2. I started reading fluently at the age of 4. 

3. The first novel I read from front to back cover, and in one day, is Richard Wright’s “Black Boy.” 

4. At Troy University, I studied Broadcast Journalism, and out of 40 candidates, got accepted for an internship at WTTG-Channel 5 in Washington, D.C., where Maury Povich was anchor before he fell into the pit of talk shows. 

5. Major influences for my decision to enter the world of journalism include Morse Diggs, a former newspaper reporter who crossed over to broadcast, and the late media icon Ed Bradley. 

6. For my first 15 years as a print journalist, I broke the color barrier at four newspapers. Here is where I quickly learned to stay on top of my game. 

7. The Chattanooga Times Free Press marked my longest stint of media employment. Loved that city. Fate presented another opportunity to return to sweet home Alabama. My interview at the Montgomery Advertiser was scheduled on the same day as Alabama Gov. George Wallace’s funeral. Was it an omen? I did pray for a sign as whether or not to move back to Alabama. 

8. The Chattanooga Chapter of the NAACP presented my first major honor as a journalist - the Keys to the City. 

9. One of my boldest attempts at news coverage included penning a series of articles on the Mislabeling and Miseducation of the Black Male. Because of the sources’ raw honesty, many parts of the series ended up on pages like C-7. Nonetheless, it was at the forefront of the consciousness of university leaders and the city’s movers and shakers. It followed up with the birth of a chapter of 100 Black Men of America. 

10. I had the rare opportunity to spend a day in one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s mansion, Wingspread, in Racine, Wisc. 

11. On the day of my interview for an automotive sales job, I got up early to prepare breakfast, turned on the wrong stove eye – high – and caught the kitchen afire. Needless to say I was late. The more ironic aspect had to be calling the prospective employer to state the reason for being tardy. 

12. Stopped running and finally accepted my calling to teach in 2006-2007, starting with middle school. Unforgettable moments. While teaching pronouns to my seventh graders, I spat examples, quickly saying the pronouns “she” and “it” behind the other. It was a most embarrassing moment. Nonetheless, we all laughed and I vowed to never recite those two pronouns behind the other.