I’ve never built a boat, and my knowledge of boating has faded over the years (those summer camp sailing/rowing/kayaking lessons disappear fast), so I have a great deal of appreciation for people who can do either, and do it well.

I wrote about Back on Track two years ago when the program was getting off the ground, they offered a simple promise – give us the kids most people would give up on.

These are the guys (mostly guys) who have been in and out of places like Long Creek Youth Development Center and have close working relationships with their probation officers.

What Back on Track offers up isn’t touchy feely, it’s more of a "what exactly did you do wrong bonehead?" approach. Working in group sessions they almost work backwards, focusing on the decisions and actions that got them into “juvie” and Back on Track.

Last week when the Compass Project was in the middle of its annual boat building project, I decided to walk up to Monument Square and get reacquainted with the program.

It’s really amazing to see how these boats come together, from a bunch of planks to something that (in theory) will keep you afloat. I’d say I was as skeptical as the guys from Back on Track.

They plan to raffle off the boat on Aug. 7, and it could not come at a better time, according to Kirsten Milliken, Back on Track’s executive director.
Apparently, funding for the program has become a little dicey, and they’re looking for all the support they can get. They also plan on raffling off a Harley, so anyone with a few bucks to spare, they would appreciate.

"Robbin’ old folks and makin’ the dash"

ON A COMPLETELY unrelated note, were you aware that Slick Rick is playing in Portland at the Big Easy tonight?
If there was ever a once in a lifetime show in Portland, this might be it.
That’s not just my usual bombast for hip-hop. The Ruler is a man who has had his share of legal troubles over the years, and his future here in America remains in the air because of an ongoing immigration case against him.
Slick Rick – the eye patch, the bravado, all of it – could be deported by the Department of Homeland Security.
It all stems from the incident that landed him in jail for three year in 1991 on assault and weapons charges.
It’s a long, complicated and frustrating story, but essentially boils down to the fact that Slick Rick – born in England to Jamaican parents, never became a U.S. citizen after immigrating with his family at a young age.
With the U.S. more interested in immigration issues since Sept. 11, the government has cracked down harder on immigration cases. In his case, non-resident immigrants convicted of an aggravated felony, can be deported.

Though he already won an appeal 2003 to stay in America, the government is trying again to send him back to England.

So to get back on point, unless you’re the type to travel abroad a lot to feed your hip-hop jones, this may be a last chance to see The Ruler.

He is a pillar of what we today know as Hip-Hop (capitalized). They can steal the beats, imitate the rhymes, flash the bling, but it holds nothing on the original.

I’ve already listened to "A Children’s Story" and "The Show" a few times this past weekend. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be at the Easy, eye-patch ready, tonight.

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