As we reflect on our blessings this past year on this day of Thanksgiving, I would like to assert that I am thankful that I am still gainfully employed and for my health, my life, my family and friends, and for our freedom for which our troops made the ultimate sacrifice. However, as you can only imagine, 2018 has been a rough year for both my family and myself due to the deaths of my father and one of my uncles who lived in Georgia. These past several months may have been the most heartbreaking for us, but I have been fortunate to lean on my surviving relatives, my co-workers, and my friends for comfort and support, for which I am also grateful.
Two more things for which I am thankful are (1) my best friend Alicia and the time that she and I have been spending together since 2013 but mostly since since my father’s death in April and (2) my father, who was always there for me for better or worse, turned me on to classic R&B music and motorcycles, showed me a thing or two about fixing cars, and encouraged me to be the best that I could be. One of my last conversations with him was a year ago when I told him that I missed my mama and her cooking, and he said that she would have wanted the best for her family. I know now that he would have wanted the best for us too. Dad, I miss you so much, and I know that you are now reunited with Mama, Poochie, Smiley, and our other family relatives who went on.
In loving memory of:
Benjamin Johnny “BJ” Pressley (5th November 1948 – 7th April 2018)
Geraldine “Tut” Spann Pressley (12th February 1948 – 18th November 2015)
Greer Amelia “Poochie” Pressley Love (2nd November 1971 – 14th February 2008)
Jequillar LaChelle “Smiley” Spann (30th April 1979 – 8th November 2016)
Benji Martin 