On the night of Monday, April 2 2012, the men’s basketball team of the University of Kentucky, the Wildcats, won the 2011-12 NCAA championship. It was the culmination of a season where we saw a team of freshmen, sophomores and a senior, play together as a team to dominate their opponents and win the ultimate prize in college basketball. Since their win, their fans have been ecstatic – it’s been 14 years since the Wildcats won their last basketball trophy. In a state that passionate about basketball, it felt like a century.

Amidst the glee, I hear some voices that speak of the win in disdain. These voices gripe about the fact that John Calipari, the Wildcats coach, is exploiting the “one-and-done” rule set by the NBA.

A little background here. In previous years, kids could go straight from high school to the NBA, totally bypassing college. Examples include Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard. These are the successful examples. There were some busts too (Kwame Brown). To prevent these kids without much experience from destroying the quality of the product the NBA offered, it was agreed to stipulate a year’s wait between high school and entry into the NBA. So these kids go to college for one year and bolt for the NBA. Academicians argue that these “one-and-doners” are using colleges as a mere stepping stone for getting to the riches of the NBA and neglecting getting an education.  So-called basketball purists point out that even if these kids are talented enough, they are not mature enough for the professional league. They argue that a true college basketball team should be riddled with experienced juniors and seniors.They feel that irrespective of how good one may be, a college player should stay in college till graduation.

The reality of the situation though is that there are kids who are that good and want to enter the NBA straight from high school. They risk loosing a lot of money if their college career is ended by an injury or they do not perform well in their subsequent years in college. The “one-and-done” rule however prevents them from going from high school into the NBA. So, what is the best way out?

That is where John Calipari comes in. This past season, he probably recruited the two best high school players in the country in Anthony Davies and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. He combined them with another freshman, Marquis Teague, two sophomores in Jones and Lamb, and a senior, Miller,  to create a powerful basketball team. In the process, he taught them teamwork, discipline, patience and working towards a goal. He taught them the principle of the sum of the parts being greater than the individual. He got them to pay defense and share the ball. In less than a year, he sold them a dream and helped them achieve it. He got them to play some amazing basketball.

Now I don’t know about you but I find that to be an amazing feat. I also find it really great that these young men got to be taught these life principles. Who can argue that what they learned in the last seven months will not be beneficial for their professional careers or even life?

We send kids to college to get a degree so they can join the workforce and earn a living. However, does college really prepare our children for life, real life? I dare to say NO! Qualities such as discipline, teamwork and patience are things you are supposed to have learned at home or in high school or somewhere in-between. Colleges spew out men and women who are ill-prepared for the journey called life, irrespective of how many degrees they may hold. Isn’t it then commendable that a coach seeks to imbibe great life qualities in these young men in the little time he has with them?

The “one-and-done” rule is neither good for for the teams which get these kids nor the kids themselves. A two to three year stint in college may be the way to go, and in that I see the frustration of the academicians. Instead of just railing against the situation, maybe colleges should have one year programs for these kids that are geared towards their life as professional basketball players and could include courses on money and time management, public speaking and leadership, the business of sports, ethics, to mention a few. To the so-called purists, note that all we have  is the “one-and-done” rule and I think coaches should do their best to help these kids. Instead of hiding behind the veil of the “purity of the sport”, coaches should think about how best to use the little time they have with these kids to groom them for life. I find it hypocritical to blame Coach  Calipari for making the most out of a bad rule. Instead of seeing it as an exploitation, maybe these purist need to admire what he tries to do for these kids. Maybe they should appreciate the fact that these young men are going into the real world with qualities that may help them deal with their professional careers and life.

I really wonder if any of these purists would complain if Coach Calipari was doing this at their institution and getting them far into the tournament each year.  I wonder if they would complain if their son, who was a possible “one-and-doner” had the chance to be on this Kentucky team. I sincerely doubt it!

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players….” – Shakespeare in As You Like it.

If life is but a play, or to be post-modern, a movie, in which we all are nothing but actors and actresses, then Whitney Houston gave me the soundtrack to my movie at certain critical parts. Like a maestro, she was able to match the highs and the lows with her amazing octaves and seemed to mirror the emotions I was going through. Whitney once said that when she listened to Aretha Franklin, she could clearly feel her emotional delivery and that she could feel it coming from deep within. She (Whitney) wanted to emulate that and did she!

My love affair with Whitney started probably in 1985. Like the rest of the world, I listened to her croon on her first album “Whitney Houston”. Even now I can hear her sultry voice “…So I’m saving all my love, Yes I’m saving all my love , Yes I’m saving all my love for you…”…I can hear Tom Scott on the sax. It was a heady time. I was head over heels in love and knew what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Like Whitney, I felt the sky was the limit.

Then came 1987. In August of that year, I headed out to Germany to study – all alone. I was 21. I left behind a girl I was crazy about, my parents, my siblings, friends….In my suitcase were several cassettes. One was the newly released album “Whitney”. Even as I heard her sing “You’re still my man”, it matched the words I had heard during a last conversation. I cannot recount how listening to those songs in my room in Radebeul, Germany reminded me of what I had left behind and as always, Whitney manged to draw out that emotion in song, in the timbre of her voice, in her lyrics.

The years went by. She dropped “I’m your Baby Tonight”. It brings memories of Moritzbastei in good old Leipzig, rain in October, the chill in the air but so was love…I thought. It was a time of deep loss and regrets and what-ifs. And the soundtrack she provided was perfect.

Even as she got married, I also got involved in a relationship that would change the trajectory of my life. Even then, she always provided the soundtrack. Even as things spiraled down for me, I could always count on her. In times of deep thought, I’ll pop in a Whitney CD, turn down the light, relax in the armchair and just float on her voice. Her voice was that love that I couldn’t lose. It was always there. Be it on “the Bodyguard” soundtrack or on “Waiting to Exhale” – reassuring, sultry, sorrowful, powerful, emotional.

Slowly, the songs stopped coming. I missed them at first but then I could always turn to her old tunes. Then were the stories and misadventures. I could feel the love for her slipping. Soon, I stopped caring and she became just another girl. However, I knew deep in there was something, something for her. Anytime I heard anything positive about her life, I perked up.

Then she died.

I cannot describe the sorrow I felt. I never knew her and she probably didn’t even know I existed but I was devastated. If our lives are just movies, then the music we love is the soundtrack to our lives. Whitney matched my movie in ways only she could. I felt like I had lost a part of me. I also felt sad because she couldn’t deal with this ordeal called life. She provided a lot of joy to a lot of people but couldn’t take care of herself. Life, like they say, is a bitch and she succumbed to it. I felt sad for the choices she may have made that destroyed her. I empathized because this thing called life scares me too.

Last week was her funeral. The service was powerful. In life, she gave me hours of her beautiful voice. With her death, she helped me put my finger on why I don’t have faith. True, I lack faith and have always wondered why. OK, let me explain. As I watched the service, I was struck by the words of Pastor Marvin Winans. He preached about the importance of prioritizing things in out lives. Then he said not to worry because God says “I got you!” That got me thinking about my lack of faith. I know God watches out for me but being human, my weaknesses and the uncertainty of life sometimes make his power seem insufficient. No matter how great God is, I am human and can totally mess it up. It is this fear that prevents me from having faith. It is not lack of faith in God, but fear of my own foolishness. If anything illustrates my point, it was Whitney’s life. By all accounts, she always spoke of her love of God. In spite of all that, her demons go the better of her. No amount of God’s grace could save her from herself.

So she is gone. Gone with her voice, her grace, her beauty. Like Shakespeare said, “The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.’ For me, the joy she brought me is going to live forever, because that is what I want to remember. Everything else pales in comparison. Miss Whitney, even now you may be singing “Greatest Love of All” to adoring fans in another realm. Lucky them. Don’t forget to Rest in peace!

Ever since I found out that Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a German-trained Cardiothoracic surgeon had returned to Ghana and founded a cardiothoracic center at Korle-Bu in the 90′s, I have been intrigued. You see, I am what some people describe as a Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist – I put patients who need heart surgery to sleep so people like Dr Frimpong-Boateng can operate on them.

Intrigued because it takes a lot to set up such a center and the upkeep is rather expensive. My dear Ghana is not exactly wealthy and the country has other pressing problems. Even though sub-Saharan Africa has it’s share of heart diseases, especially congenital, I didn’t see the leadership in Ghana backing him.

Intrigued because knowing how Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital is, I doubted if anyone could set up something of that caliber and keep it going.

Intrigued because if I ever decided to go back to Ghana, I may actually have somewhere to practice my craft.

Myself and most Ghanaians looked on unbelievably as Prof Frimpong-Boateng was removed as head of the Center last year by the government, in what most see as retaliation for him showing support for the opposition NPP party. The reason the government gave was his age. The retirement age for public servants in Ghana is 60. He was 61. I would understand if Ghana was crawling with heart surgeons and the dear professor was incapable of operating. Like we all know, there are less than 10 active heart surgeons in Ghana and the professor is NOT senile, demented or has the shakes. He is neither on drugs nor is he an alcoholic. In other words, HE CAN STILL OPERATE!

Anyway, I had always wanted to visit the center and meet the man. Imagine my excitement when a good friend put me in touch me with one of the surgeons who works at the center, Dr Frank Edwin. We talked on the phone and planned to meet when I next visited Ghana.

I was in Ghana these last two weeks and  took Dr Frank Edwin on his offer. I walked into the center one morning not knowing what to expect. I trained in Germany and the US and now work in the US. My active practice involves working with cardiothoracic surgeons more than half the time since 2000. I think I am in the position to say that what Prof Frimpong-Boateng built, without any help from the Ghanaian government is nothing short of amazing.

My plan was to spend only about an hour with Dr Edwin.
We were going to look at possible collaborations.
I ended up staying close to 4 hours.
I spoke with the the other surgeons, cardiologists and anesthesiologists.
There is a dedication that is palpable, contagious and refreshing.
I didn’t get to meet Prof Frimpong-Boateng but I witnessed his work and I was impressed.

The center is no gleaming edifice of glass and steel.
It is rather a bland-looking concrete structure with the bare necessities, run efficiently by men and women with dedication and vision.
There are two operating rooms with all one needs for cardiac, thoracic and vascular procedures.
There is a 6-bed intensive care unit where an anesthesiologist or surgeon is available round the clock.
It is a 17-man team of surgeons, cardiologists and anesthesiologist who care for the patient first and everything else later.
They use old, I mean old, echocardiography machines to capture images.
They take the little they get and MAXIMIZE it – note: MAXIMIZE!
These are highly trained men and women who could earn six-figure salaries in the US making about $2000 a month.

If one man with a vision could get this done without any help for the government in Ghana, what excuse do we have as a nation?
The rooms are clean and organized.
There is not a feeling of apathy and despondence that is pervasive in Korle-Bu.
The doctors order their own supplies, cutting out the bureaucracy and middlemen that is the hallmark of business in Ghana.
The therefore get their supplies when they need them and at much lower prices than the rest of Korle-Bu.
They take care of their equipment and keep them working.
They have a budget they stick to.
They plan for the future.
They are proactive.

To help out patients financially, Prof Frimpong-Boateng started a foundation.
Some patients are brought in, fed for 2 weeks to get them strong enough for surgery, operated on, taken care of postoperatively and even given money for the trip home!
Kidney failure needing dialysis is a possible complication after some heart operations.
When he realized the Renal Unit at Korle-Bu couldn’t help him out, he got his own dialysis unit!

Tetralogy of Fallot, lung cancer, coronary artery disease,  carotid disease, valve diseases? No problem! Bring them over. Chest trauma? One patient in the intensive care unit had survived gun shot wounds to the chest thanks to the center!

All this is due to the vision of one man – Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
Did he overreach by wading into politics? – maybe.
However, can you blame him if in his heart he thought he could do more for the nation than the clowns otherwise known as leaders who are riding around in SUVs? – NO!
Was the way he was treated fair?
To answer that, I’ll let every Ghanaian spend a day at the Cardio Center, hear it’s history and let them answer that.
I have my answer.

As I left, I was filled with mixed emotions.
Happy that it is possible.
That as a nation, we can do it.
Sad that when we see someone do it, we don’t even recognize it, appreciate it, emulate it.
Sad that a man could sacrifice so much for his nation and still be cast aside like an old shoe without a word of thanks.

May God bless Ghana with visionaries like him and the ability to appreciate them.

We live in the time of bludgeoning deficits and immense spending. Some say taxes are too high, too complex, too low.

In the political discourse, even as one side is yelling to reduce the deficit, the other side wants to tax the wealthy.

It is into the fray that Herman Cain dropped his 9-9-9 tax plan.

The plan called for a 9% sales tax, 9% income tax and 9% corporate tax.

He surged in the polls.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. The skeletons in his closet came to life and derailed a campaign that was already struggling.

In my opinion, he made an impact on the political scene that is not all negative or even embarrassing, as a friend noted.

He birthed his 9-9-9 idea at a time when new ideas were as tough to come by as snow in Ghana.

All the Tea Partiers and Republicans could talk of was the deficit and size of government.

That the masses were hungry for new ideas was evident in the surge he got in the polls.

It forced Gov. Perry to outline a flat tax plan and Newt Gingrich to talk economic growth.

Americans are hungry for ideas and plans that make sense – go figure!

His acceptance also showed why America is exceptional.

Those who think the Obama phenomenon is a flash in the pan err greatly.

Americans are prepared to vote for someone with ideas and plans that are pragmatic, be he or she white, black, red, pink or blue.

Racism is not dead but it is sure losing it’s sting.

Cain’s campaign also brought to national attention the issue of sexual harassment, again.

Not since Anita Hall and Clarence Thomas has the nation been forced to examine it’s stand on the issue like during these past months.

It harkened back to the days when women ( and some men) had to suffer unwanted sexual advances in silence.

The issue of Dominic Strauss-Kahn shed light on how sexual harassment goes  pretty much unpunished in France, but not in the US.

I guess we can all say a lot has been done in the US. Do we need to do more? I am sure but we are rather far ahead on the issue.

Then was the issue of other issues.

Even before the last accusation of infidelity by Ms White against Mr Cain, his poll number were dwindling.

His performance when asked about foreign policy issues was not pristine.

I guess Newt Gingrich was right when he said presidential candidates needed to know a bit about everything.

Lastly, maybe future candidates will learn to clean their closets of skeletons before venturing into public service and eye.

There is an Akan proverb which says “The bug that will bite you is hiding in your clothing.”

Your downfall as a person is often enabled by those close to you who know your Achilles heel. He should have known that.

Americans are a forgiving people. They forgave Clinton. Newt Gingrich is on his third marriage and has had a few affairs. He is surging in the polls.

He should have come clean at the start of his campaign.

So, even as we write the obituary of his short-lived campaign, lets appreciate his ideas and vision, keep in mind those things that he reminded us of and learn from his mistakes.