I got a call from one of my Booker T. homies last week...
Say Skull?
Hey, what’s up Chi?
I checked out that Good Times article bruh, and I was just calling to tell
you that there’s an error.
Oh yeah? Where?
In the lyrics for the opening theme, it’s not ‘hanging in a jury’, it’s
‘hanging in a chow line’.
Hmm….really??
I got the 1st 2 seasons on DVD bruh..I KNOW.
That’s strange, because I just copied and pasted the lyrics directly fromthe Good Times website.
Was it the OFFICIAL website??
Uhhh..hold on, let me check..it was http://www.valdefierro.com/times02.html, so no, it’s not the ‘official’ website. If you click on the ‘show facts’ tab, they have the opening and closing lyrics at the bottom of the page. I
didn’t even know what the outro words were saying until I read it..
Just lookin' out of the window
Watchin' the asphalt grow
Thinkin' how it all looks hand-me-down
Good Times
Keepin' your head above water
Makin' a wave when you can
Do you watch the Dave Chappelle show?
Hell yeah! That show is HILARIOUS!
Well he even had an episode on Good Times lyrics bruh, and that was part of it. I’m telling ya, I’ts ‘chow line’ not jury.
Alright then, I’ll make sure to make the correction in my next post. Thanks Chi!
Aiight..peace!
_________________________
It seems that there are a LOT of servinemup readers who are die hard Good Times fans. Some people have remarked how much they enjoyed the show and some people have even gone so far as to correct my own Good Times recollection, especially my sister...
David!
Yes Jackie?
You were crying TOO when James died!
I was? Hmm..
It's funny how our memory can be selective at times. I probably
‘blocked’ that part out of my memory, because that was back in a time when I felt that crying men were weak men. But now that I’ve gotten older, and experienced a few of those pains in life for myself, I realize that tears are not a sign of weakness, but rather a product of strong emotions. Once you’re able to connect with a person or situation, it doesn’t matter if it’s a neighbor or on a TV show, there’s an emotional attachment which will cause you to feel their pain. Of course not in the physical sense, but more the
spiritual nature inside. It’s that twinge you feel in your stomach when you hear one of your kinfolk has been rushed to the emergency room. It’s that weakness in your knees you feel when you learn that a loved one has passed away.
Sometimes, life can seem like an enormous ocean of never-ending tidal waves that we all must swim through alone. No matter what type of support group or family structure we have, each and every soul must navigate through their OWN lives. Mama won’t be able to go to the doctor for you, daddy won’t be
able to sign your name in the Book of Life, grandma’s thousands of hours in church won’t get you into Heaven. We are all responsible for our own souls, that’s just how it is. But once you get out into the world and start experiencing some of the things in life that make you grow up and mature, then you realize (some later than others) that you can’t do this thing called life alone. We all need something to lean on for help and support
from time to time.
As large and diverse as my family structure is..from all my blood kinfolk, to my inlaws, my homies from the Southside, my fellas from Booker T., the Bruhs and my Stanford family, my golf fraternity, and even my support circle of Believers, I still have bouts of loneliness. These ‘spells’ normally come on when I watch the news or read the newspaper. There are so many throwed off things going on in the world, encouraged by morally corrupt institutions and selfishly motivated individuals, that it causes this loneliness to creep in from time to time. Every day, each and every one of us has to get up and go out into a world that has no guarantees. We don’t know if we’ll be in a major car accident, if we’ll have a sudden congestive heart failure, or if we’ll be victims to a terroristic act..we simply don’t know.
It’s easy to assume that if we go through life working hard, following all the rules and loving our fellow human beings, that we’ll have a safety shield around us to protect us from all those evil intentions that are preying on the world. But once you start seeing all of the things that are REALLY going on in this world, parents killing their kids, kids killing their parents, spouses killing each other, lying, deceit, embezzlement, poverty, sexual perversions, it’ll make you want to lock your doors and keep
all of your loved ones inside, safe from all of those predators and
pratfalls that are becoming more and more numerous in the world we live in. Then when you add in social conditions, such as soaring healthcare costs, rising unemployment, crime and it’ll make you start wondering, ‘How the hell is this all going to end???’
Once I started contemplating on the fleeting nature of life and how short a time we all have on this earth, I knew I needed something to lean on for support. Some of us are blessed with a wonderful support structure of family and friends who are there to render aid and assistance. But even with my immense support group, I still felt weak and alone. I didn’t know enough, I wasn’t strong enough, I wasn’t wise enough to walk this path by myself. I knew I needed a definitive support to guide me along through my journey of life. I knew that I needed a Saviour.
Before I had this realization of the need to be ‘saved’, I thought I could make it by myself. By using my rational thought and ability to reason, I felt that I could figure this all out on my own. Okay..go to school, learn all that I can, get a good job, work hard, do good, take care of my family and its all good..right? Wrong! I tried that..I still felt helpless and alone. I had no power when my daughter lay sick with pneumonia, I had absolutely no control when my niece was in the hospital for respiratory difficulties..I was nothing. There was no amount of money or show of force that I could muster that would change their conditions one way or another. It is quite often, during these times of trials and tribulations, that we all seek to strengthen our relationship with God. I had a skeptical aversion to ‘organized’ religion, because they all seemed shady to me. Catholics,
Jews, Muslims, Baptist, Methodist, Jehovah Witness, Scientologist, it seemed like everybody had their own private agenda all masked under the pretense of serving God.
My journey began in a quiet and dark room, alone..on my knees, praying to God. Normally, whenever I prayed, it was usually before I ate, the typical, ‘God is great, God is good, let us thank you, for this food. Amen.’ That was pretty much my relationship with God..thank you for this lunch I’ll talk to you later at dinner. But once I started feeling some of those real pains in life, the pains that will make you know that you are NOT in control of what’s going on, no matter how much you wanted to think you were..that’s when I had to submit my all toward seeking His will. Those first few times down on my knees praying were kinda strange. I didn’t know if I was praying, or just talking to myself in my head. Was God listening to me?? Had I already committed so many sins that now my prayers would go unheard?? Was I worthy of even attempting to go before the one Almighty God asking for stuff??
I looked at the 3 major religions and I found a common bond, the Bible. The Jewish Torah is the pretty much the same as the first 5 books of the Bible. All Muslim imams and holy men have to be proficient and well read in the Bible, some Christian denominations have their own added books, but they all have the Bible. It’s that hot book to read mane.
Even though I was raised as a Southern Baptist, I always knew that I was a Baptist because that’s what my parents and almost all of my kinfolk were. Any talk of converting to Judaism or Islam or even Catholicism was almost sacriligeous in our family. The only thing I knew for certain was that God is real. So I picked up the Book, and I spent almost 8 months reading it from, ‘In the beginning,’ all the way to, ‘May the grace of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.’ I wasn’t alone when I read it though, I made sure to get down on my knees and pray to God for understanding before each reading session. I also had a MacArthur Study Bible which has footnotes and comments which aid in the historical interpretation of canons which were written thousands of years ago. Just getting through all of the begats can be tedious and monotonous, but once you get IN to the word and start learning more about the tribes of Israel and about obedience and sacrifice and realizing that God has a plan for man, that's when I found my Rock to lean on.
It may seem a discouraging and fatalistic image, but the truth is that life comes with no guarantees. Just because you get out of bed on time everyday, and go about your routine of taking care of yourself and whatever responsiblities you may have in an earnest and honest way, doesn’t mean that you will be immune to these feelings of pain. It rains on the just as well as the unjust. It is during these times of trials, these pains, these
obstacles that we all must go through in life, that we all reach a point where we have to believe in SOMEthing. I thank God for all of the love that He has put into my life through my family and friends. And I REALLY thank God for giving us Jesus Christ so that we might have a way to reach up to Him. All of ya'll who are still out there floating and searching for something solid to lean on, there is a place where the weary can get rest. Once you start leaning on those everlasting arms of Jesus, you'll find a peace and joy like no other.
Saturday, March 06, 2004
Leanin
