Dude got his wish.
The other day he was wiping down a brand-new Chevy Terrain. And then he took the plastic off new floor mats and stuck them inside.
The ride wasn't his. Harris details cars downtown at Hendrick Durham Auto Mall.
Nevertheless, he was next to a fresh car. So Harris got his wish. Sort of.
Actually, there was a time when Harris was living the high life made possible by helping other folks mess up their lives by getting high off the crack cocaine he was pushing. But you know how those stories end. Harris' was no different.
See, sin is pleasurable for a season. But it all caught up with Harris when he got popped and was sent to prison. The brother pulled nine years.
Now, that doesn't make Harris a bad guy. He'll even tell you he wasn't a sure-enough hustler. Just young. And stupid.
Well, a preacher named Kelvin Redmond would do prison ministry in Butner, where Harris was incarcerated. And what you have to understand is Harris knew about the Lord before he got locked up. But he had that Jonah spirit and was running from the Lord.
Or trying to.
Harris' lungs were too small to outrun God. Out of breath from this race called life, homeboy decided to get serious about what's in the Bible -- so serious that he was let out of prison long enough to preach his daddy's funeral.
Harris eventually got out of the joint for good.
Now what?
In prison, Harris talked about emerging from the walls of confinement and reaching out to at-risk youth in Durham. But his connection to Pastor Redmond was so strong that he ended up at his church in Raleigh, where these days Harris coaches budding basketball players from Stevens Prep Academy.
Oh, I forgot to tell you: Harris, 40, used to get down on the court. He played for Hillside High School and suited up for some college teams. His pro-hoops dream didn't work out, which is how he got into that nightmare of selling drugs.
Anyway -- and I know gas is high, but Raleigh ain't that far -- you might want to check out a Dec. 19 fundraiser featuring Stevens Prep players against some Hillside alums. The game's at 5 p.m. at the Dream Center of Body of Christ Church, 4501 Spring Forest Road in Raleigh. The highest ticket is just $5, and the money will help Harris do what he needs to do for his players, because he doesn't get paid a dime to do his ministry. There is, fortunately, a squad of supporters who help him help his players.
Rodney Rogers, who hooped at Hillside before making it all the way to the NBA, is expected to be at the game to get honored. He and Harris are childhood friends. Why, Harris will tell you about one day going to a basketball court in Durham and finding a rim gone -- Rogers had dunked so hard that he tore it down!
So, tip your hat to Harris for keeping his word. The man said he'd get out of prison and groom young men, and that's what he's doing.
What? Oh, Harris said he'd groom young men in Durham?
Well, give it some time. Pastor Redmond told me Body of Christ in 2010 will launch an extension of the ministry in Durham, which would bring to pass the words of Darryl Harris, who once was lost but n...
Well, you know.
Reach John McCann at jmccann@heraldsun.com or (919) 419-6601.
