The Buddy Bench

Day 6 Doxology: I think every generation feels that the world is becoming so fractured that surely their's is the last to have dominion over this world.  In fact, just a limited amount of time in front of the television or catching up on the headlines could drive us into a depressed state.  I think it is the "lemonade out of lemons" that separates many of us and keeps us climbing the hill of life.

My wife is an assistant principal here in Alabama.  Two classes in her 2nd grade read a book about a new kid at school and looked for a way to create some old fashion lemonade.  You can imagine the outsider moving into a new place where relationships are already formed, everyone knows who's the best at math, the best at English, or the best athlete.  For a new kid to break into all-ready-established groups is as difficult as climbing the hill of life.

As it turns out, this fictional book did not have as happy an ending as one would hope...at least for the characters in the book.  However, for a 2nd grade class in North Alabama the ending was made perfect because of their ability to create change.

The two classes read the book, felt the passion for change, wrote a petition to make change possible with some help of a few adults.  Now, for me, this makes the story even better.  Have you ever noticed the ideas and potential hope that a child can have only to be extinguish by a few realistic adults.  They smother their dreams by telling them "That won't make a difference;" or "You're just too young to understand!"  As adults, shouldn't we want to fan the dreams of the next generation to help make the hill..less hilly?

These kids proposed to the school system the need for a "Buddy Bench" to give a place where kids could meet and talk with one another in a safe place.  This bench could act like a Home Base for the game of life.  The bench could be and insult-free zone where dreams could flourish.  The 2nd graders handed my wife their petition with the simplest idea for change they could imagine, and change was already happening.

She called all the right people.  They found an old park bench that was in storage.  They had it painted, they let the kids paint it.  They met with architects and created plans for a 15 X 20 concrete slab so more kids than originally thought could land safely on base.  While they were finishing the concrete they called the kids to make their mark and cement their dreams forever. Meanwhile, She talked to a friend in our church and asked him to laser cut a plaque with the date a names of those responsible.  A different friend from our church drove 2 plus hours to deliver the plaque for it to be added to the freshly poured concrete.  These 2nd graders had all of the adults running around promoting their idea for change, and for a while adults didn't worry about their own "Hill of Life".

Tomorrow will be the ribbon cutting.  The newspapers, the local television news stations will be there to write and film this historical day.  The county administration and elected public officials will all be there because 50-60 2nd graders found a way to make tomorrow better.  Maybe we are looking for ideas of change in all the wrong places...maybe all we need is a "Buddy Bench!"