Ode to Mr. Maurice Montague, Sr.

On Sunday evening, October 5, 2014, my family and I attended the viewing of Mr. Maurice Montague, Sr. joining the Montague family and friends to pay respects at the Sunset Funeral Home in Northeast El Paso, Texas.  That afternoon I had the chance to write a piece in thought of Mr. Montague and the impact he had on our lives growing up.  There were several deep stories shared that day from my brothers and several people in the community that knew Mr. Montague.  Once the pastor opened the evening, Maurice, Jr. got up to the microphone to speak.  This moved me the most considering the father/son relationship between Maurice, Sr. & Jr.  Being a first born, Jr. myself, it took a lot listening to a childhood friend speak on the passing of someone so close as his father.  It opened the opportunity for people to have the chance to get up and share their thoughts on Mr. Montague.  

He's a big part of our memories coming up as children in the Northeast.  And with the piece I'm going to share below in bold, I attempted to capture that, while being true to my own relationship with the Montague family.  All my brothers (RBros) got up to share stories of Mr. Montague.  We're all 8 years apart, each with our own story of knowing Mr. Montague and getting the chance to experience the love he had for children in the community.  

I hope we have it in us as a community to share stories of our elders, our children, both living and past.  Often the busy of our lives keeps us from writing.  Keeps us from documenting those stories and helping everyone understand why these lives matter.  I was born and raised in the Northeast and love this community dearly.  Though I haven't lived in many other places for an extended period of time, there is something I feel about the Northeast that is unique from anywhere else.  Whether its the stories that connect us to families that have crossed between Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua Mexico and El Paso, Texas USA or our military base, Ft. Bliss, that brings people from all corners of the country and world to coexist.  Often our origins hold their own stories of how we got here and came to settle in the city of the sun, towards the bottom of the mountains.  My family is no exception, and its the same for the Montagues.  A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Mr. Montague's journey to El Paso was also through the military where he'd meet his beautiful wife Estela, giving birth to his son Maurice, Jr., who I called "Lil' Q". El Paso born.

Listening to those that spoke at the viewing about Mr. Montague and his impact on our lives through his love of children and sports... I wanted to put the words I read at the viewing out there.  To remember.  To document.  And to encourage us to remember our loved ones through stories.  We're not promised tomorrow and life will go on... and like us at one point in our lives there will be kids out here running around wanting to play... looking for someone that will give them a chance.  

To the spirit of Mr. Montague, thank you sir, and to the Montague family we love you.

I title this an Ode to Mr. Maurice Montague, Sr.

I can still remember the first time I heard Mr. Montague.

A few miles from here at a Northeast YMCA half court basketball game. It was me at 5 years old versus a soon to be friend I'd later call "Lil' Q".

Above all other cheers for children was the voice of Mr. Montague.

His voice consumed the acoustics of the entire gymnasium, an unforgettable sound.

I remember we won that game and feeling proud, my memory drifts into a Taco Bell where my mom, Maria, and Q's mom, Estela, allowed me and Lil' Q the space to see if we'd get along... the beginning of a friendship involving our families and so many stories throughout our city's chain of basketball courts.

Mr. Montague's presence in my childhood would become monumental. 

As a child, fear is a common factor in growing up and dealing with the unknown but when you were with Mr. Montague, you learned from a man who walked stomping fear beneath him.

Mr. Montague feared absolutely nothing.  

And as a child being around Mr. Montague he made sure we understood how much he cared about us and the strength of his love.

As a coach, Mr. Montague would commandeer some of the best children hoopsters I'd ever known.  Names I'd follow years after like Terayno, Terrom, Kilo, Kello, George, I remember Ruben and the leaping ability of a youth named Robert.

Thinking back, I have no clue what my role was on a bench with such depth and talent as the Northeast Storm.  But I was there, watching a story I'd never forget.

I spent some time in the back seat of Mr. Montague's white Cadillac.  Driving around the city between games in the far east, Lower Valley, West side, or after hanging out with Lil' Q at the Northpark Mall where we were always at the card shops and arcades consuming junk food prior to watching a movie at Boomerangs Theatre... maybe something like Class Act or Menace II Society.

One story I remember is Mr. Monatague at one of our games during the McDonald summer leagues... When I was subbed in my coach on the McDonald's squad shouted, "...c'mon LeeROY, let's go!  Get aggressive!"

And as if Zeus himself screamed from the clouds above the Austin High School gymnasium, all I heard was Mr. Montague's orders to the coach, "HIS NAME IS LECROY! Boy, don't let him call you by a name that ain't yours!"

I nodded my head glancing at the coach who if my memory serves me correctly, had a blank stare, probably processing his place in the gym, which wherever we went, if Mr. Montague was there, belonged to him.

Over the years, I'd meet people that either loved or hated Mr. Montague.

And as a child, to me, Mr. Montague was one of the most powerful fathers to someone who was like a best friend... He had a superhero aura.  At war with anyone that dared step foot in his path. 

He was the one who'd take me to see Malcolm X at the Basset theatre when my father was stationed for duty across the sea.  Mr. Montague was a man that absolutely loved the children in his care, including my little brother, his God son, Joshua.

Today I remember Mr. Montague with these words in hope to learn more from others and to celebrate a man, who during his time in my life, left me with so much to process.

In closing I dedicate this piece to his son and one of the most kind and beautiful mothers this life could ever give to us, Mrs. Estela Montague.  

Thank you all for your respect and time to share, and to Mr. Montague, you may have passed on in the physical, but you will be present in my mind and thought for as long as I'm alive in this world.

To your spirit we extend our love, our admiration, and hope that we find the strength and heart to carry the pain of losing those we can't imagine living without.

Thank you sir, thank you Mr. Montague.

by Lecroy, Jr. 

A Note about Reading, 15 Minutes, & Walter Dean Myers

A Note about Reading, 15 Minutes, & Walter Dean Myers

by BB.Lee (Lee Rhyanes / big brother)

This post today is inspired by a number of reasons.  First, on September 20th I stumbled across a tweet by Reading Rainbow calling for people to take on the 15 minutes a day challenge (click here).  It linked to an article written by Lisa G. Kropp, a youth services coordinator at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System in Bellport, NY.  The article she wrote is titled 'A National Effort to Read to Kids 15 Minutes a Day Needs Our Support' (click here).  

I thought about this article and how much it spoke to me, first as an avid reader ever since my days of early childhood through my mother and father, and second through my work today as a grant writer which requires a daily intensive amount of reading, writing, and thinking.  

Over the past seven years that I've worked as a grant writer I've been able to challenge my mind to see through every and any reading task, even those reading assignments that were once unbearable to read often leaving my head leaning to the side being awoken by the sudden tilt that I was falling into sleep.  It took a while to get use to, but it was those difficult reads that made recreational reading that much more fun.  Coupled with online reading of current events and through my teaching at NMSU its allowed for a consistent daily routine of close reading.  I'm inspired also by my family and our expectation of one another to read.  Whether it's bringing home a book for our brothers or nephews, nieces from the library, going to the library... or even our father thinking of us when he's browsing through Barnes & Nobles on an early afternoon as a retired Army Veteran.  He'll often bring back books he feels will help me with work, or help my brothers with school and sports.  Books & reading is as important in our household as any other basic necessity and its constant in our interaction and expectations of each other.  It's what would inspire the concept behind Reading on the Stoop in which we make space to read where ever we are... whether we're at a library, in front of our homes, on a road trip, or waiting at the dentist.  All space is a reading space as long as we remember to bring a book along.

Every Saturday morning upon waking up, I started making it a priority to read before I go do anything else.  And this morning I decided to pull Just Write, Here's How by Walter Dean Myers from my reading shelf.  Though the initiative to spark 15 minutes a day for reading is loud and clear today, for me, it was a literary hero like Walter Dean Myers, who's stories spoke to me louder than anyone's message to read.  Myer's dedicated his life to stories that would connect with youth, especially older teens, who like myself could have easily gotten lost in the distractions of teenage life to even care about picking up a book.  My appreciation and interest for Myer's stories called me back to the library often, even when I felt I was drifting away from reading responsibility in high school.

Myers passed away this year and often I've thought about a blog post I wanted to write in memory and recognition of Walter Dean Myers and how his books impacted my trajectory through life from school to what would become a career in writing.  While it was the blessing of having two loving, caring parents who were just as passionate about my academic success as I ever could be, it was Myers who inspired me to maintain a daily reading routine.  He was the first writer to really make me think about the connection between story and how we could better our lives.  A concept I would later describe as connecting story to social change, a subject I'd eventually teach at the university I graduated from. 

So as we encourage folks to partake in the 15 minutes a day reading challenge, I want to set off something I've been wanting to do all year since learning of Mr. Myer's passing... and that's share notes from my reading of Myers, any notes I have of Myers over the years and different pieces of information that teach us something new that we may not have known about Myers.  While the RBros blog is about a lot of subjects, I have no problem with it also being a blog fully dedicated to the life of Walter Dean Myers and what he contributed to the world of literature for myself as a youth and adult.  

I will track these posts through two Twitter sites that I post to... www.twitter.com/vbehindw (Voices Behind Walls) and www.twitter.com/hiphopalumni (Hip Hop Alumni).  If you want to track these tweets simply visit the twitter site and search for the hashtag #WDMnotes.

For the first post... this one's from this morning's read...Chapter 1, 'Roll Up Your Sleeves'...

"I think a lot more writers would successfully complete their books if they spent more time planning.  I don't mean months or years of planning, but at least getting down the basic idea of where they're going and how they want to get there." - WDM

Keywords + Tag = Walter Dean Myers | WDM | #WDMnotes | Reading Rainbow | www .readaloud.org | Lisa G. Kropp | reading | 15 minutes reading | Hip Hop Alumni | Voices Behind Walls | twitter | Christopher Myers | Scorpions | Just Write, Here's How | Harper Collins Publishers | in memory of | Fallen Angels | Monster | Malcolm X | Hoops | Muhammad Ali | Harlem | 2014 | RBros | dedication

My Brother's Reading Journey (OTSOG)

My Brother's Reading Journey (OTSOG)
Follow up to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Post: click here

With school already under way for MC Zoo's senior year and E-Man's first month of third grade, the summer left a lot to reflect on.  One of this summer's major accomplishments was my brother's completion of his first 250+ page book.  Instead of checking out the text from the library we decided to purchase one of his choice so that he could take his time to read it.  Searching through Amazon, my brother, who's been a Laker fan for as long as he could talk, decided on a text by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Raymond Obstfeld, with forward by Quincy Jones titled On the Shoulders of Giants, My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance.  I wasn't sure how my brother would take to reading about history but immediately he got into it and appreciated that it was about more than just sports.  It told stories of not only Kareem's experiences, but many names throughout history such as Langston Hughes, Louis Armstrong, Marcus Garvey, Duke Ellington, Zora Neale Hurston, Alain Locke and details about many others from the Harlem Renaissance that impacted sports or vice versa.  The writing style and the references to specific teams including the Harlem Rens and the Original Celtics left a lasting memory on my youngest brother, both through the writing and the photographs included in the book.  The text inspired a respect for Kareem that went beyond just sports and the unstoppable hook shot my brother's been working all summer trying to perfect.  It was a text that traveled with my brother when he tagged along with our pops (aka King Kong) and it also accompanied him on his first trip out of town to support the varsity Andress Eagles basketball squad and their first ever battle towards the Texas regional title.  On the bus, while the Eagles were on their way to making history, my brother was reading about history and continued doing so throughout the year all the way to the final page.  

We worked on a few laptop journal activities but weren't able to get a consistent reading + discussion schedule going (only brief updates from time to time).  To close out the book, we've decided to que the documentary of the same name, On the Shoulder's of Giants (see below) through a Netflix DVD selection.  It'll be a cool way for my brother to reflect on what he's learned as we get ready to archive his first official text.  While my brother has read a lot of books since middle school this is one of the most challenging books he's sought out to add to his own personal library collection.

Currently, he's reading a text titled The Hoops Whisperer: On the Court and Inside the Heads of Basketball's Best Players by Idan Ravin checked out from the El Paso Public Library Irving Schwartz branch.

Keywords + Tag = Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Bill Cunliffe | On the Shoulders of Giants | basketball | history | Harlem Renaissance | Andress Eagles | Texas | El Paso | Los Angeles Lakers | Paul Baker | Langston Hughes | Louis Armstrong | Al Sharpton | Marcus Garvey | Duke Ellington | Richard Lapchick | Zora Neale Hurston | Jesse Jackson | Alain Locke | Raymond Obstfeld | Isaiah Rhyanes | journey | Barry Cohen | 1920 | Tantor Media | Harlem Rens | The Original Celtics | Netflix | Herbie Hancock | sports documentary | Maya Angelou | Wynton Marsalis | Deborah Morales | Anna Waterhouse | Chuck D | New York Renaissance | Johnny Juice |  Iconomy Multimedia | Cornel West | Samuel D. Pollard | Spike Lee | Union Productions | Jamie Foxx | Bob Costas | Dick Enberg | Harlem | Charles Barkley | John Wooden | David Stern | Bill Russell | Dr. Julius Irving | Clyde Drexler | Carmelo | hoop dreams | hook shot

Social And Emotional Benefits Of Video Games: Metacognition and Relationships

I like this article in thinking about the "growth mindset".  

A majority of my peers were and some still are gamers.

Would be great to adapt what kids love so much into activities that will provide food for thought or promote more positive messages.  Below is a clip from the article.

Social And Emotional Benefits Of Video Games: Metacognition and Relationships

by Jordan Shapiro | KQED

Article: click here

"In 2013, the American Psychological Association published a study that identified some of the benefits of gaming, and the results were surprising. For example, in controlled tests, kids who played first-person shooters showed “faster and more accurate attention allocation, higher spatial resolution in visual processing, and enhanced mental rotation abilities.” This likely has very little to do with the violent narrative and a lot to do with repetitive execution of reflex-based actions. Essentially, first person shooters are intricate 3D virtual simulations of the carnival classic “whack-a-mole.” Players need to react fast. This is why kids who play a lot of games seem to show “measurable changes in neural processing and efficiency” and a positive increase in creativity. Players practice quick thinking and hurried response."  

Shapiro, Jordan. "Social And Emotional Benefits Of Video Games: Metacognition and Relationships." KQED 16 May 2014. Web. http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/social-and-emotional-benefits-of-video-games-metacognition-and-relationships/.

Keywords + Tag = motivational intelligence | Jordan Shapiro | KQED | stimulation | video games | video game | Pacman | incremental theory | growth mindset | life-long learners | metacognition | critical thinking | interpersonal skills | character education | social and emotional | health | mental health | relationships | nutritional value | Space Invaders | chess | Atari | Playstation | Sega | Nintendo | X Box | joy sticks | Carol Dweck | Stanford | intelligence | Reach for the Sun

A License to Drive Story w/ MC Zoo

Today had a discussion with my lil' brother about his experience through driving school as he completes requirements for his permit ... later his driver's license.  He's a big time gamer so I asked what his top 3 "driving" related video games are... From 3 to 1, 1 being the best... 3... Motor Storm on PS3, 2....CTR on PS1, and 1.... Grand Theft Auto V on PS3.  Back when for me it was all about the NES Road Racer!

Road Racer!

Keywords + Tag = Road Racer | Nintendo | Family stories | MC Zoo | Isaiah | driver's license | Texas | GTA V | Playstation 1 | Playstation 2 | Playstation 3 | Playstation 4 | CTR | Crash Team Racing | Crash Bandicot | Motor Storm | NES | cars | driving | safety | fun | Sega Genesis | 90s on my mind

Reading on the Stoop, Basketball Math on the Court

Basketball Math on the Court

by Tom Robinson

Published by The Child's World

For our recent Reading on the Stoop session E-Man's Dad, my lil' brother BB.Josh, said that he wanted a book that told a story about basketball.  I searched for a children's book with a touch of history, but couldn't find one.  Though I found a brilliant book written and painted by Kadir Nelson titled We Are the Ship, The Story of Negro League Baseball (will be sharing more on this later), I did not find anything at the Richard Burges Library about basketball history, specifically.  What I did stumble across though was Basketball Math on the Court, which I thought was real cool considering we all love and play basketball (our father even played as a teen and adult and was a great referee in El Paso for all sorts of leagues city + school/youth + adult).  Personally, I thought the book was wonderful and recommend it especially for adults that are coaching youth leagues and would like to encourage reading amongst their players.  Even as an adult reading to E-Man, I learned a lot.  It was just a tough read, at times kind of dry for E-Man's reading level as he had a tough time engaging with the activities to learn ratios and percentages.  At times I wish there would've been more details related to the game's history, maybe even the players themselves, height/weight, vertical leap and any other factoids that allow readers to connect with more of the story of basketball as opposed to the statistics.  But these opinions stray from what I felt this book intended to do and what I feel it succeeds at doing for helping young readers understand the mathematics of the game.  So definitely check it out!

In addition, learning about the publisher of this text The Child's World was cool considering they're an independent, family-owned company that has been publishing books since 1968.  It's an interesting go to if you're looking for stories about specific subjects or recommendations for school libraries to help make connections to some of the subject matter being taught in schools these days.  

Upon visiting the site, I didn't find any titles I'd be interested in reading, but then again, I also didn't notice the Basketball Math on the Court book so I'm going to assume there are a number of titles out there from the past and present that would be good for reading to children.  I do recommend you connect with their social media accounts, especially Facebook for the posts.  Here's a picture they have posted on their timeline: 

 

We need to spread these messages as often as possible. 

Keywords + Tag = Basketball Math on the Court | Tom Robinson | The Child's World | mathematics | Los Angeles Lakers | Oklahoma City Thunder | Kobe Bryant | Ron Artest | Russel Westbrook | June | court measurements | math on the court | learning | comprehension | statistics | formulas | ratio | percentage | points per game | Wilt Chamberlain | Brittney Griner

Reading on the Stoop, Last Day Blues

Last Day Blues

by Julie Danneberg

Illustrated by Judy Love

After work this past June, I decided to head out to the Irving Schwartz Library in East El Paso to look for another book for the Reading on the Stoop session with E-Man, our 8-year old nephew.  The goal was to find any children's story that had something to do with what was going on, what was current.  Scanning the shelves, the word blues caught my attention on the book's cover.  At first, I thought about looking for something else until the idea came up to connect the theme of this book to our nephew's last day of school, which was coming up at the time.  2014 also marks the prelude to 12th grade for our youngest brother who's public school education is in its last chapter, "Senior Year".

Last Day Blues by Julie Danneberg is a fun book.  A great story with amazing illustration by Judy Love.  We'd often pause during our reading to scan the pictures, the expressions on faces, the activity of a school ground, and the resemblance of teachers we all knew at some point in our lives.  

Following up on Julie Danneberg's website I learned of other texts illustrated by Judy Love such as The Big Test, First Year Letters, and First Day Jitters.  It's a neat site for learning more about Julie Danneberg and other titles for future reading sessions.  Fans will also learn about what inspires her to write, when she writes, and responses to some commonly asked questions she's received.  One question I'd have is the connection between her writing and the illustrator and whether this collaboration inspires new stories when she finds time to write.  Also how much of her future writing is inspired by re-reading her own books?

I found Last Day Blues at Irving Schwartz Library in El Paso, and it is also available at the Main Library downtown, which if you haven't visited already, I'd highly recommend taking your younger siblings to pick out a book.  It's a great place for them (and you!) to discover new and random books to read for the summer.

To view the text on the El Paso Public Library online catalogue, here is the link: click here.

To view Julie Danneberg's website visit www.juliedanneberg.com.

You can also view some other illustrations by Judy Love at www.judyloveillustration.com.  

Keywords + Tag = Last Day Blues | Julie Danneberg | Judy Love | Illustrator Judy Love | children reading | Reading on the Stoop | El Paso Public Library | Irving Schwartz Library | El Paso | El Paso Texas | Texas | The Big Test | First Day Jitters | First Year Letters | last day of school | elementary school | Charlesbridge | ISBN 9781580891042 | www.charlesbridge.com | Mrs. Hartwell