Thursday, April 12, 2018

Miss Beautiful became Mrs Beautiful when she was 21 - by 22 we were running a Young Offenders Unit.







Miss Beautiful

became Mrs Beautiful
when she was 21

At 22
one year to the day
of moving into our home
we moved out
to work residentially,
running a Unit young offenders
from Manchester.
I was 26.

We had 15 boys in our family
before our first child was born.

I had been a leader since 15
because someone trusted
this uneducated slob.

It has not been an easy road.
I has been a hard road
to follow
to journey
into a place called
uncomfortable
where
growth
resides.

I couldn't understand
but I felt deeply
and I walked on
learning as I went.

Mrs Beautiful and me
we worked with young humans
before we left our own community
to launch into an underworld.
Both of us worked at Pilkington
the big Glass manufacturer
in the Glass town called St Helens.

She worked in the head office.
I worked in the research laboratory
out of town.
NOT doing clever things
just being a hands on engineer
Fitter / Turner 
making things out of steel in a
factory environment but for research.

We found our day work
not as fulfilling as our Youth Work.
So we were called........ and
I believe this LIVING SACRIFICE STUFF.

We always felt extra special about the poorest
the one with dirty shirts.
No proper shoes.
The dysfunctional 
The trouble makers.
The fighters.

When we moved to living and working 
with young offenders
we entered a new world.
Inner City Manchester kids,
of the offender kind,
were so much different than
all we had ever experienced.

Since then
many years
we have been close to those on the edge
the underside
the poorest in spirit
the poorest in social-abilty
the poorest in emotional capacity
the poorest in terms of
family support and nurture.

The journey has been
not only as above.
The larger journey has been
inside.
Internal journey.
Becoming
and
still on that road.

Two books of mine
which I would love everyone to read::
My first one
Gutter Feelings 
1st published 1985
with an updated version
in 2012 - more of the up-to-date journey.
 
Secondly A more recent book is::
Becoming Questions
(both books search Lulu.com with my name)

Thank you for reading the above few words
may you be Becoming  in your Beautifulness 


BHP