Make Plays

I had a football coach once in college that probably doesn't realize how influential he and his one mantra were on my life.  He was my position coach for a year and he beat into our unit's heads and bodies everyday to "make plays".  If the ball was in the air, don't wait for it - go get it!  If you needed to block someone, don't sit on your heals, dictate the situation, make the block.  Running pass routes, lifting weights, studying the playbook or the text book - make plays, make things happen, don't wait for or allow things to be dictated to you! 

This has stayed with me my entire life.  I used it when I was a coach, I've used it in my personal life, and I've had no choice but to use it since I returned to this country and have been trying to set up a life.  You have no choice here.  There is no one here to help you, and despite what the "anti-entitlement" crew thinks, there is no real safety net helping me do much.  There isn't anyone helping me get a job and there isn't anyone really creating or even working to create jobs.  The politicians just bicker and politic circles around each other and the country.  Business owners are looking out for themselves and a bottom line that doesn't factor in all the stakeholders their collective success - managers, workers, communities, consumers, etc.  This country is in as much of a cultural downturn as an economic down turn.  I see a lot of that as systemic and am struggling to stay hopeful that it will change and go anywhere or help people such as myself anytime soon.  So we have to do what we can to try to make things happen.

This may sound simple, pull up my bootstraps right?  Ok, so I wear vibrams, they have toes and there are no straps - sorry, times have changed since we were out on the frontier and had straps on our boots....  Making things happen these days requires more than just one person.  I can't do this all on my own, and everyone who know me knows I've tried!  I've done all sorts of things from packing a bag and going to Africa to fill a resume and create opportunities, to trying to start small businesses, to volunteering in local government, to starting a non-profit in Africa and making a life out of taking risks aimed at making things happen.  But starting businesses, non-profits, and your own things require money, financing, partners, know-how and expertise.  Tough things to find for free in America.  It is one of the things that I love about the Occupy community.  They work together using principles of mutual aid and community.  It is tough to find that throughout the rest of my world right now: people working together selflessly to try to make profound things happen.

Sadly though, it will not help things immediately for me.  I have to create an opportunity here in New York City.  I have to make plays here.  I have to apply for jobs, I have to network like my life depends on it, I have to go up and get the ball.  We all do. 

The saddest thing right now though, is that there is only one ball in the game.  And where it used to be eleven people vying for that ball or job, now it is 500 players vying for the same ball.  It's almost as if we went from playing on the field, to sitting in the stands and betting our lives on the chances of catching a foul ball at a baseball game.  Slim to say the least.  So what is left to do but go out and make plays?  The question is, what plays do you make.  Do you sit in the stands with everyone else hoping to be in the right place at the right time and hope you can out-jump everyone?  Or do you try to go to the source?  Think strategically, ahead of the game, to innovate and change the game?

"Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation causes your worst fears to come true."

At least we can try.... 

They haven't eaten all day...

Hhmmm... Can't figure out what to write for the title. I'm hungry. But not as much as these kids I'm staying with must be. I came home and usually there is food cooking or ready. Not today. No money was left for food today, so no food was to be had. They havn't eaten all day. They needed 7000 leones, $1.75 for all ten of us to eat. I gave them 10000, and it was like the alarm at the firestation had just rang. They all scatered, some for water, some for food, some to get the fire started. They were hungry, but with no complaints. This is life, their life. As the one person here said, we eat when there is food. Up to now there has been plenty, but not today... And now as I write this, it is raining. They cook outside over a fire, now they cook outside in the rain... Insult to injury...

It seems wrong to write about the other worries of my day now, but I will as it is one of the main things i'm here to do. Oh.. And pouring now!!

So I started early this morning. Straight to reading how bricks are made. Fun stuff!! ;) but whether I like bricks or not, I want to help, I want to rebuild, and this makes me a brick man for now!! I went over to the expat hangout again today. Its the only place with power, and I can blend in as if I'm a hotel guest. Pretty much only white contract workers there - to expensive for everyone else.

I spent the day reading about this machine we will hopefully get and taking this information and turning it into a business plan/costing sheet for Kaps and Kevin to research this week. We've got to get someone in here that knows how to make bricks though. It all has to be just right. They seem to think we can just make it happen, but we need expertise. And that is exactly what it is all about with this type of thing, its not whether you can do it, but whether you can get people together that can. I'm trying.

Otherwise it was like little England today. I was surrounded by bright white brits baking by the pool, and english premier league football (soccer). I wish I was surrounded by american football!! No such luck.

Very interesting these expats. Always talking about how great the "package" is. Here for short high paid stints. Not for a cause, not to help - at least much more than themselves. Not all, but virtually all. And not all brits here, but virtually all.

Africa minerals is building a single use train line from their Tonkolili iron mine (aparently will be the biggest iron mine in the world) straight to Freetown. No one else will use the train, only them. And it's immense. Looks like they are building a full interstate highway. And that's actually what the locals think. They think they'll get to use it. Nope. It is strictly so Africa Minerals can take down an entire mountain set, cart it to port, and ship it off to the highest bidder.

They've brought in workers from all over the world, even others from Africa, but don't seem to be using much from Sierra Leone. Rumor has it they will provide 11000 jobs, but I see few so far, I'm sure they will come. They will pay laborers to mine for 5000 leones a day - $1.25 - and then they will sell the iron for billions and make lots of people in the UK and wherever very rich. Taking Sierra Leone's resources and leaving only a few dollars behind for the people while they watch football and drink imported beer. There is something wrong with this, at least to me...

Amputee Soccer/Football

This video is about Sierra Leone's neighbor Liberia.  The two countries were intricately intertwined in both their civil wars and the catastrophes that they still need to overcome.  Sport and amputee games are helping heel some scars, its just a shame that these small countries would actually have enough people without limbs to field teams.  What can we do?



Thanks to Marla for passing this along...