Get Going or Get Out!!

Damn it’s been sometime since I have had the urge to write anything, but as I was laying down trying to get over this cold I had a sudden rush of things that I wanted to write about. I don’t know if it was the drugs that I have inundated myself with over the past few days or what… However, for all the marbles here we go!!

Get Going or Get Out!!
I don’t know what has happened to our younger folks, but I tell you times sure have changed. As a young teenager growing up in the mid 80’s my Mom gave Blackhawk three choices as my impending graduation day approached (Go to school, Get a Job, or go to the Military). For me the choice was simple Blackhawk was taking his black azz to school!! Blackhawk’s mom already knew this, yet still as she had done my older brother she still laid out the choices.

The Monday after Blackhawk graduated from H.S. he found himself working at a warehouse with a bunch of older men driving a forklift and loading pallets with grocery items to be loaded onto a truck. Now you may ask what was so hard about that. Well let me tell you when your 18 years old and full of hormones popping dragging yourself into a hot azz warehouse to work from 3:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Mon - Fri was the last thing that one wanted to do!! Yet Blackhawk did this because Mom dukes had already said I had to pay her rent!! Can you believe it $400 p/week is what she was charging Blackhawk!!! Damn, I thought what the hell is up with this. Here I am going off to college in a few months, graduated from school with fairly good grades, never got into any real trouble, and been working doing some type of job since I was 14!! Yet this woman (note I said Woman, because my MOM would never do such a thing) wants to hit me up for $400 p/week! I can recall that during the time I was livid!! Now grant you Blackhawk was making about twice that much weekly anyway, but it was the principal of the thing.

Nevertheless, Blackhawk anteed up the $$ weekly and suffered all the humiliation from his boys for always being broke. You see Blackhawk wouldn’t tell anyone the amount of $$ that Mom was charging because I felt it wasn’t any of their business. Yet, everybody knew approximately how much $$ Blackhawk was making. So when Blackhawk would always was asking for this or that they would always be like “Damn nicca you always broke”. So many times I would want to yell out that my Moms was doing me an injustice by charging me all that $$ for rent, but yet, I remained silent and just took the insults.

So has Blackhawk suffered in silence my friends who also had jobs for the most part drove around in their new cars, or took their girlfriends on these exciting dates here and there in their new clothes etc… Yet here Blackhawk was driving around in the hand me down car and barely getting ends to meet to take his lady to the movies or out for a nice meal. What had I done to deserve this? What message was Blackhawk’s Mom trying to send him? How could this be?

Flash Forward 23 years…
As I look back on those days and what my Mom did for Blackhawk I can only say THANK YOU!! See she taught me the value of working and paying your bills. She tried to instill in me a sense of priorities and dedication to the home. She never praised me for bringing home a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk etc…For it was what I was suppose to do anyway if I lived in her/our house. As I have grown in this world and been faced with many different challenges in life I did so unnervingly as Blackhawk was prepared to tackle these difficulties the only way he knew how…Head on!! I see many of my friends who were allowed to chill out and whose parents pampered them with gifts and sang their praise when they did little things that was just commonplace in Blackhawk’s home. These same people (not all mind you) grew to expect praises and assistance from others has they made there way in this thing called life! Yet when these praises were no longer there they faltered and failed because they knew not how to deal with life’s little things so how could they possibly deal with the more difficult things such as wife, kids, work, bills, GOD!!!

So I say to the young men and women today “Get Going or Get Out” it may be tough love but it’s the best Love in the end. Someone once told me this quote “The only love that should grow towards separation, is the love between a parent and a child”. At the time I never knew what they meant, but as I have grown up in this world this statement has become much clearer to me with each passing day. I love my children with all my heart and body…My job as a parent is to prepare them for this thing called life. No matter what I do, children will one day leave my home and venture out into this world. I can only hope that I have prepared them the best way I can. Life knows no forgiveness and we live in a society where only the toughest survive. So I say again “Get going or get Out” for if I can’t teach you the easy way, then life will surely teach you the hard way!!

By the way that weekly payment that I was forced to pay my Mom...at the end of the summer when she dropped me off at my college dorm. She laid a envelope in my hands and said here you go son. I got you out of H.S. now it's your turn to become Man in this world." In the envelope was all the $$ I had given her over the summer!! Thanks MOM!!