“There was more love back in the day.  Nobody had anything so there was nothing to get from anyone. It was just love. We played ball, jacks and marbles. We played in the mud puddles.

I was raised by my grandparents. They were poor humble people who prayed a lot. They taught me respect and kindness. Help people where you can. They didn’t have much but they shared it.

I grew up in Yazoo City in the ‘60s. I was playing on my porch and saw people walking down the street wearing hoods. My mom yelled, ‘Boy get in this house.’ I just thought it was people with white sheets on.  There were places we couldn’t go in or eat. We could only sit on the top floor of the movies. On TV, everything was about the white man and a white president. We never thought we would live to see a black president. God brought us a long way.

When I was young, we ate pinto beans every day. We only ate meat on Sunday.  My auntie had a little chicken farm. That’s all any of us had and we made it through. Now, people have more and complain more. Sometimes I cry tears of gratitude for what the Lord has done for me.

I have worked at grocery stores most of my life. I have been at Kaye’s for 16 years. I walk to work and back home every day. It takes about 30 minutes. I enjoy the walk. That’s my time to talk with God.

Life is about integrity and how you deal with people. My passion is spreading the good news and loving people heart to heart. If I love people as they come through my line, they are going to pass it on to someone else. We are the light of the world. The world won’t get any better if we just let it be. Customers old and young ask me to pray for them. That means a lot that they think that much of me. There are a lot of good people in Yazoo City.

Jesus told us to ‘love each other like I loved you.’ That’s the basics of life. Get out of the church and talk with the people. I hear all kinds of stories. I calm people down and encourage them. People are going to do what they are going to do, but love is freely given. You can’t do anything to earn it. We have to be patient with each other.

One day, we’re going to be in a place where there’s no more darkness. No more sickness. No more pain. No more sorrow. God made the world, what do you think he can’t make? We were the last thing he created. We were his last thought before he rested. He is still dealing with each of us. Pray for the Lord, too.

Before I go to bed at night, I pray for peace. I ask the Lord to keep the evil away, bless the people around me and bless this world,

I am going to leave you with this. Wake up and see what’s going on before you close your eyes for the last time and go to sleep.”

Gene