Oprah and The Other Wes Moore

Oprah had the other Wes Moore, author of “The Other Wes Moore” on her show on Wednesday, August 18, 2010. Did you see it? It may have been a rerun. That story blew my mind and got me thinking.

Here we have two African American men named Wes Moore who once lived in the same neighborhood in Baltimore, MD. Today, one of them is in prison for murder. The other became a Rhodes Scholar, a White House Fellow and has a career on Wall Street. Now he is also a successful author with his book receiving the “Oprah factor” on national television. The mere mention of a book title, product or service by Oprah has created millionaires.

You can order the book right from this blog site. When you finish reading this article, look over to the right under Lloyd’s Shopping Center and click on Get "The Other Wes Moore".

For this article I’ll call the Wes Moore who became a Rhodes Scholar, Wes1 and the other Wes2. Both came from single parent homes. Wes1’s father died when he was three years old. After his mother moved the family to the Bronx, NY, he started getting into trouble and messing up in school. His grandparents took a second mortgage on their home to send Wes1 to military school. There, he turned his life around. Wes2’s father chose not to be in his son’s life. Wes1 also served in Afghanistan as a Captain in the U.S. Army. To make a long story shorter, Wes1 has done well and became acquainted with Wes2. While in South Africa he saw a news story about the police looking for a man named Wes Moore. They were looking for him in the neighborhood where Wes1 used to live. He was wanted for armed robbery and murder of a police officer. After Wes2 was caught, convicted and serving time, Wes1 wrote him a letter and visited him in prison. Wes2 is now mentoring the young men who come into the prison. Wes1 wrote the book, “The Other Wes Moore.” 

Of course, the question of the day is, “How do we prevent incarceration in the first place?” You can’t prevent it altogether. Bad people are going to do bad things. They’ll be arrested, tried, convicted and spend some time in prison or under the authority of the justice system. I bet there are a great many Wes Moore/Wes Moore stories. Maybe not with the same name, but with similar circumstances. A few days ago, a sixteen year old was shot and killed a few blocks from our church.

The day after that a teenager was stabbed to death in the building behind ours here in Co-op City (in the Bronx NY). Last week thirteen people were shot here in the Bronx. Two of them, teenagers, died. Last month in Yonkers, NY, (just north of the Bronx NY) a twenty-three year old and a twenty-one year old were shot and killed. One of them was paralyzed from the waist down. He was paralyzed due to a gunshot the year before. A teenage girl and a five year old boy were also shot in the same incident as the two who died. The father of the five year old boy was shot and killed a year ago. Did you know that seventy percent of children of incarcerated parents end up in prison. Wes2 has a child and a grandchild.

Every June, our church has a Scholarship Brunch. Graduating High School Seniors from our church and community are awarded scholarships. Several of these youngsters who qualify for our scholarships, qualify for other scholarships as well. When pointed in the right direction you pick up more beautiful flowers along the way than stink weeds. These Wes1 youngsters live in the same neighborhood as the Wes2 youngsters. It’s partly about choices. First it is up to mom, dad, family members and faith community members who care to make some of the choices and decisions. Then it reaches a point when it’s up to Wes1 and Wes2 themselves to make their own choices and decisions. They should have been taught by then by their elders that everything they do has consequences including whether or not you end up at Penn State or the State Pen.

I know there are many success stories out there … stories that go counter to all the violence and bad news we see. The “good news” stories don’t make the evening news. I hope Oprah and others will continue to highlight more people like Wes Moore (Wes1).

I would really love to post similar stories on THIS TOO IS MY STORY. You know stories like “The Other Wes Moore.” Send them to me at kingdomspeaking@gmail.com. Thank you for your attention and God bless you. <>

What Happened to Me on July 28, 2009

On Tuesday evening, July 28, 2009, I sent a couple of emails about the new article on my blog, Kingdom Speaking (http://kingdomspeaking.blogspot.com/ ).  I then shut down my computer and went to the kitchen to get some apple juice and peanut butter on crackers.  It was near 11:00 PM.

While sitting at the kitchen table, I had a funny feeling in my chest.  It wasn’t a sharp pain.  It was more like discomfort.  As it got stronger I worried that it might be a heart attack.  So, I took 8 small aspirin (8 small 81 mg aspirin is equivalent to 2 regular aspirin).  I went into the bedroom preparing to go to bed hoping it wasn’t a heart attack.  I thought if I could belch I might feel better.  The pain got stronger.  Dora asked if I wanted to go to the hospital.  I said, “I’m not sure.”

She got up and began to dress to take me to the hospital.  I began to sweat and went to get the blood pressure machine.  When Dora saw me sweating and felt that I was cold, she dialed 9-1-1 for an ambulance.  She took my blood pressure and it was very low.  I sat in a chair near the entrance door waiting for the Emergency Medical Technicians.

When they arrived they gave me aspirin to chew.  They took my blood pressure and did an electrocardiogram.  That’s when one of them said, “You are having a heart attack right now.”  The calmness in his voice assured me that they would get me to the hospital in good time.  And they did.  They put an oxygen mask over my face and wheeled me to the ambulance.  We headed for Einstein Hospital.

I never lost consciousness and was fully aware of the ride to Einstein Hospital (Jack D. Weiler Hospital of Albert Einstein College of Medicine).  The pain did increase on that ride.  I asked Jesus to send angels ahead to get the people in the emergency room ready for my arrival and He did.  When we came into the emergency room, people began working on me immediately.  The doctor began examining me and gave orders to the nurses and technicians.  The pain had been intensifying since we left home.  My son, Raymond, was already at the hospital.  His friends, Quenton and Wendy had just delivered twin girls by emergency caesarean section.  Ironically, my cousin, Maryann had also been rushed to the same emergency room due to heart palpitations.

I recall yelling for them to do something about the pain.  As a joke I yelled, “Give me whatever they gave Michael Jackson.”  Michael Jackson had died a month earlier.  Someone next to me had a needle in his hand about to jab me with it.  I asked him if it was morphine.  Now things really go foggy.  Another doctor began telling me he would take me someplace to do something called catherization.  I think I signed some type of consent form.  I remember someone began to shave my pubic hair and I had to sign another piece of paper.  The next thing I remember was being wheeled into a room and transferred to a bed.

It seems it was important that I did not move my right leg.  “Don’t move your leg,” “Don’t cross your legs,” the nurse yelled at me.  At 6:30 AM Wednesday morning, two doctors came to take something out of my body that had to do with implanting stents into my arteries.  They had gone into my artery through my groin.  Now, they had to remove something.  I don’t know what it was.

Once that was done the gentlest and most caring people I ever met in my life took over … the nurses and nursing assistants.  Registered Nurses, Jackie, Anne Marie, Bridget and one other whose name I forgot, from Wednesday through Friday took care of me.  They explained the reason for each medication I was taking.

When I think back to when this all started I recall how professional and caring the two EMT's were.  One of them even came back after the stents were put in to check on me.  Everyone I met along the way not only did her or his job but cared about what they were doing.  When I was discharged, Bridget made sure I got into Dora’s car safely.

That was a little over a year ago.  Today, I carry four aspirin with me at all times ... two for me and two for you.  You've had experiences too.  Would you share your story? Send it to me at kingdomspeaking@gmail.com. Thank you for your attention and God bless you.  <>