Obviously, I was raised WHITE which to many blacks is a sign of automatic privilege but that was not the case with me, although, I was raised to have solid religious beliefs and a propensity towards the Democratic Party as it relates to the general public.
But, outside of being WHITE all my life, I graduated high school as well as college and graduate school and spent a few years in the military. I have been married twice, owned all my homes, achieved a debt free status and maintained it, travel throughout Europe and the Caribbean, as well as the US, Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, and Canada.
I am the father of exceptional daughter who would be exceptional even if I was not her father. I have experienced the pain of two dying parents and have owned several vehicles, stereo equipment, electronics, and home theater systems.
I am a survivor of two still on-going cancers (Melanoma and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma) and have also survived a lethal heart attack because I had kept my body healthy earlier. No other internal organ damage done as a result of over 12 years of chemo, radiation, surgery, chemo, and immunotherapies.
I have had the mental determination and ability to stop smoking without any other aids, loose weight, and complete a 45 year career reporting pseudo intellectual assholes who by the grace of God had superior positions to my own and could therefore direct me according to their imbecilic plans.
Rather astoundingly, I have managed to actually save enough squirreled away monies to pay the living expenses of our current lifestyles for my wife and I to extend out lives to 95+ plus years should the occasion arise for us to live that long.
All my life, I have maintain the desire to have either cats or dogs live in my house with me, although have pleasantly discovered that cats are easier to take care of than dogs, but in some cases, are not as friendly as dogs or perhaps as stupid in some cases.
I have never been wealthy and never really wanted to be wealthy although I have fantasized about wealth and what all it could do for me, but even if I was in possession of wealth, I doubt that I would change my current lifestyle, except maybe fly first class more often.
I don't play golf and never wanted to and while I was an avid JOCK in high school and college have very little desire to watch, attend, or follow professional or college athletics. Therefore, all the sports channels on CABLE are irrelevant to me.
My brother and sister and I do not get along and as my brother has told me who is 8 years younger than me, we have nothing in common; although, I believe our parents, if they were still alive, would disagree with him. The 3 of us have different lifestyles that do not mess when together and the reality of any family reunion results in not have much to share with each other, especially since I am the only cancer/heart attack victim in the family.
If I were to die today, would I have wished for a more complete life than the one I have had... I don't think so... but then again, we don't know for sure how that will be until we get there, do we?
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