The Poppin' and Lockin' Puppet Master

It's taken me a long time to think about the right person to start this whole Small World Project off with. The impetus to write such a crazy thing was to bring together the different groups of people I have in my life. For the people around me to get to know one another, since unfortunately most of you won't ever hang out with one another. Within the last couple years though, one person has actually gotten to know all my groups of friends and through that shown me that all of them can mix really well. Anyway without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, the first person I'd like to marinate is none other than BA aka Ben.

In high school, I basically lived two lives. In class I was pretty serious and when I was at home or with my friends, I was super goofy. I didn't really think I would ever be able to reconcile my two personalities. I arrived at my dorm and immediately noticed one of the RAs that was goofy as hell. The first few weeks of school, he basically wore the same lime green sweater and dark horn-rimmed glasses. This seemingly simple dude, would go on to show me (and a lot of other people) that you can be true to yourself in any situation. No matter who was around him, he was always the same person. I feel like a lot of times we think about how others want us to act or about how we're going to be perceived. This guy doesn't care about any of that.

Those that know BA, also know that his sense of humor has rubbed off on everyone around him. A lot of peoples' mannerisms and humorous stylings are definitely things that have rubbed off from him. After college, he stuck around for a while then moved out to San Francisco. For those that have ever been to a party at BA's old place know that he was living in a super nice place. When I first went over to his place, I saw that he had an elevator, a bathroom bigger than my room, and a movie theater in his house but then I went in his closet and what did I spy....... NOTHING. Just the same lime green sweater and a Mariners jersey. He hadn't changed at all. About a year ago when I was living in San Francisco, we dance battled the entire night in my kitchen. Song after song we battled like we were two great warriors. Needless to say the kitchen floor was ruined but the walls saw moves only future humans would even be able to describe.

So since this is the first entry, I'm not sure what to do with it. Perhaps people that know BA can rag on him here? People can agree or disagree with what I've said or add more comments or stories about BA. People could post questions for BA to answer. The ultimate goal here is to inform people about some other awesome folks I guess. Anyway, below are some claims to fame.

Credits:

We're Number 1: While waiting in line for a Stanford basketball game, BA once told us all that if you pull the chest of your shirt in and out with your left hand and throw up a number one sign with your right hand, you're guaranteed to get on TV. During that game, we threw up the “We're Number 1” shuffle and must have been on TV 10 times. Ever since then the Number 1 dance has been seen on freeways, in the hottest dance clubs, and of course during college basketball games.

Secret Sauce: We once marinated tri-tip over night in a paint bucket. People thought we were crazy until they smelt perhaps the finest marinade ever concocted with human hands. Did we share? Just enough to let them know what they were missing.

The Poppin' and Lockin' Marionette: you ever seen someone in the club manipulate their feet as if they were the puppet master on their own legs? You think I invented that shit? Some people even asked him if his legs were made out of rubber.

Mangina: It's a little known fact that BA, Taplin Thomas and I were a part of a popular underground acapella group on the Stanford campus. We were so underground in fact that most people deny we even existed. We went by “Mangina” for we were the ultimate balance of street credibility and emotion. During a “Mangina” concert in 2000, the entire audience was crying and the show had to be stopped. It was at that point that we knew, we were way ahead of our time and the people were not ready for us (when we came together, it was similar to when those five kids summoned Captain Planet).

Legend has it that one LIVE “Mangina” concert exists on someone's laptop somewhere in North America. Those few that saw us live have never been the same, I would know, I was there.

Being an RA, being a mentor to a lot of people, and at home being an older brother, Ben's a pretty dope guy. Hopefully some of you get to meet him at some point.