This week I am on a Tour de Central Florida. For the first time in like five years, I’m getting on a Greyhound Bus and traveling for an extensive amount of time. Sucks right? After the big bus scares post Sept. 11th that were thought to be terrorist related but actually just some people carrying weapons on board, I never imagined that I would back on one of the liners. Plus, I remember there were a series of traumatic bus crashes a couple of years ago. The more I write I realize that my anxieties aren’t really decreasing. However, I’ve already set the course and can’t turn back. So, of course I will have to write about this experience because something crazy is bound to happen. It never fails. Just wait and see. I will probably have to sit next to someone who suffers from bad body odder, or has some weird deformity like three arms or two glass eyes that don’t move. As I gear up for the ride, I couldn’t help but to think about the USAToday article, Lives of the Indelible Impact, about some of the most impacting people in the past 25 years.
“They blazed trails. They showed courage. They made us cry. They are the 25 on USA TODAY's list of people who moved us in the past quarter-century. Most are famous, but some are ordinary folks in extraordinary situations. Many became accidental leaders, even heroes, whose spirit enriched our lives.”
I couldn’t help but think who would be my 25. I agree with most of the article’s picks, but I still need my own list. Here goes a few:
1. Parents (That’s a given)
2. WEB DuBois
3. Oprah
4. The cast members from StarTrek, the Next Generation (I guess this category should include casts from other shows I remember like Cheers, Perfect Strangers, Beverly Hill Billies, etc. I watched a lot of TV growing up)
5. Angela Tuck at The AJC along with several other staffers: P. Paul, S. Poole, C. Tucker, etc.
6. Leaders of NABJ i.e. P. Riley, M. Woolfolk, H. and M. Lowe, etc.
7. Dr. Jennifer Woodard at MTSU
8. Ms. Claire Lane, my 12th grade English teacher.
9. Diddy
10. R. Simmons
11. Maya Angelou
12. Cornel West
13. Homie the Clown (You got to love it…)
14. (I’m too tired to go on…)
Speaking of buses and heroes, one of my heroes actually took me on my first bus trip. This would be none other than my maternal grandmother. She was one of the smartest, wittiest, classiest women I’ve ever encountered thus far in my nearly quarter of a century life. She took me on a bus trip to Washington D.C. when I was like eight-years-old. I attribute her for most of development into the man I am today – professional, polished, urbane, spiritual, and respectable. It was like I became her little project. She gave me mostly any and everything I wanted coming up. For instance, if my mom cooked something I didn’t want to eat, I would call Granny and McDonald’s would be in route. (Clearly, I would get hit up side the head later by Mom. But I was happy for the moment.) Just put it like this, I was so spoiled that she even called me “Special Boy.” Only once do I ever recall her using my first name. She even went so far as having most of my dress shirts, suits and other clothing all freshly dry cleaned and pressed since I was like five. Let’s just say those were the days, because after she passed when I was 13 it all stopped. My mom and pop were not having it. However, my grandmother was the greatest not because of the princely treatment she extending, but because she also gave me some of the most powerful words of wisdom to live by. She told me to always keep God first, save money, become a man of business, and vacation as often as possible. And since my childhood, I’ve been trying to live to out each one. I have other heroes, but none compare to Ella Mae.
Who’s on your list? (I wonder if Snoop Dogg or New York makes anyone top 25…)
