This weekend I was fortunate to have spent three days of my Vacation in Monks Corner. Nestled in central South Carolina is this little Town with more Dirt Roads than these Feet have ever trodden. The People as down to Earth as the many Dirt Roads. The Town has come a long way from the years of 1940, the People have evolved beyond their Parents wildest imagination. In this town you can find Palital Homes accessible only by Dirt Roads. The Government have built Roads in places that an American Car will never be Driven, and now a Wall to keep out the people from picking the Fruit Trees, helping Farmers to make a profit. This Country was built on free Labor, so it can only prosper from Cheap Labor. Yet the people who were Born here waits on the bottom rung of the Ladder to drive on Roads found on Long Island and Suburbs in Washington,  all I want to know is where does the Tax Dollars go. That doesn’t stop the Natives of Monks Corner from striving. I call them Natives because most of them who were Born there choose to stay there and build the Town where their Predecessors would be elated with Pride, its Children have grown up and brought their Town up with them. I was re- introduced to my In-laws, all of them upstanding members of the Community, They Love Jesus and America too, many of them successful Professionals.To mention a few, one a retired Telephone Lineman who is also an entrepreneur who gave up an opportunity to play in the NFL to be with his Ailing Mother. Did I mention Salt of the Earth, his Nephew a retired Captain from the US Army who is also a skilled Craftsman.

Some of us have suffered abuse neglect and poverty, yet we rise above meritocracy and not transferring our pain to others. As the saying goes if it doesn’t kill you( the abuse) it will make you stronger. The Children of Monks Corner grew strong, some going as far back as their Native American and African Heritage. As Children they did more than their Chores and never neglected their Education. They knew that if they wanted more out of Life than their Parents afforded them that they had to work for it, and so did they. Life was hard but these  people had Tenacity. They overcame Racial discord and Discrimination by dealing with the situation by doing exactly what my Mother told me ( be the best at whatever you choose to be, if it is a Dishwasher be the best, if it’s the President of a Corporation be the Best. They may never accept You but they will Respect you for the Job you do.

The People of Monks Corner should be proud of their Journey, I consider it an Epic one. Along the way I have met a lot of people, years ago I met a Man in Texas, he was worth five hundred million. When the Heirs to his fortune graduated College, instead of giving them Offices next to him, he gave them Jobs working on Highways laying Blacktop in 113 degrees heat. I asked why he did that, he told me to teach them the value of a Dollar. The People of Monks Corner knows the value of a Dollar Working Farms early in the Morning then  going to School made their characters tireless. One of my In-laws a Master Craftsman  built his Home a mini Mansion from the Ground up two Stories. Like the Whiz K said whatever it is that is your Job, make sure that you do it, Work Hard Play Hard, that’s my Motto. I have always been a hard worker,  that’s why I Respect like minded people as myself, all my In-laws are hard workers.

From my Observation it appears to be the norm in this Town. The Town’s History is Rich, from Cotton Plantation to the Civil War, these are the decendants of America’s evolvement of Native Americans and African American. I have met Africans, they have their ways. The Children of Monks Corner are Americans who have reached out and grasp whatever benefits the System offers such as Education and Entrepreneurship. This was an absolute Culture Shock for me, living in Pennsylvania and New York all my Life. Coming to a place where my People owns their piece of the Rock, no matter how small is an Accomplishment. Furthermore their Town is not a Shanty Town, many of the Homes if they were in my Hometown of Tampa, on the Waterfront would easily fetch one Million. The inhabitants have come far, yet they stayed Grounded and Faithful. This was a Heartwarming experience for me to see the People as George would say have Overcome, and move on up to what their Parents could only have Envisioned.

The town of Moncks Corner, named for landowner Thomas Monck, dates back to 1728. It began as a trading post with a few taverns and stores. The Battle of Monck’s Corner was fought here in 1780, associated with the Siege of Charleston. The Town is Rich with history going back to its French Settlers running from oppression dating to the seventeenth Hundreds. This is my wife’s place of Birth all her Brothers an Cousins live here they are all professionals who choose to stay here when they finished School and build their Town. Many people who were born in a Rural settings like this, when they finish School they migrate to big Cities like New York where they have to adopt a new culture and sometimes losing theirs. The rest of the world should take a lesson from the Children of Monks Corner , instead of trying to jump Trump’s Wall they should put all their efforts in building the place  where they live and launch one revolution after another till the Tyrants run for Asylum to America. Many of us suffered the indignity of being unfortunate and depriviation.

My Mother was a hardworking Woman, been that way since Childhood, helping raising her siblings. When she was sick and in and out of Hospitals, we were unfortunates, no one threw a crust of Bread or such. Ambition is a powerful emotional Tool, always wanting, never staying down. Like the man  said ” so much trouble in the World, no one feels your pain. Me I going to shine till my Heart stops. That’s why when I see a Town’s People standing in the place where they Live it warms my Heart, like John Lennon said Imagine all the People living as one. So there you have it, that’s how  I spent my Vacation, learning about the Heartbeat of 🇺🇸. This is what makes America great people making it work, People building it up instead of tearing it down. They chose to light a Candle instead of cursing the Darkness of all its faults.