Miley sends in wrecking ball on behalf of national crisis!

When I have a minute, my mind ends up drifting back to Miley Cyrus.

I know, right?? Crazy!

But her move at the VMAs this week moved me.

The backslidden Disney star eshewed center stage that night for a 22-year-old homeless guy she met at a homeless center. Though was described as model-handsome, I was strangely attracted to the message both he and Miley conveyed while accepting an award for her wildly popular "Wrecking Ball" video.

In classic wrecking ball fashion, Miley sent Jesse Helt up to collect the award for the video. Jesse told attention-grabbing crowd of musicians and artists that he was not accepting on behalf of the singer/performer that night, but “on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the United States who are starving, lost and scared for their lives right now.” Salon.com described him as arresting as he spoke about stark realities - during an awards show that honors the furthest thing from reality.

I am blessed to work every day on social impact solutions in Flint, MI, often involving homeless people - and structurally unemployed individuals who are otherwise forgotten - or worse ignored - due to a wide variety of circumstances.

But I also chair the Committee overseeing Young Life of Genesee County, an outreach to youth in 6th-12 grades. In that capacity, I regularly hear of the population that Miley and Jesse referenced at the VMAs.

It's the "1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the United States who are starving, lost and scared for their lives right now" that can keep me up at night. My kids are 17 and 16. They already both know at least one of their friends who are already homeless.

I heard a presentation last week that underscores this crisis in Flint and America. Diplomat Nate McGregor reported that while LGBTQ youth represent only five percent of the overall youth population, they comprise 15 percent of those in juvenile justice system and 40 percent of homeless youth. He weaved into his presentation the suicide of a bullied youth from Fenton.

I can never ever consider this problem without thinking I need to do something more to change the hearts and minds of our youth who are deeply troubled and "starving, lost and scared for their lives."

And while I have criticized Miley at times for her jarring antics, today I applaud the 21 year old who ended up sharing her moment to address a problem that otherwise would be dismissed if she had not. That night, she leveraged her celebrity to draw much needed attention to a crisis we all choose to ignore far too much of the time.

Will those 15 minutes of VMA solve the problem? No but it will raise the much needed awareness far better than any other costly means. 

Jesse closed his acceptance speech with, “a dream we dream together is reality.”

May we together step one step closer to reality...

What's it really like growing up in Flint, MI?

My daughter has started her own blog. She's 12 and spends most of her time writing anyway - no, seriously. We have three or four computers in this house and in total, she probably has 100 unfinished stories - and that is not counting the many, many spirals she has filled with her thoughts, her opinions, her fan fiction, her teen romance marvels. It's incredible. I keep pushing for her to get even ONE of them finished so we can sell it. There is little doubt in my mind that she will earn FAR more money as a writer than her mother ever did.

Her blog, "Growing up in Flint, Michigan," will likely feature many thoughts very normal for a soon-to-be teen in any city in America. I suspect she'll mention Glee and the brothers Jonas; she'll likely yap about school though keeping location unidentifiable.

And friends.

And love.

And maybe that will be the most telling thing about her blog, that kids growing up in Flint aren't necessarily experiencing the shootings, the crime, the drugs - the fear that too many adults have come to accept after hearing the news or the gossip at the Rite Aid down the street.

Not that she or any of her friends are unaware of the dangers. They can't help but hear the sirens throughout the night, learn of the double shootings just 10 miles from their homes. My daughter doesn't exactly live in the war zone of some of her friends; some of her friends undoubtedly hear gun shots regularly at night. In fact, it's fairly certain that some have suffered some form of emotional and/or physical abuse in homes where families are losing medical insurance, jobs and homes. At her young age, she already has learned of two others her age who have taken their own lives.

Living in Flint, Michigan, ain't your Father's Oldsmobile!

I guess that's why I think she has something to say that is quite likely different from what Michael Moore has said, as an adult, drawing from the memories of when he was 12 instead of being 12. I don't fault his memory, mind you, I just think the potential for a new fresh perspective from the mind(s) of our youth could be telling, if not interesting, if not helpful ... if not fun.

I'm looking forward to reading her thoughts - and helping her spend her money if she ever finishes even one of those blasted stories eating up space on my computer!

This blog post is not about Michael...

"Do You Remember
Those Special Times
They'll Just Go On And On
In The Back Of My Mind"
-Michael Jackson

Ok, straight up, this post isn't about Michael ... Though, given the last few days, everything seems to come back to Michael.

This post is about life, my life - and fears, and death and life, and the passage of time. In a strange discordant of time, I left Flint on Thursday having valiantly outrun one or two storms that pushed through town. Within 15 minutes on the road, I was flippin on my headlights and hitting maximum wipe with the windshield blades. All that avoiding and I still ran smack dab into the mother of all storms.

I was heading to Diane's birthday weekend, celebrating 50 years, as hard it is to believe. I met Diane when I was 16, maybe 17, making her and Shari my longest, closest friends. On the way, I was stopping to pick up Shari, with barely enough time to make it to the first event. However, Mama Storm had other plans. The black clouds and accompanied downpour followed me the whole darn way.

I don't like storms. I don't like driving in storms. But this storm seemed different. I wasn't afraid. Rather than concern myself with something I could do nothing about - the high winds, the flash floods sweeping over US23 - I thought a lot about the friends I was about to see, our histories, the so-many laughs, and the too-many cries. Despite the rain, the thunder, the lightening, the flash floods, the vehicles stopped all along the road - I was at peace, a strange warm peace that seemed full of reflection and anticipation of truly good things to come.

For the record, I always get a little melancholy at the end of a school year. It seems I'm always pushing to get there - as if it is some glorious finish line - but once I cross over, I quickly turn around and see all the wonderful things now behind me. So much seems to happen on the path between September and June, between toddlers and teenagers, between 1959 and 2009...

And, frankly, at each bend in the journey, I look back and fear the ride will never, ever be that great again...

But I digress...

Shari says she "lives in the moment" and resents it when I check my txt messages, especially when I am driving. For the record, I do not think it is dangerous to check your txt messages while stopped for a train. She does apparently, and grabbed my phone. She looked at it and queried, "What is this anyway? CNNBRK?" And the phone goes dark. I ask her to give it to me and I will tell her - she says no and hides it. (As if THAT isn't dangerous considering my "attachment" to my phone!) In my mind, of course, I know I received a tweet about some national breaking news. As a worried mother whose two children were left in Flint, I immediately ponder if it could possibly involve my only daughter or my only son.

When Shari steps out of the car to check into the hotel, I grab the phone to discover the breaking news was Michael Jackson's cardiac arrest. At the time, it was unclear if he had passed. Great! Now I had to tell Shari who just happens to be the most loyal MJ fan you can imagine. She stuck with him through every allegation, through every marriage, through every even-stranger story. Now I had to tell her that he might not be sticking with us...

By the time we arrived at Diane's, the breaking news had gone from bad to worse. We rushed into her house, barely hugging the birthday girl, her two beautiful daughters and/or husband. We flipped on CNN and sat glued to it for the next hour (or was it two?). At one point, I glanced up at my longest, closest friend and apologized. It wasn't exactly the way I had planned to acknowledge her 50th birthday, especially since Jackson was 50.

Gulp.

The passing of Michael Jackson has raised many different emotions in me. It's difficult to watch the clips of him as a youngster, full of life, growing to be a man with throngs of people following his every move. His fall. The allegations. I remember living through all of that. We all did. I sat glued to MTV time and time again to watch "Thriller." A boyfriend teased me all the time with "Gotta be Startin Something." My cousin and I loved to sing about the rat named "Ben." I remember watching "Do you remember the time" and being fascinated.

While Farrah Fawcett may be upset with the timing of Michael's death, Diane has showed no signs of disappointment in having to share the spotlight with a same-aged icon who happened to die on her birthday weekend. For me, when all is said and done, I think his passing added even more meaning to Diane's celebration. We are reminded our lives pass quickly - so quickly. That life is truly a gift. That when we think the world has turned against us - like Michael most likely believed - they probably haven't.

I hope he is able to see that he made his comeback after all...

Ok, so I guess this post was about Michael...

"Those Sweet Memories
Will Always Be Dear To Me"

On my mind...

Don't care...... that Suri Cruise is still drinking from a bottle! She's 2 and 1/2! Why in the world would anyone care?? As if potential speech and dental problems are the only challenges facing the child of the Scientology Puh-Bah. Her daddy thinks we came from aliens!

DO care ...
... that Flint police foolishly bragged about a decline in violent crime one day and the next four days there are four homicides! Strangely, Super Chief-y still claims the number of homicides in the city is still less than last year at this time. Didn't we learn we don't brag when there is still time on the clock?? Shut up and play! Gotta back up the smack, fellahs! Pride comes before the fall...

... that a Celebrity Chef published a potentially fatal mix-up during a magazine interview when he recommended wild henbane as a great addition to salads. The Chef said henbane, but he meant fat hen. Fat hen is a weed. Henbane extract was the poison famously poured into Hamlet's father's ear, also often called nightshade. Seems like a pretty serious mix-up. Is he a government scientist??
... Care more because I think we have some nightshade in our backyard! Do we not have a more current example - or non-fictional account actually - of the danger of Henbane? Am I on Punk'd??

... that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been released on a tether after a night in jail and after facing a felony assault charge today. I think it is a shame that he is the first sitting mayor in Detroit's 307-year history to spend a night behind bars. The Dude is having a BAAAAADDDDD year. I hate to see this happen to anyone let alone an up and coming young leader. What is going to happen to Kwame?

... that John Edwards is being accused of doing a campaign worker who eventually has his kid. I have always loved John Edwards. Now, his lack of media response is threatening his role at the convention! Tell 'em John! We need you. Repeat after me, I did not have sex with that woman!

... that Racist Groups Eye Boost If Obama Elected. Former Louisiana State Rep. David Duke has said publicly, 'We Have Lost Control Of Our Country.’ I remember when the former Ku Kluxer tried convincing folks he had changed the color of his ugly spots. Duke said Obama would be a "visual aid" to the idea that whites have lost control of America. Back in June, he posted an essay on his Web site entitled, "Obama Wins Demo Nomination: A Black Flag for White America." Obama "will be a clear signal for millions of our people," Duke wrote. "Obama is a visual aid for White Americans who just don't get it yet that we have lost control of our country, and unless we get it back we are heading for complete annihilation as a people." This just in out of Pearl, Miss., "They're not exactly rooting for him, but prominent white supremacists anticipate a boost to their cause if Barack Obama becomes the first black president." A Mississippi "scholar" said, "Instead of this so-called civil rights bill, for example, that says you have to give preferences to minorities, I think the American people are going -- once they see the 'Obamanation' -- they're going to demand a tweaking of that and say, 'You have to put the majority into office.'"
... Care more because while most Americans have little or no direct contact with white supremacists, organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center keep close tabs; the law center estimates some 200,000 people nationwide are active in such groups. That's 200,000 folks who are crazy enough to be proud of their association with supremacist groups. How many invisible members do they have?

... Finally, for the moment anyway, I ask this question: Is John McCain campaigning FOR Obama? I don't get his strategy of portraying Obama as a celebrity, comparing him to a rock star. I think it is further proof that the Old Guy doesn't get America! Dude, we love our celebrities and rock stars! Comparing him to Paris and Britney - calling him the biggest celebrity in the world? Dude, seriously, what are you thinking?? Hello ... Ronald Reagan?? Arnold Schwarzenegger? You could only dream of that much appeal!! Fire the old Dude whose creating the ads; he's a spy for Barack.
... Wait, is John McCain on Punk'd??