I was asked to repost this one Stories from the heart land……..Living just enough for the city

We all used too much in my youth.

If you weren’t drinking too much

Which I was

you were drugging

This is the story of my wife’s best friend

And one of the most beautiful woman and people I know

Its about Lula

But first let me set the tone for this tale

Which happens to be totally true

When the drug crack hit Lula was one of the first causalities

I lost three good friends to crack and many more who survived it

But were some how changed

In any case

Crack Destroyed many parts of the country

But it was exceptionally brutal in Newark New Jersey

And the surrounding towns

Lula started using

Then she went missing

I was a cop so my wife sent me looking for her

She had left her three kids and was lost in Newark

Newark used to be a place where people come to hide

And some times came to die

Their we parts of Newark that even I a cop couldn’t go into

Without a army

People knew this

Lets just call it the new jack city thing

Ok

After Lula left her kids

And she loved her kids

Lula was out in the streets full time now

All of us lost track of her, we searched and searched, but she was underground in Newark New Jersey.

And if you don’t want to be found in a large city its not too hard to hide

Lula was one of the most beautiful creatures the good lord ever created. She was dark chocolate, like the night

And was perfectly built with Tina tuner legs

And a short cropped afro with good loop earrings Like Benda sikes

She was Pam Grier and Nina Simone

All rolled up into one

She had a real husky voice

And could sing with the depth and feeling of holiday

We used to hit all the discos together Lula, My wife Pam and the rest of my entourage of like six lovely ladies’

Their was many a night that I had to almost fight to get some Bum away from Lula

But it was cool to be 19 armed with a big ego and a big gun

God could Lula dance

She was from Newark

But her family lived in cranford

So she had the Newark mother wit and the cranford

Good education all rolled into one

I cant say enough to describe what a special person she was

Anyway

After Lula ran away

To do her drugs

Life wasn’t quite the same

Most of us had gotten married, brought houses

And settled down

But let me tell you

No matter where my wife and I went

We always kept a eye peeled out for Lula

By now the state had moved in

To take Lula

Three kids

But some thing real interesting happed

Lula boyfriend

Was what I can only describe as a cad

He was a ex pimp, a drug dealer and he abused woman

But some thing happened to him after Lula left

He grew up

He stayed with her kids the whole time Lula was out there

And then not only proceeded to love them

But to raise them

And right

What a change in a person

This man that I couldn’t stand

This man that I had punched on a few occasions

Had turned into a righteous man

And a good father to boot

This act of giving changed him and brought him to god

Anyway years later

I was in a store in Elizabeth

My wife had died a year before

I still often thought of Lula

I was buying a soda and just happened to stop in a store

That I hadn’t been into for years

Some thing made me look up

And I saw the most beautiful smile I had seen in years

I looked up and saw Lula

She had that same beautiful face

Same stunning smile

We ran to each other

Two chubby black people

Laughing and kissing and hugging and crying

In the middle of a store

As every one looked on

Who cares

Thanks you Jesus

Lula

We used to dance together she and I

Teddy Pendergrass, Stevie

David bowie you name it

Donna summer

Last dance

Anyway

She lived just a short walk away from the store

So she pulled me along to go see some one

She was missing as I told you

But one day years and years later

I was in a drug store in Elizabeth

And I looked up

And Lula was standing there

Time stood still

And the biggest smile came over her face

She just glowed

In slow motion two now fat people

Charged at each other

Laughing and hugging

Singing and praying

What a moment

She lived right around the corner

And I followed her home

I met Kevin her now husband and deacon in the church

I saw the twin girls that I had held as a child

All grown up and pretty

And I saw that Lula new baby just a year old

Kevin’s baby

And they were in love and so happy

I cried the tears of joy only a fat man can cry

Then she sat me down

In front of her kids

And told me what had happened to her

My wife had died a year before this meeting

And she took it very very hard

My wife never got to see Lula again

And she regretted to the day she died

anyway

Grits and dance baby

But then she told me of how she got off drugs

Her face got serious

And her kids went to make coffee

He husband sat down

She told me that one rainy night

In the city of Newark

That she was out hooking and three drug dealers

In a fancy car picked her up

She was not high shaking tired

But needed some drugs

These three pigs

Drove here around in circles

For a hour laughing and drinking

And treating her like she wasn’t there

When she spoke she smacked the back of her head

And told her to shut up

My blood was boiling at this point

But her husband grabbed my hand

I realized that he was praying

Lula went on

They rode her round and around

Lula knew before she got in this car

That she was going to die

She got into this car to die

Every whore knew that prostitutes were being found dead

All over the place

But Lula

Didn’t care

She knew every thing

And didn’t care

She said that when you look for death

When you call out to it

Its not hard to find

She said that she never felt so peaceful

Anyway

The guy behind her grabbed her by the coat

And put a knife up to her throat

They all began taunting her

Telling her they were going to kill her

In her head she was saying

You cant get blood from a stone

You cant kill what is already dead

Sung sui

No Newark whore

Anyway

It was winter and Lula had a big old leather coat on

A strong old coat

When I think of these men who poison

Communities I realize why I remained a cop so so long

Anyway

Suddenly

Lulu said that little voice started strumming in her head

And it got louder and louder

First whispering

Then yelling out

Live

Live

You got to live

And then

She say the face of her mother

Then she saw the faces of each of her children

Saw her life

And what she had become

Live live

A mother love

Called out from a soul that she thought that she no longer had

She said that she sat up

And got a dose of super human strength

She actually tore the coat from the guys had

Pushed the knife from her throat

She said she almost broke the guys arm that was holding her

She then pulled a char lies angel

And opened the car door

And rolled out the door of the slow moving car

Live live

This was a battered woman

A crack head

Who never ate

Who never slept

Who just sold sex for money and crack

But she got live

Live

This is a woman who she couldn’t look in the mirror

Had no idea of what she looked like

Lula believes that crack is a master plan

Put out by the government

That the government gave crack to the city

To subdue it

Lula rolled from this car

And started screaming

And running

The guys in the car drove after her

Finally Lula came to a fenced in yard of a gas station

But she was too weak to climb over the fence

The guys in the car

Used the car to ram her

They struck her hitting her in the legs

But the fence gave in and although

She broke both legs

She lived

And people came out

And the cops came

And Lula went to rehab

And Lula found god that night

And returned home to her family

Found the bastard that she had left

Turned into one of the finest men a woman could have

He saved renewed and restored her family

All of her kids had been to good schools

And one of her daughters was even working at the united nations
Lula says her legs still hurt

And those Tina turner legs

Which she still likes to show

Have a few scars on them

She has pain went she says she loves

Because this pain reminds her every day

Of her life

And of her joy

By the time Lula was done with her story

Her husband was still holding my hand

But now he was praying

Praying

And her kids came around and we got in a circle

And we prayed together

Prayed for my wife who was dead

Prayed for the hard times we all had had

Prayed for the joy of discovery

Of God and each other

And then

And then

Her daughter went over to a music box

And she put on a song

And

You know what that song was

Donna summers Last dance

And Lula grabbed my hand

And these two old fat and happy negroes

Danced

Danced away the pain

Danced up and joy

Called up ancestors to let them join

In and in the light of this love

And music w

We were cleansed

We were renewed

Kevin and I just looked at each other and laughed

I felt like it was a scene from the television show

Good times

We needed JJ to give us out benediction

Dynamite

I kissed every one and got ready to leave

Then I looked at Lula one more time

Yea she had put on weight

But she was never

Never more beautiful to me

Technorati Tags: kevin blythe sampson,junkies,religion,newark,cranford,crackhead,cops,inspiration