cultivating success was the theme of the conference

FRIDAY

hello world, lost too many work days, the pay was neglible,

gon continue to say no to these gigs more likely than not, unless as with the
education opportunities center mission of helping the disenfranchised, im feeling it

ah but the standing ovation, all the comments about how i made them
feel good about what they do, one brother said "i didnt know we were so important"

a little pep talk for my weary legions

i tried to make them feel good about a life of service, tried to encourage the highroad
of true commitment, renew them in struggle and give a little rest for the weary

i do get satisfaction from my hordesman skilz
from being able to put an audience in the palm of my sweaty hand

and take them to higherground
take them to the promised land

make the moment a significant one
and wash all your troubles away

as a young hoodoo in training i once broke my personality up
into 3 or 4 distinct faces to be used in diff situations according to need

the poet
the hordesman
and the conjuror

actually there were more but i just dont remember them at the moment

the poet for was for the sensitive moments, love and family and such
the hordesman was the ruthless politico, the gatherer of hordes
and the conjuror the magicworking visionary

and you had to make sure the right head was handling the right business

didnt want the hordesman dealing with love cause the hordesman was too calculating
didnt want the poet doing politics cause the poet was too uh  nice, you see what im saying

and when it was time to move the people
to preach from the mountaintop with the wind whipping my dreads about

thats when i called on the hordesman
the conqueror

in my youth my goal as a political intellectual and highmagician
was to gather blackfolk into a conquering horde and fling them into battle

in my youth i called for holywar

over the years ive moved on from the fling my people into battle bit
eternal holywar is kind of a drag, tires me out just thinking about it

still want to gather them together

but my concept of the longgame
has replaced the longwar

less wear and tear on the soul
and the body politic

i will deal with all this later, dont have time today, lost pages in
the last couple of days, i got to get back to work, gotta catchup

ima desperate man

all these words, strong as they are they dont mean anything to me
ive chosen to live or die on the novel, thats where ima make my bones

i swear by all thats holy

rdoc

---------------------------------

well, hello educational opportunities center

i know yall must be wondering, whats with the bells, who contracted this guy

I am flowers of the delta clan flowers and the line of o Killens (conch) (murmur: lord highjohn it is is i rickydoc rootdoctor ask that this gate be opened this work be done     in the name of the king)

i would like to thank you for inviting me, for making me part of this special moment
and I would like to suggest that possibly this moment is even more special than you realize
for we find that in this moment, this very moment, this cusp of the 21^st century, that these are trying times

the world grows ever smaller, the world grows ever more complicated, ever more complex
and the challenges of mastering it ever more important

my understanding is that you are on the frontlines of the primry challenge facing our society
or any other - making sure that no person, no man woman or child is truly left behind

the social pressures of globalization have made it ever more important
that folk are trained and shaped to the 21^st century

there is less slack in the system now, before the unprepared could find a way, could make a decent living, raise a family and so forth, but that’s becoming more and more problematic

its an ever more complex society, and it will only get more and more so
it will continue to penalize those who dont know how to manuvuer thru it

your charges - its harder than ever to be poor, harder than ever on the disenfranchised
rapacioius instritutions exploit at deregulated will, the disparity of incomes grows great and greater

and who is it holding the line, this precious few, humanity at its best, eoc that’s who
who is it striving to make it an even playing field, eoc that’s who
who is it striving to give everybody a chance at the american dream, eoc that’s who

o I can feel the power up in here this evening and
i salute you for what you do and apparently you do it well, I hear the statistics are good

and I know its a struggle and sometimes you lose perspective and you have
to remind yourself of just how far youve come, that with all the fumbling
and stumbling the work does get done - o i feel the power up in here this evening

AINT NO EASY THING THIS THING YOU DO

I know I dont have to tell you that, I know im speaking to the choir on this one
but its hard work helping the disenfranchised

what on earth cause you to choose this life, this profession,
what were you thinking

you look at sister sue and cousin bob and they got real jobs, at the end of the day they leave their job at the office - your job goes home with you

worrying about people that you have come to care for and you know you shouldnt
but if you didnt care you wouldnt be in this business

if you didnt believe in your heart that we are responsible for our fellows
that it is the willingess to care for others that distinquishes humanity as its best

assures our survival as a species

you wouldnt be in this business if you didnt believe humanity is at its best when
helping its less fortunate members

you wouldnt be in this business if you didnt believe
that a society can be judged by how it treats the least among us

that a civilization is only as strong as its weakest

you wouldnt be in this business if you didnt believe that those of us
who have been blessed with relative plenty have a responsibility to pass that blessing on

to do what you can when you can to help those in need
to make a better world however whenever we can

to awaken the sleeper, protect the weak and guide the strong.

there is nothing that aggravate me more than to see
the weak taken advantage of by the powerful

specially when you know they trying, when they doing their best
they wouldnt come to you if they werent trying, if they didnt care

and why do they come to you, cause they know eoc holding the line

all the complaints, I know you’ve heard them, all the failtures, I know youve felt them
all the lessons, I know you’ve learned them, over and over, but at the end of the day

eoc - holding the line moving the ball
making a better world, person by person, family by family

in the words of those great philosophers, larry curly and moe -
step by step and inch by inch, slowwwly we turn

america is at the crossroads, what type of society will we be, will we be a caring society that looks out for our neighbor, or will we be a dog eat dog every man and possibly woman for self

the souldefining issues of the day, america at the crossroads eoc holding the line
the impact of globalization, eoc, immigration, eoc, incarceration, eoc, refugees, eoc

all of these issues impacting your clientele
all these issues requiring that they be better able to navigate the shoals of 21^st century society

everybody got to step up because those that dont will be plowed under

and who is that again, who will help the disenfranchised step up, why eoc of course
how can you stand it, being so important, doing so much good

and you not like your average do gooder, going out looking for some good to do
hey you wake up everymoning knowing you got to do good 9 to 5, getting your little

points in heaven just by punching the clock
aint you lucky one, oh yeah, and so are your clients, cause eoc holding the line

educ has always been the door opener in this society
with it you have a chance, w/o you dont have a chance in hell (bluesharp here maybe)

society wants to warehouse the disenfranchised, abandon them

but you wont let them will you , the willful, stubborn glorious fools of eoc,
tilting at windmills of disregard, at windmills of abandonment and human degredation,
o you merry band of believers

in redemption and second chances, whattasay eoc: we got this

this aint no easy thing, educational opportunities for the disenfranchised
we talking dependable miracles here, not any old body could do this thing you do

teaching, its a sacred calling
saving souls, making a way

unlocking folks potential
empowering them in this crazy world, this dance called life

giving them a sense of agency
of being able, capable, to do something, anything, in a world of nothing can be done

helping them feel capable of handling it
and you know that’s the 1^st step, I can I can, I know I can

oldest profession, its got to be teaching
anybody else want to claim it, my question is who taught you

somebody showed you something
they probably called it cultivating success

look here, if you really want that mastadon, this how you go about that, see

look here, rub those there sticks together,together, not waive them, rub them, trust me, rub them, you get you some fire, here let me show you

cultivating success
success at life, at finding your destiny

what exactly is success in this business, well I expect you know better than I do

that you turn out folk capable of making it in society
give them a belief in their ability to overcome obstacles

the skilz necessary to achieve security and satisfaction in the 21^st century
to live the good life

you give them the tools, you give them the consciousness - you hope and pray

there is that moment, hard to describe when you can see understanding taking root
and you know that you got this one, this time you won, this one this one is going to be okay,

gon struggle, who dont struggle, but this one is ready

this one gon make it, this one gon live a rich and rewarding life
this one will be able to finesse the trials and tribulations that are so much a part of life

once again, you have awakened the sleeper, protected the weak, and guided the strong
ta ching

how did you get into this line of work
I assume that you wanted to make a difference - to somehow make a better world

well if it is getting better its because of folk like you

aint that what we all struggle for, to make a better world
to ameliorate the human condition howsomeever we can

and what better way than helping those of us who are less fortunate
which bring me to the flip side of  cultivating success

so we got a good idea of what consitute success with your folk
but that’s a two way street, what does your success entail

doing what you do well, that’s basics
and avoiding the kind of burnout social work so often entail

every day being engaged in folks life and death decisions it wear you down
constant emotional engagement, it wear you down, peoples lives

they wear you down

you gotta have heart, you want to be in this business

not only the kind of heart that cares
but the kinda heart that can take punishment and keep on ticking

cause this a rough business, I know it is
handling damaged souls take a lot out of you

no matter how hard you try, you got that nagging sense of responsibility
the knowledge that no matter what you give its likely not to be enough

you always feel inadequate, always wish you could give more
you got dreams, you got lives and raw souls are in your hand

thats a burden most folk couldnt bear

it weary you out
it break you down

and i know you get weary, i know you get weary sometimes
and when the hardtimes come, they always do

when you thinking you cant do this not one more day
wondering what on earth made me decide to do this with my life

when you feel like you cant go on

i want you to keep on keeping on

you didnt come into this business because it was easy did you
you came into this business because it was a chance to help people
to make a difference

im talking to the committed, i man speaking only to the righteous, fellow travelers and keepers of the faith - strong in the belief that our lives are important, and should be spent in service, that it gives your life meaning

and you will leave behind a legacy of healthy souls and empowered lives

know that you made a difference
know that your brief sojourn on the planet has made for a better world

and I want you to leave here this evening refreshed and regenerated

with the satisfaction that your sacrifices have been noted, your commitment appreciated
that you have left behind a legacy of healed souls and mended lives

that you have fought the good fight a battle nobody else could win
hold on you must be strong you fight the battles friend nobody else could win

the next time you find yourself in trouble, I want you to remember what the
old bluesdoctor said, everybody goodby it aint gone, cause you sick dont mean you dead

and trouble it dont last, it dont last always (I want you to do that one w/me)
that’s the one I want you to take home with you

cause everybody got trial and tribulation, into each life some rain must fall
but the lord dont give you no burdens you cant carry, and its only through adversity that

you will ever know your true strength

keep on keeping on . . . .hold on you must be strong
you fight the battles friend , nobody else could win

everybody chill, times look hard but they been hard before
everything gon be alright, eoc is on the case, we got this

that is all,
this spell is done