i miss coaching little league

I just realized how much I miss coaching little league baseball. Yea, I played baseball my entire life, but I did not know how much I really missed coaching until this week. Over the weekend, I found out that a kid that played in my league, a fine young man that we played against was found murdered along with his cousin in Union City. When I heard the news for the first time, I over looked it namely because I could not fathom that I would know the individuals. I was however saddened that such reckless violence was taking place and that we lost two great futures in the progress.

They say little African American boys are not playing baseball anymore. I know the numbers are dwindling, but I want to disagree. We played baseball at old national and we won. We had several state champions since I was coaching there including my T-Ball team (40-2). I had my boys since they were four and they are 14 now. In addition, we had fun, sub states, districts and the whole nine. My best memory was my 9-10 team beating the best team in our league on a lasting double play hit to my son at second base and his shot to home when the bases were loaded. 5-4 was the final score and they had scored three runs in the last inning until we got the force out and ran off the field. That year we sent 4 teams to the state and 3 of ours to the sub-state.


But last night it really sank in, at the Braves game, sitting behind the dugout with my number one son and number one daughter. I love baseball. And what I liked most about coaching was that it taught young men: to depend on teammates and work with others (because you cannot bat every time nor can you play each position at the same time). But what I remember most, other than the dugout chatter “we got em scared now”, was what I always told them. “Anybody can be an athlete, but you all have to be scholars, gentleman and athletes in that order. Rest in peace Delarlonva Mattox.

man among toothpick fish

With all the shit, floating around that is presupposed news worthy; there are every now and then, some special things that deserve extra attention albeit they may not receive such. I am not talking about the idiotic statements of Don Imus calling the Rutgers’s women’s basketball teams nappy headed hoes or his jigga-boo statement. Nor am I speaking about the ridiculous suggestion that Akon bought a diamond mine so that he could get the world record for having a diamond chain around his neck (I will get to that another day).

This time, it is about a Slovenian man by the name of Martin Strel, who at age 52, swam the Amazon River (3,272 miles worth) in 66 days. This is a miraculous feat especially since the distance is about the same as from swimming from Seattle Washington to Miami, Florida. Add to that the river is home to a number of dangerous critters including Anacondas, piranhas, crocodiles and the infamous toothpick fish.

For those who do not know of the toothpick fish is a fierce and treacherous creature that is called "candirú” by the inhabitants of the region. The toothpick fish is a bloodsucker that prefers to swim into open body cavities to do its damage. The candirú is a tiny catfish that although it has limited sight, uses smell to find its victim. Its favorite place to attach itself is to the urethra. For it is attracted the traces of urea and ammonia that are given off by this part of the body. Again, saying that if a person is barely covered in the water,it will swim into an orifice (the anus or vagina, or even the penis—and deep into the urethra.

Mr. Strel is no stranger to rivers and in the past completed the Yangtze, Mississippi and Danube rivers. The Amazon is the world's largest river, as well as the second longest. During this swim, it is reported that he lost 26 pounds and was plagued with cramps, diarrhea, larvae infections, dehydration and delirium. I just want to take my hat off to this man, who swims in water where blood-sucking fish attracted the opening in the penis live. Now that is a man - a man among toothpick fish if you asked me.

A few of my favorite things

Was cold again this weekend in Georgia. Another reason why it would not surprise me if it snowed again in April. Was in the bed and it had dawned on me that this was good cuddling weather. But since that wasn’t possible, I sat there with little momma, who had just woken up talking “ Eat, eat, eat up.”

But the night was not as bad as I thought. I landed on the ABC Family channel, an outcome that could have only occurred as a function of their being no more college basketball and four months before the first NFL game. But I was pleasantly surprised. The sound of Music was on. It reminded me of how we took city buses on a field trip from my elementary school in Memphis to go and see it at the Malco Theater. What I remember most about it other than the fact I was out of school was the fat as crib the Captain had and the sound track. Yep, it had the fat sound track.

Now I was looking at it in m bed, with my little princess eating rib eye steak. It was so rewarding, her sitting under my arm, loving each song as I did. Even standing up and holding m hand, dancing with the music. It is without question a timeless classic and one of the best love stories I would ever desire to show to a kid. Not to mention the Mack lines. Like when the Captain asked Frauline why she came back and hinted that he would have hoped that he was one of the reasons or that she missed him. That’s when he snuck slim off in the greenhouse and said “you can’t marry someone if you are n love with someone else – pure merciful.

They used to make some classic movies back in the day. Wonder if they will ever get around to making more classics today?

You a soldier….daddy's going to buy you this chopper.

Dear CNN

I would like to apologize for my brethren displayed on air at the West Bank Pawn Shop in GRETNA, La. According to the manager of the paw shop per your report, he hears the man say over and over, “This is how you hold it, like this. Anybody in front of you, you can mow them down. Kill everybody; soldier, because daddy's going to buy you this chopper.”

First, there is nothing wrong with teaching a young boy the rights of manhood inclusive of shooting, fishing and building something with ones hands. Nevertheless, an infant, I do not think so. I just would like to thank you CNN for airing out my dirty business again and for showing us that WE (not including you CNN) have left to do in our community.

That includes explaining that this is not Cambodia or Serria Leone and that children, especially infants are not soldiers or killers. Whom would he have been a soldier for and why would a father want to spend money on a ‘Chopper” for a two year old instead of some books, blocks or crayons? We have to show that violence and using a gun is not the way to solve problems and that killing someone is not an act one should strive to be proficient at.

Thanks CNN for reminding us that making a baby do not make you a father.

The teaching of sociopathy

This past weekend I was in DC presenting at a conference. One of the presenters on the agenda with me made a presentation on how music, in particular hip-hop music has turned into a means of teaching sociopath behaviors to young children and adolescents. It was an interesting premise. He based it on the stages of cognitive development as expounded by Piaget. In essence, he said since young children learn through images and music, it is not unlikely that the images seen on videos, associated with certain words and lyrics and music, can lead to mental disorders including but not limited to oppositional-defiant disorder.

ODD is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by two different sets of problems. On the one had, there is aggressiveness and a tendency to purposefully bother and irritate others. Individuals present with this disorder tend to display a pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior lasting over extended periods. Such individuals often: loses their temper, argue with other regularly, actively defies or refuses to comply with requests from significant others, deliberately annoy people, blame others for their mistakes and behavior, angry and resentful and are spiteful and vindictive. As a result, this may lead to major impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning.

He suggested that the images in most Hip-hop music tends to focus on violence, illegal acts, criminal behavior and lewd sexual behavior so much that in many respects it may play a role in forming behaviors in the same manner that nursery rhymes do for children. He went on to assert that as a function, children are learning and hearing things that only adults should hear and consequently may continue childhood behaviors even well into adulthood since they may skip valuable phases of their cognitive development.

I say this just to remind us that the problems that we may be seeing in many of our children and young adults may actually be due to the message and images that they get on television, in movies and videos and music. Now I am not saying this is a function of pure causation, but it is funny to note that our environment contributes a lot to our personal and cognitive development.

Used to be a time, when groups like NWA even presented Hip Hop as a form of social commentary. Now, the messages we hear mainly deal with the preaching of sociopathic practices that have no benefit to the good of our community. Parents, let get back to parenting, before we raise a cadre of adults, who are merely child-like, irresponsible and take their values from celebrities and what they see and hear in music and television.

tony hey-ho

There are some things that we know are wrong and that should never be done. I guess G-Unit member Marvin Bernard (Tony Yayo) never learned this growing up. Recently, the 29-year-old hip-hop artist was arrested for physically assaulting a 14-year old child. The child was the son of Jimmy “Henchmen” Rosemond, the head of record label/management firm Czar Entertainment. The incident occurred when Rosemond's son left school and was on his way to his internship at his father's offices on West 25th Street.

According to reports, Tony Yayo and several of his friends were leaving Violator Management and saw Rosemond’s son walking down the street dressed in a Czar T-shirt. News reports suggested that Yayo then backhanded the boy with his jewelry-loaded hand and proceeded to curse at the child and towards Czar Entertainment. Witnesses claim that Yayo pushed the boy against the wall, showed him his gun that was tucked in his belt, asking why he was wearing the t-shirt and how old he was. While he was being transported by police, Bernard bragged to reporters “Fitty’ll get me out- I’ll be out tomorrow”.

The child’s mother released a news statement in which she described Yayo’s actions as a “cowardly act” and that it “was a step away from child molestation.” I honestly do not get what is wrong with folks who let celebrity and the so-called credo of violent behavior for the sake of keeping it real; make them not see right from wrong. I agree with the mother, this is a bitch move and we should not tolerate such nonsense anymore. In addition, we should be very careful about how and who we place on pedestals as a function of their celebrity status. Marvin Bernard from this vantage point is just another punk who should be in jail. The problem is that his fans, and the women how admire his lifestyle will still seek to be with or want a person like him in their life.

young, dumb and no income

It seems to me that being lazy and having little if any value for hard work and work ethic is commonplace nowadays. From my perspective, more and more people, in particular folks that look like me want something for nothing. Many times, the request to be taken care of are so vivid that they themselves do not see their own behaviors. It so bad now that people expect things to be done for them yet they at the same time feel that they do not have to do anything in return or may even posture the opinion that they are entitled to such treatment.

I write this to say that we need to evaluate ourselves and our own behavior to the point of being more realistic about our own personal beliefs. This is to say that if we expect people to do for us, then we should not have a problem with them expecting the same in return. Such practices and inappreciation for others can destroy relationships and friendships and are often the fruit of our own inactivity. Some may blame this on youth, others may blame it on a lack of home training. In most respects, it is due to individuals never having seen love or recive love in an unconditional manner.

The question is reduced to this, is it wise, smart, or realistic to expect folks to do for us, when we do not do for ourselves or those that do for us? I would not be surprised as if some folks would say it is wise. But then again, it will be those same people who cannot show compassion, passion or unconditional positive regard to others, or let alone, see that such behavior makes other less likely to do for them.

not enuff television - i think 2 much

Call me Candide (Voltaire is my favorite writer), but I was kind of anticipating a warm recognition for an anniversary last week. No, not the Biggy ten years after his death aniversary, nor the 25-year anniversary of “the message – Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five athough such is worth in these eyes.” And most definitely I am not speaking of the 25 year anniversary of John Belushi's death. I was just expecting that the 50th aniversary celebrating of Ghana's independence from Britain would have gained some recognition from African Americans over in this camp. I mean we have problems to solve but the first step in solidartity is the regonition ofg respect for mutual self determination. Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country to break with its colonial power.

Even the U.S., I mean President Bush sent a delegation to honor this momentous ocassion. The Presidential Delegation to Accra, Ghana for the 50th Anniversary of Independence was lead by Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and included Pamela E. Bridgewater, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana, John J. Danilovich, CEO, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Ronald A. Tschetter, Director of the Peace Corps, Jendayi Elizabeth Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State (African Affairs) and R. Timothy Ziemer, Rear Admiral, United States Navy (Retired), Coordinator for the President's Malaria Initiative. Leave it to President Bush to be disrespectful and send second tier dignitaries to this historic Event. As well, I can comprehend the sentiments of former President Jerry Rawlings, who criticized the event.

Sure, every body knows that on 5 March 1957, Britain formally transferred power to independence leader Kwame Nkrumah. Nkrumah was a great and powerful man and still is relevant today if you asked me. Not to mention, he wrote one of my faviorite books ever by african thinker, AFRICA MUST UNITE, inclusive of The Mind of Africa by Peter Abrahams. Africa must unite was the first bok that explained racism in terms of power (page 15). Kwame Nkrumah guided Ghana to independence on March 6 1957 and was the first black nation to achieve such in Africa. Not to mention that Ghana was once the world's top exporter of cocoa and a leading producer of gold.

I was just optimistic that there were fans of self-determination and history as I am myself. Guess the song we shall overcome will always be enigmatic for us as a collective. Or maybe, just maybe I don’t look at enough television and think too much.

the golden rules of fools

The way I see the world as An African American is very different from the manner white folks and even our women see it. For me, trust and truthfulness are the only things I have and they are manifested in my word. If I say I am going to do something, I will do it or at least do all in my power to accomplish the task at hand. This is really consistent in the manner in which I treat people. I am a firm believer in the golden rule – do unto others as they do unto you.

With that said, I also acknowledge that in our daily interactions with people, even those that we are around all of the time, many of us fail to acknowledge this rule, which means we can not honestly look other in the face and be truthful about how we feel and what we feel. I could never for example, stay in a job if I did not like or value the work that I was doing in that job. Likewise, I could never stay or be with a person whom I know I have no liking, desire, or affinity for. I mean, why hang around someone one does not like or may even despise? This boggles my mind for I feel that a clean heart is the only type of heart that can show respect and love and value and appreciation.

However, for some of us, our personal penchant and insecurities and selfish ways prevent us from ever having a clean heart for we prefer to hide, sneak, and be dishonest and insincere about what ever we feel to those we are around most or even should care about the most. I was taught that if one gave then they would receive. But I was also taught that if there is no giving that they should not receive. As an African American man, my heart is pure and clean and I know that I have no support out in this world other than myself and my work ethic. There is no one I can depend on to do for me as I do for them I don’t expect such, but it would be nice to have such. But When I offer myself unconditionally to my work, my family, and my wife/girlfriend (if I had one), it will be for better or worse and completely. I will make time to do my job well and to love those around me the same.

For those who don’t have an open and loving heart, and who can not appreciate or notice a blessing when they have them right in front of their eyes, they never will, for they will only see the world in terms of lies, deceit, and chicanery. It is these folk we have to nurture and watch out for – the ungrateful who can never give as they receive.

I'm With Stupid

One of my favorite sayings I have seen on a T-Shirt is “I’m with stupid.” Therefore, in honor of this saying, I have outlined several things that I have seen observed that would want me to stand next to a person that does or says the following:

1] Spending time in clubs, bars or on the corner instead of being around to provide for your family and nurture your kids

2] Locking your keys inn the car, with the engine running, and a baby in the back in a car seat to run i9n a store and get a lottery ticket (saw this on TV).

3] Thinking that a married man who offers to furnish another woman’s apartment is not expecting sex or anything in return.

4] Letting you cell phone get cut off after receiving a text message from the company two days before for a bill of 50$.

5] Letting your electricity be cut off because you are too lazy to go to the mailbox, check the mail, and get the bill.

6] Expecting a person to sign over private contracts obtained 7 years prior to being employed with a company, because you did not ask a person in a higher position for permission to secure the contract. When you did not work for that person at the time of employment by some 6 years (going through this as we speak).

You tell me what u think about these and give me some more I am with stupid actions. Blog will be back in full force this week.