Richard M. Nixon was the Vice-President of the United States when we first bonded at the Burning Tree Golf Course in 1957. Burning Tree was an exclusive all male and all white private club located in a suburb of Maryland in Washington, DC.

I was a caddy there in the late 50s working on the weekends to help my single parent mother to help make ends meet financially. I lived in a housing project in NE Washington, DC–it was two different worlds.

One late Saturday evening the Club pro, Max Elbin hollered out to me as I was making my way to the parking lot to look for a ride into DC. This was a ritual the caddies often use to catch our bus back home, whether we lived in Foggy Bottom in Georgetown DC, Cabin John in Maryland or my housing project in NE DC. The white members were often our mold of transportation back into DC.

On that particular Saturday evening, I was in the right place at the right time. I had just lost my day’s earnings on the golf course to the notorius, Petey Greene. My homeboys had warned me to avoid the crap and cards games organized by Petey in the evenings. I was a knucklehead and did not take their advice.

I ended up dead broke. Petey, lend me two dollars for my bus fare and Little Tavern Hamburgers (10 cents each) for the ride back to the ghetto. He charged a dollar on a dollar–he was also a loan shark.

As I approached, Mr. Elbin, he explained he had two bags for me to carry and the players were only going play nine-holes–that was music to my ears, darkness was fast approaching.

As I starting to walk to the tee, I heard a voice yell, “Harold are you ready for an adventure?” I turned to see where the voice was coming from, to my surprise, it was the Vice-President of the United States, Richard Nixon. There was a smiling face walking beside him, he would later introduce himself as Bill Rogers (Attorney General). He was an excellent golfer, he was teaching the Vice-President how to play.

It would take me only two holes to discover what the adventure Mr. Nixon was talking about. His ball spent more time in the woods and trees then, the birds and bees. On top of that it was a hot evening sun bearing down on every hole. Mr. Rogers was a class act and a very patience man.

When we arrived at the ninth and final hole, Mr. Nixon hit another ball in the woods, and when he emerged, he called out to Mr. Rogers, “Hey Bill, lets go nine more.”, I could believe my ears!

Those nine more holes and the ride to Westmoreland Circle to catch my bus would change my life forever.

During the adventures on the golf course and the rides to the bus stop turned into discussions of my prowness as an athlete and the games of life. He stressed that I should pay more attention to my books than, balls and strikes. He reminded me, that my education would pay more dividends than, football, basketball or baseball.

We went our separate ways in 1958, he would be heading to South America and other countries to talk with World Leaders.

Mr. Nixon would become the President of the United States in 1969. I also believe he would have been a great sports writer or a sports talk show host.

In the summer of 1969 our paths would cross again, this time it would not be on a golf course, but on the streets of Shaw/Cardozo. The President was touring the riot area of 1968. I was working as a Roving Leader for the DC Department of Parks and Recreation. My assignment, working with at-risk children and youth gangs. This encounter would lead to a Presidential appointment for me.

Antonio Logan-El at the age age of 10 leading the way making sure we leave no child behind.

Every election cycle the favorite cry of a politician, “Make Children First.” It never happens.

Former Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi was recently seen on comedian Bill Maher’s cable television show, CNN. She was promoting her new book. The discussion centered around the danger of being a politician in America.

Pelosi said, “This is what I signed up for.” Maher’s response, “Are you sure.” Pelosi quoted President Teddy Roosevelt, “He said, you are no longer a spectator when you are in the public arena. You have to be ready to take a punch and throw a punch for the children.”

I watched in disbelief, when those words came out of her mouth! I have yet to hear a politician utter those words, and carry them to Capitol Hill.

No punches were throwed for the two children and two teachers at Wider High School in Georgia on September 2, 2024. This was just weeks after the new school year had started.

Since December 1968 Kids In Trouble has tried to make thousands of children FIRST. The benefactors of Kids In Trouble and Inside Sports who tried to help me make children FIRST read like a WHO’S WHO.

WASHINGTON STAR-NEWS DECEMBER I, 1974

ROBIN ‘SUGAR’ WILLIAMS

photo / Fred Sheperd

(top photo) Robin sings the classic “Hero” at the Grand Hyatt in DC. The occasion, annual KIT toy party. ‘We Remember Muhammad Ali’ at the Miracle Theatre on Capitol Hill (2019)

Robin is a native Washingtonian and a product of the DC Public Schools. Eastern High School choir Director with Robin were considered the No. I high school choir in the nation. She is a graduate of Howard University and came back to teach music in the DC Public Schools.

Robin has traveled the World as a gospel artist and performed at the White House. Her work and contributions to Kids In Trouble are legendary. She reached back with the late NFL greats, Jim Brown and Duane Thomas, and dozens of pro athletes, Judges, and media personalities. Their support helped me try to enhance the lives of thousands of inner-city children across the DMV, Atlanta (John Hollins) and Philadelphia (Sonny Hill).

MILES CLARKE

I met Miles when he was three years old hanging out in a Bowie Senior Residence with his General Manager Grandmother, Gloria Gaddy. One day he followed me to the elevator and we have been friends ever since. I watched him go from Pee Wee football to high school football and band to the Bowie State College band and on to co-hosting a campus radio talk show. He can now be found in the new state-of-the-art studios of the Bowie Department of Communications. Miles Clarke is now a junior with his eyes on the prize.

ANTONIO LOGAN-EL

ANTONIO LOGAN-EL went from sitting on a baby Grand Piano in the Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown DC to being named to the National High School All-American football team. He is a graduate of Towson State College, he returned to serve elementary school children pizza and hotdogs at the annual KIT toy party at the Marriott Hotel in Greenbelt, Maryland.

ROBERT GLEN went from shooting hoops with me to become a Moorehouse Man. There he met billionaire Robert Smith, Mr. Smith paid the tuition of Robert Glen’s entire class.

YOU WIN SOME AND YOU LOSE SOME-MEET WILLIAM WALKER, JR

William Walker, Sr. and I had been friends for over 3 decades. I remember when William Walker, Jr. was born. William senior showed up at a gathering place in SE DC called The Little White House, it was a hangout place for community advocates and wannabes. Every Thursday morning breakfast was served with expert advice on how to save our children and our community. They are still trying to figure it out!

After breakfast William passed out cigars. I didn’t smoke and did not take one. He insisted I take one anyway in appreciation of his first born. I kept that cigar for about 5 years until it just disappeared.

William was a man’s man and we sometimes disagreed and fell in and out of love. We would go for months without speaking while sharing the same space in the community.

He would show up at my community events with little William and smile like everything was cool and it was as far as I was concerned. The one thing that kept us together, we both wanted what was best for our children. And if there was a serious disagreement, we would pick up the telephone and make the call. Unlike most player-haters and naysayers in the DMV, we never talked behind each other’s backs. The arrival of little William I think made that more important.

Like those of us who were not hustling the children, he became disenchanted with leadership in the community from top to bottom, especially the hustlers who pretended it was all about the children, when it was all about “The Bemjamins.”

William Sr. was a Navy veteran, he served his country. He was also a multi-talented writer, actor, and producer in front and behind the camera.

William Walker and I had different opinions over the years on how to monetize my exclusive one-on-one of a kind Muhammad Ali interview. We kept hitting and missing.

We would talk about little William’s basketball skills as a ‘Little Big Man’ in a sport of giants. He was barely over five feet tall; he was a great little ball-handler, ball hawk and leader on the floor. I would attend practices at Woodson Middle School on Minnesota Avenue in NE DC. There were times I would attend games to watch him in action to check out his progress.

Walker’s main concern was little William who was now a teenager (Red Flag) and his mother’s health. A consistent income had become a problem. He saw no future with Chappelle.

Despite, “Now you see me and now you don’t” frauds in our community, there was some light at the end of the tunnel. Little William’s future was looking bright, and the 50th Anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle was on the horizon. We could plan on getting little William a basketball scholarship if his academics were up to par. Walker convinced me he had a game plan to keep little William focused and how to help me put the finishing touches on my Ali project.

I was already working with an experienced editor; he was keeping hope alive with my classic one-of-a-kind interviews with some of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. Ali was the jewel in the crown.

After a meeting of the minds, Walker and I went to meet my editor for an introduction. They were aware of each other’s work. In June 2022 the decision was made for the three of us to work together to make the project a reality.

July 11, 2022 William Walker, Sr. was called home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He died suddenly of a heart attack. He was 65 years old and left behind his mother and a teenage son William.

William Walker, Sr. unexpected passing left me wondering what was to become of his only son, and his ailing mother. I had never met his mother or any other member of his family, only William, Jr.

He did introduce me to a close old friend, and homeboy, O. J. McKee. O. J. was living in Raleigh, N. C. and teaching at the University of North Carolina. William introduced us via telephone conference call a year before he passed, their common denominator, film production.

I had no clue who to contact about his final arrangements until O. J. called with an update. William’s homegoing service was held at Jenkins Funeral Home in Landover, Maryland. O. J. drove from North Carolina to the funeral and we met face to face for the first time.

On my arrival at Jenkins Funeral Home, I was shocked to see William, Jr and O. J. were the only familiar faces I recognized in attendance. It didn’t take long for me to understand why there were so few friends of William’s in attendance. Felicia Chappelle from Cleveland, Ohio, had taken charge of the homegoing service.

I found it strange there was no one from The Little White House in attendance. He was a regular at the breakfast for years and this was the last place I saw Felecia Chappelle. I let go and let God and kept my distant as I did the last time I saw her at The Little White House.. Maybe she and brother Dave were a blessing in disguise for the Walker family.

O. J. would be driving back to North Carolina in the morning, we shook hands and promised to stay in touch and keep an eye on little William. If only we had known where this journey would lead us!

Thanks to O. J.’s uncle befriending little William at the homegoing service, there was a contact number for him. O. J. led the way and had little William to call me for a follow-up.

Little William called and we talked about his plans for the future, William Sr. would be happy to hear college was on his drawing board. His college of choice would be Central State in Wilberforce, Ohio.

One of the things he mentioned, “I need a job to help me earn enough money to buy a car to drive to school.” It sounded reasonable, but this was August heading into September, some young folks were already on their campuses. He made it clear, he needed something that paid better than McDonald’s.

I called a friend Bob Lewis; he was the manager of the Giant Food Store when I was living in Bowie. He had been a great supporter of Kids In Trouble when I was living there. William was a kid in trouble.

Bob was out the door and into retirement when I caught him at home. I told him the story of little William. He promised to check around and see what he could find if anything at this late date.

It took a few days but Bob came through with flying colors. He found William a job in a Giant Warehouse making Top Dollar. William went online and successfully filled out the application. He was given a reporting date to start work–he was a no-show. Bob called me with the bad news and I was at a loss for words. He said, “HOWARD, I would do it again if you called, because it is what you do.”

I never tried to reach out to little William again. I called O. J. to tell him what had happened with the job at Giant. He said, “Man you tried, I heard he is in Ohio looking for a job so he can enroll in school and Felicia is trying to help him.” I was happy and disappointed all at the same time. I had to let go and let God.

My birthday falls on May 21st and on May 21st 2024, I had a rude awaking. Instead of celebrating my birthday with a bowl of Cherrios and some fruit, I was confronted with the morning news of a car chase across the DC-Maryland lines with police cars from DC and PG County in hot pursuit.

The occupants of the vehicle being chased had taken shots at an off-duty DC Police Captain while driving recklessly through DC streets. They resented the officer taking a video of their reckless driving, and the chase was on.

They finally wrecked the automobile and were pulled from the wreckage. The young man I thought was in school in Ohio, William Walker, Jr I saw in handcuffs sitting on the curb with two cops standing over him. My first thoughts were, “What is he doing home and how did I fail this young man?”

William Walker, Jr in handcuffs and wearing braids with conspirator. They both were arrested for reckless driving and, attempted murder of a police officer.

I immediately called O. J. McKee, when I told him the bad news, he was also in disbelief. He said, “I thought he was still in Ohio preparing for the next school year. I was under the impression he was working and doing well. I would have never known if you had not called me.”

LOOKING BACK:

Little William was a problem child when his father was living. DC court records revealed he had been arrested for two illegal gun possessions. His father, being a protective dad, covered up for him trying to keep hope alive for his only child.

He lived with an uncle/friend of his father’s before heading to Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. According to the uncle/friend little William was very disrespectful.

There was a warrant for his arrest when he left Central State University.

I remember the late NFL great Jim Brown’s thoughts after I spoke out regarding a brutal act by a cop trying to discipline a female student in a classroom. He threw her across the classroom and then dragged the child across floor by her hair. His response, “Harold, children don’t vote.” From all indications there are many politicians who feel that exact same way.

There are two exceptions I know: They care about children

BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2024

PG COUNTY EXECUTIVE ANGELA ALSOBROOKS (D-MD)—CONGRESSMAN STENY HOYER (D-MD)

NOVEMBER 5, 2024 VOTE KAMALA HARRIS & ANGELA ALSOBROOKS