Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree
EXCELLENCE
IS THE KEY TO BLACK EQUALITY
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RAISING KAI AND LIL’ ERIC WITH VAL
“Daddy,
can you beat-up the Bogeyman?”
.
“Aw, yeah. I already did – twice. That’s why he’s afraid to come in our house.”
“Aw, yeah. I already did – twice. That’s why he’s afraid to come in our house.”
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, E.
YOU’VE MADE ME PROUD.
BUT NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU GET,
AND HOW MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU ACHIEVE,
YOU’LL ALWAYS BE MY BABY BOY.
DADDY.
.
ERIC
WATTREE
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INDUCTION INTO THE APU HALL OF FAME
INDUCTION INTO THE APU HALL OF FAME
Class - 1996
Induction – 2019
MEN’S BASKETBALL
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“The 1996 Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year,
Eric Wattree returned to his roots and played his final two years of college
basketball at Azusa Pacific, where he led the Cougars to two straight GSAC
championships and a combined two-year overall record of 49-18 (22-6 in the
GSAC). During his 1996 senior campaign, Wattree averaged team highs of
15.4 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting a team-best .634 (201-for-317) from
the floor. For his effort, he received honorable mention NAIA All-America.
A force in the key at both ends of the court, Wattree recorded 15
double-doubles in his 57-game Cougar career. A prep standout at Northview
High School in Covina, Calif., Wattree played his first two seasons at the
University of Wyoming before coming home and averaging 11.8 points and a
team-high 8.9 rebounds for the Cougars during his 1995 junior season.
Following his collegiate career, Wattree served with distinction in the U.S.
Armed Forces, followed by a career in federal law enforcement.”
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Eric Wattree at Azusa Pacific (1994-96)
Eric Wattree at Azusa Pacific (1994-96)
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Now Eric Wattree III is doing his thing on the
court, and Taylor, my only granddaughter, will soon become a doctor. All of you
are excelling in your own ways.
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When I was a reckless teenager the police used to tell me that I was gonna end up spending my life in prison – if I survived - and many of the girls in school used to tell me, “Step off, Eric. I ain’t crazy”. But your mother, the most popular girl in school, decided to take a chance, and she, with the help of my mother, began to housebreak me to make me a suitable father for her children – and she succeeded. If it wasn’t for her, I would have had to draw this note, because literacy wasn’t a part of my repertoire. But she made it one of her primary goals in life to encourage me educate myself. She was an Angela Davis clone and the President of the Black student’s union, and I was an embarrassment to her. She and her clique were against everything I represented, so she gave me a choice between her, or the ignorance of the street. And fortunately, since I was sprung at the time, I made the right one.
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When I was a reckless teenager the police used to tell me that I was gonna end up spending my life in prison – if I survived - and many of the girls in school used to tell me, “Step off, Eric. I ain’t crazy”. But your mother, the most popular girl in school, decided to take a chance, and she, with the help of my mother, began to housebreak me to make me a suitable father for her children – and she succeeded. If it wasn’t for her, I would have had to draw this note, because literacy wasn’t a part of my repertoire. But she made it one of her primary goals in life to encourage me educate myself. She was an Angela Davis clone and the President of the Black student’s union, and I was an embarrassment to her. She and her clique were against everything I represented, so she gave me a choice between her, or the ignorance of the street. And fortunately, since I was sprung at the time, I made the right one.
.
By street standards caving into Val was weak, but I
thank God every day of my life that I wimped-out when it came to her. I tried to stand strong, but I was no match for her and my mother, and they were strong allies.
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You see, my mother knew Val long before I did. She knew her as a child. In fact, my mother and Val's aunt, Ann, were "road dawgs." So when my mother got out of nursing school, she and Dr. Morris P. Atkins started a clinic together - The 55th St. Medical Center. At first was just the two of them, eventually, it was fully staffed with family, friends and acquaintances', and Val's aunt, Ann, was the billing and insurance person. So, during the Christmas season, my mother hired Val (at 14 years old) to send out Christmas cards to all of the patients. That's how we met.
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One day (when I was 16 years old) I showed up begging for weed money. Mother knew what I wanted it for, so she was a hard sell. So I waited until she and Ann went to lunch so I could hit-up Dr. Atkins. He was always an easy touch - and he gave up more money too. Giving up twenty dollars was nothing to him, when all I really need was five. But little did I know that when I walked through the door of the clinic that day, my life would change forever.
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When I walked up to the counter to be buzzed into the examining rooms Val had her back to me and was bent over pulling out files. Even then she was well endowed, so I remember thinking, Wow! She must be new, because I've never seen that butt before. But when I spoke, and she turned around, it was clear that she was a young girl. And the minute she looked into my eyes, I knew that we would have a future together. The look in her eyes made me feel special, and significant. It was as though she saw something in me that I was missing, and that look remained there until the night she died.
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We became inseparable until she went to college, became and activist, and started making demands that I change my lifestyle. At first I was hard, and I dug in, so she dumped me. She wouldn't even take my calls, but unbeknownst to me, she was staying in close contact with my mother.
.
But I knew this woman loved me, so I decided to teach her a lesson. I decided to constantly trying to call her let her know where she stood, so I'd stop calling and make her suffer. If she thought I was moving on she'd get scared and start begging for my forgiveness. Then one day I turned on the television and there she was on "Boss City" (the Soul Train of the time). She and some guy were partners in a dance contest together - and they won! When they hugged one another I wanted to throw a brick at the television set.
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When I told my mother about it she said, "Eric, Valdie ain't thinking about you no more. She's dating a law student at UCLA. She don't have no time for your childishness - and I hear his people's got money and the brother drives a Mercedes." So, I called her house, and when her mother told me she wasn't at home, I parked down the street from her house waiting to confront this brother, and start a scene. Then when they never showed up, I really went crazy. I couldn't even sleep. All I could see in the back of my mind is her spending a night with him and making passionate love. I didn't find out that the story about the law student was a sham cooked up by her and my mother until two years after we were married, when she was 19, and I was 21. In fact, she was standing behind the door when her mother told me she wasn't home.
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But a year after we were married, Kai was born, and a year and 9 months later, you were born. After that, I began to focus on what life was really about, and that gave your mother something to work with, so she began to talk about who I could be, and that I should start developing the skills to write about what I'm always talk about (I've always been into politics).
.
When I told my mother about it she said, "Eric, Valdie ain't thinking about you no more. She's dating a law student at UCLA. She don't have no time for your childishness - and I hear his people's got money and the brother drives a Mercedes." So, I called her house, and when her mother told me she wasn't at home, I parked down the street from her house waiting to confront this brother, and start a scene. Then when they never showed up, I really went crazy. I couldn't even sleep. All I could see in the back of my mind is her spending a night with him and making passionate love. I didn't find out that the story about the law student was a sham cooked up by her and my mother until two years after we were married, when she was 19, and I was 21. In fact, she was standing behind the door when her mother told me she wasn't home.
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But a year after we were married, Kai was born, and a year and 9 months later, you were born. After that, I began to focus on what life was really about, and that gave your mother something to work with, so she began to talk about who I could be, and that I should start developing the skills to write about what I'm always talk about (I've always been into politics).
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So even though she was a young girl, she was always pushing, and she sent me through hell. I remember telling her, "Stop trying to turn me into Malcolm!" But in her 20's she was a devout activist and death on any brother who just lived from day to day and not trying to improve himself. She said, ignorance was what was holding Black people down.
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So, in her 20's she was a terror, and all about knowledge and being "down for the cause". In her 30's she had chilled a bit. While her message was the same, she was much more subtle. Nevertheless, she got her message across by gently massaging it into your psyche, a technique that she eventually mastered, and led to her producing - not just good children, but exceptional ones. That's also what caused everyone to love her, because she could make a very serious point by putting it in the form of a joke - and she kept people laughing, but they were also learning. I think she was a genius in that regard.
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When you think about it, many of the most talented people die at an early age - Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Michael Jackson, Prince, and many others. It's as though they were just put on Earth to carry out their tasks, and then they move on. I think that was the case with your mother, to produce excellence in you, Kai, and all of her children, and then she move on - and when I think about it, she also influenced me to promote her philosophy. If you'll notice, after awhile she simply laid back and let me do all the lecturing to you guys - and a close review of my writing has Val all over it. Maybe that's what she had in mind when she encouraged me to write.
.
But as sweet as Val was, she was no pushover. She was athletic, strong, and she had a temper. One night I came stumbling in about 2 in the morning. I had been over her cousin’s house, whose husband had become a good friend of mine. We liked to drink, play chess, and listen to jazz together. But when I got home this particular night, Val was waiting for me, and she demanded to know where I’d been. I knew I had an innocent explanation, but being intoxicated, her anger not only struck me as funny, but flattering – “Ooooo, she’s jealous. She thinks I’m seeing another woman.” So, I started to giggle. But she mistook my giggling for mocking her. Then, before I knew it she was all over me, and shouting, “Where you been, fool! Where you been!” She started beating on me and slamming me against the wall until she beat me sober enough to get her off of me and pin her down on the bed to explain. And then a short phone substantiated what I’d said. She was so contrite that she started crying, how worried she was and what she thought. But I already knew and realize I could have spared her all that concern with a simple phone call. But thereafter, we had one of the most loving nights of our marriage.
.
So, in her 20's she was a terror, and all about knowledge and being "down for the cause". In her 30's she had chilled a bit. While her message was the same, she was much more subtle. Nevertheless, she got her message across by gently massaging it into your psyche, a technique that she eventually mastered, and led to her producing - not just good children, but exceptional ones. That's also what caused everyone to love her, because she could make a very serious point by putting it in the form of a joke - and she kept people laughing, but they were also learning. I think she was a genius in that regard.
.
When you think about it, many of the most talented people die at an early age - Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Michael Jackson, Prince, and many others. It's as though they were just put on Earth to carry out their tasks, and then they move on. I think that was the case with your mother, to produce excellence in you, Kai, and all of her children, and then she move on - and when I think about it, she also influenced me to promote her philosophy. If you'll notice, after awhile she simply laid back and let me do all the lecturing to you guys - and a close review of my writing has Val all over it. Maybe that's what she had in mind when she encouraged me to write.
.
But as sweet as Val was, she was no pushover. She was athletic, strong, and she had a temper. One night I came stumbling in about 2 in the morning. I had been over her cousin’s house, whose husband had become a good friend of mine. We liked to drink, play chess, and listen to jazz together. But when I got home this particular night, Val was waiting for me, and she demanded to know where I’d been. I knew I had an innocent explanation, but being intoxicated, her anger not only struck me as funny, but flattering – “Ooooo, she’s jealous. She thinks I’m seeing another woman.” So, I started to giggle. But she mistook my giggling for mocking her. Then, before I knew it she was all over me, and shouting, “Where you been, fool! Where you been!” She started beating on me and slamming me against the wall until she beat me sober enough to get her off of me and pin her down on the bed to explain. And then a short phone substantiated what I’d said. She was so contrite that she started crying, how worried she was and what she thought. But I already knew and realize I could have spared her all that concern with a simple phone call. But thereafter, we had one of the most loving nights of our marriage.
.
But she told her mother about the episode, so naturally, it seeped out into family folklore – and on both sides of the family. So, one day I was over Val’s mother’s house drinking with “Fly”, Val’s stepfather, and a few others. During our discussion Fly and I had a friendly disagreement over politics, and he said, “Don’t be getting’ smart with me, boy! I’ll call Val in here and have her whop your ass again. The story had obviously been well circulated even outside the family, because everybody fell-out laughing. I even had to laugh, because for a minute Val was getting into my ass.
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Val ended up relating the episode to a radio psychologist who was advising people that if they ever got into a physical altercation with their mate, they should dump them immediately, because it will never end. Val told her, our altercation happened over 20 years ago, and we haven't laid a hand on one another since. Thereafter, the psychologist went to a commercial, and when she returned she changed the subject.
But she told her mother about the episode, so naturally, it seeped out into family folklore – and on both sides of the family. So, one day I was over Val’s mother’s house drinking with “Fly”, Val’s stepfather, and a few others. During our discussion Fly and I had a friendly disagreement over politics, and he said, “Don’t be getting’ smart with me, boy! I’ll call Val in here and have her whop your ass again. The story had obviously been well circulated even outside the family, because everybody fell-out laughing. I even had to laugh, because for a minute Val was getting into my ass.
.
Val ended up relating the episode to a radio psychologist who was advising people that if they ever got into a physical altercation with their mate, they should dump them immediately, because it will never end. Val told her, our altercation happened over 20 years ago, and we haven't laid a hand on one another since. Thereafter, the psychologist went to a commercial, and when she returned she changed the subject.
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The bottom line is, sometimes people trip, and if they’re good people they learn from it. In this case, Val learned not to fly off the handle based on assumptions, and I learned that simply being thoughtful can prevent conflicts, and through example, we past that along to you.
.The bottom line is, sometimes people trip, and if they’re good people they learn from it. In this case, Val learned not to fly off the handle based on assumptions, and I learned that simply being thoughtful can prevent conflicts, and through example, we past that along to you.
That's how your mother made her influence felt. She didn't lecture like I tend do, she taught through example. That's why looking back on my life I have to scratch my head when I think of
the impact that your mother had on me over the years, and I didn’t even feel
the change. She always made me feel like I was running things, while I now know she
was in full control. It’s like she indoctrinated me with her love, charm, and intelligence, and then flipped me into auto pilot and kicked back and watched me be a father.
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| ME AND MY BABIES |
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Focus is the key. Your mother somehow knew that focus was the key to excellence, so she alway kept me focused on raising you and Kai. I'm sure you remember that when you were kids, I never ran the street or hung out with any "road dawgs". It was all about you. It was about focus, and your mother saw to it that you were focused on what you were learning. You didn't have to learn about the street or drugs on the street, because I knew all about it, and I taught you what I knew. So when you became teenagers, you weren't intrigued by subject, or felt the urge to experiment. As a result, we became a family unit without any outside influences. And you were always treated as equals, not as kids. That kept you focused on what it meant to be an adult, so you didn't have to waste time learning it after you became an adult. You were ready to hit the ground running. We used to even vote on family decisions.
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You became so used to interacting with us as adults, we had to pressure you to go out and hang with the other kids. You'd rather hangout and trip with us. And when you were 11 and 12 years old, Kai said, "We don't need no babysitter." The babysitter used to try to treat you like kids, and you weren't into that. So we simply gave you the keys to the house, and we never looked back - and we didn't have to. When we got home from work, your homework was done, and you were kicked back either watching television, or playing video games.
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That was the influence your mother had on all of us. She let me do all the lecturing and philosophizing (while she rolled her eyes and giggled along with you), but she always quietly saw to it that we all remained focused on the big picture. And then at night when we went to bed, she'd lecture me on how I handled various situations - "Eric, you spent 20 minutes telling them about things they already know. Save your lectures for when it's necessary." When I got that lecture I knew she'd been talking to Kai - I found out early on that they'd become allies like Val and my mother had when we were kids, so I knew that MO well. So, our home was a full democracy, right down to the corruption. On serious issues, Kai and your mother would often bribe you to go along with them. I remember thinking at the time, "That little turncoat. He must be a Republican. He'll go along with anything for chili dog."
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VAL ON GRANDSON'S
CHEST.
THAT SAYS IT ALL. |
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But at any rate, on our baby boys birthday, I want to you to know that I'll never forget what you've done to contribute to the excellence of all our babies, Val. So, I want to thank you, baby, for bringing so much love, happiness, literacy and pride into our lives - and by the way, I also want you to know that I know it was you that made that knife jump out the sink and scared that sister out of my motor home. You almost caused that poor woman to have a heart attack. That was naughty. She was just there to sell me some clothes.
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Eric, I wrote the following when you and Kai were in high school, and I want to thank you both, for
making it come true:
LEGACY
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Neither scholar nor the head of state,
Neither scholar nor the head of state,
The
most common of men seems to be my fate;
A
life blistered with struggle and constant need,
As
my legacy to man I bequeath my seed.
.
More
fertile, more sturdy these ones than I,
This
withered old vine left fallow and dry;
The
nectar of their roots lie dormant still,
But
through their fruit I'll be revealed.
.
Poppi
Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
BLACK WRITERS, INTELLECTUALS, AND INDEPENDENT THINKERS
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Religion: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.
Religion: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.