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"Watcha Gonna Do about CLEVELAND...?"
Hero Town
The Plain Dealer does on ongoing feature Home Grown Heroes and hey, my parents met in Cleveland, my lovely bride was born in Cleveland and many of my O.S.U. college buddies are from...you got it. I might go on about the great personal and professional adventures I have enjoyed near the lake though the local hero list (click on the title above) is more interesting.Labels: Cleveland, Home -Grown Heroes, local heroes, Plain Dealer, your media
Home Town Heroes
A Brief Background
Home Town Heroes is (HH) the working title of a new book that features local everyday folk and even a few household names. The book features a group of Columbus natives that meet our Hero criteria. (Many heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinarily actions) Each individual will receive a short list of questions followed by an interview about their life story.
The first decade of my role as a social worker I learned that the single most powerful intervention in an individual’s life was finding work that was deeply fulfilling and it paid “real money.” I was bored with acquiring stressful jobs with titles that all sounded the same.
That year I read a book by Daniel Pink called A Whole New Mind which described our new paradigm of working and life style. The combination of my past work, reading Dan Pinks’ book started to free me up to redefine my work acquiring by first identifying a the portable job role that could capture all my skills and talents. Community Action Hero David Yorka emerged as a job role container that is just the right size for my Vocational Identity.Initially I resisted this title at first and then embraced it under the professional guidance of local Brain-Stormer Don “The Idea Guy” Snyder.
Both Don and I saw a direct connection between the comic book superheroes superpowers and the skills, talents and fascinations that everyone has inside them. It is referred to by a small group of career professionals as one’s Internal Job Description – our personal mission, calling or vocation that we can use to change the lives of others.
Superman a fictional character, a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio. Sports superstars and show business figures are often cited as heroes however they do not feel as deeply rooted in our group mind as the classic comic superheroes; Superman (created in 1932) Batman (1939) Spiderman (1962) and this year’s surprise box office blockbuster Ironman (1963) who was conceived by comic book legend Stan Lee. The heroes that change the world are as we know; the real-life human heroes are parents, friends, family and others who have come to us in a time of need.
As the definition of work and career continue to expand and change at a rapid pace there are more and more young men and boys that are lost in a fog of confusion and fear for lack of the right tools and support. When a student comes to class "unable to learn" with no dreams to pursue when they leave school there is a "brain drain"(down instead of out) of a different kind.
Today many movies, graphic novels and other superhero fare contain a more “adult” content with added complexity and have evolved as our larger culture has progressed. I believe that beneath the escapism our superheroes represent a truly American interpretation of the mythology of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia and other cultures that have used super-human characters in fantastic stories that provided basic human principals and tales to enrich or explain the true nature of mankind.
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Labels: comics, Dan Pink, Don Snyder, Home Town, local heroes, Multiple Intelligences Theory, mythology, Stan Lee, super powers, Vocational Identity, youth culture
HomeTown Hero I
Secret Origin
A healthy baby boy is is born to a single mother at Mt. Carmel East Hospital in the quiet predawn hours in the summer of 1956. The baby grew into a tall young man, an only child in a very large extended family.T. Wayne Gatewood lived in a large brick house in a west-side neighborhood known as The Hilltop (He would grow up there and move out some forty one years later). After his cousins, aunts, nieces and nephews, Mother and Grandmother and finally his three grown children moved on and time came for T. Wayne and his wife to find a smaller nest to settle into.
T. Wayne's formative years were filled with the contrast of the ugly fallout of civil rights to living with family and friends that acted as a buffer as mentors, companions, elders, who provided a profound love and handed him the mighty walking stick of the families traditions. T.Wayne's early journey included eating with his Grandmother Lizzie who prepared a meal they shared during the school lunch period, the fascination of learning carpentry from his Uncle Nate with the intoxicating smell of fresh wood and the skill and ease that several family members handled tools and created something from nothing. T.Wayne learned what it meant to be a Gatewood despite being called a clumsy slow learner and being chased home by small groups of white men looking to act out the toxic racism that fueled their rage and violence. It was a chaotic and confusing moment in history to navigate the choppy waters of adolescence. It is said that " A boy without a father is like a ship without a compass." Superpowers T.Wayne got involved with football and track at Columbus West High School and the tutoring at home and school took this slow learner to West Virgina University to study business and play offensive tackle in the 1975 Peach Bowl under legendary Coach Bobby Bowden. Wayne and his young wife both work to live in a small apartment with their baby girl. His scholarship was just enough to sustain his needs and money for rent, food, diapers and other essentials came from part-time work. T. Wayne graduated from W.V.U. with a business degree, a new ability to "learn how to learn" and a baby boy on the way. Along the way Wayne uncovered a natural talent for working with young people, an entrepreneurial mind, a love of professional speaking, training and a passion for carpentry. The moment these elements of his true self converged THE BUILDER emerged to give his hands, heart and head to crafting a Vision of a world where all people have access to use their superpowers to Build dreams and live in the hard, satisfying work of change. Labels: Action Hero, career satisfaction, cuttin grass, design, E.Q, Fatherhood, fear, local heroes, Multiple Intelligences Theory, parental expectations, THE BUILDER, Vocational Identity, youth
Career Advice from a Comic Book
Daniel Pink unleashed a Conceptual Age book in his new publication "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Book You Will Ever Need" Click on the blue title to see a review from Business Week.I like the article because it describes the unique features of a business book( the first of its' kind) done in the Japanese comic genre Manga. The article does not quite "get it" as it asked for specific career tips rather than bask in the wisdom and symbolic interpretation that any great mythic adventure provides.Head over to www.JohnnyBunko.com for info, suprises and a preview -- Than buy a book for a friend or colleague.Labels: Action Hero, Corporate Culture, cultural creative, design, local heroes, Manga
"It's like... T.V."
I am not a believer in the concept of educational television; that is the passive connection with the animal kingdom, Sesame St. or Dora and all hear explorer friends. I grew up in the golden brown television Age of the Brady Bunch, Charlie's Angels, All in the Family, Taxi , Seals & Kroft, Martin & Rowen, Shields & Yarn ell and on and on....I love to read and I enjoy a good show on the box.I have yet to hear about the brain science based benefits of T.V. I do get a kick out of the 'learning programs" with cool, clever WordGirl and the lively Higglytown Heroes.Labels: comics, design, local heroes, story power, your media
This Artists' WayLocal artist and High School student Luisa is offering several of her sketches on her e-gallery. If you make a purchase you get to own an original from a young artist and support her journey to Africa to work with children. Click on Portfolio to take advantage of this good work.I am fortunate to have my order early. Enjoy the gallery! Labels: local heroes
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