A Note from Marc Smith ...

Dear Fremd Students, Friends, and Slam Fans!

The power of the word manifests itself in many ways. I as sitting on the porch of my half-restored country home in Savanna, Illinois watching the muddy Mississippi River churn along when I opened the packet of your letters Mr. Romano posted to me. It had been a gloomy day. In fact, a gloomy couple weeks filled with the uncontrollable stuff life throws at you when you're an old man like me. I had slipped into an ugly spiral of doubt and confusion. One of those spinning vortexes we all find ourselves tumbling into now and then when the disappointments and setbacks seem like tornadoes tearing up our chances at happiness.

I opened the packet and began to read:

"You are one crazy dude. I never laughed so hard in school in my life. Ever! Please come back next year."
"Even though you didn't drop the f-bomb, walking on the wall was the coolest."
"I will always remember you telling us that if we feel a destiny inside of us, follow it, because it's real. I've already started doing that. Thank you."
"Outing Mr. Sampson and Ms. Mungai on being engaged was awesome."
"The poem I enjoyed the most was the one about your father's coat."
" ... was the one about 'He says She says.'"
"... was the one about the Wolf."
"... was the one about your daughter ... was the one about money being a rich man's joke ... was the one about pulling people up the mountain."

Thank you, Fremd, for pulling this old man out of his doubts and deep blues, reminding him that the things we say and write do matter, that communication and the arts of writing, performing, and poetry do make a difference, that when we take the time to thoughtfully and openly express to someone how we feel about them and what they've done for us we can change their day, their week, their lives.

Your letters have done that for me. Thank you.

Your grateful friend,
Marc (So What!) Smith