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More than anything, my parents shaped my views growing up, but after a certain age it was school and reading. My parents were religious and not racist, and I don't recall ever hearing the "N" word from them, but they grew up poor in the South, with separate water fountains and facilities. They held distinct views about minorities, especially Black people. Our humble home was right next to what my parents called a "colored" neighborhood. So I frequently saw colored kids but was not allowed to play with them (and I don't think they wanted to play with me). There was only one colored girl in my high school class of 400. As I became a teenager and exposed to the news on TV and reading, I realized there was something fundamentally wrong with our society. Now that I'm am older white man, I see our country recently going backwards towards more unacceptance and hatred of others, especially minorities. It’s scary. To me, MAGA means pull minorities down or send them home to make some white majority greater. That's one of the reasons I wrote my novel, The Short Happy Life of Wyatt Outlaw. It tells the tragic story of an enslaved man that history wants to forget. The novel is framed with the murderous events that occur in Graham, North Carolina, on February 26, 1870. The atmosphere is thick with political tension and impending violence. Wyatt Outlaw, a Black town commissioner, master carpenter, and Union veteran, is marked for death by the White Brotherhood and KKK. To me, Wyatt Outlaw is a hero who overcame great odds to become successful. To me, our country has made great strides in accepting people who are different, but we still have a ways to go. I hate to see us going backwards. It would be nice if, on our 250th anniversary, we could celebrate for all Americans, and not just for a select group.

https://variety.com/2026/music/news/peabo-bryson-dead-beauty-and-the-beast-1236765354/ Peabo Bryson, the man who could really sang, has passed away. He suffered a stroke a few days ago. Some of Peabo's hits were "Feel the Fire", "Reaching for the Sky", "I'm So Into You", "Can You Stop the Rain", "If Ever You're in My Arms Again", "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "A Whole New World" & "Beauty & the Beast". Thanks for the legacy of music. RIP Mr. Peabo Bryson.😎

Here's when I hung out with PRINCE. 😉 I'm really having fun doing what it's possible to do nowadays!😜