WRITE a Prayer for Peace

I took this photo of my daughter Gracie in front of my favorite statue at the United Nations in New York City. What will it take till the world learns that love is stronger than hate. Write a prayer for peace to humanity.

Write about Wondering

When I was a kid I wondered about everything. I would look at the ants and think about what it would be like to be one. I would look up at the stars and imagine other planets where kid like me were looking up at the stars thinking about other planets. What does forever mean? Why am I me and not the kid who lives next door?

What do you wonder about? I wonder...

Write about intelligence: What is it?

Here is a pile of my action figure dolls. Albert Einstein, Bunson Honeydew, E.B. Debois ( the famous African American writer), and an Extra-terrestial fellow with no human name. All of these beings possess something we call intelligence, the ability to know about their own existence and the existence of others. What is intelligence? What forms does it come in? Can it be measured? Why is it important? These are just a few random questions. As an intelligent being, you may have many more. Let's write about intelligence.

Write about a time you jumped

Life often comes to precipices where a human being has to decide do I stay the way I am or do I jump wholeheartedly into the unknown future.

Sometimes its a job that you quit or an old life you reject or a new life you embrace. These are the moments that show up on your personal timeline as peaks or valleys. These are the times that change you for better and worse. When we jump we embrace the unknown.

Write about a time you jumped.

Write about the Backwards World

In the Backwards World when you walk down the street,
the street turns around and walks down you,

the audience claps with it's feet,

And those feet are worn,

by their shoes....


What else do you see in the Backwards World?

Write about the Man Store

This a photo I took last week in San Angelo Texas at the Man store.

The Man store is a place where they sell man things. What are man things? What do they sell in the man store? Forget about just material objects. What feelings? What thoughts do they sell at the Man Store?

Write about Nonsense

Nonsense poetry is great fun and what better model than Lewis Carroll. My friend the Mad Hatter can help too. Read the poem below and get inspired to make up words and rhymes that make sense in their own way. Nonsense poetry is a bit of a lie because us human beans will make sense out of anything.

The Jabborwocky

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

'Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!'

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood a while in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One two! One two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

'And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Write about a Time You Pretended

It's fun to pretend and sometimes that fun can get us into trouble. Write about a time you pretended to be someone you were not, a time you put on the mask. What were the consequences? What did you learn?

Write about your Safe Place

Everyone needs a safe place. Write about your safe place.

Write a Blues Fairy Tale

The Three Bear Blues by Barry Lane from the album Lane's Recycled Fairy Tales

40 Write about Hansel and Gretel or Abandonment

In the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel two children are abandoned in the woods by their parents during tough economic times. The children meet a nice old woman who turns out to be a witch. She wants to eat Hansel but his sister manages to save him. I wrote a song from Hansel's point of view watching his little sister become the hero. Have you ever felt abandoned? Have you ever thought what it would like to live on your own? Have you ever been rescued by your sister?

Oh Hansel words and music by Barry Lane from the album, Lane's Recycled Fairy Tales. (Background vocals by Carol-lee Lane)

My mom and dad were talking

just the other night,

saying we ain't got no food to eat

and things are very tight.

We'll take the kids tomorrow

and leave them in the woods.

They'll find their way through valleys,

and learn to live alone.

"Oh Hansel,"

my sister said to me,

"Oh Hansel,

we're children can't they see."

I went out in the moonlight,

and I gathered up some rocks.

I put them in my pockets,

I put them in my socks.

When we went out the next day,

I dropped them on the way.

"Hi Mom and Dad, we're back home,

You see, we are OK."

"Oh Hansel,"

my sister said to me.

"Oh Hansel,

I'm shaking can't you see."

They took us out the next day,

and they left us there again.

We found a house of gingerbread

low down in a fenn.

An old lady she came out,

and asked us to come in.

She locked me in a prison cage

and grabbed my sister's hand.

"Oh Hansel, "

my sister cried and moaned,

"Oh Hansel,

we'll never get back home."

The next day, the woman,

she gave me food to eat.

Gretel did the dishes,

Gretel cooked the meat.

The woman poked a fork at me

and said she'd do no harm.

Gretel gave a bone to me.

Pretend this is your arm.

"Oh Hansel,"

my sister said to me.

"Oh Hansel, I'm stronger,

wait and see."

Late the next morning,

the woman lit the stove.

Asked Gretel to climb in

and check those fires and coals.

Gretel said I can't see,

you better check yourself.

Gretel slammed the oven door,

the witch she screamed and yelled.

"Oh Hansel,"

my sister said to me.

"Oh Hansel,

I've done it, now we're free"

The house is full of food to eat,

the house is full of jewels,

the house is full of money,

the house is full of tools.

We brought it back to Mom and Dad

and said look what we've got.

They smiled and hugged and kissed us.

"We missed you both a lot."

"Oh Hansel,"

my sister said that night.

"Oh Hansel,

I'm different but I'm all right!"

Write About What Can't Be Measured

Not everything in life can be measured says the quote from Albert Einstein and not everything that is measured is so important.

What do you think of this quote? What can be measured in your life? What can't be measured? What measurements have no meaning? What measurements do?

Write about it. Think about it. Write about it.

Here is a song I wrote to describe my experience with grading in school.

01 Gradebook Prison Blues (words Barry Lane, music Johnny Cash) by Barrylane55

Gradebook Prison Blues

I hear the teacher comin',

she's comin' round the bend

and I ain't see the sunshine,

since I don't know when

Cause I'm stuck in Gradebook Prison

and time keeps draggin on

when I hear that gradebook comin'

I turn my head and moan.

When I was just a baby

my mama said to me

always be a good boy

don't ever get a "c'

But I got a "d' in reading,

just to make her cry.

Now I hear that gradebook comin'

I turn my head and sigh

I see those smart kids 'sittin'

in that fancy AP class

Their probably readin' Shakespeare

and know that they will pass

but me I'm stuck in resource

doin' SRA

and I answer pointless questions

to pass the time away.

I'll probably write a novel

about the year I leave this school

Or maybe epic poetry

bout why I was not cool.

but now I'm stuck in English

Doing five paragraph themes.

But when I hear that gradebook comin'

it smothers all my dreams.

Write about a Time Life Surprised You

"L'homme propose et Dieu dispose."

Man proposes, God disposes.

French Proverb

Has life ever taken you by surprise? Has something terrible or wonderful or strange happened that was not in your plans? Write about it.

Write about Robots or Toys

Ideal's Robot Comando is here to Help you.

Here was my favorite toy when I was 6 years old. Robot Commando. Looking back, from today I can see this toy was a bit on the violent side. I grew up during the Cold War with the Soviet Union and this toy is a thinly disguised war machine, probably out to train the next generation of soldiers.What toys did you play with? If play is a preparation for life, what skills and things are they teaching you? Lets write about toys.

How do you Survive Big Bad Bully Bus?

Here's a song I finished recently. It is about learning to deal with bullies without becoming one yourself. What does it mean to drive the Big Bad Bully Bus? I think it means to make choices in life instead of just reacting to blows life sends you. I used to work in prisons teaching writing. There I found many people who thought they had no choices. Their violent crimes were reactions to a wrong dealt them by a person or by society itself.

How do you survive the Big Bad Bully Bus? At the end of the song , I give a few suggestions. In the recording I sing 5 ways that DEFEAT a bully in the end but in the writing I changed it, by suggestion from my oldest daughter Jessie to "Five ways that will stop, a bully in the end."

Jessie pointed out to me that DEFEAT was bully language and you deal with bullies best when you change the game around. You stop bullies by showing who they are . Mohandas Ghandhi did this to the entire British Empire. His non-violent strategies held a mirror up to the world and everyone saw the brutality of colonialism. This stopped some pretty intense 19th century bullying.

Now, let's write about bullies. Who are they? Where are they? How do you drive your own Bad Bully Bus?



The Big Bad Bully Bus words and music by Barry Lane by Barrylane55
The Big Bad Bully Bus

The Big Bad Bully Bus is rolling into town.

It comes to pick you up,

but it often lets you down.

The big kids in the back,

are making quite a fuss.

How will you survive,

the Big Bad Bully Bus.

The drivers up front he's looking at the road.

63 kids is a pretty heavy load.

No time to look back;

no time to supervise.

The big kids in the back

are telling nasty lies.

What will you do?

What will you say?

When all the bullies come your way?

(Make bully and cowbly noises here giyaah, giyahh whip, whip...)

They start to call you names,

they laugh right in your face.

Spitballs start to fly;

they make fun of your race.

They make you want to cry;

they make you want to scream,

but if you hit'em back

you join the bully team.

We become the choices

we make everyday

and if you take the high road

things will be ok.

To be a better person,

we all must learn to trust.

Each us us must take the wheel

of our own Bad Bully Bus.

Talk to an adult,

When you get to school.

Ask a bully why,

or tell him that's not coooool.

Learn to walk away

or stand up to a friend.

Five ways that will stop

a bully in the end.

We must be strong,

We must be brave,

when all the bullies,

come our wayyyyy. ( more bully noises)

The Big Bad Bully Bus

is rolling into town.

It comes to pick you up,

but it often lets you down.

Those big kids in the back,

you know they're making quite a fuss,

but you and I are driving,

the big bad bully bus.

You and I are driving the

Big, Bad , Bully

Bus.

(words and music by Barry Lane copyright 2012)

41 Write about North or South

Here I am standing at the gateway to the Arctic in Barrow, Alaska, True North. It is just about the farthest north you can go in the United States of America. Those are whale bone ribs framing the Arctic ocean. I was told that in Norway and Scandinavia this place is as well known as the Washington monument. How far north have you been? What does North mean to you? Who is north in your life? Let's Write about North.

Or

if you are not in the mood for North, try writing about South or East of West.

North

Its cold today.

I know the sun is up there,

somewhere behind

the gray sniffling clouds.

If I were a bear

I would sleep in.

But I am not a bear,

so I leave my den

to make the first cup

of coffee.

bl (first draft)

90 North

At home, in my flannel gown, like a bear to its floe, I clambered to bed; up the globe's impossible sides I sailed all night—till at last, with my black beard, My furs and my dogs, I stood at the northern pole. There in the childish night my companions lay frozen, The stiff fur knocked at my starveling throat, And I gave my great sigh: the flakes came huddling, Were they really my end? In the darkness I turned to my rest. —Here, the flag snaps in the glare and silence Of the unbroken ice. I stand here, The dogs bark, my beard is black, and I stare At the North Pole . . . And now what? Why, go back. Turn as I please, my step is to the south. The world—my world spins on this final point Of cold and wretchedness: all lines, all winds End in this whirlpool I at last discover. And it is meaningless. In the child's bed After the night's voyage, in that warm world Where people work and suffer for the end That crowns the pain—in that Cloud-Cuckoo-Land I reached my North and it had meaning. Here at the actual pole of my existence, Where all that I have done is meaningless, Where I die or live by accident alone— Where, living or dying, I am still alone; Here where North, the night, the berg of death Crowd me out of the ignorant darkness, I see at last that all the knowledge I wrung from the darkness—that the darkness flung me— Is worthless as ignorance: nothing comes from nothing, The darkness from the darkness. Pain comes from the darkness And we call it wisdom. It is pain. Randall Jarrell

Metamorphosis Class

Yesterday my friends at Reed Intermediate school in Connecticut sent me their district wide writing prompt. It asked students to propose an after school club to the principal. Only after I wrote my 45 minute timed writing on transformation class did I realize my writing was influenced by Dr. Martin Luther King.

Here is the piece I wrote. My question is what do you do in Metamorphosis class? Or maybe can you write about a time of metamorphosis or transformation in your Life?

Transformation Class Could Change Your Life

Attention all students, this afternoon, after school , by order of the principal, we will begin transformation class. Please bring your bodies and minds, your thoughts and ideas, and especially, your dreams. You see a transformation class is where we learn to become our dreams.

This may sound weird to many of you but let me tell you transformation classes are not weird at all. From the beginning of time people have learned to transform themselves for the better. It started with the funny cave girl who found 2 round stones and turned it into a cart. She called it ‘ THE WHEEL” and at first everyone thought she was really strange. Then they saw how she could carry more stuff than anyone. After a while they all found round stones and today you can see them as the tires on your Ford Focus.

Then there was the guy who found that sparks made this thing called fire. Fire itself could transform metals like iron into liquid that you could mold into whatever you want. Enter silverware, armor ,can openers and , of course, the Ford Focus. Actually, the cans came first, but you probably know that.

Then there were the two children who decided war was not the best thing for humanity. They were a boy and a girl and they were both students at Reed Intermediate school in Newtown, Connecticut. They had watched the evening news and saw that there was enough, hunger and sadness and suffering in the world without human beings adding to it with their stupid weapons. So they started a secret class in Peace at recess. They showed everybody that peace was something you could practice in everyday life. It required stopping more, standing back from your angry, thoughts and feelings, learning to resist the temptation to just react and punch back at life. It required accepting kids who were not your friends into your group. It was more than tolerance. It was love and the more they practiced , the better they got at it and soon everyone in the class realized something: The whole world would be a better place if everyone practiced this.

I met this boy and girl last week and they invited me to tell the principal about this class. I have talked to the principal and he has approved it and now I want to invite you to it. It is never too late to live your dreams. It is never too late to see a world that others can’t imagine. It is never too late to transform hate and suffering into love and joy. Human beings, you see ,are all alchemists. We have a magic process that turns lead into gold. Come learn about this process.

If you feel sometimes like a sad larva, come to the Transformation Class after school and see that you have wings waiting to lift you up into the blue sky of your dreams.

Barry Lane January 18, 2012 started at 11:40 am finished at 12:19 pm

Elvis was Bullied Because He was Different

Entering a new school, for sixth grade in September 1946, Presley was regarded as a loner. The following year, he began bringing his guitar in on a daily basis. He would play and sing during lunchtime, and was often teased as a "trashy" kid who played hillbilly music.

Elvis Presley, the King, was bullied when he was in sixth grade. Have you ever been bullied or seen someone being bullied because they were different? Have you ever been afraid to say something or do something because you were afraid of being seen as different than the rest? Write about it.

Option 2: Write about a fictional character who is different than the rest. What are the consequences of being a character like Elvis?