Peace Gordies

Back to the esssence 15 years ago, still missed, still felt...

Go see the doctor...

Peace family, your boy has no medical insurance, so when I need to see the doc I gotta take my ass down to the free clinic and come up out the pocket with a fresh $20 for the county. So I'm in the clinic early this morning trying to beat the rush but no success. The clinic is already full and so I have to sit in the overflow seating in the hallway, at the other end of which is the welfare office, which is also bursting out into the overflow seating. The cast of characters in the hallway was both hilarious and depressing, a fish tank of the worst my town has to offer. Fam, it looked the bar scene from star wars ( the first one or the fourth one depending on how you see it). Any middle class racist would have every ethnic and class stereotype he holds confirmed within 30 seconds. Black brotha's wyln' the fuk out, Mexican chicks with their five year olds sitten in strollers, Gay dudes polishing their nails, the teenage chick with two babies sitting near me's conversation on her cell " yea, who dis? oh what's up dough, I gotta bottle a patron last night I didn't even open yet, we can get on that when I get back, tell mama to call me when she wake up" ( it's 11:30 at this point). The part that's really wack is that when I leave, I'm gonna encounter the same ish, just not quite as concentrated. These are the people who roam the streets and shadowy cuts where I live. As I already said in another post, my town which is already broke ( the city actually declared bankruptcy) is getten it's pockets turned inside out on the daily. They strip this town like dope fiends strip vac ants of copper wire. The latest victim was a barber who was a pillar of the community ( see preceding post.) In addition to the economy's downturn which made things go from bad to worse here, another problem is that there is nobody here trying to teach knowledge of self from any perspective. There is an Immigrant Muslim community made up of the usual engineers, liqueur store owners etc...but you know they make no overtures to the hood. There is a Warith Deen community that's about ten deep and always struggling to keep a place for Jumah prayer and then there are the numerous store front "Jesus saves" churches. But no 5%, no NOI, no Rastas, no revolutionary Malcolm inspired sunni's. In other words no one to teach a spirituality based on knowledge of self and dealing with life from the view point of the Khalifa. or " The maker, owner, cream of the planet earth." I know all these groups espouse very different points of view, dont always even like each other or get along. I also know that the mere presence of these groups would not cuase a complete overhaul of the socio-economic order, but at least it would provide people, ecpecially the youth, access to information to change their paradigm. To see themselves as God, Ras, Khalifa ect..Your boy has been overwhelmed maintaining his own, but InshaAllah will soon be on his jobs of teaching the youths and anyone else who wants to know, who they really are and what they are capable of...Peace...

A good brother is now warra al shams ( behind the sun)

Jonathan Brunson, 41, was more than just the owner of P's Unfadeable Cuts, a barbershop in the heart of downtown Vallejo.
Brunson -- known as Paul or
simply "P" -- was a family man, described by many as someone ready to help all who came near his store.
Or so he was until he was gunned down Tuesday night, right outside his barbershop on Marin Street, just south of Georgia Street, leaving behind a fiancee and a daughter, Imini. She will celebrate her fourth birthday on Monday -- without her father.
"All my prayers go out to his family," said Ricardo Parada, a longtime friend who went to Vallejo High School with Brunson decades ago.
Parada was among a crowd of people gathered at a candlelight vigil at the barber shop's

Armando Campos writes a message on the window of P's Unfadeable Cuts to his friend Jonathan 'Paul' Brunson, who was shot to death in the parking lot behind the barber shop Tuesday night. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald) locked doors Wednesday night. A window, now scrawled with messages of support and grief from the community, still bears a sign that says the barber shop would reopen at 9 a.m.
It never did.
At about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a shooting call on Marin Street and discovered Brunson shot in the torso. Police said witnesses describe the suspects as two black males in their late teens.
Brunson succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. There have been no developments to the case as of Wednesday night, police said.
"I kissed him on the forehead, and I told him I loved him," said James Brunson, Paul's brother and a Vallejo firefighter.
Brunson grew up in Vallejo, one of many in a large
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extended family.
An active youth, he taught his cousins many things, such as horseback riding to cousin Robert Gray Jr.
"I remember me and Paul used to take the horses and knock on people's doors, then ask if their kid would want to ride on the horse for a dollar," said Gray, noting how he and his favorite cousin always spent those dollars on candy.
Brunson was involved in the community and regularly engaged youth, said friends and family.
"He sees young men out here (in front of the barber shop), and he would talk to them like real men," said cousin Tanesha Hazzard.
Brunson would counsel the youth and try to teach them about etiquette, she said.
He also established a chess club for youth that practiced three days a week and regularly hired youngsters to work in his barbershop.
"He employed a lot of my youth," recalled David Salais, a local football coach who paid his respects in front of Unfadeable Cuts.
Brunson also hired cousin Omar Vann's sons.
"(He) showed them responsibility," Vann said.
Perhaps one of the greatest tributes to Brunson's impact on the community are the people who, like Salais and Parada, came out Wednesday night to express their grief.
"You see all different color people here," said a family friend, who asked not be named.

Peace to you and your family beloved...

Stampedes and violence during hajj...

This years hajj or seasonal holy pilgrimage has been marred by what have become regular acts of violence and deadly stampeding. The holiest day of the sacred month known as black Friday, is also the deadliest. The night before, known as black Friday eve, the faithful will spend the night outside one of the many temples where they will be able to purchase the idol of their choice at a better bargain than usual. Talking to people in line at one of the largest temples in the area, I was able to get a feel for how important this day is to the adherents of this fastest growing religion . The religion has almost penetrated the four corners of the world, only the most remote regions have remained immune from its terrific expansion. Although the religion is indeed global, One would immediately know standing at one of the largest temples in Southern California, that North America is the "Mecca" of this of this religion. A few in line talked of practical purchases of items they need for their education or work. These few patrons are mostly secular or belong to a minority faith, they seem uncomfortable and even a little apprehensive about being in line with the devout fanatics who, when able to talk through the frenzy they are building up for the five am opening, say they are there to purchase the Story telling idols, which tell stories round the clock every day, and the idols that entertain small and adolescent children, some they will give to their own children and others to be given as gifts on the second holiest day of the season, which used to be celebrated as the birthday of the old god. The old god was a half god half man deity who is believed to have supernatural abilities and power to intervene in the lives of individuals. The old god has been reduced to just one more idol in a pantheon. He is now called upon for luck with securing other idols and has one last special function, he is called upon when people are near death. It is believed his intervention can secure the faithful a place in the paradise. The paradise is believed to be an endless temple full of free idols. The hour of the temple opening is near and the faithful have been smashing themselves against the door with such force that the hinges are coming loose. Upon seeing this the keepers of the temple, mostly peasants who work there to keep from hunger and homelessness decide to open early to keep the doors from being smashed open, the cost of repairing them would come out of their meagre earnings. As soon as the doors open the mob of worshipers stampedes in and rampages through the temple. It is the most terrifying scene I have ever witnessed. Upon opening the door, a temple aid was stomped to death under the feet of this savage hoard. In another area of the temple two mothers reach for the same child's idol at the same time. As neither mother will let go they become agitated and begin yelling furiously at each other. When the husbands of these women see this they both reach under their shirts and pull out hand guns, the man who drew his weapon first had the unfortunate luck of his gun jamming. The other man seizes this opportunity and shoots the other man dead, the wife of the victorious husband grabs the idol and heads out of the temple. Feeling myself to be in immediate danger I decide to leave. Outside the temple I ask some of the worshipers leaving with their Idols what they think of the death of the temple aid and the man who was shot to death. The responses seem callous and barbaric. The temple aid they say, was punished by the gods for opening early, he should have had faith that the doors would hold. And the man who was shot to death's wife had grabbed the Idol after the other women already had it. The gods had caused the mans gun to jam. If the old god decreed however, they would still be admitted into the lower paradise where there is endless plasma T.V's but only basic cable & cell phones with Internet access, but no i-phones. The temple authorities say next year there will be more security and medical response teams, but after witnessing the intensity of the mob of worshipers that assurance offers little solace.

64 squares in a 0 and general orders...

Many people play the game of chess as a hobby or pastime diversion. As far as games go it is superior to many others in that it builds one's critical thinking skills as related to strategy. One has to think every move out thoroughly in order to be successful. While playing you have to ask your self if you should be playing offensively, defensively, what will be the consequences of making this move? You have to think multiple steps ahead of every move you make. Some people make the connection between the strategy employed on the chessboard and the way we should be thinking about our lives in the same manner. How many of us

think a few steps ahead of the moves we make day to day? Looking at the condition of my community and others like it, we would have to say not to many. We would agree that a lot of people are barley or not thinking at all about the things they do,& the moves they make. Did that kid getting blazed and drunk while cutting school think ahead about the possible consequences of that move? Did he think that he could get jammed up by the local police gestapo for being a minor intoxicated in public, that he could cross paths with some stick up kids on the way home and not be properly prepared to deal with the situation due to not being in his right state of mind? Now lets look at that situation the other way around. Say this same kid goes to class listens to whatever the teacher is talking about, even if it's some wack ish that seems irrelevant, but none the less does the work and gets that good grade, and later goes on to get a trade or a degree. What would be the likely long term difference between the same kid making those different choices based on thinking a few steps ahead of his decisions? It' s the difference between making good VS. bad offensive moves. This is just one simple example of thousands where we could benefit from thinking ahead and planning the right course of action. One of my favorite movies is "Fresh". It's about a young dope boy who wants out of the life, and makes moves to get out like he is playing a game of chess. He plays regular games with his father ( played by Samuel Jackson) who is an old drunk, but a chess master who holds it down in central park. He puts fresh on the clock and forces him to make moves fast, cause life ain't always gonna give you a lot of time to make choices. If you haven't seen it go head and check it out.

Now lets look at making defensive moves, here is where the cipher and general orders come into play. What is a cipher as relates to our life? Our cipher is the totality of everything in our circumference. So when deciding what to let into our cipher, whether it be people, ideas, or anything else, we need to check to see what its all about. Is it going to add to our cipher in a positive, negative or indifferent way? Anyone who has been in the armed forces or the Mosque/Temple of the NOI is familiar with general orders. The general orders of both organizations are basically the same with some minor word changes in those of the NOI. The purpose of bringing general orders into the discussion is that you can use them to keep negative things or forces from entering your cipher, here is an example. General order #1. To take charge of my post and all temple property in view. So what is the temple we our dealing with here? That would be ourselves, 'Know ye not that you are the temple of the living God?" That would be" Don't you know your the temple of the living God" for the Shakespearean impaired. So we need to be on post at OUR temple. General order #2. To walk my post in a perfect manner, keeping always on the alert and observing everything that takes place within sight or hearing. So, we need to be alert, watching what is coming near our cipher trying to gain access. This is playing good defense. In conclusion, if you are not already a chess player I would encourage you to become one. Get those strategy skills up...Peace...

Wisdom from the 2 million...

Two days ago while I was eating turkey and and pumpkin pie with cool-whip ( can't have pie without cool whip, family guy fans?) I was reflecting on some wisdom I heard from the Native people of this land. I heard this wisdom from the Khateeb at salaatul jumah of all places, different from what you would normally hear from the mimbar right? In any case this is what was said " A grandfather was talking to his grandson, he said son, there are two wolves in me that are constantly at war, one wolf is full of hate, lust, greed, fear and jealousy, he wants to consume and destroy. The other wolf is full of love and kindness, he wants to protect and be rightous. The grandson asked " which wolf wins? The grandfather replied " the one I feed."

...Peace...

Stick up kids is out to tax...

Since the economy has crashed further down then ever since the great depression, stick up kids around my way have been crazy fuken busy. Not that where I rest was ever was a good place to walk around countin cash yellin out 'Ballin" on some Jim Jones ish, but these dudes are taken it to some next level ish for a small town. These young cats is strippen the town butt-naked, every Mc'donalds hit in one day, every blockbuster, The toll booth at the bridge, every day muhf%kas coming home from work getting smashed in the face, pistol whipped and often enough murked, many times in broad day light. If this aint hit where you live yet, its only a matter of time, no doubt this is gonna get worse before it gets better, so be safe out there family...Peace...