Hair Love,
an Oscar-winning animated short film
from Akron University’s Matthew A. Cherry,
tells the heartfelt story of an African American father
learning to do his daughter’s hair
for the first time. . .

L I S T E N
take it from a bald man
A LITTLE BIT WORK
AND A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE
is a message
that transcends
even the most
unruliest
strands of hair

Most are willing to put in the
W O R K
but not the
L O V E
but when you do,
Life not only
C H A N G E S
it revolutionarily gets
B E T T E R
(P R O V E I T)

Two years ago, Kobe Bryant became the first person to win both a sporting championship and an Oscar with his victory in the Best Animated Short Film for “Dear Basketball.”

The five-time NBA champion and former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, who died Sunday in a helicopter crash in L.A. County at age 41, won the Academy Award for his collaboration with animator Glen Keane.

In his acceptance speech alongside Keane in stage, Bryant aimed a swift jab at Fox News host Laura Ingraham, by saying basketball stars shouldn’t just “shut up and dribble.”

Ingraham had come under heavy fire the previous month for criticizing LeBron James and fellow NBA star Kevin Durant for making anti-Trump comments in an interview with ESPN’s Cari Champion for “UNINTERRUPTED,” saying they shouldn’t comment on politics and should “shut up and dribble.”

Durant went on to say that he thought Ingraham’s on-air comments were “racist,” while James responded in a simple Instagram post, stressing “I am more than an athlete.”

“I’ve always been told that as basketball players the expectation is that you play. This is all you know. This is all you do. Don’t think about handling finances. Don’t think about going into business. Don’t think that you want to be a writer 00 that’s cute,” Bryant told the Undefeatedahead of the Oscar ceremony. “I got that a lot. What do you want to do when you retire? ‘Well, I want to be a storyteller.’ That’s cute.

“This is … a form of validation for people to look and say, ‘OK, he really can do something other than dribble and shoot,” he said.

It doesn’t matter how many pages are in the Book of Life
so much as what’s
W R I T T E N
on each precious one
and more
exactly what’s
g l e a n e d
. . .We worry and fret about so many
U N N E C E S S A R Y
s t u f f
and knowing that
doesn’t make us worry less. . .
THE MORAL OF THE STORY:

And if you need something more simple
take a deep drink from my big mug:

The taste is indescribable
and the mug
is bottomless

(Just 8 days ago, a sports legend and his daughter, along with 7 other souls were lost to this world in an unspeakable, way-too-soon tragedy. Due to its shocking suddenness, and the profile of one involved, the cultural wound is vast and many are asking the big questions, which I think is an entirely appropriate response. If you are such a person, finding yourself grieving, whatever the reason, please know that I’d love to listen, and chat if you’d like. No joke. Your grief; your worry and the big questions need to be felt, asked, heard, and wrestled with responsibly. I’m yours for the hearing.)