Idols

There have really only been a few times where I can say that I have really met someone that I have idolized. I am not the type of person that when I was growing up I used to dream about meeting this person or that person. I have always looked up to my parents and my brother and they always set the standard for what I thought a positive role model should be. I never looked at entertainers or artists as role models. With that being said though, there have been some people that I have met in my life that have really had me inspired. When I was in high school back in 94 my mother was still teaching at George Mason University and was director of African American studies. During this time she always has big name people come and speak at the school. These names ranged from Cornel West to Henry Louis Gates. I always was really motivated to go see these people speak and it always proved to be exciting and a really good learning experience. One meeting that really stands out in my mind is meeting Betty Shabazz. I can't put into words how humble I was when I met this woman. She had come to George Mason to give a speech for Black History Month and my mother was to pick her up from the airport and give her the grand tour and essentially be her guide while she was in town. My mother called me after she picked Ms Shabazz up and invited me to come eat with them. So, here I was a wild teenager going to eat lunch with the wife of the great Malcolm X. So, we met at a seafood restaurant in Virginia and I the remember the first thing she mentioned was how much she wanted a crabcake and how she remembers coming to the DC area when "Malcolm" was alive and how good the crabcakes were. This sparked about a two hour conversation(not really on my end, I was just listening in awe) about her life and how things were when he was alive. It was really a sacred time and it is one two hour period that I will never forget in my life. To be in the presence of such a royal person is just amazing.

I say all of this because last night at a Wizards basketball game I met someone who I have been trying to meet for the last ten years. Last night I had the chance to speak to Michael Eric Dyson. He too is someone that is friends with my mother and everytime he comes to speak somewhere I miss the occassion. I was supposed to meet him last year but could not get off work and I was crushed. So you can only imagine my joy when my brother told me last night that he was sitting behind the Wizards bench. The first chance I got, I went over to him and shook his hand and told him how much I wanted to meet him and how I was big fan. My brother had gone up to him earlier and advised him of who our mother was, so I reminded him of that and again told him how much of what he does motivates me. We talked for about five minutes and then I went back to my seat. It doesn't get any better than that. He too might I add, is very humble. He took the time to speak to everyone that came up to him and gave most people his business card. It's good to see things like that from such a big name.