What is your Seed Status?

[GregFL]

What is your status as a seed kid and how long were you there and what year?  Were you a graduate? Staff Member? Junior Staff? Seed Employee? Did you leave before Graduating?

I will start.

[GregFL]

Entered the St Pete Seed July 1973.

Graduated 192 days later.

Never employed there, never on staff.

Had experimented with Pot and some other drugs, but had been totally drug free for the entire summer except for a bit drunk on one occasion.

Had two necomers and didn't particularly know how to treat a captive human under my control. Can't even remember your names, but I apologize for my part in the whole thing.

[marcwordsmith]

Entered Fort Lauderdale Seed (after surprise kidnap by my parents and two strangers who were also Seed parents) in late October 1972. I was 14, and had smoked a little pot (not much).

Graduated late March 1972, a week or two after my 15th birthday.

Never employed, never on staff, never took a newcomer

Note of (possible) interest: My newcomer-living-away-from-home phase lasted 32 days.

Further note: At the first Homes rap during which I was eligible to go home (that is, 14 days or so into my incarceration), John Underwood said, "I think he deserves a chance." Thanks John. I wonder who overruled you?

[Anonymous]

October 1974 - June 1975 - St. Petersburg - Graduate - 15 years old - Seed closed 1 week before my anniversary date.

Front row - 90+ days the first go round, 30 days or so later started over, 30+ days the second go row, back to school (Mirror Lake Adult Education Center to pick-up credits for the missed sophmore year) for a couple of months and then graduated.

Never had a newcomer, too many oldcomers to count, even got moved once in the middle of the night to the P family household in Tarpon Springs - oldcomer walked away.

Nikki

[cleveland]

Entered the Cleveland Seed on August 15, 1978, following my brother, who was then an oldcomer. I was 19 years old. I had smoked pot ocassionally, and had gotten drunk a few times, but my family was riddled with alcohol abuse so I was scared, an depressed. I was told to "come in a try the Seed for three days and if you like it, stay." From day one it was clear to me that leaving was strongly discouraged, and that everyone would regard me as a failure. A couple of months later, while still on the front row, the Cleveland Seed closed and I was relocated to Florida. After a total of six months, I was graduated, and was encouraged to "stick around as an oldcomer and help out." Since I had left all friends and family behind (my brother had moved back to Cleveland), this seemed to be the best plan. I "stuck around" for the next seven years, finally leaving in the middle of the night on October 30th, 1985. (I had always been "free to leave" I guess, but in the way that I am now "free" to walk out of my house and abandon my family and everything I know.)

I was never on staff or worked at the Seed, and although I had lived with several newcomers, I never "took one home" - in other words, had primary responsibility for one.

Walter

[FueLaw]

Entered May, 1973 at Tropical Race track facility in Dade then off to Broward (State Road 84) when they closed Dade, graduated July, 1974. I was the rebellious type and was put on refresher once and started over once. Never had any newcomers. Had numerous old comers. After I graduated I went to a few old timers raps and drifted away.

[JaLong]

I was going to the store with my dad, my mom came running out of the door saying she wanted to go.I was stuck between the two of them in the front seat. As we drove up Park St. my dad pulled a court order out of his front pocket and announced I was going into the seed. That was July 73.(17 yrs old). I don't remember how long I was on the front row, or really any of the rest, but I was out of there 10 1/2 months later. I know I went back to school and graduated with honors, and I had 11 newcomers, all busters. :smile: Yes, I was one too.

[Anonymous]

Well...As near as I can remember....I came in on an involuntary / voluntary basis after my parents made up some bullshit to get me in the car. It did not take much I was stoned most of the time, I do remember my stomach tightening when we pulled up to the Seed. I remember seeing my childhood friend's parents, the McCutheons there at the intake and one of the Staff, I think it was Bob R**** talking with me about the program. I was a pretty easy intake, I knew in my heart I needed help. At that point I was 16 and had done pretty much everything except inject myself, I was a pretty big chicken about that. (Hell, I did not even start donating blood until I was 35 y/o!) Anyway, must have been Sept 1973, after school had started. I was 42 days away from home, I think around another 3 -4 months until I made Oldcomer, I had a couple new-comers, the only one I really remember was Doug B*******t from Titusville, I think I remember him because he split on me going home from a meeting in front of everyone right there outside the big doors and I watched Dana D*****d slip off his shoes and took off as fast as I had ever seen anyone run and he caught him. He was given to another Oldcomer and later graduated. I seem to remember I made Oldtimer (graduate) around 8 months I think around 240 days and I stayed involved with the program until it closed the doors in St Pete in 1975. After this I stayed involved with other Oldtimers who were still actively working the program and I was involved with another graduate (who I later had a short term marriage to) all in all I stayed "straight" & sober for another 6 years until around 22 y/o when curiously I found an old pot stash and started smoking again, albeit very occasionally, I did not drink until about a year later. You know the rest of the story, by that point I had finished college, had a job, was "functional" but a drunk & a smoker on the w/ends. I got involved with coke in the 80's when it was popular and have the same brother that 1st got me stoned to thank for taking me to my 1st AA meeting Sept 6th 1991. & Yes there are somedays when I do believe "everyday is like Christmas" because it truly is a gift from God. Love you guys,

Chris Lewis
Seed 1973 -1975
AA - 1991 - ...

[Anonymous]

Fuelaw
where can i find this article or articles about you and seed kids being beaten, when was it published, who was the reporter, what was the name of article and in what publication?