Written, pencilled, inked by: Heath P Lail
Hullo, folks. Just thought I would swing by the Cafe and see what's hangin', as well as update everyone on my first week of ASOP duty, a Funeral for a Friend, and more.
Well, I started the ASOP Unit at Parkwood this week. I am of course sworn to confidentiality in regards to names and indentifying remarks, as these kids may one day sucessfully assimilate back into the general populace. If that were to happen and they read incriminating remarks on this lovely Internet, well...things could look bleak for ol' Heath's chances of being the Doctor of Psychology that Miss Brooke is always telling him he will be one day. Anywho...overall, I think I shifted into the job itself rather easily. It is quite different from my last two jobs, where the hardest part was dealing with some gap-toothed rednecks screaming about the lack of Red Man snuff (@ the Grocery Store...it made me wanna snuff them out:) or "NAS-Car" ( The Comics Shop/Fan Merchandise Store)--by the way, it is physically impossible to reproduce here the sound effect made by a NASCAR fan when they try to actually annunciate the word NASCAR. It, much like the Rebel Yell has been lost to the Mists of Time. Don't get me wrong, that Mists of Time store has some neat shit, but the correct pronunciation of NASCAR is not among their often-browsed items.
Moving on...I have been told repeatedly that the kids have gone easy on me this week. I don't know how to react to that statement, because the last two nights of this shift, one kid acted out both nights and Friday night we were forced to call an MAB. We thought we were gonna have to restrain the kid in the Quiet Room last night but he finally pulled himself together. Most of the kids seem to respect my physical presence, though I am somewhat short-statured. I learned this in earnest last night when I simply walked around the Dayroom during the MAB. As soon as I came out of the back hallway where the restraint bed lays, the room was hushed and the kids just kinda stared at me...I never knew I could command that kind of authority, but it felt nice to be respected that way. I usually have a rather fast gait and short step, but I walked slowly around them last night--maybe they picked up on my attitude.
So far, my 4 kids have behaved themselves for the most part and have been courteous. One kid bothers me because he has an intense stare. He appears calm during these periods, but it is almost one of those "I'm looking at something you can't see" stares, and those can get a person in quite a bit of trouble out in the real world. It only lasts a few seconds, but I'm trying to help him with it. Another kid is constantly on FOCUS, which means he must be doing SOMETHING to stay there (or perhaps he is in-between Level Reviews...I'll check his charts when I go in Tuesday). FOCUS is effectively the "Dunce Hat" place in the ASOP hierarchy. If one is in FOCUS, it means he is relegated to staring at the wall and has fewer speaking priviledges than the Basic, Level 1, Level 2, etc. folks. The Level Systems and Point Systems are for another night--too much to get into now, and I haven't mastered the Points Sys. quite yet. The third kid is kinda hyper, and seems to feed off attention like a leech is drawn to a powerfully-scented food source. Other than that, he seems to be somewhat normal...though we all know he isn't if he ended up at ASOP. The last guy is generally helpful and mostly gets in trouble for speaking out of turn or without raising his hand. I keep meaning to grab their individual charts and read them while they are sleeping (after 9:30 PM) so I can find out what landed each of them in the program but I forget every night, and once I'm on door duty, I cannot leave my post for any reason short of the Wicked Witch shooting lightening bolts outside our cottage. I will do that Tuesday though because I'm genuinely interested in helping these kids as much as possible. That's the short version of my job...more to come (Points/Level Systems, etc.). Oh one last bit of info...these kids are all between 12-17 and one kid has double-digit offences against him. Isn't that scary if you plan on having kids?
Also, I had to attend a funeral today. My friend Alicia Barbour's husband Anthony was killed in a car wreck Monday night. He left behind a 24-year old widow with a broken leg (from a horse tossing her two weeks ago) and a beautiful little boy, Collyn. He was 24, and was taken far too soon. Things like this always make me remember my own mortality, as I have had my fair share of crashes over the years. I am taking up donations for Alicia, as she will be off from work for at least the next few weeks but life (and bills) still go on. Rest in Piece, Walter Anthony Barbour, Jr. You will be sorely missed, but I know you are up in Heaven, and we will see you again one day.
In closing tonight, I would like to recommend a book I bought today, and thanks to the relative shortness of the book as well as my voracious reading appetite (both a boon and a bane:( I finished tonight. It is The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, and it clocks in at only 167 pages. It tells of Santiago, a simple shepard who seeks a great treasure that was fortold would be his, but along the way he learns many lessons. These lessons are far more valuable than the treasure he seeks--while treasure makes one rich, it does necessarily teach the holder of such wealth lessons of wisdom or morality. It cannot teach a heart how to expand, or help one experience true growth in far away countries. For example, while being rich can get you to Europe, what if your riches vanished upon your arrival in Rome? Would you have the heart to pick yourself up and build the necessary means to return home by working inn a lowly position and saving every penny and dime (or Franc and Euro, I suppose)? Then, if you managed to rebuild your wealth (or exceed it), would you simply tuck tail and run home to the comfortable or would you seek adventure? This book chronicles the growth of young Santiago, and is one of the best books I've read in quite awhile. Highly recommended.
G'night folks. Sleep well and remember to let those you love know the depth of your concern every day you wake up.
-H
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