Category Archives: drama

THE RACE OF HER LIFE

track star

My man Uncle Lee put me on to this news, which will be the first and certainly not the last post of its kind, because generally I like to keep it pretty mellow, fresh, funny, etc. But I am a thinker and I like to provoke thought into the minds of the educated and uneducated alike.

So, basically, this young lady, Juashaunna Kelly, a gifted track star in the District of Columbia at Theodore Roosevelt High School, is the center of attention in light of her recent disqualification at a meet due to her modified Muslim wardrobe.
She actually may be only the center of MY attention, which is why I’m writing this.

The parties responsible for her disqualification claim the outfit was against policy (code) and basically was not a standard issued uniform, so on that technicality, she was not allowed to run the race WHICH, could have positively influenced her track career and college selection, as this race was attended by top college officials/recruiters. Keep in mind she had worn the same modified outfit that covers her entire body, in respects to her Muslim faith, during each of the previous seasons. But this year its a problem?

(read below for a detail from the article or click the link for the entire read)

Kelly was wearing the same uniform she has worn for three seasons while running for Theodore Roosevelt’s cross-country and track teams. The custom-made, one-piece blue and orange unitard covers her head, arms, torso and legs. Over the unitard, she wears the same orange and blue T-shirt and shorts as her teammates.

STATS:
√ She is a FEMALE
√ She is obviously ethnic, whether African American or other
√ She is Muslim

Clearly those facts won’t stack in anyones favor whether work related, sports or otherwise.
So, basically my thought is this…
Is this racism? Is this sexist? Is this infringing on her right as a citizen to freely practice her religion? I can’t quite figure out how to look at this.

I’m wondering how long before Al Sharpton comes along to kick up some dust on her behalf, but then I think to myself, will it be in his interest to defend her as an African American or defend her as a Muslim.


PASSPORT-OLOGY

Passport drawing and doodles

Some doodles I did while waiting in line at the post office, twice in the same day.

Before I get into my passport experience, let me go on a tangent for a brief second.
While I’m thinking of passports, I couldn’t help but think of Jason Bourne aka David Webb aka Matt Damon of the Bourne series. I recently watched Bourne Ultimatum, and it was INCREDIBLE! The only part I didn’t get was the scene in Madrid, I believe it was…where he was fleeing on a motorcycle and the dude jumped like 6 feet in the air to clear a concrete barrier, leading up to some stairs….without a ramp mind you! Dope movie though…with MAD PASSPORTS!

So, i spent the afternoon of New Year’s Eve at the post office with the intention of getting a passport. The line was out of the door, and as I counted the number of people in front of me, I was number 29, meaning 28 others in front, with more behind me. The time was about 130 pm. I have in my hand what I believe to be everything that I need to get this taken care or before the New Year, as there were rumors that the cost of a passport would jump up in price considerably. Finally, after standing in line for 30 minutes with people huffin’ and puffin’ with comments like “The manager of this post office needs to find a new career next year, ” I am next to be tended to.

sidebar thought (in my head)
***That line was full was full of procrastinators and last-minute goofs, and I realized that I gotta step my up my game and can’t be in the company of lames in 2008 to infinity.

30 minutes of waiting patiently and I hear “Next! I can help you over here.” I’m excited to get this over with and exhale, BUT….”Sir…I don’t see your Birth Certificate here.” Hmmm… I need my Birth Certificate? PLEASE tell me I can do this without it and maybe just use my Social Security card!! PLEASE!!
“Nope! Sorry Sir!”….and in the words of Florida Evans…”damn…Damn…DAMMNNNNNN!”

So the abbreviated version goes…That was at 2 pm when I played myself at the counter in front of 50 some people at the post office. They were closing at 3, and I was determined to get it done before the 2008 Ball dropped. Made it home in a flash, made it back to the post office even faster like I was in a Aston, only to impatiently wait in a line that extended out of the post now, with 30 minutes until closing.
Right at 3pm, I made it to the counter for the second time and was told they don’t accept straight cash for passports, which is ALL that I had. WOW! I’m now sweating bullets with frustration now…then he says…”Its all good…you’ll just have to buy a money order from me.” Pheww!
By the way, it was confirmed that the price of the passports will change this year. As of February…they will be going DOWN! That’s right…going down…making my rushing efforts not very much worth while at all….lol

Ingredients:
*Some sort of supposed deadline that must be addressed before tomorrow.
*Make sure you are without at least ONE crucial piece of information or document for the task
*Make sure you stand in front of a foreign woman with weak english, who keeps repeating with her best american tongue…”Me so nervous…He make-a-Me Nervous!
referring to me….I guess a brother can’t wear a hoodie indoors anymore…lol
*Make sure that the weather is very frigid or hot as h3ll, to make your waiting in line experience more memorable

peace yall…BTW…New Years begins whenever you decide to make significant change in your life.


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