The "Old Block" Tells All.

  Looking back 50 years to my youth, I smile, then laugh at myself for thinking I was something special. Surely, I survived SEER training, combat weapon training, and firefighting school at the Marine Corps base. And yes I even passed the basic swimming course at the UDT SEAL base. I earned a Black Belt in Goju Ryu Karate in less than four years. I was a 23-year-old Vietnam veteran when I came home for the last time to claim my promised management position at the New China Club Restaurant. When I met the owner, Mr. Fong, in front of the restaurant, he casually dismissed me with an off-hand wave. I had even gone to school with his daughter, but my reunion and promotion vanished with a wave of his mighty hand! So cool! I stood there eating his dust instead of a combination plate! ("How quickly they forget their promises.) Later, when I moved to San Diego, where my illustrious military training began, I started teaching local, disadvantaged youth the discipline and rigorous martial a

  You have already seen his master-work on the mega movie screen, (who has not seen Lethal Weapon®?) His tiny footprint has also made an impact in other Hollywood hits, but that is not what has made him a living legend in the hearts and minds of the African-American community at large. He is known in Brazil as “Mestre Preto Velho”, (named after a great revolutionary Capoeira Master). He is a master in the flamboyant and deadly martial art called Capoeira, (specifically “Os Malandros de Mestre Touro”, sponsored by Tekura Jegnas, Inc.), which flies the banner of Capoeira Angola de Sao Bento Grande. (Whew! More than a mouthful to say the least.) His given name is Dennis Duane Newsome, (I call him Bro), and you have heard me casually mention his first name in connection with my BFAMs. We became BFAMs nearly 50 years ago, back in San Diego Community College. We met in a famed journalism class, taught by the incomparable Ms Dixon. Dennis asked for a volunteer to demonstrate his then fl

Yes indeed, words are very powerful. They crawl into your mind through your open ears, and paint vivid, indelible images that force you to respond in kind. Even when these words are spoken with love and care, the sheer force and magnitude they bear overweighs your senses because they burrow so deeply into your psyche that no mine detector can scan them, until the inevitable explosion of emotions blows everyone away. Collateral damage cannot be avoided because without advanced warning, there is no place safe to run or hide. Be very careful with these verbal sappers. They will inevitably perform their intended mission once released from their orificial cage, and can never be drawn back in. Instead, whisper or rethink the words you choose before releasing them into the ether, where they go and do whatever their innate purpose decrees. Be especially vigilant around children and elders. Their tender ears and sensibilities are not equipped to deal with such an onslaught of profanity and ill