"I was born here. We left here in '44, went to the Bronx and never came back. Then I came back here for a family reunion. My dad had to encouraging me to go to a family reunion. So, I came back in '85 and I said, 'I've never seen so much grass and trees in my life,'. We didn't have any trees in the Bronx. It was all concrete and steel. I lived on the 30th floor, paying $1,000 a month for a one-bedroom. Then I came here. You people have it good. You see those houses? We'd kill for a house like that.
We came up during the rock and roll era. You know, it was right after jazz. We had the Coltrane people, Louis Armstrong, and all that. That came along in '55. Now, we have hip-hop. I don't like, I hate it. You go back to Al Green. It's not Al Green. You know what I'm talking about when I say Al Green. Oh man! They disrespect the black woman, the earth. We used to call black women the earth. You know? Now, we're disrespecting them and calling them everything but a child of God. Back in the days, with rock and roll, we talked about guys loving their woman.
When a guy went to a girl's house, he'd have on his alligator shoes, a good suit and his hat cocked to the side. The girls' eyes would be popping out! Those girls, man, could make biscuits that you wouldn't believe. Man, with butter on top of them, they could cook! Now, girls burn water! That don't make no sense!
When I met the Lord, he saved my life. I haven't always been a goodie two shoes all my life. People used to see me coming and they knew I wanted to smoke up that smoke, you know what I'm talking about? Man, I smoked weed like a steam engine. But the Lord put a cheap gene in me. I would not buy it and give my money to the white man, not even to the black man. Friends on my block would see me coming and they would go the other way. They'd be like, 'Nah, he ain't smokin up my stuff, today!'. It left me. Cigarettes left me. Vodka and orange juice left me. Now, all I do is go bowling, roller skating, and go to Kentucky Kingdom. Kids would look at me like I'm a dinosaur on skates. I'm 77 years old. I love it. " - Mr. War, Shawnee