A BACHELORS BRUNCH: AT THE GENTLEMAN'S TABLE...

A BACHELORS BRUNCH:  A SMALL BRUNCH MENU INCLUDING A CHOICE OF MARTINI OR BLOODY MARY, OMELETTES, HOME FRIES, SALAD AND A DESSERT WORTHY OF A GENTLEMAN…

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.       <!--[endif]-->BLOODY MARY:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->OLD BAY SEASONING

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->CLERY STALKS

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->CLAMATO JUICE

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->FRESH LEMONS

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->HOT SAUCE

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->HOT RED PEPPERS

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->CAYENNE PEPPER

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.       <!--[endif]-->MARTINI:  BLOODY MARTINI OR FRUIT INFUSED MARTINI

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->VERMOUTH

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->COCKTAIL OLIVES

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->FRESH MANGO OR PINEAPPLE

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->FRESH PEACHES

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->FRESH LIME SOURS

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.       <!--[endif]-->OMELETTES:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->HAM (MINCED)

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->ONIONS

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->GARLIC ROASTED AND MINCED

<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.       <!--[endif]-->HOME FRIES:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->POTATOES

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->BLACK PEPPER

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->ONION

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->GREEN OR OTHER PEPPER

<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.       <!--[endif]-->SIDE SALAD:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->MUSTARD GREENS

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->WHITE ONION

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->RADISHES

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->CELERY

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->FRESH UNCOOKED RED BEET SLIIVERS

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->DRESSING OF CHOICE

<!--[if !supportLists]-->6.       <!--[endif]-->DESSERT:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->FRESH PEACH FRY

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->ICE CREAM

<!--[if !supportLists]-->7.       <!--[endif]-->COFFEE/DEMITASSE: 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->FRESH ROASTED AND GROUND COFFEE OR EXPRESSO

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->LEMON ZEST

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->CREAM

<!--[if !supportLists]-->ü  <!--[endif]-->SUGAR

HOW TO MAKE THE COCKTAILS:

FRESH FRUIT MARTINI:  Carefully chose the vodka or gin that best suits the flavor of the fruit.  Unless I personally infuse the vodka I rarely purchase pre-flavored products because they are often made from artificial ingredients.  Infusions can be effective after only a few minutes, hours or days depending on the amount of time you have to prepare them.  The quickest way to infuse vodka is to puree it and strain it several times before finishing the cocktail.  If you have time using this method you can allow any matter that was not excluded  by the filter to settle to the bottom of a tightly sealed vessel and pour the clear fluid from the top straining as a precaution as you pour.  One of the easiest ways to infuse vodka is by simply muddling it into the vodka.  If the cocktail will use sugar a good technique is to add sugar granules to the fruit adding a small amount of vodka or simple syrup just before muddling, this will pulverize the fruit and release its essences into the vodka.  If more clarity is desired or a cocktail without visible fruit but fruit flavor is desired strain the fruit from the vodka or simple syrup mixture you have just muddled.  It is often a good idea to use a fruit press to get all of the juice and flavor from the muddled mixture.   Be sure to carefully pick the cocktail glass to suit your cocktail… pack the glass full of ice or for a martini simply pour the mixture into the chilled goblet.  Garnishing your cocktail is the easiest of all, simply pre-cut some of the fruit even adding additional fruits by slicing them and fitting them onto the rim of the goblet or by skewering them with a cocktail pik.  For the best results  you should always practise making the cocktail beforehand so that you have a feel for the correct admixture and ratio of ingredients.   Cheers!

HOW TO MAKE THE OMELETTES:

FRENCH OMELETTES:  The proper way to make an omelette is, of course, the French way.  The eggs should be beaten in a pan or bowl until they are enlivened by the introduction of tiny oxygen bubbles immediately before the mixture is added to the heated pan.  Preparation and timing are the key elements of a successful omelette.  Omelettes are an entrée that demand your constant attention, they are a meal that is quickly made but preparation for them is time consuming.  All of the elements must be in place before cooking begins because the omelette takes only two or three minutes or less to be cooked there is not time to make last minute preps or find cooking implements because in a few seconds over the fire the omelette will be cooked or burnt. 

Other crucial factors that must be in place for a successful omelette are the pan, the heat and the vehicle or oil.   An omelette pan should be perfectly flat with rounded sides but one can always improvise.  The pan should be coated with fresh butter melted upon its inner surface and spread evenly across the entire bottom and sides up to a height of at least one half inch to an inch.  Be sure that the butter has clarified sufficiently before adding the eggs and also be sure not to burn the butter.   In order to get certain unique flavors it is often desirable to season the butter or oil in the pan well before the omelette is cooked or while it is being prepped at a low heat.  I prefer to use unsalted butter but remember to add salt if you do use this ingredient unless you have already added salt to the fillings.  Remember that cheese and other ingredients already have salt in them so as not to make the omelette too saline.  To season the oil sauté garlic, onions, capers, peppercorns, hot dry or fresh peppers, rosemary, thyme, sage, etc., and remove the seasoning prior to cooking or leave it in to paint the façade of the egg pie.  An omelette is always cooked over a high flame and the temperature is regulated by placing he pan over the fire, holding it slightly away or removing it altogether.   As soon as the pan is hot enough it is time to add the eggs.  Eggs should only be beaten immediately before they are added so wait until the pan is hot enough before beating the eggs.  Eggs can be bruised by being beaten too long a lively mixture can be achieved by beating vigorously for a few seconds.  The French method of preparing an omelette requires that the fillings be prepared prior to making the egg pie save for cheeses which should be added last of all allowing the sealed heat of the omelette to melt it.  Vegetables, meats, poultry, fish and sauces should all be prepared well before the omelette is constructed and should be placed close by because the egg pie will be ready to receive the fillings after only a minute or two after the beaten egg mixture has been added to the pan.  Use a rubber spatula or fork to pull the cooked egg from the edge to the center of the pan and rotate the pan so that the liquid egg can quickly replace the congealed egg taken from the edge.  Continually check to be sure the egg is not sticking to the pan, constantly remove the pan from the fire to keep it from sticking and burning.  Shake the pan horizontally to allow the egg pie to float over the surface of the pan moving over the hot butter vehicle.  In only a few seconds the egg pie will have assumed the shape of the pan and before it reaches its full hardness the ingredients should be added by removing the pan from the heat and then placing it over the heat again only once all the ingredients have been added evenly across the surface of the egg pie similarly to a pizza.  Do not only add the ingredients to the center at the fold because this will not allow the flavors to be evenly distributed within he omelette.  When the omelette has been cooked to the desired extent shake the egg pie laterally to be sure it has not stuck.  Now it will be easy to simply tip the pan over the plate and fold the first half over the last or roll the egg pie in the same manner as a crepe.  When the omelette is completed plate it and garnish with fresh herbs or cheese. 

HOW TO MAKE THE HOME FRIES:

Home fries are a simple dish to prepare and as in all recipes preparation and timing are critical.  Whether the potatoes are blanched prior to frying or not they must be cut to the desired shape prior to cooking.  The larger the cross section of the potatoes the longer they will take to cook.  You may wish to season the pan prior to cooking the potatoes but remember that potatoes will take longer to cook so the seasoning must be removed at a certain point to avoid burning in the oil; they can be added again later when the mixture is substantially done.   Garlic should be added before Onions and peppers and fresh herbs should be added last of all.  If whole garlic cloves are added then they should be roasted beforehand and may be simply mashed and added to the mixture when it is done.  Garlic burns easily and will surely singe under the heat required to cook the slow cooking potatoes; nothing tastes or smells worse than burnt garlic in an entrée.   While the potatoes fry they may produce some juice.  Be sure to salt the potatoes so they will sweat while cooking and as soon as they begin to sweat add the chopped onions and peppers.  I like to cook home fries in bacon fat but any oil/vehicle can be used.  If you wish to brown the mixture you must constantly watch it and turn the mixture as soon as it browns so that it does not burn.  Like omelettes, home fries require your constant attention.  You will know when your home fries are ready because everything will be hot and robustly browned.  Some chefs prefer a drier or most texture; this is a detail that is designed by the cook himself.  Please do check to be sure that the potatoes are fully cooked as they may brown over high heat well before they are tender all the way through.  After the home fries are done they are ready to serve or you can mix fresh herbs into them, sprinkle with cheese or add hot sauce or some other sauce to add flavor. 

FRESH PEACH FRY:

In a large pan heat up bacon fat and or butter until it is melted then remove heat.  Slice at least 4 to 5 fresh ripe peaches if you do not desire the skin peel them after slicing.  Place the peaches into a large bowl and pour sugar over them to taste.  Mix the peaches into the sugar until they are coated.  Return the pan to high heat until the oil is very hot then add the peaches covering them up and reducing the heat until the mixture sweats and forms syrup.  Allow the mixture to simmer  adding any desired spices such as cinnamon, anise seed, nutmeg, etc. and add a half teaspoon of fresh lemon or lime juice to the mixture then stir being careful not to mash or bruise the peach halves.  Return the top and allow to simmer and cook down to a soft texture in the syrup of the combined sugar and the fruits own natural juices.  At this point the mixture is ready and you can add bacon bits or leave it as it is.  To plate the entrée simply add a scoop of ice cream to the bowl or vessel in which it is being served then spoon the peach mixture over the ice cream.  You may top with a teaspoon of heavy cream or whip it and top the entrée.  Another nice touch is to drizzle peach brandy over the entrée once it is plated. 

MUSTARD-GREEN SALAD:

The delicately frilly foliage of mustard greens allows them to retain tiny granules of dirt and grit so they must be carefully washed and rinsed.  Taste a piece of the foliage prior to cutting and arranging in the salad to be sure it is properly cleaned.  Raw  mustard greens have a spicy mustard flavor and after you have cleaned and cut them for the salad place them into a  bowl and pour fresh lemon juice over them.  While they are still in the bowl crack coarse ground black pepper over them, sprinkle sea or kosher salt over them and mix them with your hands to get it all even leaving the foliage in the bowl until you are ready to add them to the salad mixture. 

Wash and cut the fresh beets, celery and radishes and place them in bowls to drain and dry.  Next add the cut beets, celery and radishes to the mustard green foliage and mix them delicately.  Now you can plate the salad at any time using your favorite salad dressing or creating one of your own design.

PRESENTATION OF THE BRUNCH COCKTAILS AND ENTREES AND GENERAL COURTESIES: 

The most desirable thing about the Bachelors Brunch is that it is an informal event designed for just two to four guests.  There is no table setting for this brunch, each guest will plate their own food from dishes containing the various entrees.  At the bachelors discretion cocktails may be prepared in advance in pitchers with glasses already garnished and ready or they may be made to order by the host as a special courtesy to his guests.  Since it is a festive event celebrating the end of the weekend you can be as opulent as you like with decorations or simply provide none.   The main hallmark of your brunch after the fine cuisine will be the conversation.  If your guests like have coffee or demitasse and you may even wish to offer them an aperitif, brandy or cognac to finish the meal.  Depending on the household rules guests should be advised of their ability to enjoy a cigar, pipe or cigarette indoors or be shown an outdoor area where they may indulge themselves after their meal.  If guests have bought alcohol be sure to offer these libations to guests during or after the meal.  If flowers, small gifts or tokens including cards are presented be sure to thank your guests for their thoughtfulness, opening all gifts and cards after the meal in front of your guests, then place them in a prominent place at least until your guests have all gone.  Be sure to send thank you cards to all guest who bought gifts and cards and be sure to promptly reply to all thank you cards sent by your brunch guests. 

FIN

Written by David Vollin for “FOR THE BROTHAS” A Virtual Cultural Intellectual Salon… on 7-21-12

ACTUAL KITCHEN RESULTS AND REMARKS:

I prepared each entree as planned in my kitchen early Sunday Morning beginning with the preparation of the various ingredients.  I began by washing all of the fruits vegetables and potatoes in the sink then set them asise to dry.  The first prep was for the home fries since it represented the longest cooking time and I chose to share the ingredients I planned as filling for the omelette with the home fries in order to save time... it worked out especially well.  I chopped the onion first then prepared the oil for the vegetable saute, next i diced the potatoes and cut the red and yellow peppers in half cleaning them out and drying them out. 

HOME FRIES & VEGETABLE SAUTE:

When one is cooking in a small kitchen several preperations and cooking processes must be managed simultaneously.  After deciding to combine the vegetable mixture and use it for both the omelette and the home fries I set out to quickly prepare these entrees to clear the kitchen freeing space up for the other preperations and entrees.  After first washing the potatoes I diced them into sections about 1/4 in. square by 2 in. long. Before I began to dice the potatoes I started a large pot of boiling water to which I added salt so the water would be ready to recieve the potatoes by the time I finished dicing them.  I finished dicing long before the water came to a boil so I placed the roasted red and yellow peppers over the fire of the stove roasting them by blackening them on the outside using tongs to rotate them so they would roast evenly.  I aloso started to season the oil for the vegetable saute placing 1/4 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of bacon fat into a saute pan and adding fresh garlic, hot chilli peppers at a low temperature.  By the time the water was ready for the potatoes the peppers had fully roasted and I dropped them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and let the sit so that the skin would begin to seperate from the meat.  I then pored the potatoes into the boiling sated water to blanch them waiting for them to come to a full boil before removing.  Now I increased the heat on the seasoned oil and added the chopped onion.  after allowing teh mixture to sweat at high heat for about two minutes I reduced the heat allowing it to cook slowly.  I added the crimini mushrooms last of all after teh onions had clarified.  At this point it would be a wonderful idea to add wine or other liquid to season and finish the dish allowing the steam to cook the mushrooms fully once take from the heat. 

The vegetable saute was finished before the potatoes were done so I removed the pot from the stove and in the interim peeled the roasted peppers under the cold sink rinse and placed the peppers onto a cold plate cutting one one of he halves to a quarter and dicing it for the omelette.  Now the omelette fill was ready and when the potatoes had fried suffieciently I would add the vegetable mix once it had been removed from the heat and stirred lightly.  I added some of the drippings from a chicken I had roasted the previous day to the home fries and vegetable mix consisting of white onion, garlic and hot red pepper and the result was astoundingly tasteful.  Bravo! The hardest part is over...

PEACH FRY & FRESH MUSTARD GREEN SALAD:

After cleaning all utensils and clearing the stove and counter tops it was time to simultaneously prep the Peach Fry and Salad.  First I cut the peaches into small slices, set them in a deep bowl, covered them with sugar and pured about 3/4 cut of Flor de Cana dark rum over them and let them sit.  Meanwhile I got a large skillet and began to melt 1/4 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of bacon fat at low temperature.  All of the vegetables and fruits had been cleaned before the cooking and prep began so they had been waiting in the refridgerator ready to go.  Using a  timer I set it for about 3 minutes after which I cut the heat off the skillet and continued to prep and arrange the salad.  While the skillet heated up I chopped the mustard greens and added them to the salad plate, chopped the fresh leeks thinly topped the greens, sliced the radish and added the slivers to the top of the salad then sliced the tomato adding it along the rim of the plate.  Now I sqeezed fresh lemon juice over the entire salad, sprinkeled it with Kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper and set it in the refridgerator, the salad was done. 

It is a good practice to use a timer to stay connected to cooking that is in process so that you do not forget and ruin the dish or componant.  After the salad was completed I added high heat to the skillet and waited for it to begin to pop.  Knowing that the rum would cause a quick flash of fire when added to the hot grease I made sure I had the top in one hand and had cleared any flammable objects including covering or distancing  facial, arm or chest hair from the flames. 

When you add the mixture of peaches, pineapple slices, sugar and rum to the hot grease it will flame up in a great flash and you must immediately quench the flames by placing the top onto the skillet or wait until the mixture has carmelized to taste. 

ON THE CONTEMPLATION OF BEAUTY...

Painting by Alma Thomas, American School

The black experience has been one, admittedly with more than its share of tragedy, but as we move into the 21^st century the increasing outcry of Black men will not be to share their stories of pain and struggle only but to express their exaltation of “Beauty” to be counted among the ranks of intellectuals in their own right.  By tradition a Black man had always to work… and work he did… but when he did he was always expected to labor like a slave although he had freed himself from bonds… The struggle to sustain self and family via utilitarian means of employ had condemned this man to the rut of survival… no room was left for creativity or self-expression… it was deemed to be superfluous, a thing for dilettantes and was not added to cache of manly pursuits expected of or to be expected by Black men in America…  His worldly options were presented as those of James, the father of the mid 1970’s series “Good Times”.  Soon he would rise to George Jefferson status still working too hard and too long to pursue art as a career and passion but now able to provide the means by which his children might escape the labor sentence of the great American automaton with the possibility that they might be able to live as artists in their own right or have time at least to devote to artistic pursuits…  On close examination of 1970’s popular media it appears that only Chicken George, an aged slave, retired and no longer viable to the plantation, was fully able to realize his artistic manifest destiny… but he did so seemingly without any compensation at the will of his master…  Surely there was no Decca or Def Jam Productions to liberate this Antebellum musician circa 1790.   Within the last century economic empowerment has allowed Black men to pursue the one thing held so far away from their grasp…  The contemplation of sheer beauty.  And for once, there is a growing field of patronage allowing them not only to live their dreams but to make them sustainable…

Close To Trees by Sam Gilliam American School

Increased economic and intellectual success will have the effect of adding gold and the broad spectrum of colours to the grey-scale of the Black Experience, not that it hasn’t  been celebrated heretofore by countless artisans and aesthetes of the past and present… it is just that the pure contemplation of beauty has yet to become, in my opinion as an artist, a viable and sustainable role for Black men in America save a few… and to that end I would greatly desire to see a veritable revolution of Black men pursuing careers as artists… whether it be painting, sculpture, poetry, prose or otherwise, to include the fields of engineer-inventor, scientist-inventor, and culinary artist, the focus on production of a work of art, (functional or nonfunctional), as a product of pure intellect establishing the Black man as an “INTELLECTUAL”.  But such a cultural revolution in this capitalistic mecca requires patronage… so simultaneously Black people must recognize the need to support the arts that edify their culture.

The Eclipse... Alma Thomas, American School

I have often said that it is the products, inventions and physical legacies of a civilization that make it stand out as a memorable episode of human effort and cooperation.  The monoliths of the Great Zimbabwe, Abu Simbel, Tiahuanaco or modern structures such as The Hoover Dam, The Eiffel Tower or the Suez Canal are indelible hallmarks that a great civilization was once there and great intellectual thought was focused on the realization of magnanimous ideals.  Furthermore, the art and literature of cultures long dead… forgotten… save for their visual gifts to humanity, the text of the ancient Egyptian Book of The Dead, the ancient Mayan Codex’s;’ Chilam Balam and Popol Vuh, the Benin Bronzes or the Caryatid Gate remind us that not only did humans exist in the past but they far exceeded daily subsistence… they left us tangible evidence of a complex society and its technology that did not merely subsist upon the tokens of creation already available to them… rather they expounded upon nature and in effect created technology and beauty from natures good example…

James Baldwin writing...

The Greeks are renowned for their tragic plays but juxtaposed against these was the creation of a fabulously artistic and beauty-conscious society.  The Egyptians were a sober culture seemingly o’er focused upon death and afterlife but through their contemplation of mortality came about one of the most exuberant and creative evolutions of art, literature, architecture, and technology… yes technology… a culture is not viable and is not sustainable, will not be remembered if it does not create technology… BROTHAS… let us ask ourselves if a crack-pipe is technology?  Or even better… if it was created by crack-heads at all?  What crack head was the glassblower who manufactured the pipe?  Did crack heads create crack?  Or were they merely the sad victims of a technological innovation to which they became enslaved?  What culture five thousand years from now, (allowing that humanity is still extant), will hallmark Black American culture because of its creation of a makeshift crack-pipe?  I digressed BROTHAS  to make a simple point.  The history of Black men in America has been otherwise replete with creative, innovators of art, music, theater, literature and technology and the momentum must be kept up in order for us to remain a viable segment of civilization… this, of course, means education and the pursuit of higher artistic goals rooted in intellectualism, the pursuit of knowledge and art or beauty for its own sake… Art for the sake of Art and Art for the sake of the advancement of human civilization…  it means a philosophical abandonment of the “Crack-Pipe” culture which has come to replace the one set in place by the fathers of ligitimate Black American culture…

Sam Gilliam American Painter and Sculptor, American School

If I did not make the connexion between the contemplation of beauty and the perpetuation of civilization itself then let me here make pause… if only to reiterate my argument…  The innate passion of man appears to be rooted in his inexorable pursuit of some lofty ideal of aesthetic perfection… In order to attain his goal mankind necessarily improves the world around him which he deems to be in a state of rusticity… having solved the mysteries of mere survival mankind may exalt himself to the “polishing” of himself and his environment via, the arts; literature, sculpture, painting, architecture, engineering, performance, and ultimately art for the sake of art… merely as an expression of his satisfaction with life in specific to say, “Ah! Yes! The world is beautiful”!  Not only has man created a thing of beauty but he has built the foundations of culture itself by creating tangible artifacts that are the practical and philosophic basis of civilization itself. 

Alma Thomas, American Painter  and one of the founders of The Washington Color School

Onaje Gumbs, Jass Musician/Composer

The twentieth century and the twenty-first have fully captured the anguish and the pain of that genre of man known as the Black American man… Also, it has captured him in his grandest expression of sheer unbridled beauty…

play on Ellington…

write on Baldwin…

paint on Gilliam… 

into infinity not oblivion…

The continuum of expression, of contemplation of pure beauty must continue and expand and become more and more complex as a form of expression… These recitals entreat all men and most assuredly Black American men to take time to contemplate beauty… and to create it…

John & Alice Coltrane

 FIN

Written by David Vollin on 7-7-12

George Lewis Ragtime Musician/Composer

Sam Gilliam, The American School

1776 A VIEW FROM A SLAVES CABIN...

An American colonial plantation typical of the kind constructed in the countryside of Philidelphia in the 18th Century. 

Benjamin had been working since 4:00 A.M. to get Mr. Jefferson’s effects together for the next day.  On such official trips as this one this would have included his portable writing desk including all of the accessories such as ink, parchment, wax, at least six quills for writing, a silver letter opener, (freshly sharpened and polished) a couple of candles and two silver candle holders.  His master’s wig must be powdered; his breeches, waistcoat, cravat, hat, shoes and buckles must all be made ready for an early morning departure.  His master had dined in the countryside just outside of Philadelphia last night at a gracious plantation and so Jefferson would be delivered back to congress in a luxurious carriage but Benjamin would ride his horse in tow.  Furthermore, the horse, Trajan, would need to be fed early and groomed for trip into town. 

Thomas Jefferson's portable writing desk

Benjamin was up early and he was fully refreshed because he did not have to wait upon Mr. Jefferson last night as the hospitality of the house servants had fully accommodated him.  Sometimes when he had free time in the evening, traveling with Mr. Jefferson, he would wander into a rare tavern owned and patronized by free men of color and there exchange stories of his travels with the locals there.  Tonight he dusted off his city clothes and jumped right onto Trajan headed back to Philadelphia for just a couple of hours thinking to get back early enough so that he would go to bed by 8:00 P.M. 

Map of Colonial  Philadelphia,  Blacks had settled to the north and south of the city just outside the grid.

Once he entered the city on the northwest end it was nothing for him to locate the quaint little tavern on the southeast end just before the outskirts of town.  It was located within a row of industrial buildings used to store grain and other retail produce prior to being shipped out of The Port of Philadelphia to the entire world.  There a group of Black farmers and businessmen had owned some land and a small import-export business shipping commodities between Haiti, Jamaica, a dozen other small Caribbean islands and the mainland of the American colonies.  The buildings were owned by a Black entrepreneur named Rev. Richard Allen, a prominent minister and proprietor of considerable rental properties.  Benjamin had actually negotiated rental arrangements between his master, Mr. Jefferson and Messrs. Allen and Jones to lease a small two story carriage house with an adjoining workshop which Mr. Jefferson used for storage and to manufacture many of his inventions, or at least to have them manufactured.  Also, the premises doubled as comfortable lodgings for Benjamin during protracted stays in Philadelphia which were becoming more frequent since the first debacle between the small Revolutionary Army and the Redcoats in 1775.  His head was already awash with the mumblings and grumblings of Mr. Jefferson concerning the Colony of New York’s failure to come on board with the Revolution before its ratification by Congress, which had inadvertently voted to support it in spite of them.  But most of all he was gravely distressed that essential wordage regarding the abolition of slavery had been edited from the Declaration of Independence at the 11^th hour…  When the gravity of Jefferson’s ramblings became fully clear to him his heart sank, nonetheless and especially owing to this unfortunate turn of events he was all to happy to be rid of his masters care if only for a few hours to gain some lucidity for himself… a clarity that he would do well to be sure, would not become clouded by too much rum…

The tavern was little more than a long shed with a low wooden roof having huge roughly hewn beams running from a low, crudely fashioned masonry wall along the high end to a lower wall of timber.  The beams rested upon enormous wooden posts with the axe marks still clearly incised upon their visage.  At the entrance there was a small sign painted hastily upon a short wooden plank that read, “Gumbs Tavern” with an image of a well-dressed Black man holding up an oversized pint of beer.  Along the high-walled side of the tavern opened a huge fireplace fully outfitted as if it had been once the kitchen of a great hall.  The pit of its chimney extended out and a low granite bench encompassed the fire pit covered by a great hood of stone projecting out from the masonry wall on great stone brackets.  There were no windows at all save a small peep-hole gashed into the doorway just at eye level.  Provisions were stored in a large cellar underneath the floor and running its entire length; the floor had therefore a hollow rickety sound as one walked upon it and a cool, dry earthy smell wafted up from between the old shrunken floor boards at times or if the hatch doors were opened outside when someone had to climb down the ladder into the deeply dug cellar for provisions. 

Benjamin checked his fine French pocket watch given to him by Mr. Jefferson after one of his trips abroad, discovering that he had arrived at approximately 6:15 P.M.  When he arrived he sat down at a long low wooden table where a fresh pint had already been set for him.  His arrival was betrayed as he tied Trajan up.  The horse was restless for some strange reason and was furthermore very vocal about it.  He was nearly two sips into the elixir when two familiar faces walked his way joining him each with a pint of their own.  Absalom Jones and Richard Allen sat across from him eyeing his mood… quietly assessing him but withholding their greetings for some reason, he knew not why.  Strangely and to his amazement the gentlemen without ever greeting him formally simply burst forth with the same question. 

“So what news of Congress?  Will the Colonies declare independence from Great Britain? When will Black men be given their equal rights with white men?”

Benjamin stared at them for some few seconds gauging their moods as well… without an utterance he emptied the pint never allowing his eyes to unlock their welded glance upon the men.  As if it had been anticipated, a man standing behind Benjamin immediately replaced the pint and Benjamin also emptied it straightly as he did the first before responding,

“We are now free from Great Britain but are thus enslaved to America… they have cut us out of the deal.  My master recited to me the very passages that would have bathed us in the sweet perfume freedom and had he not been so distraught himself, having been forced to compromise our liberty you should have smelled me from miles away, the olfaction of freedom so very potent upon my presence.  I come from a lovely plantation just outside the northwest corner of this city where he has retired the night, himself to recover from this untimely betrayal to justice, to drink and to curse fate as we do here.  Our brothers fight in this war as do white men but they fight only to perpetuate their unholy condition.  Would that I could summon them here now to plead again our cause… but would it matter to those who see only a shilling?”

By now Benjamin was standing up, the two entrepreneurs were still standing awed and profoundly bruised by the tidings of the hour.  Their brows heavied with the grievousness of a dreadful loss… one that could not be quantified by money or numbers nor thereby sated… 
Turning around Benjamin noticed that none other than his mentor had been serving him.  Benjamin had become connected with the local black entrepreneurs of Philadelphia through his mentor.  To his surprise these men were now all gathering at Gumbs Tavern to discuss the troubling news that had bought him hither though at the time they did not know the outcome until this very moment Benjamin had been keeping them all abreast of the news...

Benjamin woke Thomas Jefferson early that morning around 6:00 A.M. for an early breakfast he had arranged to be prepared by the servants.  Jefferson ate alone and was waited upon only by Benjamin.  After he had dressed his master he implored him to take ten minutes to gather his thoughts and his, “Owns and Earns” as he called them referring to all the things that Jefferson ritually bought along with him even on the shortest and simplest of trips anywhere…   Benjamin truly loved his master and Jefferson loved Benjamin, it was a complex companionship, a brotherhood which under any other circumstances save those that defined them as slave and master would have allowed them to speak freely at this time.  Jefferson looked at Benjamin as an equal if only for an instant, and apologized for what appeared to be a preternatural glitch in the fate of men, one apparently out of his power to change.  He had filled his heart with such imaginings…  He asked him how he felt… knowing the answer…  Benjamin looked at Jefferson for a time and then spoke…

 “I had seen great things to come, great hopes for black people and for white people as well… It was a beautiful view but nothing more than a view from a slaves cabin…”

FIN

Written by David Vollin on 7-4-12

THOUGHTS ON THE RELEVANCE OF FATHERS DAY FOR BLACK AMERICAN MEN...

Our fathers are buried in American soil,

Rain flushes their stories back to the sea,

As I stood by a river, I heard them speaking to me,

Thousands of voices, from some few hundred years,

Their songs battling each other as crashing waves,

Who had held deep silence in the element of their graves,

I felt the history of these strong Black men,

Saw amber’d footage, that had never been shot,

Those rich chapters opened up, having been forgot,

I turned to my father and kissed his hand,

Through our lives he has passed his story down to me,

I will add to his, those gathered on their way to the sea…

Written by David Vollin on 6-16-12

WHISPERS TURNED INTO FIRE…

CHAPTER I.  UNFORSEEN HORIZONS

The way that summer heat baked the black asphalt street outside, Drayton was more than certain all the tires along his row of houses were going to burst in one huge cascade.  He watched amused as a young bird settled on the hood of his brand new Cadillac only to quickly hustle away after getting a hot foot.  His neighbor and aesthetic rival Beardon Dukkett pulled up right behind his car in a white convertible BMW so close at first that Drayton thought he was going to drive right into the back seat.   “Drama Queen,” Drayton whispered under his breath as Beardon distinctly looked him directly in the eye as if checking for irritation. 

Beardon made his way up to the wrought-iron fence standing about twenty feet between the greenest most immaculate lawn and the neat, deeply eave’d front porch of Drayton’s 1920’s bungalow.  He leaned over the fence and said, “What happened to you today Drayton I didn’t see you at work today, you do know about my new promotion don’t you?”  Without waiting for Drayton to respond Beardon went on, “I hear there was actually someone in our office that applied and interviewed but I can’t imagine who, since I’m the only one qualified for the job, can you believe that man? I also heard that some gay guy applied, I asked the receptionist about that but she said she didn’t see any fellas in high heels and with arched eyebrows come into the office that day!” He smiled at Drayton as if oblivious to the fact that it was he who had been the other applicant so Drayton returned his smile with an equally obsequious grin and walked off into the house without greeting him or responding… the door shut presently as he entered his house leaving Beardon perplexed but generally unmoved as was his nature. 

By the time Drayton returned to his front porch with a pitcher of fresh lemonade and some ham and Swiss sandwiches Beardon was long gone.  “Dayum!” he thought out loud, “How the hell did they find out I was gay?  Drayton had not understood why he had not been promoted until this very minute.  It was precisely because of this event that he had taken the day off, it was the new persons first day on the job and he wanted to make sure he was nowhere to be found.  As a professional he had already committed to work with the new boss as objectively as anyone but the prospect of having to take orders from Beardon was more than he could pull off on the first day.  He had already vowed upon receipt of the notice that he had not got the position that he would seek employment elsewhere where he could find advancement but he kind of liked his job and the people there and besides, he was good at what he did and did not feel as if he should have to continue to work hard without the possibility of advancement.  But he revised his resume and cover sheet, tailoring it to at least a dozen jobs he found in his field then waited to hear something back, hoping he would be able to give his notice and brag about the new better paying job he had landed, smearing the fact that his former employers had not recognized his talent in their faces at his going away party… “Yeah right” he thought, “Like those hard up homophobes are really going to give me a going away party or even an exit interview!” 

As the events of the following week played themselves out he was certain he had been passed up for the promotion because of a rumor that he was gay.  Furthermore, he recalled the loquacious secretary from personnel coming down shortly before the public announcement of the new supervisor was made with some hot dirt.  He was certain that it was news of the new hire and specifically the news that it would not be himself.  Although he suspected as much he was so certain that his credentials and time on the job experience made him a shoe-in that he dismissed the childish gossiping’s of the women and men on his floor of the office certain that they would soon see him for the person he really was, a supervisor. 

Drayton stayed to himself at work, he remained aloof of the gossips and the cliques that easily formed themselves in the various socio-political niches of his organization.  He considered his private life to be sacrosanct and kept it personal making sure never to disclose his homosexuality to anyone at all, especially not anyone in the office.  Furthermore, he always dated men who lived in other cities and sparsely dated women, not the ones in the office because it was too close but he made his appearances at places around town where he knew they would be marked.  Just as a smokescreen he always used the excuse that he was going to see his ex-girlfriend in New York for the weekend, this, he figured would both affirm that he was straight and also let the ladies know that there was a flame there so they would not be on his tip and of course, how unverifiable was an “Ex-Girlfriend” from college living in New York?  He almost laughed thinking about how confused all the gossips in his office had been but apparently they had got some inkling of his true tea and where that had come from began to haunt his every moment at work and off the job.  He began an elaborate dissection of his associates to find out just who and where such a rumor might have got leaked. 

Sitting on his front porch he watched the shadows lengthen and the listened to the whining of the locusts in the dense heat.  The phone rang, it was a quirky ident-a-ring… it was Barlow his boyfriend.  He picked up the phone, a deep and notably annoyed voice rang out, “Drayton what the Hell is going on man I haven’t heard from you in two weeks man… is there something you need to tell me cause if it is I think you don’t even have to bother with details man just say it’s over and I’m gone Bro!  HELLO! HELLO! ARE YOU THERE MAN!”  Drayton was surprised and alarmed at how loud the phone resonated in his porch… he held the speaker side of the phone down on his lap and covered it cautiously looking to adjust the volume before speaking.  “I was going through some bad times Barlow, man… I didn’t get that position I thought I was going to get, you know how hard I worked to get it… I was so disappointed I just didn’t want to take it out on you man… honest I love you,“ Drayton looked around cautiously as if the very rafters themselves had microphones or as if the gnats and fireflies might be eavesdropping on him ready to broadcast the news of his boyfriend to the gossips at  work.  In a hushed voice he resumed, walking back into the house and checking that the door was licked and bolted and chained behind him, “Man I just found out that I didn’t get the job because of a rumor I am gay, can you believe that?  I have gone through all this fucking work to date women and even sleep with them, making sure they are seen coming to visit and leaving in the morning, taking them to church and to office events only to end up becoming the fucking office homosexual right behind my own back!  I just don’t understand it.  What went wrong?” 

There was a long period of silence before Barlow responded… he half-believed Drayton’s cockamamie story but wanted to be compassionate for him just in case his better instincts were in fact wrong.  “Baby,” he said, “Let me  come down and stay with you for a few days or come up here for a few days through the weekend just to get a change of scene man… we can talk about it all you like and maybe there is something I can do, you know I’m an attorney babe.”

“WHAT THE FUCK” Barlow yelled, “I told you about all that gay shit man… it’s no good down here man, these mothafuka’s don’t respect anything to do with gay!” He paused to catch his breath, clenching a book on the dresser where he sat looking into the mirror nearly in tears, “I did everything right man, I know those black bastards don’t like me on my job because I am a thorough brotha and I am the only one in the office that has a master’s degree not even the owner and head boss has a masters.  It’s not like I flaunt my education around the office like that pompous ass Beardon, the prick that got my position, I wonder if that bastard spread the rumor just to fuck me up! I wouldn’t put it past him man he is unscrupulous!  He knows that not only was he not qualified but that a rumor like me being gay was all the staff and management team needed to hear to get me out of his way.  I’m mad as hell man and hearing from you at this point, my gay lover… at a time when I just got overlooked for a promotion because I might be gay, confirming that I am gay, is hardly what I need.” 

Barlow was deeply hurt by Drayton’s emotional revelation and now he was more than certain it was really the reason why he had not heard from his lover in over two weeks.  But the gravity of the situation, that he could so easily be discarded and discounted weighed in so deeply against the possibility that they would ever be able to carry on a normal relationship that he determined he would try to help his estranged lover through this trial but move on after it had been dissipated.  He thought this without ever uttering a word to Drayton but kept it to himself, knowing that Drayton was probably aware of his intentions, but it was all he could do for self-preservation in the face of dating a DL Brotha, a thing not only his better judgment, but that of his family and friends had repeatedly warned against!

His father’s voice came as clearly to him as if he were standing directly in front of him, “Barlow, you have fought a long hard battle to be out with your sexuality and it has rewarded you in your profession and community both of which hold you in high esteem, and to put your freedom at jeopardy now, by dating a man who has not paid his dues as you have is foolish in my opinion, but you have always had a mind of your own son and while I counsel you against this, I also want you to know that you do have your fathers and mothers support in this and any other endeavor you chose to embark upon.”  Barlow remembered speaking with his parents about how he was going to forge a cohesive relationship with a man who lived in the closet when he was out and public… he knew then that there was a fair chance it would not work, he might scare his lover away on the sheer principles that he had established as his ethical foundations…

“I’m not coming down to see you Drayton, I love you but there is nothing I can do for you if you are determined to continue to live a lie man.  My coming down to you might even serve to hurt you more man so I’m  going to hold my ground right here in  Washington, D.C. where I know I have a firm place to walk upon.  As much as I miss and need you I realize now that you need yourself more than you need me now.  But know baby, that if you should change your mind I will come down to Birmingham on the next flight to be with you.  I love you deeply and unconditionally but you cannot balance the love I have for you man… I’ve never even been to your house before or your town and we have slept together for five years now, we have shared everything together except your life… so I am going to let you decide how you will move forward, or if you want to move forward at all…. With me…” Barlow said this with so much determination and compassion that Drayton almost invited him to Birmingham; he thought perhaps he could stay in a hotel just outside of town and he would get a rental car to go meet him so that his car would not be recognized at the hotel.  But just as instantly as this revelation came to him he also realized that it would be unacceptable to Barlow.  So instead of saying, “Yes baby come on down to Birmingham and let’s get a hotel just outside of town,” he responded, “Ok man let me think on it for a few days and I will get back with you, I’ve got a lot on my mind now and I don’t want to burden you with it, it’s not your battle baby…”  Drayton was sure Barlow would simply hang-up on him and he’d never hear from him again unless and maybe not even if he called him back and begged and begged.

Barlow replied, “Baby, that’s fine with me, I see you need time to clear your head some more, but know that I love you and am ready to support you whatever your decision may be.  Know also that I am not just going to be waiting to be given a “Dear John” letter from you at some unfathomable point in the future after you have long overspent my patience and understanding… I am a man too baby and I deserve to be treated equally.  I wasn’t going to say this, but I feel as if I need to at this point man… I don’t really think we are going to be able to go any further in our relationship; you are living a lifestyle that is 180 degrees opposite from mine both philosophically and physically… you are still dating and fucking women to maintain your façade of manhood, a façade that clearly no longer exists in the minds of your colleagues…. But I remain loyal to you.  I don’t want to drop a bomb on you at this of all times but I’m going to date other men Drayton and even, perhaps have sex with them because it is my right to do so given the clear options that you afford me!  I’m not going to call text or email you unless you contact me first.  I’m not going to ever bring this issue up again for discussion unless you open it first.  Let’s consider ourselves to have an open relationship but know Drayton that if I meet another man who can provide the things that you cannot I will leave you for that man and never turn back again.  I’m not going to give you my speech about being a real man and not some straight mans “Bitch” cause you already know how I feel!  I need a man! A real man! A man does not run scared and live scared, changing his life to suit other men who have no power over him… A real man lives his live and loves as he chooses daring other men to challenge his manly right! And ready to defend his right, if necessary by force!  I allowed myself to fall in love with only part of you but ignored the other aspect that drove you, and that is fear Drayton, pure unmasked fear and weakness!  So in parting I challenge you to be a man and you will see that no one can hurt you when you are honest up-front, straightforward about yourself! Then and only then can you know that you have been judged not by your secrets and fears, but by your credentials as a man and as a professional!  You have created this wall of lies and when it comes down around you all credibility will be lost!  You have to power to change this but it has to come from you Drayton, not from me!”  The phone went dead and Drayton let it sit on the desk for at least five minutes while it automatically shut down. 

Over the next couple of days Drayton did his own detective work discovering where the root of this terrible lie had taken hold first convincing him that it was not himself.  One of the things he did at his job was to manage the company’s corporate phone accounts.  He had access to all the texts and emails forwarded between employees but he never broke his ethical instinct to eavesdrop before now.   He started with the most loquacious gossips in the office and found they had ironically not uttered a word before the job announcement had been made.   What he did discover was that Beardon had an excessive amount of texts and calls to a number in Washington, D.C. specifically in a town called Burtonsville which was actually in Maryland only 20 minutes outside of the city limits.  A closer examination revealed the sexually explicit nature of the texts many of which contained nude pictures and racy erotic language but what struck him hardest was that the pictures coming from Burtonsville were from another man. 

Written by David Vollin on 6-11-12

 CHAPTER II.  UNSETTLING ACQUAINTANCES 

Sometimes the very obvious, the obvious, the nearly obvious and the not-so obvious merely cancel each other out when they collide with issues that have been given greater magnitude in the commandment of our thoughts.  They jump, crawl and swim right up to us like beloved pets do when we are too preoccupied with other matters, forgetting to notice them.  We finally recognize them as the familiar things we’ve lived with, remarkably ironic now, having waited impatiently but prudently until their window could be opened… 

 Nearly six weeks went by after Beardon’s first day a Drayton’s new boss.  Drayton had already resolved to be civilized about the entire thing, to be a gentleman and a professional acknowledging Beardon as his superior and doing everything he could to make him feel comfortable in his new position; it was the right thing to do.  Besides, in his greater wisdom he realized that any inkling that he had not got the promotion because the carefully guarded secret about his homosexuality had been leaked was purely hearsay and he refused to even react to something that amounted to a myth inside of his mind.  If Drayton was anything he was a rational, civilized and principled man who considered it a hallmark of his character that he set the gentlemanly example setting himself apart from those of his colleagues whom he affectionately named, “The Barbarians”!  The fact of the matter is that he had hugely relied upon the gossip of these barbarians to bring himself closer to an understanding of the truth admittedly falling back on the very baseness he despised to ground himself with some kind of resolution.  It was a crash-course for him in the manner of the crude and undecorated world easily solved its problems with lies and deceit, the desperate and razor-sharp world that drove gentlemen like him away.  He saw that world as a place empty of the type of aspiration inspired by pure and honest artifice,  it was a place that existed in spite of choking upon its own uselessness, bereft of fuel and ambition, exhausting every resource around it in a futile effort to sustain itself thereby garnering raison d’etre!  That world preyed upon the disparate souls who operated from within the light of themselves who would freely share it with others. But at once Drayton knew he was not wholly that enlightened man and he had no right to judge others so sharply against his concept of righteousness, an unproven cosmos thus complicated by his own hidings however justified they pointed to a man who was in clear sight of freedom but had quite a few miles to go before the gateways in the walls of that bastion were in clear view.  He had never even imagined coming out before… the mere thought to him now was unimaginable so he drifted off watching while the quiet of his little street was intermittently transformed by a car, motorcycle or bicyclist passing through…  Drayton was a peaceful man… sheltered by his parents from the meanness of the streets… He understood their sacrifice, and utilized the advantages they gave him to reward their effort.  His parents were the first in their family to get a college education.  And from the very first moment he could understand anything it was made clear to him that college was a minimum requirement but it was not forced upon him… merely reinforced as a standard by which he would ultimately be measured as a man in his parents eyes.  His childhood, adolescence and early manhood had been full of the love of his family and because he was surrounded with such care he hardly noticed the privileged upbringing he had enjoyed.  His parents were careful to teach him that he was one among equals… that he must have compassion and understanding for those less fortunate, lessons that had no real meaning to him until he became aware of the realities of the world. 

He had quite lost track of time as he had been sitting there thinking when presently he was roused by the clamour and familiar smile of a neighbor who had been attempting to get his attention for who knows how long.  The face said, “Wow man that’s heavy! Got a lot on your mind I see! Well I won’t disturb you too long but,” the face advanced toward the front porch after opening the heavy Victorian, Gothic Revival, wrought iron gate and continued up the rise of approximately 7 rusticated sandstone stairs, “I bought some beers for us to drink whilst we talked, that is… if you have a mind and some time to spend a few golden hours with your new boss.”  The face was Beardon’s face and together with his body it had fully mounted the rise and sought an assortment of glider chairs lining the exterior wall of the house underneath the deep overhang of the porches roof.  Beardon shifted a pale green glider chair until it was nearly two inches or less from Drayton’s chair and justly parallel.  Drayton’s first inclination was to shift his body to the far side until he could manage to physically move the chair itself a few feet away, he attributed the Beardon’s spatial anomaly to the fact that three of the 12 beers were missing from the case he lugged up to the shaded perch of the deep, front porch but made no mention of his analysis of Beardon’s condition.  Drayton listened while Beardon talked about things which he had no interest in whatsoever, people named who he did not know, places referenced he had no knowledge of or desire to see… He did this out of courtesy alone, uncomfortable as Beardon moved ever closer to him at times near enough to suggest intimacy.  Even with the thickening fog of intoxication befuddling his head Beardon recognized Drayton’s uneasiness and compensated by shifting his conversation to women.  “Women! Really!” Drayton thought, wanting to protest, but withheld his desire… Instead he determined to placate Beardon by feeding In to this new shift of human interest… “Well there’s certainly a lot of phat honey’s in the “G.M.”’s office man I’m sure they are all over you now that you got that promotion.” Without being able to catch himself the issue of Beardon’s promotion slipped out of his lips, he stood his ground managing an exaggerated smile to balance the fact that he instinctively wanted to recoil for being so stupid as to introduce that topic.  Notwithstanding, Beardon was noticeably unmoved by the remark and so Drayton’s strategy worked, he promised himself to have no more beer just to be sure he did not make a mistake like that one again but now delighted in the art of deception shifted the topic back to women again…  Choosing a woman who had recently left the company he sought safety in the lack of politics that might ensue from discussing staff in less than a professional manner.  “Remember Paendra?  Everybody was trying to get into her pants man… she was definitely an attractive woman but I don’t think any of us squirrels ever cracked open that nut… eh?” 

Beardon was listening and he was just staring into Drayton’s face with a queer smile wrapped around his entire face.  Drayton could not place it exactly and attributed it to the increasing level of alcohol coursing through Beardon’s circulatory system.  He had that stupid unfocused smile that people get when they are drunk… “Fuck, I’m getting drunk on my front porch with my boss,” the words slipped again from his mouth… this time Beardon heard it and to Drayton’s relief he released a huge bout of laughter… sincere and well-earned it was…  Drayton had been way to reserved throughout the entire time… after all Beardon had really tried to break the ice by coming over and bringing alcohol and starting a personal report with Drayton.   His laughter actually finally got Drayton to relax with the entire situation.  Before he had thought, “Dayum, last time I’ll sit on this front porch, I could have been chilling in the house about now not cheesing with my boss on my time off.”  Now, the thought to himself, “Oh well this beats just sitting in the house alone, it is something to do.  And maybe I can use this as an opportunity to find out what’s really going on with my new boss”

 Beardon went on without pause intent on filling Drayton in on the latest gossip about Paendra.  He started, “That Paendra is one phat somebody bro… but I found out she is really a big ass freak underneath all that tailored suit and high ruffled collar business she sells in the office.  Yeah man my boy Demarcus told me she nearly raped him one night when they went out for drinks.  Come to find out she had nearly raped all of the brothas working in her department she actually had one kat ready to leave his wife and children, can you imagine that?  Must have been some sweet, killer pussy she had!  Come to find out you are the only one in her division that didn’t fuck her man… or else maybe you just hit that thing real quiet and rolled out!” 

Drayton was feeling a bit high and was not sure what to say but realized he had to say something in response… “Yeah man I heard she was sleeping with every man in my division and my girl did too so I had to keep it professional with her meetings in public never alone, my girl was cool with the receptionist,” He lied and immediately realized Beardon might attempt to check up on his story and sought a way around it, “You don’t remember her man she was just a temp who came in before you were hired.”  Whew! Drayton just managed to get out of that jam, he realized that in order to be an effective liar you have to have the story well worked out beforehand.  Beardon asked Drayton if he could use his bathroom, he had never been inside Drayton’s house before.  Before he responded Drayton feverishly went over every square inch of his house to be sure there were no hallmarks of his homosexuality left out for Beardon to see. 

Written by David Vollin on 7-19-12