As a young negro boy growing up in the South I learned to wait and watch as others directed things.  In time, however, I directed my own path.  Eventually I turned into a first rate student and athlete; a true a class leader.

For the remainder of my life I approached things differently.  Quietly.  Fighting bigotry, I knew, would take generations.  So while life wasn’t easy, I gained plenty of personal insights and rewards. 

My advice: Don’t fight others to force them to see the light.  It never works.  Show them what it looks like: Dignity. 

Elroy
07/18/10

We’ve all heard it: take time to smell the roses. But do we?  I didn’t.  But then I never really appreciated how quickly life could end.

Do something that has a positive effect on your life’s outlook each and every day.  Example:  listen closely to the abundance of life-affirming sounds in the park…kids laughing, birds singing, families sharing, trees rustling.  What’s important is to find a positive focus and then soak it in as if your life depends upon it.

If you don’t accept the gifts life has to offer, your will to live will weaken.  It happens subtly, but it happens.  Reverse that!  With purpose find joy in something special every day!

- Howard

07/11/10

A few times over the course of my life I had the opportunity to be a judge in a local pageant or fair.  Of course it was fun at the time, but later I realized how differently I was judged - sometimes better, sometimes worse - depending on the outcome of the contest.

How awkward was that, I remember thinking to myself a number of times as someone I recognized refused to acknowledge me.  Too late now, I thought.  But it wasn’t.

Someone I confided in gave me great advice: Always be the first to say hello to people, no matter who they are, friend or otherwise.  It gives you the advantage every time.  Then it’s up to them to continue bridging things, and they almost always do.  Believe me, this works even with your harshest critics!

Terry

07/04/10