 |
|
|
Healing pole headed to N.Y.; leads duo into leadership roles Jaymes Lambert stands at the back of the ballroom as the lights go down. Almost 200 disadvantaged teenagers from around Monterey County sit with their backs to him. A video begins, chronicling their summer in the One Voice Arts & Leadership Program. As the kids watch the movie, Lambert watches them. The Seaside 18-year-old used to be in the program, and now he has returned to be a leader. Lambert has timed his return well: One Voice's celebration today also marked the culmination of a project that changed his life. One Voice is a Salinas-based, county-run program that provides teenagers from low-income families with jobs that teach artistic and practical skills. Several years ago, it received a most unusual donation: an 1,100-year-old, 23 foot-tall log from an Alaskan cedar tree. With it, youths produced an ornate totem pole carved with images of local endangered species. This week, One Voice will send the "healing pole" to New York City as a gesture of support in light of the Sept. 11 tragedy there. "I'm very proud it's going to New York," said Lambert, who worked on the project. "This is the perfect place for the pole." Fulfilling as it will be for Lambert when the pole is dedicated in its new home at the Bronx Zoo, it will not be the end. For he and fellow One Voice alumnus Demetrious Huggins, it is only the beginning. Lambert and Huggins, both 19, grew up together in Seaside. When they were young, they looked around and saw a community where pent up frustration led to violence and stagnation. If their peers were any indication, their future options seemed like jail or a job behind a cash register. They shared an artistic impulse, but were frustrated because they had no creative outlet. Enter a 6,000-pound log and a woodcarver named Shane Eagleton. A New Zealand native who teaches at the University of Hawaii, Eagleton is an intense, dark-haired man whose energy level verges on manic. He came to California to lead One Voice's woodcarving project, believing that the computer age has left young people numb. "We need to get back to our hands," Eagleton said. For Lambert and Huggins, the project was a revelation. They spent an entire summer shaping the log with scalpels, chisels and chainsaws. They selected animals that reflected something about themselves. Huggins carved a dolphin because his friends say he's smart but playful. Lambert chose an owl, because he has always looked after his sister and cousins, and he identifies with how the owl keeps watch over the woods. Then the summer ended. They finished the project just like the other kids, and soon they were 18 and at a crossroads. The seeds had been planted with the healing pole, but they still needed one more push before they embarked on a new path. For Huggins, it came with a shooting pain in his chest, and a diagnosis of a serious heart problem. Knowing his life could be cut short, he vowed to live his remaining days as fully as he can. Lambert, meanwhile, had moved to Atlanta, where some of his family lives. The new location was no escape from confusion and frustration. "A cousin of a friend of mine was only 16 and he had life in jail," Lambert said. "It made me think, what if that had been me? What have I done? Where have I gone?" By coincidence, Huggins came through Atlanta several weeks ago on a One Voice-sponsored leadership trip. He met up with Lambert and told him about his new job: teaching and mentoring kids at One Voice. Soon Lambert packed his bags and returned to California to do the same thing. The two plan to keep working at One Voice, and then, if all goes well, in a year they will move to Hawaii to become apprentices for Shane Eagleton. "I knew I would do something with art and helping people out," Huggins said with a smile as he showed off some of his carvings on the Bronx-bound log. "But I didn't know it would come this far." Dan Laidman can be reached at 646-4346. |
|