Life's Prisons....

‘Master Builders’

I come to all of those within life’s struggle with the nth amount of due respect & love for life. As the present recession & recovery phases of our existence play ping-pong & tiddley-winks with our daily lives, I wish to share with you a few thoughts. We have entered an age of opportunities, but if we become too comfortable in one chapter of our book from our life’s journey, our book will not be published to become part of our legacy. The true essence of life’s character is simplistic. Life does not have to create road blocks to deter us on our journey in life, for we have all become ‘master builders’ of our own prisons.

For decades, the impoverished and the disenfranchised in America have fallen prey to the social “Boogey Man.”  There are many forms of imprisonment within the social realms of survival that deter the advancement of man, all of them created and erected by man himself.

First, there are penal facilities, where society’s judgments have placed those who have erred or committed criminal acts, to make their atonement.

Then we have those who are products of their imprisoning environments:  racial, social, economic, industrial and educational.

The oldest prison known to man, however, over which he has no control, is the imprisonment of the mind, whether it is by birth, demented captivity, or social conditioning with the elements of the intellect and environment.

There is not an individual living who does not suffer or is not touched by some form of imprisonment in some aspect or dimension in life.

The key to these prisons is finding comfort within one of the prisons constructed by man long enough to overcome the hurdles and barricades placed before us, so that we may find the true essence in Life which we individually seek.

As in civilizations and cultures through time, the will and spirit to survive, overcome and flourish, become a driving force, making each one of us stand strong, our thoughts and voices reverberating our dreams and our desire to live.  We unite and awaken our knowledge, wisdom, and spirit to overcome the evildoers, the power mongers, the suppressers, and those who would oppress us from proceeding on our life’s journey in peace and harmony.

“If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.”  It is my hope that, with collective wisdom and knowledge, we may bring some modicum of understanding between those who are judged and the rest of society, that we may find answers to the issues which plague us and find a porthole through which to apply those answers.

At the moment, our issues are numerous and grow daily:  justice; politics; overcrowding within our penal system and its violence; senior citizens and their many benefit cuts; education and the struggle for knowledge; police brutality, crime and corruption; poverty; and the negativity which encompasses our lives on a daily basis.  Of course, one of our prime issues is a broken judicial system, which seems to interpret its own laws at will, using a double standard:  one standard for the Haves and the other for the Have-Nots.  As of late, the most heinous crimes in America are being committed by people who have licenses to do so, or who hold elective office, enabling them to carry out their self-serving agendas at will.

Lines, barriers, boundaries, borders, comfort zones & boxes are all self-imposed prisons created by man. The size of the prison we’ve created for our self is representative of the amount of fear we host in our souls & daily existence. If we do not reach through the bars of our prisons, step beyond the walls we’ve erected to whittle down our fears & advance our life with growth, man will continue to be his own worst enemy & become a victim of his own fears & ‘small world’ he has created.

Tear down the walls which protect the issues which deter man’s growth & quality of life. Politicians today have become the ‘foreman’s’ for the construction crews of our social prisons…’If they’re not going to be part of the solution, part of our growth in life’ then they’re going to continue to be a problem…then vote them down, remove them from the equation. As a people, we do not need any assistance from our politicians with the disintegration of our society; we can do badly all by ourselves.  

The walls which protect our many fears must be removed, a brick, a word, a gesture, an action at a time…but they must come down so our fears maybe decreased to a state of ‘caution & wariness’ instead of fear & terror all of the time.

I leave you as I came with a great deal of love & respect,

Lady Gray

Political Pawn Brokers & 'Human Value'.....

I come to all of those within life’s struggle with the nth amount of due respect & love for life itself. At this time I wish to share with you some thoughts I’ve been haunted with the last 3 years. Poverty & the struggle has never been a gift or a blessing at birth to any individual, yet the majority of mankind often exists daily with its presence. Akin to politics & religion which often ‘divides & conquers’ Nations & Countries, this gripper disease divides people who struggle in their daily existence. For many decades, these individuals were seen as ‘minorities’ to minimize their multitude & daily struggle for an existence. I will not refer to those who ‘struggle’ as the ‘minority’ solely labeled by separation of race, due to the fact that the ‘struggle & poverty’ do not discriminate based on color, therefore I will refer to their multitudes as the ‘majority’.

At birth, mankind is given the ability to ‘bob & weave’, grow & develop, to increase its intellect & worth. Today however, where the World is experiencing rebellions, revolutions & wars, it seems that mankind’s priorities are focused on existing with The Wish Book of Living in its shirt pocket. If man has the intellect to spend on the creation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, then he also has the intellect to stamp out hunger, homelessness & diseases. We have the ability to traverse throughout the Universe, to create nuclear & atomic weapons, to isolate cells to create & save lives….yet, we have denied ourselves the ability to create sustainable edible produce & products to end hunger. Perhaps if man would dream of living in unison more than merely existing or dying, the World would see a period of unprecedented growth & peace.

Having lived in the country myself, I acknowledge the fact, that it takes more effort & strength to raise food for the ‘majority’ then it does to pull a trigger or push a button. Growth should be a never ending story for us…I also acknowledge the fact that there are individuals within the ‘minority’ who use ‘hunger & poverty’ as a means to control the ‘majority’, therefore they find it more favorable to limit the ‘sustainable quality’ of living for the majority so that they may maintain their membership in the minority.

During the last Federal Elections I found myself caught in a time warp…the rhetoric by candidates who isolated races & groups of individuals within the ‘majority’, reminded me of the 60’s. Their intent was not to merely get elected, but to ‘divide & conquer’ the citizenry within the ‘majority’. They railed against any issues which pertained to the ‘sustainable quality’ within our daily existence. Personally, they did not succeed in their false portraits of ‘shortcomings’ within the ‘majority’, but they displayed the true colors of their political weaknesses & their inability to be a trailblazer with issues involving the ‘majority’. Thus, their platforms & agendas were focused on the top 2% instead of the 98%. Their vile rhetoric & tactics not only opened up many wounds within the ‘majority’ & caused divisions within the citizenry, but left a chasm within their own political parties. Lacking strength in character to represent the 98%, they threw them under the bus to rub elbows with the 2% in the ‘minority’. Due to their lack of representation for the ‘whole of the people’, we have seen the ‘majority’ strengthen with a swell in its numbers. More times than not, I came to perceive them as ‘pawn brokers’ for isolationism by the ‘minority’ within the 2%.  Often displaying a lack of moral fiber, they attacked many provisions & promises made decades ago, endangering the integrity of our political foundation & the very survival of many within the ‘majority’.

It has taken me 4 yrs to figure out why so many Republicans & those within the ‘minority’ have such disdain for our President & the First Lady. I couldn’t understand what it was about the President & First Family that had me so enamored with their presence in the White House. Then during the Presidential Address this year, it dawned on me….an element that had become extinct during Republican Presidencies…’Human Value’. At first, I thought it was the fact that he wasn’t some ‘DC archaic corner stone’ who shined shoes & played corporate ‘pocket pool’. He came on the scene as a ‘marathon runner’, not electing to run a relay race in the ‘political rope-a-dope maze’. He was the young ‘underdog’ contender in a Nation looking for hope & progressive change. Then they tried another ‘archaic ruse’, the ‘old race card’. That was simply an ‘alibi’ for their ‘pawnshop’ license & silent pacts made within the 2% to retain & maintain their status & quality of life.

‘Human Value’…the Family in the White House made me feel like I was no longer just a statistic, I had worth, I wasn’t just a vote cast, I was an American! They criticized the rhetoric & attacks on the 98% & those programs which were vital to the survival of many within the ‘majority’. We actually have a First Lady that is not only beautiful, but is passionate & compassionate about the welfare & quality of life for all citizens. She’s energetic enough to take on the issues of our personal health & fitness along with the hardships of our military heroes & soldiers. I often feel that much of the political criticism that is tossed her way is out of jealousy, in other words, she has one happy hubby in the WH!! Back to Human Value…

This past Memorial Day as I watched the National Memorial Service, I was forced to ponder the many sacrifices our fellow countrymen have made through the generations & wars. Tens of thousands who lost their lives in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam….I watched old war documentaries & movies, realizing how far we had advanced with technology in our military realms. As they spoke of the casualties within our past wars, I thought, how many more lives could have been saved then, with the technologies of today. How many more civilian lives could have been saved, the length of the wars shortened & the massive territory they encompassed perhaps lessened. So many of us complain about the magnitude of our ‘power & might’, but I couldn’t help feeling with the stats of casualties from other wars, being in 2 wars for 10yrs now, that we would once more see tens of thousands of our fellow Americans buried without those advancements. Drones, a pet project of Bush Jr…expanded by President Obama…their cost is astronomical, but how many more American lives would we lose if we had to replace them with boots on the ground instead? Without them, how many families would have an empty chair at their table & the impact a loss of life would have on children? If a drone can save the lives of our soldiers & minimize civilian deaths, then I agree with a limited use. I also agree with his ‘cautionary’ decisions & actions abroad. I do not believe we should send Americans abroad for ‘false portraits’ again…to tell you the truth, I wish that all people could just lay down their weapons & go home!!

Human Value…what price or value do we place on a ‘human life’? We often base our appraisal on a personal basis of family, friends & individuals within our community that touch our lives. What makes their value more precious & priceless than an individual in the next community, city or state? Is not all life precious? Do we not ALL play a vital role in the total portrait of life? I believe that all life has value, you may have to shake up the piggy bank & look in the bottom for it, but it’s there. Every day across our Nation, we see the ’devalue’ of Human Life…domestic crimes, drive bys, accidental shootings, mass murders & terrorist actions. Many times the victims are young members of our society, taken before their natural time, unable to blossom or shine, unable to complete their role in our lives. I cannot comprehend the mindset of the mass murderer or terrorist who seeks glory through his heinous actions. Society as a whole does not remember his name or the journey that brought him to such a juncture in life…we only see the victims, feel their tragic loss & shed tears for their absence…what have the perps gained or changed by their actions? Not a damned thing!!! Our politicians refuse to hear the voices of the ‘majority’…they refuse to place Human Value in the equation of Gun Control…the bottom line is always corporate gains with the 2^nd Amendment as an alibi.

I think of Human Value every time I hear that an inmate within our penal realms has been released with innocence after years of incarceration. How do you put a price on 20 yrs of life? Time within itself is priceless, once it’s gone, you can never retrieve it. Take 20 yrs from a social icon or billionaire, how the hell do you put a price on that…is it enough to say it was a mistake & just walk away? You already have one broken life; wouldn’t you want to fix a broken justice system also?  We have an infrastructure in this Nation that is crumbling; in dire need of repairs & replacement…lives have been lost as bridges collapse. Are not our lives worth the cost of a bridge? Let the wife or offspring of a politician lose their lives in a bridge collapse & see if he doesn’t add pork to a bill to get that bridge rebuilt & have his name on it!! Our country contributes monetarily to the infrastructure of many countries & nations abroad, as a people, do we deserve any less? Plain damned sad….our politicians are out of touch with those they claim to represent. We’re ‘out of sight, out of mind’ until it’s time to torture us with pleas for campaign donations & media ads again. It’s time for us to put ‘human value’ back into the equation of our daily lives & political realms…we’re not just numbers & statistics, matter taking up space…we ALL play a vital role in the total scope & portrait of life…we ALL have Human Value & worth!

I thank you for your presence & patience as I share my thoughts with you.

Lady Gray

"Sneakers"..

SNEAKERS



All of the theories, analogies, logic and observations in this article are based solely on the mental frame and leg work of Lady Gray.

When will it end, this vicious circle in life that tears up the roots of people and ravages communities all across this nation. The games of life where the players get younger every year, the paper chase, the self-servings agendas of a self anointed few who ravage the communities that either spawned them or they choose to govern? When will the security bars come off from the houses we work so hard for, our children be able to play stick ball and football in the streets again safely, spend Sunday afternoons as bar-be-ques and family gatherings on the yards in our
communities, men and women dressed in their Sunday finest with their children in tow walking to church again? IF, the biggest, little word in the English language,a self induced sentence all of its own making.

I am a staunch believer of “strength in numbers” and “collective wisdom and knowledge.” I often ask those within my alliance and following who are incarcerated, what would happen if men and individuals took all of their negative energy and converted it to positive power?

How many of you have ever seen the old classic, “It’s A Wonderful Life”? In the movie, the star role is played by James Stewart. Although he sees himself as insignificant and somewhat minute in his existence, by the end of the film, his individual character has touched and enriched everyone within his community, in all
reality, he is the most important man in town. As individuals, for every life we touch or enrich, they will in turn touch and enrich a thousand others in their lifetime.

This summer I was speaking with two elderly black women in Detroit, they live near the university. One of the women is a retired government employee, has lived in her home for 40 odd years. Two blocks from her home, when she came to a stop sign, a young male specimen broke out the passenger side of her truck and stole her purse. At the end of her street, a young white male specimen was found hanging in a tree over a drug deal gone bad. But the saddest news of all or information that I received, was when they told me the young “corner puppies” and individuals on the “paper chase” were hanging the sneakers of individuals they had “dusted off” or “powdered” (murdered), in their windows and on their porches to mark their territory.

First of all, I felt sorry for the families who would never have those sneakers sit beside or walk through their doors again. Then I felt sorry for the individuals who had no strength of their own, they felt the only way they could obtain it was to take another life. But most of all, I felt sorry for society in general in the community, the individual who once filled and gave life to those sneakers, would not be “touching” or “enriching” their lives.

This display of character and mentality upset me. I would like to now address this issue of these animalistic rituals and characteristics which is practiced in many communities across our fine nation. I had no clue of this display by male specimens who run the streets and life’s gamut, so I went in search of answers. This was a difficult task, finding answers and knowledge of this bizarre display of male identity. Most of the men within my alliance are from state correctional facilities and can stand on their own two feet, they don’t belong to any organization within or without, they’re independents and choose to exercise their intellect for the good
of the whole tomorrow. The men who are within my alliance that have been connected to an organization, do not practice this display of “thuggism” either, however they do respect and honor the silent codes of other organizations, and could or would not discuss my inquiries into “sneakers”. So I decided to run down some of the puppies within my realm who have come to me for help in the past and wrench the information from their depths (smile). The following information, although not forged in iron, is of fairly consistent knowledge and you may gather from it what you may. That’s both sides of life’s fence.

SNEAKERS: When I think of sneakers, I thing of youth and sports. However, over the years, podiatrists have found themselves recommending the foot apparel of yesterday to the elderly of today, for comfort and support. There is however, another mentality that thrives in this country, and they use “sneakers” to mark their territory as a symbol of fear and terror within their communities for all who reside or pass through their neighborhoods. For those of you who have not seen this display, who have not ventured outside of your safe bumper zones in life, I will now tell you what I know of “sneakers.”

In some cities, communities and neighborhoods, “sneakers” are thrown over telephone and electrical lines as a symbol that the drug shipment has arrived and the dope man is there also with his wares of debilitating vices for you to purchase. “Sneakers” which are hung within windows of houses like prisms to catch the light have two meanings of display as well. The first is the individual within the residence is gang related, he hangs his shoes up as a sign of the “dirt” he has walked through and dealt out on the streets within the games of life he chooses to play and distribute. The second display of “sneakers” are trophy symbols, meaning they belong to the individuals that they have personally “powdered” or “dusted off”, in other words murder. They hang these in a symbolic attempt to distribute their fear and terror into the souls and hearts of their communities and rivals. These “symbols” and “trophies” are used mainly by the organizations known as the “Crips” and the “Bloods” along with several factions and wanna be huggers within their organizations. This is also practiced by some Spanish-American organizations within the U.S. I do not or choose not to have these individuals within my alliance; I do not speak Spanish.

Now that I knew the gist of it, I wanted to try to find some level or plane of comprehension and reasoning behind these actions and rituals…evidently there is no sound logic behind this practice, so I had to indoctrinate my own reasoning and philosophy behind such a display.

Over the last two and a half decades, I have lived within and visited cities and communities throughout the U.S., where different factions of organized crime governed and dwelt. Within these neighborhoods the crime syndicate or faction did not need symbols of their existence or life’s feces droppings to mark their territory. Their names and actions within the neighborhoods carried enough weight and respect. Sad to say, but these are the neighborhoods I chose to live within, they were well protected and those who dwelt within rarely had crimes bestowed upon them, unless they chose to bring them down upon themselves. In other words, the governing self-anointed body did snot prey upon their own. For those of you who have lived within the realms of darkness, I prefer to think of these individuals as “Old Guard” and “Old School.”

However, there is a “new breed”, renegades or rogues who have spawned their own factions off organizations and syndicates of crime long ago. They prey upon society and communities indiscriminately, they have no cause, purpose or reason, they distribute their wares, fear and terror at will and with wild abandon. They have no sense of family values, moral or loyalty, yet they join these “gang factions” in an
attempt to seek out these very elements. But this is where I become confused…when young individuals tell me they joined these “gangs” and organizations for a sense of “belonging”, respect, family, loyalty, and these gangs advertise these attributes…if they don’t display it on the home front, and all of these individuals are
basically joining or being “plugged” in search of the same elements and aspects in life, how do they get it or find it in “the life?”

They don’t. Once again life has chosen to put a mirage in their travels. They become bitter, angry, spiteful and destructive, their animalistic and volatile behavior destroys the very communities that have given them birth. They start out on one block, one street, one neighborhood and when their virus has destroyed their
homestead, they move on to spread their incubated disease, envious of what is left still standing in life.

These fearless individuals who run in “gangs” or “packs” like wolves, mark their territory with the blood, sweat and tears of others, their greed and minds race faster than their legs, and soon they become engulfed by time, darkness and incarceration, if they’re lucky….

These are the puppies and waifs in life, who when they enter the dark halls and corridors of time, they are the first to wait for Mother Nature to provide them with release from their pain and self pity. They wait for it to rain, the rain drops masquerading the flow of their own fear now. They become preyed upon by men seasoned within times incarceration. Harassed, beaten, mentally and physically abused, taken for sexual “toy boys”, the very life they chose to prey upon, swallows them up in the bowels of darkness.

Facing conviction and atonement now alone, their biological families and “extended family” throw them to the dogs, they have nothing left to show for their time on the outside…no money, no material objects, no family, significant other or children. The only mementos of their life beyond the walls, are the scars, tattoos, and nightmares they harbor within their souls, and the hollowed shells of the communities they destroyed.

Two wrongs in life, don’t make a right, two negatives do not create a positive, and every time a pair of “sneakers” are adorned in some neighborhoods window…our youth and tomorrow, the future and hope of society slip within the horizon.

I leave as I came with a great deal of love and respect for life.
Lady Gray/bossladyjmc

Judged Men Alliance

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JudgedMenAllianceForTomorrow/

Americanism-Let Us Dream Again

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Americanism_apple_pie/?yguid=222029573

The Old Man & 'Touchdown'....

The "Old Man" & "Touchdown"

"Touchdown" was a young boy born in Memphis, TN, raised in theScutterfield District. A young boy of 8 or 9 years of age, growing up in the projects and being raised by his grandparents. Like many young boys at this age, he was extremely impressionable, his eyes full of wonder within his dysfunctional environment, an adventurous young boy to say the least. His area of Memphis was like many hoods, impoverished, riddled with crime and street games. Individuals involved in life's struggle, just trying to survive the times.

Growing up with two older Uncles in their late teens involved in "street life", "Touchdown" became enamored at a very young age with the "street games" and "preying" on those weaker within life. He would often listen late at night to the older teens and young males talk of their endeavors within "drugs, pimping, robbing and gang banging". Late in elementary school, he was excelling in sports and had many friends due to his Uncle's position in the neighborhood. He soon followed in his Uncle's shoes and portraits of negativity, turning his small "click" into his crew of "neutral"followers. Not yet "plugged" into a gang, "Touchdown" looked for "youthful" ways to attain money for himself and "crew". They played arcade games, ate pizza and hung out with the older teens and male individuals within their "hood". Often they would make "beer runs" for the older gang members and this seemed like an honor to them. But they all wanted to be like the individuals around them who sported new cars, jewelry, girls, smoked dope and partied.

There was this "Old Man" who lived down the street from the projects who had two dogs. He had a fence around his yard and often left the dogs in the yard to take fresh air. This "Old Man" was a centurion in his neighborhood. He had survived time and was filled with life's knowledge, pain and suffering. He would watch all of the coming and goings on his street. One day the "Old Man's" two dogs got out. "Touchdown" and his "crew" walked by and the "Old Man" asked them if they had seen his dogs? If he found them for him, he would reward them."Touchdown" knew where the dogs had gone.

Everyday the "Old Man"would take the dogs for a walk to the park. "Touchdown" knew this was where the dogs probably were. So he and his friends went to the park in search of the dogs. Sure enough, they found them running and playing in the park. They took the dogs back to the "Old Man". Grateful and true to his word, he rewarded the boys. He gave them enough money to get a pizza and play a couple of arcade games.

It wasn't long before "Touchdown" turned this event in life into a money making game. He and his "crew" would go by the "Old Man's" house and let the dogs out. Then go and hang out with older gang members for a while before walking past the "Old Man's" house once again. They knew there was only one place the dogs would go, to the park, the only place the "Old Man" would take them. They'd come by and the "Old Man" would ask them to find his dogs again. This left the young "crew" with inflated egos, because now they had a money making game too, just like the older gang members in the neighborhood.

At 43, "Touchdown" is now doing a heavy sentence for gang related offenses and organized crime. Being "plugged" into the "GangsterDisciples" in his young teens by his "Uncle", he soon rose through the ranks of the organization. He had his own crew and set. He was also a star athlete. Many within his neighborhood protected "Touchdown" hoping that he would be one of the "lucky" survivors who made it out of their hood. True to their dreams and hopes, "Touchdown" excelled in sports in High School. He became a protected fixture in the neighborhood. He was left out of the harsher side of "gang banging". He became a State All-Around Athlete and attained a Football Scholarship to a University where he played Quarterback. In his sophomore year of College in one game he blew out his knee. His dreams and desires came to an end. He returned to his "hood" and those in his "crew".

All of this time he had been protected, family and individuals within the community were counting on him. Once again "Touchdown" picked up the "street life" within the GD Organization and excelled. After all, in his heart he owed many of those around him who had protected him from the darkest chapters within life.

At age 43, one-third of his life spent behind bars, "Touchdown" is one of a handful from his set that has reached 40. This is only due to the fact that he has been incarcerated within State and Federal Penal Facilities. As he sits now in his cell, buried within time, many of those he shared life with taken by the "games" and "plays" of the streets. He sits back and thinks about that "Old Man". Was he as stupid as they all thought, or was he truly one of life's Angels? He knew everything that went on in his neighborhood, he had nothing better to do, then sit and watch time pass him by. Did he give the young boys money, hoping that they wouldn't follow in the footsteps of others in his neighborhood? Was he hoping as he saw these young boys open his gate and pass by his house, that they would be the future and the real "warriors" in life? Could they possibly by the ones who wouldn't fall into life's traps and pick up the "struggle" where he left off.

The "Old Man" now gone with the passage of time. "Touchdown" sees life through his eyes a little late and the hard way. He lies in his cell and thinks about these younger days in his life. The "Old Man"didn't look so stupid anymore…for "Touchdown's" only desire now, was to take up life where the "Old Man" had left off. Sitting in a small house, in front of a window in his neighborhood, watching the "struggle" and "the life" claiming its victims. Maybe, just maybe, he will be able to finish what the "Old Man" had started and find the new "Warriors" to fight the "struggle" before "life" claims them.

I leave you as I came with a great deal of love and respect for life.
Lady Gray
This article is dedicated to "Touchdown" presently incarcerated in a Federal Penal Facility

The Hidden Faces & Silent Voices Behind Time...Lady Gray

I want to share with you some subjects that are very close to my heart. Issues that many would just as soon ignore until it's left on their doorstep or welcome mat. If not given attention or made a priority, these issues are going to become enormous for us in the future. Much greater than the housing or employment issues we now face.....

 This year has already proven to be turbulent within the elements and realms of ’Mother Nature’. She tests our character, strength and hearts...after surviving the ’storm’ we reap her beauty and are often awed by her power and ’glory’. Yet, there are other storms in life which we fight to survive also...our end reward is only pain, concealed scars, and ’passing time.’

This year to date, has been deadly for youth in America’s cities, where it seems ’gangsters’ have arisen from their resting places to once again leave ’dark chapters’ in the history books. It reminds me of the ’incubated mentality’ that has become a disease within the realms of youth, impoverishment, disenfranchisement and the elite within life’s capstone. The disease which is like a cancer that erodes society and stagnates our growth and development. I’m speaking of the negative and false portraits which so many have been conditioned to embrace as a leg of their journey in life.

That one will not be allowed to advance or grow unless they pay their dues to society first by entering the realms of incarceration, ’America’s Great Cash Cow’. That we too can carry within our own characters, the evil, bitter, violent, abandoned attitude that the realms and dimensions within the media, Hollywood and the government create for us to embrace. The ’nightmares’ and ’darker side’ of life that haunt individuals who have no strength within their own character to live through themselves, so they want to share their ’pain and misery’ with others.

Youth, who embrace ’negative portraits’ due to the quantity of exposure within their daily lives. Everywhere we turn we see images of ’evil’, chaos, mayhem, and disillusioned images of life. The images like the ’mentality’ behind them, have no lesson to be taught, no reason, purpose or answers to overcome the weaknesses or ’short-comings’ within man that they portray. Thus, the individuals who become a part of the painting, carry out actions depicting the mentality, with no cause, reason or purpose behind their actions or movement.

I often become angry with individuals who have fallen prey to the portraits and ’broken’ judicial system which they embraced, and do not have the strength within their character to step up to the plate to reveal the TRUTH. Men and young individuals who have been ’down’ for the ’count’ and do not want others to know of their weaknesses and short-comings. So they often cover-up their own nightmares and pain with ’blankets’ of ’grandeur’ and ’cottoncandy’ portraits. But as I have said many times over through the years...no man is an island.

Individuals who have the mentality that I did my time, so can they...some will prey on others to carry out their self-serving agendas, plans that they’ve whipped up on the inside, to ’conquer’ life this time around on the outside. They’ll tell you, that it was ’a piece of cake’, ’I do my time, nobody does it for me,’’I can do this little bit of time standing on my head,’ ’they’ll never break me, I’m my own man, I have strong will power.’

The youth (juveniles) and first time young adults within the realms of prison life, are the hardest individuals to ’protect’ and the ’easiest’ to prey upon. They learn too often very fast, that the only thing they have control over on the inside is their ’animalistic pride’. They’re often tortured, abused, preyed and played upon, mentally tortured,...this is done through ’isolation’ by not only individuals within the realms of their confinement, but by the judicial process as well. They feel abandoned by their ’biological’ families, significant other, street ’fam’, friends...many times as not the old phrase ’out of sight, out of mind’ applies. They become embedded with bitterness and misery...they think about the individual who told them that this was a ’piece of cake’, too late they see the ’weakass’ individual for his true ’colors’. 

What those men who have been released from time, don’t tell you about, are the ’nightmares’ that visit them. The cold sweats that come to sap them of their sleep. The screams and whimpering that wake them up from time to time in the night. 

The young and old inmates who visit the infirmary, if they’re lucky, because they read their cellies mail...not because the individual was nosy, but because they just wanted to touch life themselves. I’ve heard stories of men during the holidays getting killed for reading someone else’s Christmas card. Of youth and young adults being disabled for life for taking a packet of coffee or a tea bag. Of riots over changing the TV channel...

But the saddest information I’ve ever heard over the last 8 yrs, was from a lifer in a state penitentiary. He tells me of the new ’youth & meat’ in his unit. "All they talk about is pimping, selling drugs, getting high, or someone else’s girl they stole or raped. They don’t have a clue, a thought worth a dime, or respect for themselves. You really have to feel sorry for them. They’re easy to spot." Then he continued to tell me about the new arrivals and the youth filled with abandonment and misery. Who wait for the rain, so that they may open up the flood gate of emotions that they harbor within their souls. Mother Nature disguises their tears with rain, as they shuffle their feet on their way back from the yard or chow hall. They’re easy to spot for us lifers’ and especially for those gaurds on power trips. The men who have been down a while, run or jog to go inside out of the elements, but the "newbies’ they shuffle and drag their feet.

I’ve tried over the years to understand this mentality of destruction that the youth and young adults have today. Destroy before an element or individual gives us a reason, cause or purpose to harbor ill feelings. The displays of disrespect for life...that is something I have the hardest time dealing with. Since personally, I fight every day just to touch life and feel it vibrate from within and without. I’m not speaking about the vibration and gurgling of blood either as it leaves the body prematurely.

I find it a bitter pill to swallow, our present direction in life and the struggle that is placed upon us as individuals. I’ve done many things in my lifetime...met some very intelligent and influential individuals. But I’m finding out that the greatest minds and answers for issues which concern us as a society and a ’whole’ are being silenced within the ’Great American Cash Cow’. Minds of youth and individuals who at one time had great dreams and spirit...now silenced, abandoned and harboring our future in their souls and hearts. Maybe that is why we have seen no movement or greatness the last couple of decades. Those whom had answers and great aspirations to move life in positive directions, were deviated from a righteous pursuit. By individuals who prey on ’negativity’, ’weaknesses, blindness and that time within life when individuals become ’Knotheads’.

There are so many youth today who look to the future and see a ’black hole’ or abyss. Yet they hold the ’future’ and the ’world’ in their hands. However they are told that they only hold ’one’ corner, ’one’ block, and one position within life...they believe in the portraits that have been painted for them by those who capitalize off from their blindness and ’Knothead’ attitude. 

I’m disappointed with society as a ’whole’ when it comes to the ’growth and development’ of our youth. It seems today that they go from being children, directly to being adults, life’s little soldiers and ’clones’. I believe that is due to the fact, that most adults today are miserable and we all know that misery loves company. We are also envious of what they possess, since we lost it, we’re not going to let them have it either...

 How they only see beauty, happiness,...their creativity, recklessness...their abundant supply of love, faith and trust in the ’WHOLE’ of life. Where we see ’mud’ after a storm and walk around it, they kick off their shoes, roll up their sleeves, and make ’mud pies’. When we see a new batch of ’baby ducks’, we see them in our minds as full fledged ducklings, leaving their little droppings all over for us to step in. The youth will come every day to see the baby ducks on parade, waiting for them to get their wings to take their first flight.

Take a child into a children’s ward of a hospital once...they see no colors, no pain, no disease or ugliness...they just want to play and find out what’s wrong with their ’new’ little friend. When did we as a society, stop letting children be children, before we asked them to carry our burdens for us??? I hang my own head often in shame....you’re not alone.

What I find so amusing is that most children and young adults today, harbor within their souls, more ’common sense’ and ’strength’ than adults. Perhaps that is because life is still new to them...they see life in its purest form...therefore they’re not going to believe an ’ugly’ portrait immediately...when they discovered the beauty of it first.

I try to let youth and young adults see the false portraits and ’mad artists’ behind them. I want them to know that they have more strength, common sense, creativity, intelligence and room for growth than most adults. I hate to see the ’souls’ of our youth, ’the hurricane lamps’ of hope, dreams and wishes, consumed by the negative portraits painted by ’mad artists’ who are envious of an aspect of character they can’t capture in their paintings any longer.

I hope that our youth and children will be allowed to be children, for just a while longer. That their ’pristine’ views of ’life’ and the ’world’ will not be tainted by ’Knotheads’ and ’Blindmen’ who no longer hold the strength to dream in a pristine and righteous manner. That adults will find the strength within their own struggles to spend time with their children and youth from their community, to capture just a little bit of love, faith and trust again in life...in tomorrow.

I leave you as I came with a great deal of love and respect for life

Lady Gray

CAN YOU SMELL IT ANYMORE?

CAN YOU SMELL IT ANYMORE?

I remember the days of yore when I could smell it…it flared my nostrils, got under my nails, in between my toes and even my steel toed shoes had a bounce to them…it was the unbridled spirit of America. The spirit of America was in the atmosphere, the streets and avenues, the stores, the work place and the home front. Individuals gathered in small diners and cafes before going to work in the morning, to discuss the local scene and gossip, the state and national politics. The banter was aggressively light, humor thrown in and everyone asked you who you were going to vote for. Individuals went out their back doors in the morning to their jobs and careers with a dream that they could see on the horizon, knowing that their position in life was appreciated and they would be rewarded at the end of the week with a paycheck.

But the spirit of America, the smell of living and not just existing, is no longer within the boundaries of our country. You have to take a voyage to distant shores to now smell the spirit of a people, a nation. The commitment and frenzy, the electrodes that pierce each citizen to participate in his rightful freedom to vote and have that vote counted, is only a vision now witnessed by those third world countries who are trying to have the democracy that so many politicians here place in their front yards, with for sale signs on it. The last two years I have not had one individual ask me how I was going to vote, what I thought about the political dissension in both parties, or if I had a favorite politician. Politics has become tabu, like the discussions of religion in this nation. 

My nation, the dimensions of its judiciary and political realms, have fallen prey to portraits which were once painted 250 years ago on distant shores and lands by individuals who had fallen prey to a King’s rule. The very portraits of a life our forefathers not only lived ,but abandoned , whom fought to rid and free themselves of, at great self-sacrifice and suffering, to forge a nation. 

Today in our modern intellect and ideologies, they would not be known as “rebels with a cause”, but as terrorists on self-serving agendas and liberalists with ill-reputed intentions of radicalism and conspiring tyranny. They would have fallen prey to the very judicial and governing bodies which suppressed and enslaved them mentally and physically. They would be immured deep within the man-made walls of our penal systems, abused, tortured and made examples of within the social portraits. Their speech and cause would be silenced by the lethal henchmen and mercenaries of the governing body…for once again our nation has become the epitome of all that we once loathed and feared on distant shores.

Once again our beliefs in a higher power and force are falling under the scrutiny of those who govern and the judicial realms. We are becoming enslaved as productive members of society, merely “share croppers” for those whom are on self-serving agendas. Nothing but a brush stroke in the dark portraits of egotistical empowered journeys within the repetitive history of time.

The Patriot Act, portrayed as a “blanket of comfort and National Security”, is nothing more than a portrait, a canvas covered with man-made paranoia and fear, to suppress the dissension within the citizens of this nation for the direction our country is traveling on. To stifle the very elements within the citizens of this nation that once made it flourish, survive the struggles within life and have worldwide envy for the American dream and our way of life. There was a time on earth when we could point our fingers at other nations and still walk away with dignity and the respect of the world….as an American, one who loves this country very much, it doesn’t feel very good to now have every finger in the world, pointed your way….

With the growing tide of corruption within the government on the Hill, we see a new trendy fashion and fad sweeping America, on all levels of government and within all entities of politics. From down out right bold face lies by top elected administrative and appointed politicians, to our judicial and law enforcement realms. A new craze and fad is sweeping the nation, as citizens rush to gobble up the new psychological “foreplay” on the block.

With large corporate moguls and special interest groups dumping millions of dollars in “wetback” favors and campaigns to sway Washington their way, to the new “power mongers and thugs” within our Federal, State and local political realms, the nation’s roots of morality, ethics and humanity, corrode and dishearten the citizenry of a nation. As law enforcement and intelligent agencies patrol and protect the citizens of a nation, we see an increase in the violation of human right, the U.S. Constitution and the enforcement of laws, through bending and twisting age old policies and ethics.

The citizens of this nation are asked to give up their rights of privacy, morals and ethics for those whom would line their pockets with our sacrifices and sufferings. As those entrenched within the elite social ladder build larger silos to contain their erosive booty, those whom are impoverished and disenfranchised are asked to turn the other cheek and keep plugging the elite social meter.

The moral and ethical conduct portrayed by the nation’s top political figures is having a trickle down effect and conditioning America for a new history book to be written……

“Within the belly of a ship, lies the stench of many journeys. One can not truly enjoy the voyage, unless he is allowed to smell the breeze off the ocean and see the horizon in the light of day.”

“Where Art thou America of mine?”….
I leave as I came, with much love and respect for life….
Lady Gray- Mar. 1st, 2006

'The Awakening'..A New Era..Lady Gray

The Awakening
A New Era

           I come to all of life’s share croppers with the nth amount of due love & respect within the ‘struggle’(impoverishment & disenfranchisement). As the first decade in the 21st century has come to a close, I would like to share with you some thoughts on the departure of the last decade & the beginning of the present era.
           I’ve always felt that life has a way of taking care of itself…in the last decade Americans have once again been reminded, that we are not indispensable, untouchable or infallible within the total scope of life & all that it embraces. It seems when individuals get too big for their pants, life reminds us of our mind set & obesity.  It gives us lessons in sorrow, humility, integrity, self-worth in character, elemental needs of survival & a glimpse into the darker side of man himself. When life’s cistern becomes overwhelmed & needs to be relieved of its darkness…this is achieved by the ‘awakening’ of man himself so that light maybe shed upon the refuse he has created.
The past 10 yrs we’ve seen death & destruction within our shores. We’ve seen man & Mother Nature deal us lethal blows…our young Nation has wept, mourned & learned to embrace fear. The safe comfort zones that millions of Americans created for themselves saw an implosion within their infrastructure. The attack on the World Trade Center & Pentagon, two wars abroad in Afghanistan & Iraq, hurricanes Katrina & Rita, numerous tornados & floods, the collapse of our housing, industry & banking realms…the strain on our education, health care & social service sectors. Yes, life’s albatross visited America & left us with a crude & rude ‘awakening’. It has left Americans in what is known as ‘survival’ mode in the base of life’s pyramid.
As individuals in modern man’s pyramid & social structure we are all born as statistics…just another number in the population of the world. Yet, we have been reminded what a vital role we play in the total scope of life. So goes America, so goes the World. There is no corridor in the world that America has not graced its presence with. There is not a citizen in this country that has not been touched by the present disposition of our nation.
As individuals we are each a link in the chain of life. A vital link that can either strengthen or weaken the chain at any given place either partially or totally. When links in mass numbers are weakened the total chain loses its strength to only corrode & eventually snap in more than one realm & dimension. We look to the strongest links to fuse the chain of life again so its implementation may once again be vital in the mechanization of life’s total scope & portrait.
However, the strongest links have also fallen deeper into the chasms of their own weaknesses. As the Nation looks to politicians & corporations for reconstruction & reformation, they become disillusioned with an ‘American Dream’ that was authored & created by individuals in these very realms. Politicians who paint false portraits & use pretty little words on the campaign trail only to break promises once they reach our State & Federal Capitals, they suffer from bouts of self-imposed amnesia. Politicians who are so busy feasting at the banquets of corporations & lobbyists that their own obesity is becoming their own personal WMD. They have no time or desire to find new alloys to strengthen the weak links to make life’s chain once again complete & vital.
I have a word of caution for those who are so busy playing life’s ‘elite chess game’ that they fail to recognize the ‘weak links’ in life’s chain. I have always been a staunch believer in strength in numbers, along with collective knowledge & wisdom. As we have seen abroad since the beginning of this year, the isolated weak links within the chain have had their reason & purpose once again revealed to them. As the weak links pile up, they form a new chain steeled with resolve to take up the very mechanizations that the strong links have abused and abandoned.
To understand the survival mode of the elite, I went in search of past mental frame work that is applied today in various manners & means. A great deal of the wealth today is second & third generation inheritance, thus they cling to the achievements of their parent’s sacrifices & journey. Viewing their inherited wealth as a gift & individual property that they’re not accountable to in society through taxation, their role in the human race is left devoid of participation. They ride on the coat tails of those who had the strength to travel on life’s journey & leave something standing for tomorrow. They become bloated in materialism & self-gratification.
Within the base of life’s pyramid the majority have become complacent with government dependency & entitlements for their survival. Instead of combating their issues & weaknesses, they become comfortable as ‘mental pawns’ for those who have the courage to author the direction they would like to see life take. As individuals within impoverishment & disenfranchisement we have had our strength within  our character, ingenuity & will suppressed to see life become stagnate & unproductive.
We can not rely on one individual whether he is a CEO or President to motivate or revive the American Dream & a way of life for the whole of the citizenry. We can no longer afford to be complacent with the rulings & agendas of those who only see statistics & not the total value of man himself. Once again, the citizenry must become a reliable, driving force for the direction they wish the country to travel in. We must not allow our journeys to be mapped out for us or the scenery of our course in life chosen for us. We must once again enforce individually our inalienable rights of equality & prosperity. We must once again find the strength to create our own portrait of the American Dream & our interpretation of the quality of life we should be able to enjoy.
The strength of our Nation was founded on the spirit, will & dreams of its common citizenry. On the commitments & sacrifices of common men with dreams & few resources to achieve them. Numerous small dreamers who collectively fought the tyranny within our shores from a ruler and forces abroad so that the true essence of freedom & a democracy would be an option that we could embrace freely. Common men, who focused on the quality of life they wanted their children to be able to experience.
Without risks & sacrifices there is no room for growth. Without self motivation & effort it isn’t possible to leave anything standing for tomorrow or a legacy behind. We must learn to crawl again before we walk and walk before we run a race to the finish line. The chains which presently sap our strength from their burdensome weight must be used for scrap metal to fuel our small dreams so that we may once again live instead of merely exist. We must take responsibility for those chains & realize that nobody can remove them for us, for others don’t always hold the key to the padlock.
We must once again realize that our life is not measured by what we don’t have at the beginning of the day, but what we have to show for the day & our existence when the sun sets. A little progress at the end of the day for our efforts is better than nothing at the beginning of the next day. Whether it comes from mowing a yard for several dollars or helping out another human being in distress, we must not allow life to best man. As individuals we are in control of our destiny…we are the only species on earth with the ability to bob and weave, to adapt & adopt, to build & destroy.
Once again we must reconstruct the journey of America and the Dream we wish to follow. Rebuild America and our lives from the ground up. This process does not have to be done as a solo flight, but can be done with more than one participant who also desires to move life once again in a positive direction. Other recessions & depressions have not seen the present longevity of its existence due to the ingenuity & collective efforts of our citizenry. Two or three individuals pooling their knowledge & resources to start a small business or provide a service to their community. Many individuals received severance packages when corporations were down sizing, yet they fail to invest in their own character or tomorrow. There was a time in this Nation when bartering & co-ops were the foundation for advancement. We need to resurrect some of the knowledge & wisdom of yesterday & apply it to the advancement of man today.
I personally miss the spirit & will of Americans, when we not only touched the lives of our neighbors, but the world at large. When the world envied us as individuals & our way of life. When we were the leader of the pack within wealth, education, industry & technology…now we have all we can do to run our leg in a relay race. I would give anything if Americans would tear down the walls of the prisons they’ve created for themselves & have faith once again in their own capabilities as individual citizens. We must once again as individuals support & encourage the efforts of the common man & small business owner. We need to generate our position for self-employment so that we no longer have to depend on the self anointed few who are on self-serving agendas for our survival. We can no longer embrace false portraits or dreams painted by others if we want to thrive again as individuals. I often ask men, ‘What would happen if men took all of their negative energy & converted it to positive power? How much life could we move then?’ It’s time we abandon negativity & create positive movement on our own. Those who create self-serving agendas, false portraits & negativity will be left with an abundance of nightmares.
The greatest WMD known to negativity is reverse psychology by man & the assault of positivity; it is a death sentence all of its own. In conclusion to these thoughts I share with you…I leave you with one of the greatest examples of human spirit & will power.
This year is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. A war for some which was fought to retain individual rights & for others a war which would emancipate all. I remind you of a time in our country when individuals were enslaved. When they were bought & sold as commodities throughout this nation. When individuals were whipped, beaten, raped, had their children & significant others sold. When they were suppressed & oppressed as individuals to only serve a master & their own reason & purpose in life was denied them by the genteel humans who held their lives in their hands. I leave you with a quote of mine…may you also learn to sing, dream & have faith in yourself & life once again.
‘They sang on the way to the fields, the drying sheds, smoke houses, plantation houses & cabins…they even sang under the lash’.
I leave you as I came with a great deal of love & respect for life itself….
Lady Gray