His Point of View

J is for Junkie [Full Length] from Greedmont Park on Vimeo.

This video reminds me of so many things… the J’s (Junkies) in my family, Sun Valley Apartments in the 1980′s, the neighborhood I lived in during my college years, the grown men who I have seen “entertaining”(singing, dancing, etc.) dope boys hoping to score their next hit, the mechanic who rebuilt my car’s engine for about $100, that dude who tried to sell me a washer and dryer for $50, the lady who used to go door to door trying to sell used shoes for a couple dollars, the kid I went to high school with that I saw strung out… before we (I) graduated, the fights I witnessed over debts, that time my neighbors ran off someone who broke into my house in the middle of the night, the night I had $15,000 in my hands to “hold” for someone while they went to “take care of some business”, that time a friend of mine sat up all night dressed in black waiting for someone, the stories I was told about Techwood Homes, when the stories were verified by an independent third party years later, the police raid while i was sleeping, the cars, the bikes, the women, the strip clubs, the block parties,the food, the night clubs, the back woods car races for $20,000 a race,  the little shabby pickup truck that used to signal the end for the dealers who foolishly tried to make that sale to a stranger, that time I saw the police pull that guy through his car window in the parking lot of Albertson’s, my professor’s son who used to come to the hood to get his “party supplies”, the (Caucasian) state capital employees who used to come to the hood to score hits, The J who cut my grass for a bottle of white wine, then walked around the neighborhood drunk the rest of the day, the pictures of semi-nude women sent to dudes in jail, the homie who got 9 years (for conspiracy to distribute), the homie who got 25 to life(for a fistfight which happened to be his 3rd strike), the homie who was still on the run last I heard, the homie who was killed, the first time I saw someone whipping the work, the homie who got 2nd-3rd degree burns when the pyrex pot broke while he was cooking, the time the two guys were hiding behind trees at night waiting for someone, the guy in the neighborhood who was up in the tree with a video camera wearing camouflage…LoL, the time I was told to ride in the other car, the time in the restaurant when we didn’t have to pay, the time in the strip club when everybody had a good time, but none of the girls were paid in cash, the decision I made that allows me to have the career I have today, the other stuff that I can’t write on this blog…(and don’t ask about it)

I have never sold or used crack or any form of cocaine, but it has definitely affected my life in many ways.

Watch this video, spread the link… help get some exposure for this young videographer, so that he can bring us more food for thought.

Below are a few lessons I have learned during my journey through life to date… I just thought I’d take a moment to share.

1. Figure out what works, improve on it… Repeat

2. Figure out what doesn’t work and decide to stop doing those things or decide to fix the problem(s)… Repeat.

3. Learn from the mistakes of others…Don’t believe anyone who says that you can’t learn from someone who has never “done it” or has never “been there”.  The smartest people avoid pitfalls by observing others, the not so smart people want to learn everything from personal experience.

4.  Help everybody you can…especially if (continue reading…)

If you know me well, you know that there are a few things that I really enjoy consuming: fine chocolate, fine cheese, good wine, and excellent beer. My birthday was yesterday, and I can say that this entire weekend was dedicated to enjoying all four items listed above. I picked up four 8 oz. cheese slices this week and I have stared on two of them, Drunken Goat and Chimay Grand Cru. (continue reading…)