Educational Excellence

HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY, All!

Well, today is a day that continues to mark a celebration of Passover or “Pesach” for descendants of the Israelite people, as well as Good Friday. Last Sunday was Palm Sunday and this Sunday is Easter! Do you know the history behind each of these celebrations? There were emperors, in particular Constantine who influenced the Christian elements in Easter as well as a hint of a Babylonian pagan image of fertility known as “Ishtar”. Apparently, there is a crossover and overlap, if you will, of these Holy Days as well as multiple symbols of things like the rabbit and the Easter egg. Can anyone tell you what to celebrate and how? I think not, though it would be worth anyone’s while to do some research including looking at the Bible to see the origins of these celebrations, as well as a look at the Torah, preferably translated into English unless one understands Hebrew!

One of the things I try to do when writing and communicating ideas with others is emphasize the values of peace, love, cooperation, equality, honesty and justice. By now, I am sure I may have gained some “enemies”, so to speak, because of my insistence on non-violence and human harmony, regardless of ethnic group or religion, birth place or ancestry. Yet, I continue, as I believe my parents and my Creator would have me be, as opposed to advocating violence and revenge as a way of life. I’ve never HAD to use those, thank my Creator whom I choose to call “God” and my parents, neither of whom have left me to fend completely for myself, thusly making violence and revenge a necessity for my existence. In many ways, I have ” … been there, done that …” and seek every avenue in life that will NOT cause me to revert back to those basic human characteristics.

So, what ever you choose to celebrate, even if it is nothing, be humble enough to allow others to celebrate what they like to believe … as long as it doesn’t hurt you! Have a great weekend, and, Happy Holy Days!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

Happy Hump Day, All!

Yes, it is mid-week of the last week in March 2013. How do you like that?! How do you like Tiger Woods’s comeback to win again? Had you counted him out, too? Manufacturers are “toying” with the idea of having an action figure come out in his very own likeness!! How about those Miami HEAT, as they chase the NBA record for longest winning streak since the Los Angeles Lakers? They are truly looking like champions. I hope that they can continue winning, and, perhaps … capture another championship for the fans in Miami.

I think one of the best stories lately of how chance can move one’s life around a bit is the gentleman in New Jersey who worked in a delicatessen and randomly played a “quick pick” for the Power Ball Game … and netted $152 million dollars, take home pay! Now that’s “amazing”, too! The other interesting thing about this guy is that he is from the Dominican Republic and does not even speak English! The newscast last night showed him cutting bread to make a hoagie like sandwich, which we used to call “wedges”, and he stated that the money will change his life but NOT his heart! He claims that he will remain humble at heart. Meanwhile, Donald Trump offered his “two cents” worth of comment stating that this guy had better be careful how he spends his money because people will be coming out of the woodwork to try to scheme him out of his winnings.

Do you have some changes to make in your life? Maybe you won’t be so lucky as to hit a multi-million dollar Power Ball winning but each of us can make a decision to change, and, it could be like “you hit the jackpot”!

“Man is in love … And loves what vanishes; What more is there to say?” – W. B. Yeats

God, help me to engage with life fully and to accept change. (TOUCHSTONES March 27, 2013)

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

Happy Friday, All!

In hopes that your weeks went well, T.G.I.F.! Anyone like to complete this sentence: “In the beginning ….” How about this one: “In the end I will be ….”. Give it your best shot and send me a reply, if you like! On my new website, johncook7613.wix.com/know-thyself, I make some references to the concept of fluidity, “being like water” as Bruce Lee advocated. Just yesterday, I was talking to another associate of mine who hinted at his studies of Buddhism, and gave me a card. I researched it and came up with much of what I presently do, minus some of the chants, etcetera. I think the overall goal of most spiritual programs is, however, knowing oneself … and acknowledging a “higher power”.

So, the “Peace in the Park” hosted by some great friends at the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University out of Miami, FL, is this Sunday, March 24th, 2013 from 1-6pm at Young Circle’s “Art Park”, Hollywood, FL. At that same time, I will be attending my long time friend, running partner, confidante and “bosom buddy”, Mr. Peter Andrew Zachary’s “Celebration of Life” service with probably hundreds of his friends and family, from California to New York, at the Renaissance Hotel/Resort in Plantation, FL. Can you say, “Timing is Everything”?

I remember how my parents used to scold me and mold me, make me do my homework with my sister Edna’s guidance,empty the trash and make me come into to our apartment at the Winbrook Housing Development there on South Lexington Ave./Fisher Ave./Grove Street … aka “The Projects” in White Plains, NY by 7pm weeknights. I think they were trying to get me ready for something … something that had not yet come our way. Upon demonstrating certain strengths in academics coupled with my mother’s involvement in community politics and programs while she cleaned houses in White Plains, I was approached by Mr. Daniel Woodard, assistant principal at White Plains High School. He was a mentor of mine via the Urban League of Westchester County and introduced to some people from a boarding school in Concord, NH … timing is everything!

Just last night, I was watching the local news and up comes a story on Michael Brewer … four years after he had been doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire by some “school associates” purportedly, trying to collect on a debt. Brewer was stopped by police last night in West Palm Beach’s “Royal Palm” neighborhood for making an illegal u-turn in a van. When stopped, the police smelled marijuana, which prompted them to search the van. There were glass pipes, containers for drugs, crack cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone pills and a variety of other drug paraphernalia. Brewer had no driver’s license, and, just the day before, his mother was in court while the last of the three “teen attackers” was facing sentencing for setting him on fire just four years ago. A lot can happen in four years, right? Yes, yes, timing is everything … up to a point …

A couple of days ago, I was chatting with Peter’s son, Jordan, and I complimented him on a piece he wrote about his father for a social network. We chuckled, chatted, got serious a bit as I told him that my next book will have a chapter called “Me and Petey” and we went over briefly one of his dad’s suggestions to him – “GSD”. GSD, you might ask? Yes, “Get Sh_t Done!”, which Zach’s only son is faced with in the aftermath of his father’s passing. Now, he’s in his early twenties so I suspect he has a good idea of how to “GSD” … and I plan to be available to assist in any way I can.

Just keep in mind, folks, timing is everything … up to a point! Something is prompting me to tell you all that I love you … all of you … whether you “love” me or care back is not important … just know that I told you so. My Creator does the rest!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

Happy Hump Day, All!

What a week we’ve had! The trial of the two teen boys from Steubenville, OH generated a lot of comments and responses from many of us, as the issue of violence against women has re-surfaced in the international community as well. Major networks as well as individuals churned comments regarding the “football players with a future”, as if the young lady has no future!! What kind of message is that sending to that young lady in particular? What about to young women everywhere who may face a similar situation?

Rumors have it that in Syria, there have been reports of chemical weapons used by one or maybe even both sides in the conflict there. Reports and images of people suffering from attacks to their nervous system surfaced on the international media. We can choose to believe it … or not! The young man at a college in Central Florida whose rampage attack seemed to be thwarted not only because the fire alarm, which the student triggered himself in order to get “victims” into his vision, also alerted his room mate who came out, saw the weapon (he wasn’t sure if it was real or not), and called “911”, but also the fact that he purportedly killed himself. By the time the SWAT team had gotten there, the planned “attacker” had shot himself, apparently, in the head. Believe it … or not!

I choose today to try to deal with hostile forces with a peaceful attitude, more so towards MYSELF than toward the hostile forces themselves. If I can remove myself from the environment quickly, I do so in a peaceful manner. It is kind of like basketball on different skill levels, but in this case, the NBA. Coaches insist that their players NOT lose their cool on the court for a variety of reasons and repercussions including being called for a foul. More importantly, it is suggested so that the players may maintain control over THEMSELVES, and appropriately plan and execute the proper attack … on the court. Are our lives and emotions throughout our every day activities similar to that which players face on an intensified level on the basketball court? I think so! There have been times in my life when I had to respond to an attack with force. The best of those times, I was able to stop an attacker who had already demonstrated his desire to incapacitate me by backing up, preparing myself … quietly and peacefully … and then retaliate under control. I am not an advocate for violence. Yet, I refuse to be pummeled and beaten by anyone, regardless of their income or position, title or friends and associates. But I maintain and believe in “the power of peace”!

Enjoy your first day of Spring, if you will, wherever you are … in the snow covered northern states or in the sunny and warm southern states! Here, locally, let’s get ready for “Peace in the Park”, Sunday March 24th, 2013 at Young Circle’s Art Park in Hollywood, FL from 1-6pm.

Namaste,

John I. Cook, Director

Happy Monday, All!

And, if you didn’t get your “blarney” on this past weekend, you’ll have to wait until next year to get your St. Patrick’s Day Celebration again! Last Friday’s e-mail had an error in terms of time and place for my friend “Zach’s” Life Celebration Event. Even though his sister, Andrea, had sent me a text with the date, time and address of the service, I jumped a week ahead. In other words, the service will be held THIS coming Sunday, same time, same place … peace be still.

Quite an eventful weekend with Pope Francis I taking office officially and giving his first Sunday Service there in The Vatican. It brought back memories of when my mother had come back from her trip to Italy, Rome in particular, with photographs and slides, which were common back then! She was thoroughly impressed with the energy found in the “streets of the Vatican”, and, while she was a professed Baptist, she was in awe at how “holy”, if you will, the Catholic Church’s rituals and ceremonies were! There is much to change, should he decide to take on major issues confronting the beleaguered church … when the smoke clears.

The two boys in Steubenville, OH have been found guilty as charged and both face time in a juvenile detention center and program. While we all want to have a “good time” when we are young and do things that might seem so much fun at the time, one really has to rethink the activities one may engage in as well as the location and people involved … when one takes such a chance. The saddest thing for me was to hear the young lady who was viciously attacked and raped while drunk was that all she remembers is leaving the party with one of the defendants holding his hand and then … she woke up nude, no cell phone and none of her clothes were nearby. While she at first was going to play the “I can’t remember …” game out of a desire to hide her embarrassment, she decided to go to the authorities and report what she did remember. I am glad that they were apprehended and found guilty.

Deon Davis, author and motivational speaker, held a book-signing for the release of her new book entitled, “Beanie and The Bully”, on Saturday afternoon at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center. There were approximately 20 kids and their parents who attended that received a “goody bag” as well as a copy of Ms. Davis’s book. It was a fun event which also included a skit. Ms. Davis will be doing another event soon at the Main Library in Broward County … will keep you posted. Saturday night I had the pleasure of meeting up with a boarding school chum, whom I just realized graduated one year after me, but was diligent and we stayed in touch over the past two years or so by the social network of Facebook. We met for dinner, including his lovely wife Liz and their teenaged daughter Emily, and enjoyed a pre-game meal at The Cheesecake Factory before going to watch the Florida Panther’s Hockey Team try to hold off the New York Islanders team. It was a great game, and it was very cool to meet up with Mr. Hodder, Esq. again since he travels between Toronto Canada and their home in Naples, FL. That’s what friends are for … Thanks, “Counselor”!

Yesterday was a lot of fun with St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations everywhere! Here in the FTL, festivities flowed over into the street both on the Beach at a pool club called “Exit 66” as well as downtown at the River Front where the street was closed off and celebrators were dressed in their green, enjoying the beer and music as a live band began to play around sundown! The Miami HEAT basketball team won their 22nd game in a row while my New York Knicks lost yet another game. Keep your eyes open, folks, for when the smoke clears.

“Oh, that one could learn to learn in time.” – Enrique Solari

May I acknowledge and let go of my griefs and regrets so I can attend to life here and now. (TOUCHSTONES, March 18th)

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

Happy Friday, Citizens of the Universe!

Yes, and, if you will, T.G.I.F.! It seemed to me at first that this week was going by ever so slowly … Then suddenly, I turned around, and it was Thursday!!! And now … it’s Friday again! ” … Things keep on changin’!” There is a new pope – Pope Francis I – and there hasn’t been an upper level member of the Catholic Church of that name they say since St. Francis of Assisi, the wealthy gentleman who gave up all of his riches and served the Catholic Church. He was given the title of “saint” on July 16, 1228, by Pope Gregory IX. The new Pope, Francis I, comes from the Argentinean clergy, whose parents were born in Italy, and he is a Jesuit Catholic. My time working in Cali, Colombia, SA brought me to the doors of the Jesuit founded “La Pontificia Universidad Javeriana” as an English teacher for engineering, business administration and psychology at the University level. The Jesuits have historically been known to be very pious, yet humane Catholics, if you will.

Some of our local festivities this weekend include St. Patrick Day Celebrations and I am sure there will be many many more … worldwide … including New York’s 251st St. Patrick’s Day Parade this Saturday … tomorrow! Now that’s history, my lads and lassies, and the celebrations have always been green, especially the beer! Also this Saturday is a “bullying summit” held at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center including a book signing by local author, Deon Davis. The event begins at 3:30pm March 16th, 2013 there at the library on Sistrunk Boulevard near downtown Fort Lauderdale. Afterwards, I plan to meet up with a boarding school chum, Gary Hodder, Esq., who lives in Toronto and has a home in Naples, FL. Mr. Hodder is a Florida Panther’s fan, as well as a hockey aficiaonado in general, and he and his wife and daughter have invited me to dinner … and a Panther’s game, though the state hockey team isn’t doing so well this year. It will be a nice time to see Gary and finally meet his family.

Sunday will be an important day for the friends, family and clients of my dear friend who passed exactly a week ago, Mr. Peter Zachary – RIP. His immediate family has planned an event at the Renaissance Ft. Lauderdale Hotel in Plantation that starts at 1pm. It will first be a “going away” service followed by a “Celebration of Zack’s Life” also there at the Renaissance Hotel where his clients get to meet his family and friends, tell some stories and ultimately celebrate his life. Peter has been the senior vice president for First Miami Securities for more than the past 10 or 15 years though he has worked for the firm for over 30 years. May this event give him a fond farewell and send off from our realm of existence. Peter’s desire was to be cremated, have a celebration as is planned, and have his ashes spread wherever his surviving family members have been instructed by him before his passing. Travel safely, my friend, until we meet again …

Have a great weekend, and, tell somebody you love them!

Namaste …

John I. Cook, Director

Happy Hump Day, All!

Yes, once again, it is the middle of the week. Always, there is so much going on as life pulls us in different directions. Have you ever felt like there is not enough time in a day, or, perhaps … not enough time in our lives? If so, this is a big hint to take each day as a gift … something that one can not get back or re-do as an instant replay. Each moment we live is gone, lost in space and time … those moments are truly over!

As many patiently and eagerly await the “Picking of the Pope”, the world continues to spin on its axis and the weather continues to change in different areas on the globe. Now, imagine that our time here on Earth is merely a small part of the galaxy or universe, and we are like particles of air, water, flesh and light. Considering how we got here, which science has done its best to describe, and, where we are going, which I believe science can only give the tiniest of clues as to what’s next for each of us in our existence, one might become a bit more appreciative of each day we live.

Either way, whether we are coming or going, it appears to be a hard fought battle. As I mentioned in the Monday e-mail, and please forgive my omissions or mis-spellings from time to time, my long time friend, Peter Zachary, passed away last Friday night from complications caused by the ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which essentially shuts down motor functions, body part by body part until one has no ability to breathe even. His “legacy” of hard work, which he shared with me and those who know him, as well as his benevolent heart is something that I will always cherish. He leaves behind a daughter – Samantha – a senior in high school; a son – Jordan, who has been a client whom I tutored in the completion of his high school studies as well as a good friend; three sisters – Lisa, Andrea, and Christy – of varying ages but only one older than he; his second wife, Selei; and his mother, Nancy, who lives in Boca Raton, FL. There are plans to “Celebrate Zack’s Life” for this weekend, probably Sunday. As I struggled at work yesterday to stay focused on several tasks that were before me, I had the good news of a co-worker and gym friend, Miguel Sanchez, whose lovely Lady, Chrissy, gave birth to two bouncing baby girls yesterday at Holy Cross Hospital here in Ft. Lauderdale! So, to balance out the challenges I feel due to the loss of a great friend, and, there are many friends who checked up on me, sent me kind and warm e-mails as well as phone messages and texts, I also had an occasion to celebrate the birth of another friend’s two daughters! It is interesting because just Monday night when I was in Publix Supermarket, I saw Miguel and Chrissy, who both insisted that the birth was in ten days! One look at Chrissy told me it could be sooner … and it was – the next day! Congratulations guys!

May we each attempt to balance our lives and let our Creator do Its work in our lives each day so that this journey called “life”, when it comes to its end, will also be something to celebrate.

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

Happy Monday, All!.

With hoping you all had a great weekend, I also hope that those of you reading as well as your loved ones were safe in the snow storms that blanketed parts of the Northeastern part of the continental USA. Here in SoFlo, we welcomed Spring Breakers for the first real weekend, though some had arrived as early as last weekend. My weekend was fair as I shifted my focus from grieving the loss of a friend since childhood, Mr. Peter Zachary, to celebrating his life. Many of the people who know me … also know “Zack”, too … Peace be still.

There were nearly 25 years that had passed since our roads had re-converged. Some 10 plus years ago, I happened to be at a HEAT game with two other wonderful friends, Karen and Stephen Bozzone, from the church I attended at that time, Christian Life Center, and, as I walked in the crowded Arena during the game, I heard someone call my name. When I turned to see where the voice was coming from, I noticed a face that I hadn’t seen since Jr. High School in White Plains, NY. And here we were in Miami Florida attending the same basketball game. I must admit that I was struggling quite a bit at the time with one of my household demons of addiction, and, Karen and Steve always reached out to me even letting me stay with them for a while and treating me like a Christian brother. We, too, are still in touch though they have moved to North Carolina.

So, one set of loving friends who were always so kind reconnected me with another long time friend whose “side” I haven’t left until his passing last Friday night. Peter had been suffering from ALS, which is also known as the “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”, for a few years before it claimed his life. I remember one festive weekend, one like he and I often had since our meeting at the NBA basketball game, we were at the “Garlic Festival” in Del Ray Beach, FL and in addition to delicious foods and the fine reggae music of Ziggy Marley, we enjoyed the ambiance of the “great outdoors” that South Florida weather offers nearly year round. As we hustled back to the car, Peter and I were crossing a field of bustling people when suddenly I didn’t see him anymore. I heard his voice say something like “Damn!”, and when I followed the voice, I saw him on the ground. He had fallen, and, to my recollection, this was the first of many signs of his dwindling muscles and ability to stand firmly and move swiftly on his own two feet.

Peter’s passing has warranted his family, with whom I have spent numerous Thanksgiving Celebrations, Christmas and Chanukah dinners, New Year’s Celebrations and many many meals and festivities with including his son, his sisters, his daughter, his mother and his wife, to celebrate his life. Peter leaves hundreds of clients that he has served while working as the senior vice president for First Miami Securities aka FMS Bonds. This is the guy who got my mail from my post office box while I was incarcerated, put commissary monies in my account while I was there, and met me at a local McDonald’s at like 4am the morning I was released from my 7 month vacation in “the belly of the beast”, and I stayed with him for several months until able to get back on my feet! THIS is the kind of friend he has been to me – as well as to others whom I know and others whom I have met!

Keep your dear friends close, y’all, letting them know that you love them and appreciate them WHILE they are here … Don’t wait until it is too late … because we ALL come … and we ALL go … may you “Rest In Peace” while your family finalizes the “Celebration of Your Life” with all your friends, neighbors, clients and others who have had the pleasure of knowing you!

Love always,

John I. Cook, Director

Happy Friday, All!

T.G.I.F. … and I mean it, too! I know, you might be ready for the weekend, too … ’cause I know I am. One of my friends had a birthday on Tuesday of this week – Happy Birthday, Anj … and some of us are planning to get together to help her celebrate probably in downtown FTL. Another good friend of mine contacted me last weekend to let me know of some “not so good” news, though we ALL have to go there one day … Edwin Edwards aka “Nasty” from White Plains, NY passed away from pulmonary complications last weekend. He and I were apartment mates in White Plains for my first few years teaching at White Plains High School, and, he is a bit younger than I am. Another hometown girl, Lynn Bryant, also passed away a few weeks ago according to another friend from WP who is visiting FTL for a few weeks. The reason I mention it is that these are people who I spent my childhood, teen years and even early adulthood with … and they are gone … peace be still. Do you have any friends that you grew up with that you want to tell you love them? Maybe … maybe not … but we are ALL going one day … namaste

Yesterday, the good friend from White Plains – Marvin Wiggins – sent me an excerpt from a prayer of sorts celebrating “brothers, sons, fathers … just males”. The cool thing about the excerpt that he sent is that it touched me in a way that jogged my memory to recall those men, in particular, who have been there for me … and others … and even helped in times of need … like a brother should. I passed it on to three college chums of mine who have meant a lot to me over the years – Mr. Vetalle Fusilier out of Washington, DC/Maryland area; Adonis Hoffman, Esq. out of Los Angeles but now in the DC area; and, Mr. Lee Blair originally from New York’s “Queens” and now residing in New Jersey. This is one of the reasons me and EE are around today … to celebrate life together and enjoy it … together … on the simplest most humble “level” that creates a common denominator for us all – spirituality.

One of my friends, Deon Davis, who is also an author and motivational speaker, has written a book on “Bullying”, and, she is doing a book signing next weekend at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center here in the FTL. Check the AARLCC for the exact time and location. I think it is on Saturday. Another long time friend of mine since I have been in SoFlo, Roz Reich, a coordinator for the Broward County programs of the Brahma Kumaris Spiritual World University’s main location in Florida, which is in Coral Gables (Miami), has informed me of an event called “Peace in The Park”. It is sponsored by BK and will take place at Hollywood, FL’s “Arts Park” at Young Circle on Sunday March 24th, 2013 from 1-6pm. It is free, involves meditation techniques and many other spiritual activities, will be hosted by WLRN’s morning show hostess – Wanda Myles; will have music from the founder of the reggae group, Third World, named Willie Stewart; and will also include music from the group know as “Betan and Berner” whose blend of pop, jazz, world, acoustic and Latin jazz music has graced the ears and hearts of many here in SoFlo! For more information, call: (305) 442-2252 or (954) 962-7447, which are the numbers for the BK Meditation Center in Miami and Broward.

“Before the rain stops we hear a bird. Even under the heavy snow we see snowdrops and some new growth.” – Shunryu Suzuki

I will notice the subtle movements toward health and renewal in my life. Welcoming them will encourage them. (TOUCHSTONES March 8th)

Have a great weekend!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director