“Are you with me now” A J Ryder
This week I was at a wedding in Ireland conducted by a Druid Monk. It was fascinating in lots of ways considering as the Father of the Bride mentioned Druids haven’t been around for about 1700 years. The next day, Scott Boldt came down from Belfast to Dublin and we spent the day walking and talkin’ about the next few years of the IBPLC, BPLiving, B-U, Harbor Freight and other new ways, forms and measures. There’s lots that has happened in the last few weeks where many more doors are opening. In Newark, the 311 has produced more students going into the carpenter’s union than any other school in New Jersey. Today Crishell sent an email announcing the first graduate of our HF Distribution Center partnership pilot between the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative and Workforce Development. Not only did he graduate from the program but was also hired. And there is interest in expanding the program next year. This falls under the category of:
“I believe in starts. The rest is inevitable.” Joey the Lips – The Commitments
Yesterday, Charlie was in Vermont with Beth at Habitat for Aviation for their board meeting where this great annual report was presented featuring Harbor Freight Fellows and B-Unbound.
And today, Charlie sent this photo of the first HFF graduates from McLeod Hospital in Florence, SC. Our work using hospitals, airports and large industries as places for HFF sites is expanding.
Getting ready for Memphis? Here’s one of the many celebrations that occurred there. More Leaving to Learns beyond the ones we already have at Arrow Creative
Say Hey! Willie and Juneteenth
I found out about the passing of Willie Mays on Juneteenth. The next day was major league’s celebrations of Juneteenth at Rickwood Field where Willie played in 1948 and where he was invited as a guest of honor for this event. Reggie Jackson gave an amazing talk at the commemoration sharing stark stories of racism.
“The game was scheduled as a celebration of the Negro Leagues and its players, with special tributes to Willie Mays, the Hall of Famer and former Birmingham Black Barons outfielder who died Tuesday at age 93. But Jackson’s interview was a reminder of just what he and so many others dealt with not only at Rickwood, beyond its fences.”
I don’t know how this happened but I’m writing my TGIF not in Birmingham, Alabama but Birmingham, England. How does stuff like this happen all the time?
I saw Willie Mays play at both the Polo Grounds and Shea Stadium and he was truly amazing to watch on a team that at that time featured Orlando Cepeda, Juan Maréchal, three Alou brothers – Felipe, Matty and Jesus and Willie McCovey. As a kid, my baseball going days were doubleheaders where we would get to the stadium early to watch batting practice. Aside from the hitting we watched the bantering and playfulness between players. There are so many things that stand out for me in remembering Willie Mays but one that should not be overlooked was his connection to the community. Here’s Willie playing stickball in Harlem. Checkout the video coming from the stickball video where you can see him in action on the streets of NYC and the joy he's getting out of being part of the community. Like Louis Armstrong and so many other sports figures and personalities, they lived and worked in the neighborhoods they played in. What did that mean? As a kid, it meant a great deal. It was an inspiration for Big Picture Learning showing how kids can connect to their destinies.
Below is a photo of Louis Armstrong in Astoria where he lived.
Next week, I’m back in San Diego where I start my week Andrea and Anthonette getting together around IBPLC, BPLiving and Namahana.
Be well!
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