Writing Out of the Gang

Leslie, left, and Hector, credit: Ibarionex Perello - larger >>

Hector Verdugo spent his childhood in Ramona Gardens, a part of East Los Angeles that is known as a rough place to grow up. He was primarily raised by an older brother. But as he got older, his brother's rules felt too restrictive. One day he punched his brother in the face and left home for good.

Hector soon fell in with the guys from his neighborhood, almost all of whom were gang members. Hector rose quickly as a drug dealer - he had lots of money and he spent it on stereos and low riding cars. But one day he decided he wanted out. Hector defied all odds and made it out of street life. At age 30, he earned his GED through an organization called Homeboy Industries.

Leslie Schwartz teaches a writing class at Homeboy Industries - it's through this class that she met Hector. Leslie quickly recognized that Hector had real talent as a writer. Leslie talks with Dick about how giving her students the power to express themselves through writing has changed them and influenced her as well.

• Find out more about Homeboy Industries
• Learn more about Leslie's writing
  

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The Gift of a Card

Consumer Reports is advising the public not to buy or give giftcards - last year alone, they say, 8 billion dollars in gift cards went unspent. Dick Gordon asked what you thought about the phenomenon, and today we hear from several different listeners - each with a story to tell. Erica Poole loves to spend the cards, though her own parents have held a card she gifted to them for ten years. Florida's David Davial works at Wal-Mart - where he came face-to-face with a gift card scammer.

Music heard in this story: Gravy Waltz by Oscar Peterson & Ray Brown for the album The Essential Oscar Peterson

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The Gift and the Giver

In the late 1980's, Chrys Browne was working at a rape crisis center, going through a divorce, and coming out - she was stressed, burned out, and needed an escape. When she heard that schools in Japan were looking for English teachers, it seemed like the break she needed from the chaos in her life. So she dropped everything and moved to Osaka.

Chrys Browne

Things immediately felt right for Chrys in Japan. She relished living in a place that was so orderly and historic. And when she met Mrs. Gaya, a tea ceremony teacher who took Chrys under her wing, Chrys felt truly at home.

Every time Chrys returned to the U.S. to see her parents in West Virginia, Mr. and Mrs. Gaya sent her back with gorgeous and expensive gifts. So when her parents came to visit Japan, Chrys encouraged them to bring a really nice gift for the Gayas. The gift they brought was not the piece of art or pottery Chrys had envisioned - it was a "lump of coal" in the shape of a horse bought from a store on the interstate with the words "Born Free" written on the bottom.

Chrys dreaded the moment her parents would present the Gayas with this tacky gift. But far from being insulted, the Gayas adored the gift. Chrys talks with Dick about what that gift taught her about her parents, and about herself.

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The Value of Pictures

Karen Cline

Karen and Mark Cline are now married, but 30 years ago they were teenagers in love. Karen was attending college and on a trip home she met Mark. She immediately dropped out of school, waited anxiously for her 18th birthday, and then they got married.

They didn't have an elaborate wedding. Karen made the bouquet that she carried and she wore her sister's dress. They paid a deposit to the photographer, but when the time came, there wasn't enough money to pay for the prints.

Over the years, Karen let go of the idea that she would ever see those photos again. All she had was one picture a friend took, and an inscribed napkin from the reception.

Jim Wagner

Jim Wagner was the photographer. Though he moved three times, the photo album stayed on his shelf. One day he decided to track Karen down. Jim tells Dick Gordon why he decided to find her, and Karen talks about what it meant to her to receive the photos after all these years - just in time for her anniversary.

• See some of the photos

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Rescuing Lemoni

Sharon Waller and Lemoni - larger >>

Sharon Waller went on vacation with her husband to a little island in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece. She quickly noticed that there were a striking number of cats on the island - so many that she began to talk to the locals about it. She also noticed a lack of dogs.

She did spot one little dog wandering around. After someone explained to her that almost all of the dogs on the island are routinely poisoned, she began to wonder what was going to happen to this one.

Sharon talks to Dick about what she did to get the dog off the island and into safer territory.

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Real Estate for the Saints

Ardell DellaLoggia

Like many in the real estate business these days, Ardell DellaLoggia has been struggling with the ongoing downturn in the home-buying market. She's a real estate agent in the Seattle area, and on two occasions over the years has turned to an unlikely source of help for her and her clients: statues of St. Joseph.

Some might say that burying the statue of a saint beneath a "For Sale" sign is sacrilegious. But Ardell tells Dick Gordon that when the person doing the burying has the proper devotion, the saint will reward those who work hard to buy or sell a property.

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Listener Follow-Up - Jane Fonda's Legacy

Karen Graven

Karen Graven was listening to our show on Jane Fonda's legacy when she realized that the story Carol Espel was telling sounded similar to her own.

Karen calls herself an exercise freak, and she lived in L.A. at the height of the high-impact aerobics craze. She tells Dick how it feels to hear that others are also suffering after so many years of feeling the burn. Like Carol, she sought hip replacement at a young age. Now, at age 45, she can't even jump rope with her kids.

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Bible in the Classroom

Ellery Schempp then

Fifty-one years ago, Ellery Schempp protested his high school's mandatory morning prayer by bringing a Koran to class.

He was asked to leave the classroom, but his protest led to the watershed case Abington School District v. Schempp. Solidifying the separation between church and state, the Supreme Court's decision has become an important ruling cited in hundreds of subsequent court cases involving public schools and religion.

Ellery Schempp now

Ellery talks with Dick Gordon about what led to his decision to protest and sue the school district - and what happened to him and his family after the decision was handed down.

• Read a book about Ellery

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