Interior Life

Yesterday was the birthday of my college friend, DB Dowd. He is a great blogger and writer in general, not to mention an accomplished artist. In fact he is a prolific artist and author. I saw recently on Facebook that he, Lori Dowd, and Alyssa Schier were nominated for a mid-America Emmy for their work on StoryTrack, a documentary film initiative.


DB lives in St. Louis. A few years ago we met for coffee over the holidays (my sister is in St. Louis as well) and after talking for a few minutes, he said, "I see you still have your interior life." That's a compliment! If we lose reflection, humor, and creativity, whatever that may be, we've lost a lot. It must be cultivated (which I guess is what I'm trying to do now).

In early January I start a job as an instructor for Savannah Technical College in their Adult Education program; I'm teaching a GED prep course. What, exactly, do I remember about fractions? The point is, that I'll be helping people pass their GED, obviously, and maybe, though this might be too lofty a thought, I'll be helping them attain the chance to support their creativity, their interior life, whatever that may be, whether through employment or something developed on the side.

There is, in fact, an organization in Savannah dedicated to directly helping minority youth 

 express and achieve through the written and spoken word and artistic forms. DEEP was started by Dare Dukes, a local musician. Maybe I could help them out once in a while after the GED class. After all, when you read other people's writing, you're at the same time helping your own.