As weak solemn ray hits the wall of sky
Illuminating halcyon pale, March presses it's
drained green eyes, April's way as viral
feverished body relaxes caressed by steeping waters
Oh, it took a month to show what I knew
For all those thirteen years
That Atlanta was an impermissible
Mistress in the soirée of courtship
Yes, it took a month to show what I knew
For all the last six
That anything east, would leave my soul
Unrequited at best, and dissatisfied in the least
But, it never takes a second to soujorn
Renewing my affections for La Jolla's Cove
For it never takes three hours or more
to slope down Pacific Palisades
As Santa Monica Boulevard lies lit
Like holiday garden, the pulse of the street
ricochets Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynn
Drawing energy inward at me, toward Mann's Theater
What was so myopic in Georgia
Is so stimulated by California
A weak solemn silver sliver of sun
Hit my window as I look behind shoulder, west
December drains it's weary red eyes January's way
As I draw my strength from that
Vivid dream of so much energy
seeped in from Sunset's pulse
Oh, it took now, a memory to show me
The east -Atlanta's gray gloom
No longer held its close minded sway
For the west, Cali gives my soul life
And vision for a new day
Friday, March 24, 2017
Saturday, March 4, 2017
"Ham-n-Cheese Eddie" (Teenaged Inspiration)
So many say that God works in mysterious ways. That is how he brought the youth of First Baptist Church of Gadsden, AL, Eddie Nichols. Just out of Jacksonville State University, Eddie was unemployed like so many others right out of school. As luck would have it things were about to change for Eddie. One midsummers afternoon, one the way back from an Atlanta Brave's game, the current youth director mooned another car full of First Baptist youth on Interstate 20. The church board of deacons thought only that moons should only present themselves at night. So he was promptly terminated and Eddie found his "big opening" "stark bare" in front of him to accept the Lord's call.
What started as shooting basketball with church youth morphed into something called JT's (Just For Teens) and Breakaway. By 1996 so many wayward teens had benefited first from "moon man" then Eddie's compassion for Jesus, Pruett's Bar-B-Que and all of us. And we learned so much good and so much mischievous. For all that was good we learned about sharing "the good news" with others while helping the indigent sectors of the community. For all that mischievous we learned how to bring someone close to whisper level, grab their shirt and fart really loud. Or also how to quickly get everyone to leave a dinner table and hide out of site, while some hapless victim left for the restroom, giving the impression we had left them all by themselves.
Eddie was cheap and he was a sandwich guy through and through. He turned the nominal into sport. Whether it was summer bible camp at Ft. Walton Beach, FL. or staying in log cabins with bunk beds akin to dog kennels, in West Virginia during winter, he always looked to book cut rate. My last trip with Eddie was during my sophomore year of college. Instead of going to ski on the powdered slopes of the west, Eddie sent us to the cheaper ice of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. I guess the motivation to learn snow plowing on ice to remedy full body paralysis works better on more dangerous ice. With the log cabin akin to dog kennels to anticipate, Eddie had booked a condo for he and his wife, overlooking the slopes with immaculate carpeting.
A youth named Tony Calvert was an excellent football punter. So good in fact that he earned a scholarship to Troy State University in South Alabama. While at Troy, Tony befriended Antwan. Antwan was country strong and could have made the NFL save for his 5'11 height. Soon, Antwan joined the high jinks of all that we were and became an outstanding preacher. In the winter of my sophomore year of college a bad stomach virus had hit Gadsden. So, it packed it's bags and went with us. As Eddie enjoyed his chalet and we the "dog kennels," the virus made it's way to Antwan. During the third day on the trip, Antwan made his way to Eddie's pad and his breakfast made its way up His esophagus, out his mouth onto the chalet's plush carpet. Doing everything we could to avoid the bug and curse the kennels we laughed heartily at Eddie's misfortune. For we knew he would not mind because the love we had for him and he for us was bonding. And we knew that had it not been for the BARE indiscretions of said "moonie," Eddie would never had made it to our lives. From that time on I called him "Ham-n- Cheese" Eddie. He may not have been fancy in all the worldly things but was so rich in all the things that mattered. Come bare butts, puke and any other shenanigans that came our way, nothing would separate us!
What started as shooting basketball with church youth morphed into something called JT's (Just For Teens) and Breakaway. By 1996 so many wayward teens had benefited first from "moon man" then Eddie's compassion for Jesus, Pruett's Bar-B-Que and all of us. And we learned so much good and so much mischievous. For all that was good we learned about sharing "the good news" with others while helping the indigent sectors of the community. For all that mischievous we learned how to bring someone close to whisper level, grab their shirt and fart really loud. Or also how to quickly get everyone to leave a dinner table and hide out of site, while some hapless victim left for the restroom, giving the impression we had left them all by themselves.
Eddie was cheap and he was a sandwich guy through and through. He turned the nominal into sport. Whether it was summer bible camp at Ft. Walton Beach, FL. or staying in log cabins with bunk beds akin to dog kennels, in West Virginia during winter, he always looked to book cut rate. My last trip with Eddie was during my sophomore year of college. Instead of going to ski on the powdered slopes of the west, Eddie sent us to the cheaper ice of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. I guess the motivation to learn snow plowing on ice to remedy full body paralysis works better on more dangerous ice. With the log cabin akin to dog kennels to anticipate, Eddie had booked a condo for he and his wife, overlooking the slopes with immaculate carpeting.
A youth named Tony Calvert was an excellent football punter. So good in fact that he earned a scholarship to Troy State University in South Alabama. While at Troy, Tony befriended Antwan. Antwan was country strong and could have made the NFL save for his 5'11 height. Soon, Antwan joined the high jinks of all that we were and became an outstanding preacher. In the winter of my sophomore year of college a bad stomach virus had hit Gadsden. So, it packed it's bags and went with us. As Eddie enjoyed his chalet and we the "dog kennels," the virus made it's way to Antwan. During the third day on the trip, Antwan made his way to Eddie's pad and his breakfast made its way up His esophagus, out his mouth onto the chalet's plush carpet. Doing everything we could to avoid the bug and curse the kennels we laughed heartily at Eddie's misfortune. For we knew he would not mind because the love we had for him and he for us was bonding. And we knew that had it not been for the BARE indiscretions of said "moonie," Eddie would never had made it to our lives. From that time on I called him "Ham-n- Cheese" Eddie. He may not have been fancy in all the worldly things but was so rich in all the things that mattered. Come bare butts, puke and any other shenanigans that came our way, nothing would separate us!
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