"Before I formed you in the womb," God says, "I knew you."
"I gotta be me. What else am I suppose to be?"
"I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam."
Standing in a lecture Hall at the Morehouse School of Medicine my friend Lucy Hall, a giant of a woman, towers over me flashing her benevolent smile and asks, "So what are you doing now?"
"I'm giving a speech with you," I grinned.
She hits me. A playful love tap from Lucy is like jab from Muhammad Ali and I lose my balance for a second.
"I meant for a living," she grins wrapping her giant black arms around me.
So I tell her.
"I write every day, try to help people, have these classes that help other's help themselves," I shrug. "I dunno Luce. I just try to make everything better."
She has this way of nodding like she already knows what I'm going to say and is pleased at the confirmation as her suspicions are confirmed. Her head bops up and down, the infectious smile grows and her brown eyes dance in delight."You're back to being a minister again," she pronounces.
"How in the hell did you come up with that idea?" I shoot.
Muhammad Ali knocks the shit out of me again and I lose balance.
"Shut up," she says in front the Leadership Class arriving to hear our talks.
"Don't worry," the Amazon black woman tells them, "he's my brother from a different mother. You know how we people are."
It's hard to not love Lucy.
Pinning me against the wall she continues, "You're a minister again. That's what you're saying. You an unchurched minister but you're a minister. You were a great CEO. You did things the rest of us haven't done yet. But you've gone back to your roots."
Pausing for few seconds to look wise and holy again, she concludes, "That's good. It's about time."
"What in the hell are you talking about?" I say as she instantly raises her arm while I flinch.
"My brother," she says putting the giant arm around me. "You've stripped all of that other stuff away. You're back to basics. Sarah is perfect for you. You're doing the things you love ..."
She's suddenly lost in thought for a moment giving me the impression she's having a quick sidebar with God. Then her head bops up and down again before the smile returns.
"You scare the hell out of the rest of us because nobody's ever sure what you're doing. Then you leave us amazed by it."
"I don't know about all ..." I begin to say.
"Shut up!" she commands raising her arm making me flinch again.
"You're finally back to being you," she pronounces from on high.
"It makes me glad," she says as her eyes grow moist before smothering me in hug I still haven't recovered from.
_____________________
An eccentric life dotted with eclectic characters pop from the pages of award winning author Micheal Elliott’s newest book Sandy Bottoms & Duct Taped Hearts. Over 200 pages of his musings immerse you in a world of headshaking wonder, gut wrenching laughter, heart touched tenderness and empathetic tears.
Never letting the truth stand in the way of a good story, Elliott’s ninth book takes you on a wild journey of “Wow! Really! I can’t believe that!” every day moments. Sandy Bottoms & Duct Taped Hearts exemplifies his gift of capturing common thoughts and painting them perfectly into words. Release date (pre-order books ship) is September 23, 2013.
Check it out at http://www.meellc.com/wordpress/newbook/
