Back in the day! A Very Short, Real Story.

In 1977, with a year's sabbatical leave from the State University of New York at Stony Brook tucked in my briefcase, I decided to live in Toronto, Canada and resided at 77 Wellesley Street off of Yonge Street.  While in that city, I decided to start a greeting card company that would offer offbeat sayings versus the standard dribble that permeated greeting cards with the exception of a company called "Blue Mountain Arts."  I spent my mornings and evenings writing and editing, writing and deleting, writing and getting words and ideas to flow the way that I wanted. 

When I returned to the States, the strucure of the company was set up and verses copyrighted.  I eventually sought out and then depended on a graphic artist who never delivered.  Needless to say, I did not publish one card.  I still have the verses.  Interestingly, time has not necessarily eroded the impact of what I perceived to be the truth.  I had two or three card groupings/sections and I am sharing a card verse from the division called "Public Secrets."

Remember when the Afro was a political statement
   and long hair a cultural symbol
Remember the excitement of your first rock concert
   and how you enjoyed the Sunday hangout at the beach
Remember when we dressed our ideologies in jeans,
   army jackets, shades, and football shirts
Remember when smoking reefer and drinking wine was a
   communal experience
And we said, "What's happenin'" to folks we did not know
   and called them brother and sister.

Often, I remember these things and then I cry
Because I can't figure out what went wrong.


(c) 2013 William E. Berry, Jr.