Where the Buttercups Bloom

A selected few were born with an innate purpose and had emerged rarer than a fire that does not consume or burns without smoke. Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Arthur Doric Surrett are a few who chose to dare. They knitted these individuals in their mother's womb, with an instinctive purpose, and destined to live daringly. Perhaps planned from eternity past and born as one of God's veritable miracles, neither nature, nurture nor choices steered these individuals. They gave no thought as to collecting accolades, fame, or fortune. Even their length of life was of no concern because they understood the true essence of glory. Arthur Surrett resembled the giant and muscular lumberjack, Paul Bunyan, in American folklore. The self-educated, lifelong learner and scholar stepped up to the pulpit at Shiloh Baptist Church on Saturday, April 19, 1930. The large group of men became silent as he laid out his plan to bring money into both communities. The Surrett Economic Incentive Plan would unanimously pass in Esom Hill, Georgia, and Borden Springs, Alabama. Monthly deliveries of moonshine would enter the triangular-shaped Deep South Cities that included Atlanta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Arthur was a World War II hero, veteran, and recipient of 'The Congressional Medal of Honor.' Still, his most important legacy was the raising of his grandson, Maxen Surrett. Instilled with love for reading, a passion for learning, and the physical training had separated Maxen from his peers. His grandparents raised young Maxen. He struggled through his formative years from physical and mental abuse from local teenagers. I raised Maxen with a character that grew from, 'The Greatest Generation Ever.' Maxen would grow to become a replica of his legendary grandpa. However, he would soon surpass the legend. The day would soon come when Maxen would meet his soul mate, the drop-dead gorgeous Lauren Grace Martin, who could have launched a thousand ships or started wars centuries ago. Neither of them was looking for a relationship when these two 16-year-old teenagers met. They were athletic, intelligent, and attractive. When they caught their first glimpse into each other's remote purpose, it changed their destinies forever. The two teenagers would fall head over hills in love with each other. Both Maxen and Lauren's athleticism and their intelligence would have universities from the Atlantic to the Pacific knocking at their doors. They attended concerts at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, and the June Jam in Fort Payne, Alabama. Their love was to become as pure as the bloom from the brightest yellow buttercup in Cedar Valley. Maxen had grown up numb to violence and death because he experienced it so often in Esom Hill, Georgia. The locals celebrated when they heard they ranked Esom Hill the #1 most violent place in America considering population per square mile. An old tongue-n-cheek saying was often said of Esom Hill, "As long as people could remember, Esom Hill, Georgia had enjoyed high times but higher crimes." It had referred to the giant ancient maple tree in the center of Esom Hill as the Tree of Justice. From 1901 to the late 1970s, over 130 lynchings had successfully served its purpose.

A question that concerned Maxen for as long as he could remember was, "Why do some of the most beautiful things have an evil side?" Buttercups are beautiful but poisonous, while a rose has its thorns. However, the love, goodness, and character instilled in him would eventually bring Maxen face to face with pure evil inside himself.