Losing one’s hair can be a devasting experience especailly if its due to chemotheraphy/cancer.  Call me to receive your  KALCutsForCancer FREE haircut @ 404-304-9553.  Lets all give back and make a difference in someone’s life.

WHERE: W HOTEL (PERIMETER CENTER)

111 Perimeter Center West Atlanta, GA 30346 (770) 396-6800 Call this number if you want to go

This weekend on May 0th, 2009 I decided to give back again. I will wal and raise funds to support Breast Cancer Network of Strength’s programs and services that are offered free of charge to anyone touched by breast cancer.

As a celebrity barber I have many customers who are faced with this disease and showing my support means a lot to them.

If you would like to participate come join us at

Mother’s Day, May 10

Chastain Park
Atlanta, GA
8:00 AM

Celebrity Barber KAL Cauthen is apart of  President Obama’s  Give Back help thy neighbor program.  He is offering any one diagnosed with cancer a FREE Haircut. He knows that losing one’s hair is a sensitive and emotional process.

Kal offers a clean,safe and private environment for you.

If you are unable to come to him….he will come to you.

Kal  can be reached at 404-304-9553 which is in the North Fulton County area.

Don’t do the crime…If you can’t do the time

Bernie got me for $100 dollars lol…lol…

Home

What is a foreclosure rescue scam?

Rising foreclosure rates have led to a growing number of scam artists offering to “rescue” homeowners in financial distress. They use a wide variety of scams and target people of all ages in virtually every community across the country. Anyone can become a victim.

Foreclosure rescue scams usually revolve around heavily promoted deals supposedly designed to save the homes of people facing foreclosure – those who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. They proclaim to “save your home” or “pay your mortgage,” but in reality generate a quick profit for the scam artist or strip away the value of your home with no benefit to you. Scam artists can evict you from your own home and then sell it on the open market.

How does a foreclosure rescue scam work?

The “rescuer” identifies distressed homeowners through public foreclosure notices in newspapers, via the Internet, or at government offices. The “rescuer” then contacts the homeowner by phone, personal visit, card or flyer left at the door, or advertising. The initial contact typically centers on a message that tells homeowners that they can stay in their house easily, get a “fresh start,” keep their credit rating or receive instant cash.

During the first meeting, the homeowner is often told to stop all contact with lenders, credit counselors or lawyers and let the “rescuer” handle all the details. This cuts off the homeowner’s access to legitimate financial solutions.

The scam artist generally looks to make a quick profit through fees or direct mortgage payments that are never passed on to the lender. Sometimes the scammer assumes ownership of the property by deceiving the homeowner.

Once it is too late to save the home, the “rescuer” either takes the property or the owner loses the home to foreclosure after it has been drained of equity through fees and charges.

What are some of the most common scams?

• The Bait and Switch: The homeowner is purposely deceived and therefore does not understand that he is selling the house in exchange for a “rescue.”

  Many believe they are signing documents for a new loan or other financial arrangement that would allow them to retain ownership by paying off mortgage payments that are past due.

• The False Intermediary: The “rescuer” charges an upfront fee or very high fees to “save” the house by negotiating with the lender or promising to quickly find a buyer for the house. The scammer usually seals the homeowner off from legitimate help or legal relief by telling the owner that he should not talk to the lender, seek out credit counseling or legal advice. Once the fees are paid, he vanishes with a quick and easy profit.

  The homeowner is usually left without enough help to save the home and with little or no time left to prevent foreclosure.

  Sometimes, the scammer will insist that a homeowner make all mortgage payments directly to him while he negotiates with the lender. He may collect a few months’ worth of payments before disappearing.

• The Bogus Rent-to-Buy Scheme: The homeowner surrenders ownership of the house thinking he will be able to pay rent and then buy it back over a few years. The terms of the buy-back deal are usually stacked against the homeowner, with the resale price well above market value. Sometimes, the scam artist hikes rental fees very significantly over time.

  Once the former homeowner misses rent payments, the family is evicted, leaving the “rescuer” free to sell the house.

  Even if the former homeowner is able to pay the rent, the terms of the buy-back are so burdensome that he ends up losing possession of the house and the scam artists keep all or most of the equity.

How can you know if a company is legitimate?

Legitimate companies will sit down with a homeowner and collect documentation. Their representatives will explain the offer and the process in as much detail as you need to make an informed decision. All promises and agreements will be in writing. Their representatives will not object to your desire to consult a lawyer, credit or housing counselor, family member, friend or other expert resource.

Most legitimate companies will not solicit your business through high-pressure direct marketing, nor will they make promises up front to save your home, offer immediate cash or save your credit rating.

Before you sign any contracts, you should contact your lender, a credit or housing counselor, or a lawyer. You can also check out many companies at http://www.bbb.org.

What are the red flags to keep in mind?

Homeowners should proceed with extreme caution if an individual or company:

• Calls itself a “mortgage consultant” or “foreclosure service.”
• Contacts people whose homes are listed for foreclosure, including anyone who uses flyers or solicits for business door-to-door, by phone, or email.
• Encourages you to lease your home so you can buy it back over time.
• Collects a fee before providing any services to you.
• Instructs you to cease all contact with your lender, credit or housing counselors, lawyer or other legitimate experts.
• Tells you to make your mortgage payments directly to him or his company (not the lender).
• Requires that you transfer your property deed or title to him or his company.
• Makes a promise that seems too good to be true, for example, instant cash with “no strings attached”.
• Tells you that as part of the deal you will need to move out of your house for some period of time for remodeling or other reasons.
• Offers to buy your house for cash at a fixed price that is not set by the housing market at the time of sale.

For additional information, you can see the U.S. Department of Justice U.S Trustee Program’s list of warning signs at http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/public_affairs/factsheet/docs/fs06.htm

What should a homeowner NEVER DO?

• Don’t be pressured to sign a contract. Take your time to review all documents thoroughly, preferably with a lawyer who is representing your interests only.
• Don’t send or give your mortgage payments to someone other than your lender, even if he promises to make the payments for you.
• Don’t sign away ownership of your house to anyone without advice from a credit or housing counselor or lawyer.
• Don’t rely on verbal agreements – they mean nothing. Get all promises in writing and keep copies of all documents, especially those you sign.
• Don’t sign anything containing blank lines or spaces. Scammers can add information later without your knowledge or approval.
• If you do not speak English, use your own translator. Don’t depend on someone who is provided by the “rescuer.”
• Don’t fall for promises that are often used to lure homeowners into scams. For example:

•  
  • Claims to save your credit rating
  • Promises of instant cash
  • Guarantees that a buyer will be found within a certain number of days
  • Help in filing for bankruptcy to “stop the foreclosure”
  • Offers of free rent or gifts

http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/econ/econ.cfm provides information to help

borrowers avoid foreclosure and keep their homes.

 The FDIC and other financial regulators also are encouraging borrowers facing payment problems to talk to their lenders as soon as possible, and to consider getting helpearly from a reputable housing counselor by contacting HUD (1-800-569-4287 or http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm) or the Homeownership

Preservation Foundation (1-888-995-4673 or http://www.995hope.org).

The renowned recording artist, composer, former NBA superstar, and Gold Medal Olympian, Wayman Tisdale, recently underwent surgery to remove a recurrent, cancerous tumor. After learning of his relapse, Tisdale elected to have surgery that will fully assure his overcoming the disease. Following a successful surgery, Tisdale is in good spirits and health and will be returning home shortly to recover before he picks up touring again later this fall.

Tisdale says, “I have complete faith that with the Lord’s blessings, this surgery will eliminate the cancer from my body, and I’ll soon be back on the road doing what I do best. There is a lot more music inside me, and once I am back on my feet, I look forward to sharing my joy with my fans, friends, and fellow musicians”.

The award winning bassist will take some time off to recuperate, and will be back in time for late Fall tour dates, and to host the January, 2009 ”Smooth Jazz Cruise.” The seven-day excursion, which will surely be a joyful celebration, features Gerald Albright, Jonathan Butler, Peabo Bryson, Jeff Golub, Everette Harp, Jeff Lorber, Brian Simpson, John Stoddart, Jodey Watley, Kirk Whalum, Peter White, Willie and Lobo, Jonathan Slocumb, and special guests; Rufus and Chaka Khan.

Tisdale was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, located on his right tibia after breaking his leg in 2007. Knee replacement surgery and months of chemotherapy followed. The surgery which took place on August 25 to remove the lower part of his right leg is expected to eradicate the cancer, and Tisdale’s surgeons predict a full and speedy recovery.

Wayman Tisdale’s latest album, Rebound, debuted at # 1 on the Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart.  Tisdale’s current single, “Throwin’ It Down”, is ranked 6th in this week’s USA TODAY Mediabase Smooth AC chart. He co-wrote the upbeat, jaunty tune with Darren Rahn, who produced Wayman’s #1 single “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”

Tisdale lives in Tulsa, OK, with his wife, four children, and new granddaughter, Bailey.

#          #          #

Atlanta Falcons Jonathan Babineaux

Altanta Falcons Jonathan Babineaux

Spokesperson for Lupus Foundation

Georgia Chapter 

NFL star Jonathan Babineaux has joined forces with the Lupus Foundation of America, Georgia Chapter to help raise awareness for lupus, one of the least recognizable and most misunderstood diseases affecting 55,000 Georgians and more than 1.5 million Americans.

Jonathan, who was recently inducted into the Port Arthur Hall of Fame along with his brother Jordan who plays for the Seattle Seahawks, through their Babineaux Brothers Foundation have been sponsoring fundraisers in their hometown of Port Arthur, Texas, to benefit lupus research for four years. Jonathan is now assisting Georgians living with lupus by helping highlight the programs, services and events provided by the Georgia chapter.

The Lupus Foundation of America, Georgia Chapter (LFAGA) is the only statewide valuable resource for lupus patients, providing thousands with educational information, physician referrals, resources, support groups and educational programs. 90% of every dollar raised stays in Georgia to support chapter programs.

Monday, Sept. 22, 2008, the LFAGA is hosting its first annual “Drive for Lupus Now” Golf Tournament at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club with PGA Tour’s Jason Bohn and Mark Strickland, the 2007 Georgia State Golf Association, Player of the Year. To play golf, sponsor a golfer or for more information on all chapter programs and how to get involved and make a difference for those living with lupus, visit http://www.lfaga.org or call 770-333-5930 or email info@lfaga.org

Due to the alarming increase in the number of people affected by lupus in their hometown, the Babineaux family raise funds to benefit lupus programs as well as building a community recreation center.

Atlanta, GA – (Monday, August 18, 2008)-Prominent individuals from the city of Atlanta will come together on Sunday, August 24, 2008 from 10:00am to 7:00pm to produce BELIEVE. VOTE FOR CHANGE, a documentary of collective Southern voices in support of Barack Obama for President.  Mirroring the concept presented by Will.I.Am’s “Yes We Can” and Zoe Kravitz‘s “Change The World” videos largely featuring artists from Los Angeles, the BELIEVE. VOTE FOR CHANGE video will feature individuals of influence throughout Atlanta’s business community, political circuits, in addition to athletes and entertainers in music and film imparting their views on what change means to them, the importance of voting, and their belief in Barack Obama’s presidency.  The video will also include youth from the city sharing their views on the importance of the upcoming election.  CNN will be on site to capture the project that several sports, film and music celebrities have already committed to being a part of.

The BELIEVE. VOTE FOR CHANGE video was conceptualized by film producers Condra Magee of Condraversy Films and Ty Walker of Tycor International Film Productions.  “Like many others, Ty and I are committed to Barack’s presidency and married to the concept of change and this is our way of making sure we are conduits of change in November,” says Condra.  

Several Obama delegates and super-delegates from the metro-area and the Carolinas have also come on board and given their support to the project.  The team, preparing for the Democratic National Convention in Denver, expressed great excitement about the video’s ability to encourage registration and voter turnout at the polls.  Super-delegate Mary Long of the 5th Congressional District stated, “This is a historic election so registering and getting people out to vote is a critical element for Senator Obama to become President of the United States.  The film will help encourage and motivate a phenomenal turnout in November.”

The production shoot will be hosted by Red Performance and Customs whose expansive space will turn into the birthplace of this historic piece aimed at motivating and encouraging others to register to vote and believe that we can collectively change the world for the better.

To be a part of this special event, please contact Eddie Rhodman at BELIEVE@tycorproductions.com or 404.423.4493 to RSVP for a time slot.

Who:
Ty Walker, Condra Magee and Atlanta’s entertainment, athlete, political and business professionals

What:
BELIEVE. VOTE FOR CHANGE Video Production.  Featured individuals will make statements addressing what change means to them, why they support Barack Obama, and what they hope and believe in for the future.  The comments will be the basis for the compilation video.

When:
Sunday, August 24, 2008, 10:00am-7:00pm

Where:
Red Performance – 1195 Menlo Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

Why:
To document views and voices from the South in support of Barack Obama

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and specialty cocktails

Brought to you by Condraversy Films and Tycor International Film Productions

About Tycor International Film Productions:
The Atlanta-based Tycor International Film Productions Incorporated (TIFP) is an award-winning independent production company.  The Atlanta based film and high definition video production company specializes in a wide range of services from commercials to documentaries to music videos to full-length feature films, TIFP delivers to its clients and viewers in an astounding way.

For more information about Tycor International Film Productions please contact us directly at info@tycorproductions.com or visit www.tycorproductions.com.

About Condraversy Films:
Condraversy Films LLC is an award-winning full service independent production company based in Atlanta, GA.  Rooted in great storytelling, the company specializes in motion picture production at the Internet content, commercial, documentary, video, and film levels from conception to distribution.  Condraversy Films is committed to using innovative techniques, the latest technology and the best professionals in the industry to consistently create great motion picture products.

Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes were both starring in Malcom D. Lee’s new film entitled “Soul Men”.

The premise of the movie is a disjointed singing group agrees to reunite for a Reunion Preformance at the Apollo Theatre. The release date is November 2008. Grammy Award winner John Legend is also in this film.

Rmember these great actors in Novemember and go see

 ”Soul Men”

As you most certainly know, two well-known African-American artists and entertainers, have passed away.

Legacy.com has featured Guest Books for Mr. Isaac Hayes and Mr. Bernie Mac on its site. In your coverage of either celebrity, please consider offering a way to allow the general public to express their condolences.

You may find the Guest Books at http://www.legacy.com/gb/guestbookview.aspx?personId=115344639 a
http://www.legacy.com/gb/guestbookview.aspx?personId=115220922, respectively

 Both of these talented men will be missed by all.

Bernie Mac’s Guest Book has drawn hundreds of photos and thousands of Guest Book entries already.

Go to http://www.legacy.com

Bernine Mac

Kal Cauthen " Starring in Ruth"

Lawrence Aaron

Reflections: Lawrence Aaron’s last column

Sunday, August 3, 2008

By LAWRENCE AARON

RECORD COLUMNIST

I FIRST wrote about Willie Brennon two years ago. His weekly routine was to give free haircuts to shut-ins who couldn’t get to his Englewood barber shop.

Once I started probing, I discovered the role Brennon’s Barber Shop played in shaping the values of many young men in the 46 years he had been running it. Brennon died on July 24. |He was 72.

As a lad of 10, Aree Booker got his first paying job at Brennon’s. “I couldn’t cut hair, but I could sweep hair,” Booker told mourners during the funeral service Monday at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Hackensack.

Booker was not just another mourner. He was the funeral director managing the details: the horse-drawn carriage that paraded Brennon’s coffin through the streets of Englewood, the New Orleans-style send-off from musician Lonnie Youngblood’s crew, the barbers acting as Brennon’s pallbearers, the many flowers and the many friends.

Brennon was laid to rest by the 33-year-old funeral director who had first learned hard work and responsibility at the barber’s knee.

“It wasn’t only me. All the kids and adults got more than a haircut from Mr. Brennon,” said Booker, who owns Eternity Funeral Services in Englewood.

Preaching part of the funeral service, Mount Olive associate pastor Rae Brown had her son Andrew, 13, stand up. “Mr. Brennon used to tell my son, ‘Don’t give your mother or father a hard time.’ That was the voice that African-American moms and dads need in the ear of their boys,” Brown said.

His last few months

Retrieving my voice mail last weekend, I found Carol Brennon’s message telling me that her husband, Willie, had died Thursday night. When I called her back, she said they treasured my column paying him tribute on Father’s Day in 2006. Then she filled me in on the details of his leg fractured around Christmas and his downhill spiral with heart problems during his last few months.

“I can’t tell you how bad I feel,” she said, “I have just lost my best friend.”

His heart gave out. How ironic. Willie had the biggest heart, and understood intuitively when to use a kind word and when to be strict.

“People trusted Mr. B., not because he had all the answers, but because he had sense enough to listen,” Mount Olive’s pastor, the Rev. Gregory Jackson, said at the service.

Brennon and I clicked, I think, because we both valued listening. Last week, as I debated how to tell readers farewell in my final column today, Brennon came to mind as one of many people who enriched my own life, my thinking and my writing in the five years that I’ve been offering my views on The Record’s Op-Ed pages.

I never set out to change lives with this column or convince readers that only I know what’s right. My goal was simply to say what’s on my mind. You can rethink your assumptions if you want to.

Opining is infectious. And opining about New Jersey is such a guilty pleasure that I may start blogging.

I’ve received countless messages from readers and talked to hundreds of people I might not have known otherwise. I met lawyer Al Catalano and Ringwood residents Wayne Mann, Roger DeGroat and Larry Sheehan while attempting to figure out why the town’s beautiful Highlands environment had become an ecological disaster.

Litany of ailments

As I listened to Ringwood residents talk about their respiratory problems, cancer deaths, undiagnosed skin ailments and other mysterious maladies, Sheehan’s brother said, “You should meet Mickey. Mickey wants to die.” Mickey Van Dunk had undergone multiple surgeries all over his body to manage tumors attributed to hidradenitis suppurativa. He was a powerful symbol of the Ramapough Indians’ struggle.

Neither restoring the contaminated Ford Motor Co. dumping site to Superfund status nor heightened attention from state and federal agencies, elected officials, Ford and lawyers has resulted in major improvements in Upper Ringwood. Writing about this was the closest I’ve ever come to crusading for justice.

Finally, justice

I saw justice finally served, after 50 years, when Congress recognized the parents of Englewood’s Nate Briggs. They took their lives in their hands by signing a petition challenging South Carolina school officials over the volatile segregation issue.

I was pleased to open a dialogue about the social policies devastating families of incarcerated men and women. But I regret not ferreting out better explanations for Phylicia Moore’s parents after she died on a school trip to Ghana.

Those I celebrated included the Hong family, for rebuilding their looted business and donating new down coats from their Ridgefield warehouse to hundreds of poor kids; Shantay Mines, a former foster child making it through college; Carolyn Adams, with the battered but cherished Winged Victory award she got, along with a scholarship, from the NAACP; Paula Rogovin, who led war protests in Teaneck, and Dennis Castro, who was dedicated to his mission in Iraq; and Rutgers women’s basketball coach Vivian Stringer, for her personal strength.

Many readers shared the pain, joy and outrage of the people I wrote about. Others didn’t. Thank you, all, for reading my column.

Send comments about this column to letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com.

Page 1 2 >> 

I FIRST wrote about Willie Brennon two years ago. His weekly routine was to give free haircuts to shut-ins who couldn’t get to his Englewood barber shop.

Once I started probing, I discovered the role Brennon’s Barber Shop played in shaping the values of many young men in the 46 years he had been running it. Brennon died on July 24. |He was 72.

As a lad of 10, Aree Booker got his first paying job at Brennon’s. “I couldn’t cut hair, but I could sweep hair,” Booker told mourners during the funeral service Monday at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Hackensack.

Booker was not just another mourner. He was the funeral director managing the details: the horse-drawn carriage that paraded Brennon’s coffin through the streets of Englewood, the New Orleans-style send-off from musician Lonnie Youngblood’s crew, the barbers acting as Brennon’s pallbearers, the many flowers and the many friends.

Brennon was laid to rest by the 33-year-old funeral director who had first learned hard work and responsibility at the barber’s knee.

“It wasn’t only me. All the kids and adults got more than a haircut from Mr. Brennon,” said Booker, who owns Eternity Funeral Services in Englewood.

Preaching part of the funeral service, Mount Olive associate pastor Rae Brown had her son Andrew, 13, stand up. “Mr. Brennon used to tell my son, ‘Don’t give your mother or father a hard time.’ That was the voice that African-American moms and dads need in the ear of their boys,” Brown said.

His last few months

Retrieving my voice mail last weekend, I found Carol Brennon’s message telling me that her husband, Willie, had died Thursday night. When I called her back, she said they treasured my column paying him tribute on Father’s Day in 2006. Then she filled me in on the details of his leg fractured around Christmas and his downhill spiral with heart problems during his last few months.

“I can’t tell you how bad I feel,” she said, “I have just lost my best friend.”

His heart gave out. How ironic. Willie had the biggest heart, and understood intuitively when to use a kind word and when to be strict.

“People trusted Mr. B., not because he had all the answers, but because he had sense enough to listen,” Mount Olive’s pastor, the Rev. Gregory Jackson, said at the service.

Brennon and I clicked, I think, because we both valued listening. Last week, as I debated how to tell readers farewell in my final column today, Brennon came to mind as one of many people who enriched my own life, my thinking and my writing in the five years that I’ve been offering my views on The Record’s Op-Ed pages.

I never set out to change lives with this column or convince readers that only I know what’s right. My goal was simply to say what’s on my mind. You can rethink your assumptions if you want to.

Opining is infectious. And opining about New Jersey is such a guilty pleasure that I may start blogging.

I’ve received countless messages from readers and talked to hundreds of people I might not have known otherwise. I met lawyer Al Catalano and Ringwood residents Wayne Mann, Roger DeGroat and Larry Sheehan while attempting to figure out why the town’s beautiful Highlands environment had become an ecological disaster.

Litany of ailments

As I listened to Ringwood residents talk about their respiratory problems, cancer deaths, undiagnosed skin ailments and other mysterious maladies, Sheehan’s brother said, “You should meet Mickey. Mickey wants to die.” Mickey Van Dunk had undergone multiple surgeries all over his body to manage tumors attributed to hidradenitis suppurativa. He was a powerful symbol of the Ramapough Indians’ struggle.

Neither restoring the contaminated Ford Motor Co. dumping site to Superfund status nor heightened attention from state and federal agencies, elected officials, Ford and lawyers has resulted in major improvements in Upper Ringwood. Writing about this was the closest I’ve ever come to crusading for justice.

Finally, justice

Reflections: Lawrence Aaron’s last column Sunday, August 3, 2008 By LAWRENCE AARON

RECORD COLUMNIST

I FIRST wrote about Willie Brennon two years ago. His weekly routine was to give free haircuts to shut-ins who couldn’t get to his Englewood barber shop.

Once I started probing, I discovered the role Brennon’s Barber Shop played in shaping the values of many young men in the 46 years he had been running it. Brennon died on July 24. |He was 72.

As a lad of 10, Aree Booker got his first paying job at Brennon’s. “I couldn’t cut hair, but I could sweep hair,” Booker told mourners during the funeral service Monday at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Hackensack.

Booker was not just another mourner. He was the funeral director managing the details: the horse-drawn carriage that paraded Brennon’s coffin through the streets of Englewood, the New Orleans-style send-off from musician Lonnie Youngblood’s crew, the barbers acting as Brennon’s pallbearers, the many flowers and the many friends.

Brennon was laid to rest by the 33-year-old funeral director who had first learned hard work and responsibility at the barber’s knee.

“It wasn’t only me. All the kids and adults got more than a haircut from Mr. Brennon,” said Booker, who owns Eternity Funeral Services in Englewood.

Preaching part of the funeral service, Mount Olive associate pastor Rae Brown had her son Andrew, 13, stand up. “Mr. Brennon used to tell my son, ‘Don’t give your mother or father a hard time.’ That was the voice that African-American moms and dads need in the ear of their boys,” Brown said.

His last few months

Retrieving my voice mail last weekend, I found Carol Brennon’s message telling me that her husband, Willie, had died Thursday night. When I called her back, she said they treasured my column paying him tribute on Father’s Day in 2006. Then she filled me in on the details of his leg fractured around Christmas and his downhill spiral with heart problems during his last few months.

“I can’t tell you how bad I feel,” she said, “I have just lost my best friend.”

His heart gave out. How ironic. Willie had the biggest heart, and understood intuitively when to use a kind word and when to be strict.

“People trusted Mr. B., not because he had all the answers, but because he had sense enough to listen,” Mount Olive’s pastor, the Rev. Gregory Jackson, said at the service.

Brennon and I clicked, I think, because we both valued listening. Last week, as I debated how to tell readers farewell in my final column today, Brennon came to mind as one of many people who enriched my own life, my thinking and my writing in the five years that I’ve been offering my views on The Record’s Op-Ed pages.

I never set out to change lives with this column or convince readers that only I know what’s right. My goal was simply to say what’s on my mind. You can rethink your assumptions if you want to.

Opining is infectious. And opining about New Jersey is such a guilty pleasure that I may start blogging.

I’ve received countless messages from readers and talked to hundreds of people I might not have known otherwise. I met lawyer Al Catalano and Ringwood residents Wayne Mann, Roger DeGroat and Larry Sheehan while attempting to figure out why the town’s beautiful Highlands environment had become an ecological disaster.

Litany of ailments

As I listened to Ringwood residents talk about their respiratory problems, cancer deaths, undiagnosed skin ailments and other mysterious maladies, Sheehan’s brother said, “You should meet Mickey. Mickey wants to die.” Mickey Van Dunk had undergone multiple surgeries all over his body to manage tumors attributed to hidradenitis suppurativa. He was a powerful symbol of the Ramapough Indians’ struggle.

Neither restoring the contaminated Ford Motor Co. dumping site to Superfund status nor heightened attention from state and federal agencies, elected officials, Ford and lawyers has resulted in major improvements in Upper Ringwood. Writing about this was the closest I’ve ever come to crusading for justice.

Finally, justice

I saw justice finally served, after 50 years, when Congress recognized the parents of Englewood’s Nate Briggs. They took their lives in their hands by signing a petition challenging South Carolina school officials over the volatile segregation issue.

I was pleased to open a dialogue about the social policies devastating families of incarcerated men and women. But I regret not ferreting out better explanations for Phylicia Moore’s parents after she died on a school trip to Ghana.

Those I celebrated included the Hong family, for rebuilding their looted business and donating new down coats from their Ridgefield warehouse to hundreds of poor kids; Shantay Mines, a former foster child making it through college; Carolyn Adams, with the battered but cherished Winged Victory award she got, along with a scholarship, from the NAACP; Paula Rogovin, who led war protests in Teaneck, and Dennis Castro, who was dedicated to his mission in Iraq; and Rutgers women’s basketball coach Vivian Stringer, for her personal strength.

Many readers shared the pain, joy and outrage of the people I wrote about. Others didn’t. Thank you, all, for reading my column.

Send comments about this column to letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com.

My prayers go out to him and his family.

Brennon opened his West Palisade Avenue barber shop back in 1962 and it was there that he became a friend and mentor to many.

“He was always just lively, smiling, cracking jokes, and you could be ten or a hundred and he could always relate to you,” said Sheila Terry of Englewood.

Brennon was a barber who received recognitions and awards from the Urban League of Bergen County and the New Jersey state legislature.

“When I moved to this area, he was the first to cut my hair and over that 35-year period I found him to be a philosopher, a psychologist, a counselor, a spiritual advisor,” said longtime customer Herman Snyder.

Those who turned out to mourn Brennon say he was so much more than just a barber and they say his shop was more than just a barber shop. It was a place where people would gather for friendship, fun, camaraderie, advice and to find out what was happening in the community.

“They came here just to be with each other and be able to complain about things that were wrong and talk about things that were good. That was his barbershop,” said Arnold Christmas of Englewood
]]> http://kalcauthen.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/wille-e-brennon-beloved-englewood-barber-is-remembered-by-community/feed/ 0 Kal Cauthen http://kalcauthen.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/willie-e-brennon-englewood-barber-dead-at-72-father-figure-to-many/ http://kalcauthen.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/willie-e-brennon-englewood-barber-dead-at-72-father-figure-to-many/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:11:45 +0000 Kal Cauthen http://kalcauthen.wordpress.com/?p=229 ]]>  

Willie E. Brennon gave more than good trims. The Englewood barber was both a wellspring of information and a mentor to young African-American men.

FILE PHOTO

Willie Brennon was a barber since 1962. Young men came to the shop from Englewood, Teaneck, Hackensack and all over “because Willie was such a special person.”

Recognizing his indispensability, the Urban League for Bergen County gave Mr. Brennon its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. The Legislature followed up with a proclamation noting Mr. Brennon’s “depth of knowledge and breadth of experience.”
“He had the pulse of the community,” said former Assemblyman Arnold Brown of Englewood.

Mr. Brennon, who ran his West Palisade Avenue barbershop for 46 years, died Thursday. He was 72. The cause was congestive heart failure, said his wife, Carol.

Mr. Brennon was proud of the shop’s status as community hub and information clearinghouse. Last year, the shop played host to gatherings spreading the word about the importance of prostate cancer screening. “40 plus yrs. of community service,” the front window proclaims.

Mr. Brennon played the role of conversation catalyst, human Rolodex — whether you needed the name of a lawyer or a tire dealer, he was the go-to guy — and surrogate father. Countless customers, especially the young, sought his advice.

“Some of them say to me, ‘Mr. Brennon, I wish I could talk to my mother and father the way I can talk to you,’ ” he once told The Record. “ ‘You got to go to school.’ I always emphasize that.”

Brown, the first African-American from Bergen County to serve in the Legislature, said Mr. Brennon’s shop “was the central meeting place for many African-American males.

“And not just from Englewood,” he added. “From Teaneck. From Hackensack. They came from all over, because Willie was such a special person.”

One fan, 98.7 Kiss FM morning DJ Jeff Foxx, aired a tribute to the barber today.

Willie Brennon was born in Cassatt, S.C., and came to New Jersey as a teenager. He went to barbering school and got a job cutting hair in Hackensack.

He opened his shop at 303 West Palisade Ave. in 1962. Later, he moved a couple of doors down to No. 307.

As a kid, Kal Cauthen got haircuts from Mr. Brennon. “When I went away to college, I wanted to cut hair to make some money, and Mr. B sent me my first pair of clippers,” he said.

Cauthen worked off and on for Mr. Brennon — “more on than off” — for 20 years while pursuing acting. When Cauthen followed his dreams to California, “Mr. B told me, ‘Don’t worry about what anyone says; just be diligent and work hard.’ ”

Today, the 46-year-old Cauthen lives in Atlanta, still cuts hair and stars in a cable TV dramatic series, “Atlanta Homicide.”

“Mr B celebrated me all the time,” Cauthen said. “He embraced everyone, no matter what, and saw the good in everyone.”

Mr. Brennon, a Hackensack resident, had a hip replacement in December. He returned to the shop, then broke his femur.
In March, he was last at his barber chair, the one next to the cash register and closest to the posters of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.

In addition to his wife of 31 years, Mr. Brennon is survived by daughter Lisa Flowers of Arnoldsville, Ga.; stepsons Sean Christmas of Virginia Beach, Va., Arnold Christmas Jr. of Hackensack and Gary Christmas of New York City; his former wife, Nancy Rainey of Pennsylvania; a brother, and eight grandchildren. A son, Gregory Brennon, died in 1982.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, a horse-drawn carriage bearing Mr. Brennon’s casket will leave Englewood’s Eternity Funeral Services for the barbershop. After a brief service, the casket will be transferred to a hearse for the trip to George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus.

“I felt he deserved that,” Mr. Brennon’s wife said of the carriage ride. “He was such a good person. This is what I wanted him to have.”

Brennon’s Barber Shop
307 West Palisade Avenue
Englewood, NJ 07631

Kal

DTLR along with Atlanta Falcons Chauncey Davis, Ovie Mughelli and Atlanta Native Daniel Wilcox Baltimore Raven Host FREE Football Camp

NFL players and local retailer to host camp in partnership with former Atlanta-area high school coach Oscar Dillard

Who:
Professional football players, Ovie Mughelli, Chauncey Davis and Daniel Wilcox, along with local student-athletes between age 12 and rising seniors (entering their senior year of high school later this summer).

What:
Local urban retailer DTLR (Downtown Locker Room) has organized a FREE one-day football camp to meet the unique needs of Atlanta-area high school athletes who are preparing for college football. As part of DTLR’s ongoing community outreach in the Atlanta area, the retailer has gathered the unique talents and expertise of NFL players for this event. Additionally, Oscar Dillard, a promLeinent former high school football coach in the Atlanta area, will lend the services of the Oscar Dillard Football Academy to the camp. The day’s activities will include a warm up, followed by agility drills, offensive fundamentals and defensive fundamentals broken down by position, seven-on-seven passing drills, an overview of the college recruiting process by a representative from The Athletic Group, and a question and answer session hosted by Davis, Mughelli and Wilcox.

When:
Saturday, July 12, 2008 9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Where:
Badgette Stadium
at the Hugh Conley Recreation Center
3636 College Street
College Park, GA 30337

How:
Players can register online on DTLR.com website in the scrolling box at the top as well as on the “Promotions” page or by clicking on the “Click Here” link on the picture.

Chauncey Davis, Ovie Mughelli,and Daniel Wilcox will bring other players to assist with this event. Registration fees cover the following: Camp schedule will include: Football Position Drills, Recruiting Seminar for Parents & Student Athletes and Lunch.

ABOUT DTLR

Levtran Enterprises, Inc., is the parent company for DTLR and Downtown Locker Room, a 61-store chain of urban fashion stores in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Illinois and Washington, D.C. Operating for more than 20 years, Levtran’s DTLR and Downtown Locker Room stores have become a trusted source for the hottest trends in urban apparel, footwear and music. Under the DTLR and Downtown Locker Room banner, Levtran participates in – and orchestrates – several community outreach initiatives and events supporting the neighborhoods and communities they serve. For more information on Levtran Enterprises, Inc., or DTLR/Downtown Locker Room, including store locations, current fashion trends, upcoming store events and community outreach initiatives, please visit http://www.dtlr.com. Ten of the 61 Downtown Locker Room/DTLR stores are located in the Atlanta area.

ABOUT TAG

TAGCastSports.com^TM a subsidiary of The Athletic Group (TAG) is dedicated to the promotion of amateur athletics and the betterment of student athletes by providing innovative, computer-based solutions that will expose them to the largest possible audience during the college recruiting process.

 Celebrity Barber Kal.  There are several reasons why your child cries or misbehaves.

1. The parents do not prep the child prior to arriving at the barbers.

2. The child does not like the barber.

3. The clippers are to noisey

4. The parents don’t let the child sit by himself.

5. Nine times out of ten its the parents fault. If the child start screaming the parents freak out causing more tension.

According to Celebrity Barber, Kal Cauthen

Atlanta’s ‘cold cases’ get TV treatment
New cable series based on true crimes filming in Roswell

The idea is to take crimes from the streets and put a fictional spin on them to produce an Atlanta cop drama that will alter the image of this city the way the HBO series “The Wire” has reimagined Baltimore.

But there are problems on the set of “Atlanta Investigations: HD,” a shoestring production that, at this moment, is shooting an episode in an abandoned gym without air-conditioning on a boiling June afternoon that makes everyone on the set feel like something in the oven for dinner.

The generator powering the lights just ran out of gas. Carl Millender, the show’s creator and video camera operator, groans. “I only brought enough gas to run it [the generator] two and a half hours,” he tells the actors.

He pauses, thinks a second.

“Everybody move over by the window — we’ll shoot it there.”

If there’s an instinct vital to survival in the industry of TV on the cheap it’s knowing how to adapt. Millender, 38, the owner of Alpharetta-based StarMaxx Media, has honed that instinct in nine years of trying to survive on the margins of television production in Atlanta.

“They say we’re supposed to shoot an episode on a budget of $100,000,” he says of the show, which will begin airing on The Dish satellite network Thursday. “We’re more like $20,000.”

There’s no disguising the cut corners from viewers used to watching slick cop productions such as “CSI” or “Law & Order,” which carries an average per episode production budget of $4 million.

In early episodes of “Atlanta Investigations: HD,” the lighting, camera work and sound are patchy. And for actors — who are unpaid until the series airs — the work has been a test of mettle.

“We’ve been at both extremes shooting in this gym,” says Chris Durant, 34, who plays strictly-by-the-books Detective Stephen Winslow. “In January we were freezing. The beginning of June we’re sweating our tails off.”

Yet, says Millender, “Atlanta Investigations: HD” (the HD stands for homcide division) is about more than just making a hit show.

About 90 shows and series have been shot in Atlanta in the last 35 years, most recently Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne,” but “Atlanta Investigtions: HD” would be the first dramatic series set and shot in the city with Atlanta in the name.

And that’s huge, Millender says.

“Atlanta is the Mecca of the South, and the center of the music industry, but there’s no TV show ever been based here, and there’s no TV industry here. This is what we’re trying to do. And we’ve been getting a lot of help.”

And they’ve needed it. Millender and co-creator and director Hattie Lemon know their way around the TV business. And they’re doing what they can to juice the show’s appeal, such as casting celebrity guest appearances (comic Arnez J) and hiring Michael Moore — who produced music for episodes of “The Sopranos” — to write the show’s high-energy theme.

But, when it came to running even a fictional homicide division, Millender and Lemon were complete tyros.

They asked for help in a most unexpected place: The Andrew Young Foundation. Millender got in touch with former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young’s brother, Walter, an Atlanta dentist who works with the Foundation, and told him he was trying to produce a cop show in Atlanta that would help solve crimes and give the city a lot of publicity.

Within two days Walter Young arranged a meeting with local police chiefs. Over dinner at the Four Seasons restaurant, Millender bounced his ideas off Atlanta Police Chief Richard J. Pennington, DeKalb Chief Terrell Bolton and former Atlanta chief and current Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell.

Bolton, for one, told the producer Millender he should change the name of the show, which was originally titled “Atlanta Homicide,” recalls Millender. “He said that wasn’t the right image for the city.”

With Pennington’s blessing, Millender met with the head of the Atlanta Police Department’s homicide division, Lt. Keith Meadows, who watched one of the early episodes and offered advice.

“I thought it was pretty good, though you could tell it was low budget,” said Meadows, who teaches a crime scene class in the department’s Citizens Academy. “But they had a lot of unrealistic parts I told them they needed to fix.”

Meadows told Millender and Lemon, who attended this crime scene class, to clean up the language — “Homicide detectives don’t talk in the kind of slang they did” — and put coats and ties on the crime scene detectives.

“Their investigators were wearing T-shirts and bandannas,” Meadow said. “That’s a no-no. If an investigator of mine showed up like that I’d send him home.”

The show now has a full-time cop consultant and, for script ideas, a pipeline to Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue’s “Rewards Office,” which offers money to help solve hard-to-crack crimes.

At the end of each episode, which are fictionalized versions of the real-life crimes, viewers are asked to come forward if they have evidence in the case.

“It’s a great show, good for the police and good for the city,” says Billy Johnson, a specialist in charge of extradition and rewards in the governor’s office who is also on the board of the Georgia Film, Video and Music Office.

The show is fictionalizing: gang-related drive-by shootings in Clayton County in 2005; a 2007 triple murder in Powder Springs; the case of a woman missing from LaFayette since 2007; and the case of a newborn found dead and abandoned in 2007.

All that will come to naught if the show doesn’t catch on with viewers, concedes Arthur Thomas Sr., VP of Colours TV, which is syndicating the show on The Dish satellite network. Locally, the show will air the evening of July 3 on The Dish at Channel 9407.

But the show’s appeal may be its lack of polish.

“It’s got a great cast, real stories, and a kind of gritty indie feel to it,” says Thomas. “If it’s a good story, people will accept the production values. And I think Atlanta is hungry for a show about Atlanta.”

Actors Chris Durant, Kal Cauthen and Angelina Cortez rehearse a scene

Actors Angelina Cortez (left) and Kal Cauthen go over a scene before shooting.

Director Hattie Lemon puts a microphone on actor Kal Cauthen

 Hotlanta now has its next great duo. First there was Tyler Perry and Ruben Cannon then there was Rob Hardy and Will Packard now Carl Millender and Hattie Lemon are bringing the heat with “ATLANTA INVESTIGATIONS: HD (Homicide Division).”

“ATLANTA INVESTIGATIONS: HD” is the nation’s next great prime time crime series. In many ways it is similar to “CSI” and “The Wire,” said Carl Millender, executive producer. “This series is based on real Metro Atlanta cases, exposing elements of this great international city you have never seen. When you watch “ATLANTA INVESTIGATIONS: HD” you will feel like you have gone undercover.”

“ATLANTA INVESTIGATIONS: HD” teamed up with the Governor’s Office of rewards to bring attention to many of the unsolved murder cases on their books. Together they hope that this new attention will help bring to life new leads in the cases.

“Atlanta Investigations: HD,” features Kal Cauthen (All My Children,) Angelina Cortez (Positive,) Chimere Love (Three Can Play That Game,) with guest appearances from Case, Elle Zellers (We are Marshall,) D’wayne Boyd (The Gospel,) Janice Barnett, Xross, Goodie Mob and many more exciting entertainers.

CoLours TV has released the latest trailer for its upcoming series “Atlanta Investigations: HD” This amazing new crime drama will only be the second TV series produced in Atlanta aside from House of Payne. Produced by StarMaxx Media in association with Sweet Lemon Tree Films, “ATLANTA INVESTIGATIONS: HD” will premiere nationally Thursday night July 3rd at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and will continue on at or near that time slot each week. CoLours Network is on the Dish Network and is available on all packages.

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