Various Reflections

Mr. Shifty Eyes died yesterday. He was with his brother when their car crashed into a house. When the paramedics arrived, they realized both of them had been shot in the head. One other student who caused so much grief during my student teaching days was shot last year in an argument over a dice game. I don’t know what I could’ve possibly done to alter the future for those young men. (See my previous blog entitled Wasted Potential Spaces)

I’ve just walked out of the art exhibit and into the main hall of the new library downtown. The distinctive sound of a jenbe drum reverberates through the main hall. Another drum answers the call from the opposite end of the hall. The two drummers “call” back and forth as they move toward each other. They’ve definitely got everyone’s attention in this space where quiet is usually enforced. When they finally come together in the center of the hall, they furiously beat out a song. When they stop, the sound still reverberates, then the crowd claps. My thought was Wow! But then I wondered where the rest of the ensemble was. My friend and I continued on our way exploring the booths that were set up for International Day. At the Korean table we had the woman spell out Welcome on paper with a brush and hand-mixed ink so we could hang the banners in our classrooms. After we’d checked out all the tables we continued exploring the new library. I was surprised to run into Akin hurrying out of a room with a young ensemble member who needed a bathroom. That was when I realized the performance twenty minutes earlier in the main hall was a call to the main performance in this room that seemed hidden away. There had been no announcement; we didn’t see any signs that would’ve directed us here to enjoy the performance. The day before my sons had come to see the Colombian dancers but had reported “there wasn’t anything going on”. Obviously, the dancing and music were taking place away from the main hall, in this room. Maybe next year this can be made clearer so that more people can enjoy them.

If there were more opportunities like the Three Rivers Jenbe Ensemble would young men like Mr. Shifty Eyes be alive today?

There was another article in the paper today about Mr. Shifty Eyes. I was surprised at what a different picture this one painted. The initial article stated that both men had felonies for various infractions and suggested incrimination but now since the second brother has died, this article was obviously written to invoke sympathy for the family. There is the mention of the men’s children; one had twin girls, the other an 11 month old. The family, consisting of 9 children with various combinations of mothers and fathers, asked for prayer. While I’m not insinuating that they’re not victims of a terrible crime, how can the character of these two men change in just two days, after they have died? Through word choice and content of what was reported, the journalists leave you to draw two very different conclusions.

Though Robert, Cindy, and I met to discuss the article “Third Space” and how to teach it, I gained some interesting insight into the article “Understanding Amsterdam”. Ever the practical, I like to figure out how the article pertained to our city. Since Robert has insight into the architectural world, I asked him what he would propose to do to reclaim the downtown area of Fort Wayne using the knowledge we’d gained from the Amsterdam article. He pointed out that Fort Wayne was originally an industrial city with its center in close proximity to the factories. Since those spaces are no longer used, where is the center of Fort Wayne? Is it Jefferson Pointe? Glenbrook? Northcrest? Do we need to revitalize an idea that’s obsolete for that particular space?