
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Where is the Smoking Gun

Monday, May 25, 2009
Curt Gowdy


Curt Gowdy was the master story teller. His gift was that he didn’t have to make it up it, just seemed to unfold in front of his eyes and his voice would just describe what he saw. My imagination would run wild as inning after inning and pitch after pitch, I could see the seams on a one hundred mile an hour fast ball coming strait towards my bed. As each batter took a swing, I could feel the air move like a mighty jet soaring through the sky.I could see the third base coach with his hands on his knees and a mouth full of tobacco in his left cheek. I could feel the muscles in the forearms as the hitter gripped his bat and dug his feet into the ground much in the same was a gladiator drew a line in the sand and dared his opponent to cross it. Then just as the silence of the crowd deepened a loud crack cut through the air and I could see the ball just sailing over the left field green monster. Funny thing other kids had night mares of boogey men, werewolves and vampires. I had a green monster in my dreams and the only nightmare was for the opposing left handed pitchers.

No matter what was going on in the world, you could always escape with that transistor radio. It didn’t matter that there was a war in Vietnam or that the streets were full of protesters. I wasn’t old enough to carry a picket sign, nor did I have any idea what corruption was. At ten everyone just kind of patted you on the head and said someday you will understand. The older I get the more I understand and maybe I don’t want to understand, to show you how irony works. I would give anything to be ten years old again. To sit in my room past my bed time knowing my parents were on the other side of that wall. Listening to Curt Gowdy one more time and close my eyes and see all my idols again just the way I remembered them. To hear him one say signing off from Fenway Park with the Red Sox winning four to two this has been Curt Gowdy and goodnight.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Tap (When Cultures Collide .)
Deep with in the coal mines of South Africa during the early 1800’s . The form of dance was called Welly Boot Dance. The minors would mimic the guards who patrolled the work camps and barracks. It was also called Gumboots. The dancers would stomp and sometimes use bells around their boots to create different sounds as they danced. Gumboot dancing is still a marvel for on lookers in the streets of Cape Town. Thousands of miles to the north in the Gaelic regions of Britain Ireland and Scotland the form of singing and dance was called Sean nós The term Sean nós meant old style. The dance and singing was a celebration and expression among the Gaelic's. Most songs are not gender specific, although the lyrics may suggest it is being sung from a woman's or man's point of view. However there are a few songs that men tend not to sing. Women however do not seem to have the same compunction. In Spain the word for shoe is zapato and the word zapatear. simply means strike with the shoe. zapateado was the dance that had been celebrated throughout Latin America. In the factories of England during the Industrial Revolution workers in the Lancaster cotton mills to keep their feet warm would stomp in place to the rhythm of the machines. During their breaks they would have competitions. This form of dance was called Clogging.
During the middle of the 19th century the Five Points neighborhood the fist beginning of fusion between the dance styles began. The Irish Jig dancing and the combination of the African shuffle was the 1st emergence of Tap Dancing. New York was the center of immigration and the vibrations of dance were copied from one nationality to another.
Many dancers over the years have made a contribution to Tap from there unique styles. Gene Kelly had made many movies most notable Singing In The Rain. He combined his steps with Tap and Ballet and created a grace to Tap unseen before. His biggest competition in film was non other than Fred Astaire who combined Tap with Ballroom Dancing. He always managed to swoon the main character in his movies with his debonair moves. Both of them throughout their lives paid homage to the two men that they were influenced by the most. The Nicholas Brothers were more than dancers the were acrobats there highflying moves were the awe of anyone who saw them. During the Harlem Renaissance they stood head and shoulders above all others. Faynard and Harold Nicholas grew up in Philadelphia during the early 1900’s. They were a fixture at Philadelphia’s Standard Theatre. In New York they became the staple of the Cotton Club. The Nicholas Brothers were the biggest headliners and their audiences were never disappointed. They were the only known act to frequently mingle with the white audiences. In 1932 one of the most notable dance competitions in history took place at the Cotton Club. The Berry Brothers of New York danced against the famous Nicholas Brothers in what was described as masterful. The Berry brothers were more acrobatic but the Nicholas brothers simply outperformed them.
Sammy Davis carried the torch of dance from the 1950's and was best know as a card carrying member of the Rat Pack. He would dance in his movies and on stage with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He also would be a influence on a young dancer, singer and actor Gregory Hines. He combined with Mikhail Baryshnikov the accomplished Russian ballet dancer. The movie White Nights was never the box office hit he had hoped but was credited with cold war stereotypes of the people of the Soviet Union. He was a dancer at heart and the son of a hoofer and partnered with his brother to for the dance team the Hines Brothers.The list of famous tap dancers is endless but include names such asJohn W. Bubbles, Charles "Honi" Coles, Vera-Ellen, Ruby Keeler, Jeni LeGon, Ann Miller,, Donald O'Connor, Eleanor Powell, Prince Spencer,, Ginger Rogers, and Jimmy Slyde. The beauty here is that they are all from different backgrounds and when cultures colide we can enjoy the results Art in its truest form.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Femininity


In 1965 Diane and another person named Stephanie a black transgendered person that was very similar in circumstances to her own. They had meetings at the Harvard Medical School with a young surgeon named Doctor Francis Woldort. There had been many that applied for this opportunity but Stephanie and Diane were the final 2 selected. The work was ground breaking and the Harvard Gender Identity Clinic was one of the first In the United States. Diane expressed a freedom she had been looking for all her life. She was working at a local dinner in back of the old Filenes department store in downtown Boston.


After Deborah was finished with college Diane decided to have a talk with her. Diane yielded to her history and in a state of shock she stormed out the door. Several hours had passed and when she returned the only demand was that this conversation never took place again. Diane tried to rekindle her daughters relationship with her natural mother but there was very little interest on either side. The one constant in Diane’s life was being a mother and grandmother.
In the Late 70s Dianne finally found love with a local roofer in Boston. Her daughter was settled and married and soon would give birth to her grandchildren. After much consideration Diane gave her husband her story and with out a flinch they were able to move on with what she called a whirlwind romance.

Diane enjoyed life as a grandmother her love for them was always provided her comfort. Diane had never been political or was much of a activist. She was more or less led to be a power of example to other transgendered woman . She would be quick to point out to other woman of the perils of street life and prostitution. She voiced her concern but deep down she never felt she was making any kind of statement. Her inner self always prevailed and she knew her path from of a very early age. Diane embraced the woman inside of her and her journey she felt was chosen for her.


Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Tragedy Hits Home

When you measure a mans worth it should be beyond his accomplishments. When you look back on a mans life when you see all the obstacles he over came to get there that’s what is important. When I first met James I had been broken to the point of hopelessness. Doing drugs and living a nightmare of the lifestyle that addiction carries. with it. Everything that has happened to me the last 17 plus years is a direct result of the nurturing and unconditional love he gave me. I learned to be a father to my children. Under his mentoring all my fractured family relationships had been mended. He was the biggest force behind my writing. He encouraged me to write and go deep inside and be the inspiration to others that he was to me. We had spent countless hours traveling the country to speak to convicts and addicts. The greatest compliment I ever received was recently when I was in Chicago a man walked up to me and said he was at a treatment center James and I spoke at several years ago.. He said he was a single father raising his children and he been clean for 2 years. He said the message James delivered changed his life and he wanted to thank him. I was just like him in the last 8 years I was able to be a single parent and be responsible for my children. When I think of all the things that I have accomplished being a father to my kids is what means the most. He led me to my personal relationship with god. His encouraging and mentoring put me on a path I never dreamed of. There is no way I could ever thank him for the life I have. I just pray that I can keep his message alive and inspire others the way he inspired me
01:00 AM EST on Monday, February 4, 2008
Friends of James K. Imonti Jr. — shot in the back, allegedly by his father-in-law, outside a Food Lion store in Carrboro, N.C. — said the former Rhode Islander had pulled himself from the depths of substance abuse and become a powerful, nationally known motivational speaker and counselor who helped many thousands deal with their substance abuse problems.
News accounts late last week noted only Imonti’s drug problems.
“He did countless, endless amounts of service to the community, service to the incarcerated, the homeless, those afflicted with addiction and alcoholism, people in general. He was the epitome of compassion and kindness,” said his friend Sean Garedo, who was so inspired by Imonti he asked him to be the godfather of his daughter. “He spoke with so much enthusiasm, passion and commitment, his message was heard by the deafest of ears.”
A Rhode Island School of Design graduate and Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, Imonte had a jewelry business, Imonti Designs, and served as his own distributor. He spent most of his life in Rhode Island, residing in Cranston, and moved to Carrboro, just west of Chapel Hill, in 2002. He died at the age of 59.
Friends say Imonti’s transformation came in 1989, after years of living on the edge, occasional trouble with the law, and, most important, the death of his 4-year-old daughter.
Once the change came, “he immediately made an impact on all the addicts in the Greater Providence area,” said Jerry Urso, who has traveled the conference circuit with Imonti. “He would go to detoxes and treatment centers and carry the message of hope to people in prison.”
“He was particularly proud that he was able to take the worst of the worst and change their lives forever. He would take homeless people into his [jewelry] business shop and help them get on their feet. There are so many people who are alive today because of him,” said Urso.
Garedo said Imonti became a familiar face in Rhode Island courtrooms, but this time giving judges advice about men and women in trouble with the law who had turned their lives around.
“James taught us to be fathers and husbands,” he said. “Getting people off drugs is the easy part, restoring them back into society is the hard part. Some of us have become basketball coaches, some have become other types of volunteers, we give back to society. One guy I know who James inspired has just become a radiologist.”
Known as “James I.” because people in 12-step programs don’t go by their full names, the Cranston resident chaired the state’s first major convention, in Warwick, for recovering addicts. He inspired convention groups, some as large as 10,000 people, around the country, said Urso, who spoke at Imonti’s memorial service Saturday at Holy Cross Church of God in Christ United, on Broad Street in Providence.
“I’ve been in Chicago and people would come to him and say, ‘You gave me such a hope, and I’ve been clean for two years,’ ” he recalled.
Garedo said he has traveled all over the United States and Canada. “No matter where I go, they ask if I know a guy named James I,” he said, explaining that recordings of Imonti’s talks have been repeatedly copied and passed around. “People tell me they heard him and he changed their lives forever.”
“He was the most passionate speaker I’ve ever heard,” said Urso. When he was before an audience, you could hear a pin drop “because you hung on every word. He’d take people on a roller-coaster ride that was his life. They would laugh with him, cry with him, and then he would wrap that all up in a bow and give people the gift of hope. And he did that for the last 19 years.”
Former Cranston man fatally shot in North Carolina
01:00 AM EST on Friday, February 1, 2008
By Timothy C. BarmannJournal Staff Writer
A former Cranston resident was shot and killed in a North Carolina grocery store parking lot on Monday, and the police arrested the man’s father-in-law for the crime.
James K. Imonti Jr., 59, was found face down, unconscious and unresponsive outside a Food Lion store in Carrboro, N.C., early Monday evening, according to the Carrboro police.
Imonti, a Carrboro resident, appeared to have been shot once in the upper back at close range, the police said. He was pronounced dead at the University of North Carolina Hospital. The police allege that Imonti’s father-in-law, Garland McRay King, 65, shot Imonti after the two argued in the parking lot near the Food Lion. The two had had a dispute for some time, the police said in a statement.
The police said King, a Chapel Hill resident, was found with a handgun at the scene and was arrested. King was charged with first-degree murder, according to a police report.
Jihan Ali, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina, walked out of the grocery store and saw a man yelling at a man lying on the ground, the Daily Tarheel reported. Ali said the assailant tugged at the victim’s pants, as if to drag him, partially pulling off the pants.
Jihan said another man told the assailant to move away from the victim, and the assailant went to a nearby car, a sedan parked in a handicapped space, and waited until the police arrived, according to the newspaper account.
Imonti, a Providence native and a former resident of Edgewood, moved to North Carolina in 2002, according to an obituary in The Providence Journal.
He worked as a jewelry distributor for his own company, Imonti Designs, the obituary said. He studied jewelry design at the Rhode Island School of Design and graduated in 1978 from the Jewelry Institute in Providence. He worked as a model maker for Trifari, Marvella, Monet, Swarovski and other jewelry manufacturers before starting his own business. He was an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of Holy Cross Church of God in Christ United.
He is survived by his wife, Lovey King-Imonti, and five children. Emily L. Imonti, his daughter by a previous marriage, died in 1989 at age 4.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
120 Years of National Geographic


although it would be another 20 years latter before I would see the exhibit. I looked with amazement as I turned each pay. The photography was like you were looking through the camera’s lens.




Monday, January 21, 2008
MLK 104 Days That Changed The World

Henry Loeb was sworn into office neither he or the rest of the world would come to understand the legacy that would follow. Loeb was from a wealthy Jewish family who would latter convert to the Episcopal Church. His conservatism and stubbornness would be part of 104 days that changed the world and silenced one of the most promising voices of humanity.





The very next day upon returning to Lorain Hotel Martin Luther King was shot a nation was in turmoil. In major cities across American the billowing smoke could be seen as cities burned in protest. Bobby Kennedy would alert the nation at a campaign stop in Indiana against the advice

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President Lyndon Johnson had charged Undersecretary of Labor James Reynolds with negotiating a solution and ending the strike. On April 8th lead by a grieving Coretta Scott King would lead a march of 42,000 through Memephis in Honor of MLK. Reynolds would continue to meet with the Loeb and through much deliberation between the union, COME and the workers on April 16th the strike had finally ended.

The 1st 104 days of 1968 will be remember for the final chapter in the life of Martin Luther King. What was amazing was that he was a threat to the highest order in that any time he would appear his influence would follow. He no longer was a voice of only Civil rights he had become a citizen of the world. Had he lived what influence would he have had over strikes all over the United States? Unions saw the power in him. Presidents could not ignore him and his enemies would come to fear him as they could not contain the force of righteousness that trembled from his lips. No longer would they be able to do business as usual he exposed oppression and advocated for the rights of all men.

