I really wanted to be there when to be there when Prentiss was admitted into Phi Beta Kappa and he wanted me to be there as well, but I had injured myself earlier that day. It was the strangest thing ever. I had sprained a muscle in my jaw while eating popcorn and it was painful as hell. I thought my jaw was actually broken. And to make matters worse, me being the man that I am, I tried to tough it out. About an hour before Prentisses’ event I tried to eat again—bad idea. I re-injured my jaw eating nachos at a Mexican restaurant on Piedmont Avenue and I had to head home. Right when I was unlocking my bike at the bike rack my pocket vibrated. It was Prentiss:
“You coming fam”
“Nah. I can’t even talk. My jaw is swollen on some random shit. I’ll have to tell you about it later. Congratulations though.”
“Alright.”
And I could hear the the hurt in his voice, however, the hurt in my mouth was telling me that I needed to go home, ice my jaw, and call the hospital—which I did. But thankfully one of my colleagues recorded Prentisses’ speech and when I viewed it I was nearly overwhelmed with joy.
I appreciated being able to play the role in the life of Prentiss Mayo that I was able to play. He was my childhood friend. We played football together. We went to high school together. Years later I saw him begging for money at a gas station in East Oakland. He was homeless and addicted to drugs. Then about four years ago he enrolled in the college where I work. He eventually became an honor roll student and was admitted into UC Berkeley. He has made me proud, he has made his family proud, and he has made himself proud. Here is the video of his speech. I respect this brotha more than he will ever know.
-Roger Porter