Sweet Home

I went on the Black History Bike Ride this morning.

What an incredible experience.

I feel like I've spent a good amount of time disconnected from my roots and it seemed — it seemed that there was so much in what I've been personally experiencing in my life tied to the black history in Austin.

For one.

Jacob Fontaine.

A baptist preacher born enslaved in Arkansas, starts his own newspaper and operates a grocery store after being freed.

Hezikiah Haskell.

A former union soldier from the east coast who came to Texas as a Buffalo Soldier.

He lived at a property now known as the Haskell House where he and his family established their roots in the freedom town of Clarksville.

…

Weird turn here but stick with me —

It was around this time last year that I started learning about Haskell the coding language.

The recursive nature of it.

…

I walk down Haskell Street nearly every day always associating it with the coding language, and never the man I learned I have much more in common with.

Hezikiah Haskell.

…

People often ask me how I ended up in Austin, TX.

My answer —

"Well after being in the Air Force and being told where I had to live for so long, we wanted to pick somewhere of our own. Arkansas was nice but we wanted more opportunity."

And this is true, but it was also a move made for the sake of business.

Business that benefitted from me being here but didn't benefit me at the end of the day.

And leaving that chapter felt like being freed.

…

I started my weekly publishing.

I'm gonna grow my own food.

Feed the homeless.

Race some bikes.

Make music.

…

Make a Sweet Home.