By: John Cragg It was December 1967. I was in fourth grade. My father was the pastor of an inner-city church in Newark NJ. That year I had watched tanks roll by my house from my living room window. The city was still tense from the racial strife. My father gathered the family around [...]
I met James* when he was eight. He was a solid square-shouldered, verbally gifted boy with a beaming smile. He lived with his mother, whom he adored, and his brothers. His stepfather had just been shot dead on the stoop of his home on the most violent block of Long Island. James was a [...]
Right after I finished the third grade, my dad moved us from a wealthy suburban community to the inner city, where he accepted a call to pastor the Roseville Presbyterian Church in Newark, NJ. My parents chose to send me to the local school a block from our house. My fourth grade class had 44 [...]
Bud, February 2017 My name is Bud. I'm ten. As soon as school is over for the day, I start running. I want to be the first one out so I can sit behind the bus driver that way the kids in the back won't tease me. As soon as the bus stops, I run [...]
Why should Aesop have all the fun?by John CraggThere was a hurt crow in my backyard. The fact that I took note of this is "Corona New". He hopped behind my shed as I walked out. As I neared the back of the yard, I noticed another crow was on my fence yelling at me. To [...]
by John Cragg Executive Director, Long Island Youth Mentoring I was 23. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Not a cloud in the Spokane Washington skies. Kay and I were newlyweds with four months to our credit. We had been invited to a church picnic by my boss, so of course, we went. It was a [...]
