I ONCE HAD A FRIEND...

I KNOW, SEEMS HARD TO BELIEVE...AND HE WASN'T A BLOOD RELATIVE EITHER, BUT HE SAID, HE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN DOING ANYTHING EVERY DAY...AND HE WAS A PRETTY SMART GUY, A SCRIBE, WITH SOME NOTABLE ACCOLADES REGARDING A PLAY HE WROTE ABOUT "CEREMONIES IN DARK OLD MEN", INTERESTINGLY AND APPROPRIATELY ENOUGH, THE TITLE OF THE AWARD WINNER...

AND I RECALL THINKING SOME TIME AFTER HIS REMARK, IN FACT A LONG WHILE AFTER HIS REMARK, SINCE I HAD ADMIRED HIS ABILITY AND TALENT TO WRITE, A DISCIPLINE THAT I WAS JUST GETTING STARTED IN, MORE OR LESS...

THOUGH I HAD FINISHED A DRAFT OF MY FIRST NOVEL, "FROM PIGS FEET TO CAVIAR" WHILE STILL LIVING IN MANHATTAN, AN UPWARD MOBILITY STORY ABOUT A WOMAN FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS WHO SAW HERSELF SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE AS HAVING A PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF SUCCESS...

I HAD STARTED MY WRITING EXCURSION WHILE WAITING FOR THE RESULTS OF MY SCREEN TEST FOR SHAFT, HAVING FLOWN BACK TO MY STUDIO APARTMENT AT 330 THIRD AVE. APT 19K, NY, NY 10010...

NOT KNOWING AT THE TIME, HOW MY REAL LIFE COULD BE DELIBERATELY SKIRTED OR DIRECTED BY OUTSIDE FORCES WITH KILLING RESULTS FOR THOSE WHO DID THE WORK, AND THOSE SELF PROCLAIMERS OF  TALENT AND GREATNESS, WITH THE APPROPRIATE SOCIETAL HUE, AND GENDER, WOULD BE DECLARED GENIUSES WITH AN EXORBITANT AMOUNT OF NOTORIETY SPREAD OUT BEFORE THEM, IN THE WAY OF BEING ABLE TO RUB ELBOWS WITH OTHER SELF PROCLAIMED NOTABLES, WHO MERELY NEEDED AND WANTED TO BE ADMIRED AND TO FEEL IMPORTANT...

I WONDER HOW THAT FEELS, BEING GIVEN CREDIT FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU DIDN'T CREATE, OR DESERVE, WITH MONEY BEING FUNNELED TO WHERE IT ALREADY HAD BEEN FUNNELED PRIOR TO MY GLOBAL PLAN, AND ALL THAT WAS REQUIRED OF THE CHARLATAN WAS THE ABILITY TO LIE YOUR ASS OFF UNDER ANY AND ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, UNTIL YOUR WHEELS BECAME WOBBLY, AND OUT OF CONTROL...

SO I MUST ASK...WAS IT WORTH IT?

YET, I THANK LONNIE ELDER, MY FRIEND WHO HAD RECOGNIZED SOMETHING IN MY WRITING THAT MADE HIM GIVE ME THE INVITATION OF COLLABORATION...AT A TIME WHEN HE WAS ALREADY RECOGNIZED AS A PROFESSIONAL WRITER...

I MUST NOW THANK HIM BECAUSE PERHAPS IF HE HAD NEVER MADE THAT OFFER, I MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE ABILITY TO ENDURE AS A WRITER...SO, THANK YOU LARRY ELDER FOR YOUR KINDNESS AND RESPECT.

(C)COPYRIGHTED BY GWEN MITCHELL, AKA GWENN MITCHELL, AKA GWENDOLYN MITCHELL, ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, A DAY AFTER AN OLD FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY, AND FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE BIRTH DAY OF THE MAN WHO  I SHARED A SON...DEC. 3, 2016 AT 2:36PM AT THE WEST HOLLYWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY, WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA 90069, USA.