Opinion

This week marks the end of Black History Month. It was difficult for me to decide who to write about, with so many amazing things accomplished by African-Americans. In light of this difficulty in deciding, I will close this series with a list of little known facts about black inventors. I hope this with incite interest among readers who may choose to do additional research on those mentioned in this article.

It always surprises me just how many people lack the skill of good listener. I to was not always the best listener but I have always had good manners. I pride myself on being a southern gentleman. Although I am not always perfect when practicing as a southern gentleman, I am always mindful of the rules of a southern gentlemen. Southern gentlemen rules withstanding, I pride myself on good manners. So, todays soap box discussion is on how to listen. I believe there are fewer good listeners because of the whole me generation but that’s another story all together.

Over the years, I have been blessed with some great friendships. In fact, I have so many really great friends, especially from my college years. Friendships often come from the most unlikely places. I met my friend Blake when he was a “potluck” suitemate in the dorm. We had everything in common and were instant friends. My friend, Trenton, was also a unique friendship. His dad dated my mom in high school (yeah, that was pretty weird at first, but we became friends later at college, and well, he is just an awesome friend. I met Dakota when we were orientation leaders in college, and he shared my love for sports, and he has remained a close friend. My friend, Wiley, I met on the first day of college. He introduced himself as “Wiley,” but I could never find him after that. Come to find out, his real name is not Wiley—that is his nickname, so it took a while before I found him again, but we ended up having some really fun times. I even have a friend, Daniel, who is actually my mother’s first cousin. We have been friends since we could talk. Each friendship is unique and different—but when God places someone in your life, you never know how he is going to use that person to shape you and mold you.