Nip It In The Bud

In our neighborhoods when the unexpected happens to our community and we experience gun violence what should we do? We need to come together to confront the issue at hand.

Last week I got a phone call saying that a young man in my neighborhood got shot. My first reaction -- I couldn’t believe it because he was one of the TBOC children. I saw him grow up. Now he was shot? I was catching a flight the next day and on my way back I was in deep thought and meditating on this situation. How can I keep this from escalating? How can we resist from retaliating? I began to call the old heads to discuss the situation and how we can keep the kids from taking this to the next level....

When I was ten I had surgery on my head because I had an infection on my brain. The doctors had to operate to remove the infection and it took months to recover. I believe that I lost some capacity to concentrate and focus on tasks, school work and other aspects of life. Learning the art of chess, boxing and music gave me an outlet to improve my focus, sharpen my thinking and increase my discipline. Learning new skills is not only fun but it can help heal people in ways you cannot imagine. I am a witness to that. I know that by participating in TBOC, building your network, supporting your business and sharing ideas with your colleagues we will support the larger goal of strengthening our c...

In the past, when I would get an idea I would think it was mine. I would want to keep the idea to myself. I would want credit and be mad if someone else took it. A lot of people feel that way. Recently, I realized that ideas are to be shared. It is a compliment when someone takes your idea and does something with it. For instance, years ago TBOC started holding a Back to School Barbeque in the summer before the kids went back to school. We did this for several years and then suddenly I heard the Apartment Complex management was doing one without collaborating with me. At first I was mad. This was a TBOC idea! Then I reflected on it and realized it was a good thing to develop an idea, do it a...

I would like to introduce you to Gloria. I don’t know her age but I think she is about 86. She just recently lost her dog. She has lived in my community for a long time. She used to walk her dog all the time. While she walked her dog around the neighborhood she would pick up trash – discarded cans, bags, napkins – you know all the stuff lazy people including myself just throw in the road or on the grass. Gloria wants to make a difference. She is beautifying America. Now even without her dog she walks the neighborhood – she says for exercise but I know it is bigger than that. I know that she is just one person making a difference in this world. So I am asking us all to...