This section is dedicated to Teresa, who somehow still finds enthusiasm for my crappy stories...
My visit with Coach Roberts set the pattern that would help me flesh out the mystery of Jimmy Waters. Coach gave me a note with a single name written on it, “Ms. Bereta Ebanks”. Ms. Ebanks, (known in the neighborhood as “Miss Bea”) was a close friend of Jimmy’s grandfather, Cornett Waters. Miss Bea was the lady who helped raised Jimmy, and at 82 years old she was still sharp as a tack. My interview with her shed light on Jimmy’s early years.
At the end of her interview, Miss Bea gave me another note with the world “Six” written on it. “Six” turned out to be Tyrell Atkinson, one of Jimmy’s former teammates, who’s nickname came from the number he wore on his PSH basketball team jersey. Six, who currently works security at Madison Square Gardens, told me about Jimmy’s time in high school, who his friends were and how he managed himself during that time.
At the end of his interview, Six sent me to visit Officer Frank Walsh, a corrections officer who knew Jimmy from his stay at the Wilkinson Boy Reformatory. Each interviewer would lead me to another person in the neighborhood who had a story to tell about Jimmy Waters, and then another person, and another one again after that. In the end, I was following Tek-9’s advice. I walked the streets. My notes from those interviews are assembled in the brief history written below:
December 21, 1973
Jimmy Waters was born. He was the son of Trenton Waters and Wanetta Miles, was born. Trenton had abandoned Wanetta soon after she became pregnant. Jimmy’s paternal grandfather, Cornett assumed responsibility for Wanetta, a Jamaican immigrant who had no family of her own. Wanetta died during childbirth, and Cornet became Jimmy’s sole guardian, fully accepting his role as a single parent.
Of this, Miss Bea said: “Cornett’s son was no good from the start. That boy lived to get in trouble and when he got that poor, pretty girl pregnant it was a scandal. Still, it’s funny how when she was alive, she had to bear so much shame in the neighborhood. Everybody bad-talked her. But when she died, the way people talked about her after, you would think she was the Virgin Mary herself. Cornet stood by her though. He knew his boy was incapable of being a good father or a husband, so he stood up for that girl something fierce. And when she passed on, he stood up for her little boy.”
October 1980
Six-year old Jimmy Waters displays above average cognitive abilities, particularly in spatial conception and problem solving. This comes as a surprise to everyone except his grandfather. Cornet, an electrician for the New York City Department of Education for Region 6 (Brooklyn), was a well known neighborhood fixture. He was well respected for his common sense, discipline and problem solving skills, which he claimed stemmed from a life-long love of games of all types. Cornet begins to invest his grandson with a similar passion for games, starting with checkers, backgammon, card-games and eventually introducing Jimmy to the basic concepts behind chess, Go and Scrabble.
To this, Miss Bea said: “Jimmy and his grandfather would go at it all night. They would be sitting across from each other over a checker board or some such. They would study that board, as the clock ticked away, each one waiting for the other to make a mistake. It was odd to see a boy so young sit so still for so long. But it’s not like Jimmy knew no other way. Cornet would not allow a TV in his house. He didn’t want the boy distracted by a whole bunch of foolishness. And Jimmy, he just adored his grandfather. They spoke the same language.”
September 1986
Jimmy is streamlined into the gifted program at Paul Robeson Junior High. Teachers and faculty are impressed by his academic grades, and his quiet nature, but show concern for difficulty with social skills. He is encouraged to participate in extra-curricular team sports. Jimmy soon gravitates to basketball. Around this time, Jimmy meets Sam Rodriguez and Tyrell “Six” Atkinson who will prove to be his lifelong friends.
Sam Rodriguez was a troubled kid who lived in the neighborhood, coming from a notoriously bad family. Sam’s mother and father lived in Puerto Rico and tried to send money to their kids when possible. Big brother Hector was supporting his four younger siblings by selling drugs.
Six says: “Man, that Hector was bad news. He kept the house like a pig sty, and it was full of all his juvie friends who spent all day getting high. Sam was always running away from home. One day Old Mr. Waters and Jimmy invited Sam to stay over whenever things got too bad at the Rodriquez house. That’s how Jimmy and Sam became friends.”
Six continues: “Jimmy was a quiet guy, so everybody though he was some sort of mark. But let me tell you, Jimmy was one tough kid, and you didn’t want to get him mad. He was completely loyal to his team, but he was especially protective over Sam, who was this younger, dirty, skinny, stork-of-a-kid with a hell of a foul mouth. One day Hector was chasing Sam down the street with a stick-ball bat, ready to brain the kid over something. Everybody got out of Hector’s way right quick, except for Jimmy. Jimmy, who was maybe sixteen or seventeen at the time, stood up to Hector, who was at least thirty pounds heavier and a full head taller. Hector makes like he was gonna to swipe at Jimmy with the bat and Jimmy just hit him in the throat and kick him in the nuts. Hector drops like a sack of potatoes.”
Six laughs: “That was Jimmy, man. Never pick a fight with a gifted kid who spends all day studying your weaknesses.”
1987 to 1989
Jimmy starts gaining notoriety for his gamesmanship in basket ball. His unique philosophy on the game comes from his early days playing board games with his grandfather. Early on, Cornet taught Jimmy the value of losing.
According to Six “When we were training Jimmy would tell us how his grandfather told him that most people use losing as an excuse to quit, and by quitting they became losers. Jimmy taught us that when somebody is winning, it’s an opportunity to learn. His theory was if you keep playing with somebody better than you, eventually you will discover their strategy, you will discover how they win. And if you’re smart, you’ll learn how to defeat their strategy and beat them. Just keep them in the game. Keep them playing, and it’s only a matter of time before you discover how to win.”
That philosophy leads PSH to its legendary 1990-1991 winning season.
August 17, 1991
Tragedy strikes the Waters family yet again. Jimmy, who was preparing to go away to SUNY on a ball scholarship discovers that Sam has run away from home yet again. After checking all their old haunts, Jimmy is unable to find his best friend. Frustrated, he confronts Hector at the Rodriquez house. Unfortunately, the house is raided by the NYPD at the same time. Three people are arrested, including Jimmy, who is confused for one of Hector’s dealers. Hector dies in the raid after being shot twenty seven times, reaching for a stolen Walther P99. Jimmy was arrested and charged with possession and intent to distribute.
Six: “It was a bullshit charge! Jimmy never touched a drug in his life, but it broke Old Mr. Waters’ heart anyways. They tried to have Jimmy released right away but the DA was going crazy, talking about charging everybody as adults [Jimmy was 17 at the time]. In the end they dropped the charges based on Jimmy’s spotless record and the testimony of the other arrestees. But it took six months to process Jimmy’s file. By that time, SUNY dropped the scholarship, no other school would touch him, and the Mr. Waters went broke over lawyer fees. It didn’t matter anyways because after those six months in the lock-up somebody fucked Jimmy up so bad that he couldn’t play basketball ever again.”
To be continued…
At the end of her interview, Miss Bea gave me another note with the world “Six” written on it. “Six” turned out to be Tyrell Atkinson, one of Jimmy’s former teammates, who’s nickname came from the number he wore on his PSH basketball team jersey. Six, who currently works security at Madison Square Gardens, told me about Jimmy’s time in high school, who his friends were and how he managed himself during that time.
At the end of his interview, Six sent me to visit Officer Frank Walsh, a corrections officer who knew Jimmy from his stay at the Wilkinson Boy Reformatory. Each interviewer would lead me to another person in the neighborhood who had a story to tell about Jimmy Waters, and then another person, and another one again after that. In the end, I was following Tek-9’s advice. I walked the streets. My notes from those interviews are assembled in the brief history written below:
December 21, 1973
Jimmy Waters was born. He was the son of Trenton Waters and Wanetta Miles, was born. Trenton had abandoned Wanetta soon after she became pregnant. Jimmy’s paternal grandfather, Cornett assumed responsibility for Wanetta, a Jamaican immigrant who had no family of her own. Wanetta died during childbirth, and Cornet became Jimmy’s sole guardian, fully accepting his role as a single parent.
Of this, Miss Bea said: “Cornett’s son was no good from the start. That boy lived to get in trouble and when he got that poor, pretty girl pregnant it was a scandal. Still, it’s funny how when she was alive, she had to bear so much shame in the neighborhood. Everybody bad-talked her. But when she died, the way people talked about her after, you would think she was the Virgin Mary herself. Cornet stood by her though. He knew his boy was incapable of being a good father or a husband, so he stood up for that girl something fierce. And when she passed on, he stood up for her little boy.”
October 1980
Six-year old Jimmy Waters displays above average cognitive abilities, particularly in spatial conception and problem solving. This comes as a surprise to everyone except his grandfather. Cornet, an electrician for the New York City Department of Education for Region 6 (Brooklyn), was a well known neighborhood fixture. He was well respected for his common sense, discipline and problem solving skills, which he claimed stemmed from a life-long love of games of all types. Cornet begins to invest his grandson with a similar passion for games, starting with checkers, backgammon, card-games and eventually introducing Jimmy to the basic concepts behind chess, Go and Scrabble.
To this, Miss Bea said: “Jimmy and his grandfather would go at it all night. They would be sitting across from each other over a checker board or some such. They would study that board, as the clock ticked away, each one waiting for the other to make a mistake. It was odd to see a boy so young sit so still for so long. But it’s not like Jimmy knew no other way. Cornet would not allow a TV in his house. He didn’t want the boy distracted by a whole bunch of foolishness. And Jimmy, he just adored his grandfather. They spoke the same language.”
September 1986
Jimmy is streamlined into the gifted program at Paul Robeson Junior High. Teachers and faculty are impressed by his academic grades, and his quiet nature, but show concern for difficulty with social skills. He is encouraged to participate in extra-curricular team sports. Jimmy soon gravitates to basketball. Around this time, Jimmy meets Sam Rodriguez and Tyrell “Six” Atkinson who will prove to be his lifelong friends.
Sam Rodriguez was a troubled kid who lived in the neighborhood, coming from a notoriously bad family. Sam’s mother and father lived in Puerto Rico and tried to send money to their kids when possible. Big brother Hector was supporting his four younger siblings by selling drugs.
Six says: “Man, that Hector was bad news. He kept the house like a pig sty, and it was full of all his juvie friends who spent all day getting high. Sam was always running away from home. One day Old Mr. Waters and Jimmy invited Sam to stay over whenever things got too bad at the Rodriquez house. That’s how Jimmy and Sam became friends.”
Six continues: “Jimmy was a quiet guy, so everybody though he was some sort of mark. But let me tell you, Jimmy was one tough kid, and you didn’t want to get him mad. He was completely loyal to his team, but he was especially protective over Sam, who was this younger, dirty, skinny, stork-of-a-kid with a hell of a foul mouth. One day Hector was chasing Sam down the street with a stick-ball bat, ready to brain the kid over something. Everybody got out of Hector’s way right quick, except for Jimmy. Jimmy, who was maybe sixteen or seventeen at the time, stood up to Hector, who was at least thirty pounds heavier and a full head taller. Hector makes like he was gonna to swipe at Jimmy with the bat and Jimmy just hit him in the throat and kick him in the nuts. Hector drops like a sack of potatoes.”
Six laughs: “That was Jimmy, man. Never pick a fight with a gifted kid who spends all day studying your weaknesses.”
1987 to 1989
Jimmy starts gaining notoriety for his gamesmanship in basket ball. His unique philosophy on the game comes from his early days playing board games with his grandfather. Early on, Cornet taught Jimmy the value of losing.
According to Six “When we were training Jimmy would tell us how his grandfather told him that most people use losing as an excuse to quit, and by quitting they became losers. Jimmy taught us that when somebody is winning, it’s an opportunity to learn. His theory was if you keep playing with somebody better than you, eventually you will discover their strategy, you will discover how they win. And if you’re smart, you’ll learn how to defeat their strategy and beat them. Just keep them in the game. Keep them playing, and it’s only a matter of time before you discover how to win.”
That philosophy leads PSH to its legendary 1990-1991 winning season.
August 17, 1991
Tragedy strikes the Waters family yet again. Jimmy, who was preparing to go away to SUNY on a ball scholarship discovers that Sam has run away from home yet again. After checking all their old haunts, Jimmy is unable to find his best friend. Frustrated, he confronts Hector at the Rodriquez house. Unfortunately, the house is raided by the NYPD at the same time. Three people are arrested, including Jimmy, who is confused for one of Hector’s dealers. Hector dies in the raid after being shot twenty seven times, reaching for a stolen Walther P99. Jimmy was arrested and charged with possession and intent to distribute.
Six: “It was a bullshit charge! Jimmy never touched a drug in his life, but it broke Old Mr. Waters’ heart anyways. They tried to have Jimmy released right away but the DA was going crazy, talking about charging everybody as adults [Jimmy was 17 at the time]. In the end they dropped the charges based on Jimmy’s spotless record and the testimony of the other arrestees. But it took six months to process Jimmy’s file. By that time, SUNY dropped the scholarship, no other school would touch him, and the Mr. Waters went broke over lawyer fees. It didn’t matter anyways because after those six months in the lock-up somebody fucked Jimmy up so bad that he couldn’t play basketball ever again.”
To be continued…
Go is a board game for two players that originated in ancient China before 500 BC. It is now popular throughout the world, especially in East Asia.
Go is played by alternately placing black and white stones on the vacant intersections of a 19×19 rectilinear grid. A stone or a group of stones is captured and removed if it is tightly surrounded by stones of the opposing color. The objective is to control a larger territory than the opponent by placing one's stones so they cannot be captured. The game ends and the score is counted when both players consecutively pass on a turn, indicating that neither side can increase its territory or reduce its opponent's; the game can also end by resignation.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(board_game)]
