A Love Lost

By Todd A. Smith

            It is funny how people believe their own press clippings.  When other people begin praising you for being a stand-up Black man, we believe we are without flaws and above criticism.

            It is funny how we can have everything we asked God for, but still blow those blessings because of immaturity.

            When I started Regal Magazine, I believed I was being an inspiration for men who needed to get their life on track.  So many of us are incarcerated, uneducated or deadbeat fathers, and I believed being college-educated, with no neglected children, made me the epitome of a Black man.  I was sadly mistaken.

            As men we often complain so much about the things that females put us through that we fail to realize when we have a good woman by our side.  I was that person that had always prayed for my soul mate, but when she arrived my immaturity forced her away, not once but multiple times.  I had somebody that knew me better than myself, but I was too immature to listen to reality.  I had someone that had my back through thick and thin but I turned my back on her.

            I used to think women were just complaining when they said there were no good men out there, but my actions prove their stereotype correct in many cases.  I thought I was the exception to the rule, but I am not.  That young lady, who made such a difference in my life, will continue to be very successful in her life.  However, it is just a shame that I will not be a part of her life ever again.  Nevertheless, she taught me how to be a better man and for that I am forever indebted.  I will always miss you boo!

Smith is publisher of Regal Black Men's Magazine, a publication dedicated to the African American community.