Some Shit I Will Never Forget!

March 9th, Saturday... Living in America is a challenge! There are so many obstacles  to overcome, it blows the mind! Housing is bad. Making decent money is hard. Jobs are scarce.People are cranky. There is a gun problem....A gang problem. Education is inadequate. People are frustrated! And then there is the biggy... RACISM!!!In the land of freedom (allegedly) racism plays a big role in the demise of the fabric of American society. There is no getting around it. It affects everyone! (Even the ones in denial.)
I will never forget my first encounter with racism. It was a very cold and snowy morning on January 30, 1951. It was approximitly 3 a.m. I was the tender age of 3 seconds old when a white, Jewish doctor smacked me on my ass! (That shit hurt!) My mother did not (could not) defend me. She was too busy complaining about her back hurting. I was dangling upside down, being held by my feet like a captured slave. I was hungry and hurting. I felt like I passed through a tight tunnel... searching for FREEDOM! (Harriett, where were you when I needed you?) Ever since then, it has been down hill for me.
I don't know what other people's walk of life is like, but if it is anything like mine, they are in for a rough time. If only a little compassion could be exercised. If only people could be mindful of the fact that we need each other to make things better... Ahhh... What the hell am I thinking? This is America!

Some Shit I Have To Deal With

March 4th, Monday... I was online, looking at some pictures of John Coltrane. My mind then jumped to the memory of his wife, Alice Coltrane and her album Journey in Satchidananda. From there I thought about Bobby Hutcherson and his piece, "Slow Change" and I pulled up the video and listened to the piece... And then my mind flipped! I was listening to this stuff back in the '60's! What the hell happened to me?
I am obviously going through a brain damaged thing... I used to be on top of what was happening in the (my)  world. I was locked in. I started writing because I had a way with words. I knew how to put them together. I read a lot of material and formulated opinions and my mindset, based on the knowledge I was receiving. Then, something happened... WTF!
Well, I'm back to where I left. Somehow I got reminded of how I used to be and how I used to think. I'm back to acting my age and not my shoe size! It's a funny thing about getting older. "Youth is wasted on the young!" I was pretty cool as a young man and I allowed whatever I had to get away from me. But, in retrospect, I see what happened. Thank GOD I even have the sense (now) to see what happened. It's not just about book learning. Anyone can learn to read... Hell, anyone can go to school and be taught. But obtaining knowledge is like learning how to box. When you are ready to apply what you have learned, you have to combinate your knowledge. It has to work for you so that it can work for others. When you get older, you have to pass it on... You also have to know how!
I'm going "back to the future!"