The Essence of Laziness:

If you want to understand at a deep level the essence of laziness it has to be the animals in India. It is like they are there just waiting for something to happen but nothing happens. Cattle is in a category of laziness of its own and that is because they are considered holy. Thinking of it that might be where “HOLY COW” came from, but I do not know if that is true. They go where they want whenever they want. This bull was under a tree getting some shade; across the road from where it was standing there was another tree with bob-wired fence. A few hours later the bull was under that tree with a mangled mess of fence.
The dogs' main existence is to sleep, to sleep where ever and whenever it wants. 'Oh, the middle of the road looks like a good spot, this pile of rock how nice.' As I was walking the road I saw a dog sleeping like always and I said to the dog. “Dog what are you doing? Do something there is so much in life passing you by.” The dog looks up with a sleepy look in his eyes gives a wage of his tale than lays his head back down and back to sleep.  

The Writer

My story begins with my birth that is much it. That chapter really can't be written because I wasn't paying that much attention the first five years of my life. Going into the second chapter is highlights of my childhood a childhood captivated by daydreaming of acceptance of who I am and who I may become both just a dreams.

One of those many dreams was to become a writer, and when I think back long enough my first influence as a kid growing up was the some what fictional caricature John-Boy Walton from the TV series The Waltons  based on the book Spencer's Mountain by Earl Hamner Jr. fallowing the life of rule Virginia community during the great depression and WWII. I will not go on about that because if you are reading this and if what I am writing interesting that might be your next stop in the internet universe.

As you can't tell I never did much with that dream of being a writer, as you read this you see it is riddled with grammatical errors, miss spelling and just bad grammar. As I write this I hear Truman Capote with girlie voice tell me "you are boring these people". But guess that is because I just watched the movie. Sorry to say I never read one of his books.

During the 90's I did take up poetry for a time. The inspiration was thick in those days note book after note book of poems. When a poem would come to me I would write it down on yellow legal pad and my format was like a song with stanzas and a repeating chorus. The poetry muse was so strong it made it hard to read any thing else because I would see a word or phase and just think about that and out would come a poem with out finishing the book and not knowing if the butler did it.

What lead me to the strong need to write poetry was Alice Walker to me she is the mother of poetry. 

Coke Cola in T-n-T

   Kids let me tell of the days when Coke Cola was sold in glass bottles. It is true Coke was sold in glass bottles and not just Coke all brands of soda was sold in glass bottles. It tasted so different then it does today.

   One time that I had a Coke in a glass bottle was in the country of Trinidad and Tobago in the town of Sangre Grande. (I am often corrected on how to pronounce the name of that town so I look up the correct spelling) I was there with friends we went to the market to get food for that week that we would be staying there. As the other two shopped I went out to look around.
   I walked up the street with people bustling every where for a town like this. Near the middle of town there is the a blue building (that you can see from Google earth) I turned from there up another street where I see people crowed around a porch umbrella two people quickly putting something together and rapping it in paper so fast you can barley see what they where doing. The quick glace that I got it look like a fried egg yoke so I thought I would get two. I said I would like two and the person asks would you like pepper on that and I said sure.

   What I got what is called Doubles a common street food. *It is a sandwich made with two bara (flat fried bread) filled with channa(curried chick peas). Topped with mango, shadon beni, cucumber, coconut, tamarind, and extra pepper sauce (ranging from a dash "slight" to much more), this delicacy is the most popular fast food in Trinidad and Tobago. It is usually eaten for breakfast, and sometimes lunch, but can be a late night snack as well.

So as I went back to sit out side the market and try this new food. I saw something that I have not see in years just glossing it the cooler. A one liter Coke in a glass bottle so I bought one of those it cost 2ttd the currency in Trinidad. I find out later was just under a dollar at that time.

So I got to the market sat on the wall outside in the sun and had my doubles and Coke. It does not get any better than that.

*found on Wikipedia information my vary on personel opinion.  

Diversity

I was just at a IHOP in Takoma Park MD. and it just came to me about how wonderful of moment this is. I entered the restaurant and was greeted with a big smile from the server Vanessa she first sat me at a table but later gave that up to a family with two little kids, but they moved to a booth. But I had a good view of the New Hampshire Ave. and of the dinning area.

Than it came to me how great this moment is, I could have look down on it that I am eating alone. But I looked up and look around the dinning area and saw there was some one from almost every culture in the world was there. To me that is the most beautiful thing every one enjoying their food and conversation and me taking in the moment.

Later Ms Vanessa told me that this was a inspection day and the cooks where trying to get every thing right. I don't know if the was the fact of the enviroment but I would like to think that it was because of the sweet diversity.  

My first date with Kenny Rogers

I think I was about 13 or 14 I had my first date, it was with a girl name Michelle I was told she had a twin but was not sure of that. Meet her through another guy in my neighborhood at that time I lived in Davenport she lived in Bettendorf just up the road from Duck Creek Plaza where the theater was. It was there we saw Kenny Rogers in Six Pack.

This was Kenny Rogers from the 80's not the little beady eye sing you see today.

Not much of not came of that date other than the movie. Just being nostalgic for 80's these day and wanted to add a story behind seeing that movie.   

Aretha Franklin

My first time meeting Ms Franklin was in passing through the green room of the Warner Theater in Washington DC and in passing she asked "are those spring rolls" on the table next to me.

The best interaction with Ms Franklin was rehearsing for the BET Honors that was where I got to meet her more personal level. I told her that I enjoyed her rehearsal she asked me my name I said Thomas. I know if show would have started a conversation I know I would have been a blubbering mess. What sight that would have been a 46 year old man crying like a baby. I can only imagine what effect she had on those entertainers and singers that have fallow in her foot steps.

That was one of my best experiences.  

Goosed by Anita Baker

I was a Production Assistant for the BET Honors and that year Anita Baker was there rehearsing one of her songs that Mary J Blige sang when she was discovered. As I was going to crossing the stage I saw Ms Baker, and thought to myself "This is the only time in my life I will ever meet this woman" so I walked up to Ms Backer and said, "Ms Baker I had a crush on you all through high school and wore out your Rapture tape." And the rest of the week every time she saw me she would laugh, hug me, and goosed me.

BET Honors 2014

I was at the BET soundstage watching Ray Chew and the band rehearsals. Aretha Franklin was working on her rendition of "A Change Is Gonna Come" for the Mandela tribute. It was so moving it just blown me away as it did for Jennifer Hudson sitting near by.
Than Jennifer blown away too got up to go hide with her people so intimidated to meet Ms Franklin. Ray saw her and called her over to meet Ms Aretha from there I don't know what it was like for Jennifer.
When I went up to Ms Franklin to tell her great her rehearsal was, she asked me my name I said Thomas. If she would keep the conversation going I would have been a blubbering mess "Ms Franklin I love you!" how embarissing that would have been. 

His Name is PRINCE

It was a round the summer of 1997 I worked at place called The Mark of the Quad Cities an arena in Moline IL. It was there I almost stepped on PRINCE. He was doing a random concert there as I was working with the set up crew I turned around and almost bumped into the little guy. He had to big balled bodyguards one white on black kind of a matching set. That was my brief encounter with Prince.

At that show there was only two times he was in the building once for sound check where he adjusted  every knob on the sound board as his band plays the same song for nearly an hour. The second time was for the concert. It seem he spent the day running around town with his wife at the time and went to see the movie BATMAN the one he contributed to the sound track.

When he came to do the show that night, there was a few DJ's from two of the locale radio station on stage after every each one of them did their pitch for their station. The first DJ's who was to introduce Prince as you felt the energy of the show was about to start he said "Prince will be on in 15 min."
At that point Prince was ready to go on stage and as that guy said that Prince turned around and went back into his car back stage and sat there for 15 min. The building director was mad after that and possibly had that DJ taken from the building. In the building control room you can here the lighting director say "Well this will give us time to go over the lighting queues, well there are no lighting queues so just listen for my calls."

Other musings inspired by PRINCE: Under my other blogg of poetry called Moment Of Inspriation
SAVE A PRAYER FOR THE BEAUTIFUL ONE
TRIBUTE TO SOUND
TO THE DAWN AND BACK
MELLOW SEASON
SHAKE IT LIKE ITS FAKE

Bad Karma on 495

Friday night around 6:30pm had a accident, thank God no one was hurt.

Now as the incident flashes back many should-of coming to mind.

Wait for traffic to clear?

Take my alternative rout when there is traffic?

Many more like that I don't care to think about. I hope something good comes of this.

How karma come into this?

Some times when we do thing that you shouldn't there is equal result to those actions.

When you are doing thing that are right things are good and some times you are rewarded for this good actions.

Onion picking with Michael Jackson

This post is not chronological but it is my story and this how I will tell it.
It was in Bettendorf Iowa near the banks of the Mississippi river where there are these onion farms. It interested me so one day I went to see what it was about. I leaded to cut the tassels off the onions, but it wasn't that simple, you where bent over all day and it was 45 cents per bushel. I would go there for two or three summers and pick onions until I had $5 than go to the movies.
Now that does not sound like much but remember this was during the 80's and a movie was $2 back then.
To the title that caught your eye to look at this post. Well, before moving to Bettendorf, I had a friend name Benny and he was a Michael Jackson impersonator and one year he came with me to the onion fields. We worked all day for a week and at the end of the week we where the two guys who dumped them in this big wagon that sort them. The thing to know about onions they grown in this rich black dirt and at the end of the day you find dirt in crevasse of the body that would astound you.

Named by the Nurse

I was born June 14, 1968 to no real fain fair … that I know of. The one thing my mom told me that during my birth I went back up in. Don't know if this was some thing I did or what my mother did.
She would demonstrate the event with the Welches Squeezable jelly bottle. She would squeeze it and just as the jelly was about to come out she would stop squeezing the bottle and the jelly would go back inside. Yes I am trying to put my head around that too.

To the real reason of this post still, how I got my named. It is symple really, the nurse named me. The back story is that the head nurse of the doctor who dilvered me had crush on a guy named Thomas John. I don't know if any thing came of the nurse and Thomas John. But to no fault of my own  I am know as Tom Dooley, and yes I know about the song so you don't have to remind me by singing it. But I do wish Carrel King had but that is another story.

Here are some links just so you don't have to ask me about Tom Dooley:
Tom_Dooley_(song) Wikipedia
Tom_Dooley or Dula

I just learned the irony of this is Tom Dooley died in 1868 and I was born 1968.