Harmonizing Global Unity: The Great Connectors

The Summer of 1990 in Hueytown, Alabama. I loaded up in a candy apple red conversion van, trailer in tow, with my fellow coworkers and boss. We headed to our first client of the day with the usual banter between us as Slick Rick's Mona Lisa was bumping in the background. Yes, it was time to beautify another yard. After a few stops and some hard work, we were ready to hit up a local spot for lunch together. With lunch came more banter - the best rapper, the best rap region, the best football team and of course the best plans for fun after work. It was all typical conversation on a typical day. What was not so typical is I was the only white dude on the crew and I was only 14 at the time. My boss and owner of the business, Walter Davis, was a friend of my father and very well respected by him and others in our town. Walter was my first mentor as an entrepreneur and business owner. In addition to the landscaping business, Walter owned a car wash, was an accomplished pitmaster who catered events and for good measure would also pick up shifts at the Pipe Shop in Bessemer, AL. From the day my father dropped me off for work, Walter took me in as one of his own. His crew took me in as well, but I had to work and connect with them. Our connection was sped up through the great connectors - music, meals and money.

During that Summer of 1990, I had one of the favorite and most rewarding times of my life to this day. Sure, I was the butt of many jokes and pranks each day but I also learned to dish it right back which seemed to really delight Walter and my fellow co-workers even more. We worked hard, we laughed hard, we ate well and we formed a mutual respect for one another during that time despite differences that in today's increasingly divided world unnecessarily keep people from engaging one another and becoming better human beings. Fast forward 33 years later and the same connectors that unified us in the Summer of 1990 have proven time and time again to create a common bond between humans across the 6 continents I have traveled and worked. So, with that as a backdrop I have created M3 - Music, Meals, Money that will be a weekly feature highlighting my experiences with these three great connectors as well as offering some of the latest trends that we are seeing across the globe. Our first weekly issue will be published on September 6th and then we will publish every Wednesday.

I have been blessed to meet so many people around the world and develop true relationships with them. Relationships that exist to this day and relationships that will continue until I leave this earth. While my journey seemingly started in that Summer of 1990 with Walter and my fellow coworkers, it truly began when I was born. You see, it began with two different but very loving parents who taught me about the right way to conduct myself and the right way to treat human beings. Truth be known (and I did not know until Walter told me after my father's death in 2018), my father asked Walter to put me on his crew and paid Walter to pay me. For that I am eternally grateful. Thanks for your support and I look forward to engaging with you on this journey.