This picture was taken at my 5th birthday. You can't see it but my cake was a big pink Easterbunny! An easterbunny for the easterbaby! From the looks of things, I have always enjoyed birthdays and 30 years later is no different. And to kick off my 35th birthday blog party, I decided to try a new look for the blog. I hope you like it!
Well Readers, April 11 is a CELEBRATION of the Lord's grace and mercy for 35 years of my life. In commemoration of my birthday, I would like for you to join me in a walk down memory lane of the last 35 years of my life with a few SHOUT OUTS! Over the years, I have had many people come in and out of my life. Now if you are reading this blog, it means you are not OUT but still IN my life. So don't get mad if you don't get a shout out cause obviously you are still important to me. No, this shout out is for those who I will no doubt never see again (and in some cases, that is a good thing.) We all know that people, no matter whether it is good or bad, have left their mark in our lives. From each interaction, there is always an opportunity to learn something. So here's a SHOUT OUT to some folks who in some way whether it be big or small helped make me who I am today. This may be a little long, but hang in there...it is a interesting trip.
Age 4 - Here is to the little boy in my day care who called me a "Bald Headed Kojak". Hey don't laugh. As you can see I was not bald headed - I just didn't have a lot of hair but I was still cute. Anyway, I guess I never got past it cause I am always so self-conscious about my hair (most of the time). Not sure where that kid is today but I hope he's bald! I really hated him for saying that and to make matters worse, he was my escort in our daycare pagent and in the picture that was suppose to be of he and I, somebody cut me off the picture and all you see is this mean name calling kid.
Age 8 - Here is to Ms. Duncan, my second grade teacher. She had red hair and freckles just like me. She used to make us write these sentences when we cut up in class. The sentence was "I like to write sentences." Funny huh? Anyway, I liked her because (1) her boyfriend was our mailman and he used to bring us candy to class every now and then and (2) she taught us these silly songs. But what I remember most is, being in a class with 3rd graders. You see Ms. Duncan had 2nd and 3rd graders in one class. And when she was teaching the 3rd graders, she didn't mind if we second graders listened in. Yeah, I was a nerd at an early age. So I'd like to thank her for kicking my education up a notch.
Age 12 - A big shout out to Mr. Yarborough, my 6th grade teacher, for without his meddling, I would not have known I couldn't see. Yep, he's the one who told my mom I may need my eyes checked. Because while my desk was located in the back of the class, I usually complained about not being able to see the blackboard. He also taught me that Vietnam Vets could be some scary people. On a good day, he may just throw an eraser or a piece of chalk at you. On a bad day, he may just tip your desk over or clear everything off his desk in one swoop of the arm. But no matter how mad he got, his winning point was that he loved recess. So even on a bad day, we had recess.
Age 13 - Here's to "Booky" Harvey. She was one of my best friends in the 7th grade and she just happen to be white. And this was significant because back then I thought those kinds of friendships only happened on tv or in books. Prior to that, I had white aquaintences but never one as close as me and Booky. One of the things I liked about Booky was not only was she a nice person, but she knew more about the opposite sex than I did. So while having a boyfriend was simply out of the question in my house at age 13, I could live my life vicariously through Booky because she had lots of boyfriends.
Age 15 - Here's to David T. My first real crush but this was a one way crush at least most of the time. What I learned from this was never make the first move. It was Christmas and some school club was selling carnations. White for "Friendship", Pink for "I'm interested" and Red for "I love you". Well, I didn't love him but I didn't just wanna be his friend so at the coercion of some friends, I decided to send him a pink one but being shy, I signed it anonymous. Well, he got the carnation and guess what? He gave it to someone else!!! Yeah my feelings were hurt and I vowed to never do anything like that again.
Age 18 - Here's to Corey from DC. He was me and my roommate's, 3rd roomie my freshman year in college. Everyday, he always came by after we got out of class with a 2 liter of soda and some chips to play Nintendo until the wee hours of the morning. He never studied and eventually left the spring semester but for that first semester Corey was our loyal friend. He didn't mind if we studied as long as he had his chips and 2 liter, he'd sit and play video games while we studied. But what I learned from Corey is that I am a good friend and cleaning up puke is not fun! One weekend night Corey came by the suite after having drank some Orange Mad Dog 20/20 (yeah I said Mad Dog, I am talking about college, okay?) Anyway, on Corey's way out, he left me and my suitemates a special gift all down the hall and in the bathroom. Let's just say, when I saw Corey the next day, I told him he better not EVER come back to our suite drunk again!
Age 21 - Here's to my play brother, Tim F. For my 21st birthday, he took me to the club since I was legal. Tim just happen to be one of my favorite people but he fell off the face of the earth after some of his friends abandoned him in Atlanta, GA during Freak-nik. After that, he left school and I nor any of his other friends ever heard from him again. Tim, where ever you are...I pray God's grace and mercy is with you! My fondest memory about Tim was his red chevette that had vinyl seats but he always thought it was "leather". I never had the heart to tell him that those seats weren't leather!
Age 23 - 26 - I have quite a few shout outs during this time. I was at a textile plant in a small town in NC working my first real job:
- Here's to another missing play brother Terrell. (Am I bad luck or something?). Anyway, whenever I here the song "Ain't no stopping us now", I think of Terrell cause that was our theme song. I also pray that God continues to watch and keep you.
- To John H. and Tommy B. Remember I said these shoutouts were from those I probably won't see again...well these two men I hope I never see again. These were my supervisors both sent straight from hell to make my life miserable. But as I said too, every interaction has a lesson. And I learned that I am alot tougher than I thought. So thanks guys for the test cause it gave me a testimony.
- To Johnny E. - A big shout out for being my sounding board and friend when I was dealing with Satan's flunkies. I probably would have not have lasted as long as I did had it not been for Johnny. The two things I learned from Johnny was (1) there were actually people who did not wear shoes in the house because of germs and (2) his favorite saying "You can only trust God and your dog but even the dog will bite ya!"
Age 27 - A rest in peace to Dr. H. Pride. He gave me a place to stay in Charlotte during my co-op with Phillip Morris. He didn't know me from adam's house cat but he trusted his granddaughter and took a chance. And all I had to do was buy my food. Not many people today are so trustworthy to open up their homes to strangers.
Age 28 - Here's to Mary S. - My last semester of getting my thesis, I had no more funding and no money and I needed a job. Of course, nobody was looking to hire somebody fulltime for a semester. Nobody that is but Mary at Kelly Services. I am so glad she took a chance on me and gave me the job knowing I would be leaving.
Well between then and now, I pretty much still see most of the people I met along the way. But I am sure in the next 35 years I will meet some more folks who will indirectly affect my life. However, just so nobody's feelings are hurt:
HERE'S A BIG EASTERBABY SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY BLOG READERS! WITHOUT YOU, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED TO BLOG!
"Happy Birthday" by Stevie Wonder (The Easterbaby Remix)
"You know it doesn't make much sense, There ought to be a law against, Anyone who takes offense, At a day in MY celebration,
Cause we all know in our minds, That there ought to be a time, That we can set aside, To show just how much YALL love ME.
And I'm sure you would agree, It couldn't fit more perfectly, Than to have a world party on the day I came to be!
Happy birthday to Me! Happy birthday to Me! Happy birthday! Happy birthday to Me! Happy birthday to Me! Happy birthday!"
