Slick Willy swears he
only took four flights
and gorged himself on
peanut butter and jelly
Sandwiches—take off to
landing…
Slick Willy says he flew
for the sandwiches—the
sandwiches roused him—
Got him out of the house.
The sandwiches showed
him just how much he
needed to
Fly—breathe rarified air—
33,000 feet up in the wild
blue yonder, and clear his
Head…bird of paradise had
the best peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches in the hemi-
sphere, if not the world! Slick
Willy’s sandwicheswere served
on white bread with crunchy
Skippy’s, and Smuckers grape jelly,
Always.
The green tea too was great—its
young, tender leaves, electric color
and robust flavor…but the sandwiches
rocked!
Slick Willy said the sandwiches
reminded him of simpler, innocent
times—Mickey Mouse Club, Mouseketeer
ears, cold war, drop drills after Hiroshima
and Nagasaki; and niggers knew their place—
black lives mattered: if the Sheriff said so…
He’s so sorry so many of our people are be-
hind bars—but someone had tobring super
predators to heel,and be tough on crime…
Slick Willy said the sandwiches were worth
all the TSA (Theater Security Actors) screening,
searching, patting him down—strike that!
That’s not his recollection. He did say the
sandwiches reminded him of how far he’d
Come—white trash to First Black President—
Remember the saxophone and shades?
Fast foodto Foundation—Beltway outsider to
Viceroy of Haiti and Secret Service detail to
Ditch
Slick Willy said he only flew four times—
As for manifests, memory refreshing flight
logs, etc.…Well, maybe he flew four x four +
four times—give or take a few? Hey, what’s
with all the hair-splitting?
Slick Willy said he recalls—
to the best of his recollection—
He recalls Tattoo shouting, “De plane, de plane!”
and correcting him harshly with the back of his
hand,“Nah, nah, lil silly muthafucka—
it’s the sandwiches, the sandwiches!”
© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
This lecture was delivered on February 3, 2026, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada) for the monthly series “Black History and the Project of Black Studies.”
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