Every child is BBD: Brilliant Beyond Normal

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

You see those beer commercials where everyone is healthy and fit and good looking and their lives are wonderful as they go on a three-day bender.

Lies.

You see those movies where the drug dealer is fit and rich and good looking and his life is wonderful.

More lies.

"You ever see a drug dealer (in a movie) driving an '85 Volkswagen?" Ron Glodoski asked the crowd of Columbia Falls Junior High students last week.

Of course not.

There is no glamour in drugs and alcohol, the nationally-known speaker told the students. But they already knew that. Judging from the number that raised their hands when Glodoski began asking the more pointed questions about booze and drugs, they knew more than one might ever suspect. They knew the other side of drug and alcohol abuse all too well. They knew the crime. They knew the physical and mental abuse that comes from booze and drugs. They saw the slow wasting away of relatives and friends.

Virtually ever kid in the crowd had been touched by teh negatives of booze and drugs.

They knew about all the things that never make the TV screen, are never shown in a Budweiser commercial.

Drug and alcohol addiction is a "slow, painful, ugly death."

See, Glodoski's been there too. He grew up in a lousy family. He became a gang banger. Drug dealer. Weirdo. Creep. Spent time in jail. The way he figures it, his life was darn near over by the time he turned 6. He took beatings from his parents and siblings and then a stick in the eye messed up his vision, gave him a slur.

He was tormented by his peers because of the way he looked, talked and acted. He was labeled as stupid. Attention Deficit Disorder. A malcontent. Loser.

He turned to drugs and booze.

You know the old adage.

"I can quit whenever I want," he said. "All drunks and potheads say that."

But it took years to "quit when he wanted."

Because the odds are against an alcoholic and a druggie. Most die young. Glodoski was lucky. He straightened himself out in his mid-30s and discovered something else. Something truly remarkable.

"I've never met a stupid kid my whole life," he said.

No one is smarter than anyone else.

Kids that are bored, fidgety, can't listen. Heck, they are just like him. And that's a good thing.

"It means your brain is working," Glodoski said.

Glodoski likes another label for kids that fidget.

BBD. Brilliant Beyond normal. Every kid can get there. If they stay away from drugs, booze, the negatives in their lives.

It's important to face the day with a positive attitude. An attitude that it's going to be a good day and good things are going to happen. Don't stand for verbal abuse.

Whoever said, "Stick and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."

That was stupid. Glodoski told the kids don't stand for it. Don't take it. Columbine wasn't an accident, he noted. The kids who shot the other kids had been verbally tormented by their peers.

Don't let it happen to you. If you see it, don't let it happen to your friends.

"Take a risk and tell them to knock it off," Glodoski told the crowd of teens.

When people start telling you you're worthless. You might just start to believe it.

But no kid is worthless. No human better than anyone else. Rise up. Face the challenge. It's going to be a good day.

No, it's going to be a great day.

A nationally-known speaker and motivator, Glodoski is also the author of "How to Be a Successful Criminal: The Real Deal on Crime, Drugs and Easy Money." Of course, there is no such thing as successful criminal. And that's his point. You can read more about him and his book at: www.ronglodoski.com.