Author's Foreword to Second Edition

 

Author’s Foreword to Second Edition

In the summer of 1985, I was given the opportunity to become a member of the Marching Dukes of Marlington in Alliance, Ohio.  As a member of this marching band between 1985 and 1988, I was exposed to a world of beauty, integrity, pride and artistry -- a musical world that I never knew existed before. I didn't come to Marlington High School with the abilities needed to be a part of their music program initially; I was carried along with them -- and through this radical program of inclusion, I learned quickly how to contribute to their music and performance culture of excellence. 

I was shown how inclusion and acceptance benefits everyone.  I was shown how to play music from the heart, not just from a page. I traveled, I learned, I performed, I fell in love: these formative experiences have positively influenced how I see and interact with my world today.  I'm a better person today for having been included in this beautiful world of marching and performance music. 

 In my youth, my heart was touched with fire at Marlington.  And through this musical experience, I learned the most important lesson – that giving is the greatest reward.  

 Just before every competition, in the silent seconds before the first note, I can still hear our directors yelling to us in unison from the sideline: 'Give it away!' In a very small way, these words are my answer back to them. 

This is a personal and emotional work and is not intended to represent events as a historical record. These words are an attempt for me to reconstruct the thoughts and feelings that I experienced at that time. In this second edition, I’ve been able to add a prologue, that attempts to describe the origins of the ‘give it away’ philosophy that made such an enormous positive impact in my life.  

The presentation of the material in this book is in several different formats: poetry, short stories, historical fiction, and autobiographical narrative.  It is my intention to present a literary mosaic to the reader to more accurately reflect how I feel and think about these experiences. Generally chronological, I try to link this philosophy emotionally across several decades and between, possibly, thousands of lives.  I want to show how acts of kindness are never isolated occurrences but resemble the expanding arcs of droplets across the face of water.  The circular droplet expands outward infinitely, interacting with other droplets to ultimately form waves of energy.  One talent given, then received, then given again and again – and always returning, somehow greater than when it departed.  

I believe everything that I have written here to be true. 

I dedicate this to Dr. Terren Frenz. His compassionate influence made this possible for me to experience.

And to Gretchen, she reached me. 

Believe in love. Give it away.

 Mike Simpkins

x.com/mkesn

www.wegaveitaway.org

Akron, Ohio