Back in the day, Viet Nam. He was a Marine major in G4 stationed out of DaNang. The generals were going to do a tour of the fire bases, so someone upstairs wanted fire extinguishers at each command post in case of “some intangible possible emergency”.

So he and his adjutant were in a Huey, (transporting fire extinguishers), when the B-52 strike happened. He never really knew about the strike. No one let them know it was coming or would happen. All he remembers now is the white light… and waking in a mass body bag… smelling burned meat.

When the bag was finally unzipped, his eyes couldn’t blink. Hands were pulling other bodies out of the bag, he could smell them, and he fought the paralysis and then finally, heroically, he managed to kick one leg. Someone said, “Hey, this one’s alive!”

Now, my friend swims one-armed daily. He never has quit on himself. He competes in swimming in the Senior Olympics, even though his left arm looks like a child’s arm and the left leg worse— that was the side of the Huey the B-52 strike was on. And he’s bald now too, because of the chemo for the agent orange cancer (that the powers-that-be finally admitted was real and was diagnosed last year.)

But, he never gives up, this Marine vet. His daily swim training for the games keeps him oxygenated, and he smiles more than his early-Alzheimer room-mate, another Vet, in the home where they live.

My friend has incredible courage. He got here in a blast of white light. And he got here because he got so much help after that blast.

And he got here because he never gave up.

Wounded or not, a USA Vet should look to the Federal Government for help with a new start in life.

That’s one story, my friend the Marine officer. If you’re a Vet, you know how your story went.

Well, it’s not over. You’re not on your own, unless you want to go it alone. If you are disabled, they have programs, many programs for you. And if you can work, well they have programs for you too. And if you aren’t disabled, there are programs for you as well.

That is correct. The government that made you into a soldier now has the absolute moral— and legal responsibility!— to help remake you back into a productive civilian.

Legal? Definitely!

US laws define preference (and special appointing authorities) for veterans. Also, US federal agencies know that hiring veterans shows goodwill.

That’s why the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess Program exists. What is it? How can it change a veteran’s life and rebuild his/her future?

The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) VetSuccess Program is authorized by Congress under Title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 31. (It’s often called “the Chapter 31 program.”)

The VetSuccess program assists Veterans with service-connected disabilities to prepare for, find, and keep suitable jobs.

For Veterans with service-connected disabilities so severe that they cannot immediately consider work, VetSuccess offers services to improve their ability to live as independently as possible.

Services listed for the VR&E VetSuccess Program include:

• Comprehensive rehabilitation evaluation to determine abilities, skills, and interests for employment
• Vocational counseling and rehabilitation planning for employment services
• Employment services such as job-training, job-seeking skills, resume development, and other work readiness assistance
• Assistance finding and keeping a job, including the use of special employer incentives and job accommodations
• On the Job Training (OJT), apprenticeships, and non-paid work experiences
• Post-secondary training at a college, vocational, technical or business school
• Supportive rehabilitation services including case management, counseling, and medical referrals
• Independent living services for Veterans unable to work due to the severity of their disabilities

So, are YOU eligible for VR&E VetSuccess Services?

Active Duty Service Members are eligible if they:

• Expect to receive an honorable discharge upon separation from active duty
• Obtain a memorandum rating of 20% or more from the VA
• Apply for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) VetSuccess services

Veterans are eligible if they:

• Have received, or will receive, a discharge that is other than dishonorable
• Have a service-connected disability rating of at least 10%, or a memorandum rating of 20% or more from the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA)
• Apply for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) VetSuccess services
• Basic period of Eligibility


The basic period of eligibility in which VR&E VetSuccess services may be used is 12 years from the latter of the following:


• Date of separation from active military service, or
• Date the veteran was first notified by VA of a service-connected disability rating.
• The basic period of eligibility may be extended if a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) determines that a Veteran has a Serious Employment Handicap.

Depending on their circumstances, veterans will work with their VRC to select one of the following five tracks of services—

• Reemployment (with a former employer)
• Direct job placement services for new employment
• Self-employment
• Employment through long term services including OJT, college, and other training
• Independent living services

Here are some ways to go, to get you moving in the right direction— where to get the help you need, to start building your new life—

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

• Vet Success
• VA GI Bill Website
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service
• Department of Defense
• DoD GI Bill Website

Department of Labor

• TAP Brochure
• TAP Manual
• DOL Veterans’ Education and Training Services (VETS)

And here’s a link to jumpstart your new life— http://www.fedshirevets.gov/

A new life— it’s your right as a Vet!

These individuals— not necessarily professors or teachers themselves— are those who have raised the quality of life of humanity, through education. Some are immensely wealthy, some poor, some renowned, some obscure. They have one thing in common: their pivotal roles in improving the lives of others, through moral will, personal influence, and self-sacrifice. It all begins with knowledge. And more— intuition and talent.

James Luther Dickinson— a music genus, star-maker, and iconic marvel of talented self-invention— died last year. I went to school with Jim, was inspired by his audacity and talent, and I still can run the video in my head, of Jim’s junior high band playing on the stage of the school cafeteria, Jim wangling away on his front guitar, filling the big room with crazy hypnotic sound.

He died last year, and it stunned me. I waited to write this, until the initial media furor passed. To write and reflect on the richness of Jim’s life. His sons are Luther and Cody, of the North Mississippi Allstars.

Education can take many twists and turns. After graduation from high school in memphis, Jim attended film school sat Rice University, but music was his real home.

Jim was a product of Memphis and the Blues, like Elvis, a white boy growing up in the incredible wealth of American music. As a boy, a black man working for his family taught him the “codes” on his mother’s piano— gifting Jim with the rich chords of the Blues, which Jim, the boy, took to mean secret codes— and they were. But only secret to those willing to share them. And Jim shared his music with the world, passing on this rich gift of music.

Jim’s creativity was globally felt. Bob Dylan called Jim his “brother”, and The Rolling Stones praised Jim’s work (like Jim’s immortal Blues piano on “Wild Horses.”)
How did a Memphis boy become this person? Jim worked with so many greats, producing musics, making music, an impossible list, Sam Phillips, Chips Moman, Alex Chilton, Paul Westerberg and Ry Cooder.

And the movies. Jim did many film music scores, haunting scores with Ry Cooder. I talked about Jim once with Walter Hill, the director of some of those films, and Walter remembered Jim with a smile and great respect.

In 1972 Jim released his first solo album, “Dixie Fried”, playing every instrument himself, with his own songs plus songs by Bob Dylan, Carl Perkins and Furry Lewis. He produced the now legendary Big Star’s Third in 1974, and co-producing with Alex Chilton on the 1979 Chilton album Like Flies on Sherbert. Jim produced Willy DeVille, Green on Red, Mojo Nixon, The Replacements, Tav Falco’s Panther Burns, and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and so many others. In 1977 Jim created an aural documentary of Memphis’ Beale Street, Beale Street Saturday Night, with performances by Sid Selvidge, Furry Lewis and Dickinson’s band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, and played on Dylan’s album Time Out of Mind. In 1998, he produced Mudhoney’s, Tomorrow Hit Today. There was the Flamin Groovies’ album Teenage Head. So many I can’t name them all.

In his last years, Jim’s vitality stayed high— at his own north Mississippi studio, Zebra Ranch, Jim produced the music of his sons, the North Mississippi Allstars, and created the Delta Experimental Projects and B.A.D. Records. Jim used to praise the raw intuitive energy of Rock, saying, “a song can be so bad it’s good.”

Now, his sons, Luther and Cody Dickinson, great music-makers known worldwide, also salute their father’s genius— with continuity, keeping Jim’s studio and his wild artistic vision alive. Visit ZebraRanch.com and see for yourself.

We salute Jim because he made our world better; Jim created a powerful creative space out of his own spirit. We salute Jim because he lived the life of an artist, relentlessly self-inventing.

Jim’s energy is forever. Like Jim himself once prophetically said, “I’m just dead, I’m not gone.”

And that is what we must all learn, isn’t it? To fire up our energy and fight to become who we truly are?

That said, no campus should be a place of anything but higher learning. And yet… drugs or alcohol-fueled assaults, sexual violence against women, carjacking, even mass murder with firearms, these are all hazards of on-campus attendance.

So, today, we’re all about keeping you safe. That’s it. YOUR SAFETY on the road to graduation.

PLEASE take a little time; look at these campus safety tips. Invest a long a careful look, and help ensure your future safety—

IN A RESIDENCE HALL:

• Keep your room door locked when you are napping or sleeping.
• Never let unauthorized persons come into your room, enter residence halls, or enter apartment security doors. Always ask to see proper identification.
  Never prop open inside or outside doors.
• Do not hide keys outside of your room or apartment. Do not put your name or address on your key rings.
• Avoid working or studying alone in a campus building.



• Never dress in front of a window. Close blinds or curtains after dark.
• If you are awakened by an intruder inside your room, do not attempt to apprehend the intruder. Try to get an accurate description of the intruder and then call the police.
• Any suspicious activity should be reported to the OSU Police immediately.

WHEN DRIVING:

• Carry your car keys when approaching your vehicle so you can enter quickly.
• Always check underneath your car upon approach and in the rear seat for intruders before entering your automobile.
• Lock your doors and keep windows rolled up whenever possible.
• Drive on well-traveled and well-lit streets.
• Never hitchhike, and never pick up hitchhikers.
• If someone tries to enter your stopped vehicle, sound the horn and drive to a safe area such as a convenience store.
• If your vehicle breaks down, ask any person who stops to help to call the police. Do not allow any person access to you or inside your car. Roll down your window no more than an inch. Be aware that an accident may be staged to provide the other driver an opportunity to commit a criminal act.
• Leave enough room between your car and the one ahead so you can drive around it if necessary.
• Call ahead when driving to your home or apartment late at night and have someone watch you walk from your car to the residence.
• Limit distractions such as cell phones.

WHILE WALKING OR JOGGING:

• Avoid walking or jogging alone, and try not to walk or jog after dark.
• Avoid dark or vacant areas. Walk along well-lit routes.
• Be alert to your surroundings. If you suspect you are being followed: Run in a different direction, go to the other side of the street and yell for help, or move quickly to a lighted area, a group of people, or a blue light emergency phone.
• Have your keys ready when returning to your residence hall or apartment. Keep your personal or valuable items concealed and close to your body.
• Avoid wearing headphones when walking or jogging. Always be aware of your surroundings and practice risk avoidance techniques.

SOME GENERAL RULES:

• Lock your door whenever you leave your room for ANY length of time or when sleeping.
• Secure your vehicle. Close all windows and lock all doors.
• Never prop open any door.
• Adequately protect all valuables in your room, such as wallets, jewelry, credit cards, cash and computers. Do not leave valuables or cash in plain view.
• Protect your books and put your name in them. Do not leave them in public places.
• Do not loan your keys to anyone.
• Never hide your keys outside your apartment or room. Do not put your name or address on your key rings.
• Take all valuable items home with you during vacations.
• When in a public place, keep valuable possessions out of sight. If you must leave an area for any length of time, take personal items with you.

Bottom line? Better safe than sorry— AVOID VICTIMIZATION!

AWARENESS CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE!

You know that the time to decide is before college. Obviously, the earlier the better.

But for many, that choice has been invalidated by a shifting economy. And so, the dilemma is— if career choice is a game we all must play, how do we game successfully on an ever-changing playing field?

Study the road ahead, in employment trends. What jobs are hot? What are cold? How can you fit the education and training you have, to what is coming?

Right now, two main career areas are hot and getting hotter— IT and Health Care.

IT careers. Yep, the demand keeps going up up up.

Network systems, data communications analysts, software engineers, network and computer systems administrators, and database administrators. Those are hot. Lots of job opening for grads in these areas.

Health Care careers. Also going strong and stronger.

Physician assistants, physical therapists, dental hygienists, forensic science technicians. registered nurse, nursing aide or orderly, licensed practical or vocational nurse. The demand is huge and seems to be ever growing.

And, coming in third after those two big ones, there is an assortment of other good employment sectors. Right now, other hot employment areas include:

• Accountants and auditors.
• Applications software engineers.
• Computer systems analysts.
• Secondary school teachers.
• Systems engineers.
• Systems analysts.
• Network administrators.
• Employment and recruitment specialists.

Now, let’s talk about the careers than are letting people down. People who are facing unemployment, in their careers, and need a new career choice.

Some are downright dismal, like printing and typesetting; electronic processes have done them in. The traditional secretary career is mostly gone— it’s evolved to the highly specialized personal assistant or administrator.

Working with fax machines, telephone and telex operations has gone the way of all the communication by computer.

The bad news for some nations (and good news for others) is how the global marketplace has outsourced careers in programming, customer call centers, technical support, data entry, and accounting.

Be vigilant and be flexible and be ready, always stay ready, refreshing your educational tool kit. be willing to go back and learn whatever you need, in order to stay competitive.

Educate, educate, educate!

What is the big sucking sound? 80 Billion USD more for war in Afghanistan. 80 With a B. How much education would that 80,000 Million USD have bought at home?

OK, why? What is the future? Can money buy a better future? Is war a better investment than the education of future US citizens? What can US planners be thinking? Or are they thinking?

For the USA, fever since World War II, higher education has been the world’s best, the global gold standard. What has changed? Increasing foreign competition, rising tuition costs, government cutbacks, flagging graduation rates, and, many say, a decline in quality of US education being.

That’s why US dominance in academic and research power is weakening fast. The one certain fact is this, the US is falling behind.

Behind how? In weapons development? No. In knowledge.

The story of one professor is typical— his position in the English department (at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), was over. he was looking to take the next step in his professorial journey.

Out of all his applications, including many across the USA, the two positives surprised him: “I got both jobs in Asia: one in Hong Kong and one in Singapore.”

Every year a growing number of top-notch American academics move off-shore. They leave the USA to teach abroad (at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and other institutions in Asia and the Middle East).

Asian universities are soaring in global university rankings. Many experts now privately doubt the future of American higher education.

The US must re-focus on higher education reform. Its long-accepted technological and scientific edge is no longer a sure thing, at best.

Listen up, USA, please! Across the board, the stats are clear. In higher education, the global shift is away from the USA. We are witnessing the fall of the US in a global marketplace that increasingly prizes knowledge.

Education rules! World dominion by force— even if successful or not followed swiftly by resentment and outright hatred— is not going to achieve the results of economic competition through education.

Educate, educate, educate!

Everyone wonders, “What is coming next? Can it even get worse?”

Economically, nations around the globe are struggling to recover. And people everywhere live in fear of unemployment.

America, like the rest, is crawling out of the Recession of 2007. But, while many other nations are producing more and more college grads, too few Americans are completing college.

A new report from Georgetown University demonstrates the absolute urgency of providing yourself with a degree, to be able to compete for jobs in the coming decade.

It’s no secret that the least educated are hit hardest during economic downturns. That disparity will only become more extreme.

Even below the college level, also, lack of credentials hurt job chances. For anyone with less than a high school degree, during the current recession, unemployment rose from 7.4% to 13.3% (February ’08 to March ’09.) At the same time, for those with a high school diplomas, unemployment went from 4.7% to 9%.

The report’s numbers reveal that by 2018, the USA will need 22 million new college grads. This is good news for individuals, because there won’t be enough grads in 2018 to fill those slots.

A projected shortfall, of more than 3 million postsecondary degrees, means opportunity for those who did earn their degrees. The tragedy is for those millions of workers without degrees, who will be much less likely to find a job at all.

The type of degree carries much weight as well. In 2018, an engineering degree will earn more than degrees in liberal arts, education, social and natural science, or education.

The Georgetown stats for 2018 gives critical insights into future employment.

Take a look, and read your future—

Can it get worse?

Of course it can. We all know that.

Equip yourself to compete, before its too late.

Millions of others are investing in their futures. Can you afford tom wait and watch to see what will happen?

Educate, educate, educate!

Someone shouted. The team woke. The boat was being boarded by pirates. Half-seen shapes swarming over the rail onto the deck.

In a wild fight, one treasure hunter crumpled, stabbed to death. The team leader, treasure archeologist Falcon-Barker, shot one pirate with a harpoon gun. Then he grabbed a shotgun, blasting like crazy, making the pirates leap off the boat.

Billionaires are made from determined archeologists— teams of divers and diggers, who spend years searching, then harvesting gold bars, silver bars, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, from sandbars and estuaries, channels and rocky beaches and harbors. Adventurers, armed and ready for a fight.

Amateurs think its luck. The pros know better. They know what is required, and they are willing to educate themselves. They know this— the more knowledge they arm themselves with, the higher their degree of so-called “luck”.

How does it happen? Not by chance, but by knowledge. As in every form of venture, the most successful always educate themselves.

In treasure hunting, we can it Treasure Archeology.

It’s not for everyone. The risks are high. But the more history and archeology you know, the better your chances of discovering more. That is the logic that yields found treasures.

After Kip Wagner found Spanish coins on a Florida beach, his methodical search— for the wreck of a fleet of fabled treasure galleons, including the Urca de Lima— cost years of his life. But the sea yielded a fortune in silver coins and wedge-shaped ingots.

Like a grad student he did research. He knew the history of the great storm hundreds of years before, and he researched the history and old logs of what was known.

Researcher Mel Fisher joined Wagner. With knowledge and a systemic plan, they located seven of the wrecks and found treasure valued at five million dollars.

There was a high price to pay. Fisher moved to the Florida Keys. For 16 years he ran magnetometer lines on the sea floor, and blasted away hundreds of thousands of tons of sand. Fisher had to be an entrepreneur as well as archeologist— he found investors, and fought with official archaeologists and state and federal bureaucrats.

Then Fisher and his team found the Atocha, near Marquesas Key. Tons of gold and silver, fabulous jewels, a hoard of ancient kings.

How do they do it? How do they know where to look?

Hunches? No. Guesses? No. Astrology? No. Fortune-tellers? No.

They research. They methodically search through ancient texts, logs, maps, diaries. They are experts in history, and they are tireless hunters of historical fact.

It is knowledge. It is history and archeology. But it is also determination.

And there are perils. Perils of the seas and of other treasure hunters.

It was discovered by researchers that in 1659, the treasure ship “Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion” was hammered in a hurricane, and struck the Los Abrojos reef, 60 miles north of Haiti. Archeologists found logs indicating her cargo: one hundred tons of silver and gold coin and bullion.

The search was on!

In 1967, Australian Ted Falcon-Barker, and two teammates, found the wreck site. The Aussies used underwater explosives (badly damaging the site) to uncover 96 gold gold coins (from the reign of Ferdinand & Elizabeth 1497-1516), a solid gold crucifix and a life sized solid gold finger, (possibly from a statue the Concepcion was believed to be carrying).

And then— they were attacked by modern pirates, and one of the team was killed before the pirates were fought off. So there’s often a cost. The life of treasure hunters can be exciting, and not always in a good way. Fame definitely has its downside, as does greed.

Another caution— looting. Treasure archeology should never destroy an historical site. From ancient times, this has happened. Even the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs were looted during antiquity.

Indeed, grave-robbers and archeologists unfortunately have much in common. The difference is in the gathering of knowledge. And that’s a great difference indeed.

Treasure Archaeology should always bring light to the dark— it should increase our knowledge of ancient objects, and people in search of artifacts or treasure should always avoid damage to archaeological sites.

Treasure archeologists dig into the past, and bring the ancient world to the present. And they can, only because of what they know.

For centuries, the Florida beach was inhabited by people who found an ancient gold coin now and then, after a big storm, but never knew that the full treasure lay just out of reach.

It was archeology, and persistence, it was education that made men rich. And that is the underlying lesson of Treasure Archeology.

Legendary treasures wait to be found. The plunder of the old world lies at the bottom of the world’s seas, a legacy of ancient pirates, storms, and modern pirates, too.

The economy is bad. We all know that. Accept it as a given. But it isn’t a certain doom— it isn’t an excuse to give up— it isn’t proof that fatalism is right, or that your efforts are in vain.

As a wise man told me when I was a boy, “When things get tough, you got to get tough with them.”

If things are bad, you’ve got to want it even more. And you’ve got to find an edge for yourself. Some way to distinguish yourself from that line of job-seekers.

And, even more sadly, so many are thwarted by their own lack of savvy. By the self-defeating mode.

Here’s a conversation I had this week with the financial aid counselor at a local college….

Me: “With things as tough as they are, are the scholarships drying up?”

Counselor: “Actually, we have quite a few grants and scholarships available, it’s surprising. The problem is the students.”

Me: “The students? Why, they don’t qualify or what?”

Counselor: “Mostly they don’t want it bad enough. Like just this morning, a student sat down and told me how badly he needed a scholarship, he needed money to pay his fees and get his degree. The timing for him couldn’t be better, because a new scholarship had just opened up, and a couple of others weren’t filled yet.”

Me: “So what was the problem, sounds great.”

Counselor: “He was kind of typical. I told him one of the requirements was an essay. And he goes, an essay? He says, what if I put in all that work on an essay and don’t get the scholarship?”

Me: “You have got to be kidding me right now.”

Counselor: “Nope, I am perfectly serious. The bad part is, he’s not even an exception. So many times I hear it. Isn’t there one without an essay?”

Me: “So lots of students, they just don’t want it bad enough.”

Counselor: “Not all, but way too many. Not enough motivation. They want it handed to them on a silver platter. And now you understand what I mean.”

If you don’t want it bad enough to get your degree, to do whatever it takes, what about when it’s time to find a good job?

Even in this tough economy, people are being hired. The competition is strong. So you’ve got to be strong.

And the student’s lazy attitude— about doing an essay— is the same crippling attitude that carries over into the working world.

For example, one corporate interviewer was complaining recently about the kind of people she is getting for an opening. Not the kind of people, but their attitude.

Corporate Interviewer: “If you walk into a job interview dressed in cargo shorts and flip-flops like a kid at the mall, who is going to hire you? That master’s degree you slaved for is cheated, if you don’t project yourself well in person. I’m not hiring somebody who isn’t ready to represent this company anywhere, anytime, to anyone. That means right now.”

Me: “So, dress for success?”

Corporate Interviewer: “That’s not it, just a metaphor for lots of the people I interview. The thing is… you look in their eyes and they’re somewhere else… and sometimes I think this person deep down doesn’t really even want to go to work.”

Maybe it’s just that simple. You’ve got to REALLY want it! When you do, your enthusiasm is infectious.

Create your opportunities. Nobody is going to come searching for you. If you sit in a room in the dark, no sun will shine on your face. Get out there and hustle.

That same wise man, when I was a boy, told me,”Son, when you’re stupid, you’ve got to be strong.”

You know you’re not stupid. Get out there and do whatever it takes. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Get that scholarship, get that job. Hustle and search and learn!

Educate, educate, educate!

The gene pool is less forgiving than ever. The job pool keeps narrowing. And the need to be competitive is increasing exponentially.

For more and more people now, it’s a grim imperative— become more competitive somehow, or continue falling behind.

And what happens when everything fails? For millions, the economic crisis isn’t just how to keep their job, it’s where to sleep tonight. As the crisis unfolds, the number of homeless just keeps growing.

That’s why “Picture the Homeless”— a social justice organization, (founded and led by homeless people in New York City)— offers up these following street survival tips.

You can think of these tips as Homeless Orientation 101……

— Be prepared to be blamed for your circumstances, no matter how much they may be beyond your control. Think of ways to disabuse the public of common misconceptions. Don’t internalize cruelty or condescension. Let go of your pride–but hold on to your dignity.

— There is no private space to which you may retreat. You are on display 24/7. Learn to travel light. Store valuables in a safe place, only carrying around what you really need: ID and documents for accessing services, a pen, etc. You can check e-mail and read at the library. You can get a post office box for a fee or use general delivery.

—Learn the best bathroom options, where you won’t be rushed, turned away or harassed. Find restrooms where it’s clean enough to put your stuff down, the stalls are big enough to change in and there’s hot water so you can wash up.

—It’s difficult to have much control over when, where and what you eat, so learn soup kitchen schedules and menus. Carry with you nuts, peanut butter or other foods high in protein.

—Food and clothing are easier to find than a safe place to sleep–the first truth of homelessness is sleep deprivation. Always have a blanket. Whenever possible, sleep in groups with staggered schedules, so you can look out for one another, prioritizing children’s needs over those of adults.

—Know your rights. Knowing constitutional amendments, legal precedents and human rights provisions can help you, even if they’re routinely violated.

—Learn police patterns and practices. Be polite and calm to officers, even when they don’t give the same respect. Many don’t like this any better than you do.

—The First Amendment protects your right to solicit aid (panhandling), especially if your pitch or sign is a statement rather than a request. To succeed, be creative, funny, engaging (”I didn’t get a bailout!”). Find good, high-traffic spots where the police won’t bother you.

—Housing is a human right? You believed that when you lost your job and then your house. So squat. Forge coalitions with non-homeless but potentially displaced people in this era of mass foreclosures.

—Don’t go it alone! Always be part of an informal network of trust and mutual aid. Start your own organization, with homeless people themselves shaping the fight for a better life and world.

Horrifying facts of life on the street, aren’t they? Survival tips for the homeless. The jobless. The disempowered.

Your best option? Don’t go there! Look ahead, start learning, relearning.

Learn one way, or learn another way. If you have a job, protect it with continuing education. Keep building your intellectual edge and skill sets.

If you don’t have a job, keep learning— keep building your chances with more knowledge. Reinvent yourself. If you lost your job, and can’t find another, maybe it’s time to find an other type of work.

Use GRAD2B’s many links, to find the grants, funds, scholarships that you need, that do still exist— that can still pull you up by the force of higher education, from the brink.

Don’t think you need more education? Your job looks solid? That’s what millions of jobless thought, too. The next time you see homeless people, think: “This could be me!”

Educate, educate, educate!

Are they our heroes because they represent the values and attained goals we admire? Or maybe because they are models of who we would like to become?

There is undeniable power in seeing our heroes in person. They draw. They pull. They are people magnets. And they charm, they entertain. And when they succeed beyond those levels, they inspire.

So it’s no wonder that schools of all kinds vie for celebrity speakers at graduation.

Just look at a short list of 2010 celeb guests…. all admired or hated, all heroes on some level, to many people, somewhere.

What qualities do they have in common? Their celebrity. Their fame. Their charisma. Their energy. Their self-invented personas.

California Governor, Predator killer and Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger— Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Film star Alec Baldwin— New York University in New York City. Arguably the most underrated leading man in film today.

Academy Award winning-actress Meryl Streep at Barnard College in New York City. The Sarah Bernhardt of our time. She should have 15 oscars.

Journalist Bob Schieffer, “Face the Nation” — Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.

Conan O’Brien doing the Commencement speech at Harvard.

First Lady Michelle Obama at the University of Arkansas, and then at Anacostia High School in Washington, D.C.

And her husband— earlier we covered President Barack Obama at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was also at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia,

and Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan— winner of the “Race to Commencement” contest.

They won the grand prize— the President. You’ll recall that President Obama had excellent advice— use your brain, don’t listen to pundits.

And then there was Jodie Foster— in 2006 at the University of Pennsylvania— doing a karaoke of Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself.’ Ms Foster is undoubtedly brilliant, so maybe her point is the same one? Learn to think originally?

How about Stephen Colbert? ‘The Colbert Report’ was brand new when he gave the 2006 Commencement Address at Knox. Colbert is an ace at puncturing celeb heroes, and the smart grads at Knox got the joke.

Will Ferrell did a comedy letter supposedly from George Bush, Ferrel’s insane Bush impersonation. More celeb puncturing.

Here’s Ellen DeGeneres. She reminded students that she never even went to College. “I’m not saying you wasted your time or money,” she said, “but look at me. I’m a huge celebrity!”

J. K. Rowling used her Harvard graduation speech to mock her own fantasy characters: she thought she was “at the world’s largest Gryffindor reunion.”

Celebs com in all politics, and with all agendas. Their nature often mirrors their audience.

“America’s favorite dad” Bill Cosby speaks at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Just to the north, comedian Glenn Beck is speaking at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Some speakers do have political messages, didactic propaganda, and so on. But most of the celebs seem to be trying to tell us the same thing.

Don’t be like anybody else.

Be yourself. Whoever that is.

Yep. You’re stuck with being you so make the most of who you are, what you are.

Most of their speeches involves self-mockery, puncturing the very celeb image that got them invited to speak. They are master deconstructionists.

They’re mostly trying to say, I’m up here because I finally decided to be myself, as much as I can be. The world is a crazy place, so carve out your own little island of dan it.

They’re saying, congratulations to you grads. Now go and find out who you are.

Hitch your wagon to a star, and be that star.

The world is waiting. Now, go, get in it’s face!