Yesterday was ours, today belongs to all of us, but tomorrow belongs to the young.
 

Oh the pains of the young, we sometimes forget that they have their pains too, and they do not have the years behind them, to know what's right to do.
 

When I was young, I dreamed of the things I would do in life. Now I find I dream of the things the young of today will do in theirs.
 

Sometimes we pick on the young, just because they are young, and we are not.
 

When the young ask, and they will ask, "why are things the way they are.?", we must answer with the truth. "It is because we have failed to make it better".
 

When the Drums of war sound,it is always the young who are called upon, to die for the cause.
 

I worry more for the young, than I do for me, for I am near the shore now, but they are still at sea.
 

When I look at the faces of the young, I see that same hope for the future that I once had, and I pray that for them life will be better.
 

The young have their dreams too, and theirs have a far better chance of coming true.
 

Perhaps the Gods, were not so Godly, when they were young, give the young time to find their way.
 

Those who have little faith in the young, are those who have not taken the time to get to know them.
 

The young of today will be the leaders of tomorrow, how can they possibly do a worse job than the young of yesterday have done?
 

Unless knowledge is passed on to the young it is lost. A people can forget who they are, and a nation can lose sight of what it once was.

    It was February 3, 1997, something was going to happen that would change my life forever. My Dad was sick when I went to school, but we figured that he had the flu. I had a pretty good day at school. When I got home from school, I went in his bedroom to say hi to him. We talked for a few minutes then he asked me if I would go, and get him a glass of water, and a Tylenol, And I said"sure". I brought him the water, and Tylenol. I told him that I was going to go in the other room, and do a few things before I got ready to go to town. I went, and called my Grandma to ask if she would take me to town, then I got around. I went back in his room to tell him I was getting ready to go. I told him I would see him later, and I loved him, and him responded. I went out in the living room to wait for my Grandma to come.
    A few minutes later, I heard a few coughs, and I went back in his room to make sure he was ok. When I tried to wake him up I couldn't. I kept trying, but he wouldn't respond to anything that I did. I was going to call the ambulance, but I didn't. I figured he he was just in a heavy sleep, or something, and I figured he'd be mad at me, so instead I called my Grandma. It seemed like it was taking her a while to get over to my house, so I ended up running over to her house to tell her "I think there is something really wrong with Dad". Then she hurried up, and got over there. After she went in the bedroom to try to wake him up, she came out in the other room, and called the ambulance.
    When the ambulance got to the house they worked on him for a little while, then they put him in the ambulance, and took him to Council Bluffs, to the hospital.
    When we finally got there they said there wasn't anything that they could have done to save him. For a long time I blamed myself for my Dad's death. After a while I figured out that it wasn't my fault that he died, because he had an aneurism on the stem of his brain, and as soon as he coughed that last time!
    From this experience I found out you can only take life day by day, because you never know what is going to happen. I figured I would have my Dad around for a long time. I figured he would be the one to teach me how to drive, and to help me do things around the house, but now I am left alone doing it by myself, but my Mom helps as much as she can. The thing that bothers me the most is that I figured I would always be able to talk to him, instead of having to talk about him.

    I know Johnny, and I have seen him grow from a child, into a fine young man. He had to grow up much sooner than most, for he was only 13 when his Dad died. My own Father died when I was 39, and it was hard for me to take. I cannot imagine having to face such a thing at such an early age.
    Johnny has my deepest sympathy for the loss of his Father, and my hightest respect for the way he has handled it. When tomorrow comes, he will be one of those who will build it, and I believe he will handle that just as well as he has handled things up to this point.

    I hear people say, that today's young

people (Kids & Teens), are so bad. That they

have no respect for older people, and they do

not have any ambition. That they do not want to

work, and that they are all on drugs.Well,

Here's some news for you, that is not the case

with the biggest share of them. Let us look at

this one thing at a time.

1. Respect.

    Most of the young people I know, show me

just as much respect, as I show them. Now

that's the key right there, if you are expecting

them to show something for you that you do not

show for them, then you need to think about it a

while. We all to often forget that respect is a

two way street, and we tend to think that just

because we are older, that kids, and Teens

should respect us just for that alone. Maybe

that's the way it once was, but get real, we are

not living in the long lost past. Kids, and Teens

today, are so much smarter, and aware of the

world they live in, than was once the case, when

no one had heard of TV, computers, and

E-mail. They are so far ahead of where most of

us were at their ages, that we need to reconsider

how we treat them. While it is true they have not

had the years of living that we have, most of

them have been exposed to things we never were

when we were their age. In many cases, things

that are not fit to be talked about here, I think

you can figure out the kind of things I mean.

Many of them have good reason to see the older

as a threat to them. They seek safety in those of

their own age group, much the same as we seek

understanding from those nearer our own age.

How many times have you tried to talk to them,

to get to know them as people. I see all to often

that most make little if any effort to ask them

how they are doing, or to call them by name.

Where I work we get a lot of highschool age

Teens working in the evenings, and on weekends.

Seldom does anyone make an effort to

introduce them to anyone beyond those they will

be working directly with. So I have tried to

make it my practice to ask them there name,

and introduce myself to them. Once they know

who I am, and see that I will talk to them, we

get along just fine. That does not mean that

they will all become good friends with me,

although some have, but it is a step towards a

mutual respect for each other, and it makes

both them, and me more at ease when we are

around each other. So before you say that they

have no respect for you, ask yourself if you

have given them any reason to respect you. I

have done this, and maybe that is why I see so

much hope for the future of our world. Because

I see that there are a lot of bright young people

out there, who will if given the chance, make the

world of tomorrow a better place for people of

all ages.

2.Ambition.

I talk to the young people at work, around

where I live, and when I am on the road. I

find most of them have plans to go to college,

some have their minds made up has to what

they want to do, others are still undecided as to

what they want, but most know that furthering

their education is a must. They know that to do

well in life, they need to use their minds to the

fullest. Those who will be unable to go to

college, are looking at the military as a way to

get an education. There are always some who

have no plan at all of course, but they are few,

and that, in and of itself does not mean that

they will end up bad off. Some take longer to

find their way, that is how it has always been.

I believe there are far more young with

ambition than those who have none, and I will

always hope that those who do not have it now,

will find it in time.

3.Work.

    If the young were not willing to work there

would be no fast food, few restaurants, no

Wal-Marts, no K-Marts, fewer farm

products, fewer shopping malls, and the list

could go on, and on. The young are the main

source of cheap labor for a large part of the

business world. They know an education costs

and most are willing to work to get it. You may

be saying to yourself, that many of them are

not hard workers, but I wonder if most of us

would do some of the jobs they do. They are

more often than not paid less than most adults,

yet they are expected to do as much, or more

than any adult, and in many cases they are

treated as if they were slaves, and subjected to

a great deal of verbal abuse by those they work

for, and with. Again, there are some who will

not work, or if they do they are not good

workers, how is that so different than with

adults? Far more of the young are willing to

work than are not, and many of them are good

hard workers. Next time you are out around

town just count how many Teens are out there

working.

4.Drugs.

    There is no greater threat to our young than

drugs. There are far more of the young who are

not doing drugs, than those who are, but if there

were just one doing drugs it would be one too

many. How we stop it I do not know, but I

will never give up trying to find something that

will work. As a 23 years sober, former

alcoholic, and a smoker for 36+ years I know

a little about being addicted to drugs. But I

still can't understand how these young people,

who are so smart about so many things let

themselves get into the hard drugs that they do.

Most believe it is peer pressures that gets them

started, and in some cases that may be true, but

I do not believe it is the number one cause.

Ahead of this I believe come, things like being

abused at home, being in a broken home, being

pressured too hard to be at the top of the class

in school, and sometimes just being ignored at

home. These are all things that I have seen

cause good kids to get into drugs.

    To all of you young people who read this,

know this, there are some of us old timers that

understand that it's not easy for you out there

in this world today. Some of us care a great

deal about you, and want to see you have a

good, happy, and safe life. You are the future,

and the future can be a bright one if you take

care of yourselves. We had our time, now it is

yours, make the most of it, stay away from

drugs, and if you are on them now, get help,

and get your life right. You are far to

valuable, to allow yourselves to be wasted.

Someone has to right the wrongs of this world,

and you are the ones to whom it falls next to

try. I for one believe in you, I know you can do

better than we have, you are the hope of

humanity, stay clean, and make this world

better.

  God be with you

  W.L. Kite