Beginning of A New Day

Just call me Bobbi Raye Duke. I'll explain a little bit later why. I live in Oviedo, Florida, my own personal Hazzard County (my fellow fans of The Dukes Of Hazzard television show will know what I mean, for the rest of you, I mean that it's a simple down home country place full of warmth, beauty, hospitality and adventure.).

I moved here from Miami, Florida, if you can believe that. I'm not a city girl, that's just the point. I moved from state to state since I was born, then in 1986 I hit Florida. After 23 years of musing about it, I decided I was not a city girl at all, I am a down home country girl always, which is more than likely part of the reason why I never fit in to the Miami urbanite scene. I have decided to shed my adopted city ways at last and revive my country girl self.

I am aspiring to be a writer of many things, novels, books, of all sorfts of delights such as action, romance, sci-fi, and other things. Hopefully, I will be one of the many writers for series-books like Star Wars or Star Trek, Indiana Jones, or create some out of classic series such as CHiPs (a 1970's Cop Show) or the Dukes Of Hazzard (based on the television show), or Charlie's Angels (movie or TV show, doesn't matter).

I am also developing a love affair for martial arts, namely kickboxing. I need weight loss and I wanna get into, generally, the beauty of executing the moves of martial arts, and the spiritual aspect of what it can do for one's soul. When I get established in my home (I live in a hotel at the moment) and get settled in, I'll find some sort of martial arts school.

My blood family and I are, unfortunately, at odds at the moment. There has been a history of verbal and emotional abuse on both sides, and I have been taking such horrible blows as a result since about 1979. This has caused a chain reaction of events that have led to being the target of merciless bullying and abuse in school and beyond, not being able to fight back, not being able to socialize, and other similar things. Too many times, my integrity and honor, amongst other things have been questioned by a great deal many. Yet, lately, I've done a bit of heart and soul searching and found out that, basically due to the abuse and ineptitude of my blood family, they're pretty much to blame.

Thankfully, I have become better than that, or so I hope. I have found myself again as my blood family has never seen me, my true self. Warm. Friendly. Caring. Kind. Honorable. Full of Integrity. Full of Love. Innocent.

I can only hope, however, that my being upset with this family does not destroy what I've found within my heart, soul, spirit and mind. Or make me like the abusive people within my geneaology. I believe, that with the help of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I hope to preserve my positive self within these troubled times.

I have found precious treasures along the way, which have given me hope. I recall Disney's obscure and lesser-known story about The Small One, where a boy in the middle east has to sell a donkey too old to carry burdens on his back to a good home. The donkey is considerably worn out, and initially, no one wants him, and insults him, and an auctioneer ridicules him, sarcastically calling him "a king's donkey".

Finally, Joseph, the wife of Mary, Jesus' mother, who will soon be in labor in the story, finds the boy when he has lost all hope and says he needs a donkey to carry Mary to the manger in Bethlehem to give birth. The boy happily sells him away, and he carries her there to give birth to Jesus, a birth, in this case, which may have gone wrong without him, and in this case, Jesus, eventually, may not have saved the whole world from Hell by sticking up for its every sin by dying on a cross.

My point I'm trying to make here is, I believe there is a place for everyone in this world, even though a lot of us fail to realize that. Each of us brings a gift that is needed by someone, be it loved one or stranger. We touch the world with all the simple things we do, and sometimes larger talents as well, but even small things that we often underestimate are really like a metaphoric shot heard around the world.

And my precious treasures I've bumped into? Well, I could go on and on unto infinity telling you, but let me show you a particular thing that has made a profound impact on me : a mere humble television show that started in 1979 called The Dukes Of Hazzard.

For those of you who don't know about the show, let me explain : Two hillbilly cousins named Bo and Luke Duke used to run illegal booze in a place in Georgia called Hazzard County. Their Uncle Jesse helped them by having the law enforcement and justice system put them on probation. Together, the two ride in a 1969 Dodge Charger called the General Lee, and get into several adventures and mishaps in a modern Robin Hood-style, usually fighting off the county's corrupt and inept law enforcement, who commits crimes beyond number and tries to make the Duke Boys look like they're the ones at fault, questioning their integrity, honor, and generally kind, warm-hearted nature, amongst other things.

I can relate, as the so-called "authority figures" throughout my life have also been selfish, greedy, corrupt, ignorant and generally inept. They, too, have consistently questioned me as a person and my integrity, honor, and generally my overall personality as a human being, trying to make me look like a black sheep, which worked for a time, though I have thankfully and single handedly forsaken that particular lifestyle.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the Dukes of Hazzard is loved by the whole world, nor do I say that it's the thing for everyone's problems, I'm just saying that simple, humble little things a human being does or creates can actually change people's lives, turn their lives around and give them hope, and the Dukes of Hazzard, amongst other things, is what did it for me.

The Dukes made me see that not a single soul on earth is perfect, including myself. They made me see that things and people aren't always what they seem, and you can't see anything or anyone in black or white, but in full vivid color. They made me see that men, in particular, are never to be immediately seen as, generally, cold, hateful, abusive, unfriendly, uncaring or sexist, and as long as it's not considered illegal or immoral (even though, overall, anything goes in Hazzard), there's nothing wrong with a bit of fun.

Often, I get myself into situations where I say, "How would Bo handle this?" or "What would Luke do?" I certainly don't follow through all the time, for instance, I'm not about to tear through the streets of Oviedo in certain situations, in my Inifiniti, like a bull in a china shop, going "Yeeehaaaa!" But I do follow through with other solutions I come up with in answering these questions, and this has taught me a lot about society overall, how to socialize properly, how to handle romance when it comes along, how to not judge people so quickly, and how to forgive, amongst other aspects my blood relatives never taught me.

I know what you're thinking. A simple television show caused this? That's just the point. When someone gets involved in creating something such as a simple music, book, or television show, anyone who gets involved somehow makes a difference in someone's life, often without even knowing it. As the song in Disney's The Small One says, "Someone still needs you to brighten his day, there's a place for each Small One, God planned it that way."

I myself know now I can do the same. I used to not think so of course, for that's what my blood relatives taught me. And here I am...now that I know...waiting for my chance...