Everyone Needs A Hero!

Sounds silly doesn't it? I'm a grown man of 38 years and I'm still looking for heroes to learn from and to emulate. There's one man that continually surprises me with his passion and talents and that's - Denzel Washington.

I must admit that this brother definitely has his act together. As a black man who's a few years younger than Denzel, I can still look at him as a positive role model.

I'll admit early in this piece for the skeptics out there that I have no idea what goes on in this man's house and I'm definitely not saying this man is a saint. What I am saying is that this Brother has got "passion and balls."

The first story I ever read about Denzel was in an old GQ magazine. It talked about the time Denzel turned down a number of roles during his early years of his career because his wife had just been offered a staring role in an off Broadway production. Denzel's career had just started to blossom and to take himself out of the mix could have been a death sentence. But to him, his wife's career was just as important as his so. He stayed home. Someone needed to stay home and raise the kids and Denzel was the man. He became my hero right then and there since I wasn't sure I could have made that call. I ain't too sure I could stay married to one woman over all of that time with the numerous "distractions" I'm sure this brother is offered on a day to day basis. Can you believe this man has been married to the same woman for over 16 years?!

Denzel has four kids that he raises as if he's just a regular Joe. I've read so many accounts that describe the changes he has made in his life to be a "participatory" father - from having all of his movie contracts include trips back home every weekend to car pooling and teaching his son's little league. Dude got true game in my eyes.

The release of his newest movie "The Hurricane" has thrown him into the spotlight again. He was being interviewed by Ed Bradley (another brother high on my list) for 60 Minutes a couple of weeks ago. I loved the interview because it's so good to see two solid, sharp brothers having an intelligent conversation. I checked the movie out a week later and was not disappointed. I'm talking two thumbs way up or two HIGH fives, whatever way you want it, for a brilliant movie.

The clip they showed during the interview on 60 minutes will always be my Denzel Washington highlight. They were showing the clip from "Glory", which not enough people have seen (black or white), and it hit me just as strongly as it did the first time I sat in the theatre and watched this scene.

Denzel is part of the first black volunteer army during the civil war. He's about to get his ass whipped for leaving camp to find some shoes for his boys. They start to strip away his shirt but he pushes the fool aside and tears the shirt from his own back. A that point you can see his back clearly and all of the previous scars from other whippings he received as a slave that covered his entire back. Denzel spits defiantly on the ground and takes his place next to the post. As the other soldiers look on, Denzel received his lashes and the insolence and anger never leaves his face as one single tear rolls down his cheek. Damn! The boy got skills. All I could think about as I watched this was gang banging the entire crew and killing all the white folks. I believed every moment and wanted to see more and I wasn't the only one in the house who hung onto his every scene-stealing act.

THIS BROTHER WON THE WHITE MAN'S OSCAR FOR THIS ROLE AND EVERY OTHER AWARD WORTH MENTIONING INCLUDING THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD!

As I write this, it dawns on me that this is the same effect I want to have on my readers. I want you to feel the same kind of passion from my work. I want you to leave your world and hop into mine. I guess I want to be a hero to those fathers who are fighting to be more than just a weekly child support check. I want to be a hero for those men who keep trying to be a daddy and husband even when his greatest critic is his child's mother. I want to be Denzel but in another venue. I want to write the words that can help us all change as fathers and brothers.

Denzel will always be my hero and one day I hope that someone can write about me and the things I made them feel and challenges I put before them as a parent and a brother. But until then I'm going to hold on to my hero and pray that I can be as dedicated a father as Denzel is to his four kids while still sharpening my skills in my arena as he has in his.

As I said earlier - "Ain't nothing wrong with looking up to your hero especially if the brother’s putting it down like Denzel!"