a tribute to MLK

So, the secret is out – I’m white. Not vanilla, not cracker, or a combination of the two, like a vanilla wafer; I’m white. In an effort to understand my color, or excuse it, some say I’m pale. Please, keep the sun out of this. Listen, I’m white. Am I clear? No, just white.

Being who I am (Crayola Caucasian), I have a deep appreciation for Martin Luther King Jr. I admire his convictions, his charisma, his tan, his 40-inch vertical, his 10-inch horizontal, his ability to gather first graders on a fuzzy rug posthumously and not have it be weird. Everything.

Above all things, though, I appreciate his selflessness. Standing before those podiums, those prison bars, those riot shields, knowing his dream was more like a coma, as in one that wouldn’t be awoken until death, MLK kept delivering the same unshaken message to fans and dissenters alike: one love.

As King’s youth baseball coach might’ve said if he ever made the team, “There’s no ‘I’ in ‘MLK’.” And if there was, he’d be milk.

But King wasn’t white like milk. He was black. But not his heart ... ... his heart was gold. And his eyes were brown, his teeth white, his tongue pink, his grill platinum. And this, all this writing here, is gold.

Knowing this now, I came to treat Jan. 21 not just as any third Monday of January, but as a birthday, a celebration of all things black. Here is a rundown of my tribute:

MLK Day
2 a.m. to 11 a.m. -- Had a dream. I was this dragon poacher – back in dragon times – and had to slay the Big One for this princess, the Cruella DeVille of dragons. But, like, after smoking the creature out from it’s lair, it revealed itself as, like, my mom. Then I fell out of a helicopter. I had a dream.

Noon to 12:10 p.m. – Pulled up to Burger King. Was hungry for a Whopper, but after remembering my tribute to MLK Jr., his respect for cow-loving Gandhi and those brilliant Whopper-stopper ads, I went with a Whopper Jr. What did I do with the $1.50 saving? Well you’ll just have to ask the Diversity Forever Charity.

12:15 p.m. – Felt like vomiting. Whopper withdraw.

1 p.m. – Walked an old white woman across the street. She was in a hurry to cross it. Probably a racist. Or an undercover chicken. By the way, while I’m telling funny-ass jokes only found in grade-school libraries, did my dragon dream drag on?

1:30 p.m. – Questioned some kids for skipping school.

3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. – Watched a marathon of “Martin.” I hate that show. Put on “Bad Boys 2.” Hate that movie. Turned on BET. Impaled my TV.

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. – Went to McDonalds with my buds Terrell, Jose, Yi and Pat, the androgynous one. We sat and discussed ways to eliminate white privilege over Whopper Jrs.

10 p.m. – Had a dream that all men were created equally well endowed, to, you know, save money on pills. The size-reducing ones. I had a dream.

Plunge this, Polar Bear

Plungers and one polar bear mascot poses for the inaugural Polar Bear Plunge Wildwood in February 2007.

When the New Jersey polar bear -- the species of half-naked, half-crazy humans -- sees its shadow shivering today, winter will be confused for summer for another four weeks.

In a ph-ph-phenomenon that neither physicians nor psychologists can explain, thousands will migrate to the shore in the next month, hang their coats on sand castles and plunge into the Atlantic Ocean, starting at 10 a.m. today in Wildwood and ending Feb. 23 in Seaside Heights, Ocean County.

"I haven't the slightest idea as to why they do it," said Dr. Robert Karlin, a Rutgers University psychology professor at the Livingston Campus. "I suppose it's just for fun."

Stan Cherim has grown numb trying to explain his winter dips.

Rather than say why he braves the icy water, the 78-year-old thrill seeker said he'd rather explain the rush of darting out.

"We're all aware of the fact that the water is near freezing," said Cherim, a Media, Pa., resident. "You try to prepare for it, but it's still freezing. "The comforting fact is that you don't have to stay in there long. You just have to submerge yourself."

Cherim doesn't shy from challenges, but rather seeks them. The retired chemistry professor ran a half marathon on the Great Wall of China in May 2006, finishing first in his age group.

Stan Cherim flexes his muscles at the Polar Bear Plunge Seaside Heights in 2006.

Cold in his future

While Cherim will stay dry during the second annual Polar Bear Plunge Wildwood today, he plans on diving -- his eighth time in 12 years -- at the 15th annual Polar Bear Plunge Seaside Heights on Feb. 23 alongside Hank Deal and other members of his local Hash House Harriers, the social "drinking club with a running problem."

No matter the site, a few factors remain constant: the chill, the wetness and the buzz.

"In a fun setting, it's a fun challenge and a personal challenge to go into water that cold," said Lynn Schindel, the communication manager for the Special Olympics New Jersey.

Along with plunging for pride, thousands of swimmers lend use of their extremities -- and the time it takes to raise the $100 minimum -- to support the Special Olympics. Last year, it received more than $1.6 million from the Seaside Heights plunge, Schindel said.

The money collected from the events helps out more than 16,000 Special Olymics athletes by providing free training and competitions year round, Schindel added.

On that February day, the water temperature fell to 28 degrees, she said. Wildwood's inaugural plunge, on the other hand, was more bearable as the air temperature reached a balmy 58 degrees.

"It will be much colder this year," Schindel promises.

A frigid mix

In the 13 years he has participated, Deal, 53, considers the jump in Point Pleasant, Ocean County, in February 2003, when 20 inches of show blanketed the Northeast, as the coldest and his most memorable. Water temperature was in the mid 20s, he said.

As a safety precaution, officials asked swimmers to keep their heads above water, Deal recalls.

"I drove that far," said the Brookhaven, Pa., resident. "I'm going all the way in. I'm not going up to my knees."

For Deal, Cherim and others, training is minimal -- as in nonexistent. No cold-shower marathons or ice cube baths. No Slurpee chugs or snow-angel exercises. Not even midnight streaking.

"I don't know anyone who trains for it," Cherim said. "You kind of grind your teeth and that's about all the training you do."

Safety precautions

Ambulances and diving crews have been present but luckily unused during both plunges, Schindel said.

Dr. Laurence DesRochers, chairman of emergency service at Community Medical Center in Toms River, Ocean County, says shock-induced emergencies such as hypothermia or cardiac arrest can mostly be avoided by checking your body before and during the plunge.

DesRochers discourages anyone with heart or lung problems, diabetes or high blood pressure to take the plunge.

Cherim figures an in-and-out approach would typically be best and just not for him.

"Some people plunge right in, but I tend to plunge a little slower because I don't want to get a heart attack," Cherim said. "I plunge slowly and get out."

Once out in the brisk open, Cherim said he rushes for cover, fetching his towel, robe and slippers before joining the crowd of spectators, his real source of warmth.

"I never had the luxury of warm showers, but there's plenty of people," he said, "so there's not a problem of staying warm after that point."

Lenape girls slighted, Minutemen top in nation

If you round the track fast enough, you'll end up in Madison Square Garden.

Maybe.

For Moira Cunningham, the dream of qualifying for the Millrose Games pushed her like no competitor could in the 4x800 last Saturday, motivating the Lenape senior to a 10-second win in 9:32.83 at the State Group 4 Relay Championships.

The time's a season-best, even tops in the state, but Cunningham, relay teammates Brianna Beddall, Caitlin Orr, Katie Duffey or for that matter, any girls' 4x800 team, won't be invited to the prestigious Millrose Games.

While a boys' 4x800 race will debut -- and even be a televised event -- on Feb. 1, a girls' race is not scheduled. And Lenape girls' coach Gerald Richardson still can't find a good explanation.

"It's unfair," Richardson said. "It's a disgrace for a meet of this caliber not to recognize and showcase both boys and girls at that level.

"It's unfortunate for the girls to be considered second-class athletes at this point."

The relay team learned of its omission on Monday, two days after helping Lenape win its first state relay championship in school history.

"They're obviously upset," Richardson said.

The two top boys' relays in New Jersey -- currently Hunterdon Central and Hillsboro -- will clash with the four fastest New York relays in the 4x800, one of 11 high-school races featured at the world-class meet.

With respect to Title IX, a federal law that prohibits, among other things, gender discrimination in school sports, Richardson said there should be a 12th race.

"They have a girls' 60, a girls' mile, a girls' 4x400," said Richardson, who doubles as the Willingboro boys' coach in the spring. "How hard is it to get a girls' 4x800? It's not going to add more than 10 minutes to the schedule."

Richardson said he spoke with meet officials this week.

"I don't know what to tell you," he said. "Everything is already in place."

Minute-made record

A national best is worth reviewing.

Fast forward to the last leg of the sprint medley, the 800, and you'll see the leader, Trenton Catholic's Rashawn Bailey, slipping to a couple South Jersey sharks, Washington Township junior Xavier Fraction and Absegami junior Ford Palmer.

Three laps complete with 200 meters to go, Fraction hears Washington Township boys' coach Rich Bostwick yell.

"He told me to make a decision," Fraction said, "so I just went."

Fraction capped dizzying performances by relay teammates Nick Krauss, Steve Morrone and Tim Carey with a personal-best 1:56 split, giving the Minutemen a time of 3:38.6, the win and something unbelievable.

"I didn't think it could be best in the nation," said Fraction, who still checked national database Milesplit.com the next day. "It said Washington Township was No.1."

Absegami finished second in the race in 3:40.23, good for fourth-fastest in the country according to the Web site.

Juniors Fraction and Carey, whom Bostwick considers "the most talented kid on the team" and is referred to by "Wonder Boy," both run cross country during the fall while Krauss plays football and Morrone soccer.

Unlike past years, Bostwick is treating this winter not as a warmup for outdoor track, but as a workout, grinding his runners into a shape able to compete at the indoor state championship.

"We're definitely going a lot harder than we did last year indoor," Fraction said. "I haven't heard anyone complain. Everyone's treating it like spring."

"At the New Balance Games today, Bostwick said the same group might run the sprint medley but will primarily focus on the 4x800, trying to capture one of the two qualifying spots at the Millrose Games.

Don't sleep on East

Eastern coach John Shea is concerned with only his team -- both past and present.

When Shea loaded his 4x800 with talented sophomore Barry Bethea, seniors Steven Greer, Michael Ali and Joseph Steffney last Saturday, he wasn't aiming to qualify for the Millrose Games as much as he was targeting a school record.

The relay finished third in the Group 4 race in a South Jersey-best 8:21.47, but considerably short of the Vikings' 2002 record of 8:18.78.

The record will take another shot today at the New Balance Games and it's likely to fall on the fast track at the New York City Armory.

Shea said his current cast could also break the team's 2001 sprint-medley record of 3:39.9.

Lenape again

Lenape scored in all eight relays it competed in, but only one literally rose to the occasion.

The tandem of senior Lindsay Walsh and junior Danielle Ward high-jumped for a combined height of 10-8, good for a school record and a fraction of an inch shy of tying the state record.

But success like that doesn't arrive without sweat, blood and the occasional eye crust.

Both girls meet up with their boy counterparts, coach Richardson and jumping coach Mike Pascuzzo at 6 a.m. twice a week to get some jumps in.

"They enjoy it immensely," Richardson said. "They're students of the sport.They know how far the bar is. They're so dedicated to the event."

Camden's 4x200 team let viewers know who was tops in the nation after winning the Hispanic Games race.

Broken record

Cue the adage: Records are made to be broken.

A 1:42.21 in the girls' 4x200 elevated the Camden relay to the national throne Jan. 5, and a 1:40.2 by Dallas Skyline, Texas., brought them back down last Saturday.

But Camden still had reason to celebrate last Saturday, edging both Roxbury (27 points) and Seneca (26) to win the State Group 3 Relay Championships with 28 points.

Jamie Jones and Miriam Boyd, both members of the aforementioned 4x200, helped Camden win the 4x200 (1:48.74) and the 4x400 (4:06.98).

when i was editor

When cleaning out my Temple in/outbox last week, I keyed on one e-mail sent to my former staff of Temple Living reporters, affectionally referred to as Livers. While I never wrote an e-mail I didn't like (Time ensured this), I take stock in one that offered no story ideas, but instead a story.

Sent Nov. 26 2006:

" In place of story ideas this week, let me tell you about –
and hopefully inspire you with – a gritty story about rocker
Bruce Springsteen and his defining hit “Born to Run”:

Born in the punching-bag state of New Jersey, Springsteen rose from the faceless scene and carried his workmanlike, inferior complex onstage, and later into the studio. In 1972, Springsteen, then 23, would spend only three weeks
producing his raw debut album, “Greetings from Asbury Park,” a commercial flop.

A year later, he designated two months into the production of his next bust, “The Wild, The Innocent, The E-Street Shuffle.”

With Columbia Records losing faith, patience and money with each album, Springsteen was one bad album away from being cast out into the ocean of obscurity. Although critics loved his work and realized his creativity, much of his work was dismissed as rushed, sloppy and verbose.

Like a jobless graduate approaching the end of his student- loan grace period, Springsteen awoke to the reality of the situation, drenched in desperation and staring at the crossroads of his career. He transmuted his anxiety into something else. For him, this was creative energy.

“The highways jammed with broken heroes on a last-chance power drive.”

These lines and others were composed in the studio during the production of his masterpiece album, “Born to Run.” Springsteen brought his nine-man band into the studio, but left his wing-it attitude behind. He also brought a sleeping
bag.

For the next nine months, Springsteen and the E-Street Band would pull all-nighters rehearsing the same eight songs. And on one of these songs, the title track, he would spend an exorbitant length of time layering and finessing melodies – overdubbing as many as 12 separate guitar melodies – until it was just right. Good was no longer good enough.

The sessions became so tedious, a band member left.

One more time.

After four unsuccessful months of tinkering, Springsteen hauled his equipment into another studio and began again.

One more time.

Columbia Records started to feel the pinch of the mounting studio fees and pressed Springsteen to move on.

Yet again, one more time. And it still wasn’t right.

Six months of tweaking in all, Springsteen finally had 4 minutes and 30 seconds of something he could be proud of. And fans reaffirmed this in ’75, the release year, by making “Born to Run” his then- best-selling album.

He and his family continue to live off, among other things, the royalties derived from his 6-month quest for perfection.

I’ll pause and let you guys situate yourselves off the edge of your seats.

Fan or not, everybody can take note of the price of excellence. And if your hatred for Springsteen is that intense, just remember that Michelangelo spent four years painting the Sistine Chapel. That’s dedication.

So hopefully the next time I assign you a story, you’ll remember not to wait until the next to last day to work on it. Give yourself days to write it, and by that I don’t mean research; I mean the actual writing process. Take your time
to write it because it’s your name up there. "