Meet Eugene Collins.....

Introducing Eugene Collins.....
Eugene and I volunteer at the same after-school program. The biggest difference? I'm a 27 year old white LDS female who grew up in Idaho and graduated from college. Eugene's an 80 year old black Baptist preacher born and raised on a Texas farm. But friendship came easily and when I was recently hired to free-lance for a local publication I knew who would be my first story.









Here are a few of my favorite Eugene quotes:





"Carry yourself in a way where you respect other people- when you respect other people you will get respect."

"I believe I'll be rewarded in heaven- it's one of those belief things- you believe what you believe. Believe that this bad world don't owe you nothin'. Give yourself, give some of your time to God instead of the devil you know. If I can just be that light, for these kids, set up on that hill that they can see it you know- then that's all I would like to be. If the kids can say 'I remember that old man and he was pretty good.' "

"Color don't mean nothin' to me - you know- cause everybody is somebody in my life- regardless- that's the thing."

"When I came up you couldn't go to restaurants through the same door that other colors did. All that's changed now - where all men are created equal and everybody's the same now. That's what I've seen and I think it's the very best thing that could have happened."

"Anybody can be somebody."

"I've seen it [Martin Luther King's dream] come true. That's just the way I think God wanted it to be for everybody to treat one another the same."

"I might be the color black, but I'm not a black preacher. I preach to everybody."

"Continue your goals, your higher goals you know - regardless of what people say or think about your- reach for your higher goals and you'll make it. "

"I have the energy to keep on goin' because I don't stop. I don't give up. That's it - never give up."