watch a hero in action

Hi, this fall has been a really busy one for me and I have neglected this blog.

It took the enclosed video to get me back to blogging.

I am incensed at times by bullies.  The kind of bully who treats animals in a way that is cruel and inhumane makes me want to SCREAM and is the most cowardly of all!  After all, they have total disregard for the feelings of a living being and that is deplorable!

HOW can anyone be so callous?  This story is really about a hero.  A man who walks the walk.  Who helps the helpless.  This is a tough video, but watch the whole thing. The wonderful thing about a story well told is a happy ending.  This one has a wonderful ending.  But there are literally hundreds of thousands of BILLYS out there waiting for a hero to rescue him or her. 

  http://chill.com/Ronda_Bertey/post/b17192342339415e891b2d8a27446151/heartwarming-rescue-video-will-make-you-cry-meet-billy-rescued-from-a-puppy-mill

Please consider an end of year donation to help these animals who have no voice. Seriously, ten dollars feeds a dog or cat that has been abused, think what you could do to bring some light to a little defenseless life. 

Denver Chalk Art Festival

It rained on Saturday, but that didn't bother most of the chalk artists in downtown Denver. They went back at it to reconstruct their "temporary" works of art.  A hazard of this type of endeavor, to be sure.  

http://www.denverchalkart.org/festival_info/index.php

 

It was fun to see the original artwork on an 8 x 12 piece of paper being transformed into a much larger piece that brought smiles, curious looks and general fun to the crowd gathered on Market Street.  From the classic portrait style that you might otherwise find in an art gallery to sublime pieces  nods to Star Trek, the Avengers and much more.

 

 I've stood in the Louvre looking at the original, but this version put a bigger smile on my face and was a lot bigger than the famous Mona Lisa!

    More than any other, we wanted to see the finished piece, after all it was Where's Waldo and they hadn't put him in when we were there.   

 

 

 This was my favorite.  I got the artist's card after she told me illustrating children's books is her dream.  She went on to tell me "words don't matter, it is the images"... careful now... if we end up working together we might have to happily disagree.

Some seemed to have simply walked away, leaving smeared squares of chalk, but many were at work in the evening bringing their previous day's work back to life.  


Others covered it up to ensure the hours and hours and hours of work were protected and the detail in this one was literally spectacular.  I wanted to talk to her, but the line was too long.  Simply artistic genius!

My party agreed this wonderful blue fox was an overall favorite. 

     I really wanted to stary to see how this would turn out.  The use  of black and white was awesome!

         

Mother Mary 

holding baby John Elway? 

    

I was disappointed to have missed seeing the Gargoyle my latest novel is based on washed out.  I'd really like to see what he looked like before the rain took him. 

     Best story of the night.  This man was recreating a picture of his grandfather during WW1, with his head coming out of the airplane he flew in the war.  A picture was found in an attic that told the story he grandfather never spoke of.  A true American hero.  The artist bragged, "His friends called him Curly. I have his curly hair!"  A huge smile crossed his face and ours too!.  Thank you for your service Curly!

Now that is an awesome dude announcing my visit!

Reading specialist Reva Lobatos and son, Reva responsible for EVERYTHING you see on this blog, see below for a link to the last school I went to that Reva organized.  CLONE HER!

I wanted to say THANK YOU to ALL of the wonderful hosts this VERY busy Spring 2012 School Visit season.  I have been welcomed graciously and the excitement for reading, writing and anti-bullying was increased this year due to you wonderful educators who provide your students with an extra boost!  

My last school visit of the spring was a spectacular display of preparation, anticipation and excitement for students, staff and yours truly. 

I have always loved calling attention to excellence and so this blog is my hat off to one very special educator who simply goes WAY beyond the call of duty!  First of all, in these tight economic times a grant had to be written to provide this author visit.  The grant was turned down, but that didn't stop this 'steamroller of excellence'.  She went back to the grant committee and asked what needed to be done to modify her proposal to get approval.  They told her.  SHE DID IT, THAT DAY.  It was approved!  AWESOME STICK-TO-IT-NESS!

The walls were lined with covers, announcements.  

Fun assemblies and a very well attended family night at Henderson Elementary in Cheyenne, WY was a great way to close out the spring of 2012! 

Example of what it takes to get the kids pumped for an author visit!

So, here is my HUGE shout out to Reva Lobatos!  This is the second school and second school visit Reva has put together with me and this wonderful lady should be put in charge of the NATIONAL HOW TO DO IT RIGHT FOR KIDS committee!  

Representative Ken A. Esquibel, myself, Senator Floyd A. Esquibel, now that is some representation 
of Gov't in a school!

In attendance during the day was the Superintendent of schools, the school's district representative at the Capitol and a State Senator!  The most amazing thing to me is that this is just seems to be "standard procedure" for this excellent educator.  

I watched this cool dad reading with his son and talked to him about his involvement in his son's lives as it relates to reading.  He reads with his boys every night and it shows.  Talking to those young men was a true pleasure and hearing them talk about reading was music to my ears, WAY TO GO MR. LOBATOS!.  
No wonder those boys love a good story AND love to read!

CHECK OUT this link to an earlier blog entry I did to showcase what Reva did to prepare for my last visit.  http://justinmatott-snickers.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-are-door-to-head-and-heart.html  (By the way, not only did she provide her school with something different, fun and educational, she went home between the school day and the evening event and brought her own boys back to experience a night of storytelling, so not only an awesome educator, but an awesome mom.) 

There was no way ANYONE didn't know we had something special coming!

Talk about making a guy feel welcome!  Reva asked what my favorite things are and then filled a basket with them!  That is really going beyond the call, but SO appreciated!


I can't wait to see what she does next time!  Oh, there will be an next time!

http://www.readtomelv.com/current-books/when-i-was-a-girl-i-dreamed/

This is very cool.  Rising pop star; Jordan Pruitt reads When I Was A Girl... I Dreamed!

Sometimes we just need a little HELP!

This picture reminds me of what kind of a kid I was.  It seems apt because my post is relating to some of the building blocks of my personality that were brought back to me because of a great book and movie called THE HELP which brought out many feelings and sorrows and joys for me.  My hope is this is a reflection of something important and a reminder to go back to those touch points in our life that made you who you are today!

Having grown up in the sixties/seventies with an uncle who was African American myself, it was a real treat to observe inbred prejudice in my own neighborhood (sarcasm intended). Most kids were just extremely curious (some in the white bread neighborhood I grew up in) had simply never been up close with a person with dark skin and someone so "different". But I got into my first real fist fight when one of the boys called my uncle the N word and related a comment his parents had passed on about us "letting him stay in our house", WHAT IGNORANCE! When I won that fight I felt in some ways as though I had lost. My uncle pulled me aside and told me he was both very proud and very ashamed of me. He was raised in Alabama and saw too much fighting over racial issues, thus moved to Europe to a more tolerant atmosphere. I never raised a fist against racial prejudice afterwards, but I NEVER remained silent when someone was subject to racial bullying and never will.

The next summer however I got into another fist fight when one of the kids made fun of my VERY overweight auntie who was visiting. She was JUST PROUD of me.

Having been raised with "dark features" myself and having been an adopted child with little heritage to draw from, I was called names because of my very easily tanned skin.

I was very, very fortunate to be raised by parents who "loved all" regardless of color, political bent or even sexual orientation. I say even because in those days there was VERY little tolerance for this, but it was my mother who invited those college students into my childhood home and I am richer for having known so many different people.

I LOVE SKEETER and pray that I am just a tad bit like her. The Hilly's of the world are always going to be there, but if we each raise our children to simply "LOVE ALL GOD'S PEOPLE" the world will be better for it AND THAT INCLUDES the accepted prejudice against Muslims that so many are now embracing.

COME ON FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS, let's just get rid of the scapegoats and start to find our own security so we don't have to subject others to the PUSH DOWN that makes some feel bigger... temporarily.

Recent School Visit Synopsis

Please click on the link below to read a great synopsis of a recent school visit.  The writer caught the true essence of what I try to do when motivating a school during my visits.  

http://www.thebrightonblade.com/content/comedic-author-and-storyteller-motivates-students-put-pen-paper

The impact of social media

I generally stay out of public policy, religion and political discussions on my social media forums, but this is none of that.  

Much of my career and public speaking is about anti-bullying and KONY is the most evil kind of bully.

This is about children and their innocence and helping them.  EVERYONE should be about that!

There is a campaign afoot to make a man famous, well actually infamous TODAY! 

It is a campaign of celebrity dimension.  

A campaign to use "fame" or 'infame', but actually awareness, as a tool to bring him to justice.  Because he is a monster, much like the monster Hitler and his ilk proved to be.  His evil is happening NOW!

We are in a world that focuses on celebrity, titillation, gossip and breaking news.  

Train wrecks get views.  Shock sells.  SO, someone has taken it up himself'/themselves to make a man named KONY infamous, nothing is more shocking that what this man and his evil army have been allowed to do! 

I have mentioned the name KONY to five people I know who read the newspaper daily, keep up on world news and not one knew his name yesterday, nor did I.  

WE all know his name today.  

When I first viewed this video it had over 9,000,000 views on youtube, the day before, somewhere in the 32,000 range (according to a commenter on the youtube video) and at this writing over 32,000,000... 

two hours later I posted this photo below 4,000,000 more hits, 
KEEP IT UP! 
 
Mark my words, this will hit WORLD NEWS TONIGHT!  

IF you help, it will go beyond that.  It will create the DEMAND to take this guy out of power!  

Watch the video (every time someone watches $ for ad dollars goes to the foundation).  

Forward the link to your social media circle and ask them to do the same.  Blog about it, tweet about it, post it on your Facebook wall.  Make a difference.  Pick up the phone and let your representatives know you care
about this issue.  

As the man in video says, If someone kidnapped my son and made him kill it would be all over the news.  This is exactly what this monster and his regime are doing.  

STOP HIM NOW!

And so, predictably, the backlash begins.  Which is inevitable when something blows up this large.  Critics will crawl out of every nook and cranny to try to either destroy the momentum or capitalize on the numbers for their own self promotion. I have seen numerous conversations about this and how the organization that brought this video to bear isn't accountable, is too late, isn't effective in putting the money in the right places, blah, blah, blah...

 This is my response to the naysayers:

Whenever someone takes a HARD stand on something, people come out of the woodwork to criticize it.  This is a good thing in some ways, because it keeps it balanced and creates an environment where the propagator of the information must defend his or her positions.  

 I personally would rather err on the side of sensationalizing something that requires this kind of social media attention to save but ONE child's life, rather than get callus and 'throw the baby out with the bathwater', because the organization doesn't meet all my particular standards.  This is what often keeps people from doing good, doing God work; the thought that there are people involved who may not handle our "precious money" precisely correctly should never stop us from following our leading.  

There are many organizations founded on doing what is right and they will make mistakes because they are human like me.  There is a youtube right now stating the organization responsible for this KONY 2012 video only puts some 30% of the proceeds toward charity, which is, according to the naysayers ONLY $2-3 Million of a $9-ish Million budget. 

 SO, I ask this to the naysayers: how much did YOU raise?  Therefore, how much did YOU give?  This is video journalism, with a point, to convince, to cause change.  We can argue that it is late.  But again, I say, what are YOU doing?  What am I doing?  I heard of the Invisible Children years ago, but alas sent one check and went on my way.  NOW, I see what the fruits of this monster's labors have been since.  It is time to ACT!  

Be smart, but ACT!

And by the way, in the two hours since I last updated this blog the views are nearing 50,000,000, expect doubling within 24 hours.

"Evil flourishes when good men do nothing."

Signs of SPRING!

It is cold, snowy and blowy outside.  

For the past week, this little ladybug has been hanging around the kitchen.  She caught a ride on my sleeve for about an hour before I noticed her and returned her to the windowsill.  

Suddenly it occurred to me that she might be thirsty, so I gave her a droplet of water.  She stayed next to it sipping for a long, long time.

  NOW, here is my question; WHY do I assume it is a SHE?  Because it is a Ladybug!  

BUT, there have to be HE Ladybugs too... 

Anyway, just seeing this beautiful little creature is a reminder that spring is around the corner, and maybe even as important, we might have aphids!

THEAC.ORG

My son, Ethan and his 'brothers' Doug and Ryan Wekenman did some fantastic work in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and now are in Belize working with a youth group from California on an orphanage.  Please check out their website www.theac.org and please help spread the word of what these fine young men are doing to make this world a more loving and great place!

Facebookers, please join their Facebook group for updates and information https://www.facebook.com/groups/122104614558045/

The AC Project is underway!

Be encouraged! The youth surrounding us are doing some pretty terrific things to change the world!

I spoke to Powell Middle Schoolers this morning about heroism, character and making a difference in the world. Several of them suggested I blog about my son's journey, because they were impressed with the idea of young men traveling the world to make a positive change, so here it is!

We talked about how you can make a positive change on the street corners of Denver (or any city, town or hamlet), by handing out sweaters, coats, gloves and food to the folks who are down on their luck. No reason to wait!

The morning at Powell Middle School was made possible by one student, LUCY, who is already a hero, a champion of others, a student of the NON MEism movement. A girl who puts her faith into action! A girl who already knows she wants to go to Africa to make a difference for orphaned children! I am very proud to know her and after meeting her parents realized the "apple didn't fall far from the tree". It was exciting to see how her desire to change the world infected the others to want to do something similar. WAY TO GO LUCY!

Ethan Matott, Doug and Ryan Wekenman left LAX this week and landed safely in Haiti where they will start this year long mission trip. There is a facebook page set up to follow them as well as their website: http://theac.org/ Matt Fons will join them in June when he is done at with his last semester in college and then the four of them will continue on the trip.

Take some time to read about what four guys who met at Colorado University in Boulder are doing to make this a better world. When they get back they will be showing their video journalism and setting up the foundation where other people can get involved and make a difference too. It is also exciting for me to think that Matt Fons, the WRITER, will be possibly bringing out a book about their travels.

Watch THE AC PROJECT in 90 SECONDS
http://vimeo.com/31881334

If you are on twitter, please follow their twitter feed for more information. https://twitter.com/?iid=am-114225476113257957525153798&nid=23+sender&uid=23076800&utm_content=profile#!/The_AC_Project


If you are on facebook, please LIKE their facebook page for more information.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/122104614558045/

Some days you get just what you need.

I am thankful for a young man who took the time to write me a letter.

Sometimes our "jobs" can seem hard. There are times when the part of my job; visiting schools, is exhausting and leaves me wondering if I am leaving behind something that is worthy of the school's efforts to host me. THEN, I get a gift like this letter and it re-energizes my batteries and makes me want to do more.

If you feel this way, remember, YOU are doing relevant things with your life, it's just that we too often forget to tell you.

A Principal Speaks

I am honored by the Principal Newton's response to my visit in her school and hope to live up to her praise in every school I visit!

As a principal at a highly impacted Title Elementary, I believe it’s my duty to spread the news when something works for our children and staff. The visit from Justin Matott was just the match we needed to ignite our children’s love for writing and reading. During our writing workshop Mr. Matott was somehow drawn to the exact students that needed to be encouraged and motivated. In one session we had five students who are served through our Severe Needs Behavior Program and Mr. Matott made immediate connections with them, without knowing who they were or that they were even in the room. This is the first assembly (ever) that my five have participated in without behavior support and they were writing too! How amazing is that?! In these tight budget times, I am always looking for areas I can cut and trim from our budget…Mr. Matott’s visit is one area I will try to uphold in the future. We can’t wait to invite him back next year! Our kids deserve it.

Principal Newton

Nisley Elementary

Mesa County Valley School District 51

Grand Junction

Often when I visit schools I am amazed that I am never introduced to the Principal or the Assistant Principal. If the school my children were going to was spending the money to have someone come in to entertain and teach my kids, I would like to know the Principal was aware of what happened in his or her school that day.

I am even more amazed then when the Principal AND the Assistant Principal are involved in district meetings (which they both lament the day before is mandatory) and then RUSH BACK to the school to catch all that they can of the assemblies and workshops and stay involved in all in spite of all of the normal, regular demands on their day.

That is what happened at Nisley Elementary School, where I met such leaders, who participated with great excitement during the day and made it clear that EVERY student in the building was loved and respected. It showed in the students AND the staff! We need more people in education like the folks at Nisley!

School Assemblies and Workshops at the beginning of the year!

Today I begin my Fall school year! I am excited to once again tell stories and inspire others to share his or her story. With a writer's notebook, a sharp pencil and the freedom to write about whatever interests them most, the writing becomes easier and more fun to do. It is human nature to want to "be known" and when a student is able to chronicle daily those things they want the world to know it becomes more of a habit to do so and not just pulling teeth for a test score.

Part of my reason for visiting schools is to encourage teachers to share personal narratives which will make a difference in a student's life. Often, we tell them what to think, but when we share a story with them that it is relevant to what they are going through, whether it be a funny story about a pet, and experience with test anxiety or a time when the bullies were looming large in every corner of the school, they are able to discern the lesson and set on a course to change what is wrong and share what is right. I hope YOU are taking time to share your stories. They make such a difference!

IF you are interested in a school visit, please see all the details about booking etc at my blog set up just for that: http://justinmatottatyourskul.blogspot.com/2011/08/school-assemblies-and-workshops-at.html

From my last school visit for Spring 2011!