Blue Lines Birthday Blog – Happy B-Day Father, To Do List

Tags

Andy Allo, Atlanta Braves, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Blue Lines, Bobby Dodd Stadium, Boston Red Sox, Chicago, Chicago Bulls, Citizen Cope, Father, Fenway Park, George Bush, Gnarls Barkley, Holcombe Rucker, Kenneth Suffern, Key Yemaya Walker, Lenny Kravitz, Los Angeles, Mile High Club, MLB, NBA, New York, NFL, Pearl Jam, Portland, Richard Nixon, Rucker Park, Scottie Pippen, Seattle, Sia, Ski, Snow, Super Bowl, United Center, Woodstock, Wrestlemania, WWE

Today family and family friend’s celebrate my father’s 75th birthday, the Platinum anniversary. It is amazing to think of all the things that he’s seen, experienced and done during that time.

He’s lived through World War II, served in Korea, was station and boxed in Japan. Saw Vietnam, 2 Gulf Wars. He saw the World Trade Center erected and saw the day that it fell.

Many things that we were taught through school he experienced, the Civil Rights movement and was around during the Black Panthers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. he saw the first man go to the moon, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy. Witnessed to U.S. Presidents go through impeachment processes. Saw Mandela jailed, and then freed and saw him speak in Atlanta at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd stadium.

He saw a father and son become president, and witnessed the election of the first Black American president.

He’s seen the World’s Fair, volunteered for the 1996 Olympics, attended Woodstock, worked 2 Super Bowls and even went to see Wrestlemania (ugh).

He came from a time, when radios and theatres gave news updates, and when people still wrote letters. He played Basketball at Rucker park with many of the greats…and when I say Rucker, I’m talking about the real and original Rucker Park and knew Holcombe Rucker. Plus being from New York where kids played all sports, my appreciation of all sports, but LOVE for basketball had to come from him. Though he can keep the whole Yankees/Knicks/Rangers thing for himself…I’ll throw those Mets in that bunch too.

Well with that being said, in relation, I have a lot left to do, so in honor of his 75th birthday, my “To Do List,” in no particular order.

-Attend a Super Bowl/NBA Finals/World Series/Stanley Cup Finals/Summer Olympic Games/Wrestlemania (preferably outside the U.S.)…I said Attend, preferably one of my favorite teams.

–Have the ability to grow my hair and beard out for a year or more.

–See the Braves on the road. Got to do that.

–Drive the 101

-Attend a Red Sox game at Fenway.

-See a game in all MLB Parks

-Attend a Game/Event/Multiple things at Madison Square Garden.

-See the Chicago Bulls play at the United Center.

-Sky dive

-Buy a Motorcycle

-Have a daughter (Chloe Gabrielle “Brielle” Suffern at least) my parents need a grandchild(ren). Well they have a grandchild…just not mine.

-Visit the Starbucks Office

-Meet Scottie Pippen

–Tell YOU how I feel.

–Go To Hawaii (I’ve done this twice, soon thrice)

-Visit Cuba

-Visit Europe as an adult

-Get Published

-Surf

-Visit Japan, Australia

-Attend to Bonnaroo/CoachellaDONE (3), Ready to go back/Glastonbury

-Join the Mile-High club (actually surprised about that one)

-See Gnarls Barkley/Sia/Citizen Cope/Lenny Kravitz/Alice Smith/Corinne Bailey Rae in concert.

-Have a major motion picture version of Blue Lines produced

-Perform live (sing), I say this, but I am afraid of this too. (eh, kinda done)

-Have book signings/forums for Blue Lines…then subsequent works.

–See Pearl Jam perform “Black” live.

-Snow ski/snow board

-Find

-Move to New York/San Francisco/L.A./Chicago/Portland/Seattle at some point in my life. Less time in the latter two.

-Play a basketball game/football game/baseball on an official court and/or field.

-Start an WNBA/NBA/NFL franchise, not own but be a part of the start up of a new team. It can be relocation whatever.

-Put on an event overseas, World Cup/Olympics/NBA or NFL exhibition.

-Write my autobiography…way down the line.

-Hone my photography skills (working on it).

-Have my book on Oprah…my time is running out on this one (too late).

-Go to the White House.

-Go to the Basketball HOF ceremony.

–Get a Tattoo.

This was spur of the moment, and I know there are more.

The manuscript Blue Lines is a fictional period piece, written by Kenneth Anthony Suffern, Jr., that takes place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.