Sunday, October 5, 2008

A letter to my eight-year-old self!

Hey young man.
This is some heartfelt words that I would have truly loved to have heard while I ws at this ripe age of eight years. I'm very certain that some of these wisdoms would have made your life much better.
First, Young man, you need to know that a lot of people really love you and, even though some may not know how to truly express love, the real feelings are layered away somewhere in there.
So, fortunately, it's a real good chance that you will never be alone.
Second, you must totally understand that education is the most important thing you need, next to food and water. If you truly embrace the essence of a very good education, you will see and do miraculous things, and may even be able to change the world.
If you've just turned eight, you just witnessed a great man, Martin Luther King, Jr., get assassinated a little over a year ago. I will spend a minute telling you how cruel this world can be, but before I do, I want to clearly, clearly say that Dr. King was able to achieve greatness and change the world -- because of his education.
There is no person who is successful, wealthy or brilliant who doesn't have a personal love affair with education.
Third, this world can be very cold and cruel. You will run into dishonesty, betrayal and hate. Try very hard to reject them because they lead to tragedy.
You also will be offered cigarettes, drugs and alcohol on a number of occasions. What the people won't tell you is that those things will destroy your life for sure!
Please avoid those things because, if you don't, your life will never be the same.
Fourth, be respectful to people -- especially to women -- because one day some woman is going to help you become the man you were meant to be. Always remember that every good man has a good woman standing next to him, so be very respectful.
Fifth, take care of your family and always put them first, because family is the most important thing.
There are so many things I would like to say to you, but if I had to just say these few things, I would be satisfied that you could make it by following this advice.
These five bits of wisdom can make you live your life to its fullest potential.
So, before I close, I would like to just say, REginald, you are a very special and unique person, and just remember that people really do love you!
Have a Very Long and Happy Live!
With Love,
Reginald at "45"

(Note: Don Ray posted this on behalf of Reggie, the boy, and Reggie, the man. He wrote this earlier this year, but I failed to post this and other items he sent to me on the blog. My sincere apologies go out to my friend Reggie, to his family and to all of the people who could have seen this and could have made adjustments to their lives because of Reggie's wisdom.)