Embracing the title of " Uncle Rickey"

Recently, my eldest niece Virgindlynn Teriana Brown, confessed to me that she had been seeing a young man for a little over 8 months. 
What she didn't know was that her mother had already told me about this young man 6 months prior.  I was just waiting for her to tell me that information about him on her own time. 
First of all, I should say that I am very impressed with her. She is doing well academically, and she is involved in not one, but two extra- curricular activities. 
She is a cheerleader for her high school football team and she is a member of her school JROTC program. 
I once asked her why she chose to be a cheerleader at the same time as being involved in JROTC. 
She replied, " I had to get out of my comfort zone. Isn't that what you told me to do, Uncle Rickey?" 
For the first time in my life, I did not have a comeback for her.
Now back to what I was saying at the beginning of this tale. 
I asked my niece about why she chose to delay telling me about her new boyfriend. 
She said something that really made me proud of her decision.
She said, " I didn't want to tell you because I wanted to make sure that it was going to work out. Relationships don't always work out the way that you plan for them to go." 
It took me several years and many relationships to understand something that she understood at the age of 15.
She went on to tell me that I would like this young man because he is smart and seems to be a gentleman just like me.
I am so glad that she takes the time to consult me about things that are happening in her life from time to time. 
As she gets older, I know that there will come a time where she will no longer seek my advice and begin to sort things out for herself. 
Until then, I will enjoy the magical moments of being the "Jiminy Cricket" of her life.

A Gift From My Grandmother Telitha Gulley

When I was 21, I had just bought my first car. 
My first long distance trip was to go and see my father's mother Telitha Gulley. 
Prior to this trip, I had not seen my grandmother since 1995. My grandmother at this point of her life had both of her legs cut off due to her battle with diabetes. The year was 1998.
It was on this trip that she gave me a backpack. Inside this backpack was $10,000, to be used for my tuition and books. 

She wanted me to go to college, because she had dropped out of school due to excessive partying. 
She really wanted me to go because she felt that I was her last hope of receiving a college graduate in the family due to the fact that neither of her children had chosen not to attend.
Even though I vowed to her that I would eventually go to school, at that point my life, I had no plans of going to school because I was in the military and I wanted to sew my wild oats.
Unfortunately, she lost her battle with diabetes a year later 1999. By this time, I had spent half of the money on wild escapes and gifts for the young women in my life. 

I felt guilty, so I saved the other half of the money for college.
In the fall of 2001, I happily became enrolled at the University of Central Arkansas with the backpack that was given to me by her. 
Each and every morning, I would get up and speak to that bag and say, " Okay grandma, it's time to go to class!"
Over time the backpack had lost one of its straps. 
Despite its ugly appearance I had managed to still make the daily journey to class with it.
It was not until my last year of college that I had finally decided to retire the backpack that I called "grandma" because the school lunch ladies felt bad for me and they chipped in to buy me a new and expensive Jansport backpack. 
On December 16, 2006, I received my Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Central Arkansas and I finally completed my grandmother's wish for me to become a college graduate. 
I just wish that she would have been alive to have seen me do it. 
The moral of the story is this:
Always remember that no matter how long that it takes you to do it, it is never too late to become educated. Knowledge is power. Never forget this. 

My Paternal Grandfather

Up until I was 4 years old, I lived with parents in my dad's parent's home. 
My best friend and hero at the time was paternal grandfather Zebedee Gulley.
He always left home before the sun came up. He would return home just as the sun would begin to set for the evening.
He worked for International Paper's Paper Mill in Wheelen Springs, Arkansas. 
When he was away, I would serve as his eyes and ears when it came to finding out what had been going on at the house. 
I once told him about the time that my grandmother had put a dent in her 1978 Buick Regal by accident. 
As a reward for keeping him updated, he brought home a cap for me with his work emblem on it.
I kept that hat for years! 
Sadly, in 2003, I lost him to a battle with diabetes when I was in my 2nd year of college. 
He also died without me speaking to him because of a disagreement that I had with him for not giving me something that my grandmother had left to me in death. 
I wish that I had not been so petty to let something like that ruin our relationship, but what it is done is done. 
My prayer is that those of you that may be reading this will get the relationships that you have your relatives back on track before it is too late. 
Time is something that you can never get back. 
Remember that. 

A Special Conversation With A Candidate

During the campaign season of 2018, I had the privilege of having lunch with Maureen Skinner, who was a person that was running for State Senator of my district.
One of the things that I wanted to know from her was how her family felt about her decision to run for office.
What a lot of people do not realize is that when you run for office, your family runs for office as well.
Muckraking was still real in 2018. When you are a public official, there is nothing in your life that becomes off limits for the media to talk about.
As much as we hate to admit it, dirt is what sells newspapers.
She told me that her family was fine with her decision and that they even participated in the door knocking and phone bank calling process that is necessary to reach out to the constituents.
My hat goes off to anyone that decides to step to the plate to represent their community. It is not an easy thing to do.
Whether you do a good job or not, your job is always on the line every 2 to 4 years. Let's not forget about those term limits as well.
Therefore, if serving the public is your calling get on up and do what you believe is right for your community. Just remember to be aware of the long nights and headaches that will come along with the territory.

A Word of Thanks From Sheila Clemons For All of the Birthday Wishes 8 18 18

My First Time Babysitting

The year was 2010. I had just decided to go over to visit with my friend Laurence and his family for a little bit. 
As soon as I had crossed the threshold, Laurence pulled me to the side and he said, " Hey Rick, I need for you to watch the kids for a little bit while me and the Mrs. go in the back to play for a while. 
As his devoted friend, I took the honor of granting his request. 
The kids had just rented the hit movie, " Marley and Me." 
The movie was going great until it ended with the dog dying. 
It was at that moment that the painful memory of losing my favorite dog Tyler that I had begun to cry uncontrollably in front of the two young boys. 
I totally did not see that coming. 
The boys looked at me with a sense of shock that I would be so emotional in front of them, yet they did not say a word. 
Around 10 minutes later, Laurence and his wife had returned to the den.
Laurence says to the boys, " Hey, did you all have fun hanging out with Uncle Rick?" 
The youngest one replied, 
" Yeah, but he was crying over a dog though!" 
We all had a good laugh about the situation at my expense. 
To this day, I think that Marley and Me is not a good movie for kids with pets to watch. 
In fact, I think that it should be outlawed!  
The moral of this story is this: 
Always take the time to preview a movie before you let your children see it. 
Therefore, you don't run the risk of running into some unpleasant surprises in front of them.

Pine Street High School Alumni Sing The School Alma Mater 6 30 2018