We love it when our board member, Jane Lowther, stops by. She always has a great story to tell when her visit is over. This month, she sat down with Toby, an ambitious young man with lots of interests, starting with dogs and a good movie.
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I met an enthusiastic boy named Toby the last time I visited the facility. He was eleven years old and said he felt like he had been at Genesis for a couple of years and came from Tulsa. He loved playing basketball and I watched him sink many baskets and he displayed some great skills. He could shoot from quite a distance, which impressed me. Toby said he had learned to play, and he enjoyed the time he was given on the court. He was interested in a lot of things like riding horses, swimming, drawing, and reading. He loves to find books on animals or stories.
He could give me reviews on many movies he had seen but his favorite was titled “Dog” which kept him interested throughout the whole movie. A U.S. Army Ranger who suffers from PTSD is asked to escort Lulu, a dog whose owner had been killed, home where she will be euthanized. They have many escapades on their journey and is finally delivered to her last resting place, but the ranger has a change of heart and ends up taking Lulu home. Both feel loved and accepted and their lives are enriched by knowing each other. As Toby told me about the movie, I was anxious to find it and watch it myself. He could be a professional movie reviewer if he wanted! I can hardly wait until I see him again and hear about his latest movie appraisal!
He loves dogs and had a bulldog before he came to Genesis. He walked the dog regularly and took care of it. He enjoyed his time tremendously being its caretaker.
Toby could not pick just one color as his favorite and narrowed it down to three: black, pink, and white. He thoroughly enjoyed his time at Frontier City and would get on any of the rides, especially the fast roller coasters. He was not afraid of any of them and was happy he was tall enough to ride all of them. He liked going really fast with the wind whipping through his hair as he was tossed around, both in high and low spots. He loved them all!
He talked about his father who resides in Tulsa, and he has seen him on some holidays since moving to Genesis. Toby likes every staff member and they have made him feel welcome and accepted.
He told me they had a fire drill at 4 a.m. and everyone woke up. Luckily, it did not last very long, and he went back to sleep without any trouble. Toby said he had never been in a fire drill at that hour. That surprised him!
Toby selected a black bicycle, and he always enjoys riding it and it matters to him that it is his bike, not anyone else’s. He loves hot weather best and has mowed lawns before and would not mind mowing again and sometimes earning some extra spending money which reflected an ambitious side to him.
He enjoys Mrs. Sowers at school and finds math and reading his favorite subjects. He is the first boy I interviewed at Genesis who genuinely liked to read, which is a good sign as readers tend to do better at school. He was looking forward to spring break, and was anxious to compete in the fishing derby and hoped he caught the biggest fish. He had visited the aquarium in Tulsa and knew a lot about fish.
Toby was awaiting game night where he hoped to win by playing Uno and Monopoly and his favorite token was the car. He wants to be fast, in front and ahead of the rest of the players. He enjoyed playing games and enjoyed the competition. He was looking forward to spring break and I hope it lived up to his expectations. I would like to think that all the boys had a fun spring break and enjoyed themselves.
