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Greetings:
My name is Michael Watkins, Editor in Chief of this publication. I would like to introduce myself.
I am a 40 year old male from a small town called Clinton North Carolina.
I am, presently, the 8th of 9 children; being next to the youngest, I found myself in the midst of a sibling rivalry to share the love of a parent.
Having 4 brothers and 4 sisters would make one think that love would abound in such a family, but that was not the case for me. I found myself competing for a love I was, obviously, never going to get; therefore, one day I quit trying to get it. At the age of 8, I knew there was no love for me and having a life of pure hell at such an early age, it was too much for me to deal with, so I tried to slash my wrist with the bottom of a Pepsi bottle. I quickly became the black-sheep of the family. Started smoking cigarettes by age 10 and by age 12 was smoking weed. I got drunk for the first time at age 15 in the bottom of a bottle of scotch. Man, what a nightmare.
I graduated high school and went to college to study engineering, made good grades and did very well, until 2 weeks before graduation, I got in trouble while hanging out with some friends, went to jail, which eventually, led me to prison term.
Well, at this point my self esteem had plummeted. No one came to visit me in prison for a while!!
Then one weekend, I had my first visitor...my brother, who lives in the Triangle. A few weeks later, I had another surprise visit...my mother, one of my brothers and his wife. Well, I don't know if I was more pleased to see them or more embarrassed for them to see me in prison.
Shortly after that, my brother came to visit me and asked me to stay with him 2 weeks before I was to get out. He said it would give us a chance to better know one another and I agreed, because this was what I desired.
Needless to say, that was a failed attempt. So, I moved to Raleigh and decided to go it on my own. I worked at the downtown McDonald's for 4 dollars an hour and moved out of my brother's house, after 6 weeks, rented a room on Crosslink road and proceeded to live independently.
That was in July of 1989. In October 1990, I discovered a hidden talent when one night I went to a downtown bar called BB&Y and they had a "karoke night." I sang that night and it began a new career choice. I almost forgot I had the gift of voice to sing and began my life in a new direction. Well, my popularity grew over night. I began to get engagements to sing at other venues over the Triangle and was becoming a household name. Regrettably, I quit singing in August of 1994 and vowed to never do it again. Then, I began to dabble in drugs, more alcohol, and crack cocaine. Bad choice. I became homeless for the first tiime in the beginning of 1991, and it led to an repetitive cycle. Now, it is almost 13 years later, I find myself still in the revolving door of the homeless population. I have been in just about every mission, program, shelter, there is; and of course, slept on the streets in that 13 year stint and homelessness began to get old with me. I wanted to live, for once in my life. It was June of 2001 that I was given the inspiration to do something different for myself but more so, for my people. I didn't react to it immediately, but in October of 2001 I began to write an in house news bulletin at the South Wilmington Street Center, just out of boredom. (you know...it gave me something constructive to do) Then, some of the staff saw and read it and asked me to continue to do it. For it was a tool used to bridge the communication gap between staff and residents there.
But even that was not enough, so another of the guests and myself talked regarding the publication and thought it should be extended beyond what I was doing and I voiced that I had an idea of a homeless newspaper which would represent the state of North Carolina, since we don't have one, what a fantastic idea. Then, one night, while at a residential advisory board meeting, a motion was made and one of the brothers stood up and spoke with such power and conviction, that I knew I had to have him to be a part of this paper. So, I went to him afterwards and approached him with it. I explained that it was not about any money, but about educating and empowering our people to help them see they are somebody special and in that, maybe, they would learn to help themselves. That we, too, have a story to tell and need a voice with which to do so. Thomas Glover, my associate editor and a brother whom I do love dearly, is closer to me than any brother I have. God had blessed this man to share the enthusiasm and passion for this paper with me. He is such a workhorse. If I had 4 more of him...this paper would sky rocket to the top of the charts. Well, it began as an idea and is beginning to come to life. But most importantly, I thank God, Almighty, for he should have taken me a long time ago while I was living in sin, but he loved me enough to allow me the chance to undergo this vision he gave me. I will continue to pursue this dream until it comes to light. May God give me the strength to do so dilligently and faithfully. It is my intent to give North Carolina the best homeless newspaper the nation has seen, and with your help...we can do it. May he also continue to put the right people in my path to get this paper done his way and not mine. Most importantly, may God bless all who should read and support this undertaking. I love you all
in Jesus' name.
Michael Watkins
Editor in chief
News from our shoes
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Contact us at:
News from our Shoes
P.O.Box 411
Raleigh, NC 27602
Email:nfos@altavista.com
(919) 743-2387
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