Category Archives: social commentary

Libraries – Places for Hope

Art, social commentary
Acrylic / Grand Canyon/ 23.5 x 34.5 / $699
mixed-media /Silence / 28″ x 40″ /$ 650


Like to travel? #Libraries are where you find a world filled with places to visit. They are also places for the #homeless to find hope.

When a child, I read non-stop. As soon as my mother tucked me in for the night, I’d go to my bedroom closet, put on the light to be transported to worlds that fired my imagination. Mom quickly discovered my hiding place, noticing light shining through the crack at the base of the door. I countered by stuffing towels in the crack.

Reaching adulthood and independence from “it’s time to turn your light out and go to sleep,” admonishments allowed me to stay engrossed in my book throughout the night. It is not surprising that I enrolled in a master’s degree program at Simmons Library Science school. The notion of a lifetime surrounded by books was luxurious. I especially enjoyed reference library courses where I could investigate to my heart’s content. I only completed half the program, though for Motherhood struck and my diapers were substituted for books.

My love for libraries never subsided, and I continued to pay attention to how they transformed to meet the needs of their patrons. While researching “Over the Peanut Fence,” I was drawn again into their web. I payed attention to the homeless bodies lounging on their front steps until the building opened so they could get out of the cold. I spoke to Vailey Oehike, director of Multnomah County Libraries and David Ratliff their Neighborhood Libraries Director. And, I interviewed an amazing woman—Ginnie Cooper, their past director who later oversaw library systems in Brooklyn, NY and Washington, D.C. What I learned was extraordinary. Quietly, with little commotion, libraries developed special ways of serving struggling populations. 

They initiated programs for the thousands of people who are illiterate in our communities. They increased their reading programs for children, many of whom slept in cars with their parents.  The following is from Ginnie’s interview in, “Over the Peanut Fence.” 

”Public libraries serve whomever walks into the library without regard to whether or not they live in a fixed residence.” She also reminded me that “this has always been the case. In the early 1900s, immigrants came to learn English and to peruse newspapers to look for employment.

“Since their inception, public libraries have helped the homeless, the poor, immigrants, and the mentally challenged, not just wealthy, educated patrons. Library members are different today than those who joined in the past. We now see a higher number of laid off, middle-age men and women who can’t find a job. Many are heads of households who, because of circumstances beyond their control, have lost their homes and have to sleep in their cars. They send their children to school without the benefit of a shower, clean clothes, a good night’s sleep or adequate food. 

“During the day, libraries are a service center for those who would otherwise spend hours wandering. When the weather turns cold over one-hundred people wait outside to come into the warm Central Library Building. Though many need library services, others come simply looking for a safe place to spend the day. Overnight shelters provide early morning breakfast but by 7 a.m., they usually release their guests to wander the streets. A few reopen for lunch and dinner, after which their dining areas again close with recipients asked to leave. Beds are rarely available before 7 p.m., making the hours feel long on cold and rainy days. A few shelters do have small day rooms, but they’re crowded with limited materials available to fight boredom. Users report that while drop-in centers make them feel homeless, they never feel that way in a public library. 

“Homeless parents arrive with their children seeking warmth, shelter, social contacts, story time, parent-education programs and help reaching social service agencies. Unfortunately, there is usually a wait, sometimes a year or more, before they can get shelter, for family centers have long lists of people hoping to gain access. Many shelters only accommodate one parent with their children, so the spouse is forced to go elsewhere. Partnered adults may use the library as a place to meet the following day. 

“Since so many use the library as a safe haven, staff is challenged to keep bathrooms clean and ensure that other members are not disturbed by body odors and noise. It’s not fun to have to ask an odiferous patron to leave until he or she showers. Homeless youth are primarily there to search for jobs, check their email, and get out of the rain.” 

Over the Peanut Fence discusses the many ways libraries assist special populations. The book shares the country’s appalling illiteracy rates and discusses community efforts to help poor readers. 

Over the Peanut Fence is available as an e-book and in paperback in bookstores throughout the country. On Amazon go to:https://www.amazon.com/Over-Peanut-Fence-Barriers-Homeless/dp/0999892207/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=over+the+peanut+fence&qid=1556309858&s=books&sr=1-1-catcorr

Art is always for Sale. Contact me at marilynne@eichingerfinearat.com

Finding Your Passion

Art, Blog, social commentary
Otters at Play/ NFS

Discovering what you love to do will lead towards a #passionatelife.

Several weeks ago I met an orchestra conductor who grew up on a kibbutz, a communal farm in Israel.  When he was a teenager, the commune decided it needed a bee keeper and assigned him that job. He toiled at beekeeping for three years before leaving the kibbutz to follow his passion which lay in music. Fortunately his dreams, talent, and perseverant personality lead him towards a successful career. Yaacov Bergman served for years as Music Director of the Colorado Springs Symphony and The New York Heritage Symphony and 92nd St. Y Orchestras in New York City. He now conducts regularly in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and makes frequent guest appearances across the globe. 

Finding a career that provides purpose and passion is not limited to youth. It is a reoccurring theme in most people’s lives. High school and college graduates look for meaningful careers they can embrace throughout their lives. Some become dedicated workers, buying into their employer’s goals. Yet, it’s is not unusual for them to become frustrated in their forties and fifties. Others who spend their early careers chasing after wealth, find it to be a goal that is no longer satisfying. Many discover that their bodies are no longer able to do tasks required for their success. Models became wrinkled,  gymnasts lose flexibility, and rock climbers fear falling. Those who followed goals set by their parents begin to wonder how they got talked into their present careers. They may have been pushed to become lawyers, doctors, jewelers, actors, fishermen or financiers and now, as adults, wonder why they spent so many years following their parent’s dreams. And so, the search to find themselves and for meaningful employment begins. 

Middle age, however, is not likely to be the last time they confront questions of meaning and purpose in daily toil. Active retirees face similar dilemmas of passing their hours purposefully and productively. They search for engagement in meaningful activities, though they may not be as physically strenuous as ones pursued when younger.

Questioning the purpose for being and spending hours in fruitful pursuits continues throughout life.  Happily, finding what you are meant to be and do at each juncture in life is definitely doable. Following are a few thoughts of how to go about it. 

  • Know who you are. Sound easy? It’s not. We do change over time and need to gauge who we are at the particular moment we start our search. Life’s occurrences can alter the way we think and act. As you seek a new direction, appraise your skills and consider what you love to do. What type of books do you read over and over again without getting bored? What did you enjoy doing as a child  If money wasn’t a consideration, what would you be willing to do for free? What are your hobbies?
  • What you are mediocre at? Is it worth spending time (money) to increase your skills? Are you willing to return to school, attend workshops or find a master to apprentice yourself to? In my twenties, I taught dancing to elementary school children. Surprisingly, my worst student was the only one to become a professional dancer. She was inspired and put in hours of practice to get where she wanted to go.  
  • Accept that passion and purpose don’t have to be the same as your job. Many people have repetitive work situations they do for a paycheck. Their purpose is found outside of their employment. Some interests and hobbies will never make you wealthy. Yet, these activities can provide richness and color to living and they may move you in the direction of a career. For example, Jane loved to draw and paint, but to earn a living, required training in computer aided design, marketing,  and other business skills. These added proficiencies enabled her to fuel an emerging passion.
  • List what you hate doing and eliminate those activities from you search. Then ask yourself if there’s something you wish you had been doing for the last twenty years? What would it take to start?
  • Though some people have immediate insight into what they want their future to be, most do not. Finding purpose and passion is like digging for gold. You need discipline and have to be willing to try over and over again, accepting failures as you go. Visualization is a technique I use from time to time to help me solve problems. Imagine dressing quickly because you‘re looking forward to leaving home on a sunny day for a job you like. Where are you going? What will you be doing?

As an employer, during interviews, I always asked people to describe themselves. I was particularly interested in what they did outside of work. Watching them light up as they passionately described their hobbies was often the reason I offered them a job. I wasn’t looking for perfection, but I wanted to know that they were willing to learn and were capable of feeling intensely about something they loved to do. People with a zest for life made our workplace a creative exciting place to be. 

References:

Alex. (2019) Eight ways to find the true passion in life that has eluded you. THeTelegraph. retrieved fromhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/11499695/Eight-ways-to-find-the-true-passion-in-life-that-has-eluded-you.html 

Gordon-Barnes,C. (2019). 6 Fresh Ways to Find Your Passion. The Muse, Career Paths. retrieved from https://www.themuse.com/advice/6-fresh-ways-to-find-your-passion

Webb, M.( 2015) How to Find Passion In Your Work. Forbes. retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/maynardwebb/2015/09/22/how-to-find-passion-in-your-work/#19754a826cfd

A Sneak Preview

For Parents, Psychology, social commentary, Uncategorized,

Last week I announced the launch of Over the Peanut Fence: Scaling Barriers for Homeless and Runaway Youth. It is a hopeful book about  adolescents  overcoming childhood abuse and about professionals and volunteers who help street youth  succeed. Following is a sneak preview from The Story of Zach, Chapter I.

Getting around

The Story of Zach

Cory and I are life partners, sharing a home in Portland, Oregon. In 2011, I owned and operated Museum Tour, a national education supply catalog and Cory was employed in a handful of ventures that used his engineering and carpentry skills. Under our house in the woods, he set up a shop and outdoor area to carve totem poles and Northwest coast masks, which he sells to a burgeoning clientele. When not at work, I spent my hours painting in a sunlit studio located on the lower floor of our contemporary seven-level house. The two of us had few encumbrances as we freely traveled, worked and made art. 

All that changed one blustery November day when Cory noticed a youth pass in front of his car while waiting for the light to change. When the boy stumbled, he caught Cory’s full attention, for he recognized Zach, whom he knew as a child from a troubled family who lived in his old neighborhood. Pulling over to greet the youth, Cory immediately saw that the lad was ill. Fearing pneumonia, he phoned me and after a short conversation we invited Zach for dinner in order to assess his well-being. Within an hour of his arrival and learning that he lived in shelters, we suggested he stay for a few days to be nursed back to health. 

Zach quickly improved after sleeping in a comfortable warm bed and eating nutritious meals and by the end of the week was ready to return to the streets. Winter started early that year, the weather was wet and bitterly cold, and we were reluctant to send 

him back only to become ill again. Zach appeared to be such a young, lost and confused youth that I felt tenderness for him. 

It was an emotional week, for Cory and I were uncertain as to the role we wanted to play in his future. Friends feared for our safety and were quite worried about us getting deeply involved. A few neighbors watched Zach moving about our yard and called to warn us of a vagrant trespassing on our property, advising us to call the police. 

Zach certainly looked like a street transient. I must admit to my middle-class bias in that I did not like his appearance. He wore ragged clothing and had plugs in his ears. His reddish hair was greasy, straggly and unkempt, and he gave off a strong body odor. He walked hunched over, with a shifty look in eyes that never seemed to focus. Zach’s appearance spoke emphatically of a downtrodden boy. Speaking softly when queried, his responses were a short yes, no, or I don’t know. Though we certainly tried, it was difficult to get a complete sentence out of him. 

Knowing that he came from a family that pilfered from one another, we feared he might steal so when we decided to let Zach stay we kept a constant vigil as he moved about the house, insisting he go to his room when we went to bed. My purse was always stored safely in our bedroom at night. This decision proved wise, for we suspect he took money one time when it was unguarded. 

Once Zach agreed to our conditions, which required a haircut and removing the plugs in his ears, we let him remain for the winter. Zach was not happy to lose his straggly locks, but we insisted that if he was going to live with us he had to look like he belonged to our family. We took him to Goodwill and Ross Dress for Less to be outfitted from his feet up. Zach needed everything from undergarments to jeans, a warm coat, gloves and hat. 

House rules included a daily shower, cleaning his room, and making the bed. As time went by, a daily exercise routine was added, and Zach was occasionally asked to help with chores such as shoveling snow and chopping wood. Our goal was to break up the hours he spent lounging aimlessly around the house or watching television. 

One activity he participated in without being asked pleased us greatly—he continued to attend a drug rehab program. Thankfully, Zach had never been addicted to opioid drugs but was a light pot, molly, meth and occasional shroom (psychedelic mushrooms) user. While he was enrolled in the drug program, we never worried about him backsliding, and our trust has since been rewarded. We were concerned about his finances, however, because he had a large fine for possession of marijuana that had to be paid to a municipal district, and we wondered how Zach was going to meet his obligation without an income. 

We decided to lend him money to keep the judicial system from compounding interest, but he needed to find employment. Fortunately, I was able to help, for my catalog company was in the middle of its busy retail season, and we needed workers to ship warehouse products. It was easy to provide a six-week seasonal job, though to keep it, Zach had to pass a drug test and prove he could do the work. He was somewhat concerned about the test. When we discovered there was a pill he could take that would purge his body of narcotics, we took him to a head shop to purchase it. Before we spent a lot of money, the proprietor suggested Zach be tested and thankfully the results showed that he was clean. I was especially glad of the outcome because I was uncomfortable with the idea of helping him disguise an addiction. In addition to becoming an enabler, I would have been a hypocrite for ignoring my own employment requirements. to read on . . .

Why do some youth overcome abusive childhoods while others do not?

Currently available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. Go to AMAZON.

Please rate on Amazon after reading to bring attention to the plight of homeless youth.

Internationally in bookstores and other internet sites April 22nd.

For speaking engagements contact eichingerbooks@gmail.com.

Over the Peanut Fence

education, For Parents, Psychology, social commentary, , ,
Be First to Review

“A powerful glimpse into the trauma and abuse that forces young people to run to the streets. Their stories are a call for action to libraries, government, youth agencies, universities, parents, and volunteers to work together to solve this national problem.” —Pam Sandlian Smith, Public Library Association

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Provide a bravo launch for Over the Peanut Fence, a book aboutscaling barriers for homeless and runaway youth.Currently available on Amazon in paperback ($14.99) and on Kindle ($6.99) versions, it will find its way to other e pub sites and bookstores internationally in approximately three weeks. Help attract attention to youth homelessness by purchasing today and commenting on Amazon’s website.

My goal in writing this Over the Peanut Fence was to discover if psychological problems caused by early childhood abuse can be overcome. Four years of interviewing homeless youth, research into why they run to the streets, and studying interventions used by caregivers, gave me much to consider. The following Kirkus Review summarizes the book well.

“A blend of memoir and sociocultural commentary analyzes the problem of teenage homelessness. Eichinger had known Zach when he was just a child, the victim of his parents’ chronic “negligence and abuse. The author divides her book into several distinct parts: a remembrance of her experience with Zach; a reflection on the root causes of homelessness in the United States; a synopsis of the latest research regarding the functioning of a youth’s brain; an homage to organizations that make a positive difference; and two short stories that dramatize ways in which adolescents can be effectively assisted. While always pragmatic and rigorously empirical, Eichinger finds considerable cause for cautious optimism, especially given studies demonstrating the deep resiliency of youths’ minds to overcome their early traumas. The author’s account is lucidly written, both intellectually thorough and emotionally affecting. In addition, this isn’t a work of ax-grinding political partisanship—Eichinger prefers cool-headed analysis to grandstanding. Further, at the heart of her ‘part memoir and part storybook’  is a profound reflection on the ailing condition of American society, withering from the widespread disintegration of the family and the grim plague of ‘lovelessness.’ An astute and moving assessment of an urgent societal problem.”—Kirkus Reviews

To Purchase advance copy go to AMAZON: