Mountain View barber weaves stories Mountain View barber weaves stories (September 24, 2004)

Man overcomes illiteracy, publishes a book

By Julie O'Shea

All his life, Anthony "Doc" Hamilton was told that he wouldn't amount to much and that he wouldn't be able to function like a normal human being.

For a long time, Hamilton believed this. After all, he couldn't write his name. He couldn't read his history textbook, let alone the menu at a fast food restaurant. He could barely even speak in coherent sentences.

"Education wasn't the soup of the day. It's all about survival where I came from," said Hamilton, 43, who grew up in the public housing projects of Dallas and is now a popular Mountain View barber. "I like to tell people I came from the gutter to get here."

Earlier this year, Hamilton did what 17 years ago would have been impossible -- he became a published author. His book, a collection of short stories entitled "Shattered Lives," has made him something of a celebrity on the Peninsula. Hamilton has been featured on television and radio talk shows, and he is a regular motivational speaker at area schools and jails.

His book, published by His Image Publishing in Fremont, has sold nearly 2,000 copies, and he plans to release another short story collection and an autobiography later next year.

The road to literacy, however, wasn't a smooth ride for Hamilton.

Growing up, he was taunted and teased and called "stupid."

He received little support from home. At school, he excelled at sports, if not much else. Yet every year, his teachers would advance him to the next grade, telling him: "We need you tonight, not today in school, but tonight on the football field -- so go take a nap."

Hamilton said he knew something was wrong with his academics. But it wasn't until he was 26 that he stumbled across the word "illiterate" while watching an after-school special. Finally, Hamilton had a word to describe himself with.

"I became sad. Imagine me being 26 years old and being in a world that is moving without me," Hamilton said. "When you don't have words, you walk in the darkness."

Hamilton said he was tired of hiding in the shadows. And so, this father of five, who'd originally come to California to play semi-professional football for San Jose, decided he was going to learn how to read and write on his own, sounding out words, one at a time.

"I saved me. Nobody saved me," Hamilton said. "A lot of people wait for people to rescue them. I rescued myself. ... I taught myself how to read."

Between haircut appointments at the Simply Unique salon on Moffett Boulevard, Hamilton said he didn't want to end up like his deadbeat father; he didn't want to disappoint his children, but most of all, he didn't want to disappoint himself.

"He's passionate about everything he does," said Angela Luke-Bostick, who works at the hair salon and has known Hamilton for more than a decade. "He didn't do a lot of talking in the beginning, but now he talks so much. He makes you feel good about yourself.

"He's had a tough life. ... You just want to cry for him."

Hamilton's eyes sparkle when he tells his story. It's a story he's been weaving for most of his life; it's the story of a father's duty and a son's promise.

On the dedication page of "Shattered Lives," Hamilton wrote: "This book is dedicated to the driving force in my life, my mother.

"I love you 'Mama.' I promised you one day I'd learn how to read, and here's to keeping that promise."

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

Hamilton's book, "Shattered Lives" can be purchased online at www.dahairpoet.com.

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