Early hip-hop group Whodini's best album was ESCAPE. It featured a hot dance track "called The Freaks Come Out at Night" and the cautionary tale about friendship entitled simply "Friends."
Friends
How many of us have them?
Friends
Ones we can depend on
Friends
How many of us have them?
Friends
Before we go any further let's be
Friends
I know a lot of people And I mean a lot. In December I de-friended about 250 people on Facebook but I still have over 1500 friends plus several friendship requests pending. I don't write this to be full of myself. Anybody with half of brain knows it is quality and not quantity when it comes to any type of relationship. That's why I want to talk about a real friend today.
First thing you should know is that I was raised by an extremely proud woman, my mother. Mom had me when she was 16 and learned early on in life that sometimes the only person you can truly count on is yourself. My mother might throw in "and the Lord" to the end of that last statement but I'm going to stick with me.
I saw my mother stand stoically in times of crisis. As a single mother of 3, she faced poverty and sexism and mostly did it on her own. I learned from my mother's example. My sister Michelle did too. We don't do welfare and we don't take charity.
Not long ago I found myself in a very dire situation. Due to a clerical error and red tape, I found myself without any financial means for several weeks. As this was happening, I was diagnosed with a serious illness. It was more than a "when it rains, it pours" situation. Try "when it rains, it floods."
For several days, I sat in my apartment with my dog Riley trying to figure out what to do. My roommate Sprout (not his real name) kept asking me what I was going to do. And I always replied "I don't know but it's going to be all right." Parker would reply, "how do you know?" My answer was always, "It has to be."
My checking account was overdrawn and my rent check bounced.
Sprout : What are you going to do?
Me : I don't know but it's going to be all right.
Sprout : How do you know?
Me : Because it has to be.
Creditors were calling.
Sprout : What are you going to do?
Me : I don't know but it's going to be all right.
Sprout : How do you know?
Me : Because it has to be.
I lost nearly 10 lbs. That doesn't seem like very much but on my small frame it was quite noticeable. Everyday someone would comment on my thin frame.
Sprout : What are you going to do?
Me : I don't know but it's going to be all right.
Sprout : How do you know?
Me : Because it has to be.
One day Sprout came home with a bag of groceries. He knows my pride and stubbornness so rather than just give me the groceries, he simply stated that he had bought too many things and that if I didn't help him eat the groceries they would go bad and that would be terrible, awful, and a waste. I backed down and ate some of the shared food.
Another day Sprout came into the living room where I sat stoned with Riley watching my thousandth hour of television.
Sprout : What are you going to do?
Me : I don't know but it's going to be all right.
Sprout : How do you know?
Me : Because it has to be.
Sprout looked at me and put a stack of cash on the coffee table. "Here's xxx.xx dollars to tied you over. Pay the rent." I was in shock. Dumbfounded by his generosity. It was TONS OF MONEY but I knew it was a sacrifice for him. I was touched that he did it for me.
Three other friends pitched in for me too. Special shout out to LL Cool P and her husband Whiteshaft. And thanks to my best friend Patchy for paying my cell phone bill for two months in a row.
Things are good again (cautious sigh of relief) but I will never forget the love shown to me by my true friends.
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