On Top of the Hill with Angels

I posted a blog series the week of November 9, 2014 entitled The Fall: Skating on top of the Hill Parts 1, 2 and 3.  It was centered around my childhood experiences learning to roller skate, skate board.  Odd as it may sound I learned to navigate those devices on the hills of San Francisco, not by choice, but because we lived on a hilly section of the Fillmore (which newcomers and/or politicians refer to as the Western Addition).  I have had my share of hickeys and still have scars on my shins and knees to prove that I paid a price to accomplish my goals.  Why didn’t I use a helmet or knee pads?  I don’t think they had been invented yet and if they were, it wasn’t mandatory back in the 60s,  Yes, sweetie, the 60s.  

Recently I was invited to give a “Talk” to a group of women at the Epiphany House.  As I navigated to the location, I realized I was near in my old neighborhood.  Anza Elementary School, the first school I attended was right around the corner!  When the Talk was over, we got in my car to head across the bay and instantly it hit me: “you’ve gotta go by the old landmark” so I volunteered to give my passengers (Victory Angels) a tour of the street I grew up on.  We pulled out of the steep driveway onto Masonic Street, made a right turn and headed towards Geary where I made another right at the light and an immediate left onto Presedio where I continued for one block and to my surprise I was able to make a right onto Post Street.  When I grew up that portion of Post Street was a one way.  Favor had an available parking spot for us just shy of the corner of Post and Presidio Streets near the “top of the hill.”  We were giddy with excitement as we recalled the blog series: “Skating on top of the Hill” and decided to take pictures like we were tourists, celebrities or some other iconic figures.  As we positioned ourselves just right for my iPhone to capture history in the making I saw a bus approaching.  Normally I would have waited until the bus passed before we continued so I wouldn’t draw attention but I didn’t care what those people thought because I was living in the moment as I recalled “skating on top of that very hill”.  As we continued to giggle and snap pictures, I had a couple of epiphanies: 1) The Post Street hill wasn’t nearly as steep as it seemed when I was a six year old kid learning to roller skate; skateboard or ride my bike and 2) During my training I had some knicks, scrapes, bruises and hickeys but I never had a devastating fall or accident on that hill, it was as if I was surrounded by angels then and I certainly was the day I went back to explore my old neighborhood. 

I came up with another bright idea, I was gonna find the house I grew up in.  I couldn’t remember the address but the memory of my former home was stored away neatly and easily accessible.  The Victorian styled home with side by side doors and a long stairway up the front was an unmistakable dark dull brown when we lived there, but today looking at the neighborhood through the lenses of a full growed up ad-dult, it was overwhelmingly clear that the neighborhood had changed immensely.  Living spaces had been remodeled and/or torn down and completely rebuilt.  But I found a house that certainly fit the bill and decided that had to be it.  We pulled right into the driveway next door as if we were "somebody" because we are "somebody" and I had my angels with me so I wasn’t worried (because one of them was good at talking and the other one can fight really well).  LOL!!!

I walked about halfway up the stairs and I was flooded with memories, really good memories about my old neighborhood and I started to recall them as if the angels that were with me knew what I was talking about, like: 

·      I was invited to lunch at a friend’s house and served a sandwich with mustard on it (which I wasn’t accustomed to), however, it must have been spicy mustard because it was too hot for me to eat.  I decided from that point on that I didn’t like mustard.  Unbeknownst to me, there are a variety of mustards and they are not all hot.  I eat mustard now.

·       We (the kids my age) thought old man Jeter’s pick-up truck was haunted because the horn would start blowing for no apparent reason, day or night.  At least that’s what we thought.  Unbeknownst to us, the horn was his anti-theft alarm to alert him if someone was tampering with his vehicle.

·       The Meyers (Renaldo, Kim, Mario) lived across the street from us and up about 7 or 8 houses.  They had a huge family.  They were unique to me because they were all light skinned; had curly/wavy hair and they were very attractive.  Most of us were regular brown-black folks.  Well I was a little different because I had thick hair down to my butt and so did my mother but I was brown like the rest of them.  In hindsight the Meyers family was probably Creole but everybody made a big deal about them because they were different.

·       I saw the corner store was still in existence.  I don’t remember the owners, but I kept a nightstand drawer full of candy that I purchased from that store.  Between me and my mom's purchases I had some of the best snacks on the block and I was always willing to share with my friends.  I still like sharing with people to this day.

·       I remember my grandfather and mother “exchanging words”.  They didn’t cuss or anything but it was kind of heated.  She told him not to take her mom’s sewing machine out of the house so he dropped it from the second floor dining room window.  My mom looked at him in disgust and he said something smart like you told me not to take it out of the house.  I was so shocked I snatched my my left thumb out of my mouth and ran over to the window to see the machine still completely intact.  Yes, I was a thumb sucker, don’t judge me.  Did you hear me just do a belly laugh?  Today I no longer suck my thumb and contrary to the lies my uncle Don and big sister Deb told me I do not have fish lips or bucked teeth, thank you very much. 

·       My mom loved soap operas (e.g. Dark Shadows, General Hospital, and Peyton Place) and I was not allowed to touch the television until her shows went off.  There were no VCRs, or instant playbacks and kids stations were unheard of.  I hate soap operas to this day.

What is my point?  Hindsight is always 20/20, in other words, as I look back over my life and I think things over; I cantruly say, that I’ve been blessed, I have a testimony.  We all do.  What did you say?  Yes you do, we all do.  I will prove it.  Things could have been so much worse but they weren’t.  There’s a reason you didn’t overdose; die in that car accident; you don’t have AIDS, Hep C, Liver disease, etc. you didn’t get the job, you got a business instead; you still have your sanity, I still have my house after our extended lay-off period.  You (I) didn’t get yourself out of that jam and nor did your “ride or dies” Hon’Tee.  God dispatched ministering angels to protect you sweet cakes it had nothing to do with you or your pot’nahs.  Do you really think God allowed you to survive to sit on what he gave you?  Really?  Listen, we cannot live in the past nor can we change it? Now there are plenty of people who try but they stick out like sore thumbs.  You know the kind of people that still wear wet gherri curls; church-lady french rolls with pin curls, men with finger waves and/or mullets.  You can see them a mile away. 

Listen, if you make a conscious decision to live your life dwelling on the pass it’s your choice but you cannot live there.  Why?  Because time doesn’t stand still nor does it wait on anyone.  Your end result will be that you miss IT.  Miss what?  Life; your purpose; your assignments; the people assigned to you and vice versa.  Our lives are scripted by God himself.  After each life lesson I believe we have the responsibility to: Thank God for keep us; Ask: What’s Next God? Wait for the answer; Ask for the plan and Carry it out to the best of our ability. 

 

In closing I want to leave you with this quote from my favorite book:  I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.  Philippians 3:14 (NLT)

So I ask you, What’s Next?

I’m out of time, I'm out of year;  See you in 2015!!!  Or not, you might decide to dwell in the past don't look for me or call me to come visit because I ain't coming, no ma'am, no sir.   I'm just sayin...

Tania not Tanya