Friday, June 4^th, 2010, “Searching Outside Of The Family For Similar Values” Part VI, Crane High School, Coach Brown, Aunt Betty, my conflicts continue!

Junior year, I made the varsity team. Ernest was getting lots of playing time off the bench.  This was Coach Brown’s first year as varsity coach and I never played during that year.  Coach expressed his disappointed in my lack of confidence, many times in a very demeaning way but I stayed on and supported my teammates. Coach Brown and I never developed a relationship during my junior year. I was “off the radar” junior year and would not be making a contribution to the team. James Jackson and Andre “Champ” Wakefield were the stars on the team that year.

I mainly spent a lot of time talking to Aunt Betty and helping out my grandfather around the house. My grandfather was the kind of man that would never ask for help.  He would exhaust himself before he would consider asking for any type of assistance.

It was a very tough year for me due to lots of reflection about the many contradictions. I realized that my grandparents were human just everyone else.  One day I answered the phone and it was a bill collector. She asked for my grandfather. He just happened to be walking past me on his way towards the back of our house.

“May I speak to Mr. Roddy please”?

“Daddy, some lady on the phone wants to talk to you.”

“Who is it?”

“May I ask who is calling please?” She said she was so and so from X company.

“Hey Daddy, it’s so and so from X company.” I’m hollering out to my grandfather with the lady on the other end of the line.

“Tell her I’m not here.”

“I’m so sorry Ms so and so but my father is not here.”

“Tell your father that he needs to take care of his outstanding bill with us,” she said ever so politely.

“Daddy, she said it was some kind of bill you owed them.”

My grandfather did not say a word but his piercing look taught me much that evening!

My grandparents never talked to us about money or finances.  Their generation did not share this type of information with their kids. I would often wonder how much money we had.  I would accompany my grandfather to the bank and he would talk to me about paying bills but never shared which ones. Most of the time is was to get money orders to pay bills and I do remember seeing him put some money into a saving account. I never wanted for anything, never lacked clothing or food. But we never talked about the money that provided these things.  Why was it a taboo subject?

Aunt Betty would ask me to take a more active role in mentoring her sons Juan, Lovell (Fat), Lekeif, (Ke Ke), Lenard (Na Na). Juan was her oldest son and he loved to watch me play baseball at our local playground after school.  I did the best I could to always be positive and support them.

High school started to feel like a burden. My classes were not that challenging and I had a study hall on my schedule.  The study halls were “temporary holding pens” as far as I was concerned.  Nobody studied in them so I felt I did need to attend them.  I started to skip study hall. About two weeks later my grandmother met me in the living room and started screaming at me about a letter she got Crane saying I was cutting classes. The letter did not indicate it was a study hall and that I was getting A’s and B’s in all of my other classes.  It just said that I was cutting classes. I had to listen to her rant and rave at me for about 10 minutes before she cooled down.  She had contacted Aunt Ida and Aunt Ida had arrived in the living to room to see what all of the commotion was about.  Imagine my thoughts and feelings as Aunt Ida, aka Klingon Warrior approached me.

“Aunt Ida, please let me explain the letter to you and mamma.  I am not cutting any of my major classes. This is just a study hall the students go to. Nobody does any studying and it’s boring. Why should I have to go to them?”

“You need to go to them because they are on your schedule,” Aunt Ida said. “Mamma and Daddy don’t know the difference because the letter did not say what classes you were skipping. Don’t miss any more study halls and I don’t ever what to see this type of letter coming here again or I will make sure Daddy finds out.”

That’s all she had to say!  I never missed another one.

I had violated an important component of our family values, education, and was quickly brought back in line by loved ones.  There was no negotiation, I was “guilty” for skipping classes and the jury had made their decision. Obey the family values or there will be hell to pay, case closed!

June 8^th, 2010, “Searching Outside Of The Family For Similar Values” Part VII, My Senior year at Crane High School, Coach Vaughn, Coach White and my conflicts resolved!

Friday, May 28^th, 2010, “Searching Outside Of The Family For Similar Values” Part IV, Ernest Leaks, “Heavy”, Crane High School and the coaches, my conflicts continue!

What high school should we attend? Crane High School was our only consideration.  That’s where all of the “ballers” went so we followed.

Some of my middle school teachers wanted me to go to other more “academically challenging” high schools. I know they were well meaning but they didn’t understand my connection with Ernest.

My grandfather purchased our first home farther out west of the city.  The area was called, “K-Town”, mainly because many of the streets started with a “K”, Keeler, and Kostner etc.  We lived on Jackson Blvd. In the summer of 1972 we packed and moved into our new home.

“K-Town” was an area of Chicago that never felt like home. Constantly on edge, we waited for the next crisis.

I wondered if my grandfather did any research on the area? Why he would purchase our first home in such an area?

I did befriend many youth in the area. The first day at our new house a youth who was my age came to our front porch and introduced himself. Romero was his name and he lived just two houses down from us.

We made small talk for while. “Do you like basketball?” Romero asked me. “Yes I do.” Romero invited me to play with him at the local playground just a few blocks away.  We played one-on-one for a while.

“Okay,” Romero said. “I’ve had enough! Where did you learn to play ball like that?”

I told him about Fink’s influences, Ernest, and the local legends that we had in my former community. But mainly I mentioned the time spent practicing and that I would be trying out for the team at Crane High School. Crane’s basketball reputation was known throughout Chicago.

“Man, Crane always has great ballers! Do you think you are going to make the team?” “I don’t know but I will try out for JV team this upcoming school year, my freshman year.”

Romero was instrumental in introducing me to all of the local basketball players. Some were gang members and they liked me right away because of my basketball skills.   They all wanted me on their teams during pick up games.  As I got older I knew I used basketball as a safety net. The gang leaders all loved basketball too and admired good ballers.  I got to know most of them.

Romero and I were once robbed at gunpoint. We were so scared and mad! We didn’t recognize the two young men but all we would have had to do was to find out their names, then report the incident to some of the gang leaders we knew.  Restitution would have been resolved by gang rules. Romero and I were not the gun carrying type so we let the whole incident go!

But the amount of money and our bruised egos were not worth someone’s life.  Imagine a high school freshman having two different codes of honor. Grandfather’s code; the gang code. Why should a child have to choose? But choose I did.

The area was full of gangs and drive-by shootings.  During the summer months, there was a least one a week.  I felt like I was a soldier (or civilian) in the rice paddies during the Vietnam War!

June 1^st, 2010, “Searching Outside Of The Family For Similar Values”, The Coaches at Crane High School and my conflicts continue!

May 18^th, 2010, “Searching Outside Of The Family For Similar Values” Part II, Ernest Leaks, Gladstone Middle School and the “ballers”, Jerome “Hook”, Melvin “Heavy” and “Fats”, the Freemans.

We took Fink’s recommendation to heart when he advised us to watch the other neighborhood players, aka, “ballers”.  “Ballers” are the basketball players that develop their skills to the point where they stand out among their peers.  “Ballers” set the standards to which we all aspired.

The “ballers” lived on the east side of Damen Street. When you crossed over Damen Street basketball took on a whole new meaning. We all felt it. We young men were in awe!

Ernest was good at getting to know all of the important contacts across Damen. He arranged for us to play in tournaments during the summer months.

I remember the first couple of days we ventured across Damen to see the “ballers”.  Ernest knew those who were playing in high school and the up and coming ones transitioning to high school.

Ernest, myself and several other young admires arrive at Gladstone Middle School one weekend to watch an organized basketball game.  Entering the playground area, we could feel the aura of greatness. We were easily inspired!   People gathered around the court watching their every move.

“Ernest, who is that dude that just hit those last two jump shots”?

“Oh that’s ‘Fats,’ he is ‘Heavy’s’ younger brother.”

“Who is ‘Heavy’?”

“He is one of the “refs” and a freshman playing ball at Crane High.  Crane High School is where all of the “ballers” in our community played. ‘Nag’, the whole family is full of “ballers.”

After the game, Ernest approached “Fats” and talked to him about his performance.  Ernest was not the shy type when it came to introducing himself to people he wanted to know.  I stood right by Ernest’s side listening to him interview “Fats” about basketball.  “Fats” would talk about the skills he learned from his older brothers, “Heavy” and “Hook”. He talked about the hours and hours of practice and dedication to develop his skills.

After the conversation, Ernest and I were inspired! We knew what we had to do. We had to put the time in, which meant practice, practice, and practice if we wanted to obtain “Fats” skill level. “Fats” verified what Fink told us about putting the time in on our skills, that there no short cuts to becoming a good “baller”.

We walked back across Damen to our side of the community. Ernest talked about Fats older brothers, “Heavy” and “Hook” and their basketball skills. “Heavy” was a playground legend and a freshman playing ball at Crane High. Ernest went on and on about Heavy’s abilities and about “Hook”, the oldest brother of the Freeman Family.  Earnest said that “Hook” was known to be the greatest “baller” to ever come out of Crane.  He relayed stories from area locals about some of the moves “Hook” did on the playground and at Crane High.

I loved playing basketball and at the same time I was starting to understand my grandfather’s value system. Those values were compatible with Ernest’s values. One in particular was working hard on something you valued!

But those values also created such conflict within me and begin to weigh on my consciousness.  I struggled now. It was a heavy load for a kid to try to unravel.

May 25^th, 2010, “Searching Outside Of The Family For Similar Values” Part III, Ernest Leaks, and my conflicts.

May 11^th, 2010, “Searching Outside Of The Family For Similar Values” Part I, Ernest Leaks.

I was very involved in sports.  I loved baseball and attending the White Sox games with my grandfather. Our local community little league baseball team played an important role in maintaining those values.  The most important thing little league did was to help me develop a life long relationship with Ernest Leaks.

Ernest and I met in Kindergarten and remain great friends to this day.

What I admire most about him is his loyalty to his family and friends.  When you became his friend he was always there for you.  He was a great judge of a person’s character and I feel this is due to his family’s value system.   I admired how he respected his mother and stepfather.  Our generation learned to respect our elders, both within our family and outside of it. Earnest’s older brothers had many friends in the community and no one “messed” with them.  Ernest’s older brothers friends were the “Klingons” of our community.  The only thing Ernest had to say was that so and so disrespected me.  The “Klingons” quickly got everyone back on track!

Ernest and I attended the same elementary and middle schools. He was outstanding in math.  He could have been a mathematician if he wanted to be. I read a lot so I was very good at spelling.  We literally helped each other with class work without being asked.

It was sports where we bonded. We gravitated to basketball.  I am not sure if we just got tired of all of the organizing it took for the baseball games against other communities.  It did not take young minds that long to want to do something different.  We did not abandon baseball but we played less organized baseball.  There still were location games among friends in the community.

In gym classes we fell in love with basketball. Our gym teacher, Mr. Trouter, would play with us and taught us the rules and had little tournaments for us during our gym period.  That was it; we were hooked on the game. To this day, I know I gravitate to basketball because I just wanted to be with Ernest and learn and grow with him.

Many older youth would help us with our basketball skill development.  We’d stand on the sidelines of the playground and watch them play. One in particular was a guy we called “Fink”.  In Chicago, we all had nicknames.  Fink took a liking to Ernest and me.  I lived only three blocks from Fink so I saw him often.  One day I was in the local community store and Fink was there with friends playing pool.  We started talking and Fink said that I needed a nickname.

He said I looked like a cartoon character called “Ignatz”, pronounced, “ick-nag” in the cartoon series called “Krazy Kat” by George Herriman. This cartoon concept originated as a comic strip in 1930’s but was shown in the 1960’s as a cartoon. Why Fink decided to name me this was just a moment in time that we will never understand. In those days, you never chose your own nickname, someone who was respected had to give it to you. Once you got one, everyone in the community honored it and called you by your nickname. It was a crazy way of showing respect and affection all at the same time!

Please view the Youtube video on a cartoon segment of the cartoon show “Krazy Kat”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4rQwrTymdM

All of my friends in the Chicago just called me “Nag”.  The character was a mouse that was always throwing bricks at people. The female character “Krazy Kat“ was in love with the mischievous mouse, “Ignatz”.  Fink said I had the same eyes as the mouse. To this day Ernest will always be “Brother Ern” to me.

Fink was influential in our community but had his personal challenges and demons. When we started playing in basketball tournaments it was Fink who coached and encouraged us.  He taught us about many aspects of basketball but he taught us to stay away from drugs and alcohol.  We all knew he used drugs but we knew he was sincere and he didn’t want us to do anything that would harm our abilities.  He saw basketball as a vehicle for us to more forward with our lives.  I know most will find this hard to believe but in those days even the drug users and dealers encouraged us to stay in school, stay out of trouble and don’t use drugs or alcohol.  What irony!

Ernest and I never judge the dealers and users because they were our role models outside of our family.  They all were great basketball players and we wanted to learn the game.  We did not judge the sources we just wanted to become better players. We never saw them use drugs in our presence but we remembered their words of encouragement.  They seem to have accepted their position and for some reason they didn’t see any other alternatives in their lives. But wanted more for us.  After the games ended, they would hang around, tell us about their lives and the mistakes they made. I’d listen to every word they said. Another Fink in the community was a guy we called “Ing”.  He was bright and insightful about what was happening in our country during that time.

There were many other “Finks” in our community and regardless of their situations they really cared about the young people in the community.  They literally believed in the concept that it “takes a village to raise a child”. If we got got out of line, they were the first ones to discipline us verbally. They too were influenced by the era in which we were raised.

Not all the “Finks” in our community used drugs or were dealers. Most were hard working family men who worked blue collars jobs. Some were attending local high schools.  On the weekends, they all played basketball in our community. We were their audience on the sidelines watching their every move!

Fink often told us that we had to start watching some real “ballers” and encouraged us to start going down the Gladstone Middle School playground. Gladstone was attached to a city recreational facility and had organized leagues and some of the best players in the city played there in the summer. Most of the local legends lived blocks from the school.

Two years ago Ernest called me and told me someone robed Fink at gunpoint and shot him dead because he didn’t give them the money fast enough!

After a long conversation with Ernest about Fink and his influence on our young minds growing up during those years we concluded our conversation.

That night I cried!

May 18^th, 2010, “Searching Outside Of The Family For Similar Values” Part II, Ernest Leaks, Gladstone Middle School and The Legends, “Hook”, “Heavy” and “Fats”.