Brotherhood, Purpose, Passion, Love, Unity — Seeing my Brothers

This is a story of the triumph of the human spirit, overcoming adversity, prejudice, and racial difference. It’s about a friendship that started in the 60s – at the heart of the civil rights era.

These powerful words come from my “twin brother” and long-time friend Richard. In my book I talk about Richard and Ed. We all played basketball together and went to the championships when we lived in Turkey – I’m sure you may have read about it in my book. Richard is black and in those days, that mattered a lot to many people. But to me he was a friend.

I saw Richard recently when he came to Utah for my 65th birthday party. I’ll post more about that soon – but first I wanted to share this with you. Richard sent this to me when he got home (I asked if I could share it):

Mark-O, without thought or contemplation, we collectively created a world that Martin Luther King dreamed of and spoke of in 1963 in his famous “I have a dream speech” delivered August 28, 1963. While he was dedicating his life to such a dream, we had and were living that very dream nearly 50 years ago.

No one told us to approach our lives in that way, it was a natural collection of positive energy founded on the primes that King spoke of – we, you, I and Ed judged each other based on the chracter of our being and not on the color of our skin, religious belief, or US Southern orientation. More amazing is the fact that 48 years later, we still hold the same love, admiration and respect for each other. Can you imagine knowing someone for 48 years and never ever having a cross word between the three souls?

When folk speak of twins, they are basing it on how the people physically look. In our case, I am your twin brother because we have twin spirits. The relationship that we have personifies the term “Soul Brother…”.

Our souls have found common energy and the flow is directed from within and not from what we may see from the outside. When we won the Med Championship, we had collective energy, a common goal and a commitment to be the Champions in Basketball. This same mental application has brought about a life time spiritual Championship.

Happy 65, my twin brother.

Martin Luther King spoke of it in 1963, our president Barak Obama who just stood on our turf 48 years later promotes the same world that we lived in 48 years ago. Brothers of the spirit and not of the physical. A much higher plain. Love you man!!!

Thanks and love to you Richard and Ed — still my brothers after all this time!