tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35645649677943967562024-02-20T14:56:13.865-08:00The Sophisticated PaperboyThe Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-67947302912382379082013-11-28T16:20:00.003-08:002013-11-28T16:23:48.145-08:00<a href="mailto:gordonm@indiana.edu">I Remember The Day President John F. Kennedy Was Killed!</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I Remember The Day That President John Kennedy Was Killed!</div>
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I Remember The Day President John Kennedy Was Killed!</div>
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The
reason I put these three pictures here is that in the 1960's and 1970's
black people put three pictures in their homes. They were of Jesus,
Martin Luther King, Jr. and President John F. Kennedy.</div>
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John
Kennedy affected my life profoundly. He was in Houston the night
before, not far from Prairie View College where I was Associate
Professor of Music and we watched him on television. We were soooo
proud.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The
next day at noon, I was having lunch in Waller, Texas with faculty
colleagues. Suddenly in the middle of lunch, I stopped dead in my
tracks, left in my car and headed back to campus speeding at 85 miles an
hour and I didn't know why.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Suddenly
the music on the radio was interrupted with the news that the President
had been shot. Tears started streaming from my eyes that I could hardly
drive.</div>
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JFK
was the first USA President to say publicly that it was wrong and
unAmerican for a person to be discriminated against simply because
he/she is a Negro.</div>
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<br /></div>
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A few weeks later he was killed.</div>
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</div>
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When
they announced in the white schools in Texas that the President had
been killed, it was reported that the school children cheered.</div>
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Later the reporters tried to say that the children cheered because they said that the schools would be dismissed.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Yeah, right, my friends and I all said.</div>
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You
see, I still had memories of only a few weeks earlier, as a voice
professor, I had led two vans of students from Prairie View College to
The University of Oklahoma in Norman to participate in a National
Association of Singing Teachers voice competition. On the way, in
Dallas, Texas, we tried to stop at a drive in restaurant for hamburgers
to go. We were chased out of the parking lot by burly white men with axe
handles shouting "Niggers!" "Niggers!"</div>
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Not
one black person that I know from that era ever thought that President
Kennedy' death was the result of the Mafia, or the Cubans, or the
Communists as some postulated.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Oh No, for us it had a most familiar ring.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the 1960's,</div>
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Throughout the South, in the homes of black people, even in the poorest
black sharecroppers shack, three pictures could be found:</div>
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1. Jesus </div>
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2. Martin Luther King, Jr. and </div>
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3. John F. Kennedy.</div>
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The Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-83377253985921328602013-11-07T08:48:00.001-08:002013-11-07T09:03:01.010-08:00Something Wonderful Is About To Happen!<span style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 40px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 53px;">God's Grace!</span><br />
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<div>
I posted this picture of my mother holding me today, deliberately as a
symbol of my great gratitude to them for giving birth to me at 7 am on
the 7th day of that week in November, 77 years ago when I appeared here
as their 7th born child. And the records say that I weighed 7 pounds.</div>
<div>
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<div>
After my oldest sister was born, my parents had two
daughters, born between my oldest sister and my oldest brother who both
died in infancy.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
So, after I was born, the
youngest of four brothers born in a row within five years after my
sister. Then two more sisters were born making us "The Magnificent
Seven" but I was still the seventh born.</div>
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When I was born in 1936, my mother had heard about many mystical things surrounding the number seven. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Once
or twice when I was very young, and maybe she had caught me looking sad
about something, she would tell me that I would always be "lucky" as
she put it. She said there were an unusual collection of the number
seven connected to my birth. She said it was nothing she had planned or
had anything to do with. It was something, she said she couldn't help
but notice. So, she deduced that it must have been divinely planned.</div>
</div>
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As described in Wilkepaedia, about the history of the superstitions related to the number seven:</div>
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</div>
<div>
Almost all of us know that it is a number that is
mentioned many times in the Bible. The number seven had its roots in
ancient Jewish history, or B.C. times. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Solomon knew of the Jewish view on the number seven, so he took seven years to build the temple in Jerusalem.</div>
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The Torah mentions that the Sabbatical , or holy year, occurred every seven years. </div>
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Even the Israelites were told to march around the walls of Jericho seven times, and their enemies would be defeated.</div>
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This view of the number seven continued in the New Testament. </div>
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A disciple asked Jesus, " How many times should we forgive our brethren? " Jesus replied, " 70 times 7". </div>
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<div>
Even in the last book of the Bible, the number seven is mentioned on more than one occasion. Revelations <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null">1:16</a> states," He had in his right hand seven stars." Also in Revelations, the number of seals is seven.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But beyond the Bible, we find the number seven in
other religions and societies. The ancient Greeks considered the number
seven to be lucky. They believed it to be the perfect number. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Arabs carried on this belief and built seven holy temples.The Goths made sure they worshiped the seven deities.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The
Japanese also had seven gods. Even the Scottish Masons made sure the
number seven had relevance in their rites, and their aprons were made
with seven tassels on them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The number seven even shows up in our country. Has
anyone stopped to think why our country declared our independence from
Britain during the seventh month? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There are
seven articles to the constitution. And the city of Washington D.C. was
built on the 77th longitude. Well, I suppose that last one is a
coincidence. I doubt our forefathers had maps with latitudes and
longitudes figured into them.</div>
</div>
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The
number seven is the Number that God chose to represent completeness.
Seven means that something is whole, full complete or perfect in some
cases. Biblical text says it took God seven days to create the earth. It
takes seven days to complete a week</div>
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In almost every system of antiquity there are frequent references to the number seven.</div>
<div>
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The Pythagoreans called it the perfect number, 3 and 4, the triangle and the square, the perfect figures.</div>
<div>
There
were for instance seven ancient planets. The sun was the greatest
planet of the ancient seven and next to the sun, the moon, changing in
all its splendor every seventh day.</div>
<div>
The Arabians had seven Holy Temples.</div>
<div>
In Persian mysteries there were seven spacious caverns through which the aspirants had to pass.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Goths had seven deities, as did the Romans, from whose names are derived our days of the week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In Scriptural history there is a frequent recurrence to this number. E.g. in Revelation <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null">1:16</a> --
"and He had in His right hand seven stars, " alluding to the seven
churches of Asia. (The seven stars are depicted on a RWM's apron in the
Scottish Constitution).</div>
<div>
For Masons, King Solomon was seven years building the Temple. It
was dedicated to the glory of God in the seventh month and the festival
lasted seven days.</div>
</div>
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</div>
<div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 40px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 53px;">
So, what is this "Good News"?</div>
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</div>
<div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 40px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 53px;">
It is simply this: we are all connected!</div>
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</div>
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I feel that God in His Grace chose these unusual combinations of this 77th birthday for me to share this simple truth .</div>
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</div>
<div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 40px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 53px;">
My
heart is overflowing already as I extravagantly proclaim my love and
bathe myself in the synchronicities that abound so freely in my
connections to all of you, that I can hardly contain them!</div>
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<br /></div>
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So,
fasten your seat-belts, this may be a roller coaster ride for any of
you who have ever been even in an insignificant relationship with me You
may think your relationship with me is insignificant or casual; to you,
maybe, but not to the cosmos. In the entire Cosmos ALL relationships
are significant and WE ARE ALL CONNECTED.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div>
I command you to take notice of this high achievement of grace and love that this cascades of sevens demand.</div>
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I command you to begin to take note: SOMETHING WONDERFUL HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO HAPPEN!</div>
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<div>
Look all around you people are AWAKENING! We are all
awakening to the realization that we are all connected. We are among
the first purveyors of this good news; and you all know it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You have been commissioned as I have also been commissioned to </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
SPREAD THIS JOY.</div>
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You will see it everywhere you go. </div>
</div>
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</div>
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<div>
Don't become distracted by some activity that may at first seem terrible.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Keep your eye on the big picture. </div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div>
Even the news channels on tv will report it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The movies coming out of Hollywood and other places all over the world will begin to report it. </div>
<div>
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<div>
The music people will write and perform will report it. </div>
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And the dances: My GOD!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Some
people describe some dances as primitive, and they are right I'd they
refer to the fact that dance was among the first means of artistic
communication.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Those
of you who really need verification of the truth I now share? You will
each have unusual things happen to you in the next few weeks or even
days after you read this. You will note these occurances to those
closest to you. Then you will suddenly make the connection.</div>
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<br /></div>
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AHA, you will say and you will embrace this truth with all your heart if you do not already.</div>
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<br /></div>
I love you all. I am you; you are meThe Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-54325939327765043502012-11-06T15:58:00.001-08:002012-11-08T21:42:05.724-08:00My "Hand-Up" For African YouthMy “Hand – Up” for
African Youth <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir94iJfH2LwoAxdI6HjDVAFj8TxLfog9XQ1JUyb4Uwi7E3oeTu4URxPefsqFyDaLxlD0CWSAqEv7WNATsBEZBOHsAsyBbEEAqj6r0DUB78VqEeRuBRFQ3aZmze_rRhJvYeoA7j34Btrcc/s1600/Michael+in+Ewe+Village.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir94iJfH2LwoAxdI6HjDVAFj8TxLfog9XQ1JUyb4Uwi7E3oeTu4URxPefsqFyDaLxlD0CWSAqEv7WNATsBEZBOHsAsyBbEEAqj6r0DUB78VqEeRuBRFQ3aZmze_rRhJvYeoA7j34Btrcc/s320/Michael+in+Ewe+Village.jpg" /></a></div>
Hello, my name is Michael Gordon and I have developed a passion for African Youth. I am pictured here in the Volta Region of Ghana in West Africa. The spirit of these children seems not to be diminished by the poverty and fewer and fewer opportunities in Africa.
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These young people for the most part study hard in school (when they have the chance to go to school) and strive to better themselves. In my many trips to Ghana I have tried to help individual students whom I have encountered. But, now, because of my own diminishing health and trying to survive on Social Security income, I need your help in continuing my “Ministry” in Africa.
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This is “Paul”, whom I have made my son. I have been able to assist him with room and bard plus school fees all the way through secondary school and Central University in Accra. He graduated last year with a degree in Business Administration. He now wants to assist in developing a project to assure continued support of African Youth.
With your help, we can begin a modest (at first), agricultural project that will provide jobs for the youth and export of unusual West African products.
This is Moses (in the middle). <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGw4XaGNDk9JVlDoEqY6VQY06ZacsI_8P3DlhaGT8f985HbWvyhqB6i1XQgUjl_kD_oMtxHOlO0tKO9KDA_WoLI6_9pYKtGLBCdMlwSDJz0tFQzgzbAhOZjKsjyc6A4beRUaiZw_l8FdM/s1600/Moses+and+mates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="279" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGw4XaGNDk9JVlDoEqY6VQY06ZacsI_8P3DlhaGT8f985HbWvyhqB6i1XQgUjl_kD_oMtxHOlO0tKO9KDA_WoLI6_9pYKtGLBCdMlwSDJz0tFQzgzbAhOZjKsjyc6A4beRUaiZw_l8FdM/s320/Moses+and+mates.jpg" /></a></div>
Moses is a homeless orphan who had been living in abandoned or unfinished buildings in my neighborhood in Accra. Eventually with my assistance, he attended the Kpando Vocational School in the Volta Region where he studied construction engineering. He just this week received his grade report after his graduation. He has finished with honors and qualifies to attend the prestigious Kumasi Polytechnic College. I have already secured for him housing with a minister and his family in Kumasi. I need your help in making his dream come true.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7yqHxjiGbIFB1l5go66mfNcKFBSqMamGStrogt_FYJHmqk6rKL6UOZhcYP4uyQz1grt_Zuw1zrAfiNtYLE3x5PKpDyoDTx0CRz38k5HD26vkZ1mFVneiWhqVQ6fpQi9dZPO8srm83XMI/s1600/Celebrating+Thomas%2527+Birthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7yqHxjiGbIFB1l5go66mfNcKFBSqMamGStrogt_FYJHmqk6rKL6UOZhcYP4uyQz1grt_Zuw1zrAfiNtYLE3x5PKpDyoDTx0CRz38k5HD26vkZ1mFVneiWhqVQ6fpQi9dZPO8srm83XMI/s200/Celebrating+Thomas%2527+Birthday.jpg" /></a></div>
These are Michael, Jr, Thomas Apraku and me celebrating Thomas’ birthday in my home in Accra. Thomas lived in my home while he attended secondary school in Accra. He is now ready to attend the university. We are still trying to find the funds so that he can attend. His last surviving parent; his mother passed away a few months ago.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7QDAa74N7ndhaP82Y6xA-Qh4jDvT5GiLt7jzPjh0SfGbPfw6uXNUecExTj_lwnwzQJ96TNlD9yjuj9vixYiiZrvZFG7tm03dGhkq-QYroRUbE7snjFGnt-JNCdeuidsNtngLofG_-Sc/s1600/A+Saturday+at+Shambala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7QDAa74N7ndhaP82Y6xA-Qh4jDvT5GiLt7jzPjh0SfGbPfw6uXNUecExTj_lwnwzQJ96TNlD9yjuj9vixYiiZrvZFG7tm03dGhkq-QYroRUbE7snjFGnt-JNCdeuidsNtngLofG_-Sc/s320/A+Saturday+at+Shambala.jpg" /></a></div>
This is “Shambala”, my home I built in Accra Ghana to serve as a “bridge” between the USA and Africa. Many students and faculty members have resided there while studying about life in West Africa and developing understanding. A heart attack brought me back to the USA and the house is now being leased by a nice family there.
Eventually, my plan was to develop Shambala into a hub of activity coordinating projects of assistance throughout West Africa, I cannot continue this Ministry alone. Want you help me with a modest donation? Please indicate whatever amount you can.
The Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-45491585742754652672010-11-06T15:36:00.000-07:002010-11-06T15:36:22.456-07:00Wisdom House Online: Echoes of Dred Scott in the Oscar Grant verdict<a href="http://www.wisdomhouseonline.com/2010/07/echoes-of-dred-scott-in-oscar-grant.html">Wisdom House Online: Echoes of Dred Scott in the Oscar Grant verdict</a>The Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-29303166054022551802010-05-08T06:59:00.000-07:002010-05-08T07:40:08.139-07:00Death At A Funeral - Remake 2010 - Bambooozled<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsy02LxqC3Q0nwy651r_pG9FEU8X5tEkYfu4Th9vloQXt36PN_X0YxCdfb89cQhMe7ex2BeHxjHInR41Z4mbSbdXUqVCmiAWUp3zSTEiqKxxDb71TlvR31yrmWHQNB0RzPlWuoK0dqRA/s1600/deathatafuneral_smallposter2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 101px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsy02LxqC3Q0nwy651r_pG9FEU8X5tEkYfu4Th9vloQXt36PN_X0YxCdfb89cQhMe7ex2BeHxjHInR41Z4mbSbdXUqVCmiAWUp3zSTEiqKxxDb71TlvR31yrmWHQNB0RzPlWuoK0dqRA/s320/deathatafuneral_smallposter2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468907639708342082" border="0" /></a><table class="the_content" cellspacing="5"><tbody><tr><td valign="top">Definition:</td> <td>defraud, fool</td></tr> <tr> <td valign="top">Synonyms:</td> <td><span> bamboozle*, beat, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/beguile">beguile</a>, bilk, bleed, bunco, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/burn">burn</a>, caboodle, chisel, con, cozen, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/crib">crib</a>, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/cross">cross</a>, deceive, defraud, delude, diddle, do a number on, do*, double-cross, double-deal, dupe, fast talk, finagle, fleece, flimflam, fudge, give bum steer, gouge, gyp, hoodwink, hose, jerk around, milk, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/mislead">mislead</a>, pull one's leg, ream, rip off, rook, rope in, sandbag, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/scam">scam</a>, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/screw">screw</a>, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/shaft">shaft</a>, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/short">short</a>, shuck, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/skin">skin</a>, snow, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/stiff">stiff</a>, sucker, swindle, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/take">take</a>, take for a ride, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/take+in">take in</a>, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/take+out">take out</a>, trick, <a class="theColor" rel="nofollow" href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/trim">trim</a>, two-time, victimize </span></td></tr></tbody></table>This movie, with all of its unusual celebrities had me thinking I was going to sit and laugh and enjoy myself with my senior-rate ticket. I feel <span style="font-size:130%;">Bamboozled. <span style="font-size:100%;">The cheap laughs and outrageous slapstick with emphasis on bathroom , so called, humor was profane. Several times I had the impulse to walk out. It finally came when it seemed necessary for someone (Danny Glover, of all people) to poop on someone's hand. That was enough for me. I found my cane and ambled out of there as best as I could.</span></span>The Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-67204755129117911362009-01-21T02:23:00.001-08:002009-01-21T02:27:23.036-08:00Yes. We Did!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lm0gqqcTMiZnPIBemop52KS3r7hGt1_l_d-b_etfOOFeaU-rLPwqzCUd6QaszkJIBnzszCELPuZzbE9vbneVtPXgQi3XuepMVNZkosKaNGzkXqqq4VY10oUll0Rm2OlbzoDT4AlZBRY/s1600-h/Inauguration.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lm0gqqcTMiZnPIBemop52KS3r7hGt1_l_d-b_etfOOFeaU-rLPwqzCUd6QaszkJIBnzszCELPuZzbE9vbneVtPXgQi3XuepMVNZkosKaNGzkXqqq4VY10oUll0Rm2OlbzoDT4AlZBRY/s400/Inauguration.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293691082312055330" border="0" /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The inau<span style="font-weight: bold;">guration of Barack Obama as our 44th President was and is all about us.</span></span></span></span></a>The Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-47857167034255616352009-01-19T10:52:00.000-08:002009-01-19T11:10:37.926-08:00Remembering Martin and Malcolm<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFvjab5HPEIa6eQbBhR0LGWK9REYC0Z1WseTSvXabgt8pctoj-I-O9l4yFkrP5tfQmqJX1OQf64qLi25EzONV81fM288bEPwMpYk5y4lum5WztQwfdUMGqAYn_W8APJbHAp31CCB0jII/s1600-h/Martin+and+Malcom.jpeg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 182px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFvjab5HPEIa6eQbBhR0LGWK9REYC0Z1WseTSvXabgt8pctoj-I-O9l4yFkrP5tfQmqJX1OQf64qLi25EzONV81fM288bEPwMpYk5y4lum5WztQwfdUMGqAYn_W8APJbHAp31CCB0jII/s320/Martin+and+Malcom.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293081017390416178" /></a><br />Americans interested in justice should never celebrate Martin without giving equal place to Malcolm. We should not listen to Martin's "I Have a Dream" speech without also listening to Malcolm's answer in his "Message to the Grass Roots," "While King was having a dream," Malcolm said, "the rest of us Negroes are having a nightmare." <br /><br />Without confronting the American nightmare that Malcolm bore witness to, we will never be able to create the beloved community articulated so well by Martin Luther King. How can we overcome racism if we do not admit how deeply this cancer is embedded in American history and culture? Malcolm, not Martin, is the best source for understanding racism and its consequences in America.<br /><br />But the Afrocentric lovers of Malcolm must be reminded that destroying racism is not the only goal of the struggle for freedom. We blacks must be free not only for ourselves but also for others. On this point, Martin was right, and we must listen to his counsel. "All life is interrelated," he said. "All … are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly." Neither blacks nor whites or others can be what they ought to be until all realize their full potential.<br /><br />Blacks must begin with Malcolm, that is, with a healthy regard for themselves-their history and culture as it stretches back to the continent of Africa. But we must not stop with Malcolm. To do so would stunt our growth and thus hinder the realization of our human potential. We must embrace Martin too, as passionately and lovingly as we embrace Malcolm. I know that such a demand will be difficult for many lovers of blackness. But Martin's vision of black people living together with all human beings as brothers and sisters is as important as Malcolm's vision of blacks living together as one. The human family is as important as the black family, because we either learn to live together with others, or we will perish together. We must choose life and not death.<br /><br />To choose life means to see that racism is not the only contradiction affecting the quality of human life. There are other social evils just as harmful as racism. They include sexism, classism, heterosexism, and the wanton disregard of the earth. <br /><br />Accenting Malcolm's and Martin's critique of racism is not enough. We also must criticize Malcolm and Martin for their failures, especially their blatant sexism, and their silence on homophobia in the black community and the larger society. If we are going to make a new future for ourselves with others, we will need to develop creative and self-critical leadership. <br /><br />We must not deify Martin and Malcolm. They were only human beings with assets and liabilities like all of us. If we do not identify their weaknesses and seek to overcome them, then we will perpetuate them.<br /><br />Let us, therefore, create an America-not just for Martin and Malcolm, or for whites and blacks but for Latinos, Indians, Middle Easterners and Asians and for women in all groups, for gay men and lesbians-for every people, every culture and every faith in this land. <br /><br />When we can do that, we will have achieved the goal for which Martin, Malcolm, Barack and all freedom fighters have struggled; and we will be able to say what Martin said at the March on Washington, quoting a slave spiritual, "Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty, we are free at last."The Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-16974295553894666642008-10-22T08:44:00.000-07:002008-10-22T09:36:27.276-07:00I Voted Early In Raleigh, North Carolina<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2949295940/" title="The ballot, another view by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/2949295940_d055ac748c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The ballot, another view"/></a><br />This is the ballot we used that day!<br /><br />We arrived early last Thursday, October 16th and already about 300 people were in line at the polling place. My brother-in-law, who just recently had hip replacement surgery, my sister, and I who will be having ankle replacement surgery went to the assisted voting area for the handicapped. Can you imagine? We were assisted by very able poll workers, like this one.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2949295802/" title="Election Official by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2949295802_ef9ac3f596.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Election Official"/></a><br /><br />Here is my sister voting in the car.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2949295844/" title="Sister Sarah, voting by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/2949295844_e7ae773d10.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Sister Sarah, voting"/></a><br /><br />Guess who I voted for?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2949295974/" title="The ballot by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/2949295974_aa090b0616.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The ballot"/></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2948442595/" title="Should I vote the straight ticket? by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2948442595_94ae9b6e3f_t.jpg" width="100" height="75" alt="Should I vote the straight ticket?"/></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2948442657/" title="Alright, lefty. by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2948442657_fdf3b690f5_t.jpg" width="100" height="75" alt="Alright, lefty."/></a><br /><br />All right, lefty.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2949296110/" title="Michael is voting by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/2949296110_688f07af09_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Michael is voting"/></a><br /><br />WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY, BABY!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2948442701/" title="Isn't It wonderful? by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3287/2948442701_4cb411bb65.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Isn't It wonderful?"/></a><br /><br />The reason I say, "We have come a long way baby" is that sitting there waiting for my ballot to be brought to me, I reflected on the first time I voted back in 1960 in Petersburg, Virginia.<br /><br />After studying ROTC at Virginia State College (now University) and graduating in 1957,<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/OPsZFBdchx7mnDuYzaeep2BIoYcQObcLyzRgHvPsh*ymS0y-qLXeFeMfpgp0suznWqdqZjO4tM*JoRNRLEZWZN2LWZrKwkiP/Virginia_State_University_ROTC_1957.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="290"/></p><br />I served for two years as an officer, mainly in the 101st Airborne Division.<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/bEHdOpprzPFicNLGVESy9gcKIScsvkCYyymkKqeWfItpM0simaomnIebyNDw1CHBPVcIs8I0W*Us6sCFeDcRaBBzppxxC4xS/MY_FIRST_JUMP___DEC_1958.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="545"/></p><br />When I returned to Petersburg in 1959,<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2964735320/" title="Michael at 23 copy by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2964735320_e354160b05_m.jpg" width="173" height="240" alt="Michael at 23 copy"/></a><br />I had unusual administrative experience for a small town African American guy. I was appointed as part-time Assistant Principal at the newly built, Westview Elementary School. The president of the PTA there that year was the Reverend Wyatt Tee Walker. Rev. Walker, along with some other young ministers in Petersburg started a civil rights organization to make Petersburg better. It was called the Petersburg Improvement Association.<br /><br />The Petersburg Improvement Association led many sit-ins and other protest activities against racial segregation laws there. Many were arrested. Many lost their jobs. This movement gained the attention of the young, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who visited our city many times and assisted us. He was so impressed with Wyatt Tee Walker, that eventually he took him back to Atlanta as his Chief of Staff.<br /><br />But as we were studying to register African Americans to vote, Martin Luther King would come with his staff to teach us techniques for getting that job done. MLK would drive in late at night and leave during the night because it was dangerous for him to be seen in that area. We had heard that an assistant principal in an area not far from us had been taken out of his home and lynched. You see, this was before the Civil Rights Act of 1965 that removed the artificial and deliberate obstacles the segregationists devised to keep blacks from exercising voting power.<br /><br />We had the poll tax, which required paying a fee for the privilege of voting and we had the "literacy" test. That was administered in Petersburg by asking the prospective voter something about government that they expected an educated voter to know.<br /><br />Also, you need to know that all whites did not support this apartheid system of government. We had someone in the voter registration office, who was white, who told us the question in advance which we would be asked. That question was changed periodically to keep blacks from knowing too much in advance.<br /><br />We had study sessions at night at the church and some of us were trained to "pass" and some were trained to "fail". The reason for this was that if we all passed it would look suspicious. Since I was the part-time Assistant Principal of the elementary school and an officer in the United States Army Reserve, they believed that I was among those who would not cause so much suspicion if I "passed". So we set about the task of memorizing the answer to the question which we had been presented in "secret".<br /><br />I'll never forget that day when I was to report to the Petersburg Court House for my "examination".<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/H8LrFQdgcmJeDK45Z6TzWu8OoFOoeDJYDzftUQg*0ogW3klakQLya97B4d6vxn086EOjk1sjGdCnMjake1FBzJnInHjYicff/PetersburgCourtHouse.jpg" alt="" width="97" height="138"/></p><br />After waiting a good while, I was ushered into an office and confronted by a surly, burly white man. "What do you want, boy?" "I want to register to vote.", I replied. "I will ask you a question". "Can you recite from memory the Third Article of The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Fa-jin-ja (his pronunciation of Virginia). So, I recited what I had carefully memorized over the previous two weeks.<br /><br /><br />"ARTICLE III The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia<br /><br />Division of Powers<br /><br />Section 1. Departments to be distinct.<br />The legislative, executive, and judicial departments shall be separate and distinct, so that none exercise the powers properly belonging to the others, nor any person exercise the power of more than one of them at the same time; provided, however, administrative agencies may be created by the General Assembly with such authority and duties as the General Assembly may prescribe. Provisions may be made for judicial review of any finding, order, or judgment of such administrative agencies."<br /><br />And that is the way it was then. I got my registration card and in 1960, I voted for John F. Kennedy for President of the United States of America!The Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-89134502380502364562008-10-18T20:33:00.001-07:002008-10-18T20:37:23.658-07:00God Is So Good! All The Time!<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/HdBsXocGVzxd5mA8z7M23tyNuWWer75O8zjm06OYi-GqiDx1SHrngmW81aK9xU6viUli*Kpk8OPB1kCldNt1MAaWGEtIH4F4/Shambala.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="180"/></p><br />Here is Shambala, which has been my home in Accra, Ghana for nearly three years. As I have said in earlier blogs, I decided to start returning to the USA and came back to the USA in September, 2008. In my last blog I entreated you all to join me in prayers because I was hoping to sign a lease for my new apartment. Well, the Lord was willing and I signed the lease on October 1st and moved in a few days later. I want to share photos of the first time I actually saw my new apartment. Here is the front of the building.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918093591/" title="The Front Entrance by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2918093591_11760d240f_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="The Front Entrance" /></a><br />I am entering the front entrance here.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918941868/" title="Entering The Building by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3253/2918941868_48a0751431.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Entering The Building"/></a><br />I am so pleased that there are porches with rocking chairs on each floor.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918942440/" title="There Are Porches On Each Floor by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/2918942440_9b74c268e5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="There Are Porches On Each Floor"/></a><br />The first floor porch overlooks this nice fountain.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918943396/" title="The Rear Patio And Fountain by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3090/2918943396_9664c5c509.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The Rear Patio And Fountain"/></a><br />There are community rooms on each floor. There is a library, computer room, barber shop/beauty salon, crafts room, exercise/weight room, community kitchen and two laundry rooms on each floor.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918096043/" title="The First Floor Community Room by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2918096043_d3268a0f65.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The First Floor Community Room"/></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918944294/" title="There Are Two Laundry Rooms On Each Floor by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2918944294_af843bdc04_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="There Are Two Laundry Rooms On Each Floor"/></a>First, though I have to sign my lease with the housing manager.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918102393/" title="Signing The Lease by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2918102393_50649ba554_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Signing The Lease"/></a><br />I enter my apartment #201.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918944806/" title="I Turn The Key To My New Apartment by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3004/2918944806_94dd7dcabd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="I Turn The Key To My New Apartment"/></a><br />Here is the kitchen.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918948690/" title="This is what the kitchen looks like. by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/2918948690_564fa8f273_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="This is what the kitchen looks like."/></a> With a dishwasher, no less.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918101627/" title="Each Apartment Has A Dishwasher by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/2918101627_1836514880_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="Each Apartment Has A Dishwasher"/></a>There is a good sized bathroom near the entrance.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918099845/" title="This is the main bathroom. by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3210/2918099845_bb6955375e_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="This is the main bathroom."/></a>And another bathroom off the master bedroom.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918946690/" title="Master Bath Room by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3088/2918946690_f2eee947c6_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Master Bath Room"/></a>There are safety bars for the elderly or disabled in each bathroom.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918099307/" title="Safety Bars In Each Bathroom by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2918099307_ccaa94dc8a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Safety Bars In Each Bathroom"/></a>And there is a large walk-in closet.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918100363/" title="There Is A Walk In Closet by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/2918100363_95ae39ca22_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="There Is A Walk In Closet"/></a>There is a ceiling fan in each bedroom.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918946174/" title="There Is A Ceiling Fan In The Living Room And Each Bedroom by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3212/2918946174_1f93d2d515_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="There Is A Ceiling Fan In The Living Room And Each Bedroom"/></a> and a ceiling fan in the living room.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918945724/" title="The Living Room Faces The Front Of jhe Building by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3277/2918945724_2461ab65f1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The Living Room Faces The Front Of jhe Building"/></a>I already love my new apartment.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2918945322/" title="The Kitchen Counter by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3084/2918945322_47d03719b0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The Kitchen Counter"/></a><br />Those of you who are retirees like me, if you have not already done so, you will welcome downsizing to a nice small/medium sized apartment like this one as we coast into our really senior years. God is SOOOOOO Good!.The Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-911858677730408622008-09-14T20:27:00.000-07:002008-09-14T20:28:48.907-07:00Tomorrow, By God's Grace, I Will Sign A Lease For My New Home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhan74tS1_S0ad_E_xmP281p4VaIOSiT8sfOeEf6Ky1NPCWhGQgQTBJrmnwtjhy5rvpdYS4sbB5cl0FgX6hZiUMw3PSjiO34XMQG9kxVpBYNnE6YhRq0VwSc3rf5f1LpRsmKqAN78ET9fo/s1600-h/Shambala.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhan74tS1_S0ad_E_xmP281p4VaIOSiT8sfOeEf6Ky1NPCWhGQgQTBJrmnwtjhy5rvpdYS4sbB5cl0FgX6hZiUMw3PSjiO34XMQG9kxVpBYNnE6YhRq0VwSc3rf5f1LpRsmKqAN78ET9fo/s320/Shambala.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246084890372877570" /></a><br /> For the last three years, I have been living in Accra Ghana in this house which I call "Shambala". Now, I am beginning my return to the USA to live in a senior citizen’s unit in Raleigh, NCThe Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-67756203457450209642008-09-02T11:20:00.000-07:002008-09-02T14:52:56.675-07:00I Pledged Kappa Alpha Psi At Virginia State University More Than Fifty Years Ago.<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2822775512/" title="Michael Gordon At Shambala August 2008 by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2822775512_0dbbaff595_m.jpg" width="240" height="240" alt="Michael Gordon At Shambala August 2008" /></a><br />I will be 72 years old in November. Recent events have caused me to reflect on almost a lifetime in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.<br /><br />Who would have thought that after all these years, I would still be involved in some way?<br />Well, I was initiated into the fraternity on December 3, 1955. Before the initiation, in those days there would be a period of "pledging" to the ideals of the fraternity and to the idea of becoming a member. It started here in Seward Hall, which at that time was a freshman male residence Hall in the middle of the campus.<br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/PHvG7ASK9YNkn4gpb161H7aq9Ve42fSaAV55bkHfEicPsxGCF6ry3tSqifbgcTvfiHw2eKVjTkxdOyr4AoDt4lWHgQ3Pb89z/sewardhall.jpg" alt="" width="756" height="504"/></p><br />In the spring of each year prospective members would be invited to a "smoker" in the lounge of Seward Hall. Older undergraduate members of the fraternity would present a program; an exhibit of what the fraternity is all about. If you were interested after that event, one would write a letter requesting consideration for membership. Most guys would attend smokers of all the fraternities and then write a letter to the one they wanted. I remember all my freshman friends asking me, "Did you write your letter yet?" Well by then almost everybody that I had become friendly with had written a letter to ask to join the "Lampodas Club", which was the pledge club for Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.<br /><br />I hadn't written a letter for several reasons. I had come from a respectable but poor family in town, who already had three sons at Virginia State. The oldest boy, Robert had graduated from Virginia State the year before I entered. So there had already been three boys there. So, when he left and I entered in 1953, there would still be three boys in the college. We really didn't have enough money to even pay tuition, much less the luxury of a fraternity.<br /><br />My older three brothers had always gone to the tobacco fields of Connecticut each summer to work raising and harvesting tobacco to earn enough to go to college the first semester. Then, during the Christmas season they would be hired as additional mail carriers because of the heavy load of Christmas mail to earn enough for the second semester. So, I knew that if I wanted to join a fraternity, I had to save up enough money not only for the additional fees of joining a fraternity, but to stay in the residence hall for that semester, because it would have been impossible to pledge while living off campus, as I and my brothers did. I also had to keep my newspaper delivery route the entire time of my college career.<br /><br />I was 16 and would become 17 my freshman year. So, there was no chance I could deliver mail that year because you had to be 18 years old to do that. So, I had to really scrimp that first year just to pay for the whole year of college with the money I had made and saved from working as a dishwasher in Saratoga Springs, New York, where I had chosen to work rather than Connecticut, which had become the Gordon family tradition.<br /><br />The following year, when I applied in October to become a Christmas substitute mail carrier, they said I was still too young, because I was to become 18 in November. Bureaucracies were the same then as now and they could not reason that when I was to deliver the mail in December I would be the legal age of 18. Because of this, I didn't get a chance to pledge my fraternity until my junior year.<br /><br />In the spring of 1955, I wrote my letter to join Kappa Alpha Psi, even though most of my friends by now were members of Omega Psi Phi or "Ques", as we called them. It's not that I didn't want to be in the same fraternity as my friends, most all of whom were music majors like me. But, Kappa Alpha Psi impressed me in other ways.<br /><br />First of all they prided themselves in being small. In those days, Alpha Phi Chapter boasted that they would never have more than 32 men in the chapter, because that was about the right size that guys could really know each other and because the Chapter Room in the basement of Seward Hall could comfortably hold about that number for meetings and activities.<br /><br />The strongest reason was that there was such a diversity of majors and student activities among the members. There were athletes and music majors, agriculture majors and physics majors. They participated in different activities like the Debating Club, Student Council, the Band and a wide diversity of things. You see, I was painfully shy in those days, and the fraternity offered me a way to get out of my shell and to know people other than the music majors who were in all my classes. One of my older brothers, Ronald was a Kappa, but that was a minor reason. He had actually graduated in 1955, before I even joined.<br /><br />Now, shall we get back to pledging? I hesitate to even show the photos I am about to display because they show some of the more dramatic public aspects of pledging that were quite prevalent at the time. The reason I am hesitant is because young people today sometimes long for what they had heard about in the "good old days" when people had to "pledge" fraternities and sororities. I mean the historically black ones.<br /><br />Because of an increasing problem nationwide with a brutal aspect of hazing in which people are injured and even sometimes killed, our historically black fraternities and sororities faced with multi-million dollar law suits banned pledging so as to avoid the hazing, which had actually become synonymous with "pledging". They substituted pledging with a Membership Intake Program which includes mass initiation at the Provincial (District) level with great supervision.<br /><br />Unfortunately, at this time there is still a lot of "underground pledging" and hazing, some of it quite dangerous and young people continue to be maimed physically, emotionally, mentally and painfully set back academically.<br /><br />So, I pray that my story which will concentrate on the positive aspects of my fraternity life won't also revive that negative desire to hurt someone or demand servitude to join our organizations. I detest and abhor that.<br /><br />These photos show some of the things that had become popular at Virginia State College in the 30', 40's and 50's. These were public skits devised by the pledge clubs who at this stage because they were usually within a week of actual initiation, were no longer called pledge clubs or "pledges" or in the African American pronunciation at that time, "pledgees"<br /><br />The pledge clubs had distinctive names. For Kappa the club was called the "Scroller Club”. It was named for the distinctive scroll that appears on the fraternities' shield and coat of arms. On this scroll are usually found the Greek letters, "Phi Nu Pi", which symbolizes something very important in the traditions of Kappa Alpha Psi.<br /><br />The Scroller Club manual of operations was the book that described everything from how to conduct a meeting, how to make a budget and how to prepare for initiation.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2784297424/" title="The Scroller's Club Manual by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3111/2784297424_14c4f7411b_m.jpg" width="240" height="215" alt="The Scroller's Club Manual"/></a><br /><br />I still have my copy of the Scroller Manual, which is now an antique and which I will pass on to my great nephew, who was initiated 50 years after I was in April of 2005 at the Northeastern Provincial Meeting<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2783279397/" title="Probates Lines Up For Kappa Kat Race - 1955 by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2783279397_9d5f32c953.jpg" width="500" height="339" alt="Probates Lines Up For Kappa Kat Race - 1955" /></a><br /><br />Here my line Brothers and I are lined up to begin the Kappa Kat Race right on front campus. We are right to left.<br /><br />1. Bernard Jones<br />2. Louis Gregory<br />3. Jerome Carter<br />4. Michael Gordon (This is me, the very skinny one)<br />5. Arthur Redman (He passed away a number of years ago)<br />6. Willie Shepperson<br />7. Arnold Miller<br />8. Leslie Coates<br />9. Calvin Swinson<br />10. .George Heath<br />11. Robert Robinson<br /><br />Now, the Kappa Kat Race was one of several races at noontime that week. We also had the Hoop Race, Roller Skating Race and what else?<br /><br />All of the fraternities and sororities on campus were also having elaborate skits and other activities at breakfast, lunch and dinner times. They reached that point during different weeks. So, it may have stretched out over four or five weeks total before all were finished.<br /><br />They didn't just have skits. There was a lot of singing, going to and fro day and night. And actually the singing was gorgeous, usually in 4 part harmonies, or even 8 part harmonies like the moment I remember on campus when the Alpha Kappa Alpha Pledge group (The Ivys), appeared on campus early one morning before breakfast singing in 8 part harmony with about 25 young women. It was stunning! This level of singing required that groups practice two or three times a week in their fraternity or sorority rooms. During pledging, the pledge class practiced daily and wrote songs to suit their skits.<br /><br />So, you must realize that singing rehearsals usually took place two or three times a week for each fraternity or sorority and more often for the pledge class. Often the fraternities would go out at night to the girls' dormitories to serenade the girls. The pledge classes would go out too. Sometimes a fraternity would meet an entire sorority on front campus to serenade the entire chapter. And when a Brother became engaged or even obtained a steady girlfriend, the entire fraternity would serenade her with the "Sweetheart Song". Each fraternity would have one. In my senior year, I was blessed with the honor of being the soloist for the "Kappa Sweetheart Song".<br /><br />But, I digress!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2784134380/" title="The Kappa Kat Race Is Over 1955 by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3090/2784134380_b33dbc0bb4.jpg" width="500" height="351" alt="The Kappa Kat Race Is Over 1955" /></a><br />After the Kappa Kat Race was over: if you can even begin to imagine the chaos all over campus with cats running here and fro, these probates are returning to some sort of composure. You cannot control cats in a race, believe me, and the big brothers knew this of course so that there would be great confusion!<br /><br />So the probates were expected to catch their cats and line up again in perfect formation to bring closure to the whole thing. Here you see Brothers Arthur Redmond, Arnold (Ike) Miller, Willie Shepperson and Calvin Swinson, who had successfully retrieved their cats, (or somebody's cats) and are walking calmly along in Kappa 'Kool". To this day, I am not sure we all retrieved our cats or any cats.<br /><br />Now, in addition to these skits, there were others that took place for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week for each group. Sometimes two or more groups would begin their probation the same week. So that was much competing.<br /><br />Here is my line marching to dinner in Jones Hall dining Room. I am in the foreground, the one who just turned towards the entrance. And we are singing the whole time.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2784132924/" title="Kappa Line Enters Jones Dining Hall by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/2784132924_352fc9567a.jpg" width="500" height="289" alt="Kappa Line Enters Jones Dining Hall" /></a><br />Now, to move forward, after many years of teaching and then administering music programs in New York City Schools I was recruited to join the faculty at Indiana University School of Music in 1975.<br /><br />I was both shocked and honored to have been asked to join their faculty. I had not sought it. I and my small family were quite happy in New York City. But to be asked to join the faculty of the School of Music which has been consistently ranked and the finest school of music and the largest in the United States could not be ignored.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2785330118/" title="School of Music IU by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3248/2785330118_37832d89d3_m.jpg" width="240" height="240" alt="School of Music IU"/></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2785329684/" title="IU School of Music History by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3276/2785329684_abe4085d30_m.jpg" width="164" height="240" alt="IU School of Music History"/></a><br /><br />And as destiny would have it, Indiana University was also the home of Kappa Alpha Psi and the location of the Elder Watson Diggs Memorial House, the home of Alpha Chapter. It was the same house I had contributed my meager $100 to all those years ago to be built. I asked my tour guide when I went for my interview to take me to the Kappa House.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2784476839/" title="Elder Watson Diggs Memorial House by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3272/2784476839_bda532fe0f_o.jpg" width="431" height="319" alt="Elder Watson Diggs Memorial House"/></a><br /><br />I was not prepared for what I found at the Kappa house that day. It was in disarray! A young Brother came out of the house that day with no shirt on. He greeted me and woman faculty guide with a distressed look and manner. He asked me three times. "Are you coming here to be on the actual faculty?" I said, "Well, perhaps so, if all the negotiations turn out ok". He replied, "I sure hope so. We need someone like you to come here". A chill went through my body when he said that.<br /><br />My faculty guide quickly informed me in the car as we left, that this fraternity has a very shaky reputation on campus and advised that if I want to acquire tenure I should avoid getting involved. I had no intention of getting involved. At least not then.<br /><br />I'll make a long story short to say that it was not until early in 1976 that I visited the House. As my destiny would have it, it was the same day I visited that officials of the fraternity arrived for the Chapter Meeting to reiterate that they were being removed from the house almost immediately. Later I learned that the house was to be leased to a historically white fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon.<br /><br />Well, I ignored my faculty colleagues’ advice and got involved immediately. That year there were 4 new black faculty members brought on a campus where of the more than 1,500 full time faculty members of whom only 28 were black, including the 4 of us new ones. I was the only one who survived there after 3 years.<br /><br />The main problem I surmised with Alpha Chapter is that they had few adult role models and advisors on a campus that had less than 800 black undergraduates out of 20,000 students at that time. Their closest chapter advisor was always of the Indianapolis Alumni Chapter which was 60 miles away.<br /><br />After some serious consulting with my wife, we agreed that I would work with those undergraduates, if they would have me. An investigation of a hazing incident there in 1977 resulted in 4 men being expelled permanently and the chapter put on suspension and I was named Chapter Advisor. I also had set about to forming the Bloomington Alumni Chapter and it was chartered also in 1977.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2783333341/" title="Founding of The Bloomington Aluimni Chapter 1977 by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2783333341_cc5ef3c56f.jpg" width="500" height="401" alt="Founding of The Bloomington Aluimni Chapter 1977" /></a><br />In the front row middle, holding the charter was Edward Giles Irvin, one of two remaining original national Founders still living at that time. The other was Dr. Byron K. Armstrong, who was not able to attend. On Founder Irvin's right was Wesley Chapman, the North Central Province Polemarch. I am on the Founder's left, as Chapter Advisor of Alpha Chapter and First Polemarch of the Bloomington Alumni Chapter.<br /><br />To my left was Edward Radcliffe, the Polemarch of Alpha Chapter. To the right of Wesley Chapman was C. Roger Wilson, who had been the Grand Polemarch back in 1955, when I was initiated. There are several very distinguished Brothers from everywhere who were present. We are surrounded by Brothers of Alpha Chapter and the Bloomington Alumni Chapter combined.<br /><br />I set about with the Alpha Chapter and the Bloomington Alumni Chapters combined to work toward three goals and only these three:<br /><br />1. Improve the image of Alpha Chapter, including raising the chapter GPA.<br />2. Eliminate hazing.<br />3. Get the House Back.<br /><br />I will say it wasn't easy. It involved a lot of cooperation from a lot of people. It also involved a lot of enmity, sometimes from very surprising sources. I recently spoke about some of my experiences to Brothers on a Listserv for Kappa called Nupenet. Some Brothers (a minority) accused me of grandstanding and didn't want me to list any problems or accomplishments, especially if it involved eliminating hazing.<br /><br />I will outline some very important things that happened and had to be overcome in another blog. But, I guarantee to anybody reading this, I was not and am not "grandstanding" I am relating facts: things that happened and things that had to happen. My family; my wife and two young children gave up a lot for me devote the monumental and persistent effort it took.<br /><br />As I said a lot happened. One of the things that happened was that destiny called me again. This time I was called upon to be a candidate for Dean of Students for the entire campus. I had not asked for it. It was thrust upon me and I accepted the position in 1981, the fourth year of Alpha Chapter "exile" from the House. Later my title and responsibilities expanded to Vice Chancellor, a position I held from 1981-1991.<br /><br />I had been nominated for the position, and I, at first refused to apply. Instead I submitted a list of ten faculty members who I thought would make excellent Deans. A persistent nomination process got me to reluctantly submit my resume.<br /><br />In 1982, after much lobbying to Grand Chapter and National Board Meetings, Alpha Chapter resumed occupancy of the House. I organized the Elder Watson Diggs Memorial House Corporation, and I served as the President of the Corporation.<br /><br />In 1983, Alpha Chapter won the chapter of the Year Award and I was named the very First Edward Giles Chapter Advisor's Award.<br /><br />This award was presented at the Konklave in Louisville, Kentucky December 27, 1983. My wife, Thurman, went on the stage with me to receive the award. She should have gotten half of the award for all she did to support me and both chapters during this time. For example, during 11 years as Chapter Advisor, we had the entire chapter over to our house for dinner twice a year. One time we had 65 members of Alpha Chapter. That was a lot of Chili.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2784144604/" title="Edward Gile Irving Chapter Advisor Award #2 by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/2784144604_913dab5c47.jpg" width="387" height="500" alt="Edward Gile Irving Chapter Advisor Award #2" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2784135916/" title="Dr. & Mrs. Michael Gordon at Kappa Konklave in Louisville 1983 by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3198/2784135916_2de4300feb.jpg" width="500" height="447" alt="Dr. & Mrs. Michael Gordon at Kappa Konklave in Louisville 1983"/></a><br /><br />Here are Dr. and Mrs. Michael V.W. Gordon at the Louisville Konklave just before the award was presented.<br /><br />So, we go on. I have had many joys and glories related to being in Kappa Alpha Psi. I had the thrill of hosting the "Pilgrimage to Bloomington" when the fraternity had its 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee and had 3,500 people for lunch on the lawn behind the Kappa House.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2661422657/" title="The Past and Present Brothers of Alpha Chapter by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/2661422657_e3862f36f6.jpg" width="500" height="348" alt="The Past and Present Brothers of Alpha Chapter" /></a><br /><br />Here are past and Present members of Alpha Chapter at that event. At the podium was Jerome Conley who was the most effective Polemarch of Alpha Chapter at that event. Jerome Conley is now the Mayor of Oxford,Ohio.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2662250748/" title="Michael Gordon Introduces the President Of Indiana University To Mayor Thomas Bradley of Los Angeles by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/2662250748_d73020755c_m.jpg" width="240" height="159" alt="Michael Gordon Introduces the President Of Indiana University To Mayor Thomas Bradley of Los Angeles"/></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2662252910/" title="Dean of Students and Alpha Chapter Advisor, Dr. Michael V.W. Gordon Gives The Occasion Speech by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3260/2662252910_965ff60bca_m.jpg" width="240" height="123" alt="Dean of Students and Alpha Chapter Advisor, Dr. Michael V.W. Gordon Gives The Occasion Speech"/></a><br /><br /><br />I got to introduce Mayor Bradley of Los Angeles to the President of Indiana University, Dr. John Ryan. Mayor Bradley had also been a Past Grand Polemarch of Kappa Alpha Psi. In front of Mayor Bradley and President Ryan is seated Gary Gold, and former Alpha Chapter Polemarch, winner of the Guy Levis Grant Award and Past Junior Vice Grand Polemarch. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Indiana University and becoming a Certified Public Accountant, he returned to Indiana University to receive his JD degree and MBA degree Gary Gold also served for a time as Associate Executive Director at the International Headquarters of Kappa Alpha Psi in Philadelphia.<br /><br />I also got to give the "Occasion Speech" Some said my speech was too long. It really wasn't. I was not about to have all those people there and not tell them of the remarkable achievements of Alpha Chapter during and after their "exile". I was interrupted by applause 17 times and standing ovations 8 times for what I had said about Alpha Chapter. One thing I said that evoked the most response was when I told about Alpha Chapter having one graduate a year when I arrived. ten later when I as Vice Chancellor processed through the graduates at commencement, A young Kappa tapped me on the should as I passed by. I turned and saw this Alpha Chapter Brother and 19 others with him and that was in the College of Arts and Sciences alone.<br /><br />That's why the speech seemed so long. But all those people who had contributed their little $100 dollars to build that house as I had done 25v years earlier needed to hear some things to counter the negative rumors they had heard for years.<br /><br />It was a glory and blessing to demonstrate what planning and supervision of undergraduates can do. You cannot build a nearly million dollar house and just turn it over to 19 year olds, without guidance and supervision. Would you do that in your homes?<br /><br />Gary Gold, while serving at Arthur Anderson Accounting Firm in Chicago wanted me to come to Chicago and meet one of our more distinguished older Kappas. He was our Fifth Grand Polemarch and Founder of Beta Chapter at the University of Illinois back in 1913. His name was Earl B. Dickerson, an attorney and executive of a very large Life Insurance Company in Chicago. He was more than 90 years old when we met at his home.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2685438728/" title="Brother Dickerson, Brother Gold & Brother Gordon by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/2685438728_2e58f868d0.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Brother Dickerson, Brother Gold & Brother Gordon"/></a><br /><br />Brother Dickerson wanted to be sure who I was and what I represented. "Are you the Advisor to Alpha Chapter?"' he asked. "Yes," I replied. "And you are the Dean of Students?" "Yes.""Are you the Dean of the Black Students?" "Well all of the Students," I replied. "Is there more than one Dean of Students?” he asked. Well each college or school of the University may have its own Dean of Students, but there is only one Dean of Students for the entire University." "Are you are that one?” he asked. "Yes, I am he". I replied."I see!” he finished at last.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2685365374/" title="An Evening At The Home Of Earl B. Dickerson by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3046/2685365374_09426286f3_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="An Evening At The Home Of Earl B. Dickerson"/></a><br />Tim Brown, who was a National Undergraduate Board member, accompanied us to Brother Earl B. Dickerson's Hyde Park Home that memorable evening.<br /><br />Another great joy I had is being present at the initiation of my great nephew, Robert Lee Gordon, IV. He is the grandson of my brother Robert. He was a student at Villanova. The initiation took place at the North Eastern Provincial Conference in 2005, almost exactly 50 years after my own initiation at Alpha Phi Chapter at Virginia State College.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2783549985/" title="Robert Lee Gordon IV Receving His Kappa Badge from his Great Uncle by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3180/2783549985_490e3214ec_m.jpg" width="240" height="183" alt="Robert Lee Gordon IV Receving His Kappa Badge from his Great Uncle" /></a><br />Rob was one happy young man when I pinned that Kappa Plain Badge on him at his initiation. But he was no happier than I was to be able to do it.<br /><br />As I said before, I will be giving all my antique Kappa items to my great nephew Rob Gordon IV. The night of his initiation, I presented him with Kappa jewelry and my old Kappa Jacket from Virginia State.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2784812195/" title="Rob in Uncle Michael's jacket back by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3272/2784812195_ec820402f9_o.jpg" width="341" height="604" alt="Rob in Uncle Michael's jacket back"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2785665860/" title="Rob in Uncle Michael's Jacket Front by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2785665860_712b991f08_o.jpg" width="400" height="525" alt="Rob in Uncle Michael's Jacket Front"/></a><br /><br />See the "Alpha Phi" emblazoned on the front of the jacket? When I had that jacket made, I thought my Kappa son would somehow, one day wear it. But, you know God has his/her own way of doing things. "God's ways are not our ways", we are often told. So, fifty years later I present that jacket to my brother's grandson; the one that did not join any fraternity. I asked Rob to present it to someone in our family fifty or fewer years from now. I wonder who that will be?<br /><br />Someone asked me recently, "If you knew what you know now, would you have pledged Kappa Alpha Psi?" Well it has been a long and sometimes rocky journey. What do you think?<br /><br />I look into the happy, young face of my great nephew and wonder a lot of things.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2784812529/" title="RobIV smiling by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3219/2784812529_696faef71d_o.jpg" width="170" height="226" alt="RobIV smiling"/></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/accrashambala/2784865259/" title="Kappa 6 ft Paddle From Alpha Chapter by Ricky of Shambala, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3017/2784865259_8101736689_o.jpg" width="293" height="1543" alt="Kappa 6 ft Paddle From Alpha Chapter"/></a><br /><br />In my home, over the years, and now here in Ghana, I have been surrounded by mementos, most of them have been given to me by members of Alpha Chapter. For example there is this six foot Kappa paddle.<br /><br />When think of all the plaques, gifts and letters of honor given to me by members of Alpha Chapter, I will tell you it warms my spirit. When I retired from Indiana University I got even more gifts and even a video made by former Alpha Chapter Brother Tavis Smiley from the BET Studio, where he was at the time, which was played for me in front of all the guests.<br /><br />Even now, I never know when someone will send a letter or e-mail, someone I have not heard from in 25 or more years. Sometimes the letters come from military service in Iraq or Afghanistan or from a law office or medical office or a letter from a father (and occasionally even, a grandfather). Our lives were touched by each other. Do I value that? YOU BET I DO!<br /><br />MichaelThe Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3564564967794396756.post-61847694884848839122008-09-02T10:50:00.000-07:002008-09-02T11:18:14.777-07:00I Received a Good Lesson Today In How To Manage My Blog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Z2iLcllrzpwxv3-cVmyceZ6FGFtskgdXwnYax3Tb6OIcLAOzKrzgmlNVwnj_rYuo16YiedV3e5pbpujklalUEoFDG0KAvuyqO3s6t5sAb5x9t0zyZPaZFW-zb87eiUQBBER2fGbZG5o/s1600-h/sammy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Z2iLcllrzpwxv3-cVmyceZ6FGFtskgdXwnYax3Tb6OIcLAOzKrzgmlNVwnj_rYuo16YiedV3e5pbpujklalUEoFDG0KAvuyqO3s6t5sAb5x9t0zyZPaZFW-zb87eiUQBBER2fGbZG5o/s320/sammy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241488766670294466" border="0" /></a><br />Today my friend, a young high school graduating senior, Samuel Mensah came by.<br /><br />He introduced me to a new magazine which has an online edition. It is called "Ex-Teens". He wants to feature me regularly in it. In helping him, it forced me, through him, to learn how to manage my own blog. You may access his site at http://www.ex-teen.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Please look at it and let me know what you think?<br /><br />The Sophisticated PaperboyThe Sophisticated Paperboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18013416072848463274noreply@blogger.com1