Still We Rise El Paso's Black Experience

A highlight from the year was the opportunity to experience this display at the El Paso Museum of History. Took several pics to revisit what I learned that day reading the displays. Til' the next time, would be wonderful for Still We Rise to become a permanent fixture in our community with an opportunity to grow and continue documenting so many stories. Would love to see a section for the history of our community's Black martial artists.

The entrance...

Douglass Grammar & High School (El Paso)

Someone I'd love to learn more about. Poet, Bernice Love Wiggins.

Shout out to the Douglass Dragons!

Made me think of my grandmother.

UTEP Miners! Shout out to Willie Cager.

40 minutes of hell. Hey Coach Rus.

For all the middle school students that go to Bobby Joe Hill.

Spirit of 66'.

Our military community.

A bigger picture of Still We Rise exhibit. 

Texas.

A lovely day.

The writing below is included on the Still We Rise exhibit print available at the museum's entrance.

"Still We Rise El Paso's Black Experience reflects on past and present African Americans in El Paso. Like many African American communities in the United States, much of their history has remained underrepresented. The arrival of El Paso's black community begun with the arrival of the railroad and soon blossomed after that. In a few decades, their presence was known within the South side neighborhoods and grew to encompass its very own Black Wall Street at the intersections of Alameda and Piedras. A thriving community flourished with churches, restaurants, barbershops, beauty salons, and multiple other businesses that catered to a still segregated Texas. With this empowerment and validity, many key figures gained momentum in the Civil Rights Movement which later made El Paso a leader in integration and equal rights in Texas. It was until the Federal Aid Highway Act that built the current Interstate to where a majority of businesses and residences were demolished. Despite the loss of space, the community continued to thrive through their churches, community centers, outreach groups, and led to many citizens holding big roles within civic and social realms.

The exhibition gathers personal memories, objects and sense of place from local African American leaders and gives an inside look of resistance and resiliency through the 20th century here in El Paso."

#e1puzzle

Introducing #e1puzzle with our Queen Luz

Last year, with a 7th grade reading class I teach we looked at an article about a 9-year old Hailey Richman who started a nonprofit group to give out puzzles designed to help people who have memory loss or other problems. The article talked about a program called Puzzles to Remember and her mission to give jigsaw puzzles to nursing homes and other places that care for people struggling with Alzheimer’s. Shortly after we also watched a powerful documentary titled Alive Inside, a Story of Music & Memory.

The lesson made me think about my mom who survived an emergency surgery over 25 years ago to remove a benign brain tumor when she was pregnant with my youngest brother. The ordeal going from an emergency surgery that left her with paralysis after she suffered a stroke, staying alive to give birth a few months later, and having surgery again after that to replace part of her skull, required time to adapt as a mother and wife to a new way of living. In that time, I grew into my early adulthood watching her stay mind strong with a love as a mother that never waivered from even before when I was a child. In recent years, we started coloring to give my mom a chance to work on her hand-eye coordination and to provide some contact with books that allow us to bring color to things we’re interested in. After learning about Richman’s work from the middle school reading class I teach, we also stepped into the world of puzzles. It’s a real cool way to pass the time together while listening to music, news and connecting pieces of a puzzle that you have to read over and over again. I grew up during a time when puzzles were far more popular, but even back then I never actually took the time to piece one together.

To date, we’ve completed two puzzles. Our first was a 500 piece puzzle of Succulent Spectrum flowers that we had matted for the wall, and a 300 piece puzzle that I call “Animal Planet”. We’re currently working on another puzzle of plants that my baby brother bought for my mother on Christmas, and I got a surprise 500 piece puzzle coming up for the off season, Fly Eagles Fly. During the summer, I’m planning to create one that I’d like to customize as I’ve learned there are ways to create your own puzzles too.

I’ve come to love this past time for the benefits that I’ve read it has for the mind, memory and overall brain health. I also love the time it allows for me to spend with my mother as it requires our full attention away from that distractions of technology, TV, and other things that don’t allow us to accomplish something cool together and talk. I share it also, to pass on ideas for how we can stay connected with siblings and introduce young people to games that allow them time off screens and around people they care about.

Til’ the next puzzle piece, here are a few cool shots of our puzzles, more of whic which you can also find clicking on the hashtag #e1puzzle.

Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

Here’s hoping for continued success in the NFC East! #FlyEaglesFly!

Our link of the week right here dedicated to Jalen Hurts click here

Sending a shout out to Gianluca aka The Serpent aka King Luca of our Cobra Chess Club for bringing this gift home after visiting Philly to check out his favorite quarterback Tom Brady. The featured photograph is from where he was at the Lincoln Financial Field. Had to laminate this work of art promoting the game. Check!

Hoop Dreams 2021

Hoop Dreams 2021

A shot of a few members of the Hoop Dreams squad at the House of Hoopz this Fall.

Shout out to Coach Joshy and the squad!

We see you Lil’ Liz.

El Barrio Sports Club

Here's a throwback #e1pWWW post from June 2015. For the first time #e1pStory shares the audio conversation with Coach Cruz that went down that day. I've also included a few photographs below. More are available at the Twitter and Facebook links below. Shout out to our Segundo Barrio families and the El Barrio Sports Club which is coming up on its 50 year anniversary.

Introducing El Barrio Sports Club in El Paso, Texas Cruz Morales, Jr. post every1plays.org web Archive June 28, 2015

Introducing Cruz Morales, Jr... born and raised in El Paso's South side, and Class of 88' Bowie Bear Alumni by way of Beall Elementary and Guillen Middle... he is also a proud Gulf War Veteran of the Air Force.  For the past 15 years, Cruz has been facilitating sporting events, including basketball tournaments on the corner of Raynor and Findley for children, youth, and adults.

Playoffs for the El Barrio men's basketball league are underway through June as fourteen teams compete to try and make it to the finals. Over the past couple years, my younger brothers have been participating in the adult men's b-ball league.

We got the chance to talk to Cruz about the sports club and its history.  For Cruz it goes back to the gang rivalries that disconnected youth from each other and the community.  Living in a historically under served and low-income area only added to the struggles of gang involved youth reconnecting to something positive in the community. This motivated Cruz, who understood their circumstances and today is the director for the El Barrio Sports Club.  For Cruz being able to bridge the gap through sports amongst a generation of kids who's parents were once gang rivals, is what Cruz is most proud of.  With support from city representatives such as Courtney Niland and neighborhood collaboration, the El Barrio Sports Club is about creating affordable and accessible opportunities for children, youth, and adults to play, compete, and connect with each other in a family friendly environment.

And it's not only basketball.  Cruz helps coordinate volleyball tournaments (currently planning for September) and soccer for both males and females, children to adults.  For more information you can email Cruz Morales, Jr. cmorales@dekko.com or call at (915) 858-1915 ext. 69132.

Got a few more photographs that we'll share on social media soon, check out twitter.com/every1plays and facebook.com/e1p44

Peace!

-Lee

Photograph and write up by Lee Rhyanes*

El Paso's Chapin Huskies 2021

This is what stamping your hard earned ticket into the Sweet 16 looks like…

Shout out to the Chapin Student Media click here…El Paso, stand up for The North!!

Stay tuned in as your El Paso Chapin Huskies make their way to the Sweet 16 visit chapinhuskiesathletics.com

As posted at every1plays.org click here

Isaiah Rhyanes #54

Big Man 54 aka Juice!

'Story of a Kid with a Dream to Play Hoop'

It was just yesterday is no way to tell it or remember it. We knew how long this took. The early mornings. The goal to just play city. All the folks asking if you hoop only to meet a man with a golden soul that was able to crack the door open for a one in a who knows how many opportunity. It’s best told in pieces and we love this piece by The Prospector on our baby bro Isaiah Rhyanes and a profile in perseverance.

You can read the full article by Michael Cuviello in the Prospector here: click here

You can catch up with Coach Zooey and his e1p activities at the following Instagram accounts:

Chef Zoo @every1eats915

Coach Zooey @every1trains

As posted at every1plays.org click here

Experience Fit Hop

Fit Hop

Experience Fit Hop! The soundscape for Hip Hop, health & fitness. The 10th Element of Hip Hop...Health & Wellness. For more information see below. Music for the pregame, for the halftimes, for the rink walk, for the triumph! rbgfitclub.com

As posted at every1plays.org click here

For Team Mamba

 For Team Mamba

Dedicated Kobe Bryant, Mambacita Gianna Bryant and those that passed on January 26, 2020. To Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Alyssa Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, John Altobelli, Christina Mauser, & Ara Zobayan. The Hoop world’s heart broke into pieces in 2020.

This article right here is how we’ll remember the squad. Sending our condolences to all the families effected and the lives that had to move on spirit in 2020. We won’t ever forget you. The impact Kobe had on Isaiah, our youngest bro is a long story we’ll have to reflect on over the course of our lives.

“Kobe Bryant is busy with his business. Busy with his books. Busy with his little Mambas.”

Mamba 101: Welcome to Kobe Bryant’s Next Chapter: click here

Thank you Tzvi Twersky for the article and Atiba Jefferson for the photography.

Thank you Slam. RIP to members of Team Mamba.

As posted at every1plays.org click here

every1plays.org Online 2020

every1plays.org

Time flies! It's been a while since our last web update so we're going into 2020 with a new look to the site and a goal for more updates. Check in with us at every1plays.org for the latest with Hoop Dreams, Team Blaze, UTEP Basketball, chess, and the RBros fam!

Sketches from my Father

Sketches from my Father post every1plays.org web Archive May 26, 2015

Sketches from my Father
‘Homesick’ (1984)

Above is a sketch my father did back in 1984.  He spent almost three decades in the Army and was deployed a number of times to Korea during his earliest years… Germany (which we all went together during my first years on earth)… and several tours to the Middle East.  Last year, I started doing family story sessions with my mother and father.  I don’t have the details on this sketch or several others that I saved from his early years in the Army.  For upcoming June, I’ll focus the next family story session around my father’s sketches. This weekend he’s been watching some of the coverage for Memorial Day and took some time to visit base on his bike runs.

I’m sharing this sketch for Memorial Day and for all the families that experience the challenge of deployment, especially for mothers or fathers back home keeping things together while their spouses are called to duty.  Back when my Dad got deployed in the early 90s, I remember thinking selfishly how that meant I could get over on Mom and stay out later to play with friends now that Dad wasn’t around to enforce the curfew.  But I tell you what, that feeling got old quick missing your father’s presence and there was no moment greater than the day we’d learn our Dad would be returning back home safe and sound.

I’ve always loved this sketch and appreciate my Dad’s creativity very much.  Whether it was for all the help he gave us for science projects, or the custom made birthday cards he’d send us from his times deployed, his cooking, the martial arts, his love for basketball and other sports, his love for music… he encompassed a lot of great qualities, which really shined bright through all the success he had in the Army.  There are a lot of lessons I still process til’ this day from my upbringing.

To my mother and father, thank you.

Doin’ It in the Park Documentary

#every1watch review from the every1plays.org web Archive going back to April 18, 2015.

#every1watch
Doin’ It in the Park
@DOINITINTHEPARK Documentary
by @koolboblove & @AsfaltCronicles

Last weekend I scrolled through the Roku Netflix looking for an afternoon flick for Queen Luz, my youngest brother, and me.  In “My List” I got a catalog of flicks I’ve saved over the years for whenever time opens up.  Now that I can access Netflix on my phone app I’m constantly adding flicks, sometimes catching one during the lunch hour… I’m a big documentary fan, and with Netflix, I’m constantly adding em’ in.  As I watch one, another four or five will pop up that I’ve never heard of before.  Needless to say, “My List” will probably outlive me as there are just too many movies I want to see.  Just now, I remembered that I’m also signed up to receive the DVDs.  I forgot the package was in between a set of books… in it another documentary… the Thrilla in Manila flick.  If you’re into sports, Netflix is where it’s at.  An educational archive of tons of cinema.

So last weekend, a few members of my family and I decided to finally lock into a documentary I’ve been wanting to watch since learning about it two years ago…Doin’ It In the Park.

This is one of the best basketball and overall documentary films I’ve ever seen.  It’s an incredible document into New York’s basketball culture and a reflection piece for anybody that spent a lot of time outside playing hoop.  Going on walks with my mother I rarely see it as much in my neighborhood anymore.  Hearing a ball bounce when I was a kid was like our door bell ring to come out and play.  Most of us had a court on our front drive way or a portable set up curb side underneath the street light.  Earlier this week, I walked by houses with courts that looked like they hadn’t been shot at in years.  A lot of drive way courts and streets with no bodies.

I loved everything about the film, especially the cinematography and the incredible collage of photographs throughout.  And with Bobbito, the soundtrack is 100% guaranteed to be dope.  I enjoyed every minute, every image, every sound of this film and highly recommend for every1.

I especially encourage local libraries to carry this film.   Would make for a great screening at a City Parks & Rec, maybe to encourage a dialogue about black tops in the city… open up opportunities for youth leagues to have more access, especially on school grounds if possible.  This is where a majority of our courts can be found in the city… Great spaces for hosting practices, weekend tournaments for youth or adult leagues during the summer or for after school activity during the school year.

One of my favorite parts of the film is the break down on 21!  That was the game right there.

For more information on the film, please visit doinitinthepark.com

You can also add them on Facebook at facebook.com/doinitinthepark

And they’re also on Twitter… twitter.com/DOINITINTHEPARK

Other links to the filmmakers are included in the subject line of this post.

Support the film, request at your library/store, purchase from the website or as a gift for an athlete, for your coach, a team… also pass the word on the Netflix link and watch it today!

every1watch Doin’ It In the Park.

-BB.Lee

Orange & White

Orange and White Scrimmage 2017
#e1photography

Hoop Clips Pt. 1

A big fan of my brothers when they hit the court. This one is one out the archive. I'm reminded of all the footage I need to go through and share. Look forward to the Winter holidays to dig into my files for some more Hoop Clips of the RBros!

Hoop Clips Pt. 1 feat. Joshua Rhyanes click here

Tonight we premiered Hoop Clips Pt. 1 with the family of Joshua’s time out in the city for the local men’s leagues.  Had a great time editing the clips as its been a minute since I’ve put together a highlight tape.  Found the beats which we included in the credits at the end.  Hope ya’ll enjoy as much as we did.  We enjoy watching Josh play his game and we look forward to the next series of tapes of some clips we pulled from Isaiah’s time on the court with the Golden Eagles these past few years and also E-Man who’s on the come up himself.

If you can’t view the video embedded above, here is the direct link click here.

We’ve also got several other videos including Joshua’s AHS highlights tape of his time in high school at Andress and some clips from Barrio basketball out here in El Paso present day.  You can view them at the channel link above.

BB.Lee

The Scar by Jeff Green

Read this! The Scar by Jeff Green click here

Got a lot of great basketball memories of Jeff Green’s come back. Despite the changes the Celtics experienced at the time, Jeff Green was out there playing to win and competing to defeat all odds.  So many highlights where I was getting way hype for the Iron Man.  He took full advantage of the blessing he had to hit the court again and I can’t wait to continue watching Green compete in the East with the King and company.

He’ll always be the NBA’s Iron Man and is one of my all time favorite Celtics. So many lessons to take away from this reflection published in the Player’s Tribune.

No doubt!

#CoachLee

What is the Jr. #NBA Way?

Featured Link: jr.nba.com @jrNBA 

#e1plinks #every1plays
What is the Jr. #NBA Way?

Our latest featured link will direct visitors to the jr.nba.com.  What is the Jr. NBA?  The Jr. NBA is the official youth basketball participation program of the NBA.  I’ve been visiting this website since last year checking out its resources on Twitter…at times retweeting inspiring quotes and watching NBA coaches talk about the core values of the Jr. NBA.

Everything about our love for basketball revolved around the NBA as kids.  Back when kids wasted allowance money collecting basketball trading cards, I probably knew the full names and statistics of basketball rosters by memory better then I knew the names and details of some of my own extended family members…and we’re talking about the megabyte sized memory of a 10 year old kid. To a child, the NBA has an overwhelming influence on how kids view future goals (“when I grow up I want to play for the NBA!!!”) and how kids socialize and connect with the greater community.  Whether you were playing with a summer league that referred to themselves by an NBA team name like the Lakers or Magic or were outside as a kid trying to debate who you thought was the best NBA basketball player in the world…for kids who love basketball, the NBA captivated our imagination while we were awake and wandered into our dreams while we slept.

As the 20th century came to a close (1990s) technology took the game beyond just a picture and a few stats on a trading card. Technology brought children closer to hoop through video games, increased broadcasts on TV, and news channels like ESPN or NBA Inside Stuff. Even magazines began to blend ink with the emerging Hip Hop culture that played the soundtrack to our adolescent years…it inspired the style on our feet creating a sneaker con$umer culture…inspired how we wore hats and the kinds of $tarter jackets we wished for during winter…til’ this day kids year round are walking adverti$ements for the NBA…short$, sock$, jersey$, bed sheet$, towel$…you name it the NBA sell$ it.

As we thought about the mission of #every1plays at the beginning and the kind of values we wanted to promote to kids and parents, the goal was to think about an approach that went beyond the superficial stuff. An approach I wanted to articulate in writing and document. My hope was to create a mission that would describe the core values of a team with greater purpose than simply winning or reducing one’s hoop dream to the wishful thinking that we could coach kids towards becoming a future lottery pick.  I thought about the teachable moments that exist in basketball that often get lost in the translation of competitive sports culture.  A culture funded by the bottom dollar politics of an entertainment mill that divests from children and community. The kind of culture that creates microcosms in communities where families simply can’t afford to get their kids involved in organized competitive sports or the “only the best” mentality of school sports.  And while we may see a glimpse of the NBA’s connection to community after a commercial about car insurance, a KIA, alcohol, or McDonalds…whether or not anything real exists for the future gets lost in the commercialized hype of being sold something.

Discovering the depth of the Jr. NBA and their philosophy and core character values helped me reflect on #every1plays…to encourage us to read on I decided to highlight this resource as a featured link. The site presents values that stress coaching as teaching and mentions what development can mean when we focus on a more positive, encouraging, and fun approach to what we do.  Values that explore what hard work means as it relates to positive outcomes that may go beyond the court and extend to life at home, school and in the community. Values that help us understand and reflect on what respect can mean, especially for adults who are in a position to facilitate these conversations with kids.  The site also notes how we think about the concept of fairness, not as a means to stifle competition, but in how we recognize and respond to a child’s skill set and how we support, encourage and challenge children to be resilient and if necessary help redefine their understanding of failure.  Most importantly, and I’ll quote directly from the site, I respect their emphasis on healthy living…“exercising regularly benefits both mind and body – leading to better health outcomes, greater energy levels, and enhanced classroom performance.”

As we continue to imagine #every1plays in the context of a more organized initiative, I look forward to referencing the Jr. NBA’s site for information.  We’re still understanding what this concept of #every1plays can be about in our own community.  Please do check out the Jr. NBA at jr.nba.com and follow on Twitter @jrNBA and Like at Facebook.com/jrNBA.

#CoachLee

#HoopDreams 1st Half 2017

School is out and the summer is here!

Its been an eventful 1st half to 2017…everything from the name change of our #USAB squad…the start of the year with the #3v3 #every1plays Winter League…new #HoopDreams jerseys…our first attempt at sponsorship…new players on the roster…opportunities & new responsibilities on and off the court for the coaches…involvement from parents who helped us find new spaces to practice…the ups and downs of losing, getting better, winning, and losing again in the city league…and all the ideas we have to merge basketball & education for youth in the city and inform ourselves & others about resources that are out there.

There’s a lot to be grateful for…a lot to plan in the future and much more to document when time allows.  We’re most grateful this year for all the young people on the squad that showed up to play til’ the end.  As we get ready to transition into the summer months, we look forward for those moments when we can reflect again and share our thoughts.  We look forward to continuing to brainstorm and contribute ideas for how to open up more opportunities for kids to play and learn from not only the game of hoop, but the values of the game and other life lessons.

We wish everyone a wonderful summer…make it one worth reflecting back on when the Fall arrives!

#CoachLee

#WAB 2015

A note from the every1plays.org web Archive going back to March 3, 2015.

It’s going down, Andress vs. Bel Air … Many of the #WAB seniors grew up together playing ball in the Sun City… In middle school they all would compete against each other… from H.E. Charles, Basset, Terrace Hills to the champions at Nolan Richardson Middle. I got photographs of them all during this time. Win or lose, this will be their LAST game together as #WAB in El Paso … If they get the W it’s on to Snyder and the sweet sixteen this weekend.  As a family we’ll be turning the page on close to two decades at Andress High School, class of 99′, 08′, and 15′ for our youngest brother, Isaiah.

Much respect to everyone out on that court tonight from the players to coaches for bringing this to the city.  What’s even greater is the stories that will follow from such a talented group, on both the Andress and Bel Air side.

We’ll continue to share photographs, videos, and other clips that we’ve captured over the years here at the every1plays.org website.  It’s also time to check for the ones coming up.  From JV all the way down to the youth leagues throughout the city both boys and girls.  Til’ the next great game, thank you to the #WAB seniors for the memorable moments in b-ball out here.  We’ll be talking about y’all for years to come.

All best to the Andress & Bel Air.  Time to go.

#ThurmanGarcia

In the early 90s my Dad and I use to watch Tuesday Night Fights on the USA Network. I became a fan of boxing with my Dad watching fighters we had access to see on basic cable television; fighters I’ve referenced before like Oba Carr, Pernell Whitaker, Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones, Jr., Riddick Bowe, Johnny Tapia, etc. I had no chance catching a pay-per-view bout as a kid and at the time HBO/Showtime access was limited to preview weekends or friends with cable scramblers that unlocked premium channels. I lost track of boxing when I got to college mostly hearing about big pay-per-view fights and on occasion watching a good fight on ESPN.  When I finished school, I started checking for sports again and about a year later stumbled across ESPN2’s broadcast of a 9-0 Keith Thurman, Jr. #ThurmanHartman. This was two months after Thurman’s trainer Ben Getty passed away. It was the beginning of Thurman’s journey without his trainer and a prelude to one of the biggest fights in boxing history. Tonight’s fight is as big as it gets for households that have a chance to continue tuning into boxing as they would other professional sporting events like basketball, football, or baseball.  As a fan of Thurman, I always reflect back to my introduction to him  in 09′ and how that built my interest to want to know who was fighting and when.

We look forward to this matchup and the excitement it brings to the sport of boxing. A lot has changed since the basic cable days of the 90s so this is a night to appreciate as Keith Thurman, Jr. and Danny Garcia prepare to tune millions of viewers into their story.

Time for fight night.

-Lee

Lucero Rodriguez Round 1

YouTube: click here

This poem is dedicated to Lucero Rodriguez.

We worked in the same office for a few months.  Because of Lucero, I went to my first boxing match.  At this point she was already a Golden Gloves champion.  When she started working with us, my bosses, Lucero, and other co-workers would talk about boxing all the time.  I learned about boxers from the older adults who would start reminiscing.  Names I'd never heard of like Jose Mantequilla Napoles  I enjoyed these conversations since I've always loved boxing and was a big fan since childhood of boxers like Roberto Duran, Roy Jones, Jr. Oba Carr, Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Johnny Tapia, etc.  Even when it came to video games like Nintendo's Mike Tyson's Punchout or Sega's Evander Holyfield Real Deal Boxing.  I became so interested in boxing as a kid that I agreed to join my Dad to train with boxers at the Northeast Tobin's gym where I played basketball.  It was a small box of a room.  I got no where near the real training boxers had to endure, and already it proved too difficult for my skinny, long, and weak frame.

Lucero spoke often about her love for the sport and a fight she had coming up when she worked with us.  I even got the chance to go to Carolina gym with my boss to see her spar and to meet some of the other young people she trained with.  Lucero was adamant about us going to support her fights.  Every day, "you better go to my fight!"  So I promised to go.  Since I like taking pictures, I thought it would be great opportunity to document my first fight and our champ at the office.  It was exciting to know we were rooting for her not just cause she's from El Paso, but because she was a part of our family at work.  Ever since going to Lucero's fight, I'd go on to support other boxers as well such as Jennifer & Abie Han, Antonio Escalante, David Rodriguez, Austin Trout, and other up and coming fighters.

We lost Lucero Rodriguez in January to an act of violence far from her El Paso home.  Though I hadn't spoke to Lucero in a while, I'd see her from time to time at a couple of boxing events.  One day I also saw her passenger side, window down, of the big suburban that her family drove.  It would be parked sometimes outside of our building when it was time for her to go to school or the gym.

I've thought of Lucero and her family often these past weeks.  Though I've read messages of peace for her rest, these words are intended to represent for life she shared with us during her bit of time at the office.  Til' the next round.

Round 1

Child of the sun city

in our Earth, visible, smiling

with a youthful kindness

bright and shining that day

for a young girl

in a professional world of office employees

you made it cause you could make it anywhere

especially here

the 1st one

everyone saw in the morning

with an illuminating hi

waving as people walked by

to clock in like bells to begin their round

you were alive & awake

far too young to be boxed into work

that forgets how to view life

through youth like you

unafraid of a job description you fit you

an unorthodox style that split time in the ring

at school and with us

Our boss introduced you as a Champion

LUCERO RODRIGUEZ

with a mean left

yet so nice you laughed it off

shaking our hands with gloveless love.