About two months ago, Ed Towns stood before a congregation of about three hundred people to deliver a Sunday morning sermon. Ed is also an ordained minister beyond his day job as congressman for the 10th Congressional district (Brooklyn). The pastor of the congregation had spoken before Ed, telling the congregants that they would be let out early that morning, since another major event was planned for later that afternoon. The congregation met that news with obvious elation. Ed seized on that glee when he said (as a preface): “I am going to tell you the same thing that Elizabeth Taylor told her eight husbands: I won’t keep you long”. The crowd went wild.  

It’s 4:00p.m. I just got back home from walking the West Indian Day Parade. There are still many hours left before the parade ends. For those who don’t know, it is the one day in the year where Caribbean-Americans come out in droves (over three million strong) and play mas, party, eat, drink, play their music, sing, dance and celebrate their cultural and other heritages. It is always spectacular. This year was no different.

I marched with the Ed Towns contingent. The congressman always brings an entourage to the parade, out of his love and respect for the Caribbean-American community. Poor Ed; it appears that he can hardly dance to the calypso, reggae and soca music. He needs to stay in his day job, because he wouldn’t be able to cut it as a calypsonian or a dancer. So please vote to re-elect him to Congress. I am going to endorse him later this week.