From ‘Charlie Boy’ to Charles

Charles Blount     Photo by Cathryn Shaffer

Charles Blount, the author of “Whatever Happened to Charlie Boy” is a man who is more than his writing.

By Bill Moore

His book provides searing images of the life of a seven year old boy growing up in the high rise housing projects of the Bronx, New York and leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind as to what effect that had on the mind, body and soul of the boy who became the author.
There is much more to Charles Blount, not lurking below the surface, because that is not his style, but above board and honest, nearly to the edge of painful. Pain is something the author knows intimately.
From the time he was a small child, the author faced physical, mental and emotional abuse from someone he should have been entitled to trust implicitly, his own mother, and even though she had her own demons, those demons do not excuse her. Close detailing of the mother’s problems with drugs, alcohol, anger management and all that implies, although not the real story of this article is the starting point for Charles Blount and the man he would become.
Along with his younger sister Eileen, “Charlie Boy” was subjected to verbal ranting, bloody physical assaults at the hands of his mother, even a stabbing, and the ever present atmosphere of filth, fear, drugs, prostitution and the frequent bang of a “Saturday Night Special.”
With the love of “Granddaddy” and later, Cousin Thomas, the author was able to escape his childhood hell. Beyond that, personal courage and force of will supported by those who came to regard him with respect and even admiration enabled him to gain a college education and not only survive… but thrive.
If you have read Whatever Happened to Charlie Boy… and you should, consider whether any one of us could have — under those conditions and in that environment, done the same thing. All of this was the molding of the man, the crucible he endured.
Today, Mr. Blount, in addition to his writing, is the Director of Crossroads Day Treatment Program which, five years ago, he rescued from being the official “dumping ground” for Asheville City Schools at-risk population who put others at risk.
Having been an “at-risk” youth himself, in and out of numerous group homes as an angry and confused teen, Blount is in a unique position to provide not only empathy, but the structure and gentle discipline he never had as a child. He once described the director’s job as “My passion.” He truly seems to have a powerfully positive sway over the kids who come to the program through mental health agencies, the juvenile justice system or schools.
Most of the children are angry, ill parented, confused and vulnerable. Most of all, many have lost faith in the protection of family, and at a time when a kid most needs the security, nurturing and affirmation of that most basic of social structures. They are not simply vulnerable; they are prey to the same “vermin” as was Charlie Boy. The kids are why Blount has built this program into a model for others. Caring for Children has since taken Crossroads under it’s umbrella and has added its own powerful support and passion for the safety and nurture children need and deserve.
Lastly, we need to consider Charles Blount the author. Just as many writers have, Blount began writing as a process of coping with the stresses of his own life, and Whatever Happened to Charlie Boy was the result. His first book has come to parallel his passion as a mentor to troubled kids and as a way to repay all those to whom he owes much.
Since that first effort he has grown as a writer to consideration of a person’s “purpose” for being and self-awareness; the difference between being father and being “Dad”; how our decisions determine who and what we are; what leads some to happiness and others to a wasted life in prison. All of this is fodder for several upcoming works in progress and as Mr. Blount might ask you himself, aren’t we all works in progress?
Books by Charles Blount
Daddy Hood – The ten golden rules of being a daddy and not just a father.
Whatever Happened to Charlie Boy