Author's note: The names of the boys and their families have been changed to protect their privacy.

Part XI

       Our Thursday meetings continued through the rest of the school year. Around this time two big events took place.  First, a special person came into my life.  She had been referred to Los Angeles Cities in Schools by my aunt and was interested in mentoring.  I had just the person in mind and arranged for her to meet me, Leon and Rhonda at our offices. 

       Pineniece Joshua was her name and I knew we'd hit it off instantly because we drove the same, identical Volvo, down to the color of the interior and outside.  All the words coming out of her mouth I'd said before, and I told her what we expected from our mentoring program.  I also mentioned that Carl had a twin sister who desperately wanted a mentor.

        I told Pineniece how they really care for one another and how it warms your heart to see them together.  They had their occasional arguments, but the love between them was quite evident.

        It took some persistency. but eventually Pineniece did take on Jackie and this opened the door to joint trips with "the kids," as she referred to them.

        Secondly, the office of Los Angeles Cities in Schools was closed, due to a lack of funding.  This ridiculous decision took away a safe haven for the kids of the neighborhood.

        Fortunately Leon had another organization called the Family Helpline which he had founded and we simply continued our mentor program under them.

        Carl was coming to my school to help out in the first grade.  How wonderful to have him experience what it is like to help another person, in this case a small child.  These little people looked up to their junior mentor, literally and figuratively.  He latched on to his new job with a
vengeance and I observed his social skills growing by the week.  Another mentoring goal had been met and our relationship started to get stronger.

        My desire to have Carl and Jason meet led to two wonderful trips. The first one was a three day visit to Palm Springs.  We stayed at a friend's home and enjoyed the luxury of a semi-private pool and a very public arcade.

        I included a visit to Joshua Tree National Park where the rocks are made for climbing and the unusual trees dot the landscape. They got along so well that I began to plan a second excursion for us.

        This trip was an amusement park marathon.  We went to Universal Studios one day and Six Flags Magic Mountain the next.  I had to laugh when they seemed more content playing video games than going on the rides.  You could hear the shrieks of thrill seekers outside and they simply wanted to play one more game.  I became frustrated and told them to wait at the arcade while I went on a ride.  We did spend the majority of the day together and we were among the final people to leave the park when it closed.  That's a lot of roller coasters.

        I also enjoyed introducing the boys to my friends and relatives. In particular they enjoyed meeting my cousin Ed who is a successful screenwriter.  They knew his films and liked playing at his house.  Ed's wife made them feel quite welcome and to this day they are happy to hear
what the guys are doing with their lives.

        Ed really appreciated the chance to get to talk with them.  It turns out when we visited he was working on a dramatic story which takes place in an urban neighborhood.  I think it helped him to talk with Jason and Carl to find out what their lives are like in a similar environment.

        We all went to dinner and the movies.  I noticed Jason wanted to stay by me.  Since we had not seen each other for awhile, I figured he might be a bit bashful around strangers.

        When I drove Jason back to his dad's work at the end of the week, I told him how pleased I was to see him again.  He smiled, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else.  I know he enjoyed himself, but he also realized our time was coming to an end.

        I only hoped he would remember the good times of our three days together.

        Carl's second summer trip with me provided another opportunity for a big learning experience.  The weather on this special July day was perfect and I went to pick up Carl for a planned bike ride along the beach.  I packed a lunch for both of us, lathered up with sunscreen and looked forward to the trip.

        When I arrived at his house, I was surprised to find he wasn't there.  Stan met me at the door and told me Carl had gone to his father's house.  He had not thought to call and tell me of his change of plans and this upset me, especially with the previous incidents we'd been through.

        What could I do but wait until we could talk?  I drove home and fumed for a few minutes.  But as things turned out, I ended up having a nice day with a friend of mine and did not mind not being around kids this sun soaked day.

        But I also knew Carl and I would have to have another conversation about the importance of communication.  I also knew he would be defensive, so I planned our talk carefully.  When we finally hooked up again, Carl seemed a bit nervous.

        I tried hard not to come down hard on him, but I did start by saying I was disappointed he had not called.   My prediction of him taking the defensive proved correct.  He immediately said he wasn't sure when we were supposed to get together and that he had gone to his dad's house.

        This gave me the opportunity to once again tell Carl he should take advantage of any time he can visit his father, however the polite and right thing to do is let the other person know if there is a change of plans.  It only requires a simple phone call.  I would understand.  I let him sulk a little.

        The Los Angeles Times had done a nice story on Leon Watkins and knew about The Family Helpline.  They say timing is everything.  Carl and I learned this first hand in November, 1996.  The Governor of California put out the request for all caring adults to mentor a child and help them grow up positively in their neighborhoods.  He challenged all able body Californians to nurture a child.

        I had spoken with an editor at The Los Angeles Times a few weeks prior to this, pitching him on the idea of doing a story on our organizations mentoring program. You can imagine my surprise when he left a message saying the paper wanted to do a feature story on Carl and me as a followup to the Governor's request.

        I literally had one day to put this together.  I called Barbara Jean and told her a reporter and photographer would like to come by the house on Saturday to interview her, Carl and myself.     Would she mind? Of course not.

        When I showed up on Saturday, the home was immaculate.  Carl greeted me, a tad bewildered about what was to occur.  The photographer had already arrived and shot candid pictures while we waited for the interviewer.

        The Times reporter, Carla Hall, came a few minutes later and introduced herself.  She was so gracious and spent several minutes talking to us at the home.   Carl listened while Barbara Jean and I answered questions, but his interest in what was happening became evident.

        After our informal talk, the cameraman asked us to pose for some set shots, which we did.  He complimented Carl on his good looks and took several still shots of us while we stared straight ahead, still as a calm river.

         Carla asked if we had any plans for the day so she could follow along and take notes for her story.   I suggested we go to a local park when Carl and I could attempt to fly a boomerang and I could demonstrate the origami I like to fold.

        We headed to Washington Park and as we drove, I played some of the CD's Carl liked.  We also talked about our tastes in music and I once again messed up the name of a popular rap group
which Carl quickly corrected.  Our time at the park included discussions on airplanes (the flight
path to Los Angeles International airport is directly overhead), sports, his life and mine.  I made my origami creatures as we talked and neither Carl, Carla nor I ever got the boomerang to fly.

      By the time we arrived back to his house, it was obvious Carla had done a sufficient jobs gathering information on what made Carl and me tick.  The next day, on the front page of the Sunday Metro section, was a beautiful article and picture about the previous days visit.

        It made me proud.  More importantly, it made Carl proud.

        When I spoke with him later in the day, he said his dad had seen the article and liked it.  That was a nice bonus for Carl.