User:FatherOfStarWars/sandbox

<!-- EDIT BELOW THIS LINE -- “TRUTH” A LOOK INTO STAR WARS Opening

October 21st, 2022, I was going about my day, as I always have. When I passed out one of my cards, as I have so many times before. To a gentleman by the name of Edward Haywood. Now for the first time Edward Haywood, unlike so many before him, asked me something about that card that no one else has ever asked. He took the card and took one step away before he quickly returned. I had no idea what to expect. His face was filled with curiosity like I had not seen in a great while. He pointed on the card to the word, ‘Truth’, and asked, “Is this the name of the book?” Now I have been asked many times as to why have I not written a book about my version of how I wrote Star Wars. My answer to that was a consistent, “I wouldn’t know what to call it”. Well now that's over and I owe a measure of gratitude to Edward Haywood for bringing to light that the title was already written on the card. So, Edward Haywood, thank you for your quick mind and your curiosity that made you stop and ask the question. Now that the hard part is done let’s get to the story. Let's take a look into what really made-up Star Wars. Truth, A Look Into Star Wars. MY ARRIVAL There has been a lot of talk of the moment we come into this world. How we are born knowing the secrets of the universe. They have gone so far as to make TV shows and movies that speak to this question. Well now that I’m in my sixties I don’t recall knowing all that. The only thing that I believe that I remember is that moment of the development when we, the her’s and his’s contribution, know that I have arrived. I remember it as a feeling of answering to a roll call. Except, without words. The dark and the warmth of the room I was in gave me peace. Being well protected with no reason to fear. The moment came and passed as I settled in for ongoing development of all my parts. Note, it was full of sounds and voices that I came to understand as common to hear on a daily basis. I never felt the discomfort of a loud noise or an angry speech. Being was good. That was a long time ago. Now the things to come would be the stuff of history. I was very fortunate to be born to Mary Louise Flippen. The name itself shines as the only HARD POINT in my life that gave me the grounding that I needed for the rest of my life. The entire town knew that she loved and cared for her children. Anyone that she let through her door could tell you of her kindness. Mom gave us all an endless amount of love. She cared for us the best she knew how. My oldest sister will be best to fill you in on her immense love. I never felt like I was less than anyone, I do believe that I was tested for who I wanted to become. You see, all I knew was that I wanted to be the best person that I could be. Doing the best with what I knew was the best way I could honor my mother for bringing me into this world. Many would never guess that I am a burn survivor. Too often we think of a burn survivor with his face, head and neck all mangled. Well, there’s other parts to the human body. It was one winter when it was cold as cold could be. The potbelly stove had not been stoked. And the kitchen stove was on to provide some kind of heat. My oldest sister was outside chopping wood. And everyone else was still asleep. My 5-year-old tummy was growling and telling me that I had to fill it. So, I made my way to the kitchen, and I spied the empty space on the stove where you raised the lid to grill pancakes and sausages and many other things all at once. I said to myself I could sit there. So, then I hopped up on the lid of the stove and began making me some peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches. Mind you we had layers of clothes to keep warm through the night. And this is where it gets tricky. While making my peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches I notice a flickering across the room. Wait, a flickering across the room, from where? I looked back and I saw flames leaping up high above my head almost touching the ceiling. And I knew that flame had to be coming from me. So, I jumped off of the stove and began running through the house. Flames and oxygen they teamed up to make an even bigger flame. When my oldest sister heard me screaming, she burst through the back door, rolled me up and the rug, and that was the last that I saw of daylight for six months. Can you believe that my oldest brother Tony thought that I was leaning against the stove when I caught on fire. I told him I would have to be a lot taller for it to start at my tailbone to my neck. If that was so, then it would have been from my shoulders and the back of my head. My brother Tony looked at me with this look in his face like, ‘You was a crazy little boy’. Amazing, for 60 years he believed it was a more simpler accident than it actually was. No one was more surprised than I that this had happened. I was certain and very confident that I could sit on that griddle area and not worry. However, there was peanut butter and Jelly and bread up there with me. Well, I couldn't keep jumping up and down from there. That just wouldn't be convenient. I cannot imagine how much pain and suffering, and tears were spent during those six months by my mother and grandmother and family. What I do know is that the first faces that I saw were my grandmother and my mother at my bed in early spring. We had made it through the winter. and now the sun was glaring and shining in through the hallway door and I could see trees with leaves on them. Remember, it was the early part of winter when I burnt my back. Now it's summer, well, almost summer. There still were many months of sores that wouldn't heal. Areas that would blister up. Reoccurring sores that would gush puss for months to come, some years. Surprisingly, there were even some decades down the road that would appear and say, ‘Hello, we're not done yet.’ Thankfully they were small, yet some hard to get to. It took until 6th grade before I was able to sleep on my back. Some nights I would toss back and forth from one side to the other. Some nights it was all I could do to sleep face down. It was not that bad. I had done it for six months at the start without a prob. Oh, wait, I was out then. I remember coming home and going into the bedroom and my mom changing my bandages before laying down. Not only did it take its toll on me, it called for my mother to have to take a time out also. Being so young, getting back into the swing of doing kids things did not take long. Things like, nearly cutting off a finger chopping down a tree next to the house. OK, it was a very small tree nearly half my size. But I wasn't gonna let it tear up the foundation on our house. No, no! I can now tell everyone that I have 11 fingernails but 10 fingers. That was not our only bit of fun that we had. A friend of ours named Freddy had an accident while bathing with water being way too hot. We say that his mother didn't want the water going cold while he was bathing that winter. Truth is, we don't know just how the accident happened. When they say if you think your situation is so bad, pick your head up and look around and you'll surely find someone who's worse off than you. Freddy's body was burned all over so that it was not one inch uncovered. When I say to you that his body looked like my back I do not exaggerate. Now stopping and thinking back on just how hard that must have been on his mother I find myself quite fortunate. Getting back to the point of being a kid growing up. We were always excited when the 4th of July and holidays came around. Especially the 4th of July picnic over at our uncle's house. We would be out picnicking and partying on the front lawn and having a great time. Until our friend Freddy came around. David and I were so glad Freddy came by because everybody saw Freddy they ran into the house. Deserting all of the goodies leaving David, Freddy and I a clear path to every table. Oh, what a wonderful day that was. You can say our adventures started at the break of day. One of my favorites was the capturing of the Black Widow. We had a shed in the back that was locked but it had a hole in the roof. This led us on an adventure into what lies within the shed. So, as kids do, we climbed to the roof and went down that hole. What we discovered is that the shed had more than one room. But that was as far as we got because there in the corner of the doorway was a spider web. In that spider web was a large spider that we just had to capture. So, we rushed back into the house and grabbed one of our empty peanut butter jars with a lid and hurried back to our prey. We carefully captured the spider in the jar and took it out to the light. Upon examination we see it has an hourglass shape on its abdomen. We were going on the warning from our brother and mother, we had caught this deadly spider, the Black Widow. Growing up kids was all we had to do. Our mother made sure that we had everything we needed and that she was there every day doing what a good mother does. If you were to ask me what it was like growing up, I could say we had fun. Our grandfather, once, brought back this huge turtle. His wife would clean the meat of the turtle and cook it. One day I went into the back yard to look at the shell. It was so big. I walked around it a bit. Then I just had to see how big it was on the inside. As soon as I got my feet inside it closed up. My brothers Tony and David came and got me out. Thankfully I could yell loud enough that they could hear it from the front yard. We had many wonderful days growing up in Centralia, Illinois. So many miles away, so very far from home I can still smell the fresh air and see fireflies as I think back. Halloween was especially easy holiday. We could make a couple of runs over to our uncle’s candy factory and we were set for the rest of the year. We had bags of candy before it even got dark and home in time to watch our favorite shows. Christmas volunteers would swing by and drop off toys and candy. My mother made the best stuffing for Thanksgiving that anyone has ever tasted. If I only knew the recipe, I would still be making it today. You would have loved my mother. She had a kind a personality that would draw you in. Her smile was infectious and just looking at her you would want to smile back. The hardest time of our lives began when they took us away to Mount Vernon. Even then my mother proved to be a worthy adversary for the state. Although they would keep so much distance between us and her fixed income, she would find a way to come see her children. We always look forward to her visits. They would come at a time when it seemed like she heard our prayers. Her children missed her so much each and every day away from her. Some even clung tighter to the guardians at the state had set us under just to fill the void. Make no mistake, this did create a problem in later years. Being separated from your parental mother can cause quite a confusion. The misinterpretation and the distance caused some resentment in a few of us. I al day we would be swept off home to our mother. I never lost hope that someday we ways did my best to keep the faith that one A person and two children sitting on a porch

Description automatically generated with medium confidence would be back with our mother under the same roof. This hope, this dream, was so strong that one day when were in the yard and things were not going so well. I took it upon myself to instill hope of our return. With their faces all a missed because we were told to sit under the walnut tree and stay out of the sun. I decided that we were going to fly home via rope. So, I grabbed the jump rope and began to twirl it above my head, and I exclaimed, “I'm going home who's coming with me?” They looked at me partly stoned. A few moved a little here and there, and then Crystal said, “That will never work." I exclaimed loudly and proudly, “Oh yes it will”. They looked at me and turned their backs and said it will never work”, again. And I said, “It's the last time who's going with me?” and as they turned their backs I exclaimed, “OK then I'm going by myself.” And I began to swing that rope even harder, and it started making a noise and I said “OK, OK, I'm going.” Just then everybody jumped up and grabbed hold of me and I said” OK let's go” and as I twirled that rope even harder, I began to laugh, and the day changed course just that quickly. This is how I felt about my mother. That she would do anything within her power to make sure that we were happy, healthy and full. Believe me, in my day I have seen a lot of children going without. I'm sure, deep within my soul, that my mother, Mary Louise Flippen, would do everything she could to make sure that we knew just how much she loves us. PHASE ONE Now you may think that life changed for us when I set myself a flame but, that was not the case. There are so many more adventures for us to experience. Many more trips to the neighborhood candy store. There's this one time that we all had a taste for candy. Even though parents and grandparents say that they had no favorites we somehow figured that's not quite true. I didn't realize just how much resentment there was when David and Tony saw favoritism that grandpa showed me. They had ran over to his house to ask for some change. Grandpa, in his unique way told them that he was broke. They walked away empty and broken-hearted. I did not realize that they had already asked him when I passed them going to grandpas. When I asked for some money, he gave me $5. You should remember that this was the early to mid 60’s. Five (5) dollars was a lot of money back then. You may think that that's the story. Well, when they saw me heading towards grandpa's they paused around the corner and watched. Saw grandpa hand me the money and they waited. As I came around the corner, they grabbed me and took me to our front yard where there awaited a rope. One that they use to stream me up by my ankles and run off with my money. They failed to recognize that Mary Louise Flippen was standing at the door and saw them stringing me up. She came out the door and called for them to get me down from that tree as they ran off laughing. You would think that this made me angry, but it was so funny to me that I could not stop laughing. There were a few other things that may or may not have included a drive-by shooting, someone returning fire, and the instigator throwing away his weapon. All leading up to the separation of family from home. If that is not a case of injustice, I don't know what else to say. When a parent cannot defend their own children in their own home without being made a blame then what is America. Single mothers have it so hard just to get by that they have to endure the advances of unwanted unworthy men approaching upon them for sexual favors. Single mothers have a hard enough time just going from day-to-day striving to feed and shelter them and then being harassed by entitled men. We are yet still coming up short of putting the human back into humanity. OK, now I need to take a break and breathe before going on a rant. This self-important man child driving by shooting at a house of a single mother and her children. How can you call it justice when the state takes away the children for her striving to protect them. Any man that can shoot up a house with women and children inside he's not worthy to be called a man. It is because of him shooting our house that we got taken away because my mother fired back. It's not enough that she was taking care of nine children that she had to also defend herself against unwanted advances. Going to a courtroom being told we're going to be placed in the care of total strangers. To be separated and kept apart in different households with only one glimmer of light. The sisters Hattie Stovall and Sally Patterson live next door to each other. They being sisters met just that. They were so different yet so very much alike. The one, A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated Hattie Stovall, she could be the loudest person in the room. As opposed to Sally who is normally the quietest Now here is the convergence. If you were in trouble and it called for a whipping the entire neighborhood heard it. Oh yes, we got whippings, beatings, and spankings. Yeah, but that was just part of growing up. Right? Believe it or not we made it out alive. Sure, there were days we pulled wires out of our legs from the extension cord that was cut at the ends. But did this kill us? No, it didn't. It was not always like that. Things started out fine, well as far as being away from home separated from your mother. They provided receipts so that she could go to the store and purchase clothes for us for school and work. This gave us the appearance of being the best dressed children in the neighborhood. As far as doing with the certificates and the money that they got from the state she was very Proficient. We would oftentimes go with her to her cleaning job at the house of Mr. Rockaway. He lived alone in a big two-story house with a basement. You know the kind with the laundry chute that ran from the second floor to the basement. Although we were there to work, we enjoyed ourselves being in such a large house. The aroma was filled with fine tobacco smells. Seeing how he loved to smoke and walk around in his robe. The dining room had a dining table and a serving table accompanied by a China cabinet. It was never really hard work, and she always paid us both. As we got older, she gave us a little more. Although we were not home with our mother, we were given a sense of self-worth. I ask you not to get this mixed up with the concept of being satisfied. Yes, we had money in our pockets to go home to see someone else's face other than our mother’s. You may say that I am a Mama's boy, and you would be right. There is no shame in loving your family. We also learned to appreciate what we had. I still to this day wish we had more time with her. The love for my mother has never been a passing thing. To you it may seem like another sob story, which of course it is. But it also was our reality. So yes, I did want to make money by writing that story. I did want to buy my mother a home. We did purpose to make Star Wars a movie because we wanted to make money off it. So, anyone reading this that has the opinion that it is an all of a sudden type of thing, wrong! We always wanted to be reunited with our mother. I put my heart in to birthing Star Wars and that is why you will hear the phrase “Father of.” This baby I birth. All I wanted was to bring Star Wars to the world. PHASE TWO Time just keeps moving on and we grow to learn to cope, or we begin to break apart. So, I used my love for my family and my love for words to calm the storms that were trying to surface in our young lives. We spent many days hiding from the sun. That Illinois sun is so unforgiving. I became the unofficial official storyteller of the foster home of Hattie Stovall. We did our best to play quietly in the basement but as children will do, we got a little too loud and we were ordered to be quiet. However, being quiet is not the same as being silent and shut up. We were always going to church, so I tried to tell them stories of a good nature but as it were they wanted to be scared. So, I told them the scariest stories that I could. let's pause, they did not bode well with scary stories. I would start and before the first chapter ended, they were begging me to stop. So, I would stop and then they would beg me to continue the story. So many of us have seen what it would look like to turn children loose in a candy factory. I know what it is like to have money to buy candy every day. Some of my classmates nicknamed me ‘The Candy Man’ because they knew that at lunch, I would go to the Five and Dime and get a “FEW” bags of candy. But I digress. Here you can lean in because that's what it was like for Mr. Samford to say to me to write a short story. This was like a child with a sweet tooth. How could I ever pass up this opportunity to flaunt my abilities as a storyteller. My junior high years were speckled with barely passing grades all through this time. Truly, I felt I was being robbed of grades that I deserve. So now I have the ability to get me an A in one assignment that I was confident that would result in a hard A, at least a B plus. The Candyman phase actually came in high school. But this part developed earlier in the latter part of 72-73 school year in junior high school. No doubt that I had a liking for sweets even then. This was almost an obsession. Some days just before bedtime we would take turns running over to the doughnut store to get the large bag of M&M’s to share as a night cap. I still think that Hattie knew that we were making that run but was not making a fuss over it. No matter, we believed that we were doing something big for ourselves. The morning would always come so quickly it seemed. Hattie was always the first one up. We would be woken by the smell of breakfast, and we could never say it was the same old thing. It would be so wrong to say that she did not feed us but, that is what the school said that I said one day. They called Hattie and said that I told them that I did not eat. What I told them was that I was hungry, and I wanted more to eat. She was so upset ‘when she got to school’ I think I saw fire coming out of her eyes. You already know that that was not so. No one yet is able to make fire shoot from their eyes. I was already feeling bad enough that she had to come to the school. It was now I was telling lies on her not feeding us. You may think that it took a long time for Hattie to get over that but, it was done and over by the end of the day. I do not remember her ever throwing that up in my face. I can't imagine what she was thinking, she just let it be. She was one always full of surprises. Like this one time she came home with a new lawnmower. She told David and I that we should not tell Mister Stovall that she bought it for us, and it was our lawnmower. After a while Mr. Stovall came up with his own surprise. One day when we were in the backyard he came and got me and walked me around to the side of the house. Then looked up at the two-story building and asked what would I charge him to paint the house. Of course, I was surprised since we had been doing it for so long for free. I quieted my excitement, and I brought my hand to my chin and gave him a price that he quickly agreed on. So yes, there were a lot of times it felt less than worthy, then you had your exceptions. There are a lot of things to unpack to the creation of Star Wars. Take for instance, what led me to believe that we are more than we appear? First, let’s look into our first few days away from home. At the Stovall’s place you can say that we were not at home. Settling in is so unrememberable that it would be best left alone. But, at school, that is where my real life began. Growing up we all have heard about how the new kid gets picked on and bullied all the time. Well, not so much in small towns. Not in my days. At least, not to me. Why do people say that, ‘at least’? Oh well! Now this is how it went for me. We had went through the first part of the day like milk and cookies. Now it was time for recess. As we were about to leave the classroom two of the brightest and cutest girls took me by my hands and led me in between the felt easel. Oh my! Am I making friends on the second day! There was this big smile on both of their faces. Then, “You first,” they paused, “at the same time,” then they both kissed me on my face. Then we went out on to the playground and joined the class. Two girlfriends, that knew about each other. I can say that now and know just how rear that is and it works. I had no idea just how special that made us. I have never had to have someone around to be okay. It just feels better when I do. I think I have a need that is deep inside to take care of those around me. Why? I am not sure. We through the years had great times and then there was my fall from grace. Still, I am getting ahead of myself. Typically, we would be one of the first back to class. This day I was one of the last. As I came upon the North facing door, I paused to look at my reflection. This double pane safety glass showed me the bigger picture of myself. In that reflection I saw a clear and perfect outline of myself. This outline of less than a quarter of an inch encompassed the whole body. This is the moment I knew that we are more than just flesh and blood. We are of the supernatural. This also made going to the house of God so special to me. I wanted God to call on me for anything that he had for me to do. I came to see service as the greatest tool to show others not just what it is to be a follower of Christ but also the face of Christ. We often times forget that we can lead by example. You cut the cloth before you sew it. I did for others because I saw it as giving to God. I worked on whatever it was to make it the best they ever saw. There is no doubt that I messed up from time to time. It was not like I was trying to be the bad boy. Sometimes things just happen. Like this one time we were running through the house when I closed the door to the stairs too hard. One of the wall plates fell off and broke. We all knew just how much she adored her decorations and that she would be upset if anybody broke one. So, I placed the broken plate on the Duvet then went to the basement to wait for her to see it, I said to myself that no matter what she would do to me for breaking the plate I was going to tell the truth. So, I sat with a firm determination to do just that. Now when she did call me to explain what had happened, I told her that it was my fault and how I slammed the door too hard. She said ‘Okay ‘, then went upstairs. I went back to the basement and listened for her return to administer my punishment. It took hours for her to return and then it was only to cook our dinner. We came to the table and she went to her seat in the Dining room, we ate at the kitchen table. She finished then went to her room for the rest of the night. I waited the rest of that day and through most of the next day before I came to see that she was not going to punish me. It was right then that I said I would not lie to her for any reason just to avoid a punishment. PHASE THREE With everything that we had been through you may think being bitter would come easy to me. Well, you see, I was much too grateful that I survived that fire that I had brought upon myself. Waking up to mom and grandma by my side on a beautiful sunny day. Seeing how happy they were to see my eyes opening and my head turning to look about the room. That was as sweet as honey to my soul. So much peace and joy being displayed. Knowing just where I was and who I am. Gratefulness was the theme of the day and every day to follow. So, you see, when Mrs. Stovall let me off for breaking the plate, she showed me what mercy felt like. So, starting with the love of my mother and the life-giving power of God coupled with mercy you have a winning combination. I said all that to say this, I wanted to be able to bring a little peace to my siblings at this foster home. They were not all my blood but, they all were my family. I knew that they had their own way of seeing things. Yet it was not up to me to make them think like me. It was up to me to show them how to be more like God. Since I am not God, I had to show them what I had learned about being like God as a human. So, you see, the stories that I wanted to tell them were not the stories that I could tell, and they would listen to. So, one scary story led to another. Now we have this substitute teacher telling me, okay the class, to write a short story. What! I get to write something that I want to tell! How cool is this? I had never been so happy in my life to be assigned an assignment or task in my life. I know how to use a dictionary; I always kept one with me. You know that small pocket dictionary. And they had dictionaries in the classroom as well. Oh yes and before I forget I could bring up my grade with that because I knew that I could write a story that would blow your mind. Not that I wanted to see anybody's head explode, but you get the drift. It was towards the end of the class that he gave us the assignment and I had already had A picture containing human face, portrait, smile, retro style

Description automatically generated Mary Louise Flippen ( LIFE GIVER Of TEN BEAUTIFUL CHILDEREN) the lines drawn in the sand. Because we could cross the galaxy with great ease, we knew that we were not the only ones. I wanted to portray the swords that the cherubs wheeled before the gates of the garden of Eden in some way. Instead of flames, light and instead of sword, Saber. I had gotten to the groups and their abilities. The first group would have the ability to see beyond sight. At that point the bell rang, and we stood up and headed for the door. As I reached the door, I was almost ran over by a boy striving to catch up with his friend. He jumped down the steps and out the door onto the playground. As I reach the door and exit on to the playground, I heard in the sky a sound. I looked up to see a jet flying across the sky. Jet, site, beyond sight, Jedi. And just that easily these things came together. The words came together so smoothly, and so effortlessly. Line after line, word after word, thought after thought falling into place so smooth. As I wrote my focus became sharper and sharper and by line 3 the letters were becoming smaller and smaller. Now by the mid page I was writing two sentences on one line. I continued down the page till I came to the end, flipped the paper over and finished another half a page. That short story that I turned into Gary Samford, the teacher, he looked it over and he politely and calmly asked me if I could write it over so that he might be able to see the words. So, I wrote it over and it came out to 2 1/2 pages. Handing my paper in for the second time was nerve wracking. I was hoping my grade would not be harmed by it being turned in late. Although it was his idea for me to write it over. I just hope that an A or B plus would stand. Now after examination of the work he said to me could you stay after class. Let it be clear, I became very nervous as to why he would have me staying after class. It would all but indicate that something was wrong. He approached me with my paper in his hand and paused. He looked down at me then back at the story then down at me again. Then he said, “Where did you get this, did you see it on TV, did you hear it over the radio, did you read it in the book, where did you get this.” I told him, “You asked for a short story”. That's when he said to me, “OK, all you have to do is come to class and write. I'm going to grade you on your punctuation, your grammarlization, and if it takes through the summer, we're gonna make this into a movie.” OK, I don't know about you but when someone says something like that it makes me want to get busy now! Do you know what this meant to me. It meant I could buy my mom a house, we could move back home the family would be together again in the city of our birth. What a blessing from God this would be. To be able to do something that would restore our family once again. I already knew how everyone wanted to be accepted in some type of sound stable family. Yep, this would do it. And all I had to do was write what was in my heart that I wanted to share with the world. That over time and distance Our gods still prevail. Oh, I know you didn't think this was just a war against good and bad, right and wrong, brother against brother. No, this is this story about what would happen if God did not say, son it's time, bring our people home. Don't you get it? It's a children's story. He said that the wars and rumors of wars would persist until His return. No amount of debate can change that. So, did it work? Seem to make a big enough impression on someone to swiped it off my desk while I was in the bathroom. Who would know about this story? Who would have thought to even bother to glance at it? The other kids in the classroom were just as involved in making sure they had a good grade as I was. So, let's take a step back. After he said let's make this into a movie my mine was filled with expectations and excitement, maybe I can even get my girlfriend back, maybe. But the first thing I needed to do was finish the story. So, I came to class, and I wrote, and I wrote for a week and 1/2 with the hopes of having it done before the school year ended. Because things were going so well, I thought I could coach my girlfriend into taking me back. Well, that thing blew up beautifully in my face. I called to her after school as we were heading home and asked to speak with her. She didn't wanna hear it. I followed behind her and was pleading and begging and dropping my heart's tears out. She still didn't wanna hear me. My cousin, one that likes drama, kept shouting in my ear, slap her, slap her, like they do on TV, slap her. I wanted her back so bad that my sleep had me sleep-dreaming about her. ‘You’re going to lose her’, ran through my head. Then I heard once more slap her, and I swung. I tried to bring my hand back, but it was already at its mark. There was no more wondering whether we were ever going to get back together. There was no happily ever after, after that. I had thoroughly broken any road to redemption or any signs pointing, this is the way. No Road home from that. I had struck the love of my life and broken the hearts of everyone that saw it. I was officially the mud stuck between the pig’s feet as it rooted in its slop. Never again to be worthy of a smile from any one of them. And I was left with only one ray of hope. That we might be a family should this movie be successful. Then the next day it was stolen and that too was taken away. Can you see it? Me, at my desk, hard at work on this key that would get a family of eight, back home and in a house that my mother owns. Our oldest sister had joined the Army. So now I am back in the classroom and the only two people are Gary Samford and me. All had cleared out. He is standing at the head of our row. I asked him where was my stuff. Where did my story go? And he looked at me all calmly and said “I don't know. I'm not sure.” I begged him and asked him, “did you see who took it?” And he again assured me he didn't know what had happened. I began walking to the door, crying, and sobbing and I felt the rush to get home. Pleading and begging and asking him to remember if he saw somebody take my story. We were standing there in the hallway when he asked me, “Couldn't you just write it over?” That was a swift kick to the head I felt, and I began to cry more. I grabbed hold of him and cried and wept so hard I've thought my bones were going to crush into dust as I stood there. My heart has already been squashed. And I had thoroughly ruined my life. I had let my family down. I had let my mother down. I let the world down, because I could not hold my water long enough for the bell. Why didn't I just wait two minutes longer than I could have gone to the bathroom on the way out the door. I should have looked up at the clock to see the time. If I had only paid attention, if I had only. Why didn't I pay more attention. There is no clearer lesson than hindsight. We can all see our mistakes clearer as we look back. And still, we can't find time to look back very often. Always pushing forward, onward, and upward hopefully. For the next four years I did everything I could to not think about all the things I could have done differently. What I did was prepare myself for living alone. Bachelor Living, so that I could feed and clothe myself. I took personal typing so I could one day write down my memoirs without having to trouble someone. I ran track trying to catch up to what I lost. And I ate candy. Lots of candy to ease my pains. I'm sure that's not exactly what you would have done but who knows what to do in situations like this. So, it became known that after lunch if you need some candy you could come to Flennoy. I didn't mind sharing. There was a little fountain shop a quarter block from the school that made the greatest cherry coke. One day someone burned it down. This was my favorite place to get a cool drink. One of the guys saw me coming over to the store and rushed me and hit me. He didn't realize that a police officer had just pulled up to the corner. The officers immediately came to the parking lot where I stood, jumped out of their car, and said, Flippen, are you okay? I assured them I was fine, but they said we have to go to the station anyway to file a report. They asked if I wanted to press charges and I said no. The young man simply was doing what would come natural for someone who just saw their soda shop burned down. Of course, it was my favorite place too. Then they took us back to school. We had a period where there was this race riot that lasted a short time. I talked to one side as I was going to the candy store, pardon me, the five and dime. Then I spoke with the officers that were in the middle and asked them to keep it cool. Then I spoke to the other side, and they gave me their version of the story and I kept pushing. I could stop here and expound upon the words that were exchanged but some things are best left unsaid. I am not quite sure just why some folks turned to me when there was a problem. Just that they felt that I could help in some way. I could ask myself that for the rest of my life, yet I may or may not get an answer after one or more of them reads this book as to how did they come to conclude that I could make the difference. I never saw myself as much more than a foster kid that messed up with his girlfriend not once but twice before High School. I had feelings for one young lady, but I felt that we had enough problems growing up in the mid-West and then add race into it as well. I had my friends and that was all I saw. Like this one day, we had barely made it to the sidewalk when a group came to me about a fight that was taking place. They said that it was three against one and no one was trying to stop it. I quickly looked around and saw two of my friends and called for them. I told them that I needed them to help me out. Without question they followed me as I followed the group of students that came to get me. When we got to the parking lot where the fight was going on, the crowd parted like the Red Sea. As we approached the center of the action the four men stopped and moved to their prospective sides. The three black students on one side and the small, (maybe a hundred ten) white boy on the other side. I asked “So, what’s the problem?” The little man said in a loud voice, “They want to beat me up for no reason. I haven’t done anything to them.” One of his opponents said, “You know what you did.” I then quickly turned to the one and asked him what did he want to do? He said, “I want to stop them from doing this.” I asked how and he said, “one-on-one.” The other students said that’s just fine with them. So, addressing the four men I told them it was going to be a one-on-one match and if anyone, anyone jumped in that the two guys that came to help me, and I, were going to step in. Both sides took their stands, and they sent the first man in. One by one each man ran in and got off one or two swings in. This young man laid into them with such fury before they took flight. One by one he sent his opposition to flight. The quickness that the braw was over shocked the entire crowd. From that I see why it took three to even slow this young man down. A few days went by, and I showed a friend just how far I would go to help them stop smoking and as I was walking away. I heard this crack, snap, snap, pop. I turned and saw sparks falling. I looked up along the football field floodlight pole to see the kindest janitor at the school, hanging by his safety belt from the top of the pole. I was stunned. I could not take the time to go to help him. He was gone. By the way my hand was beginning to really hurt from the cigarette I just put out in my hand. Never would have guessed that the day would turn out like this. I, to this day, have not had the proper time or even know the way to process a thing like that. A friend that I just spoke to the day before. To this day I feel that I must keep it to myself. Am I wrong to think like this? No one seemed to care when my story was taken. I had to go through that all by myself. How could this warrant any greater attention? Two lives gone in two years. One, a life in words. The other, a life in flesh and blood. Gone. Left for the world to ponder over for as long as we are alive. Is this how I’m to go through life? Wondering, ‘what if’? Not a state of being that I would wish on anyone. PHASE FOUR HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT DARK IS IF YOU NEVER SEEN LIGHT? I have seen just how quick a life can be here then gone. Just how close we all are to a end that we could never see coming. I came to see that I wanted my ex-girlfriend to forgive me so we could have a life together. I did not want to go on living like I did not care. My heart had been joined to hers, in my eyes. I needed her forgiveness and love. So, I opened a jewelry account and got a very nice bracelet and tried to give it to her. She didn’t even look at it and kept walking. So, I gave it away to someone and that was that. Bachelor Living was seeming to be a great course after all. I did not see what was to come next. Nor could I ever imagine how I would turn that into mud. I did my best to be a good Christian. I did my best to help keep our hopes intact as a family. I did not like having to fake any more about the punishment that we receive for our wrong. Besides, we were just kids going through the changes of our lives. The whippings came so often that I grew numb to its pain. So, I stop faking crying when she beat us. This seemed not to frighten her, but rather made Hattie angry. That is the day she said that she was getting rid of me. I did not know what that meant, but, how could it be any worse? The days began to run together so much that I blinked, and it was my time to be shipped out. I did not have time to think about my brother David and his absences until I found myself at the same children’s home. It had been a few months since he had been gone. Only then did I find the time to slow down to think about my best friend, my little brother David. He was quick to make friends. He also established that he was not the one to be picked on. His pool game was outstanding. For him to miss a shot was only if he thought it would help his game. The next move came from the State. After a week they came by to interview me on what I wanted to do if they moved me. They asked me if I would want to go home to my mother. That was a rhetorical question, I thought to myself. Yes, I wanted to be with my mother. They asked me if I wanted to finish School. Well of course. It was a known fact that without a High School Diploma that you would have an even harder time getting a job. Then I asked about my health care. They said it would still be covered. Then I asked the question that you may never ever hear a fifteen-year-old say again. I asked if I could be circumcised. If you do not know what that is, it is the removal of the foreskin. It is what the Jewish people do after birth. I wanted to be closer to God. As close as possible. They said sure, why not. They let me know that it would take place during school break. Saint Francis Hospital is a Catholic hospital, and they don’t do that kind of work automatically at birth. They say that all roads lead to Rome. I Guess that depends if you are going to Rome or not. So, for a week after the snip, I stayed at home waddling around until I was okay. For me being with my mother was my biggest plan of all. I was home, with our mother, just not in her own home or rich or with my siblings or rich with our mother, siblings, and in the home that the money Star Wars would have brought us. No, just me and mother. It was good to be home with my mother and I was blessed to get the chance to be home. Riches come in many forms and sometimes a name can open doors. So, the Flippen name was known around town so well the doors flew open. If we were going to party there were friends that new friends, that could get all the reefer we wanted. Then sometimes those doors would lead down the wrong path. Remember this, in choosing your friends imagine where the road is heading before venturing down. I don't remember where all my money was coming from, but I do remember I always had money. That also means I also had weed. My mother never wanted any of her children falling into bad company. As it goes, one bed decision after another and I did a stupid thing. I lit a joint in my mother’s house. I was told in my mother’s way that this kind of behavior will not be good for my health. I had upset my mother to a point where I have never seen or ever seen again. She was upset and I was not ever going to challenge her in her home. I slowly walked to the door as she told me that she would not have pot being smoked in her house. Now that is a good mother. She showed me that it caused her great pain to even think about her children behind bars. Or dead in the streets. She could not be a father and a mother, but she was not going to let that be the reason why she failed to do the best that she could. Her 22clb rifle with the clip in the other hand helped her drive her point home. I made my way in the dark down to the train yard as I beat myself up for being such a bad son. Putting my mother in that position. Taking away the shine of why I worked so hard on that story to get home just to turn things to mud. Not to mention the young lady we had over and ate dinner at our place a few nights before. I rushed into a kiss, and I think I scared her off. Not to mention her name but P.L. was a beautiful, smart, and ever so kind lady. I, on the other hand, just wanted to be loved and be able to show someone just how much I had to give. Still, I made a big mess of that as well. Two left feet they called it in my day. When I got to the train yard I did not have long to wait before a South bound train came through. I was not aware that so many trains passed through our small town of Centralia, Illinois. With the traffic of train moving through I looked for a boxcar with an open door. Spying one that was open on my side I could only hope that it would not pick up speed before I could get in. I had heard that the Railroad cops would rough you up if they caught you jumping the trains. So that was next on my prayer list for the night. That I was getting on the right train that would take me through DuQuion, Illinois and that I do not get shot. It was likely that I even may be hurt by someone else that caught a ride. Not knowing just where you are going brought a kind of peace that you get when you know that you have arrived once you see where you are. I am not saying that you should ever hop a train. I simply feel that we can all just let go sometimes and let the Conductor drive. It’s not hard to do. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. The time passes by so softly. As for my experience, there will be signs that will let you know that you are on the right path. That’s what happened to me. I began to see things that I remembered from my youth, and I jumped off that train. When I did, I was only two blocks from my Uncle Henry’s house. This is a good point to mention this. He did say that He would never forsake you. Even when it is your mess-up. PHASE FIVE As you know a juvenile in the Welfare system is not free to just move out from where they were placed if they catch up to them. Because it was my uncle, he called my mother and in turn they called Welfare. They came to see me at my uncle’s place to again see what I wanted to do with my life. Once again, I let them know that I needed to finish school. They said good, as long as I was in school, they would make sure that I would have books, rent money, clothing and pocket money through my fourth year of college. That was the first time that I had anyone mention me going to college. If I had started to plan for college sooner, I would have been able to tell them which one I was looking at when they asked me if I had picked one yet. When I got into school in DuQuoin it was just a few weeks left till summer. I already had my driver’s license, so I began looking for a car. There was this ‘62’ Belair that a old man down the block had in his front yard. I took a look at it and asked how much did he want for it. When he said fifty bucks it was a done deal. I got in the car and felt the steering wheel with this big grin on my face. Looked around in my new old car, sat up and turned the key, then pushed the button and she started right up. I was in my first car, and it only cost $50. I picked up two other cars after that, but you can only have ‘one’ first. So, they say. Seeing that the Boys and Girls club was across the tracks from us. It made it super easy to get to work. It also made it easy to carry me home to put me in my own bed when I, a one twenty pounder, ‘ran’ into a two forty-seven pounder’s right cross while sparring. When I woke up, my uncle and that big bruiser were nursing me back to health. The worst thing about that is I saw it coming and I moved right to it. How cool is that. It is like I wanted to get knocked out, NOT! What would you say went w r o n g? And yet those were good times. We did some fun things too. Like, canoeing eighteen miles down the Ozark River. Now a lot of things I skipped over like, I was in Cub Scouts, 4-H, and Boys Scouts before getting to the Ozark. I had canoed across a lake and back several times. And I still did not know how to swim. When we began, they loaded all the food onto our canoe. They asked If we had done this before and I said have sat rudder before. The other child said that he did not want to sit in the front. So, they told me to let him, and I could sit in the nose. Twenty feet from the launch was an overhanging tree. I think he thought that would be a great starting place. So, we ran right for it and tipped over almost before we could sit down. I learned how to use a Life vest that day. Now I know why some people drown even with one on. You have to hold your head back in a vest. Until somehow you get picked up. You must save yourself even before anyone gets to you. Right there is a life lesson. You can not put it on others to do for you while you do nothing. All of our supplies sunk quickly to the bottom, and we had all the food in that one canoe. We were one of the last ones to push off so only a hand-full knew that our snacks for the end of the ride were gone. I was surprised to see that other campers had shared their food with our people by the time we arrived. The day had its bumps, but all-in-all, we had a super great time. You would be surprised just how fast eighteen miles are when you are on the water. That last year of school proved to be, well, teaching. I had some really good friends and I thought I had a few that wanted to hurt me. Come to find out it was more about the company I kept. You see, I was the new kid and all I wanted was to have a few friends that I could hang out with. I never was one to hang much in crowds but, I still was a fun guy. One of my friends had a few people that did not like him at all. Why? Because he had two big brothers that were in the Marines. They were known as bad dudes. This I did not know because of course; I was the new kid. One other friend was Don Barnet. He is this cool guy that loves to learn things. He’s funny and does school plays. He is, you know what I mean, a nerd. Just like me. Only better. I don’t know about you but, I think it is cool to be smart. That is who he is to me, my friend. He asked me if I wanted to deliver papers with him. How cool is that. Okay, let me calm down before I hyperventilate. But he is cool, my friend, Donny B. Oh, he loves to sing too. So, you may be wondering how could anyone dislike a person like me? Everyone can use a smile once in a while. This friend, that had a gang of guys angry, and I would go out of town on the weekends to party. We would ask whose car were we using. Then it came to the driving. There was never a quarrel or second opinion once it was said. My eyes are starting to water up as I write this part. We went almost the whole year before I found out these things about him. He was, at least, the school bully. He would touch females the wrong way ‘as they walked with their boyfriends. I had no idea that this was going on. Remember, school was almost done. I was in track, band, wood shop and plays. We did not have any classes together. One day, a group of students came up to me after gym class and told me what had been going on. I was so shocked that I needed to get some advice. Band was above the locker rooms and my coach was my best bet. I told him what I was facing, and he let me know that I would most likely have to fight him. He then said that if I still wanted to run track that I could not hit him with a closed fist. I told him thanks for the talk, and I hope it did not have to come to that. Well, it did. It still hurts me as of today. A good friend turned out to not be so good. I am skipping a lot of things because what does it have to do with Star Wars? Well, it was the upcoming summer that a storm was brewing! A time like nun before it and for me, hopefully, never again. We had gotten our Diplomas and were about to embark on to college. I said within myself that S.I.U. would be a great school to attend. I would be meeting my caseworker in a week or two to discuss my college career. It seemed like an easy decision to make. Going to college with ensure me and even greater success rate. And to meet someone, being a college graduate with help seal the deal. As I was driving down the road listening to the radio, making my way to somewhere. Where was I going? I don't remember where. It seems I lost a portion of time, and it was all because of what I heard coming over the radio. “And this summer's blockbuster is Star Wars. Coming out………” Wait! What was that? What did I hear? No! No! it couldn't be! They took my life when they took my story. Now they're going to parade it in front of the world and call it theirs? How could they do that? Why would they steal a story from me knowing just how desperate times were? My mother, she still didn't have her home. The family, still separated from each other. How could they have done this? Stolen our future, our fortune, our happiness. Without ever looking back. That was just wrong. The announcement came over the radio like a blinding light. The eyes in my head were blinded so that I could hardly see the road before me. My soul felt like it was in a shredder being ground to bits. My life, however tragic it was, had never been so hurtful in my entire life. Even the pain of the knowledge of my story being stolen did not hit me this hard. I stopped my car and turned it around. Went back to my apartment and sat down. I thought to myself for a moment why, Why, Why,? I tried to console myself with some cheese, crackers, and wine. But that did not help but to simply fill my stomach with more pain. Criminals! All of them, simply criminals. When I could no longer contain myself, I proposed to find my sister in New Orleans and ask her, how could this happen? Four years I struggled to contain myself and get myself back on track. Four years I vowed to do something good with my life and make my mother proud. Four years, and the day, and they announced the release of the story by the name I had given it. Four years I thought my first born was dead and buried never to be seen again. Now, it's up for viewing for the world to see on the big screen by those who stole the life that I was looking for my family, my mother, my neighborhood. This could not have come at a worst of times. I was ready to meet with my caseworker and work up a plan to go into college and to study for a career that I might be proud of. That I might make a home for my mother. Now, the very story that I was striving to put together to make of life for our family and community is being put on display by thieves. Thieves that stole from an eighth grader four years prior. The harshest thing of all is that they did it without a grain of remorse or empathy or compassion for the author of the story, me. Why would they destroy a child's dream? How could anyone do that? I was so excited to be writing a story that I formed around all the wonderful things I had picked up over the fourteen years of my life. Coupling gratitude with experience to form an imagery of a child's vision of what life would look like in the future it's Christ did not return yet. This was the story I wanted to tell the children in the foster home. Then it seemed like I would be able to tell the world and get paid in the process of doing it. Never seen the prospect of it being stolen. Never perceived that anyone would go back on their word. Never feeling that'll teach you would betray my trust take away from me the light at the end of the tunnel of my young life. It had been four years since last I saw my story. Now I'm driving down the road and I hear the announcement come over the radio. I was thinking my sister would be able to help me sort this out. Help me work through the pain of losing a story just to hear it come over the radio as the summers Blockbuster hit. Every announcement being like a poke in the eye or kick in the sack. A young, black, child, writing a story that becomes the summer blockbuster. I was not thinking about who would believe me. I was thinking about how could they take my story like that? I was hurt and did not know how my soul could be repaired. The pain of so much care going into the making of this story, Star Wars, to be ripped away with hardly a care. Feeling angry every time I hear about someone’s idea being exploited by a heartless industry. Seeing Star Wars T-shirts, hats, backpacks and on soup cans. When would this slap on the face stop coming. How could I ever fight this society that looked at black children and cross the streets. They feared even a black child that only wanted someone to play with or ride a bike with. What chance do we have against a world that our children bring fear to their hearts of them at our very sight. None. That is the lie that they want us to fall pray to. Never let it be true in your life. Stay true to yourself. The world needs you at your best. Year after year I asked around to see how I could get the message out that Star Wars, my story, had been taken from me right off my desk. I have called into a law talk radio and their big revelation was to write another story and when I show it to Hollywood tell them, “You already have one of my stories.” That would only serve those who has been in power to stay in power. How can you expect evil people to just change simply because you say it’s not fair. Their power relies on their staying in control. They stole from Africa. The land was plundered for its minerals. Killed and enslaved the many and ruled over them. Leaving them to the scraps of what is rightfully theirs. This they have done to Nation after Nation. Countless groves of lives destroyed all in the name of a kingdom that are still taking from the mouths of the hungry. What would make you think that they are going to print or produce a story simply because I said that I Wrote STAR WARS? We did not rise up against them for the same reason why Abel did not kill Kane. There are far too many reasons why we should have taken up arms and if not for the blood of Jesus, there go I. PHASE SIX Let’s see, just why is the title so important to the story? You hear Star Wars and what do you think? I have seen a lot of people say, “Oh, you had something to do with Star Track?” Not to be misled but yes, Star Track had a lot of influence on the concept of Star Wars. So, thanks goes out to the creators of Star Track. How did this fusion of space travel veer off into the differences that they became. Star Wars is the story of the things that I saw that may eventually come to pass if Christ had not returned. Yes, you got it. This has always been a child’s story about the non-return of Christ and how things may be. We have always looked to the stars and wondered what if. Because it is meant to spark in your mind just how small we are as a planet? How incredibly huge that the solar system is still a question that we are exploring on an ongoing and growing basis. Why do you think this is? Because He made us in his image. We cannot recreate anything without using the things that He has provided for us to use. Yet, we are creators of things from the things that He has provided to our use. If you remember this, it will help to challenge you to excel in all you do. Ok, think about this, when you reference where you are to where you want to be in the next thirty minutes. You consider the mode of transportation and the time you need to make it there. Now when you think about space you are now asking yourself how can we travel to other planets? Now back up, at one time we would say how could we get to the other side of the river. So, we build bridges to help answer that question. Now we apply that same concept to our approach to solving all of our other inquiries. We are hard wired to come up with an answer because we are made in His image. We were created to be creators. He made us in his image thus endowing us with the: creativity of our imagination. So, we want to build on Mars. What is to stop us? Only the knowing of how to do it safely. Can we travel more than forty-five miles an hour? The answer is yes. Why? Because He made us all creators. We have those that create sounds. We have those that create buildings. We have those that create cars, boats, bicycles, windmills and on and on. So given enough time we will have space travel and yet there still will be wars and rumors of wars. That is why it is called STAR WARS. So, let’s break down the rest of the story: Jetteye, Yoda, Luke and Laya, Hon Solo, Wookie, Lightsaber, Padawans, R2D2, C3PO, Millennium Falcon, these are points that I brought to the story. Make no quibs about it, these points are major and life changing. All these elements were written down before the theft of Star Wars. Jetteye & Yoda: Now we have the assignment to write a short story. First thing to understand is as long as you have humans you will have someone that dislikes you. So, you are on one side or the other. The Jetteye name started at the end of the announcement of our story assignment. I was thinking as I left my desk that this set of people would have the ability to see beyond sight. Still came the task of how to describe them. Just then as I reached the door entering the hallway a young man flew past me almost knocking me over. He was running to catch up with his friend that he did not know was waiting for him on the lower steps. He jumped down to the door that led outside which he began to go through and stopped. He turns to look over his shoulder to see his friend. He says to him as he turns, “Hay! I thought you were going to wait for me?” His friend stands up and turns towards him with this puzzling look on his face and said, “Yo, duh!” Oh! Wow! The first name of the story and it came within the first five minutes of its inception. That reply was so on time for the birthing of this story. It had all the right sounds to be a great character in my story. I had just begun and I had two solid starts. So, I jot it down as I headed for the door. As I pushed my way through the door and down the steps, I heard a sound in the sky. I looked up, toward Broadway, and up in the sky there was a jet streaking across the sky. Now I was back on the part of seeing beyond sight and what to call this set. Sight, combined with the jet. Sight, jet, Jetteye! Wow! This is going to be good. Luke and Laya: Now remember this, out of this whole thing we were in church a lot. We were in the choir. We help with the after-church snacks. We were out in front of the church a lot of the Saturdays helping with the Barbecue. So, it would be fair to say that we had church on the mind. So now we needed more people in this work of art, Star Wars, and where do I turn to, the Bible. There are some not so hard names in the New Testament. So, I started with Matthew, no, too long. Okay, Mark, too simple. Then Luke, that sounds okay but what about John? No! It has to be Luke, Luke it is. Oh, he has to have a twin. Like my friends Dennis and Denise. These are the perfect faces to Luke and Laya. This will be a great story. Just you wait and see. Hon Solo and Wookie: On the weekends that we got to watch cartoons were the greatest. So many shows that are lost to time. Some may remember the tune that was played when the masked man came on. One of the great phrases of our young lives came from that show. “Who was that mask man?” “One of the greatest men in the West. He’s the Lone Ranger.” So why did I use this legend? Because he fought for right. Hon, to me sounded Swedish so came about quite well and sense lone was being used by the Lone Ranger I chose Solo because it meant the same. Now don’t get ahead of me. That’s right, Wookie is to Hon as Tonto is to the Ranger. Not a hard sale. Can you see how of all the things that are part of this story they came from the life of a foster child. My life was poured into this story from the very start. I was literally putting my experience into a tail so that I could explain what I thought could happen if the time of Christ’s return took longer than we expected. Lightsaber Okay, so far you have heard a lot of talk about the Bible here. Well guess what? The weapon of choice in this story derives from the early parts of our humble beginnings. So, let’s go back as far as the garden. Now there was only two inhabitants in this, The Garden of Eden. Those that know this story know that because of a bite of the fruit from the tree of ‘Knowledge of Good and Evil' they were kicked out of the garden. Now because there was another tree there, The Tree of Life. God placed Cherubim’s with ‘flaming swords’ at the East. Here is the idea for a sword that glows. Okay, the sword glows but is fire the only thing that produces light? Wait! Light! How about a light sword? Oh no that just sounds so uninviting. So, I determined that a saber is also a sword by a different name that we should have this sword to be called a Lightsaber. This all came together as a flash of one thing faded another emerged. No, I was never stuck on what to write. I was forced to gather three-by-fives to be able to help me keep my ideas fresh for when I get to the part where they belong. The story was forming in my mind faster than I could write them down. Padawans When thinking on this set of unique warriors you may be reminded that some training is required. So, in school you have teachers and students. In the arts you have the Sensei and the different degrees of belts. So, with this in mind, not all students become teachers. Not all students of the arts becomes Sensei’s. Now hold on to your seats, all tadpoles becomes frogs. So tadpoles became the starting point for this group. I said, let’s take tadpoles and spell it backwards. As I attempted to say it in my head, I verbalized it as padawans, and it caught my attention. So why did Padawan make sense? Because out of the three, teacher, Sensei and Jetteye, the Padawan is the only one that instinctively grow to become a Jetteye. His choice is his alone, good or bad. R2D2, C3PO Here is a point that anyone can research. Like I said, we were in church a lot as children. We even were in choir. So one day we are invited to sing at the local TV station. Before we got started they gave us a tour of the station. One of the things they showed us was how they stored their film. If they had a runner to go and get the film for them they would say, bring me D6 R7. Which meant that they wanted the film real 7 in drawer 6. Now this is how R2D2 came to be. And obviously all the machines or robots in the future we're not named the same. This is where C3PO came to be. I decided that C3PO should be a different model and make from R2D2. Like I said these are things that came from my life and the encounters that I had. Millennium Falcon In Illinois we have plenty of clear skies. One of the Merit badges in Boy Scouts is for bird watching. You could hear the geese for miles before they came into view. The crows they liked to make their zigzag patterns back and forth as the murder moved throughout the sky. But the Falcons they would soar gracefully across the sky back and forth stalking their prey. They were definitely a sight to see. I tell you this as a prelude into the reason behind the name that I gave to Han Solos ship. Hattie Stovall drove a Galaxy 500.This is the only car I have ever known her to own. Even when she wanted to replace her Galaxy 500, she came back with a new Galaxy 500. She really liked the feel of those cars. Now that got me thinking that it may be in the name. Listen, if a car carried a name that gave you the feeling that it would out last most other cars. How much more would you want to have a spaceship that can get you to the stars and back several times. Not only that, but you want it to fly smoothly as a Falcon. We all know how important branding is. Ewoks Now the Ewoks was a name I settled on after going back and forth between four that I was considering for this group of small tree people. It was not till I decided to bring a Western idea into the pitcher that I settled on Ewoks. What was that you asked? In the start of the pioneering of the old west the shopkeepers would lay slats down tied together as sidewalks to invite customers into a clean store. When it came to closing time, they would roll up the slats to keep them dry in case it rained that night. This is where the term ‘Rolling-up the sidewalk’ came from. This was very important to me because it shows you that because the Ewoks were small, and they lived in trees that was no reason to count them out. A community has a strength that one can only wish to possess. PHASE SEVEN So, you are now asking yourself, why am I coming out with this story now. Let’s see, I was fourteen years old living in a foster home away from my mother. I did not have anyone to turn to that could help me get my story back. The only person that knows that it is my story will not stay on the phone with me for more than thirty seconds. And no Lawyer in the U.S. is brave enough to take on my case. Why is that? I spoke to a law radio talk show host that after I told him my story said, ‘Well, what I suggest is that you write another one and present it to them and say, you already have one of mine.’ As if that would make them snap to. So, what do we have here? We have a story that has made billions of dollars over the span of fifty years. The one man (Gary Samford) that can clear this all up is not talking to me. My son is getting older as am I. And I still do not have MY money. So, as I have been doing, I put it in God’s hands. Lord help me not to mess it up. Ect…….

STAY TUNED

Shape

Shape

Shape

I thought that as a bonus that I would bend your ear just a little more to get you acquainted with one of my pomes from my poetry book Gift of Words, ‘Journey’ and one that came after its publication, Kimberly. Both of these poems were processed using the same technique. Which most of the poem went through. Once someone learned that I wrote poems they came to me and request that I write them one. Then I would ask them a few question about themselves and according to their answer I may ask a fellow up question. To get a fell of who I was writing for. Some interviews were shorter than others but I made sure I knew how to approach their poem. As I have said that I interviewed each one that I wrote for. I was working in the cafeteria at LA Times when a security guard that I have since lost contact with came up to me all in a huff. Of course, with a smile on her face. “How come you did not ask me if I wanted a pome? You’re running around asking everybody else if they want a pome?” I told Journey The dark, the warmth, the sounds unseen

The thump da thump running through my brain

The movement causing me to leave

The limbs that rapes me like a sleeve

A cold round thing put on my chest

The gentle way I’m laid to rest

These things they happened not long ago

Now off to school, to learn, to grow

The girls, the boys, learn to pick sides

The books, TV, looking for guides

The ins and outs of how I should be

Would they ever just let me be me

The search for a job, the best in town

To pick the wrong one, won’t live it down

The days to long, the pay to short

The bills to pay, the tasks to sort

The children are growing, they need new clothes

Now one is sick, with a runny nose

Now living alone everyone is gone,

I speak with them weekly, over the phone

I tell them I miss them, they say ‘so do we

But for now we need to be free’

I fell down the stairs just the other day.

The strength in my limbs is going away

The kids came to help me for a few days

Now they are saying that they are going to have to stay

There feeding me warm cereal, I can’t keep things down

My eyes get all teary, when the grand kids are around

Will anyone miss me when I take my last breath?

When that last thump da thump beats in my chest

I can’t know what will happen when I’m then laid to rest

I’m sure of one thing; this has been the best journey yet

April 1, 2008

Flennoy Flippen

her that it was not that hard to find me. I was in the only place that folks go twice a day while at work. 292444_255428924476012_100000267203485_975444_752483_n.jpgKIMBERLY How do you see me what would you say if you just met me for one day? Now that is a question that’s need not a quick replay. So I’ll take a deep breath and maybe a sigh. Now mind you these are the things that I see. I just take a moment if I can speak free. K is for kindness that comes quite naturally. I is for her intellect you can hear when she speaks. M is for mother so gentle and sweet. B is for her bravery that she shows each day. E is for energy that helps her to endure. R is for her resilience she tough as nails. L is for her loyalty that never fails. Y is for her youthfulness she is in the sails. Now this is what I see and what I have to say. With all of her strengths don’t get in her way. She at times may be playful and kid with a smile. When she gives you an inch just don’t take a mile. By Flennoy O. Flippen Sr So, then I asked her what did she want it about. She reared up and said, “I don’t know. You’re the poet. Write it about life.” So, I gave it my all. She later told me that it took her four tries to get to the bottom of the page because she had to dry her tears. That made me feel like I had listened to her request. A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated with medium confidence As I have said that I have written for a few people. I was talking to one of these people about the pome I wrote for her when Kimberly came on the scene and sweetly interrupted and asked, “Did I hear you that you write poems?” I said, “Yes I do.” “Could you write me one but using the letters of my name?” We have the pome so you know that I told her sure. Remember, I interview those that I write for. The feedback was just as impressive as the others. Next time I saw her she told me that she showed it to her mother. After reading it she made a copy, framed it, and hung it on her wall. How hard would it be for you to be grateful after hearing something like that about your work. Lastly and truly not leastly, I want to thank God for giving me the strength to write for you and for you in supporting me and reading this work. I hope that you are fulfilling your work and I send blessings to all that have read mine. THANK YOU, Flennoy O. Flippen Sr. There is only one Artes listed because it only needs one to begin. Who knows, maybe some day someone may wish to work with me.