The Day I met Dawn Staley

This is a true story (about 2 percent embellished). The time was also great in the ATL. The year was 1996, and the Olympic vide had the city on lockdown. Atlanta was already the "up and coming" place to be and it was natural to see a famous political figure, or famous person at any random moment. I even ran into Ernie King as we both pulled up and parked right next to each other in the parking lot going to Kroger one day. Atlanta was just that type of city. My brother claimed that Halle Berry even paid a visit to his store one day.

I was young and full of vigor, so Atlanta was the place to be after getting out of the Marines and with no intentions of going back. The city was live! Freak Niq was a special part of homecoming weekend in the historic West End College areas, but somehow took over the entire city. Being black in Atlanta was the thing to be and listening to Goodie Mo was the pace for me.

Nonetheless, Atlanta is just another city if you didn't have a connection with someone who was connected with the city. My brother's friend, Milton, was that guy. If Atlanta was a picture, Milton would be that photo. Out of my brother's crew, he was the most entertaining than them all because he was that guy with a story.

Well the Olympic teams was starting to muster to the area and like I said, it was common to see a famous person. Club 112 was the place to be and the lines were long as all of out doors and the place was on fire. I cannot remember how long the wait was in the line, but we got in with the Milton and the crew. Mostly my brother and a few of his other buddies, but Milton was the one who made the night, or didn't make the night.

Star-filled crowd and everywhere I turned, someone was famous. I gave a shout out to Shaq (as if he was hard to miss). A few other sports figures were there and I started to notice the US Women's basketball team there as well. Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo and the list goes on and on. This was a night to remember. Again, the Atlanta scene was known for pulling in starts and with the Olympics in the air, this crowd was on fire. Now this was before the vibe of selfies and Facebook and Instagram, but people were still taking pictures. My being my young vigor self, I was not going to let an nice opportunity pass me by. Beautiful ladies to the left and right, game me the feeling of Kid Dynamite!

So, there she was, looking like a walking candy bar. I didn't know her from any famous person in the room. She stood slightly under my height and her hair was smooth and laid to the side. Spencer and his friends were in the mix and I was focused on getting my "macaroni" on. I took a smooth step to her and started to introduce myself. She smiled and we started a conversation and moments in, Milton, a heavily intoxicated Milton, came over my shoulder and with his loudest voice, "JD, don't back down! Don't back down man! She make millions! You don't know who that it?" No, I had the slightest idea, but any chances I had went like a snowballs chance to a hot sunny place.

I never saw her for the rest of the evening. I truly didn't know if I was embarrassed more for me or her. So Dawn, if you somehow read this, please forgive my friends for being so silly.