Given some 80 plus years of effort,
it is easy to figure out who you are.
I must say it did not take me all that time.
But the extra time gave me the chance
to consider the validity of my conclusions.
I am who I am because of who I am not.
I am not Tarzan.
I proved that at eight
as I tried to swing through the trees
and fell with a humbling thump.
I am not Whizzer White.
I proved that at 10 when
I dropped the ball
when Harlan tackled me so easily.
I am not a gang leader.
Leroy Martinez set me straight
when he beat me up for the third time.
Well, how about Fred Astair?
Afraid not, as pointed out
by Theo Jean who noted
I had the same dancing skills
as the Broden's cow.
How about John Wayne of the Marine Corps?
Not with the combat area
being the El Toro officer's latrine
where cleaning urinals was my MSO.
Nor was I the community Errol Flynn.
Errol Flynn could dance
and talk sweet and smart.
Well, how about the best scholar on campus.
Nope, not number 1 scholar.
There was Ivan, Hal and Barbara,
who did knowledge easier, faster and better.
How about Mr. Chips in the classroom?
Close, but there was always first best,
giving rise to another second best.
I also was not Ronald Coleman,
great illustrative husband;
after the second wife,
I should try for Bachelor of the Year.
When the list of who I was NOT
grew very long,
I sat one day and made a list of who I could be,
given all the things I was not.
Guess my diet of wine, jazz and Mexican food
suggests a gourmand, if not gourmet.
Guess I have a bag-filled of life tattoos;
observations, experiences, opinions
and memories, building materials
for casting a who.
Guess if it takes a community to raise a child,
then it takes a lifetime to make a who.
Doug Minnis
December 12,2009