This song, Let's All Get Along, was written during my years with the Foundation for Respect Ability in Charlotte, NC. It's one of 250 such songs that was created with me over six years in elementary and middle school classrooms using a collaborative method. I elicited ideas and anecdotes from individual classes during which the kids expressed their concerns about bullying and about the way that people should be treated. In each case, their words and concepts became the basis of a song that I proceeded to write for them as a representation of their real feelings. After one week, I returned to the class with a finished song that we learned to sing together and we made a video that they could keep and share. This particular song was created in the 4th grade classroom of Mrs. Pofahl at Winterfield Elementary School in Charlotte, NC.

This song was created at a special workshop for the Clever Kids Foundation in Baltimore, MD. The participants of the workshop offered some great ideas to me about how to stop bullying and start treating people better. The title of the resultant song, Kids...Stand Up!, was suggested and it now seems to be an idea that resonates very strongly today. Kids are finding their voices and seeing themselves as capable of making real changes in their world. The Clever Kids Foundation gives back to the community by empowering kids to volunteer their efforts and their talents in a variety of ways. These kids learn leadership skills by using their creativity and their unique abilities.

Don't Laugh at Me is actually the signature song of Operation Respect, the excellent anti-bullying organization established by Peter Yarrow (of the legendary folk group Peter, Paul and Mary). During my time working with Peter, I was introduced to the song and I continue to perform it in school assemblies and classrooms. I think of it as a "magical" song because everyone seems to be able to connect emotionally with it in some personal and meaningful way. The song was originally written by Steve Seskin and Alan Shamblin. I recorded this version in 2015.