Cards Of Hope

As we all know, the citizens of Haiti have recently been devastated by a massive earthquake which took close to 200 000 lives. The survivors are suffering greatly as food, water and shelter are slowly being brought in to this country. The world watches on with desperate eyes as medical teams and rescue workers struggle on, trying to bring relief to those who can be reached.


This tragic event has touched each of us, in some way, and a world full of ‘THANKS!’ is on each of our lips as we praise the efforts of those able to help.

Last night, Joanne and I joined millions of other individuals from across North America to unite in collective thoughts of hope for the survivors of this tragedy. We don’t often spend our evenings glued to the television set, but this was an evening that warranted this seemingly insignificant act.


It seems hard to believe that thinking about something can actually have an impact on a global event – or any event for that matter, but I believe this to be true. We humans are composed of Earthly matter and universal energies and whenever we think about anything or do anything we are sending the energies of our minds and muscle outwards into this world. As individuals the energies that we are continuously sending out – twenty four hours a day (even while we are dreaming) – most times loose themselves in the chaos of all the other energies that are ebbing and flowing across the surface of this planet.


When small groups of individuals gather to dedicate themselves to a particular matter, these energies converge and unite into stronger wave patterns. When an entire world is dedicated towards one train of thought and one uniting purpose then patterns of energies begin to emerge in empowering ways.

I’ve always wondered if one day humans will actually be able to see and recognize these energy manifestations.


Music is a very enlightening energy producer and celebrities from around the world packed the three hour telethon that we watched, last night on CBC. In between performances news reporters took us on many journeys through Haiti – through the devastated cities and countryside. They showed the horrors that survivors will be dealing with for many weeks to come and they showed the strength and compassion that is extending its heart and hands in efforts to bring relief.


Every performance was filled with strength for hope for the people of Haiti. Gordon Downie, from The Tragically Hip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGnAGbTdWhA) could be seen wiping a tear away after the emotional performance of ‘Fiddler’s Green’. Bruce Springsteen was calling to the world for support with every sobering note he plucked on his guitar. Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ which was accompanied by a choir, sent chills of confusion and sorrow through me as I felt the song begin with its haunting tones. As this song continued bursts of hope and light radiated from the stage to fill all viewers hearts with strength and love. I’m not much of Coldplay or Justin Timberlake fan, but I became one… if even for a few minutes! Stevie Wonder twisted his fingers all over his piano to bring an empowering medley to life. This performance ended with a breathtaking rendition of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B07qowh0YQ) and Stevie’s vocals cracked something inside my eye as I felt a small wet drop spilling over my bottom lid.


The evening ended with two supergroup performances. The Edge, Bono, Jay Z and Rihanna (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTa8aGvU9CE) were brought together to unite people from different musical genres in a celebration of love. I thought that it was great that Bono did not steal centre stage – as his soul was designed (LOL!) – but seemed to be there to let the other performers shine while he contributed in a more supporting role… except for a few hoots and hollers he managed to sneak in nearing the end of the song!!!!

Dave Matthews and Neil Young brought this evening to an end in a spectacular way. You could see these two musicians churning their talents together as their guitars sang to each other, feeding one another and feeding from each other (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk6OcXb-W2E).


It is really spiritually satisfying to witness a world uniting for such a worthy cause. I sat in silence with Joanne after this show and thought about the world’s future… as events such as this one will become more frequent and undoubtedly more devastating as global weather patterns become more extreme over the coming decades (and centuries). My thoughts of the future do not revolve around the human spirit as it deals with these crisis after they have occurred, but more to the idea that we will need to unite in new ways to create preventative actions as a way of preparing ourselves for the unexpected.


So… ‘Cards Of Hope’…

Michele Johnson is a friend of mine and an elementary school teacher. We attended a small friends gathering, last summer, and shared with each other many stories about our work with children, the environment and art. Two months later she shared with me her story about ‘Cards Of Hope’.


Michele told me that the students and parents of her school are continuously being asked to participate in fund raising efforts for a variety of causes. She wanted to create a small event that would allow her students to make a positive effect in the world that focussed on individual efforts instead of donations of money. “If the students simply donate a dollar or two to an effort they quickly forget about it, but if the students spend time thinking about a cause and work towards helping as they can, then they become more attached to the cause and then it becomes a part of them.”


Michele agreed that there are always people in need, somewhere in the world, and so she asked her students to create colourful cards with inspirational messages that would be sent to wherever they are needed most.

Though this artwork is several months old and these cards have already been sent to different parts of the world, I thought that it would be appropriate to share these artworks throughout this blog.


I want to inspire people to realize the value of our thoughts and how considerate concentration can make a difference. For those of us who are able to create positive change I want to inspire you to realize that simple and thoughtful actions can really make a world of difference.

Jim

About The Prizes

Well… I’ve had a few other people enter my art give-away, since my last story. I’ve already reached the twenty winners, but I’ve decided to share some of my artwork with these folks anyway!!!

The last three people who will soon be receiving a small package full of peace Stik-ers and a few other items are…

Sam B. – British Columbia
Toby B. – Barrie, Ontario
Rowan L. – South Africa

Congratulations to all 23 winners!!!

I thought that it would be appropriate to share the stories that tell about the why the artworks ‘New Horizons’ and ‘Sol Storm’ were created, since I’ve been sharing these images in my last few blogs.


The story for ‘New Horizons’ is a very short one! Way back in 1996 I began to create artful images. Most of the artworks that I created used geometric lines, grids or patterns as a part of their design. This is because of my architectural background – instead of using straight lines to draw walls, windows and doors I had adapted to use many straight lines to create textures for skies, trees or rivers.

About a year later I decided that I had enough artwork to put on a small display at a downtown London market. It was a few weeks before christmas and I thought that I might interest a few people in purchasing my artwork for gifts. Indeed, I did sell a few – which made me very happy.

I had many delightful conversations with a variety of people, during this time. Then there was a time when one man came to look at my art and he seemed to be studying each peace, very closely. He turned and looked at me and said, “This art isn’t bad… considering nothing is free-hand!” and then he turned and walked away. I looked at all my artworks on display and noticed that he was right. I did have many ‘free-hand’ art creations, but none were on display.

Quite simply, I took his remark and decided that I should create some more images that did not use geometry in their design.

As it was soon to be New Years, I was inspired to create an image that gave the viewer a sense of distant space – a far off horizon with expanses of the Earth ascending to a foreground where the viewer was contemplating their journey into the future. As each New Year approaches we should take a moment to contemplate our tasks and aspirations for this time, to set goals and create priorities as we seek our own ‘new horizons’!!!


The story of ‘Sol Storm’ takes us a few years into the future, to the time when Joanne and I were living in Nova Scotia (2002-04) – when we were working on the fourth art peace for my project “Canada: Glorious To Be” - .

Soon after our arrival to Nova Scotia I had joined a local artisans group. I participated in many of their art events and this allowed me to share my artwork with the community.

It was a year later and this art group was having a meeting to discuss their annual ‘Art Fair’. I must have blinked and suddenly everyone was looking at me to see if I would accept the task of creating the artwork that was to be used in advertising for this exhibition. I’m not sure why I was selected – I guess a lot can happen in a blink – but I accepted the job.

For the next week or so, my mind was a blank slate. I had many other projects on the go and they were taking most of my attention.


A few days later, a most delightful astrological occurrence happened. Our sun went through a three-day explosive volley, which showered the Earth with fireworks of intense colour. For each of these three nights I found myself sitting on my back porch for hours watching these displays of light. I’m wondering if many of you – now reading this – are remembering this time and your own experiences.

Well… this experience inspired me. I had heard on the radio that scientist were saying a sun storm of this magnitude may not occur again for many many years. I felt that I should capture this event in colourful inks and ‘Sol Storm’ was born!


I took the image to a local printing shop to make the flyers for the upcoming ‘Art Fair’. We lightened the image significantly so that the black text that was added could be read very clearly. You’ll notice on the flyer the announcement “Special Musical Slideshow Presentation”. This was an event that I had asked to do, to share my story about the Temagami forestland and how this experience had shown me that I was to be an artist.


At 2:00pm I shared my story, using a prerecorded musical selection along with many slides that I had photographed while in the Temagami region. If you look really closely at this picture (almost right in the center) you will see the mini-print ‘New Horizons’ on display.


Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I always talk about the Temagami forestland. It is very important to me. My experiences from my journey to this region were filled with magic and I tried very hard to use my photographic skills to capture these feelings. In this photo, just a small cropping of pine tree branches is in focus in the foreground. The rest of the photo is blurred, but just to the perfect amount, where the essence of light and shadows creates a feeling of spiritual energy that lives in this forest.

I’ve often thought about creating a painting based on this photo, but as of yet that hasn’t happened… maybe one day!

Jim

And The Winners Are…

Last Friday, I thought that I’d have a bit of fun with this blog and with my facebook friends – I had an art give-away. I thought that this would be a great way to kick of the New Year. I had created a total of twenty prizes that I would award to the first twenty participants. All anyone had to do was simply send me an email with their mailing address so that I could mail the prizes to them.

I thought that for sure, I would receive about forty or even fifty emails and I was a little surprised when, the next day, I had only received nine. The very first email was simply a quick note with no address attached. This person told me that she was a big fan of all the artwork that I post on facebook and that she thought my art give-away was a really great idea. She continued by saying that she did not send me her address because she thought that for sure, that she would be about the 500th entry! All these ‘for sure’s made me laugh.

I replied to her and told her that she was in fact, the first entry! She replied to my reply with a few laughs and her mailing address. There were two other similar stories within these nine entries.

To help further this ambition I had made a comment about these responses in my ‘status’ on facebook – to encourage others to participate. I wrote something like, “Peaceman Jim Kogelheide thinks it’s funny that so many friends think that everyone else is entering his give-away, so they aren’t entering… when in reality very few are actually entering! There are still 11 prizes up for grabs.”

This helped me find the last winners…

New Horizons is a mini-print and only 30 have ever been made. When I created them in 1998 I had also numbered and signed each one. Through the years, I had lost track of the remaining prints – I have about fifteen left – so when I found them I thought that these would make nice gifts. They are very small… but once a matte and a frame has been placed around it they look rather nice.

Five of these prints will soon be traveling around the world to find new homes!!! The first five winners are:

Kate G. – England
Carla J. – Manitoba
Deseree R. – California
Debby C.– Florida
Rob C. – right here in London, Ontario

Rob and I have met a few times and once we worked on a community arts project together. He thought that my art give-away was a great idea and he wanted to do something nice for me, in return. Rob asked me to send him a photograph of someone in my life so that he could draw a portrait for me. I told him that I have many portraits of my wife, already – ones that I’ve created over the years – so I asked him to draw me a funky peaceflower!! I’ll be sure to share his art creation once I receive it. Thanks Rob! That really made my day!!!


Sol Storm is an ink painting that I created while I was living in Nova Scotia. I have used this design to make prints and stickers over the last several years. This series however, was made at a slightly different size than normal and only ten were created. Each of these ten were numbered and signed.

Five of these prints will be travelling to the following people:

Julie P. – Gibraltar
Anne E. – Montana
Esha M. – Vancouver
Jennie F. – Connecticut
Tim Lane – again, from London, Ontario

Last Friday, when I created this art give-away, I made an announcement about it to the high school students who ride The Peacebus. When I had pulled up to the last stop, Tim told me that he had visited my website, linked to my blog, read the story and then emailed his entry to me… using only his cel phone!!!


Each of these ten winners will also be receiving a copy of the premier edition of Ecovox magazine!


To add a personal touch, on page 7, I wrote a personal message to each of these ten winners, “When moving a mountain, begin with the small rocks!!” and then I signed each magazine.

The mountain refers to the enormity of all the environmental, social, religious and political problems facing our world today. There are soooo many problems that are threatening humanities continued existence on the Earth and if we are to survive as a species we must move and transform these ‘mountains’. When people become aware of these issues it is often so overwhelming to think that solutions can be found. We do not need to give up, before we’ve even begun. We need to start small, with solutions that are easily accomplished – the ‘small rocks’. As we become more educated through these smaller efforts we build strength of mind and will to then begin to tackle the larger problems.

Now… I would have loved to have been able to give all twenty winners one of my prints and a copy of Ecovox magazine, but I didn’t want to overstep my small budget.


So… the last ten winners (I included these items in all twenty prizes) will be receiving
sixteen of my peace Stik-ers…


and two newspaper articles that talk about my environmental ambitions to raise awareness about the clear-cutting of the Temagami forestland – an ambition that dates back to 1996. It was this experience that guided me to become conscious of my creative abilities.


Since my peace Stik-ers are all black & white images, I decided to add a little splash of colour into these packages. I made a quick trip to my local copy centre to print some more sticker designs that were created over the last four months (inspired by the elementary students of The Peacebus!)

The last (but certainly not least) ten winners are…

Grace W. – Nevada
Angie W. – Dundalk, Ontario
Zeineb A. – Tunisie
Kim L. – South Africa
Dyhana L. – Florida
Mike Y. – California
Annie B. – England
Hal – British Columbia
Alex K. – Ajax, Ontario
Tara M. – New South Whales


I always have a lot of fun when I do things like this. It makes me feel really great to be able to reach out around the world and share in people’s lives.


I enjoy the time I spend designing my stickers and going to the copy centre. I’ll listen to an LP (yes – I listen to old vinyl records) while I cut the sticker sheets, sign the magazines and address the envelopes.


I enjoy decorating the envelopes with my peace Stik-ers, thinking about all the people that will see my artwork as each package moves from place to place.

And… the thing I like most is thinking about all the smiles that will shine on each face when my package arrives at their mailbox!

Thanks to all of those who participated in my art give-away! Thanks to everyone else for enjoying this story!!!

Jim

Smiling Leaves

In all my conversations and teachings about art with children I always stress the point that art can be found in everything we do if we use our imaginations.

When Joanne and I were living in Nelson, B.C. in 2002, I lived up to this philosophy.


It was autumn and the leaves were changing colour and falling to the ground. Instead of simply raking them into piles and bagging them for the local dump, I decided to have some fun with my art! I raked the leaves to form an image of a smiling sun, using one of the tree trunks as an eye.

The sun may appear upside down in this photo, but imagine that you were walking along the sidewalk at the top of this photo – it would appear right-way-up.

There was an elementary school at the end of this street, so many children walked past my smiling sun, everyday. I used to arrive home from work just before 8:00am – I was working the midnight shift at a nearby hotel – and I’d often sit on my front porch watching the students going off to school. While this smiling sun lasted I would always hear a few funny remarks from these students as they walked past my lawn.

It made me feel great to be able to do something so simple that caused the air to be filled with children’s laughter!

Jim

Why I’m Always Poor

Joanne and I had a very quiet New Year’s Eve. Christmas saw our house full of family and so we simply wanted a bit of quiet time, on this day.

We walked to the corner store to rent a movie at around 9:00pm and were surprised to see a colourful display of fireworks being set off at nearby Boler Mountain. We assumed that they were set off at this time cuz a lot of children wouldn’t be awake to enjoy them at midnight.


The next morning, we relaxed and watched the snow fall while we warmed up with cups of tea. Joanne busied herself with the animals and I sat back to read the very first issue of Ecovox Magazine.

I am interested in this magazine for two reasons. 1- It’s a local magazine that is ‘designed to enable Londoners to gain a high awareness and understanding of local and global environmental issues and to find practical solutions’. 2- I’m in it – LOL!!!

The editor, Maryanne MacDonald and I have worked together on several local environmental projects in the past, and a few months ago she told me about this upcoming magazine. She had asked if I would like to contribute stories and artwork for Ecovox. Of course, I said yes… and now my story about the Temagami forestland (Part 1 of 7) and one of my landscape ink drawings inspired by this region of Northern Ontario fills half of page 7.


The magazine is only 12 pages long – I hear that it will be growing over the next few issues – but it is filled with many interesting stories. There are a few book reviews that highlight mostly Canadian authors who write about environmental ideals. There is a story that highlights what Londoner’s have done to raise their voice in support of global organizations such as http://www.350.org/ (My face appears in two of these photos as I was a participant in this event). Hints and suggestions for living ‘lightly’ on the Earth focus on things that we can do over the winter months. Many community personalities are spotlighted for their participation in environmental activities and there is an inspiring story about how Girlguides are reusing plastic milk bags to create blankets for the homeless!

There are a few other columns in the magazine that I’ll let you find out about for yourself. Ecovox is a free magazine and it is distributed through all 16 London Library branches.

The paper that is used to produce this magazine is 100% post-consumer material. It has been processed using chlorine free methods and the printing company uses bio-gas energy! These processes will be the wave of the future as more consumers demand environmentally friendly products from manufacturers.

So… what does this have to do with me being poor?!!!

A few blogs ago, I shared the story about a pet portrait that I was commissioned to do. Michael loved the portrait of his dog Digger so much that he gave me a bonus on top of the agreed upon price. Whenever these kind of surprises happen in my life I’m always compelled to use the bonus to help me share my artwork. My wife always says, “No wonder you’re always poor… everytime you make any money selling your artwork you turn around and spend it all on stickers and prints to just give away!” Ha! She’s right and she knows that it brings me a lot of personal satisfaction so it’s a bit of joke around our house, after all these years!!!

Hmmm… what am I planning on giving away?!!!

A few days ago, I was going through an old file box and I stumbled upon a few series of prints that I had forgotten about. One series dates back over ten years and the other series of art prints dates back to 2004. Both series’ are limited edition, numbered and signed! Hey – if I ever become famous these prints just may be worth an extra penny or two!!!

I thought that it would be a fun idea to create 20 packages to mail to you – my blog readers and facebook friends. The thought of my artworks travelling to different countries around the world really excites me!

These packages will include copies of Ecovox magazine, an art print and lots of my personally made peace stickers.

Here’s how it works…

All you have to do is send me an email – peacefulwarrior333@hotmail.com – and tell me what your mailing address is (please include country, etc.). That’s it! It’s that simple!!!


The first 5 mailing addresses that I receive will be sent 1 copy of Ecovox magazine (I will be writing a personal note inside for each of you), 1 numbered and signed ‘New Horizons’ print and lots of my personally made peace stickers.


The next 5 mailing addresses that I receive will be sent 1 copy of Ecovox magazine (I will be writing a personal note inside for each of you), 1 numbered and signed ‘Sol Storm’ print and lots of my personally made peace stickers.


The next 10 mailing addresses that I receive will be sent a business sized envelope filled with lots of my personally made peace stickers.

I will write a future blog about this ‘art give away’ to let you know where in this world my artwork has traveled. The only information that I will share in that story – about you - will be your first name and city or country where you live.

With 2010 just beginning I thought that this would be a great and fun way to spread some inspiration around this wonderful planet of ours. I hope that you agree!

Looking forward to hearing from at least 20 of you, soon!!!!

Jim

Finally Caught Up For 2009!!!!

Yesterday I started driving my new routes with The Peacebus. Since Joanne and I recently moved to the west side of London I had asked my supervisor to give me routes that were closer to where I live. This saves me a lot of driving time and saves the company a bit of money as I’m using less fuel to get around. The Earth smiles as I’m polluting less, as well!


I imagine that in a week or so I’ll be sharing stories and artwork about the new students that are riding my bus. For today, I thought that it would be a good idea to share the last few artworks that were presented to me, by the students who rode my bus in 2009.

Since the beginning of the year I have witnessed many changes in the students that rode my bus… changes for the good! When the school year began, Jessica (in senior kindergarten) was a very quiet and shy little girl. Every day I would welcome her onto the bus with a smile as she walked past me with eyes lowered to sit in her seat where she sat in silence for the rest of the bus ride. This went on for almost two months when suddenly Jessica changed.

I first noticed this change when she was getting on the bus, after school one day. On this day, she was smiling and as she got closer to the bus she looked at me through the window and waved a greeting. When she got on the bus I said (as I had been all year), “Ahhh, bonjour Jessica! Comment c’est va?” I was really surprised when – for the first time – she replied, “Tres bien!” Then she handed me some artwork to decorate the windows of The Peacebus.

From that day, until the end of the year a new Jessica rode my bus. It was wonderful watching her shyness disappear as a livelier little girl began to emerge.


Near the end of the school year, Jessica handed in another drawing for me. It put a huge smile on my face. It was a picture of The Peacebus and she drew it driving through the subdivision where she lives!!!!


As I’m sure you can imagine, the children didn’t always behave like angels! Sometimes Mr. Jim had to separate students who were bickering and occasionally a student was sent to the front of bus for misbehaving. The day after I had to move Jason to the front of the bus, he got on and handed me this drawing, “I wasn’t very peace-like, yesterday, Mr. Jim… I’m sorry!” This apology was very thoughtful for a young boy in grade 1 and I was glad that I could reduce his ‘front of the bus’ sentence!!!


I’ve shared quite a bit of artwork created by Patricia, also in grade 1. In fact, at one point she had handed in so much artwork that I wrote one blog just about her! After a while Patricia started finding more and more ways to be creative. Instead of simply handing in a peace of her artwork, she started to put her artwork into envelopes that she also decorated with peaceful images.


When I opened the envelopes all sorts of artwork would spill out! Sometimes she would draw full-page images to decorate the ceiling of the bus and other times she would fill the envelope with window decorations for the bus.


The students who rode my bus must have shared a lot of stories (and my peace Stik-ers!) with their friends. Whenever I happened to be in the school, before bus loading time, students who I didn’t know would walk up to me and say, “Peace! Mr. Jim!” This always made me laugh. Several students who didn’t ride my bus would still hand in artwork. They would give it to a student who did ride my bus and they would hand it in to me. I received about five window decorations and this little peace pillow.

I thought that all of these peaceful interactions were great! Without even trying I was inspiring other students to think of peace!!!

The thing that surprised me most was how I had inadvertently affected the fashions of the children who rode my bus.

At the beginning of the year, I had announced that Fridays were to be ‘Peace T-shirt’ days. I explained that any T-shirts that had pictures of flowers, birds or other animals would be considered ‘Peace T-shirts’ cuz they showed the students love of Nature. Blue T-shirts were accepted as they represented the sky and the oceans. Green T-shirts were also accepted as they represented trees, grass and Earthly things. Also, T-shirts that said things like “I Love Canada” were accepted as they show how the student loves their homeland.


Nearing the end of September, I had created my own Peace T-shirts to give away to the students, as prizes, for their participation in an art contest I had created. I handed out six T-shirts and every Friday the students wore them to school. The principal of the school even shared some positive comments with me about these T-shirts.

One day, a young girl told me that she had gone shopping with her mom. Then she opened her jacket, slightly, to pull out the peace necklace that she had bought. I thought that it was great!

A few days later, an older student was excited to show me the peace bracelet the she had just bought.


Over the next while the students shared with me many stories about all the peace symbols that they had seen. Some had seen a car with the words ‘peace’ and ‘hope’ graffitied on it, some told me about peace posters they had seen, or peace images that they had found on the internet.

It made me feel very happy to know that I had turned on these children’s imaginations to draw peaceful images and I was overwhelmed to realize that I had opened their eyes to witness the peace that surrounds us everyday!!!!

I thought that it was delightful that I had inadvertently influenced the fashion that these students wore. These are their T-shirts…


Well… I’ve finally done it – got caught up with all the artwork and stories that I’ve wanted to share with you. Now, that I have a busload of new students, I’m sure that new stories and artworks will be written about very soon!

I really, really, super really enjoyed all the adventures that I shared with my former students and I’m looking forward to a great 2010 filled with all the wondrous delights that life has to offer!!!

Jim

Mr. Jim Is Fun!

Hello! My name is Mr. Jim and I’ll be your school bus driver for the rest of this blog!!!

What a blast I’ve had, over this last year, driving my big yellow bus and making lots of new friends with the world’s future leaders! Some days we sing songs together. Some days we share stories about detectives and magical pizzas. Some days the students bring me wonderful drawings inspired by thoughts of peace…


It’s been very interesting for me, to see how all the silly things that I do affect the students who ride my bus. I’ve witnessed a few of them turning into ‘peace’ monsters – LOL!


One day a student told me that I had inspired her to do a school project about recycling. She had found this picture on the internet and she used it in her project. She made a copy for me to decorate The Peacebus!


Another students had given me this picture to use as a decoration, as well. I’m always delighted to receive these images… especially when it’s from a student who doesn’t feel confident with their drawing ability. It shows that they’ve found a different way of expressing themselves by simply sharing images that they like.

This August, I spent a week driving kids to summer camp. I learned a few of their songs. One of my favourites was called ‘The Moose Song’. It had a simple beat and it was easy to change the words to write songs about any subject. Since then, I wrote this song for the students of my regular route. It is a repeat after me song, so when you’re reading the lyrics bellow try to image me, poorly singing one line, followed by thirty kids screaming out a repeat of that same line…

The Bus Song

We ride the bus to school
Where we learn the golden rule
We ride the bus to school
Where we learn the golden rule

Singing Way-ay-o!
Way-o! Way-o! Way-o! Way-o!
Wayyyy-o! Wayyy-o!
Way-o! Way-o! Way-o! Way-o!

We pass stops and signs
And thoughts that really blow my mind
We pass stops and signs
And thoughts that really blow my mind

Singing Way-ay-o!
Way-o! Way-o! Way-o! Way-o!
Wayyyy-o! Wayyy-o!
Way-o! Way-o! Way-o! Way-o!

Oui! C’est bon! Tres bien!
Well that’s all the French I know
Oui! C’est bon! Tres bien!
Well that’s all the French I know

Singing Way-ay-o!
Way-o! Way-o! Way-o! Way-o!
Wayyyy-o! Wayyy-o!
Way-o! Way-o! Way-o! Way-o!

Mr. Jim is fun
Singing songs with everyone
Mr. Jim is fun
Singing songs with everyone

We sing Rock’n’Roll
The music really lifts my soul
We sing Rock’n’Roll
The music really lifts my soul

Singing Way-ay-o!
Way-o! Way-o! Way-o! Way-o!
Wayyyy-o! Wayyy-o!
Way-o! Way-o! Way-o! Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy-o!


So… you’d think that I would have already run out of stories and art by the students of The Peacebus…but I still have more!!! Tune in to my next blog entry to learn how Mr. Jim “Busdriver Extrodinaire!” has made PEACE a fashion statement……..

Mr. Jim