In years past, we have never been a family that stayed at hotels when visiting family, even when it came to our first few family reunions. You would drop by the house, set your bags on the floor, and it was back out the door to see others who lived in that particular city. Once the visiting was done and it was time to lay one’s head, it was catch as catch can – first come, first served. All who were not lucky enough to find a bed or sofa, grabbed a blanket and caught a snooze on the living room floor. Never a complaint to be heard.
Today’s generation, in my family, has been spoiled by the modern day conveniences of hotels and motels. It shows no more evidently than when we all sit down to Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, when there are out of town guests. Not only is there no place to sleep, but there is also no room to sit at the dining room table, with our big family. Inevitably, one young’un would have to ask the proverbial question “Where am I supposed to sit?” All of the old heads would give him/her the side-eye, awaiting the well-deserved quip from either my mother or one of her sisters: “Sit on your fist and re’r back on your thumb.” Now, first off, “re’r” means “rear”, as in lean. Secondly, it is basically an impossible task to accomplish, and, no – you should not try that. That was of no consequence. It simply means “Just find a corner somewhere and stop worrying me”.
A belt. An ironing cord. The back of one’s hand. A switch. Those are a few of the things things with which we were disciplined. That was in the days before that old “touchy-feely” sh*t came into play. That was in the days when there was no such thing as “calling 911 if your parents put their hands on you” nonsense. And long before the days of the infamous “time out”. Time out? I think that the back of a hand was one of the worst whoopings that one could receive. You probably think that you know what it means to be “b*tch-slapped”, but you have no idea of the meaning of the word unless you’ve been hit upside the head by a parent’s hand. Very humiliating. As humiliating and demeaning as physical beatings can be, when I say that I am all the better for it, I really do mean it. I look back on my graduating class of 200 students, and remember that because of no home-training, about 50 went to the armed services with that being the only job they could get, 50 went to jail and remain there to this day, and 50 are still working as cooks in fast food joints or diners. There, but for the grace of God, go I. The other remaining 50 of us went on to lead productive lives in our respective communities. Upon reflection, there was usually one saving grace. We were always given the chance to weasel out of a beating by heeding the warnings of “If you don’t knock it off, I will cut the blood outta you!” I think that’s pretty much self-explanatory. Peace.
copyright © 2008 freedom
freerealm@gmail.com
Photos from hometown-inn.com and coaches-choice.com, respectively.
No coresponding music today, so, enjoy the sound of “Marimba”, by Paul Hardcastle.
Cant C Me
Posted in music, Old School Flava, poetry, social commentary with tags 2pac, Afeni, All Eyez On Me, blackstarr, Can You Get Away?, Can't C Me, Death Around The Corner, drugs, freedom, genius, Hit Em Up, icons, lyrical sculptist, lyrics, music, poetry, profanity, rap, Shakur, the b word, the n word, the wordsmith's alley, Tupac, videos, violence, word manipulation, wordsmith, Youtube on December 28, 2010 by joelle blackstarrThere probably has not been a more loyal fan of Tupac Shakur than yours truly. First, though, a few “despites” –
despite the fact that I hate the “N” word and the “B” word, and
despite the fact that I am not an advocate of either profanity or violence, and
despite the fact that I am anti-drug abuse, I have always been in awe of Tupac and his musical genius.
Perhaps the one song that makes him stand out from the crowd more than any other song is “Can’t C Me”., from the CD “All Eyez On Me”. The entire song is the epitome of his musical genius, but, let’s forget the entire song – the opening verse is the ultimate in word manipulation and lyrical sculpting. In the event that you aren’t familiar with the song, you can click >HERE< for the lyrics.
Although there are probably many depths to his genius, I believe that his greatest assets were threefold – lyrics, music, and the ability to spit words out as easily as you and I breathe air. He had a peculiar penchant for re-using lyrics from previously recorded songs. Other artists have done this before him, but the way in which he did it and the meaning that his re-used lyrics brought to the songs took on a life of its own.
I cited this song from his collection because it is my favorite rap song ever, but, his repertoire was seemingly endless when it came to great lyrics, music, and spitting. A few that come to mind which, in my humble opinion, that come close to the greatness of “Can’t C Me” are “Hit “Em Up”, “Death Around The Corner” and he even did a few love songs that were worth mentioning, which included “Can You Get Away?”.
There you have it – my short and sweet tribute to Tupac. You owe it to yourself to check out this song . You can find it on Youtube, of course. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it to load here. In the event that you want to save time, here’s a link to the song from Playlist.com: Can’t C Me. Perhaps you’ll be as impressed I have been all these years.
Afeni, wherever you are, thank you. Peace.
copyright 2010 blackstarr
freerealm@gmail.com
Photos from The Huffington Post, and The Judiciary Report.
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