Not A Test?

Rivers Queens 

I was sitting at home relaxing and thinking about the weekend gone by. I'm still feeling pretty good about myself and laughing at the whole experience. I sort of wrote it off as a test from above but a good friend of mine said something brilliant like always when telling me what my weekend was really about...

Carla said "It looks like the Lord is not testing you but.....preparing you for your Queen!"

That's pretty cool and then for some reason I drifted and began to think about Queens that have come and gone in my family... There are three major ones that I hear about constantly whenever I'm in Texas, visiting family on my father's side. I never tire of the stories and can't wait to hear more... They take me back to a time that I sometimes believe I may have lived in or maybe these beautiful spirits of the past are always sprinkling that magic dust to remind me of what's in store if you remain a good, strong and decent man... Oh, you can have your fun.. Boys and men will be just that, Boys and men... But, always remember kindness, respect and sincerity... It can take you everywhere especially if what you seek is the same as what you wish to give... Funny thing, when I talk like that? I dont always think it's me talking... That's those queens I speak of... Moriah, Lucy, and Senora Rivers... Collectively they are my great great grandmother, my great grandmother and my grandmother, respectively...

I hear so much about Moriah especially, that I would love to write a novel based on and inspired by her life. I mean, her journey which eventually brought her to east Texas is truly incredible. Some of it is hearsay and probably embellished over the years but even that's some really cool stuff. I've even recently heard tales about how my great great grandfather approached Moriah for that first time. It was some love at first sight kind of stuff. His name was Peter and I guess you could say he picked the perfect lady. A woman of strength and beautiful spirituality. She loved God so much that once she was no longer a slave, she built her very own church. I wish I could turn back the hands of time to that day and watch how it all happened. For now, I just listen and piece it all together. Hearsay or not; I love it all and it makes me proud.

I often hear stories about great grandmother, Lucy. I hear she was a sweet and very kind woman. Then I hear that she wasn't afraid at all to say exactly what was on her mind. She'd let you have it in a minute. I heard she was funny too and would catch you off guard as if her humor just snuck up and bit you... I didn't know her and I dont recall if I ever met her when I was a kid. She had to be a strong woman to put up with the habits of a wandering husband and raise all the children she had, especially those five boys that turned out to be good strong men. Her favorite son was my grandfather so I'm kind of proud of that. I think she'd be proud of how I've grown up too..

And then there was my grandmother, Senora Mae Rivers. She was a strong, proud woman who definitely didn't take no mess from nobody. She was so protective of her tall cowboy named Virgil Rivers; my grandfather. She was the brains, the beauty, the school teacher, the volunteer, the church secretary, the farmers wife, milking some cows, cooking some incredible "suppers," making her own butter, specializing in pear preserves and being proud of me from day one. All my grandfather did was just love her and admire her like crazy. I can still hear his voice whenever he called her name and I have a feeling when they reunited in heaven, the bells rang for days as one true example of soulmates found each other again. Grandma stuck around for a longtime without my grandfather and I could tell that she constantly missed him. I reminded her of him. I carry myself the same way but more so than that, I'm glad to know that she's up there with the real deal now, smiling at me on some days and shaking her head on others... The journey continues..