Catch Me If You Can!

By Vince Alexander

            My students know. I still tell this story in my classroom when I discuss discipline.

            As a kid, I was your typical hard-headed, mischievous boy. I was told that I had a temper. One day, I had gotten into trouble, and my mother was about to spank me with the only thing that would make me change my evil ways: an extension cord.

            But I had a plan; I would run!

            I ran with her in hot pursuit. She had big curlers in her hair and slippers on, but that woman ran, too. I ran through the living room, out the back door, around the apricot trees, and around the rose garden. Then I saw my friends—and I figured I didn’t want them to see me get a whuppin, so I went back inside and took my beating.

            I even remember what I said:

            “Momma!

            “OK momma! OK momma! I won’t do it again!”

            That was in the ‘60s. That’s how my brother and I got punished when we acted a fool.

            That couldn’t happen today. Just ask Adrian Peterson, the All-Pro runningback of the Minnesota Vikings. He allegedly spanked one of his sons with a switch from a tree—and now he is charged with a crime, putting his illustrious career in jeopardy.

However, I understand.  Peterson is from the South, and that’s how he was punished. That’s how a lot of my black friends were punished.

By the way, my mom and father are from Alabama; that’s as country-southern as you can get.

Today, it’s funny to me. I would hear young parents talking about how they have punished their children with a timeout, a banishment to their rooms, or a removal of a toy—and I’d laugh.

            That’s why many kids are in trouble today. They would get into trouble—and laugh at their parents’ form of disciple.

            You’ve heard them.

            “I don’t care. Call my momma!

            “So!”

            “Whatever!”

            That kind of defiance didn’t happen prior to the ‘70s.

            You could even see it in popular African-American TV shows. Remember Good Times with Thelma and JJ? If so, I’m sure you remember their father—James. It didn’t take a lot of inferring to know that James swung a mean belt.

            As a dad—I did too.

            Oh, did I mention that I’m a Baptist.  And I was taught through the church that if you “spared the rod—you spoil the child.”

Back in the day, we called it, “Putting the fear of God” in our children. Yup, for a long time, I was scared of my parents.

Today, I see the results. My brother and I are home owners, and we are the only people in our immediate family with a master’s degree hanging on the wall.

As for the welts I received from my parents, it was done so that society wouldn’t have to lock me up. It was done because they loved me.

That’s why I have never been incarcerated. When I was bad, my parents took care of it so that society wouldn’t have to.

And today—my stories of spankings are great teachable moments.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

This was North Central football players in the fall of 2009. In the front row, to the right, is Colin Alexander during his senior year. 

North Central High School grads Jamel Edwards and Colin Alexander after a victory while playing for Hanover College.

This is Lawrence North's Trent Minter as a freshman. He will be competing for a starting QB spot for LN.

This is Gavin Alexander, above and below, he recently transferred from UIndy to Hanover College.

Behind center is quarterback Gavin Alexander during his freshman year at North Central High School.

North Central High School football seniors from the class of  2010.

In a UIndy practice, Gavin was about to show off his strong arm.

This is a shot from a beautiful fall day as Hanover College played at Anderson University.

Lawrence Central Hires "My Homie" As New Boys' Basketball Coach

By Vince Alexander

     My high school—Fort Wayne Wayne High School—isn’t well known in these parts of Indianapolis.
     That is until now.
     It was recently announced that Albert Gooden, one of the most popular people from my graduating class of 1977, will be the new head boys’ basketball coach at Lawrence Central High School. The announcement was made on the school’s website.
     Gooden is my homeboy. My homie.
For people like me who grew up with him, he is “Big Al.” At Wayne, he was a huge teenager at about 6-feet-5 and about 230 points. He teamed with former Purdue star Roosevelt Barnes and 6-10 Steve Bates to form one of the best high school basketball teams to never win a state title. Of course, that was “back in the day” when it was single-class basketball. It was a time when winning a state championship meant you had to take on all teams—big and small.
     Today everybody seems to get a trophy.
     If you like “old school,” you will love “Big Al.” We grew up in a very humble environment, and we developed a thick skin. Most of us had nicknames.
     “Big Al” knows me as “Puma.” My brother, who played basketball with “Big Al” was “Pumas.” We were separated by the “s.” How did we get those names? I don’t know. We just accepted our fate and tried to make the best of it.
     I don’t know if “Big Al” remembers, but forced busing was one of the things that African Americans like “Big Al” and I had to accept. We grew up in a predominantly black neighbor in south central Fort Wayne. Wayne High School is located in the cornfields on the far south side of Fort Wayne in a suburb called Waynedale. In order to integrate Wayne, which was a freshly built new school at the time, black students were forced to take the long bus ride to Wayne.  
     I can’t speak for “Big Al,” but it was quite the culture shock for a young, urban black teenager to find himself going to a school surrounded by nothing by cornfields. In contrast, some whites had never had to share a classroom with an African American.
     However, basketball brought everyone together. Led by “Big Al,” Wayne won a lot of games. Al was a starter as a sophomore. He was great at scoring in the post, and he was great at hitting mid-range jump shots. Of course, he was a beast on the boards.
     He went on to play basketball at Ball State.
     Despite Big Al’s success, he was always quiet. He’s not the kind of person who seeks attention or is “the life of the party.”
      He’s just “Big Al.”
      As a basketball coach, whatever rage he held inside, he allowed his basketball players to release it. I witnessed it firsthand when I was the high school sports editor of Fort Wayne’s Journal Gazette newspaper between 1990 and 1996. At that time, his teams would attack opponents full court for the entire game. They just attacked, and he’d play nine, 10, and 11 players in a game because they spent so much energy getting steals and coast-to-coast layups. His teams turned 10-point deficits into 20-point victories. It was probably similar to playing in 90-degree heat at McMillen Park or Weisser Park in Fort Wayne; find a way to score or you’ll be on the sidelines watching.
     As a player, “Big Al” was never on the sidelines, and I’m glad to hear that he has been successful.
     In fact, I teach at Belzer Middle School, and he will be coaching and teaching across the street at Lawrence Central. When we see each other, there won’t be a lot of talking. But there will be a big hand shake, a few questions about my brother, Wes (Pumas), and it will end with head nod.
     Simple gestures.
     Major accomplishments.
     That’s “Big Al.”

More North Central Regional boys track and field 2014

 

 

 

 

 
                                       

                          
           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lawrence North's Keenan Johnson (left), North Central's James Mitchell (center) and Earren Young of Muncie Central (far right) battle in the 200 dash.

 

 

 

 

North Central Regional Boys Track and Field 2014

Mason Bechdolt of Delta takes a slight lead in the 110-meter high hurdles at the recent North Central Regional boys' track and field meet.
 

 

No. 14 Alonzo West of Anderson clears the hurdles in the regional boys track and field meet.
 

James Mitchell of North Central (far left) takes an early lead in the 100-meter dash.

Joe Murphy of Lawrence North leads the pack en route to a victory in the 1600-meter run in the boys' regional track and field meet.

Isaiah White of Perry Meridian runs hard in the 1600 run.

James Huffman of North Central fights off a group of runners.

Jaymin Miles of Ben Davis competes in the long jump.