The Friendship Prayer

Communication: On The Road To Love

On the path to relationships the importance of good communication cannot be over-stated.Whether we choose to go a new route with someone we have chemistry with or an old one with someone we have history with, learning to be a better communicator will guide us to happiness on the road to love......

House Family Memorial Tribute

Every person reading this blog has a relative who has died, who is dying or who will die unnecessarily from a dietary related illness. In many cases where our family members have died, many of the deaths were preventable. In many of the cases where our family members are dying now, many of the deaths are still preventable. In many of the future cases where our family members will die, many of the deaths will be preventable. It's unfortunate, but too many African Americans with and without dietary related illness, are feeding their mouth with one hand, while digging their grave with the other.

As you view this memorial tribute, I ask that you keep in mind just how much these illnesses have affected all of our lives. How much they have torn away at the fabric of our families, destroying the health of our parents and grandparents, of husbands and wives, of sisters and brothers and sons and daughters. This short tribute follows the long journey from the places where some of my relative's lives ended to the places they were laid to rest.

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George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist

George Washington Carver was born a slave in Missouri. A year after his birth, the emancipation proclamation ended slavery. At liberty to pursue a formal education, he enrolled at Iowa College. He was the first African American to do so. After receiving a Master of Science degree in bacterial botany, Carver went on to discover over 300 uses for the peanut and over 100 for sweet potatoes. One of his more timely discoveries was his development of the crop rotation method. In the early 1900's soil was being depleted by the continual planting of cotton and tobacco crops. Carver’s valuable technique prevented further depletion and helped the economic recovery of the South. During a time when the efforts toward farming by Black men was all physical, Carver’s used his intelligence as a scientist to prove that African Americans had something more to offer.

Hail to the First Black Cardiologist: Dr. Daniel H. Williams

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was a doctor of firsts at a time when Blacks were second class citizens. Amid the lack of opportunity for Negroes in the mid to late 1800’s Dr. Williams was the first African American Cardiologist. In 1893 he completed the first successful open heart surgery in the United States. He founded Provident Hospital in Chicago, the first non-segregated hospital in the United States.  He also co-founded the National Medical Association for African American doctors. Dr. Williams’ legacy was noted by Stevie Wonder in the song “Black Man” on the Songs in the Key of Life Album. Hail to the First Black Cardiologist!

Vivien Thomas: A Janitor's Journey

Vivien Thomas was an Amazing African American. Wait till you hear what he accomplished. He had no medical training or college education. Skilled as a carpenter, initially he was hired to perform janitorial work. While working in a medical lab at Vanderbilt University, he was allowed to assist a doctor with research. There, Thomas worked towards finding a way to treat Blue Baby Syndrome, a life threatening disease affecting infants. In 1944 after developing and perfecting a life-saving surgical procedure, Thomas guided Dr. Alfred Blalock, the very doctor that hired him, through the successful completion of the groundbreaking surgery. Because of his contribution to the field of medicine he was given an honorary doctorate degree. As the Instructor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical School, he trained surgeons at one of the best medical programs in the country.Starting out as a janitor with only a high school diploma his journey was quite an accomplishment. His inspiring story is told in the HBO movie, Something the Lord Made.

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Health: The True Treasure Of Life

                                                                                                                                                                  

It's a gem, a gift from God. It exceeds the worth of any amount of wealth. It's more beautiful than any person and is far more popular. There is nothing that we can do that doesn't require some aspect of it. It allows us to navigate the course of our lives, visually through our sight, mentally through our thoughts and physically through our movement. It allows us to form relationships with the people we love, vocally through our speech, audibly through our hearing and emotionally through our hearts. It's because of our health that we are able to experience the essence of our being.  Health, the true treasure of life, value it.

Cam Newton: Passing Judgement

                                                                                                                           

In college Cam Newton had been dogged by allegations of academic cheating and stealing. Despite the controversy he won the Heisman Trophy and was the first player selected in the 2010 NFL draft (Carolina Panthers).  In the spring of 2011 he visited the NFL Combine, the place where NFL draft picks perform athletic and mental skill tests for NFL coaches, general managers and scouts. Newton’s performance was horrible, convincing some experts that he was not worthy of winning the Heisman and others that he didn’t have the skill set to even play in the NFL. Newton was criticized after his first appearance in an NFL pre-season game by a  sportswriter who wrote that he was too hesitant.
                                                                                                                                 
In the regular season as it turned out , Newton was anything but hesitant. He came out firing. In his first two NFL starts he passed for over 400 hundreds yards in each game, something that had never been done by a rookie. Three games into the 2011 season Newton had already passed for 1,000 yards, another NFL record. Cam Newton went on set the NFL passing yardage mark for rookies, passing for almost 4000 yards in a season. In the process Newton rushed for 14 touchdowns, the most in a season by any quarterback in NFL history. Whether or not he made mistakes in his collegiate career Cam Newton had been judged prematurely and condemned to fail. One mistake he didn't make, was allow what other people thought to become his reality. Instead he responded by having the best rookie season of any NFL quarterback in the history of the sport.

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Ben Carson: A Mind Is A Powerful Thing To Use

Ben Carson was at the bottom of his class in middle school. In fact, of all the students at his school he was considered to be one of the dumbest. It wasn’t until his mother required him to read two library books a week and write a report on each one that his grades dramatically improved and landed him at the top of his class. Graduating from high school with honors he wanted to become a doctor, but another problem threatened his future career. He had a very bad temper. By harnessing the power of his mind through prayer and determination, he worked hard ro control his violent rage. With discipline Ben Carson became well-educated and went on to become a doctor. He made medical history in 1987 by becoming the first surgeon to successfully separate Siamese twins connected at the back of their heads. At the age of 32 he became Johns Hopkins’ youngest Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Ben Carson leaped from the bottom of his class to the top of  the medical field as the foremost brain surgeon in the world. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to the medical field. His remarkable story is depicted in the movie Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.


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Child Walks Through Polio Then Runs Into Olympic History: Wilma's Journey

Many years ago, during the time of segregation a fragile premature infant was born. It was June 23rd 1940 when the four and a half-pound baby made her early entrance into the world. From the moment of birth her life was an uphill climb. Within her first few years she was stricken with several illnesses. Some of which were life threatening, including an incurable crippling disease. As an infant she was not expected to live very long and after becoming paralyzed as a young child it was said that she would never walk again, but somehow she would emerge, transcend the bleak reality that confronted her and excel far beyond all expectation!

She was the 20th of 22 children born into the despair of poverty and poor health and there was little hope that either condition would change. Her parents worked low paying jobs and with plenty of mouths to feed there was barely enough to make ends meet. Also, the local hospital under the laws of segregation, would not care for the sick child because she was Black. At the time there were only a small number of black physicians to treat Black people. In her hometown of Clarksville,Tennessee, it equaled one black doctor to treat the entire black community. As a result, the heavy burden to provide medical care for the sickly child fell primarily on the back of the mother. She would carry the weight of that responsibility through every illness, the measles, the mumps, the chicken pox, the whooping cough, scarlet fever and double pneumonia.
                                                                                                                         
 As the mother and her child weathered the severe storm of sickness, another illness was developing on the horizon. It would cast more gloom into the child's life. The child was less than 5 years old when her left leg and foot became weakened and deformed. A diagnosis of polio was made and with it a prognosis that the child would never walk again. The paralyzing disease would require that the child have regular professional treatment. Unavailable in their hometown, the mother had to find somewhere else for her child to receive treatment.

It was then that the mother discovered that her daughter could be treated, at a black medical college located 50 miles away in Nashville. Over the next 2 years, the mother faithfully took her child there twice a week until she learned how to walk with the help of a metal brace. With instruction on how to proceed with therapy the mother continued to care for the child at home. It gave the rest of the family a chance to help. For the following 7 years the mother and her children worked diligently to help rehabilitate the child's leg and foot.

Finally, after years of perseverance, at the age of 12 there was a remarkable breakthrough. Led by her unconquerable spirit, the child miraculously walked out of the confining world of polio and into the defining moment of her life. Using just her natural ability, she had out walked the lame expectation of her by a mile, with one step. If the child had never overcome another obstacle, or taken on another challenge after that, her life was already a complete story of inspiring determination, but she did.

This time, it was under much different circumstances. After relearning to walk at such a late age, there was no time for her to allow grass to grow under her feet. She quickly followed the footsteps of her older sister onto the playground of scholastic sports. In junior high school, she joined the basketball team and earned All-State recognition. In high school, she stepped up and led her basketball team to the state championship game. She continued to race forward, and in the process another athletic gift was discovered. Then it was presented to the world. At the tender age of 16, in the 1956 Olympic Games her amazing ability to run helped the United States track team capture the bronze medal in the 4x100 meter relay.

From how she started to where she finished, what she had accomplished was no ordinary feat. Winning an Olympic medal in her shoes was an extraordinary feat. Not only had the child's experience in track been greatly limited by her youth, but just 4 years prior to the competition, she couldn't walk without the help of a brace. Her ability to compete on the Olympic level wasn't even considered to be within the realm of possibility, and yet the crowning moment of her athletic career was still to come.

It happened at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In an unprecedented performance she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics' competition. Her quest for gold in the 100 and 200 meter races were both highlighted in record-breaking time. In team competition, despite running with a sprained ankle she help the United States claim the gold in the 4x100 meter relay also in record- breaking time.
As a result of her accomplishments in the world of track and field at the time, she was awarded the title of Fastest Woman in History. She was also named athlete of the year by the United Press. Her name, Wilma Rudolph, and in the process of winning three Olympic gold medals, her endearing performance won the hearts of many spectators from around the world. To the French she was known as the Black Pearl and the Italians affectionately referred to her as the Black Gazelle.

After returning home from the Olympics she was welcomed by a large crowd of people, Black and White. It was the first integrated event in the town's history, a significant step beyond segregation. It was a historic parade for a heroic athlete to celebrate an improbable journey to a mountainous peak, started by a girl who couldn't walk and finished by a woman's triumphant run to greatness!

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Ruby's Priceless Lesson

The first African American to integrate the New Orleans school system was surprised on the first day of school when she entered her classroom and found it empty. On that day in 1961 at Franz Elementary in protest of segregation, all the parents of the white students had kept their children home.  Though segregation had been court ordered, the parents detested the idea of their children being educated at the same school as  a black person. The teachers were also upset and refused to teach. Even the principal was unhappy as she begrudgingly enforced the court order. 
 

Every morning for several days, people in the city, parents and their children mercilessly taunted the student as she approached the school. They intimidatingly stood on both sides of the sidewalk leading to the building and shouted obscenities as the student walked toward the entrance. At first, the student appeared to be undaunted by the hecklers, but soon the unruly people grew more hostile and began to use racially derogatory terms towards her.  Their behavior continued to escalate out of control.  They started to throw things. It became even more serious when violent 
threats were shouted.  A lady threatened to poison the student and someone even displayed  a small replica of a casket with a doll in it. If it were not for the federal agents that President Eisenhower assigned as escorts, the dangerous protestors might have harmed the student.   As the cruelty of the crowd worsened, it became very hard for the child to endure. She and her family almost  gave up trying to integrate the school.

Everyday throughout the entire time that she had been harshly treated while walking toward the entrance of the school she had ignored the protestors, never looking at them or speaking a word. Until one day while moving through the midst of the angry screaming people the child suddenly stopped and turned around and began to speak. The words spoken from the mouth the courageous 6 year-old Ruby Bridges were not words of retaliation. Demonstrating understanding and compassion beyond her years, the child said a prayer asking Jesus to forgive the people for how they were treating her, as he had forgiven those who had mistreated him long ago.  

Perhaps the prayer worked and helped to change the way the protestors treated Ruby. With the passage of time the disapproval of Ruby's presence became less apparent and she became more accepted. By standing her ground she went on to make history by being the first black student to attend school in New Orleans' public school system. 

Ruby had done nothing personally to the people protesting to deserve the kind of treatment she received. She had only entered their school to get an education. Though very painful she responded with love toward those who expressed hatred against her, teaching them forgiveness, one of the most priceless lessons of life.  Her story is told in the movie Ruby Bridges.

                                                
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Doug Williams: The Most Undervalued Most Valuable Player

Doug Williams was considered by some to be a better than average football player. He still recognized the need to develop his skills. As a rookie quarterback, Williams continued to work to improve. As a result, early in his professional career he achieved a measure of individual success. Each year he increased his pass completion percentage. By honing his skills Williams attained an ever greater level of group success. Through his development the team he played for became more competitive. He was able to the lead the franchise to its first playoff appearance. More impressive, he took them to the post season 3 times in 4 years. Williams and his team once even competed in the NFC Championship game.

Yet, for all of his accomplishments, his worth to the team's whose uniform he donned was questionable. Williams' salary compared to other quarterbacks in the leagues was substantially lower. According to the salary chart of NFL quarterbacks, Hugh Culverhouse, the owner of the team who valued Williams enough to draft him in the first round, undervalued him on the payroll. In 1978 as a starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Culverhouse paid Williams $120,000. That amount ranked last among NFL quarterbacks and 13th behind 12 back-ups in the league. Among all quarterbacks Williams' salary ranked 42nd. He was even paid less than some third string players at the position.

In 1982, when contract negotiations failed to competitively compensate him, Williams left Tampa Bay and the NFL. Four years later, after a stint in the USFL, he returned to the National Football league with the Washington Redskins. In 1987, during his second season with the team, starting quarterback Jay Schroeder was injured. As a back-up, Williams stepped in to play. He started 2 games and lost both of them. Nevertheless, at the end of the season his team qualified for the playoffs. Surprisingly, Williams who had only played in 5 games during the season, but had a higher passer rating than Schroeder, was named the starter for post season.

As the leader of the team, Williams guided the Redskins through the playoffs and into the Super Bowl where John Elway and the favorite Denver Broncos waited. On the day before the most important game of his career, Williams had root canal surgery. The procedure lasted for hours and left him in great pain. The discomfort was so severe it prevented him from getting a good night's rest. The day of the game, things started bad and quickly got worse. Already deprived of sleep, less than two minutes into the game, Williams and his team fell behind 7-0. By the end of the first quarter they were losing 10-0 and had lost Williams to a leg injury. No team in Super Bowl history had overcome a 10 point deficit. Amazingly, Williams and the Redskins withstood the challenging start and persevered against historical odds.








In the second quarter, despite his injury, Williams returned to the game. As quickly as things had gone bad in the first quarter, they swiftly turned around in the second. 45 seconds into the quarter Williams threw his first touchdown pass. in an offensive explosion he threw three more before the quarter ended. Williams passed for a record four touchdowns in the quarter. Behind an impressive defensive effort, Washington scored 42 unanswered points and defeated the Denver Broncos. When the final statistics were calculated, Williams had set 5 Super Bowl records, total passing yards in quarter (228), total passing yards in a game (340), touchdown passes in a quarter (4), touchdown passes in a half (4) and the longest completion (80 yards). He had the best day of his career on the biggest stage in the world, as the first African American quarterback to start in the Super Bowl.

5 years after Doug Williams left Tampa, a team and a city where he was undervalued, he returned to the state of Florida for the recognition of his worth to the Washington Redskins. His journey took him to a magical place a few miles northeast of Tampa, in Orlando. There he celebrated his performance as the Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl XXII, at a theme park called Disney Land.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Destination Greatness

Named after the First Lady at the time of her birth, Jackie Joyner seemed destined for greatness. As a track and field star at Lincoln Senior High School she played volley ball and basketball. She led her teams to championships in each sport.  In her collegiate career at UCLA she set records and earned All-American honors.  Joyner became the first heptathlon competitor to score over 7,000 points. Remarkably, she broke that record six times, establishing a new world record four times.  Joyner-Kersee would go on to excel in Olympic competition.  Over the course of 16 years she competed four times winning six medals (three gold, one silver and two bronze).

In 2000, to give back to the community from which she came, Joyner-Kersee raised money to build a youth center. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, a product of East St. Louis, was voted by Sports Illustrated for Women magazine as the Greatest Female Athlete of the 21st century, leaving no doubt about the greatness she was destined to achieve.

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