The Iceman Experience: Memoir of a Harlem Playground Star
We went to the playgrounds to find our missing fathers. What we found was the game. It was the only game that mattered in Harlem.
In Harlem’s playgrounds we found our guardian sanctuaries, notoriety, and respect. Nothing could replace the alluring pull of high wired fences and asphalt parks. We drowned in the intoxication of a competitive game under the glistening sun amid frantic voices, iron rims, and steel backboards.
Everywhere else, basketball was a game. In Harlem it was a lifestyle.
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James A. Washington is a former professional, collegiate, and playground basketball player, and a first-time author born and raised in Harlem, New York. A graduate of the High School of Music and Art, Washington has a unique blend of personal and professional skills not often captured in a writer or author. As a high-performing athlete, he's experienced the joy of pure competition as well as values predicated upon the dedication, sacrifice, and discipline required to become exceptional in his sport. As an artist, he has received a formal education in graphic design and has used his creative passion as a perfect counterbalance to his athletic life. James has written several articles for publication for The New Pittsburgh Courier and in various industry circles. He is currently a contractor at NASA where he has worked for the last fifteen years.