We Real Cool

I was such a pain in the rear as a teenager, but with the help of great adults guiding me at church and good friends, I became... er, actually, I am still an idiot but I'd like to think I am less so because of their influence.

To Dad, thanks! For telling me ad nauseum when being cool wasn't in my best interest. You knew that one bad step leads to another, just like the poem below hints at. And thank you Mother for never having it in you to back down from a fight when my best interests were at stake. You were the champion of brow beating logic that I hated so much but as an adult I love you the more for it. (One note. I am all grown up with teens of my own so you can lay off now.)

We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
The Pool Players
Seven at the Golden Shovel

We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.