Three friends in three months...GONE. Two of whom I was intending to catch up with but kept procrastinating & putting it off because Im so busy with this PhD sh*t. But Im not going to let myself feel guilty. Their physical absence has compelled me to reflect on what I have learned from each of them. RIP Devlon...you were never scared to defend your friends and I fed off of your courage in elementary school. We werent ghetto kids by any stretch of the imagination but we werent completely shielded from the harsh realities of inner-city life. Im not ashamed to say I come from an era where bullying was not the social phenomenon it is today. Bullies got their asses kicked, period. Devlon handed losses to a few bullies and Ill always have love for him for that reason. Atsuhiko, showed me a different kind of bravery. In high school, he left everything he was familiar with in Japan and came to boarding school in Poughkeepsie, NY. It took a while but Ace inspired me to be a global citizen. To get out of my ignant ass cosmopolitan bubble with my diverse group of progressive ass friends from all different racial and SES backgrounds and see some other places. The magnitude of this inspiration really hit me a few years back when I went to visit him in his element. It occurred to me then how much of an adjustment and sacrifice he made to set up shop in an entirely different cultural context. To get his high school, college and graduate education in a non-native language. And he rocked this shit too from Oakwood to RPI to University of Toronto before he went back to Japan. And last but definitely not least was Brother Mike. He was the most accessible transcendental figure I have ever known. Most people with that degree of notoriety and charisma are holed up in some mansion or private island. Mike was wherever the young people were at and he brought the mansion-istas and jetsetters to his world...without code-switching!!! Thats power to me...when one can turn the tables upside down and have the PhDs shouting revolution. I used to think it was magic but it was truly sheer authenticity and a courage to be himself. To walk the talk, while the talkers keep talking. The bar has forever been raised as a result of knowing him in the capacity I did...(and Im one of the most unimpressed skeptics in two shoes walking so thats no small feat). Death has a way of humbling us and helping us to realize what matters. Our credentials and educational pedigree is important and we should be proud of what we accomplish. But reflecting on the lives of these individuals, Im asking myself what will people say about me? Im not thinking about those things. In fact the pursuit of those things has come at the expense of what matters. Either way, lesson learned. Peaceful journey gentlemen. The inspiration is not lost on me.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 03:59:54 +0000
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