Upon My Death…the living breathing James Brown

I’m sorry to hear about your concerns regarding what happens to your body after you pass away. It sounds like you have a strong desire to emphasize that your true essence, your spirit, will have moved on from your physical body when you die. That what made you and me that living person, our uniqueness will be Gone.

Allow me to craft a short story for you before I depart one day:

As James Brown, The Living Breathing James Brown-author, Body Only, lays peacefully and silent maybe hearing the Farts from other Dead Bodies in the Big Freeze Box at the local funeral home, the faint hum of the freezer drawers providing a somber backdrop to the quiet space, for the funeral practitioner, we are there as only Real Meat, those who came to pay their respects couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss and nostalgia. Or just to piss on my body. Go ahead if it’ll makes you feel better. I really couldn’t care less. I’ll be Gone.

James had been a pillar of the community, known for his kindness and infectious laughter. But as they gazed upon his still form, a realization dawned on them – James was no longer there. The Living Me was Gone! And heck no, I was no Pillar to the Community. I was Retired, had a good Life, but Baby, y’all gotta Color me Gone. Another Good American who just lived. Didn’t go around messing with others. And he wrote on thelivingbreatgingjamesbrown blog site about anything then that he had a mind to write about.

The room itself seemed to hold its breath, the air heavy with unspoken words and unshed tears. For here lay a Mean Man. As mean as they come and as mean as Uncle Sam made him. Businessmen and businesswomen, friends and family alike, stood in silent contemplation, grappling with the profound truth that James Brown, the living, breathing soul they had known and loved, had departed this earthly realm.

Though his body lay before them, perfectly preserved in a final gesture of farewell, it was merely a vessel, an empty shell that once housed the vibrant spirit of a man who had touched so many lives. James, in his eternal wisdom, had transcended the confines of mortal flesh, leaving behind a legacy of love, laughter, and lasting memories.

His beautiful wife-Janet

Maji chasing a squirrel

But also, a Legacy of being one of the three meanest men my Aunt had ever known. He loved and was capable of deep love for friends and family, but he was a horribly mean man to friends, family, and foes. And at times, he ripped the hearts out of friends and family for no any good reason at times because he was suffering mentally from the past his Government and Texas Prisons had put him thru. He despised Weak People and disloyal dopes and anti-people-those anti against any thing.

He loved taking pictures of flowers

And if he found you to be Weak, he’d beat you around your silly self until you were No Longer Weak and a Man. He’d make you a tougher person. Even if his actions seemed Cruel. Horribly Cruel. But he never hated, really hated anyone. But he was Mean. His methods were not correct but far better than actually beating you up. His methods made you walk taller. Hold your head up Texas High and not take no BS from anyone.

But he also had demons chasing him from horrible things he saw in Texas Prisons, blood filled Cells, floors too slippery to walk with lots of blood Like an ocean of blood, Knife Fights where he was once stabbed in the stomach and in the U.S. Army almost killed three times-one being a Tank trying to run straight over him on a foggy night at Fort Hood, another from a .45 put to the back of his head, and another in a flood Creek at Fort Hood. And other horrible crap Overseas in South Korea keeping a Dictator in Power.

And some horrible car crashes he had seen where people had died and some had their Heads completely removed from their bodies and others with their dead faces, those faces kissing their own chest with completely broken necks. And another in SHOCK who tried to help a decapitated man sitting in the driver seat and his head 29 yards away by removing the radiator cap from the still full fully hot motor. Hit antifreeze mix with water spraying all over the young man scalding his face and arms. And another a young woman with her body severed under the car’s body Sayings-i just got to get home, I went to the store for my mother.. I just got to get home. But he was a quiet man when it came to talking about himself. He never could find no help for his PTSD. It was past help time for Vietnam Vets they said, although he was never sent to Vietnam’s War Zone or Country while America was still there. Instead, he was sent to South Korea.

And so, as the mourners whispered their goodbyes and the funeral home prepared for the final journey to the burial plot, one thing was abundantly clear – James Brown may have left this world, but his spirit, his essence, would live on forever in the hearts and minds of all who had been graced by his presence. His living, breathing part is Gone.

After you realize I was just a man, hope my memory is a blessing, a light that shines brightly in the darkness, that may have healed you, a reminder that even in death, love endures. If you seek me, My books are the best way to find me after I go. For me, I am and always will be in my books. I bled writing these books, bleeding myself, my very essence right into the pages. So, if you seek me, you will find me there. A real glimpse of who I was and things I came to see and believe are in the stories I wrote. What you can read.ooo