I was on a blog (www.icedotcom.blogspot.com) the other day and I saw something that caused me to pause. It was the date August 23, 1989. Even though it is 19 years later I can still remember what I did that day. It was August and I had a job that summer working as a messenger for Grace Messenger services. We delivered the payroll for businesses that were affiliated with Chemical Bank and they worked out of 55 Water Street. After work that day my homeboy and I went back to the hood and we chilled for a couple of hours and until he went to go see his girl and I went upstairs to see my moms and to eat. It was a hot ass August evening and we didn’t have Air Conditioning yet so I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up the next day like I normally do and was happy because it was going to be payday. I had planned to go to the movies that night. While riding the train I saw something I will never forget and which changed my life forever. It was the cover of the Daily News and it showed a senseless crime a murder that shooked the foundation of my city. A 16 year old African –America youth was shot to death by a mob of over 30 white males in Bensonhurt, Brooklyn. Yusef Hawkins and two of his friends went into the predominantly Italian neighborhood to answer an ad about a car. This senseless killing still hurts me to my heart because I can remember going with my cousin to his basketball games in Bensonhurt and he would be afraid to stay after dark because he wanted to get out of the neighborhood before the white guys come around. I was too young and stupid to understand what he meant then but less than 6 years later the murder of Yusef Hawkins made me understand what he meant at the time.
I am mad at myself because I forgot the anniversary of a significant time period for me. 1989 was the year I changed as a person and started to develop the foundation for the man I have become. So by the time this blog goes up I will have a private memorial for Yusef Hawkins. I’m going to walk by his mural on Verona Avenue and Fulton Street say a little prayer, go home and drink some henny and cry myself to sleep. Because now 19 years later the change that we prayed would come from his death is now possible with Barack Obama in position to win the Presidential Election. However no matter the results of the election I will never ever forget Yusef Hawkins and the manner in which he was taken from his family. Rest in Peace God
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
THE BLACK PIPE COMMANDMENTS
This is an excerpt from my book The Miseducation Of Black Pipe
The Black Pipe Commandments
“I have been in this game for years, it made me an animal. There’s rules to this shit I wrote me a manual, a step by step booklet to get your game on track not your wig push back” The Notorious B.I.G. dropped a jewel when he dropped the ten crack commandments it was both informative and humorous. Brothers have got the game twisted. Everybody wants to be a player but do not know how to play the game. I felt that I needed to drop some rules for the brothers out there; they are messing up what others have laid down. I feel that rules are like commandments. They should always be followed and never should be bended. If they are followed correctly a brother should have no problem maintaining his status. The First Black Pipe Commandment is that Brothers should tell the truth from the beginning when they meet a girl. I live by the motto “It is what it is”. This means that you are not my girl and I am not your man, we are two adults having consensual sex. Brothers lie to girls to have sex with them not thinking that maybe the girl only wanted to have sex also. The most important part of this rule is that the boundaries have already been set. The girl knows that you are only interested in sex and nothing else. Brothers complicate things when they lie to a girl and tell her they want a relationship when they only want sex. The female will believe you want to be her man and will start believing you two are together. Everything will be going smooth until your wife finds out about the other woman. When your wife confronts the other girl the first thing the other woman will say to her is “he told me he didn’t have a girlfriend”. Every man is guilty of having done this one time or another. There should be no need to lie to a girl, she can only say no and you cannot miss what you never had.
The Second Black Pipe Commandment is that Brothers need to stop treating the one that they are in a relationship with like the girl they are only sleeping with. The way most guys get caught cheating is they change the way they treat their girlfriends. They become more hostile and become very defensive when they are asked a question. They snap at her when she asks him a question. Gentleman this is a sure fire way for your girlfriend to get suspicious and start playing detective. I had a friend name Tony who was creeping on his wife. Tony would start talking to his wife like she was a girl he just met. They would get in arguments and he would call her disrespectful names. He began doing things to her that he did not do before he got a side girl. It was not long before he started to slip up at home and talk to his wife about things he did with his girlfriend that he thought he did with her, needless to say his wife started to put two and two together and she left him.
The Third Black Pipe Commandment is that Brother’s need to stop bragging to their boys about what their sexual escapades did to them. Brothers are envious of each other when it comes to sexual conquest. When Brothers meet a girl that turns them out sexually we want to brag about it to the world, so we tell our boy who is both envious and scheming. Your boy is scheming on how he can get this girl away from you and in his arms. I had a friend name Fred who told all his friends about this girl he had that was bisexual and had a girlfriend who was down for threesomes. Fred’s friend Wayne was envious of him and plotted on how to get the girl from him. Wayne would always try to play Wayne out in front of the girl and talk bad about him to the girl. The girl would ignore Wayne and tell Fred that Wayne was hating on him but Fred would just laugh it off. When Wayne told the girl that Fred was talking about her sexuality to everybody she dumped Fred and got with him. Brothers should know to not brag to their friends about any woman they meet.
The Fourth Black Pipe Commandment is that brothers need to stop using easy passwords for their Voicemail code on their cell phone. The most incriminating evidence is the message on your voice mail that your girl has heard. I remember a time when my girlfriend took my voice mail code off of her work phone and went on the computer and pulled up my phone records for the last six months. She then proceeded too call all the numbers that she did not recognize and questioned every girl who answered about the nature of our relationship. A few girls held me down because I told them beforehand that I had an inquisitive girlfriend, but one of them wanted to mess my situation up and told my girl all types of lies. I was upset but that is one of the consequences of the game. I was busted and I had no one to blame but myself because I let my girlfriend find my code. I got out of the sticky situation but I still hear about it every time we have an argument.
The Fifth Black Pipe Commandment is very controversial and may backfire on you. I do not suggest you try to apply it if you are not a master in your craft. The Fifth Black Pipe Commandment is that if your girl’s friend acts like she does not like you chances are she is really feeling you and is jealous of your girl. Many men meet their girl when she is out with her friends. Sometimes all the girls will be feeling you, so you will choose the one that you are attracted to. The other girls maybe bitter and have harsh feelings towards you because you chose some one else. As the relationship progresses between your girl and you, she will brag to her friends about all the things that you do for. There will be the one girl who will stay bitter towards you for no other reason but the fact that you did not chose her. She will tell your girl every time that she bumps into you in the club. Every place that you and her run into each other she will tell your girl everything you do. She will be in your girl’s ear telling her that you are a dog and up to no good. The only way you can get this girl off your back is to push up on the girl and see if she takes the bait. A man who is smooth and has his game down tight can pull this off; but I suggest that anybody who is a freshman in this game should not attempt this. A true player can push up on the friend, sleep with her so she can back up off you and give your relationship some space. She can no longer hold over your head what you do because she slept with you. This makes her an unfaithful friend and a betrayer of your girls trust. If she was truly your girl’s friend she will be feeling guilty and keep your affair a secret, if she is a vindictive person you and your relationship is in trouble. The best part of this Commandment is that if you are able to pull it off you get to kill two birds with one stone, you get too knock down two friends and you have dirt on the friend so she can’t tell.
The Sixth Black Pipe Commandment is that Brothers need to explain clearly about what role they want the other woman to play. I believe that all relationships are similar to Basketball teams. I consider my team the Lakers and I am Shaquille O’Neal, my girl is Kobe Bryant. I do not need another star on my team I need a role player like Devan George or Robert Horry. I do not have enough shot attempts or minutes for Tracey McGrady. Tracey and Kobe play the same position there is not enough minutes or shot attempts for me to keep them both, one has to go. I always tell my girl that the team runs through me she can get her shots off after I get my shots, but I am the focal point of the team. A team with Shaq, Kobe, and Tracey will look good on paper but it will destroy the chemistry of my team. I need role players on my team not another star.
The Seventh Black Pipe Commandment is that brothers need to stop fronting. We Brothers have a nasty habit of saying something and not really meaning it. We may be saying it out of anger and not clearly thinking but the words still leave our mouths. I had a friend named Darius who had a habit of doing this. He would argue with his girl when we were around and tell her that she was just his jump off and not his girl. We would always tell him that he did not have to front for us. He would tell her that she was free to do what ever she wanted to do. If this was true there was nothing wrong with telling her that, it is important to let a girl know where she stands. The problem was the words would leave his mouth but his actions would be saying something totally different. He was talking out his ass. Darius’s girl got tired of hearing him say this and started to do her thing like he instructed her to do. She would go on dates with other dudes and he would be getting upset and be ready to fight. She would throw in his face “You told me to do me”, so I am doing me. Darius would be in a funk, but he only had himself to blame. Talking out his ass and not really meaning it had him looking stupid. So I suggest to brothers if you do not mean it you should not say it because you might look stupid. The Eight Black Pipe Commandment is Brothers need to stop telling their girls about the things their friends do. If your friend has several women that he is seeing at the same time and your wife or girlfriend knows about it chances are she doesn’t want you to hang with him. I have a friend named D.J. who is married but has women all over the city. We would hang out occasionally and when my girl found out I was hanging with him she would have an immediate attitude. No matter what we were doing she always assumed that D.J. was hooking me up with women. It was my fault because I would tell her the things that D.J. would do with different women. Whenever we hung out at a club she would see D.J. with different women that weren’t his wife. When she would question me about it I would tell her that the girl was somebody he was messing with. I was at fault because I didn’t tell him not to bring different women around my wife but as a participant in the Game with both should have known better. I however broke what is the Third Black Pipe Commandment but in its regards to my wife. I spoke about what D.J. does to my wife when I should have known better. My friendship with D.J. caused friction in my household. I was made to choose between hanging with my friend and maintaining my relationship. The Ninth Black Pipe Commandment is that Brothers need to respect the Game, “Do unto others as you will have others do unto you”. Brothers are willing to cheat and creep on their girlfriends with no remorse but when the shoes are reversed they become angry and lose control. If you are able to do it expect that your girl can and will do the same thing also. I do not suggest for anyone to follow my Commandments if they are not ready for a life of constant maneuvering and lying, unfortunately that is the true life of a player. I am only laying down Commandments that should be followed if you are serious about laying your game down.
The Black Pipe Commandments
“I have been in this game for years, it made me an animal. There’s rules to this shit I wrote me a manual, a step by step booklet to get your game on track not your wig push back” The Notorious B.I.G. dropped a jewel when he dropped the ten crack commandments it was both informative and humorous. Brothers have got the game twisted. Everybody wants to be a player but do not know how to play the game. I felt that I needed to drop some rules for the brothers out there; they are messing up what others have laid down. I feel that rules are like commandments. They should always be followed and never should be bended. If they are followed correctly a brother should have no problem maintaining his status. The First Black Pipe Commandment is that Brothers should tell the truth from the beginning when they meet a girl. I live by the motto “It is what it is”. This means that you are not my girl and I am not your man, we are two adults having consensual sex. Brothers lie to girls to have sex with them not thinking that maybe the girl only wanted to have sex also. The most important part of this rule is that the boundaries have already been set. The girl knows that you are only interested in sex and nothing else. Brothers complicate things when they lie to a girl and tell her they want a relationship when they only want sex. The female will believe you want to be her man and will start believing you two are together. Everything will be going smooth until your wife finds out about the other woman. When your wife confronts the other girl the first thing the other woman will say to her is “he told me he didn’t have a girlfriend”. Every man is guilty of having done this one time or another. There should be no need to lie to a girl, she can only say no and you cannot miss what you never had.
The Second Black Pipe Commandment is that Brothers need to stop treating the one that they are in a relationship with like the girl they are only sleeping with. The way most guys get caught cheating is they change the way they treat their girlfriends. They become more hostile and become very defensive when they are asked a question. They snap at her when she asks him a question. Gentleman this is a sure fire way for your girlfriend to get suspicious and start playing detective. I had a friend name Tony who was creeping on his wife. Tony would start talking to his wife like she was a girl he just met. They would get in arguments and he would call her disrespectful names. He began doing things to her that he did not do before he got a side girl. It was not long before he started to slip up at home and talk to his wife about things he did with his girlfriend that he thought he did with her, needless to say his wife started to put two and two together and she left him.
The Third Black Pipe Commandment is that Brother’s need to stop bragging to their boys about what their sexual escapades did to them. Brothers are envious of each other when it comes to sexual conquest. When Brothers meet a girl that turns them out sexually we want to brag about it to the world, so we tell our boy who is both envious and scheming. Your boy is scheming on how he can get this girl away from you and in his arms. I had a friend name Fred who told all his friends about this girl he had that was bisexual and had a girlfriend who was down for threesomes. Fred’s friend Wayne was envious of him and plotted on how to get the girl from him. Wayne would always try to play Wayne out in front of the girl and talk bad about him to the girl. The girl would ignore Wayne and tell Fred that Wayne was hating on him but Fred would just laugh it off. When Wayne told the girl that Fred was talking about her sexuality to everybody she dumped Fred and got with him. Brothers should know to not brag to their friends about any woman they meet.
The Fourth Black Pipe Commandment is that brothers need to stop using easy passwords for their Voicemail code on their cell phone. The most incriminating evidence is the message on your voice mail that your girl has heard. I remember a time when my girlfriend took my voice mail code off of her work phone and went on the computer and pulled up my phone records for the last six months. She then proceeded too call all the numbers that she did not recognize and questioned every girl who answered about the nature of our relationship. A few girls held me down because I told them beforehand that I had an inquisitive girlfriend, but one of them wanted to mess my situation up and told my girl all types of lies. I was upset but that is one of the consequences of the game. I was busted and I had no one to blame but myself because I let my girlfriend find my code. I got out of the sticky situation but I still hear about it every time we have an argument.
The Fifth Black Pipe Commandment is very controversial and may backfire on you. I do not suggest you try to apply it if you are not a master in your craft. The Fifth Black Pipe Commandment is that if your girl’s friend acts like she does not like you chances are she is really feeling you and is jealous of your girl. Many men meet their girl when she is out with her friends. Sometimes all the girls will be feeling you, so you will choose the one that you are attracted to. The other girls maybe bitter and have harsh feelings towards you because you chose some one else. As the relationship progresses between your girl and you, she will brag to her friends about all the things that you do for. There will be the one girl who will stay bitter towards you for no other reason but the fact that you did not chose her. She will tell your girl every time that she bumps into you in the club. Every place that you and her run into each other she will tell your girl everything you do. She will be in your girl’s ear telling her that you are a dog and up to no good. The only way you can get this girl off your back is to push up on the girl and see if she takes the bait. A man who is smooth and has his game down tight can pull this off; but I suggest that anybody who is a freshman in this game should not attempt this. A true player can push up on the friend, sleep with her so she can back up off you and give your relationship some space. She can no longer hold over your head what you do because she slept with you. This makes her an unfaithful friend and a betrayer of your girls trust. If she was truly your girl’s friend she will be feeling guilty and keep your affair a secret, if she is a vindictive person you and your relationship is in trouble. The best part of this Commandment is that if you are able to pull it off you get to kill two birds with one stone, you get too knock down two friends and you have dirt on the friend so she can’t tell.
The Sixth Black Pipe Commandment is that Brothers need to explain clearly about what role they want the other woman to play. I believe that all relationships are similar to Basketball teams. I consider my team the Lakers and I am Shaquille O’Neal, my girl is Kobe Bryant. I do not need another star on my team I need a role player like Devan George or Robert Horry. I do not have enough shot attempts or minutes for Tracey McGrady. Tracey and Kobe play the same position there is not enough minutes or shot attempts for me to keep them both, one has to go. I always tell my girl that the team runs through me she can get her shots off after I get my shots, but I am the focal point of the team. A team with Shaq, Kobe, and Tracey will look good on paper but it will destroy the chemistry of my team. I need role players on my team not another star.
The Seventh Black Pipe Commandment is that brothers need to stop fronting. We Brothers have a nasty habit of saying something and not really meaning it. We may be saying it out of anger and not clearly thinking but the words still leave our mouths. I had a friend named Darius who had a habit of doing this. He would argue with his girl when we were around and tell her that she was just his jump off and not his girl. We would always tell him that he did not have to front for us. He would tell her that she was free to do what ever she wanted to do. If this was true there was nothing wrong with telling her that, it is important to let a girl know where she stands. The problem was the words would leave his mouth but his actions would be saying something totally different. He was talking out his ass. Darius’s girl got tired of hearing him say this and started to do her thing like he instructed her to do. She would go on dates with other dudes and he would be getting upset and be ready to fight. She would throw in his face “You told me to do me”, so I am doing me. Darius would be in a funk, but he only had himself to blame. Talking out his ass and not really meaning it had him looking stupid. So I suggest to brothers if you do not mean it you should not say it because you might look stupid. The Eight Black Pipe Commandment is Brothers need to stop telling their girls about the things their friends do. If your friend has several women that he is seeing at the same time and your wife or girlfriend knows about it chances are she doesn’t want you to hang with him. I have a friend named D.J. who is married but has women all over the city. We would hang out occasionally and when my girl found out I was hanging with him she would have an immediate attitude. No matter what we were doing she always assumed that D.J. was hooking me up with women. It was my fault because I would tell her the things that D.J. would do with different women. Whenever we hung out at a club she would see D.J. with different women that weren’t his wife. When she would question me about it I would tell her that the girl was somebody he was messing with. I was at fault because I didn’t tell him not to bring different women around my wife but as a participant in the Game with both should have known better. I however broke what is the Third Black Pipe Commandment but in its regards to my wife. I spoke about what D.J. does to my wife when I should have known better. My friendship with D.J. caused friction in my household. I was made to choose between hanging with my friend and maintaining my relationship. The Ninth Black Pipe Commandment is that Brothers need to respect the Game, “Do unto others as you will have others do unto you”. Brothers are willing to cheat and creep on their girlfriends with no remorse but when the shoes are reversed they become angry and lose control. If you are able to do it expect that your girl can and will do the same thing also. I do not suggest for anyone to follow my Commandments if they are not ready for a life of constant maneuvering and lying, unfortunately that is the true life of a player. I am only laying down Commandments that should be followed if you are serious about laying your game down.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
I USE TO LOVE HER
Hey Boo
What’s good baby girl? This is probably the hardest shit I had to say in my life but I’m got to say it. I’m writing this letter because I can’t face you in person, I’m a coward. I know you are saying that this is a punk ass move breaking up with you via a letter on MySpace for the entire world to see but I couldn’t look into your eyes and go back on what I need to do. The time comes in every one’s life when they have to leave someone that they care for deeply and this is my time. We have been together and known each other for almost thirty years. You have been with me through everything from when I was a shy awkward little boy with the braces on my feet because I was so pigeon-toed to the bow legged man I am today. However the time has come for me to leave you and it is hurting me to even type these words. Damn why must this love affair between us have to end. I love you with all my heart I don’t want it to be over but I can’t risk what I have for you anymore. I have kids to take care of and I can’t lose that because of you. You understand but it’s going to be difficult for you to face. I know we haven’t been together the entire time but you are special to me and I owe you my life. You got me through high school, college, and half of my adult life, shit you made me a motherf-cking man because you didn’t accept anything but my best. The last four and a half years have been hard for me to watch you with the next Nigga. All I could say to myself is that motherf-cker don’t know how to sport that. Shit he’s lucky I ain’t in the game anymore or I’ll come back and claim my chick. That’s always gonna be mine I would say to myself. Who would have known that this Monday that we would hook back up and you and I would get it on like we never broke up. But with anything as emotional and hard as our love is people only get hurt which is what happened to me. So here I am limping around with my aches and bruises and I’m fucked up for real. I can’t even walk baby girl. I know it’s time for us to end what we have and there is no coming back. I’m too much of a punk to face you so I have to take the punk way out and tell you that I will no longer be playing basketball anymore. I hate to give up the game I love but my body can’t do it anymore. I’m sitting here with a possible torn knee ligament and this shit isn’t pretty. So baby it’s over. I love you but I know we can’t no longer be together.
Love Always
Nomad 33
What’s good baby girl? This is probably the hardest shit I had to say in my life but I’m got to say it. I’m writing this letter because I can’t face you in person, I’m a coward. I know you are saying that this is a punk ass move breaking up with you via a letter on MySpace for the entire world to see but I couldn’t look into your eyes and go back on what I need to do. The time comes in every one’s life when they have to leave someone that they care for deeply and this is my time. We have been together and known each other for almost thirty years. You have been with me through everything from when I was a shy awkward little boy with the braces on my feet because I was so pigeon-toed to the bow legged man I am today. However the time has come for me to leave you and it is hurting me to even type these words. Damn why must this love affair between us have to end. I love you with all my heart I don’t want it to be over but I can’t risk what I have for you anymore. I have kids to take care of and I can’t lose that because of you. You understand but it’s going to be difficult for you to face. I know we haven’t been together the entire time but you are special to me and I owe you my life. You got me through high school, college, and half of my adult life, shit you made me a motherf-cking man because you didn’t accept anything but my best. The last four and a half years have been hard for me to watch you with the next Nigga. All I could say to myself is that motherf-cker don’t know how to sport that. Shit he’s lucky I ain’t in the game anymore or I’ll come back and claim my chick. That’s always gonna be mine I would say to myself. Who would have known that this Monday that we would hook back up and you and I would get it on like we never broke up. But with anything as emotional and hard as our love is people only get hurt which is what happened to me. So here I am limping around with my aches and bruises and I’m fucked up for real. I can’t even walk baby girl. I know it’s time for us to end what we have and there is no coming back. I’m too much of a punk to face you so I have to take the punk way out and tell you that I will no longer be playing basketball anymore. I hate to give up the game I love but my body can’t do it anymore. I’m sitting here with a possible torn knee ligament and this shit isn’t pretty. So baby it’s over. I love you but I know we can’t no longer be together.
Love Always
Nomad 33
Monday, June 23, 2008
Happy Birthday
Today is my birthday I turned 36 years old. It is a beautiful thing to get old especially when you don't know if you are going to live another day because of what you use to be like as a youth. I'm going to be very borin and mild mannered today. I'm going to the buffet with my kids and eat then come back home and finish writing my midterm paper.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
BASKETBALL DIARIES - GET MY MIND RIGHT
Welcome to another edition of the Basketball Diaries. Today’s chronicle involves self control. When you play basketball it is a mental sport as well as a physical one. You have to be mentally strong as well as physically in order to do your thing on the court. Many of the more physically gifted athletes have crumbled because they don’t have the mental make up to withstand the pressure. Some of the best basketball players were mentally tougher than anyone else so they are the ones who many people remember for finishing plays with players hanging on them and some many obstacles and challenges in their way. I can remember playing basketball in hostile gyms and having a ball because the crowd was nasty and booing me. I enjoyed dominating the home team and taunting the crowd. I was a notorious trash talker when I played I didn’t care what the score was I talked the entire game, shit I got a technical foul for talking trash at Gallaudet College and it was a school for the hearing impaired. Even though I talked trash I was always in control and I would never allow the opposing player and / or crowd to get under my skin. I would call it crowd interaction and it would drive my teammates and coaches mad because they didn’t think I was focusing on the game when I was. I used the crowd as motivation and mental stimulation it made me play better. I was mentally tough enough to not allow the crowd to control my actions because I used it to my benefit.
Life is similar to a basketball game because of the outside variables that can dictate and change the direction that a game is going. It is up to you as a player to not allow these obstacles to take you out of your character. For a long time in my life I was more in control when I was on the basketball court than in my everyday life. Even when I would play games for money I never worried or became stressed. I can remember playing in tournaments in dangerous neighborhoods shooting free throws and people screaming all types of obscenities and threats but I was never bothered by it. Now in my everyday life I was a lot more impulsive and I can’t tolerate too much dialogue. I wasn’t much for the back and forth with anyone. It was either we were going to get it on or you were going to be shut up physically. It took me over thirty years to control my temper but I have it under control now. So when I lose my composure I am very upset at myself because I allow variables to dictate to me what I am going to do. You see it all the time when you see a player at the free throw line preparing to shoot his free throw either he is focused or looking very nervous. He has allowed outside forces; either the gravity of the situation or pressure to take away his focus. Most of the time the player misses the free throw and the opposing team comes down and hits the game winning or game tying shot further destroying that player’s confidence. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, and Isiah Thomas all had this supreme confidence and were unshaken in crunch time. They demanded the ball and wanted to take the last shot which they usually made.
As I sit here writing this piece the person I think about the person who has inspired this. A man who I have grown in my respect and admiration for in the last several months, Barack Obama because he has shown that unwavering confidence that I am talking about. Through all the attacks by the media, debates, opposing candidates, and side line hecklers he hasn’t wavered or broke from his confident stride. He has maintained his dignity and composure in spite of the cowardly actions of many. Barack Obama has taken the best shots that those who are afraid of change have thrown at him and he has remained standing. When they realized that attacking him personally wouldn’t work they started to attack his wife and he was undeterred by their actions. Even former President Bill Clinton when he felt that his wife was being unjustly attacked in the media came to her aid. Which was a noble act but is something that a Presidential Candidate can’t allow to happen because it shows a sign of weakness no matter how minute it may seem. So as the last few months bring about the close to a historic Presidential run it seems to me that we should place our hopes and beliefs behind a candidate that has his eyes on the prize and the wherewithal to get there undeterred. Shit Barack has taught me something these last few month’s I need to step up my focus and get my mind right.
Life is similar to a basketball game because of the outside variables that can dictate and change the direction that a game is going. It is up to you as a player to not allow these obstacles to take you out of your character. For a long time in my life I was more in control when I was on the basketball court than in my everyday life. Even when I would play games for money I never worried or became stressed. I can remember playing in tournaments in dangerous neighborhoods shooting free throws and people screaming all types of obscenities and threats but I was never bothered by it. Now in my everyday life I was a lot more impulsive and I can’t tolerate too much dialogue. I wasn’t much for the back and forth with anyone. It was either we were going to get it on or you were going to be shut up physically. It took me over thirty years to control my temper but I have it under control now. So when I lose my composure I am very upset at myself because I allow variables to dictate to me what I am going to do. You see it all the time when you see a player at the free throw line preparing to shoot his free throw either he is focused or looking very nervous. He has allowed outside forces; either the gravity of the situation or pressure to take away his focus. Most of the time the player misses the free throw and the opposing team comes down and hits the game winning or game tying shot further destroying that player’s confidence. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, and Isiah Thomas all had this supreme confidence and were unshaken in crunch time. They demanded the ball and wanted to take the last shot which they usually made.
As I sit here writing this piece the person I think about the person who has inspired this. A man who I have grown in my respect and admiration for in the last several months, Barack Obama because he has shown that unwavering confidence that I am talking about. Through all the attacks by the media, debates, opposing candidates, and side line hecklers he hasn’t wavered or broke from his confident stride. He has maintained his dignity and composure in spite of the cowardly actions of many. Barack Obama has taken the best shots that those who are afraid of change have thrown at him and he has remained standing. When they realized that attacking him personally wouldn’t work they started to attack his wife and he was undeterred by their actions. Even former President Bill Clinton when he felt that his wife was being unjustly attacked in the media came to her aid. Which was a noble act but is something that a Presidential Candidate can’t allow to happen because it shows a sign of weakness no matter how minute it may seem. So as the last few months bring about the close to a historic Presidential run it seems to me that we should place our hopes and beliefs behind a candidate that has his eyes on the prize and the wherewithal to get there undeterred. Shit Barack has taught me something these last few month’s I need to step up my focus and get my mind right.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Epiphany of Black Pipe
I have been in a funk for a minute but couldn’t pinpoint why. For the last five months I have been upset and angry but I couldn’t understand what was really bothering me. I am in good health, I have a job, and my kids are healthy. I have everything going well in my life so why am I in a funk. Then it hit me one day the true reason that I am really angry is the Sean Bell case. For those that don’t know Sean Bell was killed the night of his bachelor party by undercover police detectives. Sean Bell was unarmed and his car was fired upon by the five detectives over 50 times. This is a travesty and a direct violation of the intended job of the NYPD, to serve and protect. Sean Bell was killed the night before his wedding by overzealous police. It can’t be seen as a racially charged killing because the Police Officers were predominantly men of color. The true crime is that they were afraid and opened fire on defenseless men because they were black. One officer Michael Oliver fired 31 shots and reloaded. These are the actions of a man who is afraid not a man who is supposed to protect people. Fear makes you do things that you normally wouldn’t do. Fear clouds your thoughts and either brings out the coward in you or makes you reach deep down inside and bring out the hero you have hidden.
I’m angry and instead of acting impulsively and going outside and taking foolish action I have retreated to what I do best, I am writing. My first book is called the MisEducation of Black Pipe which illustrates the evolution of a mind from being miseducated to being enlightened. My second book will be called the Emancipation of Black Pipe which will signify the freedom of a mind but I have decided to do something just for people who read my blogs. I am going to write a book for the internet that will serve as a bridge betweem both of my books. In order for my mind to be emancipated I must first have an epiphany. So this is the Epiphany of Black Pipe. Damn I’m jumping the gun I must first explain to those who don’t know what is the meaning behind the name Black Pipe. The beginning of the universe started from out of the darkness and as it then states and then there was light. The creation of everything in life comes from the darkness or black. The Pipe is a conduit for which I write and share my ideas. So like a pipe my ideas and words flow through my mind and me. So when you place them both together you get the formation of ideas, life, and thought all coming from one person, me to the world, henceforth the name Black Pipe. So when I say that this book is the Epiphany of Black Pipe it means that this is an illuminating discovery, realization, revealing scene or moment. My gift to the world my thoughts and feelings.
I’m angry and instead of acting impulsively and going outside and taking foolish action I have retreated to what I do best, I am writing. My first book is called the MisEducation of Black Pipe which illustrates the evolution of a mind from being miseducated to being enlightened. My second book will be called the Emancipation of Black Pipe which will signify the freedom of a mind but I have decided to do something just for people who read my blogs. I am going to write a book for the internet that will serve as a bridge betweem both of my books. In order for my mind to be emancipated I must first have an epiphany. So this is the Epiphany of Black Pipe. Damn I’m jumping the gun I must first explain to those who don’t know what is the meaning behind the name Black Pipe. The beginning of the universe started from out of the darkness and as it then states and then there was light. The creation of everything in life comes from the darkness or black. The Pipe is a conduit for which I write and share my ideas. So like a pipe my ideas and words flow through my mind and me. So when you place them both together you get the formation of ideas, life, and thought all coming from one person, me to the world, henceforth the name Black Pipe. So when I say that this book is the Epiphany of Black Pipe it means that this is an illuminating discovery, realization, revealing scene or moment. My gift to the world my thoughts and feelings.
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