Category: Columns

by Ernie McCray

There is so much around us
that can lift our spirits,
a song,
a poem,
a loving gesture,
a bright smile on
a handsome face
like the one of gratitude
on Eric Allen’s
as he received the news
that he had made the NFL Hall of Fame,

by Ernie McCray

The other day,
I kicked back in the sun,
in the spacious backyard
of my son’s new home,
celebrating
my little grandson Jackson’s
first year around the sun,
with family and friends,
and some of my other grandchildren,
mellow music playing in the background,
margaritas and juices available
for everyone,

by Ernie McCray

We have a president
who commits treason,
an offense that just happens to be
our country’s
most serious crime
and we haven’t called him out on it
at any time
which blows my mind
because there have been times
when engaging in trying to overthrow
the government
came with a steep price,

by Ernie McCray

As I read it,
the 25^th Amendment of the Constitution
says, to put it in a layman’s term,
that if the president,
when it comes to
discharging
the powers and duties
that the job requires of him,
is lacking,
then that president can be sent packing,
which should get us to asking
why we haven’t let our president go
on his non-merry way
since there is no one on earth
who could be more inefficient
at leading a nation
than the one we’ve got,

by Ernie McCray

As if our country|
isn’t in enough of a mess already,
our issues are compounded
when we pause
and reflect on
the biggest problem
we human beings face:
the show
Mother Nature
is putting on
as though she’s in a race
to erase our species from
the Milky Way,
ripping and tearing
here and there and
every which way,
bashing us
with winds
that blow
at velocities
unheard of;

by Ernie McCray

I find myself looking

for any hint

of hope for a better world

that might be in play

and I happened upon a wonderful example

of such the other day

as I listened to a proud Latina woman

at a community college conference

in Austin, Texas

by Ernie McCray

I don’t see how anybody

who took time

to really watch

Kendrick Lamar do his thing

between halves

at the Super Bowl Game,

could call his performance

boring and trashy

as it was very entertaining

to me,

by Ernie McCray

As I still reflect on the positive and hopeful vibe
that I basked in
at a Dr. Martin Luther King Day
celebration,
I find myself
thinking about
the night before the event
when I went to bed
feeling a little trepidation
because of the upcoming inauguration
of a man who stands against
any and every idea that ever played
in MLK’s warmhearted imagination,

by Ernie McCray

I’ll always remember this year’s
“All People’s Celebration”
of MLK Day,
in particular,
not only because it was held on the day
of the 47th president’s
inauguration,
something I looked at as an insult
to the memory of Martin
who preached love and non-violence
but also due to it setting the tone
for the work that needs to be done
to counter the actions of this man
who is hell-bent,

by Ernie McCray

My heart continues
to bleed miserably
for the incredibly hapless residents
of Los Angeles
and I, particularly,
can’t imagine
how hard it must be
for the LA football teams,
the Chargers
and the Rams,
that had to board planes
to make it to NFL Playoff Games
while their beautiful city was aflame
due to a firestorm of a magnitude|
that’s almost impossible
for one to make sense of in his brain,

by Ernie McCray

The raging fire
in Pacific Palisades
darkens my soul
as it’s part of me,
the home of Nancy
my very dearly departed soulmate,
the mother of three of my six children.

I know that she,
if alive,
would be destroyed inside,
viewing an inferno, miles wide,
leaving her old neighborhood
burning away
in its wake.

by Ernie McCray

In a reflective mood the other day
I thought of people
who, in some way,
had something to do
with who I am today
and the first person who popped
up in my mind
was my very first school principal
standing tall in an image
that’s so memorable to me:
Big old head.
Big old shoulders.
Big old chest.
Big old beer belly.