Calvin335

GOD DOES NOT COMFORT US TO MAKE US COMFORTABLE BUT TO MAKE US COMFORTERS.



MAN, with all his splendor and material wealth, still finds no peace within himself. Could it be that he is lost in a meterialistic jungle or could it be perhaps he has forgotten his purpose?

MAN spends most of his life chasing what he is given from birth, the right to material wealth. Yet the thought of lifting himself beyond a material life has long been forgotten. For this is the day of plenty. --- Duke Edwards



"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the things you did do. So, throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. EXPLORE! DREAM! DISCOVER!" -- Mark Twain



My story is simple. My life has been complex. I HAVE NO REGRETS! And I really love to sing! I sing praises to HIS name.



This venture began in 1940 when I was born on New Years Eve in Salem, New Jersey. A reckless childhood led me to leave home and join the military at age 15. In the army I seized every opportunity to better myself. Starting as a radio operator, I moved on to become a cinemaphotographer, to attend language school (Malayan and Indonesian), to training in psychological warfare and public information. (It was more attuned to dis-, mis- or myth-information in the army). Civilians call it "public relations." I also passed the GED. Thus armed, I spent the next several years traversing the world doing things for the government that I choose not to discuss here. It all ended when I was wounded in Viet Nam and discharged on disability. And I really love to sing! My JAZZ vocals are a treat.



Released from the army on January 25, 1970 in Oakland California, I spent several months roaming around the Golden State. Settling in Long Beach, I registered at Cal State to major in philosophy. My affiliation with some of the radical organizations of that era led me to encounter a Rodney King-like confrontation with the authorities. Disheartened, I packed my car and set off driving around the country ending up in Mississippi in the summer of 1973. I enrolled at Jackson State University finishing in mass communication and mastering in political science. And I really love to sing! I can rock. And I can roll.



Working full time at the post office, holding a work study position at the college and writing as a stringer for some local publications while carrying a full course load, kept me busy. I earned a fully paid academic scholarship after my freshman year. After graduation I worked part time at two radio stations; one with a jazz/blues format, the other country western. (My favorite kinds of music) Over time, I became well connected within a circle of activist around the city of Jackson. Everything was going real, real good. During this period, Mississippi Blacks were in full pursuit of many local elected positions. I supported candidates and volunteered in some campaigns. Eventually I started participating in regional, state and national endeavors. I established a political consulting firm which I headed until 1984 when I left Mississippi on a Greyhound bus, flat busted. And I really love to sing! Let me sing the blues for you.



August of 1985 found me in Washington, North Carolina delivering Domino`s Pizza. I was 44 years old. HUMBLE? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!! Yet I still possessed the same dogged determination and enterprising spirit that drove me to leave home nearly 30 years earlier. I rapidly advanced to store manager, to area supervisor and on up to head a distribution center. Five years later I was at Domino`s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan as national director of distribution center field representatives. When a heart attack and by-pass operation brought this undertaking to an end in 1990, I returned here to New Jersey and retired.. I HAD COME FULL CIRCLE. And I really love to sing! Perhaps a good show tune.



This life that I have enjoyed has been adventurous, exciting and fulfilling. But let me confess that there was more involved than the high points that I have depicted. There has also been time spent behind bars. On more that one occasion I`ve found myself flat broke. Eating in soup kitchens, sleeping in shelters and under bridges are not unfamiliar to me. I have worked in a rock quarry, in an oil refinery, in an asbestos plant and on a chicken farm. Bartender, truck driver, warehouseman, school teacher, import/export agent; I even helped to establish a food bank. I have been a lifeguard, a security guard and a store clerk. In fact, people who know me well say that I am a true "has-been." And I really love to sing! The children love my lullabies.



Having endured all of those experiences, I am now learning to relax and take a philosophically easier approach to life. I continue to maintain my a positive, energetic attitude. I look forward to the sunny days and blue skies ahead. I still see each challenge as an opportunity dressed in work clothes. My head remains high as I view the good things of this beautiful life. And I try hard not to get caught on the wrong side of doing the right thing. I read a lot, I do some volunteer work, I tend to my garden and I keep the lawn mowed. There is my extensive jazz and C&W music collection that I absorb as often as possible. When I get to feeling real antsy, I travel. And I really love to sing! Maybe an operatic aria for you.



I never intended, nor had the desire, to immerse myself in the computer/information age. (You know about old dogs and new tricks) But now that I have this contraption I enjoy it immensely. Since finding the BLACKPLANET it is my delight to converse with "mah peeples" all over the world. Usually you can find me in the forums teasing, advising, cajoling, correcting, harassing, challenging, pestering, encouraging, boosting or making a general nusiance of myself. But mostly I am just sharing. Because like the comedian, brother George Wallace says, "I love you and there is nothing you can do about it." And I really love to sing. I know the hits from the 40s, 50s and the 60s.



The mantra for my life is contained in these ten two-letter words: "IF IT IS TO BE IT IS UP TO ME."



The music that I am feeling right now is the music that I always feel: MUSIC! MUSIC!! MUSIC!!! Music is my sanctuary. JAZZ, is my religion!!!



"Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." -- Ralph Waldo Emmerson



Those who see me as a friend do so for the same reason as those who view me with hostility, and that is because I TELL THE TRUTH AND LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES.



I MAKE IT MY BUSINESS TO NEVER ENGAGE IN PISSING CONTESTS WITH SKUNKS, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I AM BOUND TO LOOSE. NOR DO I ARGUE OR FIGHT WITH UGLY PEOPLE FOR THEY HAVE NOTHING TO LOOSE.



NOW LET ME SING FOR YOU!!!!! Country Western? Yeah, I do THAT too.