SEEN/HEARD
(Where in the heck is this child's parents?)

"You should know, you know that ahhh
Kriss Kross is not having anything today
As we stand there totally crossed out
We commence to make you

Jump Jump!"

What the entire gymnasium saw every time the "star" participant in a YMCA basketball game scored:


What we heard the ref tell this player's coach after the sixth or seventh full moon:

"...If I have to tell him to pull up his shorts one more time, it will be a technical foul. I don't want to see his underwear and neither does anyone else."

--Don Estes, Referee for YMCA (Columbus, OH)

Was at a recent YMCA game where early on, all of players were sternly advised to tuck in their shirts and secure their shorts via the drawstring. I was offended, irate and totally pissed off that three players at this inner-city basketball game felt they were special and did not need to heed the rules. Two of the players were on my son Sneadly's team and continuously allowed their shorts to "hang low."

One player was ridiculous. So much so that one of the refs constantly stopped the game to tell him to "get right." Each time, the 6'2" 17-year-old scowled. The youngster, is of course the highest scorer and a ball hog. That's no hate, it's true. He needs a serious lesson in teamwork and fair play and other parents have complained about him. Not surprisingly, the little Be-Be's kid got indignant when he was threatened with a technical fowl.

At almost 40, I remember the rap duo Kriss Kross and how hot the backwards and sagging pants were; but what this fad has evolved into is simply a nightmare. And, damn can we go back to the day when if an elder spoke to you, you did as you were told without any ifs, ands, or buts...

Axe.

Currently Reading: I Wish I Had A Red Dress by Pearl Cleage Currently Listening To: Run For Your Life by Robert Randolph and the Family Band, AND, Permanent Imprint by (poet) Shanelle Gabriel

BELIEVE

Hebrews 11:1

Had a 6th grade teacher, a nun, no less, that gave my classmates and I an easy way to remember how to spell the word "believe." The very late Sister Mary John Boscoe would say, "Even if you truly believe something, there is always a lie right in the middle of it."

Wow.

Almost thirty years later, her words still hang on me.

Headly, Sneadly and I are temporarily living in the mid-west. Columbus, Ohio to be exact. It's the state capital and a college town. Was on the way to Whole Foods yesterday near OSU (my Bohemian/Buppie Heaven) and saw a guy pushing his vehicle. As he moved with all his might, I could hear his body crying "ouch." It was a mini-van, too; triple "ouch."

With all my heart, I wanted to get out and help this guy. I've been stranded by the side of the road more times than I care to remember. Some times people stopped, but most times they didn't. Dude was going the opposite direction and that part of Lane Ave. does not allow for parking, let alone stopped vehicles. I was in the car with Sneadly, who is 14 and cannot drive yet. Plus, traffic was flowing pretty swift. Making a u-turn would have been tough. Cars were flying past this guy and nobody was stopping. I scanned ahead to the next block, thinking maybe I could park up there and run back. But it looked like a No Parking zone, too.

So, I did all I could do. I prayed for help.

Just as I said "Amen," an older gentleman stopped. He and his son jumped out and began pushing, while his wife took the wheel of their car. It was amazing. And when I said they starting "pushing the hell out of that mini-van," I declare there almost appeared to be a cloud of dust rising up under their feet!

I need to add that help arrived just as the guy was approaching a hill. I am sure he knew that hill was there, but he did not stop and kept going anyway. His perseverance is remarkable.

Never give up; never quit. And keep the faith.

Axe.

Currently Listening To: All Along The Watchtower (There Must Be A Way Out Of Here) by Jimi Hendrix, and Turn, Turn, Turn by the Byrds

Currently Reading: I Wish I Had A Red Dress by Pearl Cleage

AND...
Recently Watched (again): The Battle at Kruger on YouTube (talk about faith!)

YOUR SOUND, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

Recently went to my Mom's Djembe (gym-bay) class. She has been studying for almost 4 months. Learned a lot at this particular block of instruction.

First, drumming is usually only played for special occasions: wedding ceremony, birth of a child, harvest celebration, a visitor approaching the village, etc. That is it. There is no practicing in between. One must know their part and play the hell out of their drum when it is time; hence, a good memory and skill is key.

Also, the drummer, specifically the master drummer, is charged with protecting the dancers. For instance, they would signal the dancers, through certain beats, if they are too close to the crowd.

But overall, what I found very interesting is that all drummers are responsible for their sound. In selecting a drum, they find one that is the right "fit." If having one built from scratch, it is a drummer's responsibility to make sure the carpenter carving a drum for him knows his needs and expectations. They must communicate constantly regarding the type of wood, how the drum is to be carved (depth, width, etc.), the skin, etc.

Moreover, the drummer is also responsible for every move his hands make. He is in control. If he sends out bad or ill vibes, it is on him and no one else.

So when Curtis Jackson spews poisonous, self-destructive, genocidal words like, "I'm into having sex, I ain't into making love, I got the x if you into drugs..." he, and other artists like him (irresponsible talent-less sellouts) show the world how little they care about their audience, our people or the sound they produce. Their music is not worthy of our dollars or our time.

We, the consumers and listeners, should take a page from hip-hop group Dead Prez' book. The everso-controversial, non-commercialized, non-mainstream duo does not get played on the radio much; maybe it has something to do with one of their hits, "Turn Off The Radio (Turn Off That Bullshit)." The cut has lyrics like:

We rollin dirty wit it, fully dedicated
So real that the radio'll never play it
But that's cool, the enemy supposed to hate it

What's on the radio, propoganda, mind control
And turnin it on is like putting on a blindfold
Cuz when you bringin the real you don't get ro-tation
Unless you take over the station
And yeah I know its part of they plans
To make us think it's all about party and dancin
And yo it might sound good when you spittin your rap
But in reality, don't nobody live like that

Platinum don't mean it gotta be hot
I ain't gotta love it, even if they play it a lot
You can hear it when you walk the streets
How many people they reach, how they use music to teach
A "radio program" ain't a figure of speech
Don't sleep, cuz you could be a radio freak.

Axe.

Currently Reading: I Wish I Had A Red Dress by Pearl Cleage
Currently Listening To: (what else) Turn Off The Radio by Dead Prez, Drumline Final Battle from the Drumline Soundtrack?