People Fall, the Goal Stands

Wahoowa!!!  Wahoowa!!!  No, I'm not at all a University of Virginia graduate, but I do support the success of all collegiate sports programs in this commonwealth.  And yesterday, Thomas Jefferson's spot claimed a 5th men's lacrosse national championship by defeating the University of Maryland in Baltimore's M&T Stadium.  The storied UVA program is back on top after it began the preseason ranked #1, tumbling in the rankings, and playing its best at the end of the season to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and then go on to be the best in the country.  Great job Cavaliers; and I'm sure this time the taste of victory is not as sweet as it was the other four titles.

Air Boxing

Here is an African American cliche` - the victory is finally won!  Two of the many black soapbox organizations in the country have 'won a victory' right here in Richmond.  They were able to tear away property from VCU-via-the-city and begin demolition on it.  This was done because the Confederate capital allowed the paving of this plot of land (a burial ground for slave and freed blacks between 1750 and 1810) so it could be used as a parking lot.  An obvious demoralizing method to continue the mental slavery of the African in America, but what do you expect an evil people to do to its enemies?  Of course there was a ceremony which marked the achievement of this, and with that a symbolic land-braking where several city big heads, including the mayor, participated.  A young brother like me though is still trying to figure out where the victory is in this.

Holy House to a Den of Robbers

I had a hand in starting a verses (better term than spoken word) ministry at a church I attended for nearly 10 years.  What this entailed was me spitin' two pieces to the congregation each fourth Sunday; as well as taking some time to help develop the skills of other young writers at the church.  Because of I perceived that there was unhealthy attention geared towards making money at that church, I wrote a piece called Time, Talent, and Dollars.  This work investigated some misconceptions about tithing as well as how vile I felt it was that ministers and/or ministries were manipulating people to give.  I remember after that worship service how an elder approached me and said something like "that was awesome!  You know Pastor ain't gonna let you do poems no more (while laughing)."  Of course, that didn't happen, but neither did the refocus of teaching people the appropriateness of giving.

Next Time You See Me I'll Be Ten Feet Tall...

One month from now your boy will leave his mother and father to be united with my wife, and become one flesh.  A truly amazing occurrence for those who know me, but an even more amazing thing for me and my knowledge of myself.  I now attempt to document my feelings concerning this, but these words represent around 7 % of what actually is occurring with my emotions.

It Aint Over 'Till You Finished

I met my business partner and friend arguing over the success of the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees while his sister (my girlfriend at the time) was recovering from heart surgery.  Right there in that hospital room, in front of their mother, aunts, and nurses, we debated (which is hardly a debate) on who was the better team while his sister attempted to motion to us to shut it up.  Even though his sister and I broke up a while later, her brother and I remained friends and we took on the challenge of encouraging children to be exceptional adults to lead an ever-changing Richmond.  I recall some of the times where we would hang out; watching sports with other friends of ours, playing spades, just being guys.  And during these times we would sometimes have conversations about entrepreneurial aspirations the had and that I figured made sense and would benefit the entire city, if not the world.  Yeah, we were the ones at those [insert pyramid scheme here] seminars thinking we could make some real money in weeks.  Of course that, and a bunch of other things we tried together and separately didn't work.  The reality was that there was me with a college education and him without one; and we were both reaching.