In Salinger’s short novel Franny and Zooey, the Glass family kids were on a weekly radio show called “It’s a Wise Child.” When they complained that it was a radio program and no one would see them, so why dress up, their older brother Seymour tells them to shine their shoes for the “Fat Lady.”  They didn’t know what it meant but shined their shoes and dressed up for every show. Franny’s nervous breakdown was resolved when Zooey told her that “Everybody is Seymour’s Fat Lady.”

The Daily Pilot’s series about White Flight in Costa Mesa was excellent, although white flight is certainly not new in Newport Mesa. Scott Paulsen showed us the answer when he became the principal of Tewinkle in the '80s, and the answer is …. wait for it ... LEADERSHIP; leadership and the cooperation of parents who are dedicated to a neighborhood school.

Tewinkle had just begun its version of the white exodus when Paulsen was placed there in one of the smarter moves by the administration of that time. He made Tewinkle fun. He knew every student. He called upon parents, and although almost every principal worth their salt knows how to pick PTA leaders, he had a real knack for it. He made Tewinkle a destination for parents who had already left, and ones who were considering leaving. He created an atmosphere where children felt at home and enjoyed a great education, and the parents came in droves to support him.

He did the same thing at Ensign when the administration moved him from Tewinkle for the same reason. There he created the Ambassadors and Ethnic Forum, who’s motto was “To know me is to love me,”  and once again played Hans Brinker with a finger in the dike.

So we know how to solve White Flight. It has to do with leadership and parents who want to have community schools and not run in fear to another district.

But I have seriously digressed. The part of these articles that stuck out for me was the mention of the “Motel Kids” as being one of the reasons for the flight from Costa Mesa  to Huntington Beach. I had never considered this a possible reason.

Families who live in cheap motels are there for varied reasons, and lately these reasons have a lot to do with the economy. The kids who live in these motels face many problems. They constantly are moving around. Family problems including alcoholism often plays a part. It’s embarrassing. They can’t have friends over, and fitting in is very hard.

I understand parents who don’t want their kids exposed to a situation which they don’t fully understand and don’t trust. In addition, parents worry about the ability of these kids to keep up in school, which they feel puts their own students at risk for not getting a good education.

I get it.

I don’t know the answer, but to me, these kids are Salinger’s “Fat Lady” … the poor, the hurt, the ignored, the shunned, and the kids that desperately need  the help of a warm, friendly neighborhood school and a wonderful education.

Salinger actually says it best, when he says “Everyone is the Fat Lady, Buddy”.

So parents, shine your shoes, dig in, trust the professional teachers, get to know your neighbors, the family in the motel, and figure out a way to help everyone have an excellent education.