HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!! Here’s to those actually made it to the New Year, and a nod to those who didn’t. This month’s blog is written in part based on an ESPN Classic series by Billy Corben, entitled BROKE. I just watched a segment of this series, but I was enlightened some rather startling facts regarding the other side of professional sports. From this segment, I learned that a disproportionate number of minority athletes, after being signed to multi-million contracts, would ultimately wind up, after retirement or being released, not just broke, but in massive debt. I would be lying if I said that at one time in my life I did not dream of playing tennis for money, but I always thought that if I even got the first million, I would leave it in the bank and live off the interest after one year. Of course it’s easy to say that, not having the money. N.E.Way, I digress, because the point of this month’s blog is not about me, but the children. After watching that segment, I was inspired to write this entry, encourage readers with children who seek to pursue a career in athletics or even entertainment, to Google BROKE by Billy Corben; Tivo, VCR, DVD or by any means necessary preserve it for viewing with that young person at some future date (better sooner than later). As a parent, I feel that I can fairly say that our children don’t really take us seriously until it’s too late, but hopefully listening to the financial horror stories straight from the horse’s mouths will convince them otherwise. Exposing them to this information will as a collateral bonus, hopefully send them in their own search of any one of the one-hit-wonders of their own time, just so they see the relevance of learning how to manage the money before they sign the contract. No matter if they win the lottery, become a first-round draft pick or get signed by Lil Wayne, it is imperative that the value of an education as a foundation to your life’s passion be firmly instilled in the child’s life. About that…; it’s baffling to me how it is that the sum of the world’s knowledge literally doubles every ninety days, but our children seem to be missing the boat in terms of not accessing the information at hand. Realistically, some of this can be attributed to sensory overload in that it’s hard to focus when there is so much before you, but we are all more drawn to one thing more than another, so why not find out everything you can about that one thing. And whatever it is probably can’t be done immediately for free, so you would reasonably have to establish a budget for the activity, which leaves only two things to concentrate on: the thing itself and financing it. Again, this is only my take on the matter, and what do I know?
Switching gears; since practically nobody reads these blogs (yet), while I’m still in the Twilight Zone, I’m gonna go out on a limb to address an issue that I have been observing for a while and I believe is about to break the surface of our collective consciousness. For several years now, we have been struggling with the ‘political correctness’ of the ‘N’ word. So much so, that various public figures have spoken out in the abolishment of this word from our dialect. While it seemed for time that we had progressed to a point of self-respect that we would start to respect ourselves enough to raise our own vocabulary levels, in recent years and in the name of ‘artistic license’, there has been a resurgence in the use of this word. But it’s not that particular thing I wanted to write about. Although this is a problem, ongoing and much discussed, on the other side of the street, there is an equally offensive (albeit selective) word used by females. In recent years, coinciding with the struggle to eliminate the ‘N” word, the use of the ‘B’ word has become equally, it not more prolific. While personally, I try to avoid the use of both and the use of either is of no moment to me, I wonder what effect it has on those who listen to us address each other thusly. More to the point, when I hear the label ‘single mother’, coming from a young woman with a son, while wearing a t-shirt that says ________________’B’, walking thru the house singing the lyrics to that Lupe Fiasco song and every other Housewives program has the women throwing the term around throughout the show. A minute about those shows; how do young women realistically expect to have a man marry them, when their major talents are ordering takeout and exorbitant interior decoration? Whether the guy is rich or not (altho that’s one of the requirements of the young women), he still wants a home cooked meal, and not to have to go in debt for interior decorations; but that’s just me talking. But, back to the point; in the same way women want to make men over into what they think they should be, would it be the worst expenditure of energy to counsel these younger women on issues or morality, poise, self-respect and public behavior? Even though I am the primary contributor to this blog, I don’t abuse the responsibility to the point of making it offensive, I hope. The subjects discussed in this entry, are basically my opinions and do not reflect the opinions/positions of Palestine Neighborhood Development Corporation, consistent with our disclaimers.
Switching gears; since practically nobody reads these blogs (yet), while I’m still in the Twilight Zone, I’m gonna go out on a limb to address an issue that I have been observing for a while and I believe is about to break the surface of our collective consciousness. For several years now, we have been struggling with the ‘political correctness’ of the ‘N’ word. So much so, that various public figures have spoken out in the abolishment of this word from our dialect. While it seemed for time that we had progressed to a point of self-respect that we would start to respect ourselves enough to raise our own vocabulary levels, in recent years and in the name of ‘artistic license’, there has been a resurgence in the use of this word. But it’s not that particular thing I wanted to write about. Although this is a problem, ongoing and much discussed, on the other side of the street, there is an equally offensive (albeit selective) word used by females. In recent years, coinciding with the struggle to eliminate the ‘N” word, the use of the ‘B’ word has become equally, it not more prolific. While personally, I try to avoid the use of both and the use of either is of no moment to me, I wonder what effect it has on those who listen to us address each other thusly. More to the point, when I hear the label ‘single mother’, coming from a young woman with a son, while wearing a t-shirt that says ________________’B’, walking thru the house singing the lyrics to that Lupe Fiasco song and every other Housewives program has the women throwing the term around throughout the show. A minute about those shows; how do young women realistically expect to have a man marry them, when their major talents are ordering takeout and exorbitant interior decoration? Whether the guy is rich or not (altho that’s one of the requirements of the young women), he still wants a home cooked meal, and not to have to go in debt for interior decorations; but that’s just me talking. But, back to the point; in the same way women want to make men over into what they think they should be, would it be the worst expenditure of energy to counsel these younger women on issues or morality, poise, self-respect and public behavior? Even though I am the primary contributor to this blog, I don’t abuse the responsibility to the point of making it offensive, I hope. The subjects discussed in this entry, are basically my opinions and do not reflect the opinions/positions of Palestine Neighborhood Development Corporation, consistent with our disclaimers.