You cannot lift yourself up by tearing others down. There is no grace in casting aspersions while basking in your own light. You only negate your own blessings by playing the devils hand.
Love and let live. Live and let love. Light your path towards a better today and a brighter tomorrow.
Written by: L. M.
As the chaos and mayhem surround me I feel like a whirlpool of water quickly descending down the drain. Sometimes it feels like I’m gasping for air in my lungs and I can feel the oxygen slowly being cut off from my brain. With each day that passes the next one is just the same.
It’s been so long since I’ve felt what it is like to laugh out loud. With all of the things that have happened it would feel so good to get above this dark cloud.
To be in sunshine on a beautiful summer’s day. Living life carefree with smiles for everyone that you happen to see. A calm in the storms would be a refreshing break. A break from all of the nastiness and the things that are fake. Come with me and we’ll break free. We’ll go to a place that’s full of joy and ecstasy. Promise not doom, a place filled with glory and not impending gloom.
I need this. The chance to laugh and smile. A chance to be free and wild.
Wouldn’t you like to go? Break away from what binds you. Break away from what ails you just lay those burdens down. Pick yourself up and let’s run and run somewhere that we can never be found.
It’s waiting out there for you and me. Don’t you hear it calling?
If you listen closely, you can hear it saying to you and me, “still away and set your mind free”.
Written by: Larry Miller
It’s January and I’m thinking about workouts and conditioning schedule for the upcoming baseball year at a charter school. I always look forward to the coming year with hopes of improving from the year before. It’s always a challenge recruiting students for tryouts to play baseball. We’re up against the competition of the other sports programs of football, basketball and track. Over the years we have been trying to rebuild the program and this year I was feeling pretty good about getting a number of new guys to join the team. We had Our first meeting and the room was pretty filled with prospects.
We worked up a conditioning program and schedule and it was a bit discouraging to see fewer faces than what we had at the meetings. After the first couple of weeks we began to have more of a consistent group showing up week after week. By the time we were in official practice mode we had a pretty good group of guys.
Practices were still challenging. It was not as consistent with the number of players showing up. Especially on Saturdays.
The guys we had were the usual lacking in experience but these guys lacked in experience they made up with an eagerness to learn. Enthusiasm is a good start to building a team. We had a couple of seniors and I was excited about seeing how well they would do this year. One of our players I had the pleasure of coaching all four years of his high school days. I had a good feeling about him from day one. Always ready and prepared to practice and take on whatever role he could to help the team. There are just some kids that are great to coach and he was one of them. He was excited about the season and seeing how well he would do this year his senior year.
The other senior player I had coached for just one year and was looking forward to seeing him progress for his senior year. He is a great kid, very polite and coachable. When I was ill last year he checked in on me a few times to see how I was doing. Always came ready to practice or play. I was really excited about working with him on his pitching skills and hitting.
We had a few other guys heading into their sophomore and junior years that I felt pretty enthusiastic about for the year. With the new guys coming on board we were trying to fill out the roster and find positions that they might fit into.
We were just a week or two from our preseason non conference games when things suddenly took a turn. There was a storm brewing and it hit without warning.
Covid 19 A pandemic. It was starting to spread across the country and it set off confusion and uncertainty about everything. Soon we were told we could continue practice but practice in a safe distance from one another.
Now that’s just about an impossibility in most sports but we tried. That lasted about two practices and then we were told all activity for sports was on hold until further notice. We could not work with the players. Having an already inexperienced team this was painful. We told them to continue to work on what they could at home on their own. Soon after getting that notice the schools were shut down and it was up in the air as to what that meant for the season. Parent’s had questions about what was to be and we had little answers. Nobody really knew what was to take place. Weeks went by and we were at the season start but ruled not able to compete because of Covid. Each passing day was more and more disappointing as it began to look like we might not get back until mid season point. We were still not able to practice. A couple of the players reached out for tips on practicing their skills in hitting etc. A few more weeks went by and then bam! I.H.S.A. (Illinois High School Association) canceled all spring sports and no makeup or late start time was agreed upon.
It was over. Dreams quashed and unfulfilled for 2020. I felt bad for the team and especially our seniors. They won’t have this opportunity again. Even worse is that the schools were shut down as a stay at home order went into effect which left the students learning from home on computers. So not only did our seniors lose out on their senior season they along with all the other seniors lost out on their final year with their peers. This meant luncheons ,proms and graduations would not happen. Students would get to pick up their diploma’s with little to no fanfare. Some families came up with ideas to have their own ceremonies by having parades of passing cars with signs, balloons and horns blaring. Some schools held Zoom conference video ceremonies. These were at least some consolation to what they had missed out on. 2020 will be known as the year of virtual reality for us all.
It was indeed a season lost of what might have been. To our seniors I would like to say it has been my pleasure working with you guys and I wish you all the success in the world on your continued journey’s.
For the rest of us ,players and coaches. We are looking towards next season hoping to pick up where we left off hungry to take the field and hear the Ump say loud and clear “PLAY BALL!
Written By: Larry D. Miller
Interview with the Average Black American Joe is a fictional exploration into the mind of the average Black American Joe on a variety of social and political topics.
Interviewer: Hello again Joe. On most days I would have said good day but there is nothing good about these days we’re in now. I’ll just get right to it. What went through your mind when you first heard about or saw the video of the police officer with his knee on George Floyd’s neck subsequently murdering him right before the public’s eyes?
Joe: When I first heard about it and saw it I guess I was like everyone else; through social media. My first thought was awe man here we go again another brother dying at the hands of a cop. But when I saw it immediately I felt disbelief, sadness and anger. From there it just became anger. To see someone’s life being snuffed out without regard for pleas to spare it was sickening to my stomach to say the least. I mean this man is exclaiming to the officer on his neck and the ones standing around that he could not FUCKING BREATHE and this motherfucker smirked while the camera was in his face and applied more pressure as the other lame ass cops stood around or kneeled watching this man be killed.
Interviewer: Yes. It was an awful sight.
Joe: Tears falling confusion and sadness surrounds you. You cry out but no one gives in to your cries and comes to your rescue. Your last moments on this earth are spent in Chaos and you call out to your mother with one of your last breaths. It’s not easy watching a life being snatched away. It’s not as simple as playing a video game. There is no reset button. It’s cold and senseless. When you take a life you affect the lives of others. The effects of this may cause a call for calm, chaos, disorder and hopefully change then peace. You may not agree with one or more of these things but they have to happen. If you don’t believe me check your bible or preferred religious readings. For the non-believers, check the constitution from which this nation swears by. One day we will not lay in judgment of one another. Unfortunately today is not that day.
Interviewer: How do you feel the president has handled the situation?
Joe: Like he has handled everything else. With his dick in his hand swinging it around like Thor’s mighty hammer. But he ain’t Thor He’s Lokey. A screw up wanna be equipped with a whistle not a hammer to send an alarm calling for distraction and inaction from the issues that need to be addressed.
He won’t acknowledge the problem that exists let alone have any plan for change.
He’s a paper lion that needs to be crumpled and thrown in the trash come this November.
Interviewer: those are pretty strong opinions.
Joe: Those are facts. You want a strong opinion Fuck that dude. He does not care about anyone but himself. They elected a megalomaniac as president. A lot of this mentality today in the police force was with his blessing. Look it up. He had a meeting for law enforcement where he openly wished that they could be more aggressive when dealing with the public. And don’t try to mince words by saying he meant criminals because as far as I remember you are innocent until proven guilty. Those officers and their commanders knew what he meant and they gleefully obliged and here we are today with a cop on camera calmly taking the life from someone with no fear of retribution.
So yeah Fuck him and the wave he rode in on.
Interviewer: You talked about change is most needed. What do you think has to happen for us to get there?
Joe: With fixing the injustice in the treatment of Black people and any other folks when it comes to the law enforcement here in the U.S. Unfortunately it comes down to the slimy people in power. From all three branches of government.
These changes must be written, passed,signed into law and then upheld.
There has to be change in the hiring and training of these police officers throughout this country.
It has to be uniformed in policy. No choke hold or knees to the neck. Eliminate racial profiling. And don’t sit up here and lie about there is no such thing. That’s B.S.
You must eliminate from the force bad police officers. There can be no room for errors.
They have too much protection for their mis-doings.
Interviewer: Anything else?
This code of Blue shit is stronger than anything you could imagine. How can they talk about blacks not wanting to come forth about crimes because of the saying snitches get stitches when t
If you want trust in the community then you have to become trustworthy.
You use and abuse people you get hostility and resentment back.
Interviewer: How have the riots affected non-blacks in regards to the police?
Joe: You talkin bout white folks?
Interviewer: Well yes.
Joe: It has given them the chance to witness and become victims of the terrible reactions of bad behavior that we have gotten for countless years.
They’ve been beaten physically and verbally brutalized; Shot at, maced and tear gassed.
They are now faced with having to cope with the mental fear that has weighed on blacks in this country since our ancestors were brought here.
The next time they get pulled over for a traffic stop or see a police car, that heightened awareness will kick in. The sweaty palms and anxiousness is something we get when faced with the police.
You pray it’s not one of those angry one’s.
Interviewer: When you hear people say what about black on black crime what are your thoughts.
Joe: What about it? I mean are you implying that blacks don’t care about the crime committed against us by other blacks? I say you are full of it. Talk with the families of those victims. Ask them how the police conducted their investigations. Investigate the many unsolved murder and crimes there are in the black community. Then ask yourself why? This is why we are upset. The police don’t do their jobs sufficiently when it comes to solving these crimes. That’s the point we want justice but it seems that these cases go cold as if Black Lives Don’t Matter. We’re saying hey We deserve justice in these cases. Black Lives Matter.
Interviewer: And what are your thoughts on those who say all lives matter?
Joe: I say you damn right and we want to be included in the equation.
Just those statements alone say you don’t get it. You are on some other shit and we ain’t got time for your agenda so fuck outta here with that.
Interviewer: Will there be change?
Joe: I hope so. Now what that will look like your guess is as good as mine. What I will tell you is that these protests are going to continue for time to come. People are tired of the abuse and misuse of police power.
Interviewer: As always Joe, thank you for sitting down with me and discussing this very important topic.
Joe: You got it. Keep yo eyes open cause these young people are picking up the torch and running with it. November gon be straight fire.
Written By: Larry D. Miller
Read past articles for Interview with the Average Black American Joe
https://larrydwwilf.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/interview-with-the-average-black-american-joe-part-2-2/
https://larrydwwilf.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/interview-with-an-average-black-american-joe/
https://larrydwwilf.wordpress.com/2016/10/13/interview-with-the-average-black-american-joe/
Navigating Relationships 