** j-HNTERTAINMENT
Author aims
works toward
troubled youth
By Diane Broderick
Staff writer
For most people, a drug-mduced
trip off of a bridge is the end of what
could have been a promising life.
But for author Tom Frye, knowing
someone who survived such a harrow
ing experience is what jump-started his
WTiting'career.
In the mid-'80s, Frye began work
ing with four adolescents on probation.
One of the boys, after taking several
kinds of drugs, jumped from a bridge in
Lincoln's Havelock area in the early
80s. The youth survived, and when
Frye was sent to talk with him he heard
for the First time the teen-ager’s visions
of a seven-headed dragon.
The boy said he was going to hell
when he died, but he was OK w ith that -
all lus friends would be there. He said it
would be like a great party.
i ne experience nad a tremendous
impact on Frye, and it inspired him to
write a book about at-risk children
called “Scratchin’ on the Eight Ball.”
“That’s when I started writing -
when I got home that morning,” Frye
said. “I thought ‘Somebody’s got to tell
this kid you don’t have to do what your
fnends do.’”
Frye has been writing ever since -
for more than 15 years. He balances his
time between working with children
and writing bo«s for them.
“Scratchin”’ explores a 14-year
old’s exploits with drugs and alcohol,
and it examines the steps the character
takes to cope with his problems.
Frye’s impetus for writing it was
more or less to reach children with a
message - one carved out of experi
ences Frye himself has been through, he
said.
Frye ran into trouble, including drug
Lane Hickenbottom/DN
TOM FRYE writes books to send anti-drug messages to at-risk youth. His first book, “Scratchin’ on the Eight Ball”
was inspired by the attempted suicide of a youth he worked with as a youth worker.
use, as an adolescent. In fact, it was his
own probation officer who put him into
contact with the youth who jumped
from the bridge.
This first-hand knowledge makes
Frye’s message mean more to children,
a colleague said.
“His own personal experience
growing up - some of the things he went
through as a youth - have taught him
how to relate well, especially with
youth,” said probation officer Roy
Nifoussi, who works with the Juvenile
Probation Office.
“I’ve had many youths who have
been to his programs, and all have just
raved about (Frye),” Nifoussi said.
The programs that Frye works w ith
include daily classes with gifted stu
dents at Lincoln Public Schools, various
storytelling activities he does around the
community and work he does with at
nsk youths through Family Solutions, a
domestic support group in Lincoln.
But in addition to this work, Frye
has made time to publish six books
since “Scratchin’ on the Eight Ball.”
His follow-up book, “The Kid, the
Cop and the Con,” continued the adven
tures of the boy introduced in
Resident
Writers
A semesterlong look at
Nebraska literary culture and
the people who create it.
“Scratchin.”'
After experiencing some problems
with the publisher of his first book, Frye
decided to raise money himself to pub
lish his second.
Please see FRYE on 10
Soviet propaganda on display
.~....
Courtesy of Western Heritage Museum
CREATED BY SOVIET ARTIST E. Arzrunyan in 1986, this pro
paganda poster reads “After work - to the stadium.”
By Danell McCoy
Staff writer
The faces of Lenin
and Stalin jump out
from every comer while
the color red hangs from
the walls like the drip
ping blood of revolu
tionaries past and pre
sent.
For those people
who lived through the
Cold War, the artifacts
bring history into focus.
Gallery Preview
The Facts
What: “Darker Shade of Red”
Where: Western Heritage Museum, 801 S.
10th St., Omaha
When: Through April 25, Tuesday through
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Sunday 1-5 p.m.
Cost: $3
The Skinny: Soviet Propaganda paints
Omaha red
The display includes
paintings, posters, flags
and uniforms starting
directly after the revolu
tion of 1917 and continu
ing through the dissolu
tion of the Soviet state in
1991.
“Most of the artifacts
were commissioned by
the government,” said
Deborah O’Donnell,
director of education at
the museum. “They were
used as a way to preserve
the ideas of the govern
ror those who know little of the Soviet Union,
the exhibition serves as an experiential history
lesson.
Through April 25, the Western Heritage
Museum, 801 S. 10th St. in Omaha, is showing
artifacts of 20th-century Soviet society and
government in the exhibition “Darker Shade
of Red.”
The exhibition is dedicated to the various
forms of Soviet propaganda art that evolved
behind the iron curtain as a result of the
world s first national-scale communist experi
ment. A
“1 think the exhibition gives a bit of a win
dow into Soviet life,” said Terry Keane, curator
for the museum. “It is the difference between
reading a book and actually seeing the things
that affected the society and culture of the
country.”
ment.”
Many of the artifacts sport the looming
faces of Lenin and Stalin: the two most infa
mous leaders in Soviet history.
The paintings are mostly socialist realistic
works showing the everyday lives of Soviet cit
izens. Topics include factory workers going to
work, portraits of Lenin and Stalin and chil
dren involved in youth organizations.
The posters show the breadth of influence
the government had over the people of the
USSR. Some promote good citizenry, while
others teach the people how to work with the
government in a positive way.
Anti-West posters that came out during the
Cold War broadcast detest toward political
enemies, including the United States.
Please see SOVIETS on 10
WeckKin
Preview
The following is a brief guide to
weekend events. Please call venues
for more information.
CONCERTS:
Duffy's, 1412 O. St
Sunday: Wally Pleasant
Duggan V Pub, 440 S. 1 l‘h St
Friday and Saturday:
Grateful Dudes
Knickerbockers, 901 O St
Friday: Black Light Sunshine.
Clever, Lower Case i
Saturday: The Case Wicked.
Flusking April
Mo Java Cafe, Suite D,
2649 V 48th St
Friday: The McNeelees
The Royal Grove,
340 W. Cornhusker Hwy\
Friday and Saturday:
The Confidentials
Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St
Friday: Who’s the Boss
Saturday: Mark Sailings and the
Famous Unknowns
THEATER:
Mary Riepma Ross Film
Theater, l?" and R streets
Friday and Saturday: “Slam”
Sunday: “Life is Beautiful”
Museum of Nebraska History,
15 th and P streets
Sunday: “Band Wagon” starring
Fred Astaire and Cyd Chansse
Lied Center for Performing
Arts, 12th andR streets
Friday: “African Sanctus”
Lincoln Community Playhouse,
2500 S. 56th St.
Friday and Saturday:
“Oleanna”
Kimball Recital Hall,
12th and R streets.
All weekend: “Cosi fan tutte”
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Studio Theatre, Temple
Building, 12th and R streets
Friday and Saturday:
“Childe Byron”
GALLERIES:
Burkholder Project, 719 P St
Friday and Saturday: “Even
Cowgirls Get the Blues,” “Places
in Europe”
Gallery; 9,124 S. Ninth St
All weekend: §
“Fruits of Passion”
Hay don Gallery,
335 N. Eighth St, Suite A
Friday and Saturday: “The Art of
Jazz Photography”
Noyes Art Gallery,
119 S. Ninth St
Friday and Saturday: recent
works by Amy Sadie, Carol
Sexton, Steve Settles, John
Gillett, Olive Bishop, Bonnie
Goochey
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery,
12th and R streets
All weekend: “New York School
Installation”
