Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Back to Rudy in a moment. If there is one thing that older folks are always right about when it comes to giving young people advice, it’s this: Surround yourself with good people – for the rest of your lives. I’m always surprised when I see someone my age, or close to …
Yesterday my son asked, “Dad, when will the world end?” When a parent is on the receiving end of these questions, what I believe most parents attempt to do is take away the worry and fear. So my response to this question was, “Son, the world is never going to end.” Because he’s five years …
My dad’s youngest sister, my aunt Betsy, came home from the hospital in a Christmas stocking because she was born just before the holiday. Occasionally, you may notice that some hospitals still do this around Christmastime. Every time I see photos of babies in stockings, I always think of my aunt. Being born one month …
In the summer of 2008 I received an urgent call from my dad. He said that he had just gotten back from seeing a doctor, and he urged me to go see him, too. Before I could ask why, I got the news: “Dr. Hyatt is retiring, and is moving out of the area, so …
I ain’t gonna lie, I hadn’t heard of Nipsey Hussle until he was shot and killed in Crenshaw. Since his passing, I’ve watched a few videos and interviews on YouTube. And like so many others, I learned how much he meant to so many people – inside and outside of his community. Nipsey was a …
When is the last time you hugged someone? Earlier this week, I read about a study conducted at the University of North Carolina that found that people who hug are more likely to experience reduced anxiety and increased bond strengthening. It’s recommended that couples should engage in 20-second hugs. My wife and I hug several …
I didn’t mean to make my wife cry with this story. Back to that in a moment. Before I started kindergarten, I would spend my mornings watching “I Love Lucy” with my grandmother, usually cuddled in a blanket with a bowl of Cream of Wheat and a small can of Tree Top Apple Juice. By …
One of my biggest regrets is not taking up an instrument. Actually, that’s not entirely true. In the fourth grade, after a musician came to our classroom to show and demonstrate our instrument options, I decided on the flute. (I should have chosen the drums or clarinet.) While I’ve always maintained that I chose the …
For the past few weeks I’ve been on binge watching the sitcom Cheers on Netflix. After all of these years, it’s still funny. Sam Malone, still cool; Carla, still hilarious, Diane, still uptight; and Coach, still dumb. A few weeks prior to the show’s debut on September 30, 1982, I was wrapping-up my first season …
Near the end of my junior year at Independence High School in 1984, our wrestling coach, Jesse Barajas, let the team know that a young stud, Marco Sanchez, an eighth grader from one of the feeder middle schools (Sheppard), would be coming to join the 76ers at IHS the following year. We didn’t know a …