"

2006-05-26T13:38:00.001-07:00

I traveled west to to California to attend an Urban youth workers conference. Networked with other people who work with poor urban kidsand shared ideas. The conference was held at Azuza Pacific University.

John Perkins teaching a workshop in the tent.

Cruising with the top down.

Brent, Alicia, and Judah Daniel drove over an hour to come visit me and hang out for the evening. We listened to John Perkins and Shane Claiborne speak and then grabbed some dinner. Brent and Alicia moved to So Cal to be part of a church plant near Riverside. Their son Judah is growing up so fast. I still cant believe that they are parents but they are doing a great job. It was good to catch up with them.

Judah

New Synthar Website

2006-05-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

( where you at Mr. johnny??)

Hi Friends! Thanks so much for checking up with us via the internet and blog. You faithful blog readers give us support and encouragement that we need.
I ( johnny) am back from the left coast and will post on my trip soon. I actually have about three updates that need to be posted so stayed tuned this week.

In the meantime please check out our awesome new website for SYNtHAR. Synthar is a virtual band that makes real music using computers and keyboards. Soon you will be able to own our first album. Click the link on the right of the screen to see the new site. ----->

Shalom

Johnny
( wiping out poverty in a convertible in California)

2006-05-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

2006-05-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

(Emily with mississippi governor Haley Barber)

Last Friday we had a boys club camp out in the field here at the Perkins center followed by a trip to a farm. Stories and pictures forthcoming.

We had to forfeit our softball game last night because we were one man short. We scrimmaged the other team and won but our record is now 0-2.

We woke this morning to a find that 3 cars had been broken into last night. A sad reminder that we are living in the hood.

Emily is going to Boston this weekend.

Johnny is going California next week

A beautiful evening

2006-05-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night we ran our second 5k race. This one was called the Brick Street Firefly. It was held later in the evening and everyone who participated got a little flashing light and a glow in the dark t-shirt. For the two weeks prior to the race I had really been encouraging a few of our students to participate. I gave them the registration form and they were really excited at the thought of being able to race. Unfortunately none of them ever brought the forms or entry fee back. So on Friday we decided that even though they weren’t going to race we would invite them to come watch us race. We ended up with 6 kids, Jeremiah, Jerica, Mario, BoBo, LuLu, and Shauntay plus Ms Sarah and Ms. Elizabeth who were walking the race. As we were driving we decided that even though the kids didn’t pay for the race, what harm would it do if they ran with us?
Thanks to a sky full of clouds the evening was cool and perfect for a good run. We stretched out and warmed up as we prepared to begin. I was a little nervous about letting the kids run the full 3.1 miles. I thought about them getting really far behind and running off the coarse and getting lost. I worried about them getting run over by one of the big hot shot runners. But we set up a buddy system and the kids were adamant that they were going to run the race.

At the starting line they couldn’t believe that the man had a gun and was going to shoot it. He did and we were off. Emily, Mario, Bo Bo, and I began together while the other kids started back with the walkers. The beginning of the race is really fun, especially if you have some good music playing on the ipod. Your adrenaline gets going as you and hundreds of other people take to the streets with police escorts. It was fun to see little Bo Bo and Mario running among all the rich folks. Mario took off from the very beginning and stayed ahead of me until about 2 miles in. Bo Bo stayed right with me for the first mile and a half. I decided to step it up a little to try to beat my last time and Bo Bo stayed right with me. I kept looking over at him and asking if he was OK. He would give me the thumbs up and kept going. Eventually I did pull away and pass both the boys but they weren’t far behind me. I finished with a time of 28:26 followed by Mario at 29:41 and Emily at 29:55. Bo Bo came in a 32:00.

The girls ended up taking a shortcut but made it in which left only one of our kids out on the coarse, Jeremiah. Jeremiah is a small guy with short legs but he’s tough and will try anything. While Emily and the kids went to get water I began to back track up the coarse looking for Jeremiah. I made it back about half a mile and there he was walking up the hill with his shirt off. I told him everyone was waiting for him at the finish line and asked if he wanted to run the rest of the way. He took off. We made it down the other side of the hill and came around the last corner and onto the home stretch. As we came around we could see the other kids up ahead. Bo Bo began to race towards Jeremiah followed by all the others. He was in the middle of enjoying a post race apple but when he reached Jeremiah he put it in his mouth, grabbed Jeremiahs hand and began to run with him towards the finish line. Mario grabbed the other hand and the rest of the kids followed behind cheering him on. Jeremiah was dead tired. His head was down and his pants were falling off but Mario and Bo Bo were dragging him to the finish line. Emily and I ran behind just watching the whole thing take place. I felt pride like I never have before. I think that it was the first time that we’d been able to see them love each other. They didn’t care what was going on around them they were determined to see Jeremiah finish. He made it in just under 42 minutes. We spent the rest of the evening sitting on the grass near the finish line eating fruit and sharing race stories. It was a beautiful evening.

Youth Service Day

2006-04-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Emily and her Americorps team held a community service day for her junior citizen club. They went around the neighborhood planting flowers and picking up trash. Emily will be able to update you more on how this went since I left to play in a golf tournament, but I have noticed a reoccurring trait among our kids, they like to serve. When I came downstairs on Saturday morning to go pick up the kids I found Mario, DeAnthony, and Lacinda sitting on the porch waiting for me. " We didn’t want you to leave without us Mr. Johnny,” they said. They want something to do and jump at the opportunity to get out and work in the community. Now this is in direct contrast to the attitude of most of their parents and adults who seem happy to stay in the house and make little or no commitment to the community. I think over time the surroundings and situations of the poor can get to them and hope is all but lost. That’s when people turn to alcohol, drugs, sex, and other things to kill the pain. I guess our hope is to somehow harness this young optimistic energy of the youth and build on it so that in spite of what discouraging things take place in their lives they can remember the joy of serving and not give up. We hope that these kids will be the ones to rise up and become leaders here in the community.

I'm realizing more and more that we are only rookie's here and don’t completely know or understand the cycle of poverty in which we are living. I’m sure with more time we will learn better methods in mentoring them but for now we just hang out with them and pick up trash together and teach them to read. Hopefully love can defy all odds.
-Johnny

Mario Urkel

Jeremiah Urkel

Shauntay Urkel

Mr. Farmer Johnny Urkel

Steve Urkel

Race Day

2006-04-19T07:34:00.002-07:00

5k (3.1 mile)Times:

Emily 32:31

Johnny 29:31

Waiting at the starting line.

The race was run last Saturday in near 90 degree heat. What a fun time we had. Johnny and Emily were both happy with their times considering the hill that they ran up in mile 3. The kids didn't attend the race but are planning to run in the next one which is 2 weeks away. We met up with Jon,Lori, Dylan, Eric,Erin, and Amy at the race. Our friend Ruth was visiting for the weekend from the delta and decided to run with us. Sarah came along to cheer and take pictures. After the race we drank water and ate banana's. Jon Bakker ran the race in 20:42 and finished 3rd in his age group, he got a medal.

Emily, Ruth and a man who should be wearing a shirt.

JB coming down the home stretch

After the 5k there was a one mile fun run for kids. They said anyone could run it so Jon and I did it cause we're just crazy like that.

Fun Run!

While we were out on the coarse Dylan and Eric went to Hal and Mals and had a little race of their own.

Come visit us and you too could have the joy of running in the Mississippi heat!

Run from The Sun

2006-04-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Chillin' on Antioch porch. Left to right- Dixie, Lorian (Grandma), Becki (mom) Karah and Emily

So Emily and I have been training for this 5k run (Run from the sun.com) that is this weekend for about the last month and a half and I've been keeping the kids informed on my times. Last weekend after sharing with the kids about my morning run I got the idea to ask Mario and DeAnthony if they wanted to go to the YMCA with me and run on the outdoor, one-mile loop. They got really excited and yesterday after the program was over we , plus Jeremiah, put on our "running clothes" and headed for the Y. They had decided to take it easy during playtime at the after school program to save their energy for the run. We started off slow to pace ourselves but Jeremiah decided to be the hero and took off in a dead sprint. After half a mile he was dead and Mario, DeAnthony, and I blew past him. We ran our first mile and they were still with me. We ran our second and Mario took a slight lead. On the third we caught Mario and decided to finish together. I could'nt believe that they stayed with me the whole way and we did end up sprinting in together at the end. We ran it in 28 minutes! At the finish we found Jeremiah sitting under a tree listening to Ms. Emily's iPod. I'm going to encourage Mario and DeAnthony (BoBo as we call him) who are brothers to train with me more often. I think they could really compete and win races at their age level. Not only would this make them feel pretty good about themselves but it would also give them some purpose.

The weekend before last we had a visit by Emily's parents and Grandma. It was great to see them and to show them around our new surroundings. I unfortunately got sick on the second night they were here and was feeling pretty bad for most of the weekend. We took a trip to New Orleans and saw close up the devastating effects of the hurricane. Emily got sick the day after they left and spent all of last week in bed with strep throat.
Hilarious! Its always fun when the " incredible" Becki Martin is around.

Dave goes BIG in New Orleans

Lunch in the French Quarter

Last Friday night we held a Parents Night for the children of the after school program. (Fitting that Ms. Emily brought her parents) We had pizza and watched a movie. The goal of the night was to make contact with parents and to let them come and see where they kids are hanging out everyday. I've been thinking that if we really want to have a lasting, positive impact on the children we must not only reach out to them but also their parents. I wanted the parents to know that we respect their dignity and want them involved. We had a great turnout and look forward to doing it again in the future.

This week is crazy at the Perkins Center. We have 70 plus volunteers here from Seattle and California. Our house is full and even the clubhouse where we meet for after school is occupied by a group of guys, forcing us to meet on the enclosed porch at our house. Its fun to have these people here once you realize that theirs nothing to be stressed about. I have to tell the neighborhood kids at the park what's going on because I can tell that they are thinking, " what are all these crazy white people doing here?". The groups really get a lot done which allows the staff and myself to do what we do.

Plan your visit to Jackson today!

Dauphin, Wilco, Katie, and Vegetable Garden

2006-03-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

Hey thanks for reading our blog. Sorry about the lack of updates lately. We’ve had a delightful March here in Jackson.

We went back to Dauphin Island on the Alabama coast for three days to celebrate my 25th birthday. We had a lot of fun golfing, running on the beach, jumping off stuff, and playing with a big blue balloon. (See the short story below)

We also did an art project on the beach with flowers that we saw blooming all over the island. Emily collected several bags full of flowers all over the golf coarse as I sank numerous birdies, pars, and quad bogies.

After Dauphin we headed north to Meridian Mississippi to catch one of the greatest rock bands in this here country, Wilco. Normally I don’t think Wilco would play a small town like meridian but one of the band members was a local born and raised so we got lucky. It was a great night of music not soon to be forgotten.

When we arrived back home to Jackson we enjoyed a week with a special guest from Portland. Emily’s good friend Katie came to visit and we had a great time hosting her and showing her around the area. On the Sunday that she was here we had the kids who come to church with us over for lunch.

Last week we began work on our new project with the kids, the vegetable garden! We worked throughout the week on clearing our small plot of land in John Perkins back yard of grass and weeds. Yesterday we had our final tilling and weeding day before we begin to plant seeds this week. The kids are loving the garden. They love dirt and mud. Most have never had the chance to use tools like shovels and rakes much less the roto tiller.

We had 10 to 12 kids that came to church with us yesterday. They all came over for lunch filling up our big dinning room table. Half of the children worked with Emily on preparing the meal and the other half worked with me on clean-up.

After lunch we hit the garden. We are really excited about the kids working and maintaining their own garden. When we harvest we will give the crops to the children to take home and share with their family. Its great to see Emily’s vision becoming a reality and to see the kids so enthusiastic about it. We’ll keep you updated on our garden project progress.

This week we have Emily’s parents and Grandma coming out for a visit and we are very excited to have them here.
Come see us!

The boy and his Big Blue Birthday Balloon (True Story)

2006-03-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

Once there was a boy and a big blue balloon.

They were friends.

They had fun at the beach.

The boy showed the balloon the ocean.

The Balloon longed to float upon the ocean but the boy refused to let it go.

The balloon betrayed him.

And drifted out to sea.

The boy was sad.

The End

WATCH THIS ! ! !

2006-03-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/bononationalprayerbreakfast.htm

Copy and paste the above link

Seattle

2006-03-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the privilege of traveling to Seattle with John Perkins for a week of lectures and speaking engagements. My roll was to be his nap coordinator, well not really but basically it was to make sure the 75-year-old man didn’t over work himself. The week was based around a visit to Seattle Pacific University where they are working to start a John Perkins Center. John spoke several times at SPU over the week. They all love him up there. The university itself is working to incorporate Perkins philosophies on reconciliation and community development into the core of their students and faculty.

It was a great but tiring week. At times I felt like we were a rock band on tour, going from one venue to the next. JP would get up on stage and rock the house then we would be off to the next engagement. I couldn’t believe the amount of energy John had. Some highlights of the week included J.P. speaking to a group of 85 fourth graders who had read his book, attending the governors prayer breakfast where J.P. was the keynote speaker, selling books after each talk, meeting up with my good friend Erik and sitting out on a curb talking til the sun came up, having dinner in Olympia with Carole and the “incredible Becki”, enjoying a few of the local micro brews, coffee (I brought six bags back). I met so many people and had a lot of good talks over the week.

I probably heard JP speak 15 to 20 times and each time I was effected and challenged. When people talk about love and justice the bells in my heart ring and I am interested in how I can better practice those things. I think I had forgotten what a radical voice JP is in our times. He has the ability to speak to not just Christians but to anyone. He fires people up but not on emotion or promises of prosperity, he speaks to the heart. I found myself thinking back to first time I heard him speak. I had given up on the modern church and was in a state of soul searching. I didn’t see the church living out what Jesus talked about, instead I saw people clinging to folklore religion that’s only purpose was to appease themselves. When I heard JP talking about literally living out the things Jesus talked about, justice for the oppressed and ministering to the poor, I could no longer deny that all of Christianity was messed up. I saw people experiencing that change on our trip. I spoke to a middle aged, somewhat wealthy man who was realizing that he’d lost the vision in his life. He’d realized that his kids were getting a great education in their all white private school but that they may be missing out on the joys of being friends with other ethnicities.
This short blog cannot give justice to JP’s philosophies and speaking. If you are really interested in what he’s all about read a few of his books. He talks not just about helping the poor by giving them food but also by introducing them to a Jesus through discipleship.
The end result of discipleship is character and in our neighborhoods and world we desperately need people of true character.

If you are interested in reading any of John’s books I’ll make you a deal. I’ll pay for the shipping for a limited time. All books are $10. Email me if you would like to take me up on this. johnny.bertram@gmail.com

Johnny ( who's Bad?)

Books By Dr. Perkins

Let Justice Roll Down
A Quiet Revolution
With Justice For All
Beyond Charity
Restoring At Risk Communities

Go ahead and JUMP! everybodys doing it!

2006-02-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

"Lord, Save me from Your followers"

2006-02-20T12:01:00.000-08:00

J.P. gets interviewed by a documentary film crew from Portland Oregon. The film plans to take a look at the divide between how modern Christians live compared to how Jesus lived.

Bama photo journal

2006-02-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

We spent the weekend on the Alabama coast to celebrate our anniversary. We searched and searched for a cool place to go and nothing really stood out to us. In Portland we always had so many options for places to getaway i.e. the coast and the mountains but around here there are no mountains and the coast is a bit different. At the last minute we came across a little island south of Mobile called Dauphin Island. We headed south not really knowing what to expect. We were very pleased upon arrival. It was un-crowded and really mellow with lots of beach to walk. The island was hit pretty hard by the hurricane. On one side over 300 homes were swept away but the town seemed to be rebuilding. We stayed three nights at the islands only hotel. It ended up being a very quiet and relaxing 4 days, which is just what we needed.
Some highlights:
Watching 2 amazing sunsets on the beach over the Gulf of Mexico. Visiting and exploring the islands bird sanctuary (and being really afraid of water moccasins). Golfing on the ocean front golf coarse, half of which was closed because the hurricane covered the coarse with sand making it one giant sand trap. Getting coffee and rolls at the islands family owned bakery every morning. Meeting a guy from Michigan who is a Christmas tree farmer and talking for a good hour about the industry and profitability of bringing trees to south Alabama to sell. Emily ordered a crab po’ boy sandwich which she thought would be fresh crab pieces but instead was a whole crab, deep fried and served on a bun.( she couldn’t eat it)
Jumping off stuff. Climbing a tree.

This week we are back in swing of things. Yesterday Emily was a judge for her schools annual spelling bee. I found out that I will be traveling John Perkins to Seattle for a week at the end of the month. I will be his assistant / guy who makes sure that he doesn’t get overworked, he is 75 after all. Check it out at: http://www.spu.edu/depts/jperkins/

Yesterday we also started our reading club in the after school program. Our first book is “ The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” and the kids seem to be enjoying it so far. Our main goals are to get the kids using their imaginations and to instill a love for reading. We are enjoying cool sunny days and dreading the heat and humidity of the fast approaching summer.

Johnny

Em bonds with a pelican while Johnny uses his wife as a shield, Allie you would have been freaked out!

"Yeah, Im 98% sure that's the sun"

Audio Blog

2006-02-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day. Click on the link above to listen to our first audio blog or right click and choose download. Dont download this one though as it is only a test.
We love all of you! Especially you President Bush for not spying on us.
J & E

Whoops! I meant

NyQuil Anniversary Toast

2006-02-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

It was 4 years ago today that I made the best decision of my life and married the young Emily Martin. Unfortunately we spent our anniversary in bed with fevers and chills. We both came down with some bad cold or flu that wiped us out for the last three days. We’re looking forward to celebrating next weekend.

We’ve been thinking back on the last four years, the ups and downs, and have come to the conclusion that we love each other more now than ever. I’m not trying to complain here but marriage is tough! Even when you find your soul mate you still have to work through stuff that isn’t always fun. Mostly its realizing how selfish you are and learning to get beyond that to where you are truly more concerned with the others feelings and wellbeing than your own. I feel like I still have a long way to go. It seems like with every anniversary that comes and goes someone says that “you’ve made it over the hump”, or “Its all down hill from here, the hard stuff is over” but in reality a relationship with anyone takes effort. I’m seeing that there may not be a plateau of a place to be reached but with time you get better. Looking back over these last 4 years I can see slow, gradual changes in Emily and I that would suggest we are learning, year by year, how to love each other.
So on this eve as we celebrate four years of life and love, we toast with NyQuil and look forward to many more years together.

2006-01-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

It’s come to my attention, friends, that some of you are losing sleep over being unable to see my new “doo.” May you sleep well :)
Other than the daily questions, “but WHY cut your hair???” we’ve been pretty busy. Johnny’s continuing to pump out material with his cyber band “Synthar,” as well as golfing in our mild Mississippi winter weather, and remaining committed to the kids in our neighborhood. Last week we were able to take several kids to hear the famed African Children’s Choir. The kids sat crisscross applesauce in the front row enchanted with the sounds and movements. We were reminded of the power of exposing these kids to new experiences.
My Martin Luther King event was a success! There were roughly 75 people who participated, including 25 white college students here from Washington State and 25 black Americorps members. John Perkins held every ones attention with his moving words about service and love. The neighborhood clean up went well and especially impacted the youth that showed up from my school. By the end of the day they proudly boasted to their parents that they were life-long volunteers. Other activities included hearing from a black historian about Jackson’s past, and listening to Kings’ Dream speech. We broke up into intentional diverse small groups following the speech to discuss various topics surrounding racial reconciliation. This was the highlight for many of the adults. Johnny and I both led groups and were encouraged to see young people interacting who normally would never have a reason to.
Today we took 10 children to church with us. The word apparently spread since last week when we took just a couple kids, so we ended up driving all over town and late to church. The unrestrained joy consuming the kids as we pulled up in the van caught me off guard. They couldn’t contain themselves. Youth ages 4-13 sat wide-eyed in the front row during the service flipping through bibles and staring at people. De’Anthony looked especially sporty in a blue pin striped suit passed down from his grand dad. It appears that church and McDonalds will become a weekly ritual.
Other weekly highlights for me include fighting a cold, working long hours and cooking. I’m convinced that being a vegetarian makes life more interesting-it’s a good challenge at least. I also just finished reading Crime and Punishment (thanks Luke). Any time I get done with a book I find myself depressed and directionless. I would really appreciate any fiction recommendations people might have. I’m going through withdrawals.
I’ll leave you with this…if you are fighting exhaustion and burn out like me, here’s a word for you:
“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Mrs. Bertram

M.L.K.

2006-01-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

We've had a busy week. Emily has been busy working her 10 hour days with no breaks all while planning next Monday's M.LK. rally and writing a grant for another up coming community gathering. I have been planning activities for the afterschool program and setting up our calendar for the rest of the school year.
On Monday we will be involved in a rally and community service project that Emily and her Americorps team is putting on. We are hoping to gather kids and adults from all over the city to learn about and discuss the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the day of his birth. In the Morning we have asked John Perkins to speak which we are very excited about. We will also play Dr. Kings " We shall overcome" speach. Later we will head out into the community to clean up the streets together. Following the cleanup we will split up into groups for lunch and discuss reconciliation. We are hoping that all will go well and that the people who come, including us, will be challenged and humbled again by the powerful message and life of Dr. King.

So this is the new year

2006-01-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

We have just returned to Mississippi from a 2 1/2 week trip back to Oregon and Idaho. We had such a great time being with family and seeing friends. Just before we left Jackson to head to Portland I thought it would be a good idea to let the kids from the after school program jump off the top of the play structure and I would catch them. After doing this for about ten minutes I started to feel pain in my lower back and soon I could barely walk. The next day I laid flat and hoped I would be able to walk so I could get on the plane. It was a sore flight but we made it to Portland. The next day we drove to Sunriver Oregon for a vacation with family. We spent the five days there relaxing and watching the snow melt.
The hot tub was very good to my healing back and the 5-hour family poker tournament was exciting. Back in Portland on Christmas Eve we gathered with Emily’s extended family for dinner. Every year instead of buying gifts the Martin family pools their money and gives to a worthy cause. This year our after school program was chosen as one of the recipients of their Christmas giving project. It’s so great to have the support of our family in what we are doing.
We also made the drive down to Boise to see my family. We had a short but sweet trip and watched the Boise State football team lose their bowl game.
We love Portland and it was great to get some time in our old stomping grounds. We had great coffee and awesome sushi. I was even able to jam a bit with the old Stanton studios crew. On Christmas day Emily’s brother Julian and I started a new tradition, free golf.
Spring is in the air here in MS. Today’s high temp is going to be in the mid 70’s.
It feels hard to come back here but I think I’ve always had a hard time in coming back from vacations and trips to the routine. I was hoping to come back excited and renewed but I don’t completely feel that way. Maybe it will take a few days to get back in the groove. One thing I know for certain is that I want to make the most of my time here. I want to invest all I can into the people I interact with. I want to learn from them. The after school program will begin again today and Emily is already back at work getting confused looks from other teachers about her short hair cut.(she cut her hair and sent to a group that makes wigs for kids on chemo therapy)
On our trip I encountered many people who said they enjoy reading this blog so I guess I’ll keep it going.
To everyone we saw on our trip: we love you all and thank you for supporting us, now come visit us here!
Peace
Johnny

The fam in Sunriver

The poker game, I'm all in

With Katie and Jason on New years eve
the hair transplant from emily to johnny was a success

Arrested standing up for the poor

2005-12-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

(John Perkins being arrested in D.C. yesterday)

“U.S. Capitol Police arrested 115 religious activists who were protesting a House Republican budget plan's cuts in social programs when they refused to clear the entrance to a congressional office building Wednesday. "These are political choices being made that are hurting low-income people," said Jim Wallis, the event's organizer and founder of the Christian ministry group Sojourners. "Don't make them the brunt of your deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility."
-From the Washington Post

Yesterday Emily and I were here in Jackson but our hearts and minds were in D.C. where a peaceful prayer protest was taking place. The house was preparing to vote on a bill that would cut spending on the poor to create tax cuts for the rich and Christians who don’t look over the 2000 verses in the bible addressing Gods concern for the poor had to speak out. Hundreds of religious leaders and Christ followers gathered at the Cannon House office Building to kneel and pray. Our country has come to the place where we believe abortion and gay marriage are the only moral issues we face, but is ignoring the needs of our brothers and sisters not a moral issue? 115 of the protesters were arrested including my friend Matt and John Perkins. I had a good talk with Matt last night and I’m so glad he was able to go and be a voice for justice. Our good friends Sarah and Elizabeth from here at JMPF were also arrested.

The Most Segregated Hour

2005-12-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

Last night we attended a screening for a film called “ The Most Segregated Hour”. The film followed two churches in Oxford Mississippi, one white Episcopal and the other black Baptist, over a 13 year period as they attempted to come together and practice racial reconciliation. The showing of the film was followed by a discussion with the director as well as a star studded civil rights panel. It was an amazing evening and we were so thrilled to be involved. The film blatantly addresses the fact that 11:00 am on Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour of the week. Why aren’t Christians, who of all people should know something about reconciliation, paving the way for the racial reconciliation movement?
After last night I have a lot on my mind, but the thing that always gets to me after discussing this issue in depth is the fact that reconciliation is hard. It takes people who are willing to be uncomfortable. It takes people who are willing to understand that even though they may not be a racist they benefit from the fact that others have been oppressed. It was encouraging to see others last night who have committed their lives to reconciliation with the belief that we are called to love our brothers and sisters. Their hope encourages me to believe that another world is possible. I’m starting to believe that we need others to survive. We need other cultures to influence our thoughts and actions.
There is shadow over our land and where I come from it goes unnoticed. We have a broken history in which people were treated not as humans but as animals. Whether we like to admit it or not this stuff takes healing and doesn’t get fixed over night.

We have a group here this week from Seattle Pacific University and they were able to attend the film with us. Some had their eyes opened to a problem they didn’t even know existed.

Another highlight of the night was meeting James Meredith who was in attendance. Meredith was the first black student at Ole Miss University and risked his life to stand up for civil rights. His attendance of Ole Miss sparked mass riots in Mississippi by southern whites trying preserve the white race. He is very old and doesn’t hear to well but it was an honor to meet one of the most influential people is U.S. history. Ed King was also in attendance and on the panel. Ed King was an outspoken white civil rights activist in the movement and worked along side Medger Evers and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

2005-12-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

This week the Perkins center is hosting another intimate leadership retreat with John Perkins. The week is full of great teaching on topics of racial reconciliation, community development, oppression, justice, and leadership. A number of people teach through out the week but most is done by J.P. This week we have 5 people attending and they are enjoying some up close and personal time with John. Later today they will go visit the prison with him as he leads his weekly bible study.

Emily has been very busy and working very long days. She now works at the after school program at the school where she tutors and our program is feeling her loss. She is required by Americorps to be involved in the program. I am still enjoying our after school program and the kids who attend. After almost four months I have learned a lot and continue to learn. After Christmas I am planning on making some changes in the format of our time. It is still a struggle to get students to think and I want to find creative, fun ways for them to learn. Right now we basically help them do their homework for the entire time. I want to do some homework with them but then get them involved in reading, art, and learning activities. If anyone has any input drop me line: Johnny.Bertram@gmail.com

Netflix

2005-12-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

Hey we got netflix and Im loving the selection. Some movies i recommend if you haven't seen them yet:

"Spellbound"- a documentary about 7 or 8 students who set out to win the National Spelling Bee. Upon watching it for the 3rd time I find it very entertaining and humbling.

"Rivers and Tides' - Another documentary about a natural artist named Andy Goldsworthy who does amazing art with leaves, clay, ice, rocks, and time. Ive rented this movie twice and it is now on my Netflix queue.

"13 conversations about one thing"- a drama about people living in N.Y.C. (If i remember correctly) and how their lives connect. One of the few movies we own.

"Metallica : Some kind of Monster"- Saw most of this in hotel but Im looking forward to seeing the whole thing. An interesting look at how greed and money can make babies out hard core rockers.

"I am trying to break your heart: a film about Wilco" - A documentary that follows Wilco as they record and release their album "Yankee hotel foxtrot". This movie is a good intro to one of my favorite rock groups with alot of their music and a battle with the corporate music industry.

"Bob Dylan: Don't look back" - Old footage of Dylan on tour in Europe. Some very funny moments.

"Is wall-mart good for America?"- PBS Frontline documentary explores Wal- mart and its effects on American culture. There is another movie out in Theatres about wal- mart right now but I've not seen it yet. Its called "Wal-Mart the high cost of low prices". Always low wages, always.

Road Trip Post #5 (the end)

2005-11-28T11:24:00.000-08:00

We have made it back to Jackson. Last night we rolled in at about 7:00 completing two 700-mile days in a row. We had such a great time out on the road. Thanks so much to everyone involved! We return feeling refreshed and thankful for the friends and family we have. Matt and Jacinda were great hosts and traveling buddies. Matt’s aquatic chemistry book challenged and stretched me on that long drive. Jacob and Amy were also amazing host’s and are great parents. Jacob led us to Harvard Square where there was a Peets Coffee shop and we are forever thankful.
The car is fixed and is running better than ever. The only thing left to go out is the engine and hopefully that has another 175 thousand miles to go.
The drive back was beautiful with stays in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Today Emily is back at work and I am preparing for the after school program which will begin again today.
Peace
JB

States Visited on Road trip
Tennessee
Arkansas
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
New York
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
West Virginia
Virginia
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi

Thanksgiving

2005-11-25T10:33:00.000-08:00

Lauren out for a Thanksgiving walk
Sam , Lauren, and Johnny

The Bird

The Spread

The Kids

We had a great Thanksgiving here in Boston with our good friends/family Jacob and Amy and their kids Lauren (3) and Samuel (4 months). They live outside of Boston in suburb called Medford. The area they live in is full of Italians and Duncan Donuts. People here think Duncan Donuts is the bomb…but its not. They drink the mediocre coffee like its going out of style. I’ll be honest we have been drinking the D.D. coffee while we’re here and its not horrible but its not something I would be willing to spend 2 bucks on every morning if I lived here.
It’s been so nice for us to get time here and we’ve mostly been relaxing and playing with the kids. Samuel is a little angel. He’s fallen asleep in my arms at least 5 times and makes for a great little lap heater while he sleeps. Lauren is a cute talking little princess. She insists that her name is not Lauren but rather Princess. Yesterday Amy and Emily cooked up the best thanksgiving meal I’ve ever experienced. It was all vegetarian minus the bird and boy did we eat. After word we were proud that we’d pulled off our own Thanksgiving. I played the part of the Football watcher. I hope everyone had a great day and Happy thanksgiving to you all!

Road Trip Post #4

2005-11-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

Little Italy

The biggest slice of pizza we've ever seen.

Wall Street

We had a great time exploring New York City. Matt and Jacinda live right near the subway so we got around pretty easily. The city is so big that you really need a least a week (or more) if you want to see everything. We had a day and tried to make the most of it. We went down to Wall Street then walked up into China Town and Little Italy. We rode the subway back up to midtown and walked through Rockefeller plaza where people were ice-skating and the Christmas tree was being decorated. Later in the day we met up with Matt, Andrew and Jacinda and grabbed a drink in Greenwich Village. After a long day of walking through the city everything begins to feel the same. So many people and shops and dogs and buildings. Upon arriving back to Matt and Jacinda’s apartment Emily and I decided to walk over a few blocks to check on the car and sure enough there was a parking ticket. I was a bit bummed but thankful that it wasn’t towed. I’m not stupid enough to park in front of a no parking sign if anyone is wondering. The place I parked had no sign at all which is why I’ll be contesting the ticket.
The next morning we relaxed at the apartment. Matt and Andrew trained me on a music-recording program and Emily went out for breakfast on her own. She ended up at Toms Dinner, which is the café from the hit TV show Seinfeld.
In an attempt to beat the traffic out of the city we left at 2:00pm and headed for Boston. I will forever know the next eight hours as the escape from New York. As we made our way north out of Manhattan I could tell that the car was definitely having some problems. Luckily things went well as we got through the Bronx and made our way up into Connecticut. The traffic was bad in Connecticut and not good on our clutch that was getting worse by the minute. We traveled 40 miles in three hours and finally things cleared up. It was smooth going for a while but as we approached Providence Rhode Island the clutch just completely went out. We steered our way through traffic over to the shoulder and made the call to AAA. About 40 minutes later Dan the tow truck man arrived with a New England accent so thick I could comprehend maybe 50 percent of what he said. He loaded our car up on the flat bed and sped us the rest of the way to Boston. We arrived really late to Jacob and Amy’s place in Boston but they were very nice and accommodating. We we’re able to unload the car at the mechanic’s shop right next to their apartment. Long story short the clutch is out and it’s a lot of work and money to fix on our all wheel drive Subaru. The car should be done today and then we begin the long journey back to Mississippi.

The subaru breaks down outside of Providence

Road Trip Post #3

2005-11-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

Evening session at CCDA conference

We’ve arrived in the big apple. The conference went really well. We were challenged and encouraged to go back to our community and to love others. Yesterday we drove for about 12 hours and traveled about 700 miles from Indianapolis to New York City. We’ve been enjoying Matt and Jacinda’s apartment and hospitality. Last night we had a delicious home cooked Indonesian meal and took a walk (constitutional as Matt would say) around the campus of Columbia University where matt is attending graduate school. We’ve also been reunited with Andrew from Seattle who is passing through N.Y.C. on his way back from Ukraine.
I was a little nervous about driving and parking in the city but with Matt as navigator everything has gone really smooth. Our car is having some problems accelerating. I really hope the clutch is not going out because we still have a lot of driving ahead of us.
Today Emily and I will head out into the city to explore. Our tentative plan is to see Wall Street, Chinatown, and possibly the village. Conan O’Brian called and wanted to lunch but I had to cancel, I don’t eat at Irish restaurants like McDonalds.
It has been refreshing for Emily and I to be away from Mississippi for a while.
The restaurant from Seinfeld is on the corner of matt and Jacindas street.
Peace
JB