Hitting Lots of Homeruns in Life: Coach Majelon Manning's Playbook of Characteristics for Being an Amazing Dad!

By Patricia M. Hackett

Hitting Lots of Homeruns in Life is Patricia Hackett’s recollection of a life growing up with the most amazing father in the world, Majelon Manning, who served as a remarkable coach, model, and mentor to many. Manning remained a highly-respected figure in the community throughout his life, and when he passed away in 1988, he was honored in the fashion of a true dignitary by the thousands of people whom he had influenced over the years.

With a lively sense of humor, a heart full of compassion, an eagerness to help anyone in need, and as generous a spirit as a man could possibly have, Mr. Manning enjoyed imparting critical life principles into the lives of his own children as well as the children that he mentored in the community. In the 1970’s, he organized baseball teams for youth in Houston and Huntsville, Texas, setting up special tournaments between the teams at huge, picnic-style events hosted at his own expense at a baseball stadium and facilities that he also built himself in Huntsville. Throughout the process of coaching the boys into great players, he also helped to shape them into men of great character who respected themselves, carried themselves with dignity, and conducted themselves with responsibility and integrity. As a result of the time and resources that he invested into the lives of others, Manning made a tremendous impact on many people in the city of Houston and Huntsville region.

Today, hundreds of people in Houston and surrounding areas are walking, living examples of Coach Majelon Manning’s legacy. It is Hackett’s hope that any male who reads this book, regardless of age, will be able to utilize her father’s playbook to become an amazing dad, not just to his own children, but to many in the community who are lacking the love, attention, and mentoring and coaching that only a father can provide. By following the coaching tips in Coach Majelon Manning’s Playbook of Characteristics for Being an Amazing Dad, any man can win at fatherhood and leave a legacy worthy of being celebrated by others!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Patricia M. Hackett
• Release date: Sep 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9780997994025

Patricia M. Hackett

Patricia Hackett is the third of six children who had the privilege of calling Majelon Manning, "Dad". She grew up with her father, mother (Minnie Manning) and siblings in Houston's historic Fifth Ward area from the 1950's to the 1980's. Her upbringing in this close-knit community resulted in years of precious memories, all of which included her father as the central character and star. She considers who she is today to be a product of all the wisdom that he has imparted into her life about the importance of family, character, generosity, and concern for others. Today, she can be found on many occasions gathered with her siblings, cooking, eating, laughing, and recounting stories of their amazing childhood or spending time with others, sharing the valuable life lessons that she learned from her father with friends and associates in the Houston community.

Book preview

Hitting Lots of

Homeruns in Life:

Coach Majelon Manning’s Playbook of Characteristics for Being an Amazing Dad!

PATRICIA HACKETT

Copyright © 2016 Patricia Hackett

All rights reserved.

ISBN-10: 0-997994-0-2

ISBN-13: 978-0-9979940-0-1

CONTENTS

Introduction

About the Coach

First Base: Self

Second Base: Family

Third Base: Community

Home Base: Legacy

FOREWORD

In this book of memoirs, it is evident that Pat’s dad has touched countless lives. He is an amazing man, I must say, as I have been touched by him through her. So dear Dad, I believe the best memory for Pat to recall is the gift of your presence, which is the greatest gift of all.

I’ve known the author, Pat Hackett, for over a decade. We came to know each other as we worked together for that period of time, and we have remained friends to this day. We were tokens on the job – or as some may say, we were dots – meaning that there were only a few people of color on the job. She was so wise and full of wisdom, where I was full of book sense with no wisdom and a little bit of common sense! Together, we were the best employees and team members a company could ever hope to have aboard. The entire company loved us for our own self-worth.

Although, it has been years since we have worked together, I can still hear her telling me things to enhance my performance in the workplace, and things to enhance life in general. I recall funny times with her, like when we would take a walk during lunch as a form of exercise, and she would say, Suck that tummy in, Vivian! Yes, I would suck it in as I walked with a smile daily. I have gained so much from knowing Pat through the years of our invaluable friendship. I thank her dad for her.

Pat is such a warm, fun-loving and giving person. She contributes all of her positive attributes to her dad. She keeps his memory alive as she honors all of his beliefs and shows gratitude for all the love he has given to her by sharing it with others. Dad taught his baby girl life’s lessons of right and wrong and instilled in her values that has kept her strong. What a priceless gift!

– Vivian Harris

INTRODUCTION

Motivated by Perry’s Pain to Share a Story of the Greatest Dad Who Ever Lived

In all of my many years on this earth, I never thought that I could witness the deepest, most intense level of pain and raw anguish in a man’s eyes, and rather than get caught up and feel compelled to cry along with him, feel a sense of extreme internal motivation. However, this is exactly what happened to me as I was watching the Oprah Winfrey Show one afternoon on Wednesday, October 20, 2010. I was especially excited about watching this particular episode of the show because it had been heavily-marketed as a no-holds-barred interview with one of the most popular directors, playwrights, and actors of the day, Tyler Perry. In addition to being entertained by his easy humor, I was also drawn by the opportunity to learn what laid beyond the public façade of this very private celebrity, who was also the first black studio mogul in history. This was going to be really interesting.

Oprah’s interview with the star began the same as most of her interviews with celebrities in the past. There she sat in her cream-colored leather chair across from Perry, who was smartly dressed in a tailored black suit and seated in a matching chair of his own. The talk show host began with an introduction and some light-hearted pleasantries, but it did not take long for the conversation to take a dark turn. You see, Oprah asked Perry what his life was like growing up. There was nothing that he could say about this time of his life that could possibly draw a chuckle or a smile from the live audience members or the millions of television viewers that were fixated on his every word, and watching the usually-secretive star openly bear his soul.

Immediately, Perry began to share stories about his past that the world had never heard , sparing no detail. Perry talked about the pain of being molested by several adults beginning as early as five or six years old. With terror on his face and hurt in his eyes, he also spoke of the horrible beatings that his father would give him almost daily for the most trivial things. He explained that his father seemed to be an angry man, although Perry himself did not specifically know why. All he knew is that regardless of what consistently angered his father, the man that he called Dad took this anger out on his child in the most brutal and heartless way. He went into detail about what might have been the most severe beating that he had ever received at the hands of his father, one that befell him as a consequence of not changing a flat tire the right way. Perry explained how he used to daydream as a means of detaching himself from the pain of his reality; in these dreams, he would imagine himself running away into a field of grass to escape and hide from the cruelty that marked his childhood. I will never forget what Perry said in the midst of sharing this deep, dark secret, which he’d held as a personal source of shame until the moment of this interview. With tears in his eyes, he said after that beating, I couldn’t’ get the little boy to come back to me. I think I died that day. To Perry, enduring such a vicious attack at the hands of the one man in the world that was supposed to be obligated to protect him from such harm was unthinkable. In his mind, this marked the end of his childhood.

As a result of the harm that he suffered at the hands of his father, and at the hands of the predators his father should have protected him from, Perry bravely admitted that he made an attempt to commit suicide when he was a teenager. He was so desperate to end the pain that he experienced, largely at the hands of his father, and felt that ending his life was the only way to escape. Perry also disclosed that the damage inflicted by his father was so severe that he’d changed his name from Emmit Perry, Jr. to Tyler Perry, because he refused to remain his father’s namesake.

As Perry shared the most tragic details of his life, I was both shocked and stunned. Who would think that a man who had gone on to become a self-made multi-millionaire – one of the most successful celebrities around – had lived through such a horrific childhood and had such a heartbreaking relationship (to use the term loosely) with his father? Towards the end of the interview, Perry shared with Oprah the reason why he agreed to come onto her show and bare his soul to the world in such an intimate way: he wanted to share his story with the world in hopes that it would help other men who had been victims of sexual abuse or other similar circumstances. By speaking out and refusing to hide in shame, he was empowering himself and others, rather than giving the power to the memory of his deceased father. Telling his story was his way of helping to change lives.

Upon hearing the details of each the encounter in the series of unfortunate events that marked Perry’s childhood, I said to myself, Whoa! My dad would never do that! or "Oh my goodness! My dad would have killed that person for doing that to me! and Thank God, my dad was not like that!" With each of Perry’s tales that unfolded, I began to realize more and more that my siblings and I had had a completely different experience growing up. Completely different. As different as black is from white. As opposite of an experience as children could possibly have from the experience that Perry had endured. The experiences we shared with our father from childhood, all the way through adulthood were loving and nurturing ones that we still reflect upon today with great fondness.

Unfortunately, I have realized that there are many people out there who can relate to Tyler Perry's relationship with his father. Undoubtedly, each one of them has stories that are equally heartbreaking as the ones that Perry shared with the world. However, in the midst of all of the sad and heart wrenching stories that are often told concerning people’s relationships with their fathers, I have a contrary story to tell. My story is of a man who, in my clearly biased but well-supported opinion, was one of the greatest fathers to ever walk the earth.

My father, Majelon Manning, was not only a great father; he was also a great man. Because of the type of man he was, he literally touched the lives of thousands of people. Because of how he touched these people, their lives are still being impacted by their lasting memories of him today. When he passed away in 1988, he had touched so many lives that his wake and funeral services at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Houston, Texas were both standing room only. In fact, hundreds of people who were unable to secure seating in the large sanctuary remained outside for the duration of both ceremonies, refusing to leave before the end of the services lest they miss an opportunity to say goodbye to one of the people who had cared for and inspired them the most in life. Family members, friends, co-workers, mentees, community acquaintances, church members, owners of businesses he frequented, members of the baseball league he began, politicians, dignitaries, and people from throughout the region who had the highest regard for the man we called Dad came out to pay their respects. There were an unprecedented 13 limousines in the funeral processional. Most of them were empty – except for two in which the immediate family rode – but people who loved and respected my father had hired them to be a part of the homegoing celebration because they wanted to pay homage to the manner of man that he was for all to see. Nearly everyone wanted to share about the significant impact this man had on their lives; they were compelled to do so, because the role he had played in their lives was worth telling to the world. Unfortunately, there was not enough time for everyone to share their individual stories about what an inspiration my father had been in their lives, how much he had helped them to grow up from boys into men, how much he had helped them to hold their heads up and walk with a sense of dignity, how he had motivated them to keep going when going on seemed to be impossible, how to make money and be financially responsible, and how to be a good son, brother, husband and dad.

I know how each of these people felt. When a man lives a life in such an impactful way, you feel