FORUM
Kids and Books
Nigel
Alston
Motivational
Moments
. .A book is like a garden car
ried in the pocket.
? Chinese ftoverb
fC
About this time of year, I
can count on receiving an invi
tation from Judy Davis, home
school coordinator at Old
Town Global Academy, to par
ticipate in the school's African
American Read-In.
The annual event, the 19th
nationally, ultimately 4s
intended to promote literacy.
"I look forward to seeing
you tomorrow," read -the note
from Davis. "You are sched
uled to read to group of 2nd
graders at 1 p.m. The teacher
whose class you read to last
year . . . signed up for you
again this year."
I don't know who had the
better time last year, the stu
dents, or me. Maybe it was the
teacher. It was a fun time.
Reading to students is excit
ing. I laughed, they laughed
and I made some new friends.
Usually visiting a class
room, especially an elemen
tary school class, and reading a
book results in students being.
engaged as I read and involves
them in the story. Sometimes
they look over my shoulder to
see the pictures in the book
and encourage me to hold it up
for all to see.
Their participation is an
incentive for our agreed upon
reward. This year I left Owing
the second-graders an ice
cream party.
I decided to read another
one of my favorite books this
year, "The Three Little Wolves
and the Big Bad Pig." Usually,
I read another book I like,
"The True Story of the Three
Little Pigs," by A. Wolf. Yes,
it is told from the Wolf's per
& spectiw, he was framed. His
name is Alexander. Last year
it was a book by Bill Cosby,
"The Worst Day of My Life."
Before reading to the class
and asking for volunteers t
found out they received
rewards for reading. So, "what
would you like today as a
reward for participating?" I
asked. They enthusiastically
responded with things like
erasers, ice cream, candy, and
tattoos. That last response
caught me off guard.
"Tattoos?" That's what the
young boy said, as he giggled.
It was story time. I needed
a volunteer to play the Big Bad
Pig. After he stepped forward,
1 had volunteers to jump out of
their chairs to play the three
little wolves. They were
described as being cuddly,
with soft fur, and fluffy tails.
And they lived with their
mother.
There were other charac
ters too, like the kangaroo who
helped the little wolves with
building materials, bricks, for
their first house. Of course the
Big Bad Pig would huff and
puff and in this case, not blow
the house down. He used a
sledgehammer instead; it was
more effective.
Another house had to be
built which requfted more stu
dent involvement. There were
beavers that supplied the
wolves with messy concrete.
The huffing and puffing didn't
work this time either, so the
Big Bad Pig used a pneumatic
drill. Another house down.
Fortunately, the little
wolves manage to eseape
again and this time a rhinocer
os, played by two students
offered a hand with new
building materials barbed
wire, iron bars, armor plates
and heavy metal padlocks.
Well, you know how the story
continues. This time the pig
used a stick of dynamite.' That
huffing and puffing just wasn't
working.
We were engaged now. The
Big Bad Pig, the three little
wolves, a kangaroo, beavers,
%nd a rhinoceros were all over
the room. From time to time,
we would recap what had hap
pened and who did what. The
class was responsive and into
the story.
The last house the wolves
built was somewhat unusual.
They had to try something dif
ferent. After meeting a
Flamingo pushing a wheelbar
row of flowers, the wolves
changed tactics. They built a
house of flowers. The Big Bad
Pig took a deep breath to huff
and puff again, and . . . taking
in the fragrant scent of the
flowers, decided to become a
good pig. His heart had
changed. You can imaging the
?little wolves were hesitant at
first to accept the change, cut
they jdid. They danced *nd
eventually invited the pig injto
their house.
The class danced too as we
had our curtain call, with the
host of characters standing up -
and accepting applause from
the class while the teachers sat
in the back of the room with
smiles on their faces.
After a round of high fives
with the class, I agreed to
come back and host an ice
cream party. I am looking for
ward to my return trip.
Nigel Alstoyrffa radio talk
show host, columnist and motiva
tional speaker-He is the chair
man of the Winston-Salem State
University Board of Trustees.
Visit his Web site at
wwwmotivationalmoments .com .
A big mistake omitting Floyd Little
George
Curry
Guest
Columnist
Over the Super Bowl
weekend, which finally fea
tured an event that lived up to
its pre-game hype, the Pro
Football Hall of Fame
announced the induction of
six new members. It
announced that a second
Denver Bronco would join
John Elway in the elite club -
but it picked the wrong
Bronco. Instead of selecting
Floyd Little, sportswriters
who vote on the honor picked
former tackle Garry
Zimmerman, whose career
was split between Minnesota
and Denver.
It's not that Zimmerman is
not worthy - he is - but he
doesn't deserve receiving the
NFL's highest compliment
before Little, the first No.l
draft choice to sign with the
Broncos. When he retired in
1975, Little was the seventh
leading rusher in NFL history.
The six ahead of him - some
with less imprpssive stats -
have been already enshrined
in Canton, Ohio. After the
annual enshrinement cere
monies in August, there will
be 247 inductees.
Little^ who owns a Ford
Lincoln-Mercury car dealer
ship in suburban Seattle, says
he has been passed over so
many times that he doesn't
care about winning the honor
anymore. But I care and so do
many other football fans that
recogniz^ Little as one of pro
football's premier running
backs.
Before signing with
Denver, Little had tirmly
established his credentials as
a superstar. He was a three
time All-American at
Syracuse (1964, 65 and 66),
eclipsing school records set
by two others that had worn
the famed #44 jersey for the
Orangemen - NFL great Jim
Brown and Ernie Davis, the
first African-American to win
the Heismann Trophy
Little broke most of their
records, rushing for 2,704
yafds, returning punts for
another 845 yards, kickoffs
for 797 yards and pagsed for
19, a total of 4,947 combined
yards. He scored 46 touch
downs in the 30 games he
played in, including five in
one game. In the 1966 Gator
Bowl, he ran for 216 yards
against Tennessee, averaging
7.4 yards on 29 carries.
Sunday's Super Bowl fea
tured the answer to a sports
trivia question: Who played in
the same Syracuse backfield
as Floyd Little and Larry
Csonka? Answer: New York
Giants Coach Tom Coughlin.
Writing in his book, "Tales
From the Broncos Sideline,"
Little recalled that Coughlin
"got on the nerves of a few
guys because he not only
knew all thf plays, he also
memorized all of the assign
ments of every player. If quar
terback Rick Cassata called a
play in the huddle and he mis
pronounced it or called the
wrong formation, Tom would
correct him. And if someone
was unclear on an assignment,
Tom wouldn't hesitate to tell
them what they needed to do."
Before there was a John
Elway, before there was a
Randy Gradishar, before there
was a Terrell Davi&.and, yes,
before there was a Gary
Zimmerman in Denver, there
was Floyd Douglas Little,
nicknamed The Franchise.
Floyd Little in his heyday.
At 5' 10 and 195 pounds,
even small by standards of the
day, Little pioneered small
running backs being featured
in an NFL offense. An excit
ing runner that could cut on a
dime and give you a nickel in
change. Little was a human
highlight film. At his size, he
could drag would-be tacjclers
an extra five or six yards. And
in the open field, the best
view tacklers had of him was
reading #44 on the back of his
jersey as he crossed the goal
line.
Unlike most players today,
Little played his entire career
with one team. From 1967 to
1975, he collected 12,103 All
Purpose yards, including a
team record 2-*523 on kickoff
returns. He led the NFL in
rushing in 1971 and played in
five All-Star/Pro Bowls.
Entering the Hall of Fame
is not always a fair process
and some teams and former
players are inevitably slight
ed. Twelve players from the
Pittsburgh Steelers teams of
the 1970s are in the Hall of
Fame. But the San Francisco
49ers, which also won four
Super Bowls, has only four
representatives. The Dallas
Cowboys, winner of three
Super Bowls, has oqly two
members. Retired Oakland
Raider punter Ray Guy, in his
17th year of consideration,
still has not been selected.
In an introduction to
Little's book, Jim Brown
adds: "I've said for years that
Floyd deserves to be in the
Hall' of Fame. There's no
question in my mind that he's
one of the game's greatest
players."
Others that share their
view have created a Web site,
www.littleinthehalloffame.co
m, to collect petitions on his
behalf.
The tragedy isn't just that
Little has been passed over, he
was not even among the final
ists to be considered for the
honor this year. When pro
football writers on .the 44
member selection committee
meet in Canton next August,
they will have yet another
opportunity to correct this
travesty. v
In the meantime, sign the
petition on line protesting this
slight and contact sportswrit
ers in your community, urging
them to voice their support.
The ball is now in our hands.
George E. Curry, former
editor-in-chief of Emerge
magazine and the NNPA News
Service, is a keynote speaker,
moderator, and media coach.
He can be reached through his
Web site,
www.georgecurry.com.
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