The Darkest Corner of the Darkest Time

The Darkest Corner of the Darkest Time

Thoughts of The Orangeburg Massacre 

    

        Right now, the Railroad-Corner is a quiet. 

However, in my head it still screams out loud every time I drive by it…especially if its February. I think about that time often, but it doesn’t really hit hard until February because all those pictures show up again. It hurts too much to keep thinking about the reality of the tragedy and the thought of the callousness of the act.  There has never been a fair look into the way things ended that day.

     This month meets me with so many different emotions. Because of the time and place Orangeburg was overlooked then and now. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. life was taken just a few months later. This turned all focus from any type of justice away from the small confederate loving town. 

Times changes but darkness stays the same. 

 

That grassy hill on the west side the railroad tracks that split the city of Orangeburg, will always have a cold feeling about it to me. It has been fifty years since we last saw Bump run down Gadsden Street on his way to a Wilkinson High football or basketball practice. That big infectious smile that he always had can be seen from down the street as he approaches us. As me and my crew enjoy ourselves at our neighborhood corner (Gadsden Street and Walker Avenue) singing, dancing and bullshitting, we anticipate what he was going to do or say to any of us today.

The route he’s taking is one we all traveled often. It is the shortest route to get to Wilkinson High School and to the campus of South Carolina State College. We also take that same route to get to MacDonald’s gas station (One of the prideful Black-owned gas stations in town) to buy snacks or have a bicycle tire patched. The route treks through a couple of back yards, through corn fields, crossing a railroad track, more back yards, and then a long winding dirt road. It is more like an obstacle course than a route. Bump (Delano Middleton) was always running a little late. However, we all knew why. He had to finish up everything Mr. Gramps (His dad) had asked him to do on their farmland...the farm that ran for acres parallel to our neighborhood. It used to bear cotton but now mostly corn and an apple orchard. The animals are few now, but hogs had to be slopped and cows and chickens fed before he went to school. 

Our crew of seven had seen this so often that we really didn’t have to look up. It's Bump. We all say hi and go back to talking about our favorite topics...football games from the weekend or the Jackson Five singing group. But we know what else is coming.  Bump has this big bright smile like nothing could ever hurt him. He is confident and had it all to back it up. I don’t remember a time that he passed by us that he didn’t stop to encourage us in some way. His words sink in even though we pretended not to listen. It all balls down to doing something good in life. He was talking mostly to his nephew (Alonzo) than us, but we all had to acknowledge him...or else. Looking at it now, everything was as if it was predestined for him. He knew what he wanted in life early. As an extremely talented natural athlete, he could play any sport he wanted to and did all of them very well. Coaches smiled when his name was mentioned. His physique was intimidating, and his quickness was even more respected. He would sometimes get tested by foolish unknowing bullies and they all soon learned a hard lesson. No one messed with Bump. 

 

Bump was going to be someone special.

 

 No one ever said it out loud, but we all knew. Needless to say, none of us ever thought that it would be bullets from Highway Patrolmen lifting him to that specialness. 

 

This tragedy happened way too quickly.

 

One day everything is fine and the next day an explosion of racial tension floods our city. The curfew from a protest kept us inside for days. Tensions boil over and a black cloud drops down over the city. The cloud gets darker and darker each day as hate and evil set in.  

 

Things escalate when a group of students begins a protest for civil rights. In addition to lunch counters and restrooms being segregated, there is a bowling alley that locks its doors when students arrive. 

The students are pushed back by force all the way to campus ground.

. 

Then, without warning or instigation ... gunfire erupts into the crowd of college students. Pellets from shotgun blast rip through clothing and flesh. Students begin to run and some fall. Bump falls to the grass to never stand again. Several others fall and rise slowly, two other students also never rise again (Henry Smith, and Samuel Hammond.) As the lights and bullhorns are active above them, they struggle to breathe.

When all is still, armed uniformed men stand around carrying on casual conversations. Some of the men carry clubs and some have their hands in their pockets and casually listen to the last breath of the students on the ground.

 

Screams from other hurt students and yells from loud bull horns merge above the city and the community will never be the same again.

 

 Life around the "Railroad Corner" left that day and never came back. That corner like our corner in our neighborhood the life-point, a meet-up place and it was the sign of how the community was doing. Every good neighborhood has a place where kids can laugh and play without worry. Unless there was a storm (dark clouds) there was always life on that corner. 

 

 No one knows how short our time will be (Never undervalue the time you have with your good friends.) We never gathered at our corner after Bump took his last run past us. It was as if he did like the old western movies where they ride off into the sun. Then there is only darkness as the movie closes, and everything is over. In our neighborhood when darkness comes it's time to head home for safety.  

 

Will there ever be light on the "Railroad Corner again?

 

It’s been over fifty years, but it seems like only yesterday that we tossed the ball around with friends and no matter how much time passes it will never take those moments away. If there is one lesson to learn from this, it is simply to enjoy life while you have it as Bump did...
Even though I will always look to see when there is justice for this tragedy,

 

 

 I can't allow the darkness to overtake the light that guides me. 

Be a good example for all to see while you are here regardless of what others do. 

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Three simple life rules:

 
Grow: Grow to know the love of God. 
Encourage: Encourage everyone you meet. 
Enjoy: Enjoy Life  

 

 

Rest in Peace My Friend. 

May God Bless any reader that comes across this and remember the lesson from the corner. The dark corner will only have life again when the light comes back. Let the light expose what is hidden in darkness. 

 

The Annual Orangeburg Massacre remembrance is on February eight every year.  

     

In Memory of Delano H. (Bump) Middleton

*Pictures credit to 



Kettle Bell Workout

 

This is a great quick full-body workout 

By Caroline Girvan 

That Dress

 That Dress Is Mine

Original/ Prints 

Every Dog Has Its Day

 

Walk The Dog

print

 

 

Every dog has its day...

And let that day be positive and filled the love of Life.

What Does Nursery Ryhmes and Booze have In Common?

 

A Bottle  of Rum...Hoooo

 

It has long been rumored that the rhythm of rhymes had more to do with the inebriated than children playing. Goggle booze and nursery rhymes and you will find all kinds of stories of how fables, folk tales and children's nursery rhymes are closely related. The Daily Beast has an interesting take by Wayne Curtis. The article is from his book

 

"And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails"  

                                                                                                                                                                    

Happy Easter

 

My prayer is for all to have a great Easter weekend. This is a time that I am full of joy. Thank God for His Son (Jesus) and the sacrifice He made so that we can LIVE. No matter where you are I hope that you take the time to thank Him. My son is still in college and will not be home on Easter Sunday but we had time with him during the week. We met him in Atlanta, Ga. to continue my wife’s month of celebration (Birthday, Easter, Anniversary, and Wine Day? LOL) Arianna Grande is one of her favorites. So she was surprised with tickets and meeting her son. Aaaaahh that’s so sweet. I know. We had a great time with everything. The only draw back was traffic. I watched the news when the fire on I-85 happened. It did not register how much havoc this causes Atlanta. Everyone in the city is affected by the lost of such a main interstate artery. I feel for you Atlanta. And, I pray that things are repaired quickly.  

Regardless of whatever is going on for you this weekend please take the time and give God Praise for His love for us. If you don’t know Him just stop and pray for Him to reveal to you who He is.

 

God’s Love

Humble Strutt Defined

 

 

HUMBLE STRUTT Series

What exactly Is A
Humble Strutt?

A Humble Strutt is a Christian walk with confidence.

The way CF spells Humble Strutt (with two T's)
means it is not ordinary.
It is a different strut. It is a *peculiar strutt.

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
1 Peter 2:9

The HUMBLE STRUTT
is a heavenly assured walk of Faith in our Savior Jesus Christ.

All Paintings:

1. When there is a single young lady pictured,
it refers to a walk with God. Her name is Pure.

2. When there are two female Humble-Strutt walkers, the older one is named Wisdom and the younger one is Youth.

3. When there are three females present, the names are Love (the oldest) along with Faith and Hope.


* If there is a window in the painting that seems to come out of nowhere it represents God is with us always and gives us a way out from any and all situations.

He is always with us.

I truly pray that you are enlightened by my work.

May God Bless You

Rejection Letters

Even the great authors get rejected. Harry Potter author J.K Rowling, shares  a few of her rejection letters form publishers...for encouragement. The writings are under her pen name Robert Galbraith. It does give you a different perspective and it does encourage.

Her Humble Strutt

A Humble Strutt

by CFLegette

 

Every morning it’s the same.

Every day is just like the others.

And, every night she is honored.

There is no way anyone can ever miss her

She stands out and above them all.

 

It’s not her smile that makes her this way.

Although she does have a nice one.

It’s not how she wears her hair
 even though they all want to touch it.

It  looks just fine.

It’s not the shoes that she wears.

They are nice too.

It’s not her dress
that seems to twirl with the slightest wind.

She always puts on the right one.

It’s not how and what she talks about

Every word she picks is nice.

It’s not how she sits with perfect posture.

She’s always very proper.

It’s not how she treats her friends.

She is always polite.

It’s not about any one thing that makes her great.

It’s all of these things that make her a special lady.

Everyone likes a lady with a confident Humble Strutt.

I’m going to stand right here and wait...

She'll be along any minute.

Winslow Homer's Gulf Stream

 

 

Maybe it was the sharks, maybe it was the tonado or maybe it was the sinking ship but this painting by Winslow Homer caught my attention in college. It became my first exact copy study. the more I painted the more fascinated I was with the details. The light, and darkness along with the danger and hope. Where was this distressed person coming from and where was he trying to go? Can he see the ship in the ditance? Why is he so calm? Who's blood is that in the water? There are so many directions that a writer could take.

Maybe you have a few ideas about it. 

What's Your Core?

 

You are no closer to what you want to be if you don’t know what you are made of.  What and who you are depends on what’s at the center of your life. The center of anyone’s life can be found in the things that they spend the most time doing. What are you spending your time on? Knowing who made you helps you get a strong core. Spend time with Christ. He’ll lead you to who you really are.  

 

 

 

Life

 

 

The easy choice is to step down..

Are you strong enough to turn and face the challenge of a climb?



Elaina Soto

Interview with Elaina Soto by ATODmagz

Most artist know at an early age that their is something special going on. It is only the rare ones that take advantage of that specialty.

Elaina Soto is one of those special ones. Read the interview in

 

 

Last of the Dog Days

 

The dog days of summer are fading fast.

Time to get up, wale up, no time for sleep.

Remember what you must do, don't forget any task.

The old man is not too far away. Your sow is your reap.

 

I Love National Geographic

 

 

National Geographic has come a long way since I flipped through its pages as a child. I am always fascinated by the brilliant images on the pages. You can travel the world while never stepping out of your four walls.

Thank you National Geographic magazine



That Old Man Is Stronger Than You Think

As a Christian I have found the heaviest weight I work-out with now has to do with pushing away more that pulling down. Trying to keep the doors close on the things that the Old-Man (your old self) tries to open is a daily challenge. Everyday the struggle to keep those doors and windows close equate to a good weight-pump and/or cardio round.  Training is a must to keep in shape for both. As in any good workout program there has to be consistency. God has built into the body great memory and it will bounce back to time off if it is brief. If the body is in shape it withstands body-blows, mental-mistakes and enemy-challenges. An in-shape body will do things above what you feel you can do during stressful situations.

 

 However the longer you stay away the harder it is to get back into shape. Like a good workout if you don’t lift the Bible daily it gets harder and harder to deal with what comes at you. Without dropping down to you knees daily the voice of God gets weaker and weaker to your ears. And with the wrong meditation the words that flow off of your tongue sounds more and more like what’s already out there.

Your training only gives you what you put in. The Old-Man has been training for a long time. And, it’s natural to him. He is a lot stronger than you think. Only Spiritual training will help you keep him out.

Leaving Our Old Ways Behind (Ephesians 4:17-24)

 This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,  and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

 

Proper Flag Etiquette

 

What is the proper way to display a flag?

There are a few options: You can fly it from a pole, attach it to a wall with tacks, or tape it over a window. Just don’t tie it to a tree or drape it over the side of a car, a train, or a boat. These are all signs of disrespect, according to the official U.S. Flag Code, adopted by Congress in 1942.

Click the flag above to see what is and is not proper

by

 

 



Start Your Diary Today

 

I know that you have put this off long enough. So, go ahead and start doing it. You won't regret it when you get older. Your grandkids will also appreciate reading the highlights of your many days. Click through to get ideas on how to do it.

 



Talent From Above

Each of us is given at least one talent from our Master. The days we live are considered practice sessions. Like in school some of us don’t recognize it/them until later in life; we may even graduate from school not knowing. This however does not give us an excuse. Each day we live one more practice day. Have you ever noticed that those with certain talent in sports, music, math or whatever tend to go about it with ease? Well, that may seem unfair at first. But, remember this the more talent you receive the more you are required to practice. Like I said earlier, everyone has at least one. Meditate on what you like first, secondly listen to what people around you say you are good at and thirdly ask God to reveal more clearly what you have. He can’t reveal anything over some of the noise in your life. Meditation requires quiet time. Good luck and enjoy the music you make with your new hidden talent/s.   



Heat Rises but

 

 

 

Heat Rises but…

 “In My Day…” stories always taste like a douse of Castor Oil when you are on the receiving end of this type lecture. This statement however, tells something about my age. If you are under thirty years old you probably don’t even know what Castor Oil is; but that’s another story for another time. ( A quick reference, Castor Oil was used for any internal illness before the seventies.) Things have certainly changed.

An “In My Day…” story, always come when you know what you want but have to ask someone else for it or right when you are just about to have a good time. Adults have a responsibility to teach but we often pick some silly times to do so. Off-the-cuff lesson are not thought out or through. We just see it as a good time to spit out what we were told when we were young  ones.

 It’s hard to accept but things have changed and we are not in the same world anymore. And, advancements in technology speed up every day. Some changes are good and some should be watched very carefully.  As a parent, I now know that I have to pick the right times to teach and I should also not forget to celebrate good growth on the spot. And, of course the Word of God should be the base; stand firm on what it says. God has been, is now and will always be close if what you seek is salvation. Other than that, learn and teach the youth to enjoy life by not taking it too seriously. Everyone makes mistakes so expect them. I’m saying this to get to my “In My Day story…”

My dad would sometime take me to work with him on Saturday. This was a day that he caught up on work that wasn’t finished during the week. It was good overtime for him and the seamstress were often not there. A young boy around a bunch of women with scissors and needles would be a disastrous episode.  The shop would only have men loading stocks of fabric and my dad cutting patterns of fabric for uniforms for the women to sew together during the week.  I was always excited to get there but this particular morning was chilly.

 I remember running out into the cold and jumping into a cold car. The car still had some frost on it but we could see good enough to drive. We were only a few feet from the house and I quickly positioned  the heater blower to flow right onto may face. It was freezing outside. The look on my dad’s face told me that the story was coming. At first I was scared because kids just didn’t touch things without asking in my day. But that was not it today. I got a lecture. It was a totally new one. This time it was on how heat works.

“Heat rises." He said.

"So, let it come through the floor vents first and the total car will warm faster.”

It wasn’t even in dad’s stern voice. It was just a lesson.  And, in my day you never interrupt a lesson from an adult. The lesson that day was heat rises.

 So, I grew up with this as the way it should be. This was also restated by teachers, other parents and random adults. I know that I am not the only person to grow up with the same lesson. In the sixties and seventies…Heat Rises was almost gospel.  Class rooms, friends’ houses, libraries all had the same rules. Houses, apartments and factories were built with floor vents only.

Well, fast forward to now.  My son and I enter a cold car and the first thing he does is point the heat vents to his face and hands. Very quickly he’s warm and smiling. Of course my first inkling is to say,

 “No! No son let the heat come through the floor vents first. Sit back and be cold for a while that way the car warms faster.

Before I can get the words out He says. “Thank God for the heat.”

Hummm.

 What am I supposed to do with that? Is this the time for a life lecture on heat and how it rises or should I let him enjoy the warmth? After all isn’t that the reason we need the heat.

It feels good having a warm face.