As Idalia approaches, I reflect on Katrina, God’s Goodness

Apartment complex where my wife and I were hunkered down.

Eighteen years ago today, my wife and I were hunkered down in a one-bedroom, second story apartment in Gulfport, MS. A violent, war was raging outside as winds from Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It was the grace of God that we made it through alive.

I’m reminded of how ferocious Hurricane Katrina was every year leading up to the anniversary date. The reminder is even more poignant when weather forecasters are warning people about a hurricane that’s about to slam into the country, like they are now about Hurricane Idalia. 

Idalia is projected to be a powerful category 3 storm that’s expected to significantly impact the Florida Gulf coast and coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina. Since I currently live in Augusta, Ga., I’m bracing for the heavy rain and possible strong winds we’ll get.

When Katrina hit, it was after my wife and I had moved from Savannah, Ga., to the Gulfport area in April. I had taken a job as public affairs manager with DuPont, at a large facility that produced titanium dioxide. I was responsible for media and community relations, crisis and issue management. 

The week prior to Katrina making landfall, I was in a courtroom in Jones County, MS., witnessing a trial. DuPont was facing the first of 2,000 individual lawsuits alleging it’s manufacturing process had exposed people to levels of dioxin that caused them to develop cancers. 

On Thursday that week, the judge found DuPont guilty and awarded the plaintiff $14 million and his wife $1.5 million. (The verdict was later overturned and a retrial scheduled.) The jury was scheduled to reconvene on Monday to determine punitive damages.

On Friday, my wife and I did a walk-through of a house we were looking to purchase. We were scheduled to close the following Wednesday. Everything we owned was stored in a facility located on the back bay of Biloxi. Katrina hit on Monday. The facility went underwater and we lost everything.

During my junior year in college, I was in one of the worst tornado outbreaks in the history of America at that time. About two-thirds of Central State University, located in Wilberforce, Oh., was destroyed and the nearby city of Xenia, Oh., was equally devastated by the F5 monster that struck on April 3, 1974. Thirty-seven people from the Xenia area died, including several from our campus. One of those was a student who worked in our campus newspaper office where I was the editor. I relate this story in my book “Looking For A Place In The Sun”.

The tornado that devastated the Xenia and Wilberforce communities was part of a massive super tornado outbreak that day. It was a series of tornadoes that caused severe damage to the midwestern, southern and eastern United States and Ontario, Canada. One of the largest outbreaks of tornadoes ever recorded, it consisted of 148 tornadoes and resulted in more than $1 billion in damage and 330 deaths.

I never would have imagined after going through the super outbreak tornado experience, I’d be in an even worse natural disaster. The tornado outbreak was like a drop in the bucket compared to Katrina, still recorded as the costliest storm ever, with a death toll of 1,392 people, the third highest recorded in U.S. history.

The story of Katrina has been extremely well documented, so I’m not going to get into retelling my experience. I’m just taking a little time to reflect on God’s goodness to me. How many people can say they survived one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history and one of the worst hurricanes in U.S. history.

As Hurricane Idalia barrels toward the Florida Gulf Coast, we all need to be in prayer for the people and communities in its path. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” – Psalms 46:1

I Hate What Michael Jordan Did To Basketball

I used to be a big NBA and men’s college basketball fan. 

On the NBA side, I used to love watching the battles between the Sixers and Celtics when they had such legendary players as Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. 

They were true “teams” that zipped the ball around the court to each other as if it were a hot potato. 

But along came Jordan to influence the pro and college games in such a manner I can barely watch it anymore.

Yeah, I agree with most everyone else that Jordan is the GOAT when it comes to basketball. But what I hate about him is how he started the trend that caused the team concept to disappear. 

Team became, as Jordan dubbed it “me and my supporting cast”.

Basketball devolved into a game where it became about the “star” of the team and everyone else. Media began promoting the star players rather than the team. 

That’s why I was so thrilled when Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team won the NCAA National Championship. They showed that ‘team’ most often prevails against the star.

It was somewhat poetic justice that South Carolina flew under the proverbial radar leading up to the final four as the media loudly drummed the individual player exploits of Caitlin Clark, of Iowa; JuJu Watkins, of University of Southern California; Page Bueckers of University of Connecticut; and others. 

South Carolina’s team had many “star” players but rather than focus on individual stats and popularity they bought into Coach Staley’s culture of playing as a team in which everybody contributes. 

Coach Staley regularly played nine players, and ten before one of them violated team standards and was released. The nine players didn’t care who the leading scorer was and it was usually a different one from game to game. All they cared about was each other and winning.

Despite having a team of McDonald’s All-Americans, none of Dawn’s players had scoring statistics that jumped off the page. No member of the team made first team All-American. That’s because they sacrificed individual stats for the sake of the team. And, it was that team approach that made them champions.  

I’ve always been a firm believer in the team concept. For example, when I coached my two son’s 11-12 year-old recreational basketball teams, I told my boys they were all starters and rotated every player into the starting lineup, from the best player to the worst. I wanted them to know they were all valued members of the team.

After watching South Carolina win the National Championship thanks to every players’ contribution, I pondered the virtue of team. I later happened to see a movie titled “The Match”. The movie – inspired by true events – is about a football (soccer) match that was organized to celebrate Adolph Hitler’s birthday in 1944. The match pitted a team of elite Nazi footballers against a squad of inmates from prison camps made up of ex-footballers and political prisoners. 

The prisoners exemplified the team concept when they united in solidarity to win the match even though intentionally losing it could have resulted in their freedom. Instead, they refused to throw the match, won and were killed. 

When it comes to team, it’s always been said there is no “I” in the word – TEAM. It’s a word that says one for all and all for one, meaning there is no selfishness in team.  

From a Biblical standpoint, Jesus also gave a great example of what the concept of team means. While, as God in the flesh, Jesus could have heaped all the glory upon Himself during His ministry on earth. Instead, He gave the same authority that He had – to preach, teach, heal and perform miracles – to the team of 12 disciples He called to follow Him.

Jesus knew His time on earth was limited and in order for the Gospel about Him to be shared throughout history, He needed the contributions of His disciples. Those disciples ultimately became the greatest winning team of all time. Because of the “team” Jesus put together and developed, the Gospel is still being preached today. 

I Couldn’t Even Imagine The Places I Would Go

Like a long, lonely stream, I’ve been running towards a dream

Moving’ on, moving’ on.

Like a branch on a tree, I keep reaching to be free

Movin’ on, movin’ on

There’s a place in the sun, Where there’s hope for everyone 

Where my poor restless heart has to run

There’s a place in the sun, And before my life is done 

Gotta find me a place in the sun

I wrote my autobiography many years ago. It’s titled “Looking For A Place In The Sun,” inspired by the words of that song, which I first heard as a young boy of 11 or 12 years old.

The song became the theme song of my life. But I never knew how prophetic the words would be.

At the time, I didn’t have a relationship with God, but God already had a plan for my life. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

It still amazes me that even before I was thinking about God, He was thinking about me and maneuvering my life toward the end He planned for me. 

God literally took a poor kid who didn’t know what was available to even imagine, and give me an unimaginable life. 

It’s kind of like what God did for Jeremiah. God told him in Jeremiah 1:5-6: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.” 

As I’ve gotten older – and I’m proud to say I’m old – I’ve begun testifying a lot about the life God blessed me to have. It’s a life that turned out like the stream in the song, one filled with constant movement and meandering. And the blessing in the movement is that it wasn’t random. It was all ordered by God. 

Along with what the prophet Jeremiah said, David pointed out in Psalms 37:23-24: “the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his right hand.”

These passages couldn’t be more true in my life. Coming from a family of 10 kids and parents who never reached high school, I didn’t have a clue as to the opportunities that existed in life.

All I knew growing up – and the only thing my parents stressed – was stay out of trouble, get out of high school and get a job in the factory. My dad, older brothers and uncles all worked in the local steel mill; and the red carpet was rolled out for me.

I never was overly infatuated with working in a factory all my life, and because I played many sports growing up, the only thing I dreamed about was someday following the legendary Jim Brown and playing pro football. 

But God had a plan for me that He was working out and I didn’t even know it. But now looking back I can see clearly the path He took me on.

I never imagined – even though I started in three sports – that I’d win the best male athlete trophy my freshman year at the junior high school I attended. 

I never imagined I’d date my High School’s senior class vice president who directed the first all Black play in the history of the school, and inspire me to go to college.

I never imagined that I’d be the first, and still the only kid in my family, to get not only a four-year college degree but also a master’s degree. 

I never imagined I’d be selected as the editor of my undergraduate school’s campus newspaper my junior year.

I never imagined I’d be the first black reporter – no one has proven me wrong on this yet – at my hometown newspaper.

I never imagined I’d work for three fortune 100 companies, become a high level leader in the field of communications/public affairs and help defend the reputation of these companies when they had to deal with critical crisis management issues related to community environmental and safety impacts,  lawsuits, plant closures, divestitures and layoffs. 

I never imagined I’d ghost write columns for plant managers; speeches, video scripts, talking points or media statements for company vice presidents, CEO’s and politicians.

I never imagined I’d conduct media and communications training on how to have effective large, small and one-on-one meetings with employees.

I never imagined I’d live in 10 states, move at least 15 times, travel into 30 U.S. states, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada and The Netherlands.

But even though my professional career exceeded anything I could ever imagine, it doesn’t tell the most important part of my story.

That’s because I never imagined God would not only call me “out of darkness into his marvelous light” but ordain me to be a minister.

I never could imagine that God would use me to preach and teach in multiple states, to work with singing groups, develop newsletters for churches and even write the pastors’ columns. 

I never imagined God would allow me to write two books and give motivational talks to thousands of young people from elementary school to college.

I never imagined I’d plan and officiate the funerals of my father and mother and then to top it off, preach their eulogies.

So what’s my point here? My point is that our sovereign God is omniscient and omnipotent. He knows all things and is all-powerful. And He’s the one in control of our lives – when we allow Him to be.

No, I was not following His will before I accepted Him my senior year in college. But I had a consciousness of Him since my mother made us attend Sunday School until we got too old (I was 14) for her to “make” us go anymore. 

But God clearly had a call on my life so when He revealed His reality to me through a series of strange occurrences, I made the right choice to accept Him and devote the rest of my life to Him.

My point is that God can take something that appears to be nothing and make something beautiful out of it, like He did with my life. That’s why I’m talking about it a lot more – primarily for the sake of young people. I want them to know that the sooner they dedicate themselves to Christ, the sooner His blessings’ can rain down upon them.

I want young people to know that even though they may not be able to imagine great things happening in their lives due to difficult circumstances they may currently be living in, God can change their situation for the better.

Just like me, He has a place for them that He’s ordained for their lives. All they have to do is accept Him and live for Him and “Oh the places they’ll go”. 

Scientists’ Doomsday Clock Prediction Mirrors Biblical Prophesy

It’s 90 seconds to midnight, or the end of the world. That’s the latest prediction of the team of scientists who maintain the so-called Doomsday Clock.

What could sound more ominous than the phrase Doomsday Clock and the annihilation of the world; and is anyone really taking notice?

If you haven’t heard about it, “The Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which has maintained the clock since 1947.” The team of scientists released their latest “Doomsday” prediction on January 23, 2024 and for the second straight year set the clock at 90 seconds to midnight, which is the closest it’s ever been. 

In a USA Today article about the most recent Doomsday prediction, the Scientists noted the clock was set so close to midnight due to the continued heightened levels of risk from threats such as ongoing wars and out-of-control climate change. The experts also said they were especially worried about how advances in artificial intelligence could sow chaos, making it harder to prevent global disasters.

It’s always intrigued me that the team of scientists who maintain the Doomsday Clock never connect their prediction of the world with Biblical prophesy. I fully understand that many if not most scientists don’t believe in God and spiritual concepts related to a diety. But when you look at what scripture says about the “end of the world” what the Scientists predict was prophesied and recorded in the Christian Bible many, many years ago.

For example, in the book of Matthew, the disciples asked Jesus “what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world”. Jesus responded in no uncertain terms: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:4-8 – KJV)

According to the USAToday article, the Doomsday scientists created the clock using the imagery of the apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to convey threats to humanity and the Earth. The January 24 release of their latest prediction was the first update to the clock since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and the second since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine renewed fears of global nuclear war.

There are many passages in the Bible that provide information about the state of the world leading up to the end of the world and the return of Jesus Christ. The Bible is clear that no man nor angel can predict the exact date or time Jesus will return, but as He told his disciples there would be clear signs leading up to it.

Matthew 24:36-39 also states: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” 

While the Doomsday Clock scientists are warning the world about potential annihilation, there is good news for believers and followers of Christ. We don’t have to depend of those scientists to inform us about the end of the world. The Holy scriptures have already done it. 

Our job is to make sure we’re paying attention to the signs recorded in Matthew chapter 24, Mark chapter 13, and Luke chapters 12 and 21, and then be sure we’re making ourselves ready for Christ’s return. We do that by making sure we’re fulfilling His will in our lives. Consequently, for us, the “end of the world” will usher in a new beginning. It will be the time Jesus raptures us to Heaven to be with Him forever. 

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:42-44)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/23/doomsday-clock-announcement-2024/72311076007/

Lost Homeboys Make Celebrating Christ’s Birth and Death More Special

Blue. Red. Corinth. Teeney. Big Jim. I’ve been thinking about them lately.

All of them are Homeboys of mine who attended Central State University during the years I did. Seems like the older I get, the more reminiscing I’m starting to do. I think it’s because too many of the people I grew up around are leaving planet earth. 

It recently dawned on me that all five of my CSU Homeboys have died. Yes, I said died. I know the politically correct terminology these days is “transitioned”, or “passed away” but the fact is they died.

Throughout the 40 plus years I’ve lived as a Christian, I still wrestle with death, just like many other people. That’s why so many use the euphemisms “transitioned” or “passed away”. They’re words that people use to soften the reality of the loss.

But those euphemisms aren’t used in the Bible. The Word of God is explicit. It talks about being born and about dying. We can still blame the dying part on Adam and Eve for disobeying God’s command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil while in the Garden of Eden.

But let me get back to my college Homeboys. I wrote about Blue and Red – two guys I grew up playing little league baseball with – dying earlier this year. But it only recently hit me that Corinth, who also was in my high school graduating class, Teeney and Big Jim (their nicknames) who were a couple classes behind mine, had also died. 

It just doesn’t feel right that my five college Homeboys are no longer with us.

If that’s not enough, I lost my first sibling last December- the first and oldest out of nine. I’m still trying to reconcile that in my head.

As I ruminate about my Homeboys and oldest sibling, it makes me even more grateful to and reverent of God. I’m still here, in pretty good health and about to celebrate the birth of Christ in a couple of days. 

And I want to encourage everyone to celebrate not only the gift of life those of us living continue to have, but also the greatest gift mankind has ever been given – and that is the gift of Christ. 

Christ was born into the world so that we could have an opportunity to live forever by making the decision to believe in Him and then to live for Him. But the greatest gift about Christ being born is that He also died. He physically died, which was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. He died so that we might be able to live an abundant life on earth in our physical bodies, but more importantly live eternally in Heaven in our spiritual, celestial bodies.

I often think about why some people’s lives are shorter than others. I know a lot of things factor into that. The bottom line is, though, that God is the one who has the final say on it. As Deuteronomy 32:39 states “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.” 

Simply put, the time we have on earth is in His hands. The important thing is to thank Him for every day He gives us, and most importantly to thank Him for the gift He gave us in Jesus Christ.

Blessed Holidays everyone. 

Sorry Mr. Brokaw, My Generation Is The Greatest

I was sitting in the dentist’s chair for a teeth cleaning when I was reminded of a longstanding disagreement I have with Tom Brokaw. Yeah, that Tom Brokaw, the famous television news anchor/broadcaster. 

As a journalist myself, I’ve always admired Brokaw for his outstanding TV journalism. He is one of the best of all time and even though I’m extremely proud of my work, I know my journalism exploits pale in comparison to his.

But I can still disagree with him in regards to his best selling book titled “The Greatest Generation”. In the book, Brokaw contends the greatest generation are the people who lived during the World War II era. 

In his book, Brokaw tells the extraordinary stories of a generation that gave new meaning to courage, sacrifice, and honor. From military heroes to community leaders to ordinary citizens, he profiles men and women who served their country with valor, then came home and transformed it. 

There is no doubt, the men and women of the World War II generation are to be highly praised for their contributions to our country and world. But I contend the Greatest Generation is my generation. I’ll tell you why shortly. First let me tell you what brought the thought to mind while I was in the dentist chair. 

As the dental hygienist was cleaning my teeth, I noticed how delicate she was in removing plaque, as well as how fluid her hand movements were. I wondered if she were a dancer. Her fluidity made me think of the stirring ballet performed by L. Martina Young in a Stevie Wonder Ribbon In The Sky YouTube video.

I also noticed that a Motown song came on in the background music that was being played. Since the music was very low, I couldn’t determine the name of the song, but it was unmistakably a Motown tune based on the sound. I can say this since I grew up two hours south of Detroit and Motown music back then was the soundtrack of my life. 

Growing up during the heyday of Motown is one reason I believe my generation is the greatest generation. Stevie Wonder. Marvin Gaye. Smokey Robinson. The Supremes. The Temptations. The Jackson 5 and all the other phenomenal Motown singers/groups, in my opinion, made the best music of all time. That’s why advertisers still today are using Motown sound to sell product.

But music is just one thing that makes my generation the greatest. It was also how we courageously endured the turbulence of the times we grew up in. 

It was on the heels of the Industrial Revolution when manufacturing jobs were plentiful and provided the opportunity for African-Americans to leave sharecropping jobs in the south and move north for industrial jobs that provided a nice middle class living. My own father moved our family from Northern Alabama at the age of 19 to get a job in a steel foundry. That job helped him care for what later would become a family of 12, including 10 children.

My generation also grew up during the turmoil of the civil rights movement and the very unpopular Viet Nam war. It was a time of social and political upheaval that saw the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X. 

Between young Black people marching and protesting for our civil rights and young White people marching and protesting against the war in Viet Nam, our country was a powder keg of unrest and violence.

Despite losing way too many young people in the jungles of Viet Nam, the streets of our communities and even on our college campuses like those lost at Kent State, our generation made it through the 60’s and 70’s. That time of upheaval resulted in our country undergoing massive social and political change like it had never seen before, including the fall of President Richard Nixon following infamous the Watergate scandal.

On the heels of Viet Nam and the civil rights movement, we had to make it through the onslaught of the drug epidemic that swept through the country. And, if that weren’t enough, we had to endure the wild economic swings of the 80’s and 90’s, which included what historians call “the deindustrialization” of America.

That deindustrialization – which consisted of manufacturing shutdowns and industrial off-shoring – resulted in the loss of millions of jobs that severely affected the tax bases of many American inner cities and caused crime to skyrocket and prisons to fill up due to people falling into poverty.

Nonetheless, my generation weathered all the storms.

Our journey into greatness didn’t only involve negative situations. There were plenty of positives. For instance, it was our generation that saw the first men step onto the moon. In fact, one of them, Neil Armstrong, lived most of his life just 15 miles south of my hometown. 

Here are a few other highlights of positive things my generation experienced: The Cuban Missile Crisis was averted. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts into law. The electronics and digital revolution and the computer age began. The Berlin Wall was torn down. The World Wide Web was launched.

Along with politics, economic change and magical music, my generation also saw the emergence of reputedly the greatest golfer of all-time (Tiger Woods), the greatest female tennis player of all time (Serena Williams) and the greatest basketball player of all-time (Michael Jordan). I was blessed to see both Tiger and Serena play in person. The athletes changed their sports forever.

There were numerous other positive accomplishments made by my generation, but I’m obviously not going to try to mention them. The bottom line is we definitely helped transform the world. 

So yeah, Mr Brokaw. The World War II generation endured a tragic war and effected great change in the world. But I argue that my generation is the greatest. We dealt with war, strife, economic hardship and more. But through it all we were changing the world for the betterment of mankind. 

Labor Day Drowning Spotlights Importance of Water Safety

Witnessed the worst thing that a parent can experience earlier today – the loss of a child. Was on a Labor Day fishing outing at Pointes West Army Resort outside of Augusta, Ga, when a 16 year boy frolicking on a sandbar with two other people went under water and didn’t resurface. 

The two other people, due to their attempt to locate the boy, had to be pulled from the water themselves and one of them had to transported to a hospital. As the two of them were being taken to shore the mother was screaming hysterically that her only son was still in the water. Sadly, the boy didn’t make it. Emergency responders were later able to recover his body. 

The location my son, daughter-in-law and three grandsons were fishing at was directly across from the sandbar, the 16-year-old, his sister and her boyfriend were enjoying the water. Consequently, when the event occurred we were able to provide some assistance to the daughter who was in distress and prayers with and comfort to the mother prior to the arrival of emergency responders. 

Needless to say, this was an extremely sad and difficult situation, but it spotlights the importance of water safety. Neither of the three was wearing a life vest, which could have made a difference.

I strongly encourage all parents who allow their children to get on large bodies of water – whether it’s on a boat or just swimming out from shore – that they insist their children wear life jackets. It’s been proven over and over that it can be the thing that saves a life.

https://www.wrdw.com/2023/09/04/16-year-old-missing-after-possible-drowning-pointes-west/

https://www.watersafetyusa.org/life-jackets-save-lives.html

Red And Blue. It Was A Blessing Knowing You

I don’t mind telling people that I’m old. Yeah that’s right. I’ll be 70-years old this year. Make fun if you want, but I’m blessed to be old. As my youngest son, Terrance, advised me a few years ago, getting old is better than the alternative.

Terrance couldn’t be more right. As I write this, I’m sitting on a bucket (left my chair in the SUV) with two fishing lines out. It’s a bright sunny day, around 70 degrees with a nice breeze and I’m enjoying my favorite fishing spot at the beautiful Clark’s Hill Lake near Augusta, GA.

I’ve got good reason to be reflecting on the blessing of getting old. Just last week, I read the obituary of a friend whom I played little league baseball with in my hometown of Lima, OH. Bey or Red as we called him died at 70 years old. Benjamin Laws (Bey’s real name) was also a Home Boy of mine at Central State University. When my parents dropped me off on campus, I had no idea Bey would be there too. 

Nor did I know that Bluebird (Willie Harris) would be starting his career at CSU that same day. Anyone who’s gone to college understand the importance of having someone from your hometown on campus with you. You may not hang out with them all the time but a special bond develops between you and that’s what happened between me, Red and Blue. I even talk about them in my autobiography Looking For A Place In The Sun. I still sometimes tell the story about Red and Blue hooking up with a guy on campus nicknamed White. You got it – Red, White and Blue.

Blue also played on our Scotties Little League team. He and Red were always hustlers, even back then. When practice was over, they’d head downtown with their shoeshine kits to make some money. I don’t even know if I could have found my way to downtown at that time.

But Red and Blue were street wise at a very young age. They knew how to take care of themselves. As we got older, I lost track of Red and Blue. I got engrossed in Junior High School sports and that became my world. Sports continued to consume my life through High School and I didn’t even know Red and Blue had transferred to the local catholic high school where they graduated. 

All I remembered about them was they were street hustlers who I thought would end up in serious trouble one day. 

But what prompted me to write this piece is that after I found out Red had died, I started thinking about Blue. I’d stayed in contact with Blue off and on for around 25 years after I left Central State. The last place I knew he lived was as in Dayton, Oh, and one time on a trip home, I stopped there for the night to play golf with him the next day. Blue playing golf was another surprise to me. What didn’t surprise me was how he tried to hustle me on the golf course. Always the hustler.

But I digress. After casting my lines out, I decided to Google Blue to see what was up with him. What I learned shattered my heart. Google popped up Blue’s obituary, reporting he had passed away at age 68 in July 2022. His photo left no doubt it was Blue.

Reminiscing about Red and Blue reminds me of the blog I wrote in December, 2018 that was titled: “Aging, Losing Friends Reminder of Mortality”. It was about losing another good boyhood friend who was the fullback on our South Junior High freshman football team. Losing Greg in 2018 meant the entire backfield – fullback, quarterback, tailback and wingback – were all no longer with us. 

The situation brought to my mind the words of the song “Abraham, Martin and John” written by Richard Holler and performed by Dion DiMucci. Some of the lyrics are: “Has anybody here seen my old friend John? Can you tell me where he’s gone?

Both my CSU Home Boys are now gone. And, no, they never got into trouble. They continued their hustling ways in college, including being two of the best pool sharks on campus. But, they not only made it through college, they became wonderful family men and were very successful in their careers. 

Getting old is much better than the alternative. Many of my boyhood friends are gone. But at my age, losing someone you know becomes fairly common.

According to Psalm 90:10: God promises that on a general basis, mankind could live 70 years and maybe 80 by reason of strength. So anything around or over 70 is definitely a blessing. 

My father passed at 67. My mother passed at 89. How these discrepancies occur is something I’m going to ask Jesus about when I get into Heaven. We can speculate all we want but scripturally, “it’s appointed unto man once to die but after death the judgement.” (Hebrews 9:27 KJV)

The point is that life is precious and it goes by extremely fast. So we have to maximize every day God gives us. As an ‘old’ mother in my home church used to say often “tomorrow is not promised”.

So Red and Blue. My Scottie Little League teammates and my college Home Boys. I’m very sad you left us. But it was a blessing and honor knowing you.

I also could have died

I also could have died.

Tragic, heartbreaking stories like this one about Collin Wiant, who died as a result of fraternity hazing, bring back vivid memories about my pledge experience.

A Columbus Dispatch article reports that Collin died after the brothers in the fraternity he was pledging beat him with belts, forced him to binge drink until he passed out, poured hot sauce on him and made him strip down to his underwear and play tackle football in a small room

This story is particularly poignant for me because the journalism professor who taught me at the college I attended later taught at the college Collin pledged at.

I pledged during the spring of my junior year. I was thinking like many students that being a member of a fraternity would provide a life-long social “brotherhood” and a network of people who potentially could help advance my career after graduation.

But it was the near fatal experience I had that helped change my mind. I was forced to smoke a  marijuana joint and drink a bottle of cheap wine before the joint was done. I was  “deliriously high” after smoking the joint and drinking the fifth of wine. The brothers drove me to my dorm room–where I lived alone–and dropped me off. I ran up the stairs and after entering my room collapsed on the bed. 

Sometime during the night, I woke up and vomited all over myself and my room, then collapsed back in bed. It was hours after daybreak when I awoke again and realized the extent of what had happened. Fortunately, God was with me and protected me from potentially serious health affects during the night. 

The Columbus Dispatch article notes that Collin “is one of at least 80 college students who died in incidents connected to Greek life in the past 15 years. In the span of a few weeks this fall, four people died in circumstances related to fraternities at the campuses of San Diego State, Washington State, Penn State and Cornell. Others have suffered mental or emotional scars from hazing while those who abused them probably will never face significant consequences.”

Many colleges have taken significant measures to prevent fraternity hazing incidents like the one that took Collin’s life. These measures include 11 states having passed laws that make hazing a felony. But more needs to be done to end the senseless antics too many college students think is fun to indoctrinate someone into their social group.

But, most importantly, I believe college students need to recognize there is a better group to join that doesn’t require taking drugs or drinking alcohol. That group is made up of people who choose/chose to follow Christ. I made that decision my senior year and discovered there was a vast network of people who were available to help in my career advancement. And, more importantly, these people not only became a social circle for me, they became my brothers and sisters.

When I joined the group of Christians, that’s when I discovered what real fraternity was all about. Now, I strongly encourage others to pledge Jesus.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/education/2019/12/02/ohio-university-frat-hazing-death-fraternity-sigma-pi-collin-wiant/4328634002/

Another unnecessary death of a youth

Another unnecessary death of a youth. It’s the kind of incident I discuss in my Nebuchadnezzar Is After My Child book, available at online booksellers. Teen violence is one of what I call Goliaths satan or the devil is using to stalk and ultimately destroy our youth. But youth can avoid being negatively impacted by these Goliaths by practicing the principles of being SMART (Single-Minded, Alert, Resolute & Tenacious), which are expounded upon in the book.

The thief, as Jesus calls satan in the Bible, “comes to steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). Throughout history, he has targeted youth. He knows if he can destroy youth, he can destroy the future of a nation. Today, satan continues to wreak havoc among our youth and is particularly targeting the best and brightest. He’s attempting to steal their goals, kill their dreams and destroy their earthly lives and eternal souls.

This is the dramatic premise of Nebuchadnezzar Is After My Child. The book is based on a story found in the Book of Daniel in the Bible that follows the lives of four young Israeli youth who were taken from their God-fearing Jerusalem homeland and forced to live in a sinful city called Babylon.

The story of the Hebrew youth is a “type” or example of the strategy satan uses today to destroy young people. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar is a “type” of satan who brought the best and brightest Israeli youth to Babylon for the purpose of remaking them into someone he could use to advance his kingdom. His attempt to remake them included changing their names, diet, behavior, character and belief system. His goal was to erase their Godly heritage and replace it with heathenistic ideology.

Nebuchadnezzar Is After My Child is a great resource for parents who are looking for ways to help their young people cope with the “Goliath” challenges in our modern world. It can be the key to helping influence young people to steer clear of violence and hopefully avoid other senseless loss of lives.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/18/us/new-york-teen-fatally-stabbed-video/index.html