Stereotypes...(Do I fit the description?)

Stereotypes...Some of us accept them for what they are, others try their damndest to disassociate themselves from them. Who really cares? Stereotypes are just things that are a part of one's culture that another uses to generalize them. Again I ask, who really cares?

I'm Black...Obviously

I can sing...Well, I can "sang" there's a difference

I can rhyme...Who doesn't?

I can dance...Oh yeah, don't let the girth fool you

I don't know who my father is...There are things you can't control

I like fried chicken...Am I the only one?

I like red kool aid...Yes, I know red is not a flavor

I am lazy...You try cooking for 150 mofos and see if you wouldn't be

I've been on welfare...The class system affects us all in one way or another

I wake up on CPT...Only on the weekends though

I partake in "herbal conversations"...But I'm not into drugs

I talk to the movie screen...I shoud be able to after they charge me $100.00

I am good at sports...Practice will do that for you

I wear baggy clothes and Timbs...But I own a nice suit collection

I have a baby's mother...She wears my ring also

Whether you allow stereotypes to define you or not is your choice. Live your life...Just make sure you live it right. Nothing else matters.

Truly Yours,

Mitch Hennessy

Ghetto Blues: Summertimes and Sugar Sandwiches

The DJ's threw jams in the park on the block. Rainbow coquitos and skelzie tops. Since the concrete is hot, get a wrench for the hydrant. Get a bucket, it's the next best thing to the pool. The lil' shorties jumpin' double-dutch, the music in the air. Catch-n-kiss, you tried to catch the one that had the curly hair. Freeze tag, put your foot in. We're about to get a game... The piragua man is comin' so you call your mother's name. Either that or Mr. Softee, get a dollar if you could. Just the everyday activities when livin' in the hood. 7:30, be inside before the lights come on. Leave the park, beat the dark, feet leavin' sneaker marks. If the elevators broken, you gotta walk to your floor. Say, "peace out" to your homies before you walk in the door. Wash your hands before dinner, "Don't you go in them pots!" That's what your mother says but all the while, you're all in the pots. Fried Chicken, white rice, a few slices of bread. It might be all we have but please make sure the Kool-Aid is red. Gotta get your homework done to watch your show on the tube. Bedtime, you wash your body then you jump in the bed. Say your prayers before you do it...show you're grateful to God. Close your eyes and dream about the things that bring you relief. Gunshots and sirens are the lullaby that rocks you to sleep. Good Night.

Truly Yours,

Mitch Hennessy

Growth...I'm A Grown Man. Pt. 2: Mental

On the last post I spoke of spiritual growth...I spoke of how God can reveal things to you...How God can reveal to you how the negative things in your life were put there to have a positive effect on you. What's the cliche'? The Lord works in mysterious ways. If you wanna put it like that, fine. Sometimes I think about the fact that I've never met my father...as a child, I used to ask my mother why he was never around...After hearing her answer, I still felt unsatisfied. I didn't understand... As a teenager, I rebelled and I cursed him. I cursed him for not being there to teach me how to fight, how to finesse a honeydip. I still didn't understand... As a man, I learned to forgive him...I forgave him because we all fall short....Mental Growth. I still didn't understand though... Then something happened...I had a child. Something you talk about happenin' but to live thru it is so spiritual. That feeling hasn't wore off...even when my lil' princess drives me up the wall...I look in her eyes and I see the true meaning of what life is...why we are here. How could my father walk away from that? I know now that there are two sides to every story....I wanna know his side...what happened? Regardless, his not being there made me the man that God needed me to be. The father my family needs me to be...I am in no way professin' my own perfection. I am a wretch...but God loves me anyway...And you too.


Truly Yours,
Mitch Hennessy