...Somebody's gotta do it...

That's me. Looking up at the sunshine on a gorgeous summer day. Looking up at the clouds as they divide and multiply. Looking up at the rain as it all falls down like a crazy-azz Lauryn Hill song. Looking up at my successes and failures with equal attention. Looking up and being thankful for both, looking up for the next lesson I'll be taught, making sure the sky hasn't fallen... making sure its really the sun that's beginning to peek through and undoubtedly shine on me.

That be me... looking up and around my old neighborhood, smiling at all of the development and commerce that now runs through the main streets like blood runs to the heart. I'm looking up and checking the pulse of the place where I grew up, noticing the brand new churches and the storefront holding the new headquarters for the local assemblyman. Looking up at the brand new stop lights and four way stop signs, the new skylights that now adorn the local supermarket, the newly established fast food restaurants, bakeries and watering holes. I'm looking up with a new sense of pride, with a smile, knowing that whatever investments were made into the old neighborhood, where I grew up, have paid off in spades.

Oh yes, you can find me looking up at my best friends with appreciation, both married and raising beautiful families. I look up at Mel, with his two boys who adore him, who, each time he says something remotely humorous, look at him with all the respect a son should have for their father, and remark, "My dada is soooo funny." Makes your heart smile. I look up at Kelli, with her big house and backyard, her husband and two children, a boy and a girl... listen to them call me Uncle Will and make my heart melt. I look up at how happy they are, how thankful I am for the years growing up... for the mistakes that we made along the way... for the way we all turned out.

And yeah... that's me looking up remedies for mosquito bites. Those suckas got me something awful on Monday, making me their personal blood bank. I'm not bitter... just bit. LOL

I'm looking up in admiration, thankful for those that have lived for a purpose, who have done what they came here to do, who have affected so many with their gifts. Looking up and acknowledging their contributions to society in general, to me in particular... that's what I'm doing, what I'll continue to do for the rest of my days, however many they may be. To all of those who have touched my life, who have affected me in both a positive and negative way, who have showed me that there's always a better response, a better song, a better performance, a better question, a better option, a better love, a better situation...

I see you.

I thank you.

And I look up to you...