Tha Shaw Is Alive And Still The Same...

Da Shaw 

Saturday night I was out late, it was a gorgeous night and I happened to take a right turn onto Crenshaw Blvd as I swung around Leimert Park. There were a few lowriders in the park area and white t-shirt clad brothas hanging out.. Not really that many folks but it looked like a cool time.. I kept going and continued on down Crenshaw. Then once I got past MLK Blvd., still remaining on "Tha Shaw" I ran smack dab in the middle of street party wildness!!! Oh my goodness!! My windows were down so I could instantly smell the rubber burning from the pavement.

The traffic was at a stand still as a few feet away there were two cars burning rubber and going round and round and round... People were screaming from parked cars along the side of the Crenshaw strip and other cars were revving up engines.. It was part exciting and part crazy ass shit! I hated for something bad to happen like one of those fellas losing control of their car and then running over people or hitting other cars but this little spectacle has been going on for years and years... I thought it had pretty much stopped but the action was back in full force. I pulled over to the side. It reminded me of days gone by. I noticed folks ranging in age from 18 to 40 something... I guess the word got out that this craziness was going down because at times I would notice some young ladies cruising in their cars wearing nothing but see through lingerie and fellas would empty their cars just to run over and speak with any woman showing skin..

It was a spectacle to see and then an hour later the police came to shut things down... They blasted their sirens and a helicopter came overhead to shine the light down on the crowds of folks and cars... Funny thing though, the party just moved further down Crenshaw to another area where people could park on the side and watch the show... Things got out of hand there too and the police showed up about thirty minutes later to shut it down... Sadly, the night ended with someone racing their fixed up car down Crenshaw headed toward Manchester, losing control and flipping over... I'm not sure if the person was killed but I cant imagine anyone surviving the way that car looked... And Saturday nights craziness left "Tha Shaw" with circled skid marks everywhere and police cars cruising; making their presence known to let folks see that there would be no repeat performance on Sunday night. No matter, I still cruised through the hood and especially through "The Jungle" to take some pictures with my friend KR. Aint much changed over there either.. One guy yelled out to me "take my picture, homie!" It was like a dare. I dont think he expected me to but as soon as he said that, I took the picture! *smile* Snap! I wish I had been closer... He was speechless after I took it... KR and I laughed about it and then we continued on... I would later get this other shot of this guy driving next to us as I demonstrated the coolness of my canon rebel camera to KR. I looked at the picture and thought to myself, Cornrolls and Cadillacs; ain't much changed over the years... Just like Tha Shaw.

Hustle & Flow....

Hustle & Flow 

Love the poster but the movie for me, wasn't all that... I've been reading and hearing the buzz on this film but I came out buzzing in my own way and wishing I had skipped seeing it. I should've stuck to plan *A* and watched the Bernard Hopkins fight, which I heard he lossed... I predicted that one...

Anyway, Hustle and Flow... I saw this disappointing film this past Saturday. It was actually a premiere showing at a really nice movie theatre in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. called the Arclight. I love this spot because you never have to worry about getting a seat. When you get your ticket you pick what seat you'll be in like reserved seating... It's real cool.. The chairs are ultra comfortable.. The food is okay.. They try to be fancy with their stuff but even this theatre on this night disappointed me!! I couldn't believe how they had us go through airport style security just to get into see this film. I guess they were looking at this movie as a "black" movie, which meant they needed to check us all for guns, knives, razor blades, bazookas, tanks, etc etc.. The guard asked me if I had any knives or razor blades and I responded by saying "nah, I came to see the movie. I wasn't planning on cutting anybody tonight.... maybe tomorrow.." And then I smiled... *smile* Some lady standing behind me said out loud "I bet you didn't have this kind of security at the premiere of the wedding crashers!!"

So, I get inside and take my seat. They had these big card like questionaires for everyone to fill out at the end of the movie.. General questions about who we are, ethnicity, age, etc etc and then general questions about what attracted us to come see the movie as well as questions about what we liked about it... I didn't see any section asking what we didn't like about the movie but I guess that's on purpose...

The movie? Hated it... Terrence Howard is cool.. I always enjoy him but I think what killed the movie for me was the white girl and Anthony Anderson.. And then the story itself was predictable to the third power!! I was so disappointed but I figure with this being an MTV movie they just trying to be safe with the casting and by making it a predictable story with gun battle in the club and a feel good ending...*laugh* That was weak... And as much as I do like Terrence, I would've rather seen him in the supporting role that Anthony Anderson played and then have the lead role played by a real...ummm..well... somebody more authentic to the role.. To me, Terrence was just playing the same character he played briefly in Dead Presidents; saying "man" at the end of every sentence.

I was really hoping to walk out of that theatre feeling like I experienced a masterpiece of a story and some incredible acting worthy of all the buzz but instead I felt like I watched something that was a waste of time with corny music... "You know its hard out there for a pimp...." That song was corny! Of course this is all my humble and fabulous opinion... Try to enjoy it if you do choose to see it... *smile*

Safer 2 Watch...

Watch... 

I'm on the sidelines watching some amazing *ish* going on.. (Ish; an infectious term used in place of doo-doo). I mean, drama is in and the unnecessary is addicting. That's why for me it is truly more fun to watch. Stay out of trouble... Keep my arms length distance away from the BS that gets in the way; stuck in all the crevices that keep real true intelligent and appreciative love from blossoming. I keep wanting to ask several people I know "aren't you married???" and "Why you need to be with that one, that one, that one and that too?"

I laughed today when someone said "pretty soon you gonna be like that too!" I could hear T.I.'s song playing in my head when I put some passion in my voice and said "you don't know me!" And, I said it with a slightly southern accent cause it was comical mixed with truth. I love women and if I'm alone, I look all the time. When I'm with a lady I think its disrespectful to look at other women unless I'm cool with that lady on a sisterly friendship kind of way to where she encourages me to look! *smile* But, right now in my life I'm alone and happily single so my eyes can wander like a big puppy in a room full of filet mignon steaks. *smile* Of course I dont like to be obvious and I still like to coat my adoration/lust with a strong layer of respect. Like I said at the top, I like to watch... it's safer...

I was kind of motivated today to blog because of some drama I overheard. A young dude was involved in some ugliness that may or may not resolve with a positive conclusion. I believe he got caught, cheating. He was cursing into the phone and then he'd slam it down. Three seconds later the phone would ring again; another heated conversation would ensue and then more cursing and slamming. This went on for about an hour and eventually there were threats... Hopefully those threats didn't turn into reality because lust, passion, anger and the realization of wrong doing rearing its ugly tentacles can get people killed. And then what? A lot of lives get changed... Someone is no longer around.. Someone's in jail... A child is crying... But oh well... everyone is on different types of motivation now.. Nobody sees the light over yonder, shining on consequence and common sense. That light is dim these days. It's blinking. It's too distant and blurry.. What we see is fascination, curiosity...we imagine how its gonna feel... we sense its gonna be fun because its like we're reclaiming how it felt before.....again... and again because there's just way too many fine asssssss....Hmmm, but what if you got one all to yourself? One that you can spoil and be spoiled by? One you can take time with and memorize all her pleasure zones, be they physical, mental, spiritual or just plain goofy secrets that you discovered on your own? A brotha might be driving along on the freeway and start laughing to himself because he's got this memory going through his mind. He's saying to himself "my lady is too cool because I'll look over at her and she'll be rolling down the window because she's about to fart!" And that would be some *ish* that he would keep to himself but his laughter would be about and represent some very very real love...

More eye candy from one of my favorite artists; Frank Morrison. Love his stuff!! 

This 4th of July seemed like a lot of death going on in the background rather than nonstop celebration and partying. Mind you, the Essence Festival was one big party and Nawlins felt like it had no room for sadness in that city... Life was being celebrated bigtime!! But then we heard the news of Luther Vandross passing away. My friend KR told me that Aretha did a very moving tribute to Luther at the Superdome. She sang a gospel song that held everyone together in prayer and gratitude for having experienced the gift that was Luther's voice... And then as I made my return back home to Cali I learned of an old friend passing the night before. A barber named Larry who cut hair since before I was born over on Washington Blvd. near Arlington Ave. Larry will be missed mostly because of his gentle spirit. He may not have touched millions like Luther did but I can assure you he had folks feeling like a million bucks after they left his barber chair with a fresh cut and the whole experience of being in that shop. I remember Larry dreaming and speaking proudly of returning home to Jackson, Mississippi to live out his retirement years. Sadly, his dream was interrupted by cancer and he fought as long as he was able...
I cruised around town tonight on this 4th of July. I thought about Larry and I thought about my weekend that just passed. I drove through neighborhoods that looked and sounded like Iraq at night when they used to show images of anti aircraft missiles being shot into the air. People seemed to have stocked up on some powerful fireworks. I felt like I was driving through war zones but at the same time, I saw some beautiful colors in the sky. The last part of my drive was near Marina Del Rey where I caught the last bit of a fireworks show over the water. There was a row of cars on the side of the road and a row of cellphone cameras too... A sign of the times... One last explosion left behind clouds of smoke that drifted out to sea... A prayer goes out to Luther, Larry and others that passed away this weekend. Their memories will linger long after the smoke has cleared....
 

The streets keep me sane. Folks pass by and wonder bout me. They decide for themselves how I live my life cause I sit here with less on my mind than what they got. But I smile more than they do. I dont even worry bout collecting money cause they done took pictures of me. Somebody say I look fascinating. Somebody ask how old I is. None of that matters. Just appreciate that you see a man who mean no harm and sit here before you like a living work of art. And if you sit and talk to me, you might finds I got a story that'll have you realizing just how lucky you is. Photo by KR
 

Two Great Ones!

Yasmin & Jamise 

On Saturday morning in Nawlins I had the extreme pleasure of hanging with two awesomely talented ladies... I was blessed for sure.. Yasmin Shiraz is such a beacon of energy and light. She's a fabulous, fabulous, fabulous lady. I look forward to seeing her in action again sometime soon. This was my first time meeting her but I immediately felt as if I were in the presence of a friend. Very wonderful person... Check out her work and I'm sure in no time she'll be writing the blueprint for achieving success!! *smile*

Jamise L. Dames has been like a sister to me from the very beginning. I can't believe how long I've already known her and how the years have whisked by like the brief windstorm I drove through when leaving New Orleans behind in my rearview mirror... lol.. I was reminded how long we've known each other when Jamise shared a cool story about her very blessed husband. I'm proud to see her finally out with a new book and hope that she pushes them out a little faster now... Ha Ha! *smile* Check her out too!

Before I hit the highway headed toward Dallas to catch my flight, I saw this beautiful creature. This whole weekend was filled with beauty but this is mother nature at it's finest! 

Nawlins Trip..

Bicycle Boy with a mind of his own... 

I'm back from yet another very addicting trip to New Orleans. I say addicting because usually when it's time to head back home, I dont want to go. This time was no exception. Of course what added to the fun besides all the walking I did in and around the French Quarter was spending time with great friends, KR from LA and JLD, the author extraordinaire... Whew.. it was a blast of a time! Oh and I cant forget what turned this whole experience up a notch was the fact that the Essence Festival was in town, which meant for your viewing pleasure as a man you'd see about a ratio of 100 women to every one man! *smile* My goodness!

But anyway, Saturday (July 2nd) was especially interesting to me. I went to the convention center with some incredible author friends. *wink* I browsed around. Checked out a lot of artwork that I wanted to take home with me but couldn't. I was recognized a couple times because hey, I'm an author too! *smile* That was pretty cool and very surprising.. I felt blessed... I ran into a great lady who also recognized me by the name of Charaine. That was really cool and definitely one of the highlights of this trip. I digressed for a moment there to mention those blessings but the "interesting" part of this convention experience was watching the seminar on wealth building and hearing the stories by these very successful people about how they made it, how you can make it, how everyone can make, etc etc.. One in particular was a young brotha who started off by painting rocks and various other things to sell on the street as paperweights. He saved his money and most importantly developed a way of thinking that led to him becoming a very successful person at such a young age... Everyone on that stage kept repeating the whole idea of wealth building as oppose to just trying to be rich. It was very inspirational and thought-provoking...

Funny thing, after I said my goodbyes to my author friends and made my way reluctantly out of the convention center, that inspiration from the seminar followed me... I felt really good... My plan was to take this good feeling, jump in my car and hit the road because I needed to get back to Dallas, Texas where I would catch my flight to come back home to Cali. That's when my friend KR called me to see if we could hangout and take pictures in the french quarter. I couldn't miss out on that so I put off leaving for a couple hours.. As always we had a great time and then the funny part happened. I had taken a picture of this young boy who I'd seen spinning the wheel of his bicycle earlier while walking with KR. Then I saw him again as KH was getting some world famous New Orleans style kettle corn... This time the young boy was sitting on his bicycle as a white couple was trying to be cute with him. The man asked the young boy if he wanted to sell his bike. The boy asked how much and the man said "I'll give you ten dollars for it but I cant pay you until the end of the week." The boy shook his head and said, no.

The man said, "how about if I give you five now and then when I get paid I'll give you the rest?"

The boy still shook his head no. Then the man tried to be cute but he came off as silly, corny and stupid. The man told the boy with his hand extended out "I'll give you this kind of five and then owe you the ten for the bike."

The man had his hand out and waited for the boy to slap his hand in that old familiar gesture of giving a person five but that wasn't happening. The boy looked at the man with a smirk on his face, kind of like the one I had on mine. Then the boy said "ten dollars now," waited about five seconds and then rode off. I laughed to myself and thought, maybe that young boy already knows a little something about wealth building. Either that or he's on his way to being a hustler. I watched him ride off and I smiled hoping that he goes in a postive direction and does something great with his life..

New Orleans was fun as was my entire trip that begun with having lunch with my dear sister Carla Barclay in Dallas before I hit the road and headed for my first stop, Natchitoches, Louisiana. I had a time getting a room there because of the holiday and maybe some laziness on the part of the front desk folks but eventually I got a very nice room at the Comfort Inn and I was very pleased with the service there...

I've got about a thousand words to add to this blog based on my whole experience the last four days but for now I'm gonna share some pictures and let those do the talking.. These pictures were taken everywhere I traveled this weekend, which included Texas towns like Terrell, Marshall, Jefferson, Pittsburg, Daingerfield, Mt. Pleasant and Louisiana towns like Shreveport, Natchitoches, Opelousas, Lafayette, Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Clouiterville, and New Orleans... It's amazing all the things you'll see and experience if you simply observe and take in life... I had a great time.

Sitting inside the Beignet Cafe where I typically go to get those delicious thangs made famous in New Orleans. The Cafe Du Monde is across the street but I avoid the crowd and eat where I can enjoy the scenery. This brotha outside was a treat to watch as he whistled and hollered at every woman passing by. He seemed to have that freedom eventhough he was supposed to be inside working. *smile* Da Big Easy... 

Bridge over timeless waters... Below is the Mississippi River as I'm traveling on the I-10 headed back toward Lafayette, Louisiana. 

Row of flags in Jefferson, Texas where they plan a major 4th of July celebration every year. 

Jackson Square in New Orleans. You can feel the spirits in this place. It's beautiful despite the history not being so kind...  

Great store to find the best Texas souveneirs as well as cool stuff like spices and sauces to make foods and snacks taste off the hook! Try the peach salsa and you'll be coming back forever! 

If you got taste buds, you will get hooked on the catfish at this place as well as other local eateries in this part of Texas. This is in Jefferson, Texas. 

Taking a shortcut to Baton Rouge after getting stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on I-10. This is the Sunshine Bridge. Old and beautiful... 

Rearview of the St. Augustine chuch. This place is heaven on earth.. 

Overlooking the St. Augustine cemetery in the backwoods of Natchitoches, Louisiana 

Bourbon St. residential area in New Orleans 

An idea that looked great from the lens. *smile* At a picnic stop outside of Terrell, Texas. 

Chillin in the backwoods of Mt. Pleasant, Texas. 

She Trippin....

Gurl... 

LA Women.... I gotta female friend who will remain nameless that tells me you can never find a good woman in LA. She says that quite often you'll end up with one who's triflin and puts you through unnecessary drama. I try to stay away from generalizations and keep a positive attitude. I just figure I dont get around enough or explore all the avenues to find the right one. Plus, I'm not really looking per se, but in the back of my mind I'm always thinking about how nice it would be to have that special somebody. I definitely wouldn't run from it.

But anyway, on the weekend before last there was a young lady that unfortunately proved my friend's point about triflin women in LA. This young lady has called me often and we speak occasionally whenever we happen to catch each other on the phone. Funny thing, as I was driving down Crenshaw Blvd., I looked over to my left and there she was. This young lady who will also remain nameless was in deep thought or just not wanting to look around to see who might be looking at her. So, rather than blow my horn to get her attention, I called her on her cellphone. She answered.

I said "hey, what's up! This is Anthony!"

"Hey Anthony, how you doing?"

"I'm good, how about you?"

"Fine..."

During this brief exchange I was watching so I clearly knew it was her. Then we pull off as the light turned green. That's when the bizarre part of this moment happened. She'd changed lanes and was now in front of me.

I said "where you headed to? You know I'm driving right behind you?"

I could see as she positioned herself to look into her rearview mirror. Then she responded. "No, that's not me..."

"Say what...That's not you?"

"No, you must be looking at somebody else..."

"You serious?"

"Hey, let me call you right back, I need to put something away..."

She hung up and then I noticed her get in the far right lane to make a turn. As I pulled next to her, she held her left hand up with her fingers spread wide in her attempt to block her face from being seen. Picture me laughing because it ain't that serious!!! *laughing* I was merely calling the girl just to say hello because I noticed her in the car. I called back knowing full well that she would probably let my call ring through to voicemail and my assumption was correct. I left her a message. The first part was me laughing and then the second part was me wishing her a beautiful life.... Her behavior was ridiculous but I wont allow her to taint my belief in the women of LA.... I'm holding tough... *smile* whew... well, trying to..

Eyes...

Eyes 

Life provides direction and purpose. Chances determined by lessons. Love determined by perception. Reflection processed through emotional stimuli. Sometimes we pay attention and sometimes we dont. Windows to the soul kind of blurry. Weariness because of dreams we wish to hurry. Redness colors our eyes like it's dirty. We wipe, we give it solution but nothing works. The best cure is resolution to reality; a good rest never hurts...

Juneteenth

VRII 

Juneteenth weekend fell at the same time as Father's Day this year. That seems like a beautiful time to mix in the two special reasons for celebration. Of course with respect to my situation, I celebrate in memory, which is appropriate considering the reason for Juneteenth is something we should remember and constantly remind ourselves in order to truly appreciate where we came from...

This weekend I didn't do much to celebrate either occasion. I worked and I treated myself to two movies and some junk food. A friend of mine (SG) reminded me of what this weekend was, however I did happen upon a little street celebration in Leimert Park on Saturday that was nice despite overhearing three older black women ask each other "what is Juneteenth?" That kind of blew my mind but then again you sometimes find life in LA so far removed from our cultural identity that it shouldn't have surprised me... Still, I had a good time... There was some beautiful artwork on the sidewalks, the smell of BBQ in the air, people dancing at one end of the street and in a parking lot I could hear the sounds of a live band playing an old Crusaders song. It reminded me of my uncle Richard because I heard a trombone playing similar to the way he likes to play his horn...

But anyway, Father's Day.... Juneteenth.... I remember my father celebrated history all the time. He loved to remember and to discover. He didn't really travel back in time the way I do by searching roots, traveling and connecting with old people and spirits but he did love to travel. Most of the time as I've gotten to know his life in hindsight it appeared that he walked around the past and kept his distance from the deepest of roots. He lived that southern/country life growing up so I imagine he couldn't wait to getaway... He's traveled and seen every country you could imagine and has made the highway journey many of times from Cali to Texas and beyond... I have that same love for the road but I'm not as fascinated by what's on the other side of the ocean as I am with what's beyond Georgia or what more I can find in Texas and Louisiana.. I love traveling the south...

Wherever my father is I pray he's found peace and a beautiful highway to travel upon. He's got new company with respect to our cousin George Rivers Jr. who passed away on May 9th. I wish I had known sooner but was not told until many weeks later. Happy Father's Day to them both.... in memory.....

NYC Weekend

NYC June 05 

New York New York.... Don't imagine me singing the Sinatra tune. I was thinking more about the Dogg Pound's version for a minute there.. I'm back safe and sound with sore ankles and feet from having a blast in New York over the weekend. I attended the BEA convention.. Book festival of America, which for me was really fabulous.. I had a great time and the whole experience ended with the sounds of Coltrane echoing from the streets below. Coltrane? Yeah... this saxophone player standing right near the entrance of the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Broadway was playing that tune, In A Sentimental Mood. Anyone that remembers Love Jones might remember the song playing in the background as Nina and Darius gazed into each others eyes.. I always wanted to indulge in that experience with that song playing but alas, its never happened...lol.. But that's aight! :-)

Anyway, my trip from beginning to end was very eventful and memorable.. In the beginning I actually dreaded the thought of going but I felt I needed this trip with respect to the book stuff and the experience. I left for the airport and the unknown on Thursday morning.. The plane flight was looooooonnnnnggg.. I slept through most of it but I was very comfortable thanks to this lady who gave up her seat so I could stretch out. She was very nice. I hate that I cant remember her name but she told me she was a professor of spirituality and had made many trips to NY to teach others. This trip would be her last for a while because the program was coming to an end. She had all sorts of goodies to eat and offered me plenty if I wanted but I declined. All I wanted to do was sleep so I wouldn't have to count the hours going by.. At the end of the flight she wished me well and wished me plenty of success at the convention. Maybe she blessed me with good luck because I definitely had plenty....

I made it to the hotel after enduring an Indy 500 experience inside a black Lincoln Towncar.. It was night time when I arrived in New York so I could barely see a thing and had no clue where I was except for the various familiar names on street signs... The towncar was new and fresh smelling so that part was enjoyable. The driver sounded as if he were from Jamaica and only spoke occasionally. The traffic made the journey a little longer than it probably would've been but it gave me a chance to look at all the lights as we hit Broadway Blvd at the same time many shows were letting out..New York, I thought to myself and that's when a smile came across my face as I begun to get that travel bug inside of me... It hits me when I'm out there somewhere knowing I'm away from home and I gotta survive and make the best of a potentially beautiful moment so I can come home with a million stories to tell... Then I smiled because I noticed a lot of beautiful NY women in the crowds of people I would see walking... Nice! *smile*

After I made it to the hotel, I unpacked my clothes, put everything away and then went outside to do some walking after I called my mother to let her know I made it safe.. I wanted to get a feel for my surroundings and it didn't take long.. I walked up and down Broadway. It was a little bit noisy but not as much as I'd imagine.. I was comfortable and the lights reminded me of Las Vegas. I noticed all the familiar places like the Goodmorning America window and the big Virgin Music store.. It was fun...

Friday it was time to get to business.. I was a little lazy getting up so I didn't get to the convention until about 10am. After that it was on! I got my badge holder thingy and walked around.. I finally made it to the booth I would be signing at around 11am or so. Met up with a very cool brotha named Dante Feenix who also happens to be the model on the cover of my book, Everybody Got Issues. He was one of the highlights of this trip because he's really cool. I enjoyed myself every minute of talking with him. He worked hard and set things up to the best of his ability. I can only imagine how well he'd do if he had more to work with as far as promotional items but he did his thang plus he had me laughing real good a few times...

Friday I was amazed at how fast folks were coming over to get a book signed.. Those copies of Issues flew off the table and I went through about two boxes.. That meant I needed to hold off so I could have something to sign the next day since there was only one box left of Issues and one box to my surprise the next day of Daughter By Spirit, my first book.. Those would go fast too...

I enjoyed meeting Jonathan Luckett who seems like he'd have every woman in the world eating out of his hands without really trying or without that being his goal. He's got a natural author's spirit about him.. He seems real cool.. I also enjoyed meeting Jimmy Hurd and his wife too.. They both have the same smile as if they were made for each other.. Two very good people and very nice... Laurinda Brown was also very cool to meet... I got a warm hug from Tina McKinney. I got to visit really quickly with my good friend Brandon Massey, the next Stephen King with hopefully as much success to boot! Super great guy with a great new book called Within The Shadows. I also got to see author, Earl Sewell. He was a treat to finally meet in person... Got to see one of my favorite authors and a really cool person, D.V. Bernard(God In The Image Of Woman) And of course my favorite moment came when a beautiful author shouted from a nearby table "dont I know you!?!?!" It was truly a blessing to see Stephanie Johnson (She's Got Issues and Rockin' Robbin) live and in gorgeous color, lookin good in her new hairdo and ummm..well..the rest of her too... Her spirit shines through as she is a cool lady... Another highlight was meeting Candace Cotrell and Mark Anthony from Q'Boro Books... Candace is fabulous and Mark Anthony is an inspiration in how you can still be a super cool brotha and be a business man at the same time...

Friday went by fast and it was great...Saturday was perfect because I used my Grandfather as inspiration. He always got up before the crack of dawn to start his day so I did the same. I figured I could get a ton of stuff done this way and that's what happened... I got to BEA a little after 7am and was ready to get it started.. No one was around until Candace happened by. We talked for a while and then I walked around until I was able to enjoy more signing. The books went fast and I had a couple cool moments. The most special was signing a book for this elderly lady who was enjoying her birthday. She'd read my first book before and loved it. Because of her spirit and kindness I think it drew others to my table so the books went fast and I was done by noon... I had nothing more to sign and had given away a great deal of postcards...I was very happy with everything.. I met author Nane Quartay who had me rolling with laughter long after he told me about his adventures while trying to make his way to the convention. I regret not being able to talk with him longer but I didn't want to get in the way of him and the others that were signing books. Nane is real cool...

The rest of my Saturday was spent touring Harlem and other areas uptown.. Then I took the night tour through downtown... I was wishing I had more time to do the same tour during the day so I could see ground zero a little better.. You could feel the spirit of that loss as we traveled through the area and the tour guide kept saying "if any of you made the pilgrimage to ground zero, us New Yorkers appreciate it..." He repeated that several times and you could feel the pain and sincerity inside of his voice. The tour bus drove by these pictures on the side of the wall of a hospital showing people who hadn't been found yet as a result of the 911 tragedy. That was very sad.. Andrew the tour guide was really great at detailing every experience of NY, pre and post 911... I ended my evening with getting a couple sandwiches from a street vendor.. I didn't know what kind of sandwiches they were but they looked and tasted great! There was an award show that I wanted to attend but I ended up falling asleep and waking up too late to make it... Nevertheless, my experience in the Big Apple was cool... I enjoyed it.... Peace....