"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Hunter S. Thompson

WoW! Has it been 3 weeks since I posted? Well, MLK day is upon us and my daughter has been learning about Martin Luther King at school this past week. She's been very enthusiastic about how, in her terms, 'he was trying to make things fair'. However, she found out yesterday that he was assassinated and held back her tears in school but, when she got home she cried and cried.

I remember that night in 1968. We were watching TV and the announcement was made that the man was shot. Then five minutes later the announcement was that he had died. We were in shock.

I was in third grade and being the only child of colour in the elementary school, my paler classmates would ask,"Is Martin Luther King related to you?"

Now over time my response to that question would change depending on where I was in my life. Let me show you my development from 1968 to the present:


,"Is Martin Luther King related to you?"

Well...um...no, I don't think so.


Just because I'm black doesn't mine I'm related to the man!


You see a black face and you just think we're all coming from the same black town with our black buddies, you stupid white *expletive deleted*!


Well, yeah sure, we all immigrated from Africa and my grandmother knew his mother who lived down the road a piece, and discovered they were cousins, you stupid *expletive deleted*.


Yes, he's related to me, and so are you, my brother.


I think the last one is what I meant to say in the first place to the other innocent classmates...


You've got to stay children...

-Bill Chaplin, Sons of Chaplin-