Relating to LadyTee's Relatives, Part II

I had a chance to hang out and talk with LadyTee's 25 year old "lil' cousin" Lil' Corey. Now we started calling him "Lil' Corey" a few years ago to distinguish him from "Big Corey", one of LadyTee's ex-boyfriends.

Now, when Lil' Corey (pictured here with LadyTee) was a little boy we use to pick on him, something terrible.

His mother would constantly yell, "Alright now, ya'll leave him along. He's gonna get big one day, and get back at ya'll."

We didn't care. Just continue to pick on him.

These days, Lil' Corey ain't that little anymore. He's 6'2, 280 pounds.

These days, when he yells...

"Move out of my way, Lee!"

Shoot, I move out of the way REAL fast. He has been known to grip one by the shoulders, and abruptly set one to the side, out of his path.

He has always been our local expert on what music will be hot in the next few years. He was listening to the Wu Tang Clan, Outkast, Ludicrous, and many others long before they became big, always screaming...

"Ya'll hear this group right here? In a couple of years, they gonna come up. They gonna be hot!!!"

Anyway, over the past 10 years, Lil' Corey has had a hard time. Both of his parents died. He dropped out of high school. He moved around a lot.

But over the past few years, he has come to me at times and said...

"Lee, don't tell nobody, but I've been thinking about going back to school and getting my GED."

I've always tried to be encouraging. "You do that, man. That'll be real good. Do it when you ready to do it, alright?"

I think he was upset by people constantly badgering him about going back to school. I think he knew he needed to go back, but he was just going through things, trying to figure things out.

I've always told him to go back when he is ready. That way, it will mean more to him. He would appreciate it more, because it was his decision to go back to school.

So I'm proud to say, that he has obtained his GED, and is in college now, in some type of program where he is learning how to make dentures and bridgework. I saw through a lot of this immediately. Being the ultimate hip-hop expert that he is, I think that he is ultimately going to start making them grills ya'll! But he said that he is actually interested in that area of work, in making dentures, etc.

He lives near me, and I gave him a ride home one evening from LadyTee's house. I asked him about school, and if he was going to hook me up with some teeth (you know how we ALWAYS looking for the hookup, no matter what it is). All I know, it was great to hear him describe in detail how he was learning the art of making bridges, partials, and dentures. He said that his professor thought he had a real knack for it, and he had been doing well on his tests and in his classes in general. I learned a lot from him in a mere twenty minute drive.

So all I have to say is, I am proud of Lil' Corey. He's doing something he wants to do, and is enjoying it immensely. And I will be right there, along with LadyTee, when he gets his degree.

So do your thang, Lil Corey. I am sooooo proud of you! I wish you all the success in the world!

Keep repping the Westside!!!

And don't forget to hook your girl up with a gold grill, or at least some dentures!!