st paul minnesota when one leaves a community three times actually they leave for what they think are better opportunities each time i receive paul i have found better opportunities that were temporary more temporary then long but i kept being called back to s paul not necessarily by people but then again by people but a spirit that brought me back to st paul caused me to keep coming back one of the things about st paul that is unique in other communities i've been is its spirituality its innate love for self and each other when you walk down a street in st paul you feel wanted when you're sitting in a coffee shop in st paul you feel wanted when you are teaching young people how to do things you a part of what's going on and every little contribution that you make is important to that particular community specifically first time i came to st paul and i ain't keen fifty nine to work with the saint paul urban l i met some young people in the urban league who are trying to be college students these young people and their parents made me feel wanted and needed in st paul feeling that i could do more i moved on to the state level state department of nondiscrimination the thing that i wanted to do then i felt that i could do was show people how to better get along and show both white and black and brown and gold and red that there's a place for them as well and we tried to do that through various activities with young people going all over the state i've been had an opportunity to go to another place that i love and that's in north carolina i was asked to come to durham north carolina to serve on the staff of the north carolina fund this is to work with children and adults who are in poverty and for whom little was being done to get them off every after a few years there i so journey to new york and then to new jersey at rutgers university all of these places that i've worked have been very rewarding for me i kept feeling a little more from st paul minnesota my wife loved st paul as well and we've lived as you can till all over the nation just about and never have we found it so comfortable and so satisfying as when we live in st paul minnesota and st paul of course is a place that has a way of calling you and then putting you in a place where you're bound to thrive not just survive but bound to thrive i'm so glad that i was able to come back to st paul three different times and as i have been told by doctors and medical experts this will be the place that i will leave this world as we know it i've been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer i expect not to live longer than another month or so from the time that i i'm giving this but i felt it i felt an obligation to talk to people about st paul to talk to people about the vast human physical and physical resources in st paul that can cause one to benefit not only to survive but to thrive as well most recent activities at johnson high school with the youngsters there and the fact his staff have made me feel worthwhile i spent the last three years working at johnson high school and also volunteering in various organizations that work with young people i have found that as i work with young people i am fulfill when i say fulfilled i mean that i'm fortunate to have been around long enough to see some of those young people  and be of service to the community in fact my major caretaker at this point is a young woman that i found at sixteen years old and a student at central high school by the name of mary kay boy she is as perfect a person as i know there are several people i could name who have been a part of my life and i a part of theirs cofee robert hickman is one who i have partnered with and who we have coach taught in various organizations johnson high school being one and our spirit is what keeps us going and keeps us together i personally have not one regret of my sojourn in st paul minnesota it has been best for me and my family and in all of these travels i have to mention my wife mary who for fifty three years was at my side often times pushing many times poorly but she was always at my side and assuring that we would have co success in those things that we did she of course is a highly decorated teacher who has done so much for many kids in many schools and caused them to prosper and for over fifty years we've had a son michel who is carrying on the work that we have tried to be successful i am now at the point where i am ready to move on to my next life if it were not for the people of st paul and yes other communities as well a state of washington new york city new brunswick new jersey new york new brunswick new jersey and other places that all have contributed my growth and i return have tried to contribute to the growth of those communities and those communities have helped me enough left in my life to discuss each and every experience that i had no is there time or space for me to share with you all of those things that i would like to convey but let me just say this that a way of making sure that you give all that you can given that you get all that you can  is to give of self and help other people give of self always remember that self love leads to self initiative which leads to advancement of self and remember this that one cannot advance myself without advancing along with others being pulled by others being pushed by others and also as we say look you know there is much more i could say but again as i said before we would be here for the rest of this century and it just got started eleven years ago thank you very much basic thing that i think young people need a cell for love and self confidence if you love yourself you will never let you down be who you are do not try to be somebody else that you think you would like to be be who you are and it will all come together