Friday, October 31, 2008
Just a Reminder To Stay Your Ass In Line At The Polls!
Waiting in line to vote on something that will affect you for the next four years > Waiting in line for a product that will be obselete by the end of the year like whatever Sony or Apple is putting on the market.
This has been a public service announcement on behalf of everybody here at His Aura Was Orange.
Wednesday's Woman: Danielle Harris
Starting with this: Wednesday's Woman: Danielle Harris
She starred in Halloween 4 & 5 as Michael Myers adolescent niece and thus the target of his rage. Poor kid, I know. She was then asked to come back and appeared in last years Rob Zombie Halloween remake as Laurie Strode's best friend (the character's name escapes me at the moment). Well let me say, she was like 9 in the first two Halloweens she was in and was 30 in last year's release and time was kind to her. I'm not too familiar with many of her other roles but I might have to start familiarizing myself with her work from here on out because she is quite the young starlet. So to bottom line all this don't take it from me, see for yourself...
The 2008 Leading Nominee of the Meagan Goode Award for growing up from child roles and becoming fine, Danielle Harris.
Various Famous Black People Diddy Assembled On Camera Encouraging You To Vote For Obama
If Stringer Bell wants me to vote Obama then that's all I need to know, LOL.
Hope
Backdrop to this picture:
Harold Livingston, assistant manager of a gas station near his home, said today he was wondering why so many people were stopping at his house and taking pictures. One of the photographs ended up being posted at politico.com, a national political Web site....
Livingston says he’s the one who put up the Confederate flag and his wife, Brenda, is the Obama supporter.
Although some people regard the Confederate flag as a racist symbol, Livingston said that’s not the case. Those who think the flag is racist are probably racist themselves, he said.
“I think it’s (the flag is) about the South and it’s a pretty flag,” he said.
In the Livingstons’ back yard, a pirate flag flies atop another flagpole. The flags aren’t about politics, he said.
“I don’t vote,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what president we have."
The bigger problem, he said, is members of Congress who serve more than eight years, the maximum a president can hold office,
Brenda Livingston is a nurse practicing in Mooresville. A registered Republican, she has canvassed for Obama, a Democrat, and even met Michelle Obama, the wife of the Illinois senator.
Harold Livingston, who says he’s an atheist, said, “We don’t talk religion or politics.”
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Jay-Z & LeBron From Last Nite In Cleveland At Their Obama Rally
LeBron James and Jay-Z at The Q |
LeBron out there looking like the biggest kid in elementary and shit, LOL. Naw in fairness LeBron is doing something few athletes have the guts to do and making it known where he stands and who he stands with in plain sight of everybody. Jordan didn't even do that. That kind of public transparency is cool to me. Also it doesn't hurt that he's on my side on this one too.
[Dumb] Quote of the Day
For the past couple of weeks, I've been talking to people in Fishtown, and I've found much the same thing. Obama's skin color is a problem for many white voters in Philly — but with the economy in ruins, they're turning to Obama anyway. Call it the Fishtown Effect.
What this means for the general election might be pretty straightforward: Obama may win even the votes of prejudiced whites. But what, exactly, it says about race in Philadelphia — or America — is a lot harder to figure out.
[snip]
Consider Patrick McGowan, a union carpenter whom I met at Murph's bar on Girard, just a block down from the Fishtown for Obama office. McGowan said he was voting for Obama.
"Everyone's voting for him," he said.
Would race be an obstacle?
"Not at all — not for anybody who's a working man paying taxes," he assured, adding: "First of all, he's not all black. And maybe if a black person gets in there to be president, it'll keep all the crybabies from crying discrimination."
McGowan, like many of the Fishtowners I spoke with, was ready to assess Obama on his merits as a candidate, even as he viewed blacks in general as a monolithic, possibly hostile group.
Another man, a retired blue-collar worker and lifetime Fishtowner who declined to give his name — let's call him Jim the Fishtowner — struck a similar tone, though he viewed a potential Obama administration as more problematic.
"It's not that he's black," Jim insisted. "But it's what the blacks will do if he wins, that's what bothers me. ... If Obama wins, the blacks are gonna say, 'We're taking charge, he's our president.' You know how they get."
Jim was convinced Obama would be a better president than McCain. But he couldn't let go of an almost tribal mind-set.
"When Wilson Goode burnt down half of Southwest Philadelphia, they re-elected him — because of color," he said.
At least hope is on the horizon though if Obama wins. He can literally do in the office of the presidency what everyday blacks have failed to do individually for years, disprove so many ignorant preconceptions held against blacks.
.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
'Obama Definitely Talks Junk On The Basketball Court' - Knicks Guard Chris Duhon
"He talks the whole time. He's never quiet." In an interview with MSG's Jill Martin airing tomorrow, Duhon said he played the Illinois senator in a pickup game in Chicago, where Duhon played for the Bulls. "What are some of the things he would say?" Martin asked. " 'You can't guard me!' Just random talk," Duhon replied. "He knows the game. He's like a point guard out there, and so he's always telling guys where to go, what to do, very vocal." Who won? "Oh, I won - he may be running for president, but I'm not going to let him win, not going to take it easy on him. I don't take it easy on anyone."No way do I believe even for a second Barack let this scrub win.
Tired Of Her Obama Signs Being Stolen, Women Paints Obama Seal On Her Lawn
Woman is an O.G. Good shit.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Mccain Rally Hate Fest - Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Oct 27
And the greatest hits keep on coming...
I'm Completely Over Al Sharpton's Opportunistic Ass
==================
I've been very critical of 'black leaders' the past several years and its finally come to a head today.
I've always been anti-Jesse Jackson 100% but in truth I had been less troubled by Al Sharpton for whatever reason even though now I see that was a mistake. Al lost the last inkling of the passive silence I afforded him for his latest stunt, going after New York Post columnist Steve Serby for some admittedly inartful comments about Tom Coughlin as it pertained to his star wideout Plaxico Burress. Serby began his column in the Monday edition by opining:
"Good for Tom Coughlin. Good for Coughlin for tightening the noose around Plaxico Burress."
This was an extremely clumsy and poor choice of words, granted, but Sharpton needs to reexamine his priorities right now. Just for comparison, Barack Obama has had his life threatened by two separate incidents that we know about in the past two months since procuring his party's nomination by people who want him dead because he's black (read here and here). A part of this is normal risk that all presidents and public figures face everyday by being important policy makers that might offend a certain segment of nutjobs and wackos out there but no sane person denies that what Barack Obama faces is unlike the security threats that John McCain has had to on a day to day basis throughout the campaign. I say this because it's important that we have leaders that might speak right now in this time of great tension to perhaps quell the heat radiating from the minds of others and remind the masses that we are all one and we all have a place at the table of America and that to defeat one politician with assassin's bullets instead of argued ideas is a direct violation of our democracy and our countries highest values. Sharpton has yet to use his power for good in that capacity.
A white woman in Pennsylvania who fabricated reports of an unnamed black man who attacked and mamed her for her political persuasion and perhaps her race. That was a teaching moment for Sharpton. That was a moment where Sharpton who has been bamboozled and conned by similarly false hoaxes could have met the woman's family, perhaps lent his comfort to her, spoke to the local authorities about making sure the woman got the help she clearly needs as opposed to the ire that he himself knew all to well having been made to look like a fool by charges that ere less than truthful. He could have spoke about how more then ever in these times we need to work harder than ever to make sure something like this doesn't happen again and more importantly cannot happen to exploit the worse impulses and devilish urges we have to believe things that cause us to show our prejudice before learning the truths and motives of everyone so that we can get it right and that justice above all, above our own tribal divisions and petty biases, is out cheif goal. Sharpton instead lost out on that chance.
Monday we learned that the forces of evil had struck again. This time in Jackson, Mississippi as a memorial dedicated to Emmitt Till, an unfortunate casualty of the worst savagery of the twentieth century in the depths of segregated Mississippi, was destroyed by vandals who hadn't the decency to honor the tribute the boy has earned from so many who grieved for him or at the very least respect the loss of basic human life. We needed you Al. We needed you to go down there and stand up and give coverage to a story that many people hadn't even heard it reported. We needed Al to take umbrage personally and not give comfort to those who cower in the dark shadows, those in the hateful minorty, and instead remind them that this behavior is not okay and that is not acceptable and we will not turn away. We needed him to tell them that we will not be changed by your bigotry but will instead change your bigotry. We're keeping a watchful eye on you and your kind and that we will flush you out because we're not going backwards in this country. We're going forward. We needed Al to remind him that we don't revisit history and retread the steps our nation has already been in, we forge on and make history but Al instead chose to remain silent.
And finally and perhaps most dusturning of all these recent racialized stories of domestic terrorism that largely go unchecked On Friday, Oct. 24, 2008, in Paris, Texas Brandon McClelland a black man, was on a late-night beer run across state lines to Oklahoma with two white friends last month and ended up dead on a rural Texas road. Authorities say he was run over by a pickup and then dragged as far as 70 feet beneath the truck. Two white men have been charged with murder in the case. We needed you to make national waves about this. Make it known to people who want to wholesale discount that this kind of stuff still goes on. Make it known to those as a reminder that apathy always makes this kind of behavior okay. Al, it was your responsibility in this matter to bring this to the forefront of the news for at least one newscycle. If one college woman who can fabricate a story about a racial hatred tinged in political intolerance can grab a week of headlines, surely you can hold the nations attention for one damn day over real actual factual authentic racial hate crimes that ought to be recognized.
Of course you can't do these things that we ask. That would be asking for too much wouldn't it? It would be too damned hard. Defending the honor of athletes who should be paid handsomely enough to have thick enough skin for this not to be an issue is more fitting of your pay grade isn't it? In truth you never really ever were in it for the justice, you were in it for something else. What that something else might be I don't know because I rarely try to assign motives but whatever it was, it couldn't have been as honorable as justice though, could it?
No Al, you've lost many bouts in your career but never did I think you'd completely lose your mind.
'Trickle Down' Economics By Lakers Center Andrew Bynum
Make a long story short my grandmother worked all her life, couldn't afford to go to college or have the opportunity, gave all she had for the entire duration of her years and she's a better woman than this young dude is a man and she never was a millionaire. I'm regretful that he has access to this kind of money because he doesn't deserve to.
Besides the obvious stink that this is tack and cliched, they should have never gave this nigga money.
Once Again...
There is a such thing as taking it too far. This is coonery and possibly a pinch of buffoonery. You want to honor Barack? Achieve. A haircut unfortunately does not qualify as an achievement.
1 Week Out From The Election
This Is Why FOX News Is FOX News
Fox minion gets into tussle on-air with Bill Burton, Obama Spokesman. The results are quite humorous though.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The 2008 Cincinnati Bengals, I'm Talking To You
NFL Reebok: Fantasy Files Clips
Chris Chambers:
Andre Johnson:
Neil Rackers
Saturday, October 25, 2008
New Video Of McCain/Palin Supporters Being Ignorant In Nevada
Disgusting.
Hopefully a flurry of footage comes into Youtube on November 5th after Obama wins.
If NBA Players Were Rappers
Fluctuating weight throughout their entire careers, but more often than not on the losing side of the battle of the bulge. Both annoying and neither really know when to call it a career.
A lot of was expected, but nothing really ever happened. Kind of forget both of them exist anymore.
Essentially very talented at their craft. Both are sure fire Hall of Famers. Their biggest knock has always been their ability to help lift others more than they've ever been able to do for themselves. Jada always saves his best for everybody else's projects and then seldom leaves anything spectacular for his own albums. In effect, even after a million albums he could never ever be able to put together a 'Greatest Hits' compilation that didn't consist of at least 90% of his own features on other people's projects. Both of these two are just very limited in their own range but help set up any and everyone they team up with. Nobody active has more assists than them.
Their best qualities are being annoying and punks and a bitches.
Their uniqueness gives their fans a reason to be drawn to them but let's face it, it's probably not going to really happen for them. They probably get less respect than they deserve but there's not a groundswell to admit it. The best player on their teams get so much shine that they're never going to be taken all that serious by comparison, fairly or unfairly.
Not hard to like, fun-natured, all-around game having good dudes. Very well-liked.
Carlos Boozer = Pusha T
Very talented and able. Have to get out from around snow to be more universally recognized. Will seemingly always fly under the radar though.
Both make their living around the block. Not afraid to get physical and mix it up.
Both had their biggest openings in 2000 when their stock was at the absolute highest but since haven't turned out into nearly how many might have thought they'd turn out. God love 'em but neither really has shown any heart in a long long time. Although they're not without a few bright spots, they largely won't ever be anything more than what they are. Hard to see them as Hall of Famers but damned if we don't check in with them every once in a while to see what kind of shit they're up to from time to time.
Unanimous winner of the "What The Hell Happened To This Nigga Right Here" award. Certainly was at the top of his game in the mid-late 90's but fell on tough times since. Sometime, somewhere along the line they just said fuck being good and turned awful at once. Damn shame.
Those who like him, love him and those who don't, never will so knowing this they're smart enough not to be anything other than themselves. Just very focused on doing their own things; some might even call it, dare I say 'ign'ant. Certainly puts up numbers thought. Definitely has their cities behind them as well.
Both have taken a lot of shots tin their life.Both not shy about how they feel about themselves too. Have been good to the media and generous with their quotes in their day.
Chicago natives who came on the scene in a big way in '06. Multifaceted and very cerebral in how they approach their craft. Doesn't have to be the most heralded person in the room. Comfortable being the low key person.
For some reason, and only God Almighty knows what that reason might be, they carry popularity of entire legions of people. Now the constituencies are generally the same: white kids and assholes but oh how strong they are in numbers on the internet. They're pretty much as annoying as the Ron Paul zombies that troll around message boards in how you can never shut them up even in the face of logic. Is there some talent in these two though? Yes. As to how much talent is as arguable as the presidential race. To borrow a Jim Ross quote "I'd love to buy them for what they're worth and sell them for what they think they're worth".
Grimy, gully, and unkempt but respected. Neither will ever be embraced in a commercial sense but that means very little to their fans as long as they keep on doing them.
Always comes thru in the clutch. Can always be depended on in the clutch every couple years when everyone is looking toward them for a big one. Rarely disappoints. Most unconventional hall of famers ever.
Tony Parker = Fatman Scoop
Does what he does on the low for a while now. Linked inextricably to his wife. Sometimes speaks in undecipherable garbage.
One of the best hands down. Respected but never ever gets his just due for all he's done thru his career. Only recently really gotten the universal praise he's deserved all along. When you step back and put their catalogs against the best, they more than hold their own.
You Know The NBA Season Is Back When Shaq Is Giving Out Interviews Again
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
LeBron James, Jay-Z To Host Rally For Obama In Cleveland Oct. 29th
CLEVELAND (AP) — NBA superstar LeBron James and Grammy-winning recording artist Jay-Z want people to get out early to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
James and Jay-Z will host a rally Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland which will include a free concert by the hip-hop star.
James attended a Cleveland rally earlier this month to encourage people to vote for Obama. He's also contributed $20,000 to a committee supporting the presidential nominee.
I have no love whatsoever for Cleveland, OH but this sounds big. They certainly don't deserve this. Sadface for Cincinnati, the realest city in Ohio.
Old school baller: 73-year-old makes the team at Roane State
Ken Mink missed out on his second year of juco basketball 53 years ago when he joined the Air Force. It's something he's always regretted. Today, he's one of the Roane State Raiders and, at 73, possibly one of the oldest collegiate players in history.
And still I think I'd rather have him than Kobe on my team. Definitely rather him come off the bench that Brian Scalabrine, though.
Kudos to the old timers though.
Jon B. - 'Helpless Romantic Sampler'
And for the fans of Jon B. that can't wait until then but promise to buy the album on Tuesday and support him in his independent endeavors because he's earned your money with this album, like myself, download a few standout tracks below that I put together in rar form from ZShare. But like I said, BUY THE ALBUM TUESDAY!
(Scroll over list below and click)
Jon B. - Drops of Rain
Jon B. - Get What U Want
Jon B. - In Too Deep
Jon B. - Paradise In You
Jon B. - Need It Bad
Remember to buy the man's album, once again, because he deserves your support unlike so many other bullshit artists that people continually support for whatever the hell reason. If you can download, you can buy.
Larry David On The Election
I can't take much more of this. Two weeks to go, and I'm at the end of my rope. I can't work. I can eat, but mostly standing up. I'm anxious all the time and taking it out on my ex-wife, which, ironically, I'm finding enjoyable. This is like waiting for the results of a biopsy. Actually, it's worse. Biopsies only take a few days, maybe a week at the most, and if the biopsy comes back positive, there's still a potential cure. With this, there's no cure. The result is final. Like death.
Five times a day I'll still say to someone, "I don't know what I'm going to do if McCain wins." Of course, the reality is I'm probably not going to do anything. What can I do? I'm not going to kill myself. If I didn't kill myself when I became impotent for two months in 1979, I'm certainly not going to do it if McCain and Palin are elected, even if it's by nefarious means. If Obama loses, it would be easier to live with it if it's due to racism rather than if it's stolen. If it's racism, I can say, "Okay, we lost, but at least it's a democracy. Sure, it's a democracy inhabited by a majority of disgusting, reprehensible turds, but at least it's a democracy." If he loses because it's stolen, that will be much worse. Call me crazy, but I'd rather live in a democratic racist country than a non-democratic non-racist one. (It's not exactly a Hobson's choice, but it's close, and I think Hobson would compliment me on how close I've actually come to giving him no choice. He'd love that!)
The one concession I've made to maintain some form of sanity is that I've taken to censoring my news, just like the old Soviet Union. The citizenry (me) only gets to read and listen to what I deem appropriate for its health and well-being. Sure, there are times when the system breaks down. Michele Bachmann got through my radar this week, right before bedtime. That's not supposed to happen. That was a lapse in security, and I've had to make some adjustments. The debates were particularly challenging for me to monitor. First I tried running in and out of the room so I would only hear my guy. This worked until I knocked over a tray of hors d'oeuvres. "Sit down or get out!" my host demanded. "Okay," I said, and took a seat, but I was more fidgety than a ten-year-old at temple. I just couldn't watch without saying anything, and my running commentary, which mostly consisted of "Shut up, you prick!" or "You're a fucking liar!!!" or "Go to hell, you cocksucker!" was way too distracting for the attendees, and finally I was asked to leave.
Assuming November 4th ever comes, my big decision won't be where I'll be watching the returns, but if I'll be watching. I believe I have big jinx potential and may have actually cost the Dems the last two elections. I know I've jinxed sporting events. When my teams are losing and I want them to make a comeback, all I have to do is leave the room. Works every time. So if I do watch, I'll do it alone. I can't subject other people to me in my current condition. I just don't like what I've turned into -- and frankly I wasn't that crazy about me even before the turn. This election is having the same effect on me as marijuana. All of my worst qualities have been exacerbated. I'm paranoid, obsessive, nervous, and totally mental. It's one long, intense, bad trip. I need to come down. Soon.
Okay, New Layout...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wednesday's Woman: Sheena Sakai
Black College Student In Missouri Returns a Pair Of Shoes And Gets a Receipt Calling Him a 'Dumb Nigger'
http://www.kmbc.com/video/17768384/index.html
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Tuesday's Top Ten Clips From Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
The Top Ten Fresh Prince Moments (that I can find on the internet) from funny to funniest. Enjoy, LOL.
10.)
This is funny to me in so much as how surreal it is from the court size, the showboatery (is that a word) and just the And1 nature of the clip. I laugh everytime.
9.)
Carlton and a microphone singing equals funny all the time.
8.)
"Word to Big Bird" - Will Smith
7.)
There's not an adult alive now who was a kid at the time of this show that doesn't have this in their top ten funniest clips real, period.
6.)
Once again, Carlton singing therefor creating classic material.
5.)
Somehow I don't doubt hip-hop will at some point in it's future create a song that samples this. The scary part? It might be ill.
4.)
If Carlton singing is good, Carlton dancing is great. Oprah theme song + Carlton dancing at an inappropriate time is brilliant.
3.)
"You must have me confused with yo mamma" gets people fucked up everyday, every hour in believe it or not many various levels of income nationally. This clip illustrates that point.
2.)
I wrestled internally and almost tore my soul into two when deciding whether this should be here or number one and it was close; closer than two buttcheeks in prison, even. In the end I chose the clip to be here and I might live to regret that but you tell me.
1.)
Carlton, shows his compassion for the Trix rabbit in this absolutely hilarious clip. God ghostwrote this episode I'm convinced. If he didn't write the episode in it's entirety he did write this scene. Enjoy!
===============
The Rare Full length Intro to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air"
Two words: New Hampshire. Three more words: GOP for Obama
Elaine Boule, the manager of the Red Arrow Diner, one of this heavy-contested city's most popular eating establishments, was a Hillary Clinton supporter. Now she's for Obama.
Also it's worth mentioning that she's also a Republican.
*Thanks to The Political Carnival*
Monday, October 20, 2008
Okay, The NBA Season Is Around The Corner
And I came across this interesting breakdown of career numbers between Paul Pierce (my favorite basketball player), Kobe Bryant (widely believed in many basketball circles to be the best basketball player in the world) and Michael Jordan. Now I've always believed that Pierce is the best basketball player and as you may well be aware the internet is the prom for Kobe-stanleys and so I've had many run-ins with them through the years but to put it in perspective of how similar their numbers have been even before Paul Pierce's breakout season last year these were the numbers of all three players in comparison (You can click the pic to enlarge it if it isn't legible enough):
So to put it bluntly, when Paul Pierce gets another ring, as he most certainly will, and gets an additional Finals MVP trophy, the Kobe Cult should be very afraid. Very afraid as Paul will have gotten another year closer in matching your God's rings and having already matched his stats and have more Finals MVP trophies as well and thus will be regarded as the.better.basketball.player.of.his.day *gasp*
It's coming....
Be afraid, stanleys.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
A Message To Marv Lewis & The Cincinnati Bengals
Sincerely,
Bengals Fans
The Sarah Palin SNL Rap From 10/18/08
I dislike Sarah Palin so very much but I admit I laughed at this.
Quote Of The Week Part II
“I am convinced that if there were no Fox News, I might be two or three points higher in the polls. If I were watching Fox News, I wouldn’t vote for me, right? Because the way I’m portrayed 24/7 is as a freak! I am the latte-sipping, New York Times-reading, Volvo-driving, no-gun-owning, effete, politically correct, arrogant liberal. Who wants somebody like that?”
“I guess the point I’m making is that there is an entire industry now, an entire apparatus, designed to perpetuate this cultural schism, and it’s powerful. People want to know that you’re fighting for them, that you get them. And I actually think I do. But you know, if people are just seeing me in sound bites, they’re not going to discover that. That’s why I say that some of that may have to happen after the election, when they get to know you.”
-Barack Obama
Truth to power!
Quote For The Week
"Instead of achieving that kind of distribution, a giant suction pump had by 1929-30 drawn into a few hands an increasing portion of currently produced wealth. This served them as capital accumulations. But by taking purchasing power out of the hands of mass consumers, the savers denied to themselves the kind of effective demand for their products that would justify a reinvestment of their capital accumulations in new plants. In consequence, as in a poker game where the chips were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the other fellows could stay in the game only by borrowing. When their credit ran out, the game stopped."
We really need to elect a person that understands this.
Gilbert Arenas, In Perspective...
So anyway I check his blog from time to time and I recently came across an entry he posted last week that explains his relationship with his absentee mother who had him when she was young and it's not quite as touching as a Mother's Day Card but it goes a long way toward explaining Gilbert in a way that his on the court facade is incapable of. This is an excellent read, so check it out and see if you don't come out respecting him just a little more than you did before reading it:
Respect, Gil.
I have something to clear up. I read a comment on my last entry. I always like to read the comments, because there’s always going to be somebody who disagrees with everything and goes against the grain. Someone commented and said:
WHERE IS THE WOMAN THAT GAVE BIRTH TO YOU? STILL LIVING IN THE PROJECTS. LIFE ISN'T FAIR, YOU GAVE SO MANY CHANCES TO LAURA, BUT NOT YOUR OWN MOTHER...
I thought about it and this blog post is my response to that comment.
For all the people who don’t know the story, a story came out two years ago by Mike Wise of the Washington Post about my life. This was before I had the blog, so I never actually got to comment on it. It was about what happened between me and my mother and all that.
The funny part is that I never heard the story of my upbringing before until we got put out of the playoffs against Cleveland the first time and my dad was just sitting there next to me and he says out of the blue, “How come you never asked about your mother?”
I was like, “I don’t know.”
He was like, “You never wondered where your mother was in your life?”
I was like, “No. When I was about eight-years old do you remember that fight I got in school and they kicked me out?”
He said, “Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, the other guy said something about my mother and then the fight started. While I was sitting in the detention hall waiting for you to pick me up, I thought about it. I’ve been fighting my whole life, beating up kids who talk about my mother and I don’t even know her. From that day I really took her out of my life and never thought about it anymore.”
So my dad says, “Do you want to hear the story?”
I say, “Not really,” because I’m watching the playoffs on TV and I’m still mad that we lost.
“You sure?”
“Not really.”
“Well, I’m going to tell you anyway.”
He starts telling me the story …
“You know, me and your mother … She was a basketball player and I played basketball and we met in Tampa …
And I go, “Oh, OK, so that’s where I get my athleticism from,” you know, I’m trying to throw little jokes in there on the side.
He goes, “No, no, Gilbert. Be serious.”
“OK, OK, go on.”
He was like, “I was in college at the University of Miami and she was living with her parents and me until she moved out to the projects with me in Tampa, Florida.”
So, she was in Tampa and he was in Miami going to college and he came down to visit her early one time to surprise her and me and long story short, she was there with somebody else and doing drugs. They broke up right there and he went back to school.
Back in Miami, he ended up breaking his leg and had to leave school to come back to Tampa to be closer to me I guess. While he was coming back to Tampa, he didn’t know it, but she was going up to Miami to move with the other guy because she was pregnant by the other guy.
Now, my mom had another kid by the dude she was moving to Miami with whose name is “Blue” living with us in Tampa. So when she ran off, she left me and my stepbrother Blue with the dude’s mother. The dude’s mother called my father and said, “I’m going to give you a second chance to be a father.”
She was like, “Francis,” (my mother’s name is Francis), “Francis hasn’t been here for months. She hasn’t seen her kids in months and I’m getting ready to turn your son over to the state. You can come down here and pick your kid up.”
So my dad drove down and picked me up right before the foster care was coming to get me. I guess my dad and my mom talked about it a couple months after he got me and they agreed that she was going to come and get me back. And she never did.
Next I stayed with my grandmother, my dad’s mother, in Tampa while my dad moved to California to try to find work as an actor. While I was living with my grandmother I lived across the street from Mike Williams who played football at USC. He’s not in the league anymore – I don’t know why. We were best friends though. Both of our grandparents still live across the street from each other in Tampa to this day.
Once my dad was settled in California he flew me out there to be with him, but he wasn’t established enough to support me, so he flew me back to his mother in Tampa to stay with her some more. Then he came to get me the final time and that’s when we drove all the way from coast to coast. This whole process took four or five years. My grandmom and my dad’s brothers watched me.
From there, it was just my dad and me. When I was little it didn’t bother me, but I always thought about it so when slow songs came on like when Tupac came out with “Dear Mama,” those were the songs that kind of hurt me, like, “Dang, where’s my mom? Is she ever going to see me? Is she ever going to come out here?”
But I never asked my dad, I was too proud to ask him because he had his own thing going on trying to get work and find work and keep getting into the acting thing.
So when I grew up, I never really asked. I was just bad. I put all my anger out by causing trouble. I didn’t get in trouble trouble like stealing and all that. I did stupid, funny stuff like Dennis the Menace trouble like you’re living in an apartment building and you break all the tops off the automatic sprinklers on the lawns so when the sprinklers come on, they just shoot straight up into the air like waterfalls. That was my kind of stuff. You know, throwing dye into the pool and making it red or green, that was my kind of stuff.
Once I started playing basketball I remember sitting at home one day and looking in the mirror with a basketball resting on my head and making a promise to God. The first thing I said was, “If you ever let me see my mother, I swear I won’t ask her anything, all I want to do is see her. I just want to meet her. I just want to be a kid who gets to meet his mother. I won’t ask no questions, I won’t think about it, I’ll let it go right there.” The second thing was, “If you ever get me to the NBA, I’ll never do drugs or anything like that.”
Both of them came true.
Meeting My Mom
It was 2002. I was on the Golden State Warriors and we were playing in Miami. It was the first time I actually put braids in my hair. This was when I had the little funky, ugly hairdo when I was trying to mimic Kobe but my curls wouldn’t curl right back then.
So it’s before the game, we’re on the court and I hear this woman screaming my name. I’m thinking, “I know I don’t have any fans like that in Miami. I mean, I know I get buckets, but I ain’t got no fans …” and then I turned around and saw the lady and she says to me, “I’m your mother.”
All I can remember is all the anger from all the years of beating up kids from them talking about my mother, it just got charged inside of me after I saw her. I played that game so angry that I got kicked out of the game for throwing my headband into the crowd.
After the game she met us by the bus and fell into my arms crying and said again, “I’m your mother.” Then she said her name. That was the first time I had ever seen her. I never even saw a picture of her before. I didn’t know if she was dark skinned/light skinned, I didn’t know nothing. She gave me her number and we had to go, so I got on the bus and I called my dad.
“Yo, what was my mom’s name?”
“Francis.”
“Well, I think I just met her.”
He asked for her number and he called her and that was the last I ever heard of her until my dad told me the story after the Cavs series and it was the last time I ever saw her Mike Wise’s story included a picture of her. When I saw her by the bus it was all a blur, I didn’t really have an image of her in my head. The first time I got to see her see her was when that article came out.
So, back to the comment. When the commenter goes, “How come you never gave your mother a second chance?” I thought about it. That’s not a question you need to be asking me, that’s a question you need to be asking her.
You give somebody a second chance when you’ve cut them off in the past. Like, if I fire somebody, for instance, I could give them a second chance. She left me. She should have given me a second chance. That’s how I look at the situation.
My grandma has been in that same house in Tampa since my dad was little, almost 60 years living in the same house. She hasn’t moved. You know where to find me.
That’s how I look at a lot of people in my family. When me and my dad left, where were they? My dad keeps in touch with a lot of people in the family. I don’t. I feel that those are his family. On my side, all I know is my dad. He’s my family.
Me and my dad get in arguments about this because when we were struggling, we were they? We’ve been away from them for 15 years and I never got one card, no happy birthday, no nothing. I didn’t get anything. No one called me, I didn’t talk to anybody. Everyone started to talk to me because I was playing in college. I remember them, but at the end of the day, they’re strangers to me now.
How I look at the situation with my mom is, I don’t want to know you as a basketball player. I’ll know you when I’m done playing. I’ll know you as a man. Like, “These are my kids. This is my family. How are you doing?”
I don’t want to know you as an NBA player because I don’t know what the angle is. I don’t know if you want to reconnect with your son or if you want to reconnect with the man who is playing in the NBA. If I was your son, then I was your son for all of these years. I wasn’t your son once I made it to the league so you can tell all your friends, “Oh, that’s my son!” That’s how I look at the situation and it’s kind of funny because I never really thought about it until I read that comment.
I heard she has eight other kids besides me and they don’t live with her, but I don’t judge people because, hey, who knows what happened in her life that made her do the things she did. She was a young mother who probably couldn’t take care of things and that happens. I don’t fault her for that. I became a man and with my children I know what not to be. I don’t want my children looking at me how I look at her.
There’s going to be one day when I knock on that door and say, “Hi, I’m Gilbert. I’m your son.” But not while I’m playing basketball. I don’t want nobody coming into my life while I’m a pro because there’s been all these years when I wasn’t and no one came into it.
Me and my dad, we don’t see eye to eye on this. He tries to bring up the past like, “They took care of you …” and this and this and I’m like, “I understand that. They took care of me for those years when I was young, but there’s been a 15-year gap when I didn’t hear from nobody.” You know them because they’re your brothers and they’re your friends, but I don’t know them personally. I grew out of them.
There’s a lot of players that are going through this and there are a lot of people who are going through this and everybody has to deal with it the way that they see it. I see it that I grew into a man and I have to make a manly decision and my decision is that while I’m a professional, I don’t want to know you. When I’m done and I’m just a man and a father, OK, there we go, we can try to reconnect my relationship with her.
For the person who wrote that comment, I don’t take as disrespectful, but I look at it like she should have given me a second chance instead of me giving her a second chance because I never did anything to her. I just don’t know her.
I’ve never been tempted to call her after she gave me her number back in 2002 because I felt like I would be lying to the man above. When I prayed that day, I told Him that I wasn’t going to do anything or ask her anything. I just wanted a chance to see her and I got that.
Plus, once I grew out of thinking about her all the time, I didn’t have any questions really. There was nothing I wanted to say. I didn’t want to say, “Why did you leave me?” because to be honest, I don’t care. I say I don’t care because it got me to the situation I’m in now and I became a better person. And, I can’t judge because at the end of the day, it could have been flipped where I’m looking at my dad the way I look at her if he hadn’t had come and got me or if she wouldn’t have left me. I’d be looking at my dad like, “Who are you? I don’t know you.”
Some people are fortunate enough to have two parents. I was fortunate to have just my dad.