Repost: Hospitality

Hospitality is a Character!!!

Hospitality refers to the relationship process between a guest and a host, and it also refers to the act or practice of being hospitable, that is, the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, with liberality and goodwill. Hospitality frequently refers to the hospitality industry jobs for hotels, restaurants, casinos, catering, resorts, clubs and any other service position that deals with tourists.
Hospitality is also known as the act of generously providing care and kindness to whomever is in need.
Today , I was shown Hospitality. OK. It sounds simple. But its ironic that it happened today.

On Sunday, The sermon was about "Christ-centered Hospitality" my Church, St. Luke's. Our Pastor, Jenn, gave several examples. Today's hospitality conjures images of throwing good parties, gracious hosts entertaining, etiquette, Martha Stewart or even talk shows, or, the hospitality services industry as it relates to the entertainment and tourism business. On the other hand, hospitality used to be, and still is, a serious duty, responsibility, or ethic. Hospitality ethics is a discipline that studies this usage of hospitality.

The sermon awesome. Not to "toot my own horn", but I try to do that. If I learned anything from my Godmother and mother, it's to be hospitable to anyone and everyone.

But today, I was shown what Hospitality is truly about. I came into work. Very tired. I had work a double the day before. My show requires 2 people. Well today, the person who was suppose to come in, called out. No one else would come in to replace them.( Although, it would have been overtime.)
There is was. 7:30 AM. Tired. Not feeling well. In pain because of the cold. This would have required me to do a 2 person show with 700 hundred guest to entertain. To say the least, I was worried!
The people I work with, who have additional responsibilities, stepped up to the plate and helped me. I didn't even ask them. They just saw the need and helped. They Did what Christ would have done. They put there own jobs on the line. They weren't thinking about themselves, they were thinking about helping someone else and making sure that everyone would enjoy themselves.

Today, in a place where I MUST show hospitality and very rare am shown that same hospitality that I give out, I was shown true "Christ-centered Hospitality".

I've been questioning something about my job. Am I liked? Do people care about what I give? Is this where I'm suppose to be? Should I leave?

Because of the hospitality of those people, All of these questions have been answered. Today, they were my "Bridge over troubled water"

Thanks to all of you that were there for me today. [Image]
I know you guys have got my back. LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

Regards,

Antony

http://antonylarry.blogspot.com/

The Leader of the band, Mr JC

All this week I have been thinking about  my dad, Mr. JC. (That's what everyone called him around town). He was a true man. 6'0 tall, skinny as pole,  always had a cigarette in his mouth. His father was black, his mother Cherokee indian which made his skin a beautiful mahogany shade of brown. He always had a 5'o clock shadow!

  When I was 5 years old, he became my goddaddy and low and behold, he and my Godmother, Shirley, adopted me when I was 7 or 8, he and Shirley adopted me and made me there son. 

 Getting to know JC was very interested. He was a tall man in stature and had a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush! Let's just say that I have heard a swear word that describes doing something to your mother that no son would ever do, many times.(If i'm not careful, it easily becomes part of my vocabulary!). When I was in trouble, I would rather be beaten with a wire hanger than have to hear what goddaddy was gonna say. He never berated me but I knew what he expected of me. In just a few words, he could sum up what 50 "whoopins" would not. 

  One of my earliest memories of goddaddy( my daddy, Mr. JC) was of him going to the pantry, taking out a bottle of homemade Cane Syrup that his best friend, John, brought over (by the box load I might add) from his family and sitting it on the table. My Godmother would then give him a dinner plate from the cabinet along with the "Butt bread"(the ends of a loaf of bread). He poured the Cane Syrup on the plate and then scooped it onto the butt bread until he had sopped up every last bit of that syrup! He called it S(short for another four letter word that rhythms with spit) on shingle.

 Fast-forward 5 or so years ago when I discovered the internet. One night, I decided to "google" S on a shingle. All I could find for that named was Chipped beef. What Godaddy ate was definitely NOT chipped beef. When I approached him about it, he and I had a debate about why they call chipped beef "S on a shingle" and it ended like most other debates he and I had: He laughed that hearty, deep masculine laughed that he always did and said "Boy, I just call it that. It's what I like. Ok? You can call it what you want but it's mine and I like calling it that, ok?". I would reply "Yes sir" and then return to my room defeated.

 Looking back, He was giving me a simple message. He didn't care what anyone else called this unsual dish. It was his dish and he would call it what he wanted whether anyone else liked it or not. Years later, he told spoke words that, to this day, bring tears to my eyes. This 80 year old man who loved me despite his personal feelings about my lifestyle said "You are Antony, (insert bad word decribed earlier). Be you now matter what anybody says. I don't give a goddarn(r=m) what they say!". 

  Who knew a simple piece of bread and some syrup could be the key to living life.
Love and miss my daddy, Mr. JC. 

"I think we're lost"

"I'm lost!"

I don't think I have ever heard a man actually utter those words.

Well this man has!

I can't believe this week is over! It's been such a great week! My birthday was Monday(March 8, 19xx). It has been so much fun! I've only had to slap 3 people for asking my age. I've felt so loved and reassured that people care about me for who I am. I have been brought to tears at least 9 times this week!

Have you ever felt "lost"? I don't mean physically(we've all been lost at one time or another). I mean mentally. That feeling of not knowing the next step or direction. It really sucks! You're standing there going " uh.....". 

For me, this is nothing new. I'm sure you can think of this first time you've felt this way. The first time for me was in high school when I came out of the closet and then didn't know what to do next with my gay, beautiful self :-) .

When my Godmother died in 2008, my life was over. There wasn't going to ever be any direction! God wasn't in the picture or the forecast. There was no hope!

Then came that birthday. I wanted to stay in my room, away from anything reminiscent of "Celebrating". But then this mob showed up at my door step with torches and booze in hand, chanting. That night, we painted the town! Lawd knows we did! They were with me, behind me, in front of me, supporting me!

This year was no different. Like that birthday in 2008, the day after I still felt lost but I was reassured that people were with me. I may be lost, but friends were with me down that unknown road, laughing, crying, cursing, with me. 

I am thankful that God has put people in our lives that just by saying " Hello"or sharing a smile or a hug, show us that no matter how lost we are we are not alone.

Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never, ever walk alone. 

Antony

Today? I'll have time tomorrow

Last week Trina posed some questions:
 "If today was your last day and tomorrow was to late could you say goodbye to yesterday? Would live each moment like your last? " 
These are questions friends normally only ask each other when they've been drinking.(Nothing out of the ordinary for us ;-) Actually she sang this song in church. 


When she sang this song I thought it sounded great. It wasn't until I was having a "moment" earlier this week that I actually thought about the words. If I knew that tomorrow I was going to kick the bucket, buy the farm, eat the tuna salad (Or whatever euphemism you want to use to describe Death), what would I do differently today? What would really matter? 
And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?Let me start by saying: Life happens, kiddos and there are some things that you just can't avoid and you shouldn't. They are things that you must face head on. However, there are many things on our minds that are just not worth thinking about. Jesus! If knew I had 24 hours to live, would this woman who called me a bitch because she is jealous really matter? Would the fact that I spent just a little to much on something I shouldn't have really matter? Would the constant cheerfulness of the costume lady in my dressing room at 7:30 AM really matter?(Yes...I just wanna slap her!) I don't think so!
If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
If I was to die tomorrow, the small stuff wouldn't matter. I will have wasted my last day worrying about all these little things while not doing what I really want to do. I knew that. The question that remained was: Why? Why do I still worry over these things? Why do I make the same mistake everyday? How do I move forward?


I read the lyrics, something popped out at me:
each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

And there it was: That first step you take is the longest stride. Ding!! The light went off(It was way to late in the evening and if I died the next day, I would have been screwed but I didn't so.... woo-hoo!) If we can get past that first step and recognize this "problem" and weigh it on the grand scale, then we can move past it. I asked myself if these things actually matter in the whole picture? When I answered myself, I realized that things I actually needed to carry with me were not going to leave me but in time, these little things would leave me. I think I'd rather get rid of them now. That way, I would have more room to focus on the things that would carry me through to tomorrow and be worth of my last day.

So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side

What if today was our last day?

Antony