Two worlds, Two lessons…

It’s an amazing thing getting to see the world through another person’s eyes. On many occasions it’s getting to see things anew through the eyes of a child. When viewing the world through their eyes, amazing vistas open. A long forgotten joy in small things returns. You can look at a big box on the floor and it becomes….A MAGIC CASTLE! Your rug is now …THE OCEAN!  You are now…a PIRATE! Or an OLYMPIC SWIMMER! Yes, sometimes borrowing or visiting these magic lands is the gift that a child can give to you. A vacation from the real world. It’s beautiful.

Yesterday, I was driving an older relative around my home town. As this happened, I thought of many moments from my youth and the fun that I had. These places had different memories for my relative. He’s a happy man, but HIS memories of these same neighborhoods was a bit different. I would recall running after a pretty girl, he would remember running for his life because at the time of HIS youth…he wasn’t allowed here. I remember going to the store and becoming friends with the shopkeepers… he remembered going the long trip home hungry because “We don’t serve you people here!”. As he would tell the stories, there would be a little pain on his face, but the smile would return when he would leave the past and think about where he is and where we are now.

It’s a wonderful thing getting to see things from a child’s eyes AND the eyes of someone with a bit of history behind them. BOTH can teach you. One, teaches the need for the ability to feel joy in the moment and the other teaches the need to never forget the moments that have passed.

I listen to both, and I am a better man because of it.

I’m thinking of starting a podcast next year. I’m tired of being the only human in America without one.

Just saying…

Sometimes silence doesn’t mean an absence of sound. Have you ever been among many people but still felt invisible?

That’s silence my friend. You can either get used to the silence, or you can change the type of people around you. You deserve to be noticed…and heard…and respected. Find people that hear you.

Forget everyone else.

The Trayvon Martin case… we all have skin in this…

I understand this story. I could have been a Trayvon Martin years ago. Many young men of color have and could have been Trayvon. This is one of many young lives lost at the hands of a coward, a bigot, a misinformed member of society. When I heard the other 911 tape that included Trayvon’s cries for help that abruptly ended with the gunshot, I remember a young me in the same situation. I had committed the crime of dating a woman who lived in a neighborhood that I shouldn’t have been in. Apparently those 10 square blocks weren’t part of America. I wish that I was told that beforehand.

I was also followed and held at gunpoint by some bigoted loser. I didn’t scream for help, but I did scream inside. I thought of my lady waiting for me to come back from the store, I thought of how she’d blame herself for my death because she had sent me. I thought of the devastation that my loss would cause my family. I thought of the irony of this situation. I had avoided crime, drugs, gangs and all of the other pitfalls…and I was going to die over Chinese food. Hearing his screams brought back those memories, broke my heart and burned my soul. An INNOCENT CHILD died.

I was able to get out of my situation using charm and humor. 45 seconds after being held at gunpoint, I had the man smiling and laughing. Yeah, tough crowd. But in all seriousness, George Zimmerman is not the only one to blame. We all have a little skin in this game. Why? Look at the images of black men that you see. Are they considered human…as human as YOU are? No. It’s easy to kill someone who is less human than you are. Do you know the damage YOU did to us all Mr Zimmerman?

Think of Trayvon’s plight, then change his name to your child’s name.
As a society we should do that. We should as a group demand better of our police, the media and ourselves. We ALL have skin in this game. We must NEVER forget that…we don’t want to lose any more Trayvons….or Billys….or Susans….or S. Anthonys….or….

It Begins…

Well, this is the beginning of my WordPress journey. Just so you know, I’m online in many other places…and I post weird crap. Guess what? It won’t be any different here.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!  🙂