'Abstract' James' parents gave us a ride back from the grand opening of ARTSPARK. His mother said, "I wonder how many people live their whole lives and have great talent that they never discover?" I said, "That makes a great case for broad education for children - especially in the arts."

Plato said, "What is valued will be cultivated." What do we value? I am a big sports fan and a former high school athlete. However, I often lament the fact that the arts are starving while athletics is fed like a ravenous beast. Quincy Jones said, "The arts feed the souls of a people." Yeah, some more soul food could do us all some good.

Our time, talent, and treasure would be well-spent in helping our children grow artistically. The real fun begins when we learn to learn from them. Children are natural artists. As we age it can become difficult to recapture our inner-artist-child. Here is a poem about that I wrote a few years ago:

I love living in the wonderful arts community of Broad Ripple. I take great comfort in knowing that Broad Ripple High School is an arts and humanities magnet school. If I had children, they would go to BRHS. In this community we are cultivating more than a love for the arts which will lead to a happy and meaningful life. I am certain that we have students right now who are at Broad Ripple High School whose music will be heard, whose poems will be read, and whose paintings will be pondered 100 years from now. We are quite simply cultivating greatness; however, the flower of greatness needs some sunshine.