I see them sometimes, old friends and neighborhood friends. I see people from my past life whom I miss and appreciate their appearance. I also see people who I’ve spent time and shared intimate moments with but yet, now we just pass each other like strangers on the street now. I think about the different phases of my life. In each phase, I was always searching, always trying to find my way, and always looking to fit and find my place in the circle.
I see these phases like chapters in a book with a plot that keeps changing. I suppose one could call this our different phases of maturity. Then again, one could just call this life, in which case, all things do and must change.

Each morning, my alarm clock sounds. I am usually up before this; however, I still have the alarm set because as soon as I hear the sound, I know this means it’s go time.
I am an early riser. I always have been.
I wake up early and I move into my usual routine. I keep an eye on the time because I have a schedule to keep. I have a bus to catch and people to see.
I work a lot. Then again, we all work a lot because work is unavoidable.

I learned the hard way at a young age.
I learned that anyone who represents himself in a court of law has a fool for a client. I learned this while sitting on a hardwood bench and listening to jailhouse lawyers discuss cases of other detainees. I call them jailhouse lawyers; only, they never went to college. They just did a lot of time. That’s all.