Belt Spinner

When it comes to a gentleman’s closet; organization is paramount. There have been too many mornings where I found myself scrambling trying to find a belt that matched my outfit. Belts were thrown here, and belts were thrown there. One day, I was in Jos. A. Bank browsing and I came across a spinning belt hanger. It was made to hang perfectly in the closet and offer easy access to your belts when you needed one. I decided to buy one; and frantic belt searches were no more. If you are looking to save time and money; Jos. A. Bank has their belt spinners on sale now for $9.90.

Why Don’t Black Boys Play Baseball?

My little brother Dallan, getting ready to steal home.

I love coaching youth athletics. I love being out there with the kids and teaching them the fundamentals of sports. Perhaps many of you do not know, but I have coached youth athletics for nearly five years now. I haven’t realized how much of an impact I have made on these kids until one little boy nearly tackled me when he saw me at a local mall. I usually get extra excited for this time of the year, because the baseball season is about to start up.

Baseball was my first love, and a sport that I enjoy playing the most. I did not get the opportunity to play as much as I would have liked to when I was younger. But now since I have younger siblings, I am enjoying teaching them the game, as well as the other children at my local recreation center. After I left the gym this morning, I heard a rather disturbing comment regarding baseball: “Why don’t Black boys play baseball?” When I got home, I had to do some research, and I became interested in what this group of women were doing in Philadelphia.

TheGrio.com is reporting that there is a group of black women in Philadelphia who’ve taken it upon themselves to get their sons involved in baseball. In 1974, 27 percent of the players in Major League Baseball were African American. Today, that number is only 9 percent. These women are hoping to change that.

The author of the article, Chris Murray, says that one of the obstacles to black boys being more involved in baseball is that many of them come from single-parent homes. Their mothers, perhaps unaware of the benefits of playing the sport, may not encourage their sons to participate. The black athlete’s skills, which typically get applied to basketball and football, are likely to thrive on the baseball field and tennis courts, where their participation is not nearly as likely. Also, the cultural infrastructure of basketball and football give it a leg up in the minds of black boys when they are choosing which sports to play.

Two women, Cheryl A. Mobley-Stimpson and Sarah J. Glover, have an interest in seeing their boys play baseball. Mobley-Stimpson runs a Facebook group called “Philly Sports Moms.” The Mothers mention that the white male-dominated world of youth league baseball creates some racial hurdles: black boys are typically first-generation players, while the white kids have family members who’ve been part of the league for years.

Major League Baseball should get involved in recruiting black males to play the sport. This should also be true in tennis, golf and other sports that we traditionally choose not to play. While we are quick to flood the basketball courts, there are thousands of Venus and Serena’s out there who’ve never had a chance to play any sport at all.

Additionally, participation in sports teaches lifelong lessons about hard work, consistency, persistence, goal-setting and determination. It was by applying what I’d learned from participating in football that I became an academic honor student in college. The key was setting goals and working hard each day to achieve them.

For single-mothers raising black boys, it’s important to ensure that your sons are getting proper role models. Find productive males in your community who are willing to provide some guidance and encouraging words for your sons as they go through their most difficult experiences. It’s tough to figure out how to be a man, and while many women are confident in believing that they can teach a boy to be a man, the truth is that differences in gender-based perceptions are difficult to ignore. I personally don’t feel that I have any ability whatsoever to teach my younger sister how to be women, but I can certainly help to teach her how to relate to men.

Get your boys in to sports, but teach them to use sports as an avenue for success in all their endeavors. Athletics can be a pathway to academic, professional and social success. Additionally, seek out sports that are different. We don’t need more kids doing the same old stuff.

My little brothers, Dallas (right) and Dallan (left) and I. (in 2009)

Summary of Sink or Swim

Jasmine Williams, the daughter of a powerful sports agent, has held lust-filled fantasies for Roderick Patterson captive ever since she was an awkward teenager, when the Carolina Cougars’ incredible wide receiver became her father’s superstar client.

Jasmine’s become a beautiful associate in her father’s firm, and being around multimillion-dollar athletes is all in a day’s work: that is, until Roderick’s recent photo shoot blindsides her with passion.

On the other hand, Roderick has built a flawless career by being in control — on and off the field. Despite his intense desire for Jasmine, he’s not about to seduce his agent’s daughter — until Jasmine plans to break free from her domineering father and winds up at  a bar on the wrong side of town. Roderick thinks he’s rescuing the innocent Jasmine he met years ago, but one night of passion reveals a woman with no limits — including a fondness for sex in public places. If anyone’s breaking all the rules of the profession, it’s Jasmine.

But Roderick has a secret from years ago — one that could ruin his squeaky-clean reputation and take Jasmine along with him. Will Roderick’s troubled past bind them closer together? Or will Jasmine lose everything she has worked her entire life to accomplish?

A little taste of my world

I had quite an interesting experience last night, it was definitely strange to say the least. Well perhaps it is strange for you, but this happens to me quite often. I woke up around 3am in an intense sweat. My sheets and pillowcases were totally soaked. Speaking of which, I’m not sure how both of my pillowcases were wet when I only slept on one, but I digress.

You might think I had a teenage wet dream again. But this wasn’t another hormonal visit, this was my muse. What is a muse you ask? Well a muse is an inspiration to create; such as an artistic endeavor. I believe during the times of Ancient Greece, a muse was considered the source of knowledge, which was often expressed in poems or lyrics. I can’t remember right now, but the fact of the matter is I needed only two things. A pen and paper.

I have been writing for much of my life. I write, a lot of times to escape reality. Writing has always been my “tropical getaway” of sorts. Through my writing, I express some of my deepest emotions; many of which I’m not comfortable expressing using other methods. This blog, for example, is an extension of my feelings and thoughts. I am glad to share everything with you by the way. However, on the subject of writing, I believe I am ready to try my hand at displaying my work more. I have looked into publishing.

The thought of publishing has crossed my mind on and off for two years now. I have had several dreams of having my work sold in Borders, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores. The thought of going on a book tour signing copies of my book really intrigues me. I am working on a number of writing projects right now.

Much of my older writings are poems or prose pieces. Many of them dealt with the subjects of love, lust, and nature. I have also written many poems regarding the subject of the absence of my father and other distressing events from my past. I want to somehow group together my most intimate and honest thoughts and form a poetry book. So I’m forming a collection of my deeply personal poetry. With this collection, I intend to capture my view on the world, and its many contradictions. The collection will also be catered toward the subject of love. I’m thinking about separating love into four categories: family, sexual, unreciprocated love, and romance.

I am also working on my first novel. Actually, I have been working on this manuscript for close to two years. The novel is entitled Sink or Swim. I will provide the summary of Sink or Swim in another post. I have learned that working on a longer project like a novel, is a tedious process, but very enjoyable. I can’t wait to edit Sink or Swim and publish it. This novel means so much to me because I worked on this manuscript when I was depressed and unemployed.

I will let you know of how my publishing research goes, and I’ll keep you posted on everything.

Dealing with Failure

***Admin Note: Class, I am bored. Literally. One thing about boredom is the simple fact that it’s nerve-racking. When you are bored, there are plenty of things you would like to be doing, but the lack of activity just deflates your spirits. For example, I am in Statistics class right now. The instructor is having discussion on the prior weeks homework assignment regarding standard deviation. Really? I mean how hard is standard deviation? All the professor had to say was that standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Simple as that. I hope my blogs do not bore you the way he is at the moment, LOL! What makes this situation so sad is that I am alone in this matter. I logged onto Facebook, and all my close friends are either not logged on or at work. Go figure when I am this jaded. I’ve sent seven texts, two Blackberry Messages, and even an email to myself. I’m not even sure if I answered that email. *shrugs* Oh well, I am here to entertain you with the last logical thought that has come across my uninterested psyche.***

I will restate this….I am tremendously bored. Statistics class is not giving me what I want right now. Quite frankly, I’m not sure what I want right now. Wait a minute, I’ll take that back, I want to try to apply “statistics” to a real life situation. I hope this works, and if not, well at least you can take away that I am in an altered state of intelligence right now.

Anyway, I find it amusing how people treat dating and relationships. While there is the emotional investment, I often hear people complaining that “I will never find anyone else”, or “I’m going to be alone forever”, or  some other random complaint of loneliness. Well I am here to expose a rather interesting (yet glaringly obvious) statistical fact that seems to surprise people when I say it, but seems so common sense to me. The truth is:99% of relationships end in failure.

Now you may say, “how did you come up with that statistic?”. To that I promptly reply, “think about it”.

Yes people, let’s think about it. You only marry one person, if you are blessed with an opportunity to marry someone. There are a few situations (polygamy or other multiple-partner relationships) that end in you finding more than one “special someone”, but obviously that isn’t the norm.

Realistically, for us normal people, you marry one person (or at least end up dating one into eternity). That means that every single other relationship before that person failed. It could have been 100 people or it could have been 10, but the fact is you had to fail at relationships a lot before finding someone.

 Ladies and gentlemen, relationships end, and they end often. Stop entering relationships thinking you’re going to be together forever (act like this to give yourself the best chance, but don’t be naive to the fact there is a good chance it will end). More than likely, you’re going to break up with the person and will recover and move on. If not, you’ll be happy forever. It’s nice to buy every lottery ticket hoping to be that one person to win, but realistically you know there is a good chance you won’t win. You don’t go planning your life “knowing” your going to win the lottery, and I say the same thing applies here. Don’t plan your life around the 1%.

Am I being too pessimistic, or does everyone see the truth in my “numbers”?

***And now this girl is staring a hole into my forehead, maybe she should read this post***