Life in the Mind of a Modest Genius

Another Birthday Smörgåsbord

We have come upon another calendar day where more than a few individuals I personally know share the same birthday.  It's a fortunate coincidence for them that it just happens to land on the day in December that is the foundation of my beloved fraternity.  That date I will always remember.  The birthdays, as much as I hate to admit, I would probably forget were it not for Facebook.  Hey...what can I say?  I have a terrible memory.

First and foremost is Auntie Ann.  My favorite Des Moines auntie.  It doesn't even matter that she's my only one in Des Moines.  I owe her a great deal of gratitude for more than just being an influential elder.  She was there for me not that long ago when I was going thru a rough patch and needed a place to stay.  While it was a very humbling experience for me, Auntie went out of her way to make sure that things were as normal possible.  Yet another example of some of the amazing family I have.

I surprised her by stopping by her place after work today.  Not sure how much of a surprise it was though.  I texted Makea the day before to make sure Auntie was going to be there when I got off.  I told Kea I was going to pay a surprise visit, but something tells me she probably told her mom I was coming.  It's all good.  Auntie Ann acted surprised so I'll take that.  I think she was more surprised by the fact that I got her something.  It was the best birthday card ever.  Why?  Because it came from me, of course!

If we were to go by age, the next up with my my LB (line brother), Mike Brown.  For those that don't know what a "line brother" is, it means that he and I pledged together.  I remember him always getting a hard time for the fact that his birthday fell on the same day as the Frat's birthday.  For the longest time, I thought he was making it up just trying to be funny.  It took him showing me his driver's license to prove it.  And what a driver's license pic it was.  Imagine a Black version of a Flock of Seagulls with glasses.  That was his pic.

I should probably do a better Job of keeping in touch with Mike.  Although to be fair, it does go both ways so the same could be said of him.  The communication has been better since he finally joined Facebook.  His new truck business has him fairly busy though so his time is limited.  At the very least he's always a text/FB message away.  Even if it may take him a minute to respond.

Not sure which one of the remaining two is older so I'm going to go with family before phamily.   That brings me to Brandon Brown.  He's my cousin by way of Mom's side.  The official connection is Aunt Dietra is Mom's sister and Brandon is Dietra's oldest son.  I just recently discovered that Brandon doesn't live in Kansas City like the enormous amount of my other relatives do; however, he's not that far away with his current residence in Columbia.

Brandon is a proud veteran of the US Marine Corps.  He was one of the individuals who had the distinction of serving in the military overseas in I want to say Iraq?  I'm sure if I'm wrong either he or another family member reading this will correct me.  I do know that he was in harm's way for quite a while.  I'm definitely not alone in being thankful that he is with us today and wish him the best as he and the missus prepare to start a family of their own.

The last individual is one of my very own frat brothers, Sam Reed.  Ironically enough, he also hails from that Notorious Omicron Pi Chapter.  I'm not supposed to be using the term "Notorious" so don't tell nobody.  Anyway, Sam came entred the black and old gold fold after Mike and I had already graduated Iowa State.  He's part of the new blood from the chapter that helped revitalize it with a renewed vigor.  He and the other bros from that era were just the shot in the arm that the chapter needed.  Which brings me to the biggest event on this date...

103 years ago on this date, seven visionary men set out to change the collegiate fraternal landscape.  These "jewels" had enough foresight to realize that their actions on Cornell's campus in Ithaca, New York would lay the groundwork for a foundation that would last for generations.  Over a century later, that social and literary club has grown to an intercollegiate fraternity with over 200,000 members affiliated with over 680 chapters all around the globe.  Sam, Mike and myself are just three of the many brothers that are fortunate to be a part of such an amazing organization that focuses on manly deeds, scholarship and love for all mankind.  Here's to many more years to come... 

OSIX!

Iowa District Meeting

There were  quite a few events going on this weekend and I knew I couldn't make it to all of them.  Now that I live in Ames, I have to ration out my Des Moines visits so I have to be selective about what extra-curricular activities I attend.  Don't have much choice when gas is hovering around $2.50 a gallon and I'm still ballin' on a budget.  The one function that I knew I couldn't afford to miss was our District Meeting.  Especially since I've missed our last two regular meetings.

I can't even lie...it's been a minute since I've been to a District Meeting.  I don't even remember the last one it's been so long.  That's why I was struggling with the choice of what to wear to this one.  Was it supposed to be casual or business attire?  In the back of my mind, I was fairly certain that it was business attire.  This is an Alpha meeting we're talking.  Unfortunately, stupid me didn't listen to the back of my mind.  I put on some fresh-pressed jeans and a nice button-down dress shirt. Yep...I was the only brother there in jeans.  Well at least I attended.

I found myself subconsciously searching for at least one brother that made the same mistake I did.  Not a single one.  The closest I came was one brother who had on a nice suit and dress shoes with white ankle socks.  I wouldn't have even noticed them had I not been sitting next to him.  I saw him sit down out of the corner of my eye and initially thought he had on some nice Stacy Adams.  Nope.  The white and black contrast I saw was the socks with the shoes.  Unfortunately, it's not like I had room to talk.  At least he had on a suit.

Naturally, I can't go into all the details that went on during that all-day meeting.  It was frat business so unless you are a member, it's confidential.  I could tell you but then I would have to kill you Then everybody loses.  Seriously though, there were a couple of noteworthy items that I can share.   One was the opening address that Life member Paul Danforth gave.

Brother Danforth has been a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. for over 50 years.  That in itself is amazing.  Here I am thinking I'm old and he's been a member of our organization longer than I have even been alive.  He shared with us what it was like for him trying to get into Drake University in the 50s as a Black man at at time when they had a cap on the number of Black students they would allow.  I especially liked how he conveyed that in his days, they didn't consider obstacles adversities.  Instead, they looked at them as challenges.  I always enjoy hearing elders talk about their experiences.  There's just no value you can place on living history.

The other part that I can share with you is our oratorical contest.  We had two very talented competitors: Omicron Pi's own Josh Mensah and newly initiated Brandon Parker from Alpha Theta (University of Iowa).  The theme was how the internet is causing us to lose touch with the value of human interaction.  Both of them brought up some very interesting points and either would have deserved to represent the District at Regionals.  Alas, there can only be one and it was Brandon.  It would have been nice to have O Pi represent at Regionals, but it will be a good experience for a young up and coming brother.

The day enabled me  to create another photo album for everyone to enjoy: Alpha Iowa District Meeting.  They are certainly not professional pictures, but not bad at all for a digital camera.  Maybe some day I will get to the level of Mr. Biggs and his antique 35mm camera he was using.  I didn't even think they made that type of film anymore.  It was really something you had to see to believe.  Thanks to the photo album and the corresponding comments, it will almost be like you were right there with us.

The Birthday Smörgåsbord

Another benefit about Facebook is its ability to keep you on task with birthdays.  As long as folks have entered in the month and day of their birthday, Facebook will display reminders on the

sidebar to let you know what friends' birthdays are approaching.  It's a good thing too because without that, there would be a few of them that I would have clearly overlooked.  Or I also would not have realized that October 1st was such a popular birthdate as three good friends share that same date.

We'll go with ladies first and give a shout out to the one and only cbean.  To this day, I still don't know how she came up with that nickname, but it was all I knew her as for quite a while.  I was fortunate enough to make her online acquaintance thanks to a mutual blog we both frequented.  Over time, she began checking mine out and now she's a regular there.  I would have returned the favor if she had a blog of her own, but she's content with enjoying everyone else's rather than tackling the tedious task we online journalists undertake.

I couldn't tell you how old she is today.  I know better than to ask a woman that.  Although I'm pretty certain she once told me and I've already forgotten.  I have a pretty good idea what it is and I'm sure I'll get abruptly reminded once this is read.  Whatever the case may be and however young it is, it's been a blessing to have her as a friend as she is further proof that the internet isn't all full with crazies.

The next notable personality sharing this birthday is none other than the COLDEST solo to ever come out of that NOTORIOUS Omicron Pi:  Leon Pickett.  I hope he doesn't take offense to the fact that I didn't even realize today was his birthday until I saw it on Facebook.  It's just a good thing he eventually joined the FB crew or another year would have went by where the two of us were out of touch.

Leon ended up being the only line that I ever deaned (yep...just made up that word) while I was in

undergrad at Iowa State.  It's no fluke that that was probably why he was one of the tightest brothas that O Pi ever produced.  My pledge son spent a minute at Iowa State, but it ended up being well worth the time as he is now Dr. Leon Pickett.  There are thousands of men that wear the same letters that are all frat yet only certain ones earn the distinction of being my brotha.  Leon is definitely one of those.

Last but certainly not the least is the man who we used to consider the Godfather.  Mainly because he was so much older than the rest of us. 

The thing of it was Marc wasn't even THAT much older.  It just so happened that he turned 21 while most of us were still in our teens.  I still remember us giving him a hard time when he hit 22 and we commented on how old that was.  That "old" age is looking pretty dang good right about now.

Marc was my pledge father when I was on line.  He was also our assistant dean.  I swore for the longest time that he didn't like me and I never knew why.  It turned out that we ended up becoming close friends for the rest of our time at Iowa State and even beyond.  So much so that the two of us are taking it upon ourselves (and the bros currently at ISU) to make the 3oth anniversary of Omicron Pi be an event.  Marc is another perfect example of a brotha whose bond transcends the letters.

These are three of the best folks you will ever meet.  That just stands the reason because it's not like I do a special birthday post for just anybody.  I wish them all the very best on this day and may they be blessed to see many more birthdays to come.

Thursday Throwback

Greekfest

Folks from around these parts both young and old are very familiar with the annual tradition of the Drake Relays Stepshow.  Even if it isn't what it once was, everyone knows that come Drake Relays weekend, historically Black frats and sororities are going to have a good old-fashioned stompdown somewhere on the Drake campus.  What many folks don't know is there was a time when that stepshow wasn't the only stepshow that folks looked forward to around these parts.

Greekfest was an event that was native to the Iowa State campus.  It was always held around November sometime while Drake Relays always fell in April.  For that reason, I'm fairly certain that Greekfest probably began with the idea in mind that it would serve as sort of a warm-up for the Iowa State frats and sororities to get prepared for the Relays stepshow.  Although Greekfest was also different in the aspect that it only featured organizations from Iowa State.  So it was ultimately a chance for us to show out and show up for our own campus.

The event slowly began to evolve over the years to the point where it was a reunion of sorts.  Brothas and sistas that had since graduated would make it a point to come visit on that weekend.  It gave them a chance to catch up with old acquaintances while still being able to see who had the tightest stepshow on the yard.  For a while there, we considered it the ISU Black Homecoming.  There was never anything official about it.  It just became common knowledge that come Greekfest weekend, you could count on seeing familiar faces from the past.

A funny thing happened throughout the years.  Greekfest slowly started getting bigger in popularity than the Relays stepshows.  There was a time when organizations would only step at Greekfest and pass on the Relays stepshows.  The reason being because Greekfest began to get more competitive.  VERY competitive.  What started out as an exhibition became a paid competition.  Then every organization became focused on winning Greekfest as it would give your organization bragging rights on the yard.  As well as a decent little cash award.

The picture you see was taken at Greekfest 1991.  Special thanks to frat Joel (alias Pyramid Stalker) for providing it. I used to have a video of our show from this year, but have conceded that it is somehow gone for good after being unable to locate it for years.  As I look at this pic, it brings back all the glorious hours of blood, sweat and tears that we put in to prepare for that show.  I can remember the late night grueling practices.  The countless hours of trying to teach my LB Mike one step in particular that took him forever to get right.

We were just as driven as every other frat on the yard was to win Greekfest.  Every year, it seemed to be a showdown between us and the Sigmas.  It was a given that each year our organizations would bring something new to the table to up the ante.  The Omegas had a couple of years where they deviated from their norm and made a good run.  The Kappas?  Well they provided good comic relief every now and then.  Nevertheless, you could pretty much always count on the same top two. 

What's most significant about this picture is it represents our first victory as Greekfest stepshow champions.  It just so happened to be the first year they had it as a competition as opposed to an exhibition.  It began a streak of victories at Greekfest that would span 7 years.  It got to the point where after winning so many years in a row, the Greekfest organizers eventually decided to switch it back to being an exhibition again.  Then organizations decided to stop participating.  Then the eventual death of Greekfest.

There was talk of bringing Greekfest back a couple of years ago, but the planning never materialized and it eventually fell through.  It probably doesn't help too much that the Drake Relays stepshow has lost so much of its luster.  It probably also has a lot to do with the fact that the mentality of today's Black greek's around this area is much different than it was back in the more competitive years.  So for now, we have pictures like these and our eternal memories that will remind us of the days when one event was able to energize a community.

Things to Be Grateful For

I should just go ahead and make 'O the Randomness" a regular weekly featurelike I do Thursday Throwback or Mr. Bungles.

Of course then it wouldn't be very random, now would it?

Speaking of Mr. Bungles, after the President's speech last nite, I'll give you three guesses at who's getting this week's award and your first two don't count.

I found a new guilty pleasure on cable:  "Hoarders".  The only thing is you have to make sure you're not eating while you're watching it.  Found that out the hard way.

Allen Iverson going to the Memphis Grizzlies is about the saddest thing in the NBA since Jordan came out of retirement to play for the Wizards.  Almost.

HUGE game this weekend here in Iowa.  Iowa State vs. Iowa.  In Ames, no less.  I thought for a second there that ISU would be in trouble, but after seeing Iowa against UNI, I like our chances.

FINALLY got the tags for my car.  It would have been nice if the dealer told me they had them there instead of me sitting here thinking they were going to be mailing them to me.

My break from horror films is going to have to wait until after I watch "[REC]" which is already on its way here from Netflix.

I ashamedly admit that I have a little inkling to see "Sorority Row" after the trailers make it look rather interesting.

Then again, I though that with "The Final Destination 3D" and we saw how well that worked out.

I know they're frat and all, but I swear if get ONE more e-mail on Facebook and/or see one more post about the Alpha Eta chapter Back -to-School party...

I'm finally beginning to slowly navigate my way around West Des Moines.  Just so I can end up moving again in a couple of weeks.

New favorite site to past the time : Evony. 

Someone remind me to defrag my hard drive tonite because my lappy is running WAY slow.

So I'm guess I'm going to the Norwalk football game tonite since G wants to see my former high school play football.  This should be interesting.  Norwalk's football program has never been very impressive.

All-4-One reunited, huh?  Well I guess if New Kids can go touring, then why not All-4-One?  Even though their group is just a Boyz II Men knock-off.

I'm still holding out for that Troop reunion.

Last nite's game was a heckuva way to kick off the NFL season.  Yet an even further reminder that baseball needs to go somewhere and stay gone.

The Iowa Air National Guard recruiter won't return my calls regarding OCS.  That must be a sign.

Some folks really need to realize that closed-toe sandals were designed specifically with them in mind.  Elegant nail polish is not going to hide the fact that you got some jacked up feet.

'Nuff said.

 

 

Alpha Family BBQ 2009

This time last year when this event rolled around, I wasn't able to attend.  The timing didn't work out.  Elijah and Mariah were up for two weeks and the Saturday we had the picnic was the Saturday I had to take them back.  That wasn't the case this year.  My two oldest were staying longer so they were able to attend the function.  It was the first time I've been able to take all three of my children to an Alpha event so I was pretty stoked about that.

I had no idea where Fair Meadows Park was as I headed out in search of the location.  At least that's what I thought.  I utilized the nifty Around Me app on my handy iPhone and was able to have the GPS navigate me there with no problem.  The closer I got, the more I realized why it looked so familiar.  It was the exact same park where I had just had my company picnic just a little over a month ago.  I didn't realize it was so popular.

We had some errands to run earlier that day.  Errands that in hindsight turned out to be a total waste of  time after getting the news I received today.  At any rate, it was those errands that had me running a little late to he picnic.  I would have otherwise liked to get there closer to the designated start time of 12:30.  It was instead closer to 1:30 when we rolled in.  The park's parking lot was entirely full and I had to park the Dark Knight alongside the curb instead.  That was a pretty good sign that we already had a great turnout early.

We arrived just in time to avoid the line for the food.  That alone made the delay in getting there well worth it.  There was a magnificent spread catered by none other than Bubba Daye.  Pork AND beef ribs (for Mr. Biggs), chicken, cheesy hashbrowns, mac and cheese, greens...I'm getting hungry all over again just thinking about how good that food was.  I would have taken a picture of my plate so you could get an even better idea of what it was like, but my plate didn't stay full for long.

I also made sure I got the right barbecue sauce for the ribs this time.  Bubba saw me coming and even helped a brotha out.  He also still remembers the episode from a couple of years ago when I tried to go with the spicy sauce and was sweating like a stuck pig from how intense it was.  It was mild all the way for me now.  Thing was, his ribs were so tender and juicy that they tasted just as good without any sauce at all.  G was a living testimony for that.  He went back for seconds and had nothing but sauce-less ribs on his little plate.

Once the food had settled, the toys started coming out.  Namely the football.  The park was large enough to accommodate a makeshift football field that welcomed the hodge podge teams that were spontaneously created.  We had players ranging from age 8 to 40+ all on the same field.  I use the term "we" very loosely because I did not participate.  I was too busy taking pictures to immortalize the event.  But both Elijah and G were out there enjoying themselves and I was having enough fun playing vicariously thru them.

This event meant the photo albums just keep coming.  Check out the latest one at Alpha Family BBQ 2009.  I really didn't have any captions here because all of the photos are pretty much self-explanatory.  But there are some pretty good photos in there if I must say so myself.  Check them out and you catch a glimpse at what a great time everyone had.

Let's Bowl, Let's Bowl, Let's...Rock and Roll!

Hey, come on..let's get the show on the road!

Wow that reads SO much cornier than it already sounds.  Can't help it though.  As I've mentioned before, whenever someone even remotely mentions bowling, that song from "Grease 2" inevitably starts running thru my head.  The entire song.  The entire production number from the movie even.  I swear Adrian Zmed is going to go screaming down the middle of the lane any moment now....

Okay...now that I have officially gotten a little sidetracked.  Let me get back to the point of why this post even came to be...

I had a scheduled frat meeting this past Saturday night.  That was already a big plus as it meant more time fellowshipping with the bros.  Not to mention that it was at Phil's house and his wife Tracy can cook like it's nobody's business.  However, I found out about the added bonus of the bowling outing once I got there.  I suppose if I would have paid closer attention to the e-mails that were sent out, I would have seen that the plan was for us to meet at Plaza Lanes afterwards for a couple of games.  Instead, it came as a pleasant surprise to me by finding out at the meeting.

Bowling and me go WAY back.  I was first introduced to it from my days in Kansas City as a young'un.  Probably just around the junior high school age.  Whenever we would go down there to visit on the weekend, Dad, Uncle Johnny and Lionel Keith would  end up making plans to hit the bowling alley one evening.  Earl and I could always go to watch if we wanted to, but we weren't allowed to bowl.  Mainly because we weren't near as good as the three of them.  We definitely weren't near as competitive as them either.  Yet.

Once I got a little older, we were finally able to start bowling with the men.  Not actually WITH them per se.  We had her own lane and were able to bowl there.  I was able to pick up a thing or two from all the repeated viewings.  I had the form down cold.  The only thing I couldn't get was the vicious hook.  But I had a little strength so I could throw the ball fast enough straight that I was able to get some pretty decent games.  Decent for me being a high around 155.

Fast forward to the present.  So it had been a LONG while since I last bowled coming into Saturday night.  So long that I can't even remember the last time.  I joked with the bros that it was just like riding a bike though.  I was confident that the old form would come back to me after a couple of balls or two.  I tried not to even be concerned with the fact that a couple of the fellas brought their own shoes and bowling balls.  When they come strapped like that, you KNOW you have some real bowlers. 

I wasn't doing too bad afterall.  Especially after having not done it in so long.  We had two lanes with six of us on each lane.  I tried to focus my concentration on my lane and being the the leading scorer there.  I was using anyone else's good score as motivation to do better.  Sure enough, the form came back to me after just a few frames and the strikes and spares started coming.  Now when I say they started coming, I mean to the tune of a whopping high score of 116.  Hey...at least I broke 100.  That was better than 4 of the 5 bros on my lane.

Just when I started to hit my stride, the bowling alley threw a curve.  10pm must have been the start of their disco bowling nite.  They turned off nearly all the lights in the alley and had neon lights running the gutters with disco lights shining about.  It was harder for me to stay focused and concentrate on the arrows of where I was supposed to be aiming the ball on my follow through.  Apparently it wasn't as distracting as I thought because I finished the second game even better with an astounding 121.

I had forgotten what a legitimate workout bowling can be.  It's some pretty decent exercise when you're doing it properly.  You have to figure you're carrying that semi-heavy ball so there's a little bit of your lifting.  Then you have to stroll up to your release so there's a little cardio.  Then you shot-put that puppy and if you're throwing missiles like me (18 mph, according to the scorebard that also measured the speed of each ball thrown), you're putting more work in on your shoulders. 

I was even a little sore afterwards.  Enough so that when 11pm came around, that was all she wrote for me.  Between that, the frat meeting and the Downtown Farmer's Market, I was spent.  Not too shabby of a Saturday.

Happy Birthday, That NOTORIOUS Omicron Pi!

Doesn't the name itself send shudders down your spine?  That NOTORIOUS Omicron Pi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.!  Okay...maybe not for all of the laypeople it doesn't.  Maybe it's just a chapter thing and only those of us in the mighty black and old gold that came thru that chapter are the ones who really feel the chill.

At any rate, today marks the 27th birthday that the Iowa State University chapter was founded.  I told myself I wasn't going to do a big write-up about it because there's really nothing significant about the number 27.  Then I got caught up in the moment and decided I would do something anyway.  Still, this one won't be near as grandiose as the one I plan on doing when we celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2012. 

One thing I like about the 27 years that have passed is seeing how the chapter has evolved since its humble beginnings.  One thing that sticks out the most is the thumbprint that my generation put on it.  Once Mike, Duonne and I started bringing brothers in, we were quick to adopt the "Notorious" at the beginning of the name.  It gave a distinct personality trait to the chapter an added a little flavor to it at the same time.  Now ever since Spring '90, there's not a single brother that has come thru that chapter who doesn't recognize it by that title.

What really impresses me about the 27 year history is how the past has helped shape the present.  The current brother in the chapter have years of chapter and national traditions instilled in them that have inspired them to continue to do bigger and better things.  The annual Miss Black and Gold Pageant, for instance.  It has gone from being a small function back in my day (the one time we did have it) to the huge even it currently is.  All thanks to the dedication and hard work the brothers put in to make it a success.

One of the older brothers and I are already talking about plans to do it big for the 30th.  In order for that to happen, the planning has to begin now.  That will allow us enough time to track down as many brothers as possible so we have as many O Pi descendants in attendance.  It will be awesome to see the brothers of the past come together with the brothers of the present and bask in all the wisdom that is shared. 

So here's to 27 years of being the best organization on Iowa State University's campus with several more yet to come!

Drake Relays Stepshow 2009

What would a Drake Relays Stepshow be without some controversy?  It just wouldn't be the same.  It had been several years since I had been to one.  As a matter of fact, the last time I went would have been in the late 90s when some of the grad bros even participated and won it.  Still wish I would have had a way to record that show.  I made sure I was armed to the teeth with recording equipment this time around though.

Things got off to a rocky start before the event even started.  I found out early on that there were only two groups stepping:  the Alphas and the Deltas.  Supposedly there were up to at least seven groups competing and they dropped out one by one during the course of the week.  There would be a few groups that would be doing exhibition strolls, but only two real stepshows from the Divine Nine.

 That fact alone was extremely disheartening from me.  I clearly remember from my days that there would be so many frats and sororities stepping that you would get tired sitting there watching them all.  But it's a good kind of tired.  All of the shows were entertaining in their own right.  There was something for everyone.  How were you going to have that with just two groups performing?

It seems one way the Drake Relays Stepshows organizers (a term used very loosely) came up with filling time was the old Des Moines reliable stand-by:  bring in a rap act.  This cat who called himself Lil Craze performed a medley of three of his biggest hits.  I would guess they were big hits to him and his two homies on stage with him.  Although he is one of "the biggest unsigned artists on MySpace".  According to his introduction anyway.  I'm just going to take a stab in the dark and say that Lil Craze will most likely remain a legend in his own mind.

I do give props to Drake for bringing in comedian Alex Thomas to host.  He's always been an underrated comedian,  in my opinion, that should have been given more opportunities to show his stuff.  Although some of his material wasn't quite family appropriate, he had me DYIN'.  And the atmosphere of that particular event was perfect fodder for him.  It was like lobbing softballs to a homerun hitter.

The women of Delta Sigma Theta were the first up from the only two Divine Nine that performed.  They were 13 deep on stage with a show theme of "Deltas Go to Jail".  That meant a cameo appearance or two from someone dressed up as Madea.  The one thing that was always impressive about the Deltas is you never know if there show would come hard or eloquent.  Their shows would either be the power game of a Shaq or the finesse of Jordan.  They brought out Shaq that nite.  I swear I thought they were going to put holes in the stage a couple of times. 

Next up were my brothers from that NOTORIOUS Omicron Pi chapter.  There were a few little technical difficulties in the beginning with the video into, but it was eventually worked out.  Once the show started going, they commanded the stage.  I just wish more of the undergrad would have gotten involved.  The show looks even more impressive when the contingent performing is around seven or more in number.  There's something about seeing that many brothers in synchronized precision that makes an even more effective show.

I figured it was only a matter of time before there would be a couple of "last minute" entries.  The Sigmas were probably about 2,000 deep that night thanks to a 25th anniversary reunion they were having at Iowa State.  They decided they would put on an impromptu stroll exhibition.  Having seen plenty of their shows in the past, it would have been much more impressive if they would have invested their time in putting together a performance for the competition.  They certainly would have had plenty of vocal support that particular evening.

The other performances of the night were a hodge podge of oddities....

• There was the strolling of Pan Hel which was intriguing.  I give them credit for trying, but all I could think of the whole time was it was it was the beginning of the end.  Hope I'm wrong about that
• The Ques had their own spur of the moment performance of their own when a few of them found it necessary to take the stage.  It's just a good thing the deejay didn't see fit to play "Atomic Dog" or given the lack of organization, the rest of the show would have never resumed
• I can't even remember the name of that last act of "rappers" that tried to perform as a finale.   Apparently no one else bothered to either as everyone was leaving during the performance.  I'm guessing they probably won't be coming back anytime soon.  I'm guessing no one will care

More controversy came with the judging results.  The fact that they decided to proceed with it being a competition baffled me.  Everyone knows that a stepshow competition is supposed to be broken down between the sororities and the fraternities.  They don't compete against one another.  Not so much this nite.  That wouldn't have been so bad if they had not have compounded it by disqualifying the brothers.  All because  a cell phone prop accidentally slid off the stage?!  Nice try, even though we know it was because Drake was trying to save money by not paying for second place.

The committee should have done a better job of getting commitments.  They should have reached out to chapters from even the Omaha and Lincoln areas to assure there would be enough actual stepshow participants.  That would have cut down an all the unnecessary filler.  Maybe then we would have had a real stepshow competition instead of a variety show. 

Much good did come from the Drake Relays Stepshow.  At least it did give me a chance to see some familiar faces from my undergrad.  It also provided the opportunity to create yet another photo album: Drake Relays Stepshow 2009.  I was able to get complete video of an O Pi stepshow (seen below).  But most importantly, there were unlimited moments of blatant and inadvertent comedy from both the stage and the audience that allowed me to sit back and just agree with host Alex Thomas on one thing.....

Wow.

That NOTORIOUS O Pi at Drake Relays Stepshow 2009 from Stan on Vimeo.

The Black and Gold Ball 2009

After a year hiatus, I was back on the scene for our annual Zeta Kappa Lamda Foundation Black and Gold Ball.  It was the perfect setting for a return too.  It's not that this year was bigger and better than previous years because that happens every year anyway.  It's just that 2009 marked a different look at the Ball.  Even with the changes, it still turned out being another successful event.

We had always held the Ball in the Marriott downtown in previous years.  It had gotten so habitual that there was really no point in us putting the location on the tickets.  Everyone had come to expect it would be at the downtown Marriott.  You know the brothers of the mighty ZKL are never one to rest on our laurels or wallow in complacency so we switched up the locale.  It was off to the Sheraton Inn in West Des Moines for the first time ever.

The compliments were flowing all night long over the more effective set-up the Sheraton had for their room.  The design had the dance floor in the middle, the presentation stage in front of it and the tables surrounding them in a U-shaped pattern.  That meant there really wasn't a bad seat in the house.  Everyone had a relatively good view of the activities rather than the old design that had the back tables at a disadvantage.

I took it upon myself to volunteer front table duties for most of the evening.  That entailed greeting our guests  at the entrance and helping to show them where they where they would be sitting in accordance with their host's table.  I slightly underestimated how taxing that could be.  Certainly not the welcoming part, but having to stand for that long period of time.  After about three straight hours on my feet in those rental dress shoes, I was feeling it.  I was actually contemplating popping a couple of those Percocets once I got home.

The dinner portion consisted of green beans, artichoke chicken and rice pilaf.  I have never been a fan of the style of green beans they served, although I know it's customary for high-end dinners.  I'm just a bit old-fashioned and I don't like my green beans to be so stiff.  The chicken and the rice pilaf together was rather nice though.  It was even a generous portion of chicken so that I was almost too full for desert.  Almost.

Wanda Everage was the recipient of this year's Alpha Award of Merit and very deserving.  As the Vice President for Student Affairs and Academic Excellent at Drake University, she was the mother-away-from-home for many, if not all, of the African American students that came thru those doors during her tenure.  She got a little choked up when she accepted her award and the look of appreciation on both her face and the audience members who applauded her was priceless.

The one thing that didn't change was our deejay providing the sounds for the evening. The one and only DJ Phreeze out of Omaha.  The official deejay of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.  Not only does he know how to keep the dance floor moving, but he's also good people.  Everytime I talk to that brotha, he cracks me up.  I hope he ends up blowing up to Funkmaster Flex proportions and even then, he would still be the down-to-earth cat that we've always known.

The best part about the Black and Gold Ball is seeing those folks that always venture from out of town to attend the festivities.  Kansas City received six inches of snow earlier that day yet we still had guests braving the elements to make it there.  Props go out to my old friend Dionne King and her husband who were among those that fell in that category.  I hope that next year, even more Kansas City friends will make the trip.

I will confess that I was a bit apprehensive about the ticket price during a time when the country is pretty much in a recession.  However, the doubts were short-lived when one realizes the return folks are getting on their money.  Not to mention the fact that it's an annual event so folks easily have time to plan and save ahead for the donation.  Oh, and then the most obvious, we get a much more mature and professional crowd. 

I was a picture-taking fool for the entire evening.  This was probably the most photos I have ever taken at one of our events.  Anyone that was willing to pose wound up being subjects in my latest photo album:  Black and Gold Ball 2009.  Unfortunately, you won't find too many clever taglines with the photos there.  I hate to admit it, but I could just not remember the names of some of the folks so some pics have a generic heading.  At least they still get photo recognition though!

For anyone that couldn't make it, you missed an incredible evening.  Even after being on my feet for that long, I was still able to have  a tremendous time.  The fellowship with the brotherhood and the variety of guests in attendance made it one unforgettable night.  I'm already looking forward to next year's Black and Gold Ball where I hope to see many you in the place!