Ed Bradley: The Essence of Cool

I was sad yesterday; another black, postitve figure passed away, Mr. Ed Bradley. I sat at my computer in bewilderment. "How can the coolest man in the world die?" I couldn't get that at all. He was cool, so cool that I wanted to be like him. I loved watching his indepth, but relaxed interviews, Tavis Smiley reminded me of him in many ways. I used to love seeing how relaxed and relatable he was in his intervierws on 6o Minutes. I was blown away by his charm, intellignce, since of style, and his humerous and humble nature. He was the essence of cool. For a black man to wear a golden loop in his left ear and be a journalist of an internationally known network, that was amazing to me. He was a role model to Black America.
He has flirted with Lena Horne, joked with Muhammed Ali, and has challenged the grandson of Carolyn Bryant (the accuser in the Emmett Till case) and Timothy Mc Vey. He was a genius. Oh, how blessed are the people who were able to be in his presence to talk with Mr. Bradley. I wish I could have met this man. I wish I could've asked him story upon story. I wish I could have asked his advice on being a black man in America. I never knew how much he's impacted me until today, the day of his death. I remember now, he was the only reason I watched 60 Minutes. Everytime I watched him I was learning a new lesson on how to be an effective, intelligent, black man. He was a man who broke down racial barriers. He lived with the desire to be a role model to black, young men. "The pressure is there," Bradley said. "It's been there everyday of my life."
The legends are dying and passing their legacies down to us. It is our obligation to not let them down. The music out today does not have any lasting or impactful power like it once used to. That's wrong. We are not keeping up our end of the bargin. We are not carrying on the legacies of our legends. I cannot leave this earth without impacting and inspiring people all over this world. If I leave this world without upholding my end of the bargain, to carry on the legacy, it is my fault and my shame.

Pray for the family of Ed Bradley. If you are not familiar with his legacy, please click on this link.

Let's quit playing and impact the lives of others.
RA