It happened @ The Afro Ball

Insights small and large from Houston artist and hometown friend Don Terrell

There’s this quote that presently eludes me; it might be from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet? Something about how one should write as though doing it for the person who thinks you’re brilliant or super interesting whatever.

Clearly, I don’t have a handle on that quotation.

No matter. My point is that Don Terrell of Houston’s DG Grafix was that person for me while coming of age in Sandusky, Ohio. Going back to fourth grade he was audience for my schtick.

His big family’s house was a few dozen yards away from the railroad tracks, just like the apartment that my mom, sister and I lived in. South Depot Street, I believe is where he lived. He and I used to sit up in his bedroom, reliving Showtime movies and unspooling our dreams. We shoplifted together and played on the same Babe Ruth League team, Mavros Insurance.

Don Edward Terrell and I would hitch rides on trains to get to baseball practice. We backdoored The Empire Strikes Back on its opening Saturday, repeatedly, screened it four impactful times, and intoned, “Luke, I am your father!” over and over on the long, dark walk home.

Ghetto Celebrity’s comic book-style interlude finishes with my buddy Don and I leaving The Afro Ball—the year’s social event—after a sativa-infused panic attack. He’s actually all across the margins of that memoir’s opening third.

Then we broke camp after high school and went our separate ways. In addition to starting DG Grafix, Terrell produces his The Color of Motion content from Houston. Sometimes aired live, The Color of Motion has for 140 episodes highlighting people of color and diverse backgrounds in the industry of motion graphics, animation, VFX, cartoons & comics.

This sojourn podcast is different in that the guest asks me lots of questions. Don’t let that freak you out too much.