-Gregangelo and Home Strange Home host Chuck Nice
AMS Pictures selects Gregangelo's headquarters for their original production of "Home, Strange Home" to be aired on the HGTV network.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Kids' Turn "In my day"
-Gregangelo & Velocity Circus’ “Ms GG Bridges” at a Kids’ Turn event
Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity and
pleasure to contribute meaningful entertainment customized to raise visibility
and entertain guests and patrons at several San Francisco Kids Turn fund raisers. In doing so, I have grown to learn of
and value the organizers, the organization, the programs, the mission, and the
evolving clientele of Kids Turn.
I grew up as an inner city kid in San Francisco during the seventies in a divorced home and though I did not have the opportunity of any officially organized after school, weekend, or family programming…life was good.
The seventies in San Francisco was a time of both Female &
Gay Liberation, the Hippie Revolution was still lingering, the Zodiac Killer
was active and on the loose, The Peoples Temple massacre occurred, The SLA
kidnapped Patty Hearst and terrorized The City, the Mayor (to me a family
friend as he was the father of our classmates at school) was killed, Drugs were
rampant in the streets, and China Town Gangs were at their peak. In fact, in
addition to our usual fire and earthquake drills at our elementary school on
the fringe of Chinatown, we had sniper drills to learn how to avoid the
occasional gunmen who used our schoolyard as a thoroughfare.
The school was comprised of diverse and responsible families
whose parents worked hard to support their families and community. Therefore, we
kids usually traveled independently in packs through the city on public
transport with our antennae and awareness raised high as we traversed through
the thick of the social climate of the time. Today, such a scene would be
perceived as ‘disenfranchised” and perhaps even unlawful, but back than we were
just a bunch of ambitious brats learning our way. Though we would get an
occasional ride here or there by a parent, there were no soccer moms in sight to
cater to our every need, or at least none in my peripheral vision.
Despite all of this, I never felt fear and quite the
contrary felt allot of love. In fact, I would go as far to say that the
experience taught me wisdom and planted the seed which grew (is still growing)
in becoming a giving mentor today.
In my youth, the after school programs often consisted of going
to the loving homes of family friends and/or my grand parents, who cooked for
us, taught us to cook and other life skills, encouraged us to do our homework, pushed
us to continue towards higher education, instilled notions of discipline and
hard work in order to realize our dreams and convictions, and inspired us
though their own accomplishments and contributions to the world. We were given
freedom and independence to play outside with our friends and foes and get into
innocent (sometimes not so innocent) trouble which consequently was our own
responsibility to resolve…and resolved it was! Profound experiences were had, confidence
was built. My single mother would join in the parenting when she could and
partake in the life lessons (sometimes life lesions) of the day…
Without knowing it, I suppose I did have a Kids Turn. I was one of the lucky ones.
Artistic Director
Velocity Arts & Entertainment
Velocity Circus
San Francisco
415 664-0095
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