Yesterday, my spouse's cousin and his wife, were in town for a public health convention. We agreed to meet them Sunday morning at OK Cafe, a local eatery on the northwest Side of town. I drove directly to the cafe to put our name on the list to get a table for six while she drove into town to pick them up. The timing couldn't have been any more perfect! As they got out the car to greet me, our name was called to be seated (AJ for the win!).
As we were getting seated, my wife nudge and pointed to my left. Lo and behold, my best man was sitting across the aisle from me having brunch with aunt! We did our pleasantries, caught up briefly before sitting back down to order. We ordered our food, which was delicious by the way! If you're ever in metro Atlanta, definitely check out OK Cafe. There are many more brunch spots if you want higher end food and pricing, but you cannot go wrong by visiting this place.
While in town, the cousin and his wife wanted to spend time visiting the AUC campuses. AUC is an acronym for the Atlanta University Center which is a group of historically black colleges and universities in SW Atlanta (the SWATS). Myself, my spouse, and her cousin are all graduates of AUC schools. We drove down to campus and parked between Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University. Expecting to be able to walk onto Clark's campus, we figured that was the best spot. Unfortunately, the gates were locked and we had to walk around out of the way.
Being back on campus was very much like coming home. The same feelings I get while driving to my parents home, I felt while walking the campus. It created a buzz of memories that I haven't felt in over 20 years. Walking down Westview Dr, looking at the finger of MLK as he points North to the campus he walked over 70 years ago,I thought "I walked those same sidewalks, sat in those same classrooms". Walking up the hill onto campus, I passed classrooms where I cried due to poor performance on a test, I passed my dormitory where we had weekly black light parties. Eventually, we made it to Kilgore hall, where some of the best spades games were played ever! All those memories flooded back into me. Walking past Nabrit Mapp Mcbay (NMM), I could hear Dr. McBay educate us on particle in a box theory, past Merrill Hall where we learned even the smallest droplet of water is bad for a heat lamp (LOL), down to the quad on CAU's campus where weekly 4pm games of flag football ensued every Sunday after watching our favorite professional NFL athletes showcase themselves. It was beautiful to think back to those times.
As we began to walk away from campus, the cousin wanted to recreate a picture under the MLK statue at King Chapel. We crossed the street so that he could recapture that photo opportunity. I sat there, staring inside of King Chapel. Probably the greatest moment of my life occurred here. This is the place that introduced me to my now wife of 20 years. Many Thursday evenings, Saturday and Sunday mornings were spent in this building for the purposes of practicing our musical selections, as well as Sunday morning services where we performed those selections. But that was never really the point why i attended services. I never really desired going to church to sing. I continued to go to these rehearsals and and morning services so that I could spend more time with her. So that I could walk her back to her dorm afterwards to share experiences and talk about the future. We re-traced those steps as we walked towards the Spelman Gate.
So many memories flooded my being while back on campus. I believe I needed to experience this informal 'homecoming' of sorts to remember the things that are important to me. I needed the reminder that all of those experiences are part of the building blocks of who I am today. When things seem to go astray or seem off, it helps to remember to keep it simple and go back to the basics. I'm now in my forties, with nearly grown children, a great job that affords us many blessings, and an awesome wife. Those conversations 22.5 years ago about the future? The future is happening or in some cases, has happened. Now, we have to figure out our new future together, sans children as they continue to grow and become responsible, self-sustaining adults themselves. It's time to have more future discussions but this time, we get to be selfish about our desires.
I never thought a random afternoon to sight-see my old stomping grounds would resonate so much emotion. I'm thankful for being given the opportunity to be reminded of my past with hope that it will provide clearer direction of my future.
To the love of my life:
I love you more than my own life. I still can't see my adult life without you being a part of it. The past 20 years have had wonderful memories, not all of them great. But I look forward to the next chapter of our love and building better memories with a lot less painful ones."
AJ
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