Reflections: 19 March 1999
Friday, 19 March 1999
Dateline: Lynchburg, Virginia
MOM WAS 90 ON 3/9/99!! SOMEBODY DO THE NUMEROLOGY!
MY DEAR SWEET MOTHER CELEBRATED HER 90TH BIRTHDAY ON THE 9TH OF MARCH.
There was a huge celebration... all 11 of her children and most of her grand- and great-grandchildren, numbering some 50 offspring, serenaded her in her beloved Rivermont Baptist Church.
Momma is as sturdy as she's ever been. She still works as a seamstress and when she isn't working on a paying job, she's making children's clothing to give to charity. Her favorite pastime is shopping for remnants — end pieces from bolts of cloth — and saving them for making these cute little dresses, aprons, jackets and pants that some kid somewhere in the world will be wearing, knowing only that a kind lady from America made them in her spare time.
Beloved, is what everybody calls her: "the beloved Miz An'ason" in the local vernacular. ("mi-zha'- na-sin" — for you Ebonics buffs out there). She was born within weeks of the first successful flight by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. In her lifetime there have been two World Wars, The Great Depression, Viet Nam, the Civil Rights and Women's Movement . . . You NAME IT . . . She's seen it!!!!
I think her body temple is physically strong enough to carry on for at least another 10 years, but when I told her that, she replied motioning toward the television:
"I don't know if I want to live that long in a world like this!"
I looked at the muted television which she uses as background and there on the screen was typical Jerry Springer. An episode of "real people" doing their thing; brawling, cursing and ripping each other's clothing off in front of a whooping-it-up audience.
It re-occurred to me that in her little house in that little town, television is her window on the world. She assesses the world that invades her tranquil existence as "reality" unless it is otherwise noted, as when actors portray characters of varying persuasions.
To her, THIS STUFF IS REAL!!! THE PEOPLE IN THOSE SHOW REPRESENT REALITY TO HER! AND SHE DOESN'T WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHICH HAS COME TO SUCH AN END.
I DON'T BLAME HER.
DO I WANT TO WALK STREETS POPULATED BY THE TYPE OF GOONS COONS AND CROONERS THAT POPULATE SPRINGER'S ONE-HOUR ORGY OF DEVIANTS? I DON'T THINK SO!!
THE DIFFERENCE IS: I KNOW THOSE PEOPLE ARE CHOSEN BY THE PRODUCERS BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT AND ARE NOT A TRUE REFLECTION OF AMERICA BEYOND THE WALLS OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA!
WHY DON'T THE LOCAL STATIONS RUN A CRAWL NOTICE STATING THE UNIQUENESS ON THE PARTICIPANTS!? ON THE LAKER FRONT. . . ON THE LAKER FRONT. . . BULLETIN!! BULLETIN!!! BULLETIN!!! DENNIS RODMAN IS UNIQUE!!!!!!!!
BUT HE SOMEHOW MANAGES PLAY BASKETBALL AT A LEVEL THAT BRINGS EXCITEMENT, TOUGHNESS AND LEADERSHIP. . . YES, LEADERSHIP TO THE SHAQ-LED PURPLE GANG. SHAQ SEES HIMSELF AS THE LEADER, OR "PRESIDENT" AS HE REFERS TO HIMSELF, AND IF DENNIS IS IN THE ROOM, I DOUBT IF HE WEARS THAT "KING" MANTLE SO BOLDLY. THAT'S A ROBE ONE WEARS AFTER WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP. LEADERSHIP ISN'T GRANTED ON POTENTIAL.
The Sporting Press has predicted that Dennis would be a distraction with the Lakers . . . and he has. DISTRACTION. . . FROM THEIR FORMER SELVES! FROM SHAQ'S "LEADERSHIP" AND THE BURDENS THAT IT BRINGS. DON'T GET ME WRONG. SHAQ CAN PLAY — HE JUST DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO LEAD — YET! AND QUITE FRANKLY, THEIR RECORD WITHOUT DENNIS IS SUCH THAT THE DISTRACTION IS WORTH THE END-PRODUCT — WINNING AND ENTERTAINING!. HE TOOK A FEW DAYS OFF TO DO HIS LAS VEGAS THING, I AM TOLD. THE PRESS IS ALL UP IN ARMS. THEY HAVE THEMSELVES BECOME THE DISTRACTION! IF THEY WERE TO JUST SHUT-THE-(****)-UP, ALL WOULD BE QUIET ON THE LAKER FRONT. The Laker brass knew who he was when they signed him and are handling his absence with the appropriate measures. Craig Sager of TNT and people like him in the the media keep his name on camera and in print daily, helping to feed the personae, the character that is DENNIS RODMAN. Then they freak when he acts like DENNIS RODMAN. I'll never figure them out. (OOPS! I JUST DID!)
I'M DOING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AT THE FORUM ON THE 26th vs. SACRAMENTO. I'LL HAVE A MEETING WITH THE WHOLE TEAM AT HALF-TIME. :)
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU MR. WINFREY! YOU WERE MY MUSICAL INSPIRATION WHO DREAMED MY DREAM UNTIL I COULD SEE IT. IT WAS AN HONOR TO WATCH YOUR BOLD EXIT FROM ROLAND HAYES AND HELP REVIEW THE WORLD YOU TOUCHED WITH YOUR VERY LARGE MUSICAL SPIRIT. YOUR RETIREMENT LEAVES A VOID IN BOSTON, BUT MAYBE NOW, THE REST OF THE WORLD CAN GET YOUR ATTENTION!
YOU WILL BE MISSED, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
Reflections is Carl Anderson's Internet-based commentary column. ©Copyright 1999-2009, Abu Khalil Productions. All Rights Reserved.
