Saturday, March 7, 2009
I've Been Waiting For You
ART: "Divine Order" By WakThe Alley directly behind Josie's Bar was the cleanest alley of that type in Philadelphia. Gus had his employees hose down the alley and sweep it regularly.
They hosed down the trash cans and stacked them in nice neat rows on top of each other. When you walked down this back alley..there was no foul smells of garbage or urine or feces...It was clean and smelled , well as good as that type of thing could smell.
It had been about a month since Cherry vanished and since I had come back from Puerto Rico. I was lonely..Chris had decided to "extend his vacation" in the island paradise of Blue Beach and stay off of Philadelphia's streets, which he used to rule. Although I sent money to Rell and my son...I didn't bother to visit them. She called me a few times , but I didn't answer her calls. I knew that once she realized that I didn't have a woman, all of this great sex would end...so rather than be hurt again by her game playing..I just decided to cut it off myself.
I spent my days in my gym, working out...lifting weights, running, sparring a little and riding the exercise bike..Sometimes I went swimming. I spent my nights up in my condo, watching Television or sleeping. This particular Friday,
I felt like going out..So I decided to go to Josie's Bar.
I went to Josie's because that was Chris's spot..It was a classy joint and a cross section of people came through...Maybe I'd get a line on where Cherry went.
I was sitting at the bar enjoying my drink and listening to the music when I noticed him!! He was tall, about six ,three, well built..kind of thick and was walking around showing photos to people...I over heard him saying-
"This is my wife...If you see her or know anything about her,Ah wants to know.
I'll pay..I heard she was with some nigga named Chess..I want information on
him too!"
I was going to just ease out of the bar, when I heard someone say to the man...
"Thas Chess, right over there."
Damn!!! I really didn't feel like any drama tonight...really I didn't. The guy, who I knew was Cherry's husband...Ray Johnson walked over to me.
"Nigga is your name Chess?"
"My name is Chess...but it aint nigga...and I really don't think Black people
ought to address each other like that." I said dryly..
"I don't give a merry damn what you think NIGGA...I want to know where
my wife is..." He said.
"This conversation is over" I said and I got up from the bar.
"Don't turn your back on me sucka!!!" he said.
I looked at him, smiled and then said- "Yeah...okay!!!"
Chris would have told me to finese my way out of this situation...Easy for him to say...but he wasn't here right now...When this arrogant peice of woman beating crap put his hand on my shoulder..the next thing he felt was my right hand smashing into his temple and his neck snapping back and him damn near
losing his balance.... I then dug my left hand into his solar plexis and damn near laughed as he let out a grunt that sounded as if he was about to vomit..
He backed up towards the door and I landed another right hand to his jaw that
sent him through the door and out into the streets...By now the entire bar had jumped up and was following us out the door..I would apologize to Gus later.
This was far from a one sided fight... Old boy gave me a whack across the lips and sent me flying...he dug his right into my sides and another left into my cheek and had me feeling pain like I never felt before..He grabbed me with his
massive arms and gave me a head butt that nearly had me unconscious...
I hit him in his stomach with my right and kneed him in his groin..He let out another grunt that sounded as if he'd crapped his pants and then I hit him square in his jaw...He felt backwards into those trash cans and they , to his
horror began to fall over on top of him...after getting cracked in the head with
more than one of them...his night was over...he fell to the ground, unconscious.
The crowd clapped loudly and Gus came running out of the bar with his shotgun.
"Chess , you alright? I saw the whole thing....He started that crap...but I see you
finished it...." said Gus.
"Sorry Gus.." I said with my head down.
"You aint got nothin to be sorry for...but that fella there do." laughed Gus and everyone that was in earshot.
It was just then that a Police car pulled up and a Black Government Sedan pulled up behind it...
" Special Agent in Charge, Frank Cotton, FBI." said the tall Black man getting
out of the Government car...Two white special agents got out behind him and three uniformed Philadelphia Policemen got out of the cop car.
"Well, look what we got here...Tough ass Ray Ray Johnson, done got his clock cleaned...oh man..they gonna love this back in Oakland.." said Cotton.
The two FBI agents and the three Philly cops, helped him up off of the alley floor
and handcuffed him...
"We've been looking for him for a lonng time....He murdered a man back in Oakland..A man he thought his wife was cheating on him with...She fled to a
shelter for battered wives, but he found her...She would have been a witness against him....before we could corrall her, she vanished...but we got two more witnesses that are willing to put this creep at the scene of the crime..We don't need her testimony.. We got him on interstate flight to avoid prosecution for murder in the first degree....Thanks a lot...hahahahahahaha, wait til they hear
you got your ass kicked in Philly Ray-Ray...you'll be a hit in San-Quentin."
laughed Agent Frank Cotton..
They took Ray-Ray to the police car and tucked him in...If Cherry had just stuck around, her problems would have been over. Still I wondered how he tracked her here. Didn't matter..he was off to Cali and a jail cell. Not my problem.
The next night, I drove to Rell's house..I don't know why...It was a Saturday night..She might be on a date.. Guess I was a glutton for punishment. I rang the
doorbell....
She came to the door in a nice tight pair of jeans and a white top that didn't hide the white lacy bra she was wearing...
"Chess??? Where you been?? I been trying to get in contact with you for weeks.
I was worried that something had happened to you." she said.
"I was in Puerto Rico" I said.
"Oh...with your girlfriend right?" she said.
"We are not together anymore. She's gone." I said.
"Really? What happened??" she asked...
"I don't know...she's just gone....Where's the boy?" I asked.
"He's over Mom-Mom's house...You should've called me if you wanted to take him this week..we aint seen you in about a month, so I didn't know." she said.
"It's kool...I guess you got a date tonight huh?? It bein Saturday Night and all."
I said.
Rell folded her arms....
"Is that your way of trying to find out if I'm seeing someone?" she asked.
"Nah...you're right..I got no reason even askin....I just thought I'd come by and
say Hi...just let you know I was alright." I said.
"It's all good Chess...I was just jokin with you...I'm not seein anybody...truth is, I want to, but I just can't.." she said.
"Well, uh...what if I ....nah, that's okay, forget it..." I said.
'What Chess?"
"Nothin...I'm goin home..." I said.
"You don't have to, you know.." she said.
"Really ?" I said...
"Really.....you know and I know that in a few minutes...you gon have my clothes
off and we gon be either on the floor, up against the wall or in the bedroom bumping uglies..you know that...that's why you come around here."she said.
"Well, I admit...you do look ravishing." I laughed.
"Yeah, uh huh.." she laughed.
"Rell, how come we can't get back together?" I blurted out..I couldn't believe I said that...and now I wished I hadn't...but Rell's eyes lit up...
"I didn't think you'd ever want to Chess...I been thinkin about you and feelin some kind of bad for a long time.." She said..
"I know you prolly wanna take things slow and I'm cool with that..." I added.
"Chess, let's not make things more complicated than they have to be..okay? Let's
get together, for real...in fact...why don't you bring your stuff over here tomorrow and let's really start over again?" she said.
My face lit up....so did hers...
"Really, this aint no trick?? Are you serious ??" I laughed....
"No ,it aint no trick...I'm tired of sittin here alone night after night after night."
she laughed...
"Is it too much to ask if we can still get married ,like we was plannin??" I said.
"Well,let's see how we do living together for awhile." she said.
"That's great...That's great...I'll go home and pack.." I said as I ran to my car..
"Chess, wait..wait.." she said.
"Huh, what?" I said.
"You just gon leave like that and leave me hangin on a Saturday night?" she said, pouting.
I walked over to her and pushed her up against the door and gave her the most sensual kiss I could muster...We stood there in the door for a long while just kissing...
"I didn't think you would...now close this door...and let's go upstairs and run a hot bath and get to know each other again." she said...
I closed the door behind us..She took my hand and led me up the stairs.
"I've been waiting for you so long Chess, you just don't know.." she said...
I had been waiting for her too!
-For Blu Jewell
Friday, March 6, 2009
Blue Beach
The water was so blue and clear, you could literally see all the way to the bottom of it... It was 97
degrees on sunny Isla De Vieques, Puerto Rico nicknamed -"Blue Beach" If you waded in the water you could see the tropical fish swimming near your feet. It wasn't an easy place to find, but once found...I could see why Chris had picked this spot. It was quiet and serene...A man could think here. The weather was great, the beach was clean and beautiful, nothing like Atlantic City back where we lived. Chris and I would get up early in the morning, take a swim in the beautiful ocean...then sit back, smoke a joint..and then drink a Corona and laugh like kids...Suzie,
his girlfriend would invite Cherry and I over to their little villa, where one morning she made us
Vegatable Omelets with hot salsa sauce and Sausage and served us Mimosas... The four of us would then go for a swim and then return to our respective villas.
Cherry and I would spend the rest of the day making love and I'm sure Chris and Suzie were doing the same thing. This was too much of a good thing. Who needed to return to Philly, when you could live like this? No man in his right mind right? After two weeks of this..I wanted to go
back...Really...and for a strange reason..I missed Rell...I often wondered what she was doing, if she was seeing someone else...all kinds of things. Cherry was nice and all, but for some reason..I
knew that my heart wasn't there, not all the way the way it was supposed to be. Yet I knew that Rell would never take me back..I knew that she was essentially using me and that as soon as I was free....she'd cut me off...I might as well make a go at being happy with Cherry.
Cherry and I were walking on the beach one afternoon that we weren't with Chris and Suzie and I brought up something that had been bugging me for awhile.
"How come you never talk about your man back in Oakland?" I asked...
"Because there is no need to talk about him...He's in the past..I choose to leave the past
in the past." she said.
"What was his name?" I asked.
"Why you wanna know that? " she asked.
"I'm curious, indulge me." I said.
"His name was Ray...Ray Johnson." she said.
"So he was your husband.....and you're still married aren't you??" I asked.
"I don't consider myself married to that creep...you see I don't wear no ring." she said.
"Never the less, you married." I said.
"So what that mean? You tellin me , you gonna turn all of this down because of a little
technicality like that?" she snarled.
"You plannin to get a divorce?" I asked.
"Sure am..just as soon as I can get the money and get a lawyer.' she said.
"Done..I want you to take care of that when we get back to Philly." I said.
"You serious? " she laughed.
"What's the problem? I got the money covered and I got a good lawyer named Conrad who can rep you." I said.
"What if I don't?" she said.
"If you don't...we can't hang out like this anymore...I don't get down like that."
"So this is an ultimatum?" she asked.
"Nope...you do what you want or don't...but I'm tellin you what I won't do." I said.
"Oh okay...okay....if it means that much to you." she said.
"What I don't understand is why it doesn't mean anything to you..You said he beat you and you left him, came halfway across the country..why don't you want to divorce him? " I asked.
"I do.....and...and I will.....let's talk about something else..." she said.
"Well okay, but one other thing...I think he's found you and he's in Philadelphia looking for you." I said.
"Wh-What? How could he...how do you know that?" she asked.
"I have people on the street who have been tellin me that a guy is throwing
a lot of money around and flashing a picture of you around...now I'm not
worried about him or his finding you.....I got that covered too...If you do
the right thing." I said.
"Okay..Okay Chess....When we get back to Philly...Get me that lawyer and
let's start on that divorce." she said.
I smiled and I picked her up and took her back to our rented villa in my arms, I
carried her over the threshold and tossed her on the bed....I slipped her shorts off and opened
her blouse...We kissed passionately and within minutes, I slipped her bra and panties off and
stepped out of my shorts and made passionate love to her, right there on the sweaty bed....We
did that the better part of the afternoon...Finnally we passed out and went to sleep.
When I woke up the next morning....Cherry was gone, all of her clothes were gone,
everything. The Car that I had rented was also gone!!! About $750.00 in cash that I had in a dresser drawer was also gone along with one ticket back to Philly. Chris, Suzie and I searched for her all day, but it was apparent she had left the island.
As I stood in the Airport, heading back to Philly , Chris said to me-
"Man, did you two have an argument or something?"
"No, not at all..we had a very good night." I said.
"Did you say something that she might have taken the wrong way?" he asked.
"Nah Man..I don't know why she just up and flew the coop like this." I said.
"Well I hope you get to the bottom of it all partner." He said.
"Chris, you aint coming back to Philly are you?" I asked, knowing the answer.
"Maybe one day buddy, but no time soon...I need some peace in my life." he said and held his head down.
"Yeah, I can dig it..maybe I'll get to that place one day...be easy buddy." I said as I boarded my
plane.
"Yeah man, you know me....always." said Chris.
Upon arriving in Philly, I rented a car and drove to Cherry's place. I wasn't surprised when I got there to find that the place was empty....everything , gone...She had had a two day jump on me...I shook my head...I didn't quite understand....but I knew this was inevitable..Maybe it's what I wanted all along...who knows.
degrees on sunny Isla De Vieques, Puerto Rico nicknamed -"Blue Beach" If you waded in the water you could see the tropical fish swimming near your feet. It wasn't an easy place to find, but once found...I could see why Chris had picked this spot. It was quiet and serene...A man could think here. The weather was great, the beach was clean and beautiful, nothing like Atlantic City back where we lived. Chris and I would get up early in the morning, take a swim in the beautiful ocean...then sit back, smoke a joint..and then drink a Corona and laugh like kids...Suzie,
his girlfriend would invite Cherry and I over to their little villa, where one morning she made us
Vegatable Omelets with hot salsa sauce and Sausage and served us Mimosas... The four of us would then go for a swim and then return to our respective villas.
Cherry and I would spend the rest of the day making love and I'm sure Chris and Suzie were doing the same thing. This was too much of a good thing. Who needed to return to Philly, when you could live like this? No man in his right mind right? After two weeks of this..I wanted to go
back...Really...and for a strange reason..I missed Rell...I often wondered what she was doing, if she was seeing someone else...all kinds of things. Cherry was nice and all, but for some reason..I
knew that my heart wasn't there, not all the way the way it was supposed to be. Yet I knew that Rell would never take me back..I knew that she was essentially using me and that as soon as I was free....she'd cut me off...I might as well make a go at being happy with Cherry.
Cherry and I were walking on the beach one afternoon that we weren't with Chris and Suzie and I brought up something that had been bugging me for awhile.
"How come you never talk about your man back in Oakland?" I asked...
"Because there is no need to talk about him...He's in the past..I choose to leave the past
in the past." she said.
"What was his name?" I asked.
"Why you wanna know that? " she asked.
"I'm curious, indulge me." I said.
"His name was Ray...Ray Johnson." she said.
"So he was your husband.....and you're still married aren't you??" I asked.
"I don't consider myself married to that creep...you see I don't wear no ring." she said.
"Never the less, you married." I said.
"So what that mean? You tellin me , you gonna turn all of this down because of a little
technicality like that?" she snarled.
"You plannin to get a divorce?" I asked.
"Sure am..just as soon as I can get the money and get a lawyer.' she said.
"Done..I want you to take care of that when we get back to Philly." I said.
"You serious? " she laughed.
"What's the problem? I got the money covered and I got a good lawyer named Conrad who can rep you." I said.
"What if I don't?" she said.
"If you don't...we can't hang out like this anymore...I don't get down like that."
"So this is an ultimatum?" she asked.
"Nope...you do what you want or don't...but I'm tellin you what I won't do." I said.
"Oh okay...okay....if it means that much to you." she said.
"What I don't understand is why it doesn't mean anything to you..You said he beat you and you left him, came halfway across the country..why don't you want to divorce him? " I asked.
"I do.....and...and I will.....let's talk about something else..." she said.
"Well okay, but one other thing...I think he's found you and he's in Philadelphia looking for you." I said.
"Wh-What? How could he...how do you know that?" she asked.
"I have people on the street who have been tellin me that a guy is throwing
a lot of money around and flashing a picture of you around...now I'm not
worried about him or his finding you.....I got that covered too...If you do
the right thing." I said.
"Okay..Okay Chess....When we get back to Philly...Get me that lawyer and
let's start on that divorce." she said.
I smiled and I picked her up and took her back to our rented villa in my arms, I
carried her over the threshold and tossed her on the bed....I slipped her shorts off and opened
her blouse...We kissed passionately and within minutes, I slipped her bra and panties off and
stepped out of my shorts and made passionate love to her, right there on the sweaty bed....We
did that the better part of the afternoon...Finnally we passed out and went to sleep.
When I woke up the next morning....Cherry was gone, all of her clothes were gone,
everything. The Car that I had rented was also gone!!! About $750.00 in cash that I had in a dresser drawer was also gone along with one ticket back to Philly. Chris, Suzie and I searched for her all day, but it was apparent she had left the island.
As I stood in the Airport, heading back to Philly , Chris said to me-
"Man, did you two have an argument or something?"
"No, not at all..we had a very good night." I said.
"Did you say something that she might have taken the wrong way?" he asked.
"Nah Man..I don't know why she just up and flew the coop like this." I said.
"Well I hope you get to the bottom of it all partner." He said.
"Chris, you aint coming back to Philly are you?" I asked, knowing the answer.
"Maybe one day buddy, but no time soon...I need some peace in my life." he said and held his head down.
"Yeah, I can dig it..maybe I'll get to that place one day...be easy buddy." I said as I boarded my
plane.
"Yeah man, you know me....always." said Chris.
Upon arriving in Philly, I rented a car and drove to Cherry's place. I wasn't surprised when I got there to find that the place was empty....everything , gone...She had had a two day jump on me...I shook my head...I didn't quite understand....but I knew this was inevitable..Maybe it's what I wanted all along...who knows.
(Conclusion next..)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Trouble With Girls
ART: "Precious Moments" by Henry Lee Battle
"What took you so long?" I asked.. I had brought our son back and had put him to bed and had dozed off waiting for Rell to come from the hairdresser.
"I'm sorry Chess, they overbooked at the hairdresser's again..
I was in their for five hours before I got in the chair." said Rell.
"Well, I suppose it was worth it...your braids look nice." I said.
" Yeah..I paid enough for them...Can't wear a perm...remember?? You sweated
my perm out the last time." she said and shot me a sly grin.
The past two times I had brought our son back from his weekend with me, I had not been able to get out of Rell's house. We wound up in bed making love. She didn't get mad that the last time she had just gotten her hair done. The time after that, we wound up making love on the living room floor. Rell had changed...It seemed as though now that she knew I was involved with someone she went out of her way to try to seduce me...and usually with sucess. It wasn't that I didn't want her..I did...but this complicated things...I wish she had shown me this interest when I
was sitting up in my condo alone for six months. To make matters worse, Cherry had seemingly gotten needy...When she knew that I was going to get my son, she too would wind up luring me into the bedroom and trying her best to keep me there. There were even nights when I would leave one's bed and wind up in bed with the other one.. It was getting to be too much.
Of course if Chris were here he'd laugh, tell me that there was a line of guys on any given day who would love to have "my problems." and then slap his leg as he did and laugh his ass off at me. I needed Chris's advice on what to do now...but he really wasn't here. Chris and his Half Asian,Half Black girlfriend, Susie Wong Jefferson were in Puerto Rico. Chris had rented a villa
there and had been there for about six weeks. He would call me from time to time and always say that he was coming home, but I didn't think he was coming back to Philly anytime soon. He really tired of the streetlife and now that he was out of the game for real, he wanted to be off the
streets...
Chris told me that all he did was fish, listen to music,eat and make love to Susie Wong Jefferson all day long...He invited me down, told me to bring Cherry "Or Rell or both, cause I need a scorecard to keep up with who you doin now of days...hahahahahahahahahahaha..." he had said the last time we had talked.
"Well Rell.....I'll be seeing you." I said as I tried to ease my way out.
"Awwwww noooooooo, you just gon leave and not give mama some sugar?" she said in that seductive voice of hers.
"Rell, it's been a long day..I have to go.." I said.
" Uh-Uh...come here, give mama some sugar.." she cooed.
Chris had always said that Rell had me whipped and I guess he wasn't lying...I walked over to her and attempted to give her a kiss on the cheek, but that turned into a passionate tongue wrestling match with deep breathing... Rell reached down and unzippered my pants. I tried to move her hand, but she moved my hand away and grabbed what she wanted....
"Ouuu, I love the way it swells in my hand ,when I grab it." she laughed.
Two hours later, I woke up in Rell's bed...naked....her shapely naked body next to mine, gently sleeping....It had happened again...I got up slowly, grabbed a towell and walked into her bathroom and ran the shower water....I took a nice long hot shower and then after drying off,
Put my clothes back on and walked over to her bed...I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
"Rell honey, I gotta go now.." I said.
"Okay Chess...I'll see you later....thanks baby..I needed that." she said and then drifted off to sleep.
I drove across town to Cherry's place and let myself in... I took my clothes off slowly and eased
into bed with Cherry...I felt her and I realized she was wearing a sheer black babydoll with garters and black pantyhose....like I like...I also realized that she wasn't asleep..
"I waited for you.." she said...
"I'm sorry,somethin came up." I said, expecting an argument...
"Well, I'm going to make something else come up " She said ,and just the sight of her nice shapely body and firm round breasts, made me rise to the occassion again...literally and figurtively...The next thing I knew, Cherry and I were in the throngs of passionate lovemaking.
I wasn't going to get any rest tonight.. This wasn't real and it shouldn't be happening. I don't know how long I could keep this up....I didn't like what I was doing...Really ,I didn't...While Rell knew about Cherry (and didn't seem to care) Cherry only knew that she was my son's mother..
didn't really know her name and certainly didn't know that I was sleeping with her...I felt as though I was cheating.
Chris had a saying about the law of averages...about how nothing stays the same, how nobody stays on top forever....I might be riding high right now..but something had to give...sooner or later this would all come crashing down on me unless I changed the rules of the game somehow.
The next morning..I went to pick up two airline tickets...As I was about to get in my car, I ran into Suge Nelson...a local player.
"Hey Chess....how ya doin?" He said.
"I'm good Suge, what's up?"
"Look man..I thought you might want to know...Some guy...from out West just rolled
into town...He's been throwin around a lot of cash....askin people if they seen his girl."
said Suge...
"Yeah, so what?" I asked.
"His girl looks a lot like that girl, you been holed up with." he said.
"Yeah? Well, I doubt if it is...but thanks for giving me a heads up." I said.
"Anytime Chess.." he said as he walked away.
I wondered silently if this was Cherry's ex....but how would he know where she was?? There probably was nothing to it...I thought.
I drove to Cherry's place and she was surprised to see me.
"Wow, back so soon Chess...???It was good wasn't it? You want some more?? I know I
do..." she laughed...
"Cool out......I got two tickets here...You want to go to Puerto Rico with me for a few days?"
I asked.
Her eyes grew large, she let out a scream --
"Puerto Rico?? You and me?? Why of course.....I still haven't found a decent full time job yet,
but hell, I'll vacation with you first, then resume that.." she said.
I had been paying her rent up to this point, so I guess it didn't matter to her....Maybe I should
have been going to Puerto Rico alone...I needed to get my head clear, I needed to confer with Chris.. I needed .....a break from sex...Never thought I'd ever say that.
(To be continued..........)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Blink
Let Me Tell you a story
I promise not to waste your time
but girl,I just gotta get this off of my mind..
Listen to my story
I promise not to take up too much of your time..
but an audience with you is just so hard at times to find..
It's not only hard to find..
but difficult to express ,when I've got so many other things
on my mind./
/You see there was a chinese man
who believed that if he blinked
he'd miss the most important thing in life
for him..
so he kept his eyes open
for forty days and forty nights
and finnally he lost the fight.
he blinked..
and whatever it was that was so important in his life
passed him by../
/You say-"boy is that your story?"
did you waste my time for this?
what the hell has this got to do with me?"
baby girl, I'm like that man in the story
waiting for your kiss
holding my eyes and heart open , you see
that man ,is so much like me.../
/I don't want to blink
and miss you...
you who have come to mean so much to me...
I don't want to blink...
I'd rather kiss you...
but I feel you are slipping away from me../
/Blink
ouuu, there you go.
Blink
never again in my lifetime..
Blink ...
ouuu I told you so...
Girl please
toss me a life line...
Blink...
there you go...
I'm holding my heart in my hands...
trying to make you understand..
Blink-
but there you go...
Am I missing out on my one chance to be your man??/
I promise not to waste your time
but girl,I just gotta get this off of my mind..
Listen to my story
I promise not to take up too much of your time..
but an audience with you is just so hard at times to find..
It's not only hard to find..
but difficult to express ,when I've got so many other things
on my mind./
/You see there was a chinese man
who believed that if he blinked
he'd miss the most important thing in life
for him..
so he kept his eyes open
for forty days and forty nights
and finnally he lost the fight.
he blinked..
and whatever it was that was so important in his life
passed him by../
/You say-"boy is that your story?"
did you waste my time for this?
what the hell has this got to do with me?"
baby girl, I'm like that man in the story
waiting for your kiss
holding my eyes and heart open , you see
that man ,is so much like me.../
/I don't want to blink
and miss you...
you who have come to mean so much to me...
I don't want to blink...
I'd rather kiss you...
but I feel you are slipping away from me../
/Blink
ouuu, there you go.
Blink
never again in my lifetime..
Blink ...
ouuu I told you so...
Girl please
toss me a life line...
Blink...
there you go...
I'm holding my heart in my hands...
trying to make you understand..
Blink-
but there you go...
Am I missing out on my one chance to be your man??/
Monday, March 2, 2009
Dirt Off My Shoulders
Goldie was definetly not Chris Thompson. Chris moved from place to place. He never talked "business " indoors...If you wanted to talk to him about his "business"..You met him face to face in a playground, in a busy shopping mall like the Gallery or King of Prussia Mall or what have you. He didn't send text messages, didn't talk on cell phones , didn't send e-mails...Nothing that could be hacked into or listened to. This was why for so many years he had not only been successful , but was virtually unknown to any law enforcement agencies. Goldie on the other hand actually had an office. He rented out office space in a building in the newly renovated Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia...It was near Deleware Avenue and the club scene that he loved so much. Chris called a meeting with him and insisted that he come alone and that he meet us out in the open.....Penns Landing....Goldie balked at first, but in the game or out of the game, you didn't refuse a meet with Chris Thompson..There was still that much respect for the former "King of Philadelphia"
"Man Chris, it's cold as a mug out here...what was so all fire important
that you had to see me?"said Goldie.
"Our Friends from New York would like for you to tone it down a little
bit man." said Chris.
"What? Tone it down?? Hmmmph, they got nerve as much money as I'm bout
to make for them..." scoffed Goldie.
"That's what I mean Goldie...All this flash, all this big talk..all this having your picture
in the paper....Didn't that cat, Kevin Morris...The crime solving Blogger..do a story on
you in Hype Magazine last month?" asked Chris.
"Yeah..hahahhaha...did you like that suit I had on on the cover? " asked Goldie -"I looked fly as
a mug,didn't I Chris?" he laughed.
"Look man...That's what I'm talkin about...You draw entirely too much attention to yourself..
and when you do that...THE MAN starts lookin at you too...The Philly cops, The DA's office, The DEA ,The FBI...the whole load man...and when they start lookin at you, they start makin our friends in New York nervous." said Chris.
"Is that what you come to tell me Chris?? Huh? Look man....I respect that you was a real quiet laid back dude...nobody never hassled you...you aint never even been in the joint..but I aint you,
my whole personality be different..I'm in the clubs, I'm talkin shit to these hoes...I'm doin my thing an aint no New York punks gonna dictate to me how I roll...Besides...I'm makin moves with
new suppliers from Cali, from Jamaica, From Atlanta...so soon the New York boys gonna have to up they game or they gone be out of the game....You tell em that." said Goldie.
"Nah, you tell em..I'm out the game.....This was the last peice of business I am going to do for anybody. Tomorrow..I'm a civilian...I'm Johnny Q. Public." said Chris.
"Enjoy your retirement Chris..Nobody played the game as well as you did man....but Philadelphia is my city now and I'm gon run it like I wanna." said Goldie.
"You right man...you the king now." laughed Chris as he walked away...
I sat in my car as Chris opened the passenger door and got in...I looked at him and he looked at
me....He frowned a little bit.
"Chess...get a good look at Georgie.....That's probably the last time you're going to see him alive."
said Chris.
I looked at Goldie as he strolled away and then I looked at Chris and I nodded in agreement.
Things got crazy real fast. In a bar in Atlantic City, Allejandro Santiago stepped out into the street... A Black BMW sped around the corner and two gunmen, wearing jeans, white t-shirts and sneakers fired a series of shots from Glock nines at him... Surprisingly enough...all of the shots missed. Allejandro ran back in the bar....Two of his bodyguards opened fire on the BMW...
The BMW crashed into a pole....The driver and the two gunmen...all from Philadelphia , and all with long rap sheets were prenounced dead at the scene.
The next Week, Fathead Newton and one of his bodyguards were coming out a strip club when
three men in hoodies, jeans, sneakers and aviator sunglasses ran towards them firing shots from
uzis...Fathead Newton ducked back into the club and out the back exit and into the night...His bodyguard was killed.
Chris and I were sitting in the diner one morning and he said to me-
"The Youngin looks like he was trying to send a message."
I laughed and I said to Chris.
"You know...It might not be a bad idea, If I took Cherry and you took that little Asian Chippy that you like so much and we left town for awhile...At least until this mess cleared up."
'Chess...We aint got nothin to do with this. What we gotta run for? You especially? We just sit
tight and see who wins...Either way, I got nothing to do with it and no more to say to anybody."
said Chris.
Goldie and three beautiful young ladies emerged from one of the clubs he liked so much the next
Friday night... and right into the waiting arms of FBI Special Agent Cotton. Just months before
Agent Cotton had gunned down Eric Slaughter and here he was back in Philly arresting George Goldberg Stevens.
Goldie was arrested and charged with two counts of Conspiracy to Commit Murder...The entire case was made off of wire taps on his office and taps on his cell phone and his blackberry. If convicted..Goldie could get up to 25 years in Prison.
For reasons I'll never understand... Chris paid his bail. I was with Chris , when Goldie walked out of CFC.
"Chris...don't worry man..I'll pay you back man..I swear...." said Goldie.
"Don't worry about it...you're from West Philly man..and we West Philly guys gotta stick together." said Chris.
" Chris man...I thought about what you was sayin man..I think maybe I better cool out and run things quietly like you did...I gotta get me a lawyer for this trial and while I'm thinkin of it ,could you get word to Fathead that I want to
meet with him...Straighten things out with him?" said Goldie.
" What? I work for you now? Uh- Uh playa ,You have to do that yourself man...I just did you one last solid " said Chris as he got in the car with me and we pulled off. As I drove down the street, I remember the day..because it was windy and the sun was struggling to shine and it was raining a little bit. Goldie stood there waving at us and smiling....always with the cocky smug sure of himself smile of his...I'll always remember that.
Sometime that night.....Somebody walked behind Goldie as he was putting the key in his door and fired two shots from a thirty eight snub nose into the back of his head....He was dead before his body slumped up against the door. Whoever killed him dropped the .38 right by his side.
When the police got there...they found the gun with the serial number filed off and not a fingerprint to be found on it. Nobody in the neighborhood could recall hearing a thing. It was all
so eerie.
Two months later...Chris and I were enjoying a cup of coffee and some muffins at a local Dunkin
Donots when Fathead Newton walked in....Dapper as usual. Chris looked at him...He dropped
some gold cuff links on the table and passed Chris an envelope......Chris nodded without saying a
word. Then Fathead looked at Chris...
"I'll always be in your debt brother...I hope you like the cuff links.......oh and uh...Our Friend in
New York sends his regards..." he said.
Chris brushed some lent off of his shoulders and still said nothing...he just quietly nodded. Fathead bought a large coffee and put it in a bag and left without saying anything else.
I looked at Chris, but he held his hand up before I could say anything.
"Chess...don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to. That kid was bad for business he had to go. Am I done? Yes...I'm done.....and God now has one more thing he'll
have to forgive me for."
For Shanae and Daaimah
"Man Chris, it's cold as a mug out here...what was so all fire important
that you had to see me?"said Goldie.
"Our Friends from New York would like for you to tone it down a little
bit man." said Chris.
"What? Tone it down?? Hmmmph, they got nerve as much money as I'm bout
to make for them..." scoffed Goldie.
"That's what I mean Goldie...All this flash, all this big talk..all this having your picture
in the paper....Didn't that cat, Kevin Morris...The crime solving Blogger..do a story on
you in Hype Magazine last month?" asked Chris.
"Yeah..hahahhaha...did you like that suit I had on on the cover? " asked Goldie -"I looked fly as
a mug,didn't I Chris?" he laughed.
"Look man...That's what I'm talkin about...You draw entirely too much attention to yourself..
and when you do that...THE MAN starts lookin at you too...The Philly cops, The DA's office, The DEA ,The FBI...the whole load man...and when they start lookin at you, they start makin our friends in New York nervous." said Chris.
"Is that what you come to tell me Chris?? Huh? Look man....I respect that you was a real quiet laid back dude...nobody never hassled you...you aint never even been in the joint..but I aint you,
my whole personality be different..I'm in the clubs, I'm talkin shit to these hoes...I'm doin my thing an aint no New York punks gonna dictate to me how I roll...Besides...I'm makin moves with
new suppliers from Cali, from Jamaica, From Atlanta...so soon the New York boys gonna have to up they game or they gone be out of the game....You tell em that." said Goldie.
"Nah, you tell em..I'm out the game.....This was the last peice of business I am going to do for anybody. Tomorrow..I'm a civilian...I'm Johnny Q. Public." said Chris.
"Enjoy your retirement Chris..Nobody played the game as well as you did man....but Philadelphia is my city now and I'm gon run it like I wanna." said Goldie.
"You right man...you the king now." laughed Chris as he walked away...
I sat in my car as Chris opened the passenger door and got in...I looked at him and he looked at
me....He frowned a little bit.
"Chess...get a good look at Georgie.....That's probably the last time you're going to see him alive."
said Chris.
I looked at Goldie as he strolled away and then I looked at Chris and I nodded in agreement.
Things got crazy real fast. In a bar in Atlantic City, Allejandro Santiago stepped out into the street... A Black BMW sped around the corner and two gunmen, wearing jeans, white t-shirts and sneakers fired a series of shots from Glock nines at him... Surprisingly enough...all of the shots missed. Allejandro ran back in the bar....Two of his bodyguards opened fire on the BMW...
The BMW crashed into a pole....The driver and the two gunmen...all from Philadelphia , and all with long rap sheets were prenounced dead at the scene.
The next Week, Fathead Newton and one of his bodyguards were coming out a strip club when
three men in hoodies, jeans, sneakers and aviator sunglasses ran towards them firing shots from
uzis...Fathead Newton ducked back into the club and out the back exit and into the night...His bodyguard was killed.
Chris and I were sitting in the diner one morning and he said to me-
"The Youngin looks like he was trying to send a message."
I laughed and I said to Chris.
"You know...It might not be a bad idea, If I took Cherry and you took that little Asian Chippy that you like so much and we left town for awhile...At least until this mess cleared up."
'Chess...We aint got nothin to do with this. What we gotta run for? You especially? We just sit
tight and see who wins...Either way, I got nothing to do with it and no more to say to anybody."
said Chris.
Goldie and three beautiful young ladies emerged from one of the clubs he liked so much the next
Friday night... and right into the waiting arms of FBI Special Agent Cotton. Just months before
Agent Cotton had gunned down Eric Slaughter and here he was back in Philly arresting George Goldberg Stevens.
Goldie was arrested and charged with two counts of Conspiracy to Commit Murder...The entire case was made off of wire taps on his office and taps on his cell phone and his blackberry. If convicted..Goldie could get up to 25 years in Prison.
For reasons I'll never understand... Chris paid his bail. I was with Chris , when Goldie walked out of CFC.
"Chris...don't worry man..I'll pay you back man..I swear...." said Goldie.
"Don't worry about it...you're from West Philly man..and we West Philly guys gotta stick together." said Chris.
" Chris man...I thought about what you was sayin man..I think maybe I better cool out and run things quietly like you did...I gotta get me a lawyer for this trial and while I'm thinkin of it ,could you get word to Fathead that I want to
meet with him...Straighten things out with him?" said Goldie.
" What? I work for you now? Uh- Uh playa ,You have to do that yourself man...I just did you one last solid " said Chris as he got in the car with me and we pulled off. As I drove down the street, I remember the day..because it was windy and the sun was struggling to shine and it was raining a little bit. Goldie stood there waving at us and smiling....always with the cocky smug sure of himself smile of his...I'll always remember that.
Sometime that night.....Somebody walked behind Goldie as he was putting the key in his door and fired two shots from a thirty eight snub nose into the back of his head....He was dead before his body slumped up against the door. Whoever killed him dropped the .38 right by his side.
When the police got there...they found the gun with the serial number filed off and not a fingerprint to be found on it. Nobody in the neighborhood could recall hearing a thing. It was all
so eerie.
Two months later...Chris and I were enjoying a cup of coffee and some muffins at a local Dunkin
Donots when Fathead Newton walked in....Dapper as usual. Chris looked at him...He dropped
some gold cuff links on the table and passed Chris an envelope......Chris nodded without saying a
word. Then Fathead looked at Chris...
"I'll always be in your debt brother...I hope you like the cuff links.......oh and uh...Our Friend in
New York sends his regards..." he said.
Chris brushed some lent off of his shoulders and still said nothing...he just quietly nodded. Fathead bought a large coffee and put it in a bag and left without saying anything else.
I looked at Chris, but he held his hand up before I could say anything.
"Chess...don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to. That kid was bad for business he had to go. Am I done? Yes...I'm done.....and God now has one more thing he'll
have to forgive me for."
For Shanae and Daaimah
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Lost Ones
My name is Chess and this is another of my stories. My friend Chris Thompson had sold drugs since we were 14 or 15 years old. He had done it quietly and with no fanfare. I didn't know what he did until I was about 18 or 19. He always seemed to have money and never seemed to want for anything. That was a dead giveaway because his family was poorer and in worse shape than mine. He was smarter and more astute than the other boys though. He Kept a low profile.. He sold his drugs quietly. He didn't wear a lot of flashy clothes and didn't drive around in flashy cars.
The police never knew his name and even other players had no clue as to who he was until one day he was the Boss and owned all of West and South Philadelphia's real estate. Chris kept things quiet mostly ,during his short reign..very little mayhem. Then one day, he moved past that and into the position of buyer and supplier. He bought from the "New York" boys as he called them and supplied several other organizations...thus taking himself off the street. Just like that, he had cashed out and gotten out of the game altogether.
With Chris gone, things changed in the streets. By that, I mean....a huge war slowly erupted and the alliance between the five major guys that Chris had handpicked to succeed him fell apart.
Panama Jack got it first...The Dapper Panamanian Drug Kingpin was coming out of his favorite barber shop one morning with a fresh haircut and shave, when a Black Escalade drove by and two shotgun blasts dropped him where he stood.
Bossman Jones was next...He was coming out of a strip club with a pretty little thing, all set to take her home with him, when two guys wearing hoodys, jeans and sneakers ran past him and fired into him with Glock nines...Killing him and the stripper!
The Bullets continued to fly...The "Playa President" was getting ready to enter his Brownstone when two Black BMW's drove up....Four pistols sparked at the same time and he fell to the ground...as dead as dead could be.
Greasy Jake was next...He was in a Hoagie and Steak shop eating a Cheese steak, when a kid about 16 in jeans, a white tee shirt and white sneaks and wearing black aviator shades walked up
behind him and shot him twice in the back of the head....The greasy cheese-steak was still in his fat stubby fingers as he hit the ground.
Fathead Newton saw the writing on the wall..He and several of his top people caught the first thing smoking out of Philadelphia the night after Greasy Jake bought it and that was that.
When the smoke and the blood cleared....The winner and new King of Philadelphia was a vicious
little young player named "Goldie" His real name was George Goldberg Stevens.. He was the love child of an African American woman and a Jewish Father, who had been the neighborhood jeweler. We called him "Georgie" must of his life and he was Slackjaw's protoge'. Angered at Slackjaw's murder (allegedly done by Greasy Jake's people) and vowing not up give up a bit of the Southwest Philly turf..."Goldie" had now taken over West Philly, North and South Philly.
Chris was no longer in the game, but he was close to the streets and what he was hearing from his former New York Connection was that they didn't like doing business with Goldie.
Unlike Chris, he was loud...He was talkative and he was flashy..He rode around in high end automobiles with his initials mongramed on the side "GGS"...He had had more than a few run ins
with the police and with all of the drug murders in Philly now, was almost certainly a target of the FBI. They wanted Chris to talk some sense in him before they had to do it. The New York guys weren't the most talkative people...if you know what I mean. Chris told them that he was out of the game now and that they could do what they felt right...Yet even he didn't want to see New Yorkers in Philadelphia running things. He told me all of this one morning when we were having coffee at the diner...the diner where I had met Cherry.
"Chris, why do I feel like a gangster now?" I laughed as he brought me up to speed on things.
"Gangster? You?? You aint no gangster Chess, not hardly and neither am I..not anymore."
He said.
"So why are you puttin me down on who's who in the drug world?" I asked.
"Just making conversation Chess. Allejandro, my guy from New York did me a lot of solids back in the day...so I figure I owe him at least this one last thing. I'm gonna go talk to the youngin..Try to straighten him out...." said Chris.
"He don't have to listen to you Chris....He's the man now you know." I said.
"Yeah ,I know Chess....but a word to the wise is sufficient....He took down some pretty heavy players and they still got people on the street who aint too cool with him...Plus these New Yorkers don't like him at all...He might want to slow his roll down some and make himself ,you know...a little more likable if that's possible." said Chris.
"Likable??? Georgie? I mean "Goldie" Nobody likes him...People in Slackjaw's crew don't even like him...Don't waste your time Chris." I cautioned.
"No?, You don't think I should say somethin to the youngin?" he asked.
Just then...A familiar figure walked in the diner...He had on shades like a jazz musician and a nice
pressed White button down shirt and nice blue slacks and shiny black wingtips...It was Fathead
Newton.
"What's up Chris??, How you doin Chess??? How's retirement treatin ya playa?" he laughed.
"Fathead...I thought you skipped town." I asked.
"I did for awhile...but now I'm back."He said.
"Well, I'm glad to see you Fathead...but if I was you, I'd keep a low pro...you know...Til I can talk
to the youngin.." said Chris.
"Screw him....I been in New York, talkin to Allejandro...He's sending some muscle down here to watch my back as I set up shop again...You tell that youngin that if he don't come correct, I'm gonna be coming to his funeral." said Fathead Newton.
"Yo man, why don't you just calm down and let me smooth this over?" asked Chris...Ever the negotiator...
'Do what you gotta do Chris..Say what you gotta say...but I aint taken no foolishness off of that kid." said Fathead.
Chris shrugged...He looked at me and I looked at him....He was my friend and my partner...He knew that I was down with him....Ride or die..
He tapped Fathead on his shoulder......
"Nice Cuff links...Next time I see you, you'll put me down with where you got em......" said Chris.
Fathead smiled and nodded.
The police never knew his name and even other players had no clue as to who he was until one day he was the Boss and owned all of West and South Philadelphia's real estate. Chris kept things quiet mostly ,during his short reign..very little mayhem. Then one day, he moved past that and into the position of buyer and supplier. He bought from the "New York" boys as he called them and supplied several other organizations...thus taking himself off the street. Just like that, he had cashed out and gotten out of the game altogether.
With Chris gone, things changed in the streets. By that, I mean....a huge war slowly erupted and the alliance between the five major guys that Chris had handpicked to succeed him fell apart.
Panama Jack got it first...The Dapper Panamanian Drug Kingpin was coming out of his favorite barber shop one morning with a fresh haircut and shave, when a Black Escalade drove by and two shotgun blasts dropped him where he stood.
Bossman Jones was next...He was coming out of a strip club with a pretty little thing, all set to take her home with him, when two guys wearing hoodys, jeans and sneakers ran past him and fired into him with Glock nines...Killing him and the stripper!
The Bullets continued to fly...The "Playa President" was getting ready to enter his Brownstone when two Black BMW's drove up....Four pistols sparked at the same time and he fell to the ground...as dead as dead could be.
Greasy Jake was next...He was in a Hoagie and Steak shop eating a Cheese steak, when a kid about 16 in jeans, a white tee shirt and white sneaks and wearing black aviator shades walked up
behind him and shot him twice in the back of the head....The greasy cheese-steak was still in his fat stubby fingers as he hit the ground.
Fathead Newton saw the writing on the wall..He and several of his top people caught the first thing smoking out of Philadelphia the night after Greasy Jake bought it and that was that.
When the smoke and the blood cleared....The winner and new King of Philadelphia was a vicious
little young player named "Goldie" His real name was George Goldberg Stevens.. He was the love child of an African American woman and a Jewish Father, who had been the neighborhood jeweler. We called him "Georgie" must of his life and he was Slackjaw's protoge'. Angered at Slackjaw's murder (allegedly done by Greasy Jake's people) and vowing not up give up a bit of the Southwest Philly turf..."Goldie" had now taken over West Philly, North and South Philly.
Chris was no longer in the game, but he was close to the streets and what he was hearing from his former New York Connection was that they didn't like doing business with Goldie.
Unlike Chris, he was loud...He was talkative and he was flashy..He rode around in high end automobiles with his initials mongramed on the side "GGS"...He had had more than a few run ins
with the police and with all of the drug murders in Philly now, was almost certainly a target of the FBI. They wanted Chris to talk some sense in him before they had to do it. The New York guys weren't the most talkative people...if you know what I mean. Chris told them that he was out of the game now and that they could do what they felt right...Yet even he didn't want to see New Yorkers in Philadelphia running things. He told me all of this one morning when we were having coffee at the diner...the diner where I had met Cherry.
"Chris, why do I feel like a gangster now?" I laughed as he brought me up to speed on things.
"Gangster? You?? You aint no gangster Chess, not hardly and neither am I..not anymore."
He said.
"So why are you puttin me down on who's who in the drug world?" I asked.
"Just making conversation Chess. Allejandro, my guy from New York did me a lot of solids back in the day...so I figure I owe him at least this one last thing. I'm gonna go talk to the youngin..Try to straighten him out...." said Chris.
"He don't have to listen to you Chris....He's the man now you know." I said.
"Yeah ,I know Chess....but a word to the wise is sufficient....He took down some pretty heavy players and they still got people on the street who aint too cool with him...Plus these New Yorkers don't like him at all...He might want to slow his roll down some and make himself ,you know...a little more likable if that's possible." said Chris.
"Likable??? Georgie? I mean "Goldie" Nobody likes him...People in Slackjaw's crew don't even like him...Don't waste your time Chris." I cautioned.
"No?, You don't think I should say somethin to the youngin?" he asked.
Just then...A familiar figure walked in the diner...He had on shades like a jazz musician and a nice
pressed White button down shirt and nice blue slacks and shiny black wingtips...It was Fathead
Newton.
"What's up Chris??, How you doin Chess??? How's retirement treatin ya playa?" he laughed.
"Fathead...I thought you skipped town." I asked.
"I did for awhile...but now I'm back."He said.
"Well, I'm glad to see you Fathead...but if I was you, I'd keep a low pro...you know...Til I can talk
to the youngin.." said Chris.
"Screw him....I been in New York, talkin to Allejandro...He's sending some muscle down here to watch my back as I set up shop again...You tell that youngin that if he don't come correct, I'm gonna be coming to his funeral." said Fathead Newton.
"Yo man, why don't you just calm down and let me smooth this over?" asked Chris...Ever the negotiator...
'Do what you gotta do Chris..Say what you gotta say...but I aint taken no foolishness off of that kid." said Fathead.
Chris shrugged...He looked at me and I looked at him....He was my friend and my partner...He knew that I was down with him....Ride or die..
He tapped Fathead on his shoulder......
"Nice Cuff links...Next time I see you, you'll put me down with where you got em......" said Chris.
Fathead smiled and nodded.
(Conclusion Next..........)
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