The Top 40

The Black National Anthem?

Capt: maybe Ebony and Ivory, or Kumbaya, or Where Have all the Flowers Gone.

I'll bet that "Pops" is proud of the way his people are turning out. He shoulda hopped on that boat to Ethiopia, the Rastafarians going to be with Haile Selassie, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. They could all sing that Black National Anthem as they sailed.

My uncle Letsgo Lozko raised bantam chickens. And he wasn't just whistling Dixie.

"Pops is one of the Original Black Men, and everybody wants to be able to comprehend his grunts. We used to get up at the crack of dawn and run like Marines. "

Reminds me of my youth.

As a very young boy, I had the opportunity to participate in a nearly all African-Amercian Judo Club which was located at the Downtown YMCA in St. Paul.

Stan Williams (lived the the locally famous rondo section of St.Pal) ran the club and my brothers and I were nearly to only 'whites' in the club (I would tussle with a redheaded kid named 'Art' and Stans youngest son 'David' (later went to they olympics). I got involved through my eldest brother Rick as he was advised to learn self defense as he would get into fights when attending choir nearby.

I remember how we all would run barefoot down to the State Capitol and back, do various excersies and then start Randori.

I still remember Stan bellowing with his huge voice. I swear they must have used him as the character of 'Apone' in the movie 'Aliens' as Apone was nearly identical to Stan in temperment and voice. I still remember the discipline and ethic of the club and was proud to be a part of it even though I was a slacker who enjoyed getting chased around by the older students.

It also gave me my initial, fantastic and most positive view of those who consider themselves 'African-American'.

But something has happened along the way from those years:

The crime, the hate, the 'Tough Guy' attitude, the broken families, and the ever present issue of race (GOD, am I so SICK of race!!!!) that seems to be teh vast majority of them now.

It wasn't that way when I was a kid - at least the young men I had known back then.

I believe Stan Williams was also a Cancer Researcher at the University of Minnesota, though I am uncertain and only heard that in passing (he NEVER 'talked up' his life when he at the club). I am proud to have known Stan. He was MY shining example of manhood way back when.

I wonder how he is doing now.

To me... Stan IS one of the "original Black Men".

The Racist ones can go... F**k themselves.

John Condon,

I knew those guys too, in my case in Illinois. The impression I always had was that, being Midwesterners, we all had too much common sense to get hung up on race.

And it was the '50s, too, before the race-hustlers on both sides started up their endless race-rant - and by both sides I most definitely mean Col. Tom Parker and the Philadelphia guys who Glorified The Holy Primitive in their quest to get rich offa rocknroll.

The 60's were a definite step forward in regards to some things and a step back in others.

Considering the state of the union today, I think we have lost more than we have gained.

Here's 'Stan' Rob:

www . youtube . com/watch?v=dwUmPpE0BMA

To a 'T'.

One of the script writers for the movie 'Aliens' must have known Stan.

Lotsa good memories. :)

chas - I knew your uncle Letsgo from the get-go. In the '60s, he used to ride shotgun for me and other pilots when we were pushing air freight around south and central America in DC-6s. Sometimes he would arrive for a flight at the very last minute, in a taxi leading a string of taxis behind it honking and with a lot of yelling by the occupants. He would come bounding up the steps, close the crew door, and yell let's go. That's how he got his nickname.

BillH: Yep, that's him. A pocket full of money, a tank full of gas, and one step ahead of the sheriff's ass.
One thing he told me was: "never lay down with a woman that has more troubles than you."
It took me decades to figure that one out.