Heavy heart, right now. My first unpublished novel about a gang of werewolves from an orphanage was unceremoniously tossed in the garbage my Freshman year of high school, mistakened for a pile of junk paper. I slipped into depression throughout my high school years and didn't know it then. My grades were at their lowest. I was distracted by everything around me, which included my home life, trying to be things that I wasn't while still trying to find the inspiration to write another story/novel. Then I saw #boyznthehood and suddenly I was inspired to tell stories again, this time about our reality growing up in Brooklyn, NYC. I had some dry spells since but I never lost the inspiration to be a storyteller ever again, and it started with #JohnSingleton. At least I got to meet and talk with him on more than one occasion. The first time was when he autographed for me a small poster of his newly released movie Higher Learning. As he was signing, I asked him, "I would like to make #movies. Is there any advice you can give me." "Do you?" he asked, taking a moment for me with a line that went outside #SpikeLee's 40 Acres and a Mule store in #FortGreene, #Brooklyn and continued around the block. "Cool. Okay. Well, just read a lot of books and watch a lot of movies." Read books? I didn't care about reading books at that time. And I only watched movies of that era that starred African-Americans. Thanks to him, I started reading and watching as many movies as possible. Boy was I missing out. I took his advice. I've been taking it ever since. The last time I saw him in person, he was directing a scene from #Shaft. He was working. I was hanging out. In the middle of a camera set up change, he noticed me on his set far out in Brooklyn and nodded "Hello." Now we're saying goodbye to one of the coolest, most down to Earth film icons that I ever met. The first black man to ever be nominated for Best Directing #Oscar and the youngest at 24-yrs-old. I feel obligated to follow through more than ever. I always wished we would meet again when establishing myself, to tell him about our encounters and how he inspired me. This one is for you, #ripjohnsingleton https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw4NjnVlrOh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14awoecdbi0o5
