"Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible."
Maya Angelou
"The Lesson" part 4, by John S LES
"Billy Ray...Billy Ray...Billy Ray." Those were the only words he could say to himself. No one is perfect in life, but clearly he could now see where he had taken so many small wrong turns which led him to be so lost in his former life. That life of a working class, white male in a small town in Texas. A town called Prosperous, that was ironically suffering from regional economic decline and a slowed down national economy. Now his consciousness was stuck in the life and body of a man...a black man whom he had murdered. This black man was a family man, a war hero, a man who loved life and loved all of his friends regardless of their color or religion. Billy Ray realized that he didn't have that kind of capacity of love in his heart. He hadn't spoken to his youngest brother, Tommy, in years because he married a black woman. He hadn't spoken to his mother in years, because she divorced and ran from his father. He was angry at all Mexicans when illegal workers would be brought in by his father's employers and costing his father lost work and money. All of his anger, all of his hurt, always directed at the wrong people.
Billy Ray could now see that his view of the world was limited by his father's fears and ignorance about life and other people. Fears over losing money, strangers and the ability to support his family. A fear that was passed down onto Billy Ray and now onto his children, who didn't even know they had an interracial cousins living in Dallas. Billy Ray wanted his kids to have a better life and he could see now that he had been limiting their lives all these years...just as his own father had limited the lives of him and his siblings. The men who owned the oil company that hired the illegal workers that pushed his father out of a job happened to be white and wealthy. Billy Ray could now see that greed, not color or race, was the culprit here. Billy Ray could also see that his mother only left their father because she had grown tired of his hate and anger affecting their kids. Moreover, Billy Ray now realized that his brother Tommy never came back to Prosperous - not because he was worried about how his wife and kids would be treated by people outside of his family - but rather his father and siblings within his family. Billy Ray could not even show love and solidarity with his own flesh and blood. Ego was the culprit here.
The black man who Billy Ray killed, Michael Ray, had teamed up with another war veteran to develop a system to provide more more jobs for Americans in the growing technology industry. As long as the town had good electricity and strong phone lines, they could begin a unified workforce in areas that didn't necessarily have huge and expensive office buildings. Small buildings, barns and empty factory buildings all could easily be converted into office space. Workforce education was strictly based on the ability to read and write on a high school level. Employment was based on desire to grow, availability to get to work on time and fair access for men, women, black or white to apply for the job. There were checks and balances built into the hiring system to prevent unfair hiring practices. His own two daughters would have as fair a chance at a job at this company just as good as their brother.
Billy Ray realized he never gave Michael Ray a chance to communicate that when Michael Ray drove into town. All Billy Ray saw was a black man, and every negative image and thought he had of black people. When he looked around and saw Hispanic people all he could think of were illegal workers. When he saw his mother and brother's faces...all he could think of was anger and disappointment, which turned into tears. The tears were born from fear...fear of strangers...fear of the unknown...fear of the loss of control in his own life. Fear of losing the ability to care for his own family. Now he realized that he could have actually created more money for his family by helping and promoting Michael Ray and his business into Prosperous. He would have earned some great paychecks using his carpentry skills to rebuild and redesign old barns, lumber yards and warehouses into vibrant small office buildings. Not to mention that his wife would be able to get steady employment using her typing skills that she had learned in high school.
Billy Ray stood in front of a mirror crying. He was a white man crying, looking into a mirror of the brown faced reflection. The time and days around him were passing at an unbelievable swirling speed. Not only could he feel his own personal pain, but he was now also feeling Michael Ray's pain. The pain of supporting 5 kids, two of whom he had adopted, while struggling with post traumatic stress disorder issues. Billy Ray could see that the struggle to survive and raise his family was no different than Michael Ray's. There was no easy answer or easy way to do it. But, it had to be done. He could hear Michael Ray's voice in his head stating over and over and over..."We are all Americans." With that came flashing images of Michael Ray firing his rifle at enemy combatants in Afghanistan and nearly being overwhelmed in a heavy firefight as they scream death to the Americans.
Suddenly Billy Ray began to feel the room around him spinning. He could hear the voices of thousands of people spewing vile and hateful words at him as he looked in the mirror and could see his appearance changing in seconds. He went from white to black, from Asian to African, from male to female, from short to tall, redhead and brunette, and even from overweight to very thin. It didn't matter what he was, there were still dozens of voices surrounding him and cursing him for being whatever and whoever he was at the moment.
Billy Ray covered his face to prevent himself from seeing the changing reflections in the mirror. As he dropped to his knees a sudden and great pressure came over his chest and he couldn't breath anymore. He rolled onto his back and looked up. There he was back in Prosperous, Texas, at the scene of the car accident. Except this time, he was Michael Ray laying down on the ground and he was now looking up at his killer, his old self, Billy Ray. He could feel the pain of Billy Ray pressing his knee down into his chest squeezing out his last breath of air. He reached up, all he could think about was his five kids, and wondering who was going to help take care of them. But all he could do with his last breath was exhale the word "Pleassse..."
It's June 2012 again. Billy Ray wakes up and is back in his original bed and home. He checks his clock. It's 9am. He runs into his kitchen and checks his calender to the surprise of his wife. He is now back where he was the morning before the Michael Ray drove into town. He's already a little late for getting together with his buddies Tank and RJ that morning to look around for some work. Moments later after a quick shower and dress he goes into town to meet up with his two buddies. However, this time his tone about people and work is a lot different. Immediately he starts talking about the up City Council meeting later that afternoon. He spoke of it with more positive interest and possibilities that it could bring to the town, if it were successful for even just 50 to 60 local people.
His friends Tank and RJ also took notice that when they started to joke around about the illegal workers who took jobs from honest, unemployed Americans - Billy Ray was quick to point out that the workers shouldn't be blamed for taking menial, dangerous jobs because the oil company was looking for cutting costs. He stressed to his buddies that the other side of that problem was that most folks didn't want to have an honest discussion on the cause of the problem in the first place. Most of those day laborers were doing the jobs that no one wanted to do in the first place, and the oil company was saving themselves money by hiring a cheap, temporary labor force. These were the expendables.
Billy Ray was sure to park his truck in the same spot awaiting Michael Ray's early drive into town, but there was no such sighting. He then spent the afternoon talking to some of the city councilmen and people in the town and promoted the idea that a new business in the town would stimulate some building jobs and office jobs which would be beneficial for the whole town. Hours before the City Council members were to hold their open discussion with the telecommunications representative from New York, Billy Ray had become a one man gang of spreading positive talk so that many people who were attending the meeting had a more positive and open mind.
When 2:30pm arrived, Monica Singleton walked into the school auditorium and was being graciously introduced as the audience was allowed in. When Billy Ray walked in, he was surprised to see Monica Singleton. He remembered her beautiful mahogany brown face. A woman whom he had never met before in the present moment, but clearly had known and loved in another life. The much more mellower crowd allowed Monica Singleton to give her presentation. The City Council members listened a little more intently. When the presentation was over and the audience allowed to ask questions as soon as someone tried to ask an antagonistic question, Billy Ray would yell a response that helped inform and calm down erroneous, rather than incite anger and tensions already swelling the crowd. He was being such a peacemaker in the room, that his buddies Tank and RJ walked away from him in surprised disgust. They couldn't tell what had come over their buddy.
When the whole meeting and question and answering was over and Monica Singleton started to make her way out of the building and into the hot Texas sun, she was greeted by all the City Council members who couldn't wait to strike a deal with her and her business partner David Shields. Standing by himself, Billy Ray walked up to Monica, introduced himself, and thanked her for her company's decision to choose Prosperous, Texas as one of their regional model towns.
"Mr. Dawson, you did a really great job in there. You helped me out a lot. Thank you."
"Yeah, well I did a little research on yall. Yall did a great job with this up in Virginia and North Carolina. I figured why not Prosperous, Texas."
"Yeah, well you did a great job for me at the meeting keeping folks focused. Since the Council has unanimously voted for us to start here in Prosperous, I'll be sure that you and your friends and family who apply will get hired right in for work. We need as many folks who have open minds to come right in and get this thing going."
"Oh why thank you, Mrs. Singleton. Next time you come back here, be sure to bring your family. Yall can stay with my family overnight if you can't find a good hotel. Your husband is a lucky man to have such a smart and strong woman."
Monica dropped her head briefly and then looked up and smiled, "Actually Mr. Dawson, my husband Michael died seven years ago alongside his childhood friend, in a heavy firefight in Afghanistan. They were both US Army Rangers saving a Marine convoy which had came under attack. This company was actually their idea and inspiration. As a single mom, I've been doing everything I can to keep their dream alive."
Billy Ray was stunned, but kept his surprised emotions contained. Monica thanked him again and then walked over to her car escort by the City Council members to head out of town. As he walked back towards his truck he saw three familiar men standing off to the side of the building that his truck was parked at. No one around seemed to notice the three men except for Billy Ray. There they were standing and watching him...Michael Ray, Dylan O'Connor and the tall, black man who had identified himself only as God. Billy Ray looked down for a second to start his truck, and when he looked back up, the three men were gone.
About a month later, over in Dallas, Texas, Thomas Lee Dawson received a knock on his door. When he opened it, there standing at his front door was his brother Billy Ray and his wife and kids all holding gifts...
Maya Angelou
"The Lesson" part 4, by John S LES
"Billy Ray...Billy Ray...Billy Ray." Those were the only words he could say to himself. No one is perfect in life, but clearly he could now see where he had taken so many small wrong turns which led him to be so lost in his former life. That life of a working class, white male in a small town in Texas. A town called Prosperous, that was ironically suffering from regional economic decline and a slowed down national economy. Now his consciousness was stuck in the life and body of a man...a black man whom he had murdered. This black man was a family man, a war hero, a man who loved life and loved all of his friends regardless of their color or religion. Billy Ray realized that he didn't have that kind of capacity of love in his heart. He hadn't spoken to his youngest brother, Tommy, in years because he married a black woman. He hadn't spoken to his mother in years, because she divorced and ran from his father. He was angry at all Mexicans when illegal workers would be brought in by his father's employers and costing his father lost work and money. All of his anger, all of his hurt, always directed at the wrong people.
Billy Ray could now see that his view of the world was limited by his father's fears and ignorance about life and other people. Fears over losing money, strangers and the ability to support his family. A fear that was passed down onto Billy Ray and now onto his children, who didn't even know they had an interracial cousins living in Dallas. Billy Ray wanted his kids to have a better life and he could see now that he had been limiting their lives all these years...just as his own father had limited the lives of him and his siblings. The men who owned the oil company that hired the illegal workers that pushed his father out of a job happened to be white and wealthy. Billy Ray could now see that greed, not color or race, was the culprit here. Billy Ray could also see that his mother only left their father because she had grown tired of his hate and anger affecting their kids. Moreover, Billy Ray now realized that his brother Tommy never came back to Prosperous - not because he was worried about how his wife and kids would be treated by people outside of his family - but rather his father and siblings within his family. Billy Ray could not even show love and solidarity with his own flesh and blood. Ego was the culprit here.
The black man who Billy Ray killed, Michael Ray, had teamed up with another war veteran to develop a system to provide more more jobs for Americans in the growing technology industry. As long as the town had good electricity and strong phone lines, they could begin a unified workforce in areas that didn't necessarily have huge and expensive office buildings. Small buildings, barns and empty factory buildings all could easily be converted into office space. Workforce education was strictly based on the ability to read and write on a high school level. Employment was based on desire to grow, availability to get to work on time and fair access for men, women, black or white to apply for the job. There were checks and balances built into the hiring system to prevent unfair hiring practices. His own two daughters would have as fair a chance at a job at this company just as good as their brother.
Billy Ray realized he never gave Michael Ray a chance to communicate that when Michael Ray drove into town. All Billy Ray saw was a black man, and every negative image and thought he had of black people. When he looked around and saw Hispanic people all he could think of were illegal workers. When he saw his mother and brother's faces...all he could think of was anger and disappointment, which turned into tears. The tears were born from fear...fear of strangers...fear of the unknown...fear of the loss of control in his own life. Fear of losing the ability to care for his own family. Now he realized that he could have actually created more money for his family by helping and promoting Michael Ray and his business into Prosperous. He would have earned some great paychecks using his carpentry skills to rebuild and redesign old barns, lumber yards and warehouses into vibrant small office buildings. Not to mention that his wife would be able to get steady employment using her typing skills that she had learned in high school.
Billy Ray stood in front of a mirror crying. He was a white man crying, looking into a mirror of the brown faced reflection. The time and days around him were passing at an unbelievable swirling speed. Not only could he feel his own personal pain, but he was now also feeling Michael Ray's pain. The pain of supporting 5 kids, two of whom he had adopted, while struggling with post traumatic stress disorder issues. Billy Ray could see that the struggle to survive and raise his family was no different than Michael Ray's. There was no easy answer or easy way to do it. But, it had to be done. He could hear Michael Ray's voice in his head stating over and over and over..."We are all Americans." With that came flashing images of Michael Ray firing his rifle at enemy combatants in Afghanistan and nearly being overwhelmed in a heavy firefight as they scream death to the Americans.
Suddenly Billy Ray began to feel the room around him spinning. He could hear the voices of thousands of people spewing vile and hateful words at him as he looked in the mirror and could see his appearance changing in seconds. He went from white to black, from Asian to African, from male to female, from short to tall, redhead and brunette, and even from overweight to very thin. It didn't matter what he was, there were still dozens of voices surrounding him and cursing him for being whatever and whoever he was at the moment.
Billy Ray covered his face to prevent himself from seeing the changing reflections in the mirror. As he dropped to his knees a sudden and great pressure came over his chest and he couldn't breath anymore. He rolled onto his back and looked up. There he was back in Prosperous, Texas, at the scene of the car accident. Except this time, he was Michael Ray laying down on the ground and he was now looking up at his killer, his old self, Billy Ray. He could feel the pain of Billy Ray pressing his knee down into his chest squeezing out his last breath of air. He reached up, all he could think about was his five kids, and wondering who was going to help take care of them. But all he could do with his last breath was exhale the word "Pleassse..."
It's June 2012 again. Billy Ray wakes up and is back in his original bed and home. He checks his clock. It's 9am. He runs into his kitchen and checks his calender to the surprise of his wife. He is now back where he was the morning before the Michael Ray drove into town. He's already a little late for getting together with his buddies Tank and RJ that morning to look around for some work. Moments later after a quick shower and dress he goes into town to meet up with his two buddies. However, this time his tone about people and work is a lot different. Immediately he starts talking about the up City Council meeting later that afternoon. He spoke of it with more positive interest and possibilities that it could bring to the town, if it were successful for even just 50 to 60 local people.
His friends Tank and RJ also took notice that when they started to joke around about the illegal workers who took jobs from honest, unemployed Americans - Billy Ray was quick to point out that the workers shouldn't be blamed for taking menial, dangerous jobs because the oil company was looking for cutting costs. He stressed to his buddies that the other side of that problem was that most folks didn't want to have an honest discussion on the cause of the problem in the first place. Most of those day laborers were doing the jobs that no one wanted to do in the first place, and the oil company was saving themselves money by hiring a cheap, temporary labor force. These were the expendables.
Billy Ray was sure to park his truck in the same spot awaiting Michael Ray's early drive into town, but there was no such sighting. He then spent the afternoon talking to some of the city councilmen and people in the town and promoted the idea that a new business in the town would stimulate some building jobs and office jobs which would be beneficial for the whole town. Hours before the City Council members were to hold their open discussion with the telecommunications representative from New York, Billy Ray had become a one man gang of spreading positive talk so that many people who were attending the meeting had a more positive and open mind.
When 2:30pm arrived, Monica Singleton walked into the school auditorium and was being graciously introduced as the audience was allowed in. When Billy Ray walked in, he was surprised to see Monica Singleton. He remembered her beautiful mahogany brown face. A woman whom he had never met before in the present moment, but clearly had known and loved in another life. The much more mellower crowd allowed Monica Singleton to give her presentation. The City Council members listened a little more intently. When the presentation was over and the audience allowed to ask questions as soon as someone tried to ask an antagonistic question, Billy Ray would yell a response that helped inform and calm down erroneous, rather than incite anger and tensions already swelling the crowd. He was being such a peacemaker in the room, that his buddies Tank and RJ walked away from him in surprised disgust. They couldn't tell what had come over their buddy.
When the whole meeting and question and answering was over and Monica Singleton started to make her way out of the building and into the hot Texas sun, she was greeted by all the City Council members who couldn't wait to strike a deal with her and her business partner David Shields. Standing by himself, Billy Ray walked up to Monica, introduced himself, and thanked her for her company's decision to choose Prosperous, Texas as one of their regional model towns.
"Mr. Dawson, you did a really great job in there. You helped me out a lot. Thank you."
"Yeah, well I did a little research on yall. Yall did a great job with this up in Virginia and North Carolina. I figured why not Prosperous, Texas."
"Yeah, well you did a great job for me at the meeting keeping folks focused. Since the Council has unanimously voted for us to start here in Prosperous, I'll be sure that you and your friends and family who apply will get hired right in for work. We need as many folks who have open minds to come right in and get this thing going."
"Oh why thank you, Mrs. Singleton. Next time you come back here, be sure to bring your family. Yall can stay with my family overnight if you can't find a good hotel. Your husband is a lucky man to have such a smart and strong woman."
Monica dropped her head briefly and then looked up and smiled, "Actually Mr. Dawson, my husband Michael died seven years ago alongside his childhood friend, in a heavy firefight in Afghanistan. They were both US Army Rangers saving a Marine convoy which had came under attack. This company was actually their idea and inspiration. As a single mom, I've been doing everything I can to keep their dream alive."
Billy Ray was stunned, but kept his surprised emotions contained. Monica thanked him again and then walked over to her car escort by the City Council members to head out of town. As he walked back towards his truck he saw three familiar men standing off to the side of the building that his truck was parked at. No one around seemed to notice the three men except for Billy Ray. There they were standing and watching him...Michael Ray, Dylan O'Connor and the tall, black man who had identified himself only as God. Billy Ray looked down for a second to start his truck, and when he looked back up, the three men were gone.
About a month later, over in Dallas, Texas, Thomas Lee Dawson received a knock on his door. When he opened it, there standing at his front door was his brother Billy Ray and his wife and kids all holding gifts...
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