R E S P E C T

R E S P E C T find out what it means to me.

- Aretha Franklin

When I was 10 or 11 I learned a very important lesson on respect. The lesson was taught to me by my Grandfather. We were at his house and he had a miniature pool table. I was playing when my Mom announced it was time to go. I told her that I was going to finish the game and then I'd be out. My Grandfather was right next to me when I said it. He reached over and grabbed my arm and said "You will go when your Mom says it's time to go". There was no arguing with Grandpa. I learned that I needed to respect my Mom and listen to her when she says something. This is something I have never forgotten.

Every week I play basketball with some guys from the neighborhood in a local church. There are times when some youth from the area play with us. Last night was one such occasion. The young man had to be in 9th grade and was pretty good. We play from 8:30 to 10:00PM which gets us a decent amount of exercise. We were playing our last game when a woman comes in and sits down. I was wondering who it was and then figured out it was this youth's mom. At 10:05 the mom stands up and walks to the door of the Gym and calls her son and says it's time to go. The youth was on my team and I was bringing the ball down the court. I looked at the youth and he was going to play on. I stopped right where I was and said "No, when Mom says it's time to go, it's time to go." I stopped dribbling (we were playing with his ball) and started walking to get my stuff. No one else said anything (most of the guys are fathers). The youth's mom thanked me for backing her up. I can only hope the young man got the point and will remember this moment as I remember that time with my Grandpa.