Eric Wattree:  

I'm a writer, poet, and musician (sax), born in Los Angeles (Watts), now located in Covina, Ca. I'm a political columnist for The Los Angeles Sentinel and The Black Star News (out of New York) and a member of Sigma Delta Chi Society of professional Journalists. I'm also the author of "A Message From the Hood." I began writing when my late wife, and childhood sweetheart, Valdie Whitmore-Wattree (Washington High School, 1969), began writing me from college when I was in the Marine Corps. While trying to respond, I was shocked to find that I didn't have the necessary skills to fully express my feelings, so I embarked upon a crash course in English composition. I began to go to the base library, and since I was virtually the only one who ever used it, the Chaplin eventually gave me the key so I wouldn't have to always run him down. From that point on, I literally made the library my home on base - and I do mean literally. I purchased a portable refrigerator that I kept filled with food, beer, and wine, and I brought in a record player and a foot locker filled with albums by Dexter Gordon, Jackie McLean, Miles Davis and Trane. There was something very liberating about blasting John Coltrane in the middle of the night in the solemn confines of a library. But I also found the time to go through every book on English composition in the library. Then when I was done, I began to read the works and biographies of many of the prominent writers whose names I'd heard, but knew very little about. I started playing sax when I was twelve years old, so I already had that under my belt, but during the time I spent living in the library, I began to study music theory, which helped me to grasp the concept of chord progressions, and what was involved in developing the solos that Miles and Trane were playing. By the time I was done, I had a fully developed concept of my direction in life. I had essentially laid the foundation for everything that has served to bring me so much pleasure to this day. It wasn't long before I got a reputation in the unit for being a writer. As the word spread, people started coming to me to write letters and compose poetry for their wives and girlfriends. At first I did it just for the love of writing, until it occurred to me that I could turn it into a lucrative business. So I did just that, and I've been selling words every since. Business got so good that before long I was making twice my military salary every month doing what I had come to loved most - putting thoughts to paper. But it didn't take long before word of my business venture moved up the chain of command, and one day I was summoned to the First Sergeant's office. I assumed that they had found some obscure regulation saying that my business was improper. But instead, I was advised that I'd been drafted by the company commander to write all of the company's written communications. Then just as I was becoming comfortable with riding that gravy train, I was bumped up to performing the same duties for the battalion commander. If I thought I was riding a gravy train writing for a captain, I had no idea of the perks and prestige that came with working for a colonel. Just having the colonel's ear gave me so much clout that officers that I previously had to call "sir", was saying things like, "Come on, Eric, What's all this Sir stuff? There's nobody's around - just call me Ron." But the reason for that wasn't lost on me. As I began to gain the confidence of the colonel, he started casually asking me What I thought of this officer, or that officer. Then before long he just skipped that and had me write their fitness reports for his review. I found myself writing fitness reports for all of the officers in the battalion. It was the worst kept secret in the battalion, and it gave me ...Expand for more