For Cicely Tyson and Kerry Washington, Roles of a Lifetime

Cicely Tyson and Kerry Washington, two very successful actresses, met up for brunch at a hotel in Upper East Side this previous week, ironically, no food was served because the workers did not want to “interrupt” “whatever [they] had going on”. They were right, what they had going on was an interview with Philip Galanes from The New York Times.

Tyson and Washington became close friends when Washington was asked to present Tyson with the Spingarn Medal by the N.A.A.C.P. Washington, like many other African-American children, grew up watching Cicely Tyson on television in movies such as Roots and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, so she was excited to share an interview with her.

Both Tyson and Washington are currently working, Tyson on stage as Mrs. Watts in The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote and Washington as Olivia Pope in the series Scandal. However, this is not the only thing the two actors have in common. Although the two grew up in different time periods under parents with different careers, both struggled with receiving acceptance of their decisions to pursue acting as a career from their parents. Washington’s parents were educators who, of course, wanted her to pursue something that would provide her economic security and Tyson’s parents (who were very religious) felt the same. Cicely Tyson’s mother even kicked her out of the house when she began acting, and they did not communicate for two years.

They say the odds of becoming a successful actor are the same as getting struck by lightning while simultaneously winning the lottery, so I’m sure at some point every actor’s parents have been concerned with their child going in to a field that does not promise success, but after they see them walk on stage for the first time, as Tyson’s mother did, they can’t help but say “Oh my, God!” Although it is a hard industry to make it “big” in, if you love it, you have the economic freedom to pursue it! Imagine if Meryl Streep, or Johnny Depp would have said “Oh what are the odds of me becoming a successful actor?”

Many actors become discouraged because they are constantly hearing things such as “Have fun waiting tables” or “That’s not realistic”, often forgetting they have the freedom to pursue a career in whatever they want, no matter what it is, well as long as it isn’t illegal. If you can dream it, you can achieve it!

The Mr. Fix-It of Greenwich Village

                Colin Ryan, a 62 year old man who was born and raised in Greenwich Village, has made a living off his entrepreneurship. He is a Vietnam veteran

who learned firsthand how difficult it is to find work after returning home from war.  Because of this he decided to become a self employed handyman or as some may say a freelance carpenter. He carries his tools almost everywhere with him and travels where he is needed, sometimes this means taking the subway to Manhattan or Queens, catching a ride Upstate, but most of his work comes right in the Village.

                In most states many people would not trust leaving a man like Ryan in their home to do repairs. However, in New York, Ryan’s costumers consider him very trustworthy. Many people hire him to do repairs such as adding a deck to their home and refinishing a wooden stairway. Ryan says that because the Village has always been his neighborhood, everyone knows who he is, which I’m sure helps him get tons of business! When you have known someone for a long period of time you tend to trust them when doing things such as fixing your home, and often would prefer to hire them over someone you don’t know. By hiring Ryan, they are not only getting repairs done, but also helping a friend out.

                Ryan also helps out young veterans who are returning home who may not easily be able to get hired, and older veterans. One of his customers,

Katya Salkinder, said that she liked Ryan because of his $25-dollar-an-hour rate and his stories- which I’m sure he has many of.                

                From this, I can say that Colin Ryan is a very well-rounded entrepreneur. Although he does not have a storefront, a website, or a cell phone that is always in service, he does have a stoop where he can often be found between jobs getting money for beer. His boldness to make a change and not wait around for someone to hire him after he returned from war and to create his own job is very inspiring. Many people would probably look at a man like Ryan and think he was up to no good, not realizing that he has made very wise decisions in his life that have led him to his career today. He says that he does “not need no pot of gold”, all he needs is enough money for cigarettes, beer, and subway fare. He does what he has to do to get by, and his lack of greed will get him far.

Google is investing twelve million dollars to help towards a solar energy project in Africa.  This is there first time investing money in Africa and these twelve million dollars are just a portion of the two hundred sixty million dollars that will eventually be invested.  The name of this project is the Jasper Power Project, which will be an advanced photovoltaic plant capable of generating 96 MW of clean energy for residents of South Africa. The goal of the project is not only to create renewable energy for the country but also to help provide long-term jobs and to help create economic opportunity.  By beginning this in South Africa, they will set an example for the rest of the continent eventually leading to all of Africa to be a greener continent.

Many people will benefit from this new energy project.  The people of Africa will be able to use these energy sources to fuel the electricity in their homes, which will run stoves, lights, internet, etc.  Therefore, it will help feed the people, and even help educate them.  With the help of the internet, they will have easier access to many resources they did not necessarily have before, thus eventually rising the percentage of literate people in the continent.  Once this percentage rises, they will soon be able to get jobs, which will help better provide for their families.  Once they have earned long-term jobs, this will eventually lead to lowering the percentage of people living below the line of poverty.

This new energy source that is being formed in Africa will not only benefit the Africans, but it will also benefit the people who have invested their money in to it.  Although two hundred sixty million dollars seems like a lot to invest, they will probably make a much larger profit. Once the Jasper Power Project has begun, it will eventually spread across Africa and then in to different countries causing Google to profit more and more.

Entrepreneurs are very important to economy.  Without new ideas, our economy would not grow.  Innovations, such as creating power projects to help create and conserve energy promote growth in many ways.  They solve many problems we are currently facing such as unemployment and education. If many of the things that were invented scores ago would have never been created, where would we be today?  I’m not exactly sure, and I’m not certain I would like to find out!