Hey peoples ...
I saw ice t perform the other night ...
don't think that this gangster rappin' pimp turned actor would have lost a step. he's a beast! old school! great performer! incredible control of the crowd! he pulled up in his owned (that's not a typo) candy apple red bently sports coup w/ his wife coco ... then requested fried chicken ... all dark meat! and of course his management came to request a few bottles! but then ... he gives the promoters/producers of the event a special gift ... a bottle of something special & exclusive ... ORIGINAL GANGSTER XO ... his personal brand of brandy! can u say gangster!
so ... he and the crew are backstage and he decides that he wants to go out solo and watch the opening acts. so, he nonchalantly goes to the back of the room and chills with his bottle in hand. but peep it ... it's a bottle of water because he doesn't drink! such a OG move!
so that was cool ...but the highlight of my weekend was time w/ grandmother and other family members ... I love my grandmother like ... like ... like ... words can't explain. she turned 96 on the Wednesday! (yea, I have great genes!)
In recent months her health has gone downhill. nowadays this firey 4ft 9in boss of a woman doesn't talk much. sometimes that's hard to deal with. but then are other moments when I look into her eyes she smiles back at me. I'm reminded that she's just getting older. she's not in any pain. she's said a lot more than many will ever think of saying. she doesn't have to say a thing now, unless she wants to. i'd like to think that she understands the economy of sharing words, breaths, sounds and thoughts. she's seen a lot. done a lot. she's lived through and survived a lot. she has earned the privilidge to do do those things that she is comfortable doing plus, on a selfish, egotistic note, she doen't remember a lot oh people so ... I'm happy that she recognizes who I am 1/2 the time. the other day ... she told me she was tired ... she also said that she loved me . with that, I know she's ok. and because of that, i'm ok.
she is the oldest. her mother, my great grand mother, (who went by big granny) looked to my lil granny to assist in raising the others ... aunt betsy, uncle donald, frair brown, boy baby and uncle bobby. and now the others are taking care of her since my mother is in nc and my aount is in san jose, CA and a cousin that was adopted has a family of his own in newark, nj but ... he can't come to trenton much due to some doing in his younger years. and even though people are carring for her she'll surprise them with her indepedence sometime. she likes to do things her way sometimes.
she's a strong willed, god fearing woman that married my grandfather when she was young. then some 20+ years after he passed, she remarried at the age of 75 as an example to the younger women in her church not to give up on love! she inspired many during her life time and has taught many people many lessons.
Of the many lessons she modeled for me, there are a few that I'll always remember a little more than others. Things like how there is honor and repsect in working hard ... and that you never have to give up on love. that's a choice that you make and even with that choice, love will never foresake you. love is always there. And most importantly, that believing in thing that are beyond our logic is not only ok, but it healthy and a critical tool for a healthy state of mind and survival. Ok ... this is sounding like a obituary when it's really a happy b-day statement for my lil granny ... I love you.
and that's all I got to say about that!
in fact ... I'm trying to say less so that all I'm gonna say at all!
life is a beautiful thing ... don't take if for granted ...
shine
