‘Greyhound First,’ John

18 10 2009

“Wait a minute!…Wait a minute!!, John!,” she said.

“You have to tell them how you got to New York.”

Holley was right and that menat a Greyhound story.

The bus. The dirty dog herself.

You see, I got a real cheap airfare out of Atlanta to New York..but finding a ride to the airport was tougher than I had figured. Most of my friends declined this request.

So, with the car long gone, my only choice was the bus. And what a ride that turned out to be.

Normally, it takes about five hours to get from Panama City to Atlanta via automobile. On the Greyhound, for $35 bucks and change, one can make it in just under 14 hours.

Here folks is where the fun begins.


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Categories : New York

The Dream

18 10 2009

I decided to go to New York during my brief stint as a desk clerk at the Bayside Inn. I needed a challenge.

And boy, did I get one.

Working at the Bayside was easy and as close to a “no-show” Mafia job as it gets. I handled the graveyard shift, which basically meant checking the pimps and prostitutes into their rooms and making coffee.

It was a job well below my education, life-training and previous work experience.

So I left. Saved up the money, bought a one-way plane ticket to the Big Apple and was determined to make it in the big leagues.

Ha!

What I got was another education. A street-wise one. Truth be told, I am lucky to be alive to write about it.

I lived on the streets for a month…with all my worldly belongings stuffed into a Ben Sherman tote bag. It rained almost every day I was there. Nothing like sloshing through the concrete jungle in damp clothes.

Ben's Bag

Ben's Bag

Parks were like an oasis. A chance to rest. My shoulders were sore. My feet hurt and my back ached. But something kept me going.

That something was “the dream”…. America.

But in the Summer of ’09, with the whispers of another Great Depression engulfing the country, “the dream” was  quite elusive.


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Categories : New York

Birthday Reflections

17 10 2009

During tough times you learn to appreciate things that you so often took for granted before. Expressions of love, genuine good-will and sincerity.

My birthday included all those, mostly summed up in two words: Happy Birthday.

The words came from those close and far away. Even Dad telephoned his well wishes.

After dinner, I took a walk around the fantasy town known as Rosemary Beach with a close friend. The cool autumn breeze is beginning to roll in.

My friend said I had many more ‘Happy Birthdays’ ahead of me.

I hope he is right.

There is a time in everyone’s life when you feel as if you are damaged beyond repair. It is uniquely human.

Battling back from that place is tough, hard and, at times, can feel like an impossible task.

This is when your faith is tested. Faith in mankind, faith in yourself and faith in God.

For 37 years, I have struggled with this faith. My anger and frustrations reached a boiling point during the summer in New York City.

Soon, I will tell you about the Summer of ’09 and as a disclaimer, you must know it will be raw, real and uncensored.

Are you ready my loyal readers?


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Categories : Education, Humility

GQ pitch

16 10 2009

This week I wrote a query letter to the Editor-in-Chief at GQ.

If nothing else, this provided some sense of accomplishment. I pitched my story, inserted a cute photo and said a little prayer before dropping the letter in the mail.

The hook is the airport. Like it or not, this is a big deal here….a major undertaking and a shift in the region.

I am reminded of a quote from the great President Theodore Roosevelt: “Conservation means development as much as it does protection.”

Will a fashion magazine be interested in this story?


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Categories : Airport

PFLAG Parents

14 10 2009

Closing in on my birthday.

Good ol’ No. 37.

Opened mail from Wachovia today. The money those bankers spent on postage and paper was more than what’s in my account.

Whhhhhatever.

On the bright side, I had the pleasure of attending a PFLAG meeting tonight. And yes, I sincerely mean pleasure.

I haven’t been around so many supporting women since college when the Kappa Deltas nominated me to be their pledge class sweetheart. I lost that campaign, of course. Seems some of the young ladies took exception to my preference for smokeless tobacco.

But back to the PFLAG meeting. It was a warm and friendly environment. Stories and personal testimonies shared within a circle of understanding and compassion.

No one’s perfect. But all are accepted.

I listened closely to the mothers and grandmothers in the room, wondering about my own mom, who I haven’t spoken to in well over four months.

Truth is, mom was talking to me tonight…right there in that circle.

Interesting how family dynamics change when you get older. Birthdays were once a time of yearning for lavish gifts and lots of money.

This year I’m just hoping for acceptance.


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Categories : Happy People

Don’t tase me bro

13 10 2009

According to my “agenda” here from the Greater Bay Chapter of the Amercian Civil Liberties of Florida, a “Taser Death” discussion was held Monday night at the ol’ barbeque place in Panama City.

Where was the local media?

Where was the Sheriff or, at the very least, someone representing his Office?

Heck, for that matter, where was the ACLU’s own “staffed attorney” from that bustlin’ city that birthed Gideon v. Wainwright?????

Come on people…. get with the program!


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Categories : Tasers

Lost and Found

11 10 2009

In July of 2008 I lost my job.

In August of 2008 I lost my grandfather.

In October of 2008 I lost my mentor.

In March of 2009 I lost my car.

In June of 2009 I lost my way.

Through these losses, I have found humility. And it is humility which I must never lose.


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Categories : Humility

Back to School?

6 10 2009

Okay, no more horror stories from Wally World.

Let’s just say, it’s not a fun experience for me and leave it at that.

Now, back to the career front.

I’m thinking more and more about returning to higher education.

I have been told it’s a great place to hide out when the economy turns sour. And there is this added attraction of learning something new.

A challenge so to speak.

And there are many questions….what course to take?

What license to obtain?

Online or classroom setting?


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Categories : Education

White Knuckle Wally World

5 10 2009

Sunday afternoon at the Beach Wal-Mart is a white knuckle ride.

They should really consider stuffing the greeters’ pockets with Xanax and have them pass them out as you enter.

Getting a buggy only adds to the torture.

Forget waterboarding, let’s just give the terrorists a shopping list and send them into a Super Wal-Mart on a timed drill of American capitalism!


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Categories : Shopping

The Pink Party

4 10 2009

Time to reflect on last night’s “Pink Party” at Splash. Good to see so many people sporting pink in honor of breast cancer awareness.

Very interesting crowd at this emerging Thomas Drive hotspot.

Ran into the President of a local Gay Rights Organization and inquired about his relationship status.

He informed me that he was single and that his “out” was that he had no time for a relationship.

Yes, those things do take time.

But, there is hope for Mikey.

Listen up fellas.

Rule One: You gotta have a job

Rule Two: You gotta have a car.

“I don’t want to have to go pick people up all the time,” he said.

“Make them take the trolley,” I responded.


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Categories : Happy People

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