Goodie Goodie by Olivia...
Someone who never does anything wrong-- never breaks the law in any way, probably never swears, etc.
(as per ‘urban dictionary’)
This story is a little different cuz it hits home. My home. So I have a niece who has the greatest relationship with her father. They’re inseparable. Two peas in a pod and the best of friends any one could imagine. These two are so cool they don’t even refer to one another as father/daughter but they call each other ‘Goodie Goodie’. From the moment my niece could speak, I never recall her calling him da-da or dad, but this name, Goodie Goodie. I found it interesting the way they bonded. My niece is a gamer like her dad, anime junkie like her dad and wears all the cool gear just as her dad would. A true match made in heaven with these two, something you’d love to see grow old together and get better with age like a fine wine.
August 22nd, I sat with my niece to take on this ATTIE project and see if my long term dreams would be a success. We sat down and I helped her customize her own timepiece. Something she was thrilled to share with everyone she came to presence with. The entire family seen the watch she made that day, she called her dad and shared with him the bliss of what she created and couldn’t wait to show him the following week. They had play dates on Monday so she couldn’t wait for the start of the week to kick it with her dad and share all the excitement from her weekend.
August 23rd, around 10:30 pm, my niece picked up the phone and called her dad to solidify their usual Monday routine. They spoke, cracked some jokes, and ended the call with a simple I love you, see you tomorrow. By 11pm my sister received a phone call that would change the course of life, relationships and love for some very beloved families. Deandre Questwell Irving was shot 2 times in the Brownsville area of Brooklyn leaving his uncle’s house after their usual Sunday dinner. Knowing the circumstances of the situation, also with my niece right beside me, I couldn’t help but to put myself in her shoes. She hadn’t found out any news yet but I kept her close by as her mom went to the hospital to gather more information. I threw on some Hey Arnold, told her this was the show back in my days and we just sat and waited, until hopefully she went to sleep. In a child’s mind you can only imagine when something isn’t right. It’s the sixth sense of knowing the energies around you are slightly off. But my niece kept her cool. Wasn’t too long after 11pm, reality hit and the news circled back, Deandre didn’t make it.
In this moment you call on God, the higher powers to make this just a hiccup of a situation and not allow things to get too out of control. I sat and prayed. Prayed for power, strength, guidance, all sorts of positive affirmations as to what life would become. After hearing the results of the situation, you remember God only gives these challenges to his strongest soldiers. But why me, why my niece? So innocent, pure, full of life and love, why rob something from a precious young soul? Her dad wasn’t gang affiliated, didn’t sell drugs, wasn’t caught up in the realm of what the ghetto was intended for young black men be. In fact he was the total opposite. He was a hard working, devoted father, family oriented, best friend kind of man. Guns wasn’t something he messed around with or did he allow his character to represent. So why him? My guess is to comprehend this tragedy you have to understand the travesties that occur in the ‘hood’ as is. False idolization of gangsters, sex, drugs, and of course murder…but, I digress.
Monday came, and my niece waited patiently for her dad to come pick her up. He never missed a moment to be with her, never late, never called off a day to be a dad. But this day, he didn't show. My niece got the news later on that day while surrounded with family and loved ones at the park. Her automatic reaction was she grabbed her heart, as a piece of her was torn away from her well being, forever. In an instant her world became so small, she just wanted to go home.
I couldn’t wish that feeling on anyone. As the days passed and I spent a lot of time alone on the balcony, breathing drinking water and staring in the sky. I fucks with nature, so anything out of the ordinary I tend to look into further to understand the depths of my present. That week I managed to notice something strange in the sky. A hawk, made it’s way into my neighborhood, which wasn’t a common sighting since I’ve been back in Brooklyn. So I hopped onto the Google and searched ‘hawk meaning’, and learned the following; It is a divine messenger. Seeing a hawk means you are protected. Seeing hawks all the time means you are getting a flow of ideas like a hawk does while it is flying on the wind. A hawk is a wonderful symbol of freedom and flight. The meaning of seeing a hawk symbolizes a creative being (as per Google).
Thoughts were racing, as I put ATTIE on hold for the week, and channeled what could this mean. My niece was all I could think of and all the PTSD she could suffer from her current circumstances. So I begin to think of not only my niece, but the other people in the world afflicted by such tragedies. How is my niece going to prevail from such devastation, but not only prevail, but how can she become the influence of change all these families would like to see in the world.
All I could think of was the conversations she’s had with her dad, the laughs, the hugs i’ve witnessed first hand, the name, Goodie Goodie. Then it hit me. My niece will be the guiding spirit for those who’ve experienced such torment within their own families, and future families as well. She will represent love, purity, and good times parents share with their children. She will be a young, driven, entrepreneur at the tender age of 8 and shift the focus of the world we live in. Be the reason for parents to stay connected to their kids, and also be the connection to parents who’ve abandoned their own children. She can be the change we want to see in the world, taking tragedies and turning them to triumph, and shifting pain to power and purpose.
This post was extremely tough as I stated, this is my home. Reliving the moments I’ve shared with Deandre is one, but the growth of my niece without her best friend is the toughest. No one knows what tomorrow brings, but we can determine the future by what we do in the present. I share this photo of them at the park I took some years ago, and it represents everything their bond was. Love, Light, and Laughter. So here’s to you D, Goodie Goodie by Olivia. She will carry on your legacy for years to come.
Love brother.
