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. The Chronicle, the Choice for African- American Newa, is located at ?17 N. Liberty Street Winatoa-Salem, NC 27101 336-722S624 Fax - 336-723-9173 newsQwschroniclexom wwm>. wschroniclexom The Chronicle was established by Ernest Pitt and Ndubiai Egemonye in 1974, and is published every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle ? Publishing Co, Inc. The Chronicle is a proud member of : / National Newspapers Publishers Association ? North Carolina Press Association ? North Carolina Black Publishers Association ? Inland Press Association 1 Home Delivery Subscription Order o YES, Please send me The Chronicle o 2 years: $40.95 " o 1 year: $30.72 (3 * o 6 months: $20.48 CK)r ? C Sun O VISA 0 Mastercard o American Express O Check enclosed O Please bill mej Acomat Numtirt ExfHrMInn DM Send TO: The Chronicle, P.O. Bo* 1636, Winston-Salem. NC 27102 Rtainm Office 723-M2I, at IH Paul?ttb Moot! ffatiiieM Office 723-UU, at IH Andha Mosm Office Hunger 7 23-S4H, ext 117 Val 0?ant T M I ELLISON ? 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