Athens Middle School

Sept 2001 Contact: J.W. 1:32-2:20 320 kids

Chillocothe.. “probably dead.”

Hands up if….---Take one long step before bed. ---cover up everything but a hole to breathe ---panic of wake up and find one bare foot sticking out. ---used to stay overnight and wakeup wondering where you are? ---used to be afraid of what’s in your closet at night? --Who’s still afraid of it?

Most of us are just like each other. Everybody’s a little bit afraid. Everybody’s a little bit crazy. Everybody wants somebody to love them. And everybody’s afraid to show it.

We’ve had a very scary week. But all that means is that somewhere in the world there are about a dozen crazy people. But there are about 3 billion more just like you and me. Somewhere in Afghanistan and Palestine there are kids just your age who are scared and confused about why our country hates them. They take one long step before they get into bed. They cover up everything except one hole to breathe through, and they have Mothers and Fathers who love them and wish the world was at peace.

You probably think.. “But what can I do to keep terrible things from happening” Let me tell you about …. Puppy…drowning…

We need to stop trying to please everybody. There’s a little voice inside you that tells you how to treat other people. Hiney

Demonstrate: Imagine..on Titanic..it goes down..we all take each other’s hands… then to get higher out of water, you push down on someone.

We are all family. If we make fun of one other person, it hurts all of us.

Ever drop a rock into a lake or a pond? What happens all around the rock when it hits the water? (have Nick and Joe demonstrate..plus another student to throw the rock) Frog…on lily pad…watching a dragon fly buzz around.. Now you throw the rock. The waves travel over to the frog. He falls off his lily pad. The water splashes up and covers the dragon fly. He flies around crazily..then he falls into the pond.

We are all connected to each other. When you gossip about somebody, the ripples go out across the pond and many people get hurt. When you make fun of someone, the ripples hit you. Here’s a really stupid frog. He stands on a lily pad throwing rocks into the pond. He’s too dumb to realize that he’s making his own waves!

But here’s the really cool part…when you do something nice for another person..the waves…man, they really kick up. Good waves! Cool waves! Goon Squad… Teresa. Joanna Caldwell..started on street corner..peanut butter. Bryan..nursing home. A boy..just 21 years old…came to just a few miles from here..couldn’t read or write..He left six years later, a lawyer..and grew up to become one of our greatest and kindest President. Just one little ripple. So.. are you going to make kind ripples or nice ones? Start when you get home… tell you Mom that you love her. When Dad gets home tell him you think he’s pretty cool. When they get up off the ground you’ll find you’ve started a ripple.

Bagpipes… what happens if just one is leaking..not doing it’s part.

We are all family. No matter what crazy people do, nearly everybody in the world wants somebody to love them.

Joe and Nick performance…

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