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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Tuesday GuestSpot...Brian from WaystationOne


















The Brians, fifteen into one…………..


Finding interesting people on the bloggosphere is easy; comes to mind an image of a creepy kid wearing his sisters prom dress passed out drunk at his computer where for all the rest of the world he can be Serolophus a elderly scholar that critiques his readers and says lofty meaningless platitudes. This is not the case about our guest tonight at all...I "met" Brian by stumbling upon a blog that intrigued me, d'Verse Poets Pub...at first I thought for sure "Brian" had to be at the least fifteen people using that avatar because of the prolific nature of his writing and reading and responding clearly to each piece...but, after watching him closely, (sounds like stalking right, sadly no, but thanks for assuming) and then interacting with the many "Brians" I came to the realization that the fifteen was only one when I read him "speak" about helping a kid struggling with addiction, about coffee and cigarette smoke and obviously to a drunk like me he was talking with poetry about dragging that kid to a twelve step meeting...so I had to say hello and ask him about it privately...from that email I was amazed at who Brian actually was. I would like to welcome Brian from Waystationone to Wander without being lost, welcome Brian…
Brian, tell us. How you came to be standing outside of a twelve step meeting with that kid....

At the time I was counseling at risk kids. I had about 5 boys/young men that I met with each week, each one different. His escape was pills; mostly prescription, pain pills, ADHD meds, anything he could score. He also drank. He was an addict. Any time stress became too much he retreated to the blur. So I took him to meetings. 

I have taken kids to meetings for years on and off.


Ok, you have worn many hats; tell us about some of that


Ha. I dunno. Maybe I have not figured out what I want to do in life. That’s not true really. Each of the other things I have done is a facet of helping people and in particular kids. It’s when I had the biggest struggle in my own life. I have taught, counseled, pastured kids. I worked for Citibank once---actually did very well---sales and training. i have lost count of all the little jobs really, lol.. 


How did you come to be a poet?


A friend asked me to write a poem. I was a prose writer and she said i should try poetry. That was somewhere around 4 years ago and the rest is history.


Who was your favorite "Partridge family" member?


Whew. It’s been a while since I watched partridge family. Evidently there is an 80% chance I am Reuben, according to the quiz I just found.


Ha ha, just wanted something random
Who is your favorite author?


Not an easy question as I read very much. Erika Meitner is one i just recently fell in with. Also I am studying some alt lit poets right now that write outside of the box. Saul Williams is another.


Your favorite poet?


My dear friend Claudia Schoenfeld.


Who are you reading now and would like to mention


Tao Lin is quite interesting. Not for everyone. The stuff coming out of muumuuhouse is challenging the way I see poetry. Matthew Rohrer.


Would you share with us two or three of your pieces of work?


The verse/ /the music is one I recently posted. I like it. It has a more hip hop beat to it and it addresses love & poetry and how they entwine at times.



Human encompasses my interaction with the world around me. I meet all kinds of people and love to hear their stories.



Price tag populus is one of my social conscious pieces. i think we all have an investment to make in this world.



Thanks for sharing those with us Brian! Now I  am going to really impose on Brian's generous nature...
Would you white an original piece for us your interview readers?


Ok, totally random poem I wrote in my notebook the other day.



"In the quiet moments, somewhere"

it's a rip off,
only 1 blue Jolly Ranchers
in a whole bag

my son
gets the first one in West Virginia
& by Pennsylvania, he's ready 
for another

'i think you got the only one.'

'no there is more.'

i dump the bag on the floor
between the front seats, one eye
on the road--they roll under seats
down the aisle to the back
of the van

'ah, there is one more,'

he is happy
& for the last 35 miles
the only sounds are the mountains
grumbling as the plates
move slowly by

or into each other.


Brian 
WaystationOne.blogspot.com
Coopyright 2/11/2014



As a teacher how did sandy hook impact you or your students?


We do more drills. I talk with my students about things. I think on some level they are blinded by an “it can not happen to me” belief. some get it and are emotionally attached. Maybe the benefit of youth is being able to move beyond these things better than us.


What is your most prized memories?


I had this great Thai food a couple months ago. Ok, that was an effort not to fall into my wedding day or the birth of my children. Its hard though because every day is so full of wonders to experience. 


Saddest moments?


Probably the hardest day was delivering the funeral for my mother in law and giving her permission to die in the hospital.


What else do you think we should know about yourself?


I have not worn underwear in 22 years, which always makes boxer/brief questions a little awkward. I would love to have a pet squirrel. I would not make him wear a leash, but if he sat on my shoulder periodically it would be nice.


I write. I live. I love. People invigorate me. I like music in all its flavors.


Thank you so much Brian…if you want to read more about Brian, his writing or the people he reads please visit him at WaystationOne.blogspot.com





Christopher McQueeney 2/11/2014    5:42 P.M.https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif


11 comments:

Brian Miller said...

hey man...thanks for taking the interest...and for being a friend over the years...i am glad you are honest about your own challenges in your writing...you've had a tough row the last couple years...know i think of you and pray for you often...

Brian Miller said...

hey man, just fyi

its waystationone.com
not weighstation....smiles.

Slamdunk said...

Comprehensive. You covered poetry, family trips, employment, and underwear status.

I think that covers all the topics I would have asked about.

Anonymous said...

Brian loved the personal insight into you. A kind, generous man with a heart of gold. Am a little perturbed about the not wearing underwear, but hey if you wanna free ball - be my guest. Thanks for the interview Wander.

Pat Hatt said...

Fun interview indeed, hmmm the pet squirrel may not last very long with your cat. Always helping out at your sea and gawking away with glee. less laundry with no undies too haha

Scarlet said...

Thank you for featuring Brian ~ His words always resonate with me ~

Some things I know & some things were interesting to know, smiles ~

Grace

HA said...

Great interview. Such interviews help in making you realize that the people you come across on the internet are real beings with a physical body and an individual self identity, and they are not just the pixels that make up the image on the screen.

Brian is a wonderful person and he has a powerful poetic voice, transforming his observations into such words that they are no less than pearls.

Claudia said...

smiles.. a cool interview of a wonderful poet...weighstation one..made me smile...

Myrna R. said...

It's always nice to learn more about Brian. Ha. Wouldn't have guessed the underwear situation. Now I know.
He's such a good person and this comes through in his writing and the comments he makes. it's an honor for me to have met him.

Anonymous said...

Brian is one of my favorite "Internet " friends and that has come to me real friend too. Thanks for doing this interview. Be careful of tsquirrels though! K.

Tina said...

What a great interview! Fun to learn something new, even though I've known Brian since I first started blogging 5 years ago.

He's the real deal, and he's amazingly giving and loyal. It's a pleasure to count him as a friend.

Tina @ Life is Good