At the Samuel French Theatre Bookstore on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, the doorway is shaped like a keyhole, because books and an education is the key.
One thing that I noticed after having lived in both bad and good neighborhoods was the difference in the education level of the people. And a key from moving out of the bad neighborhood and into the good neighborhood was education and books.
In the bad neighborhood people used to smoke crack in my driveway, I would have to run them off. There was a dead body in my driveway one night when I came home from work. My neighbor abused his wife, I had to call the cops for fear of her safety. There were drug dealers, prostitutes, and the whole area looked run down and horrible.
In the good neighborhood I hung out with doctors, and lawyers, and actors, and with rock stars, and I had a job driving the rich people in a limousine. Our limo service also had private body guards, and private jets. And we were the official limousine service for the Jay Leno show.
Education is one of the major differences between the good neighborhood and the bad neighborhood, books and an education is the key.
And you would think that the crime might be high in the expensive area because everything costs more, but no, the people are educated and they know how to make money honestly. Once you know how to make money honestly then you do not need to break the law to make money.
There is also what Carl Rogers taught, in that one's thoughts, feelings, and behavior, need to be congruent for people to be happy, if you change how they think and feel, then you can change how they behave. So if an education and books can change how one thinks and feels then an education can change how one behaves.
In Malibu I had 2 children living in my house, one girl was 8 and the other girl was 15, and those girls studied hard. They knew that if they wanted to live in Malibu when they grew up that they needed a good education, and they planned on going to college. They also did charity work, and they made meals for the needy, and they were taught the importance of public service.
And in Colombia as we have spent more money educating the children then the crime has gone down. As you change how people think and feel then you can change how they behave.
Of note too, is that there does not always have to be a reward once one has evolved, there does not need to be constant positive stimulus to keep us going, knowledge and goodness are their own reward. And one keeps trying to do good even if there is no reward, or even when one is punished for doing good. Once people are good people then they are going to keep on being good people. Although circumstances may play a role.
And everyday the people in the poor neighborhoods study hard so that they can get an education so that they can move to a better neighborhood.
Educating the poor children is the best gift we can give them. Here at home, as well as in Mexico, and in Colombia, and elsewhere.
Salute,
Tony V.
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