My Friend Vinny Hopkins

I have a co-worker here at work, her name is Angie, she is a single parent with 3 kids and has raised them essentially by herself, her oldest child is Vinny, or Vinny Delpino as I like to call him from the famed 80's show Doogie Houser. As an 18 yr old boy with no Father -figure in his life he seeks out that which he has never truly had. I have known this boy since he was 4 yrs old and have taken a liking to him from day one, his sister Victoria is a gorgeous , sweet 15 yr old and is a subject for writing at a later date and both of these kids are special to me. Now Vinny and I have always debated everything , from tweets to in your face conversations. Vinny is a college Freshman at the local Jr college and along with my kids is the subject of much of my teenage experiences and writings about such! As an 18yr old still trying to find his Niche and place amongst the humanity and all it merits and De-merits has dabbled in an array of cultures, from Emo, to the surf crowd, punk rock, hip hop and just an all around seeker of experiences. He is a great kid and our debates are generally about what it is to grow into being a man, he always calls me judgemental and i always tell him, been there done that made that mistake all ready , just listen to me Boy and you will learn from my mistakes and not your own in the painful ways that I and your mother have. But as I said this boy is special and he has so many attributes that make him special. He is a very respectful, very well spoken and articulate young man who asks the right questions and doesn't always like the answers, typical youth right? I hope our debates will go on until he is in his 40's ,or as long as i'm alive because by then he will have a different perspective and i would have mellowed by then as i will have learned and grown as he has, just moving up the ladder of consciousness i always say. Knowledge is power i always tell him, he says Power is evil and I always respond with the same "put a gun in a criminals hand he will do harm , put a gun in in a policemans hand and he will keep you safe, its all perspective and whomever holds the gun for their intended purpose is the determinant of whether it is Good or Bad. Knowledge is Power , for they can never take that away from you. I enjoy talking to Vinny and just try to open up his mind , he is very receptive to it and understands where i come from, even if he doesn't always agree and that's ok by me. U R a great Boy vinny, stay true to you and let your heart and your conscience be your guide, you were raised right and now hold the Ball in your hands.