A Collection of Poems By:

Gerald “Boo” Mitchell

I have always loved to write!  I guess it is because I feel like there is so much power in the written word.  As a child I can remember reading the Bible and the profound Word of God and feeling the very words on the page cause me to feel anger, sadness, fear, strength, triumph, joy and just about any other emotion that you can imagine.  One of my favorite subjects in school was Greek Mythology because, again, reading the stories fascinated me. I would go beyond the pages and try to connect with the thoughts of the author as to how he kept everything connected, such as the relationships of all of the gods, demi-gods, titans, etc.  So I started writing at an early age, and I soon realized that I had a gift.  I specifically had a gift for writing poetry – a gift that was realized through my high school English teacher, Ann Schutt.  I will never forget a very surprising conversation that we had one day in her class room at Lowndes County High School.  I was a senior who had just signed my letter of intent to attend Vanderbilt University.  In order to qualify academically to go to Vanderbilt, I had to do well on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) which I had already taken as a freshman and scored over 1,000 points which was more than what I needed.  Mrs. Schutt was well aware of my score on the SAT, and she also knew that I had scored better on the English portion of the test than I had done on the Math portion.  So now I was sitting in her classroom trying to justify my decision to major in Electrical Engineering instead of being an English or Liberal Arts Major.  Coming from a poor family whose single mother had raised six children with absolutely no assistance from her divorced, absentee husband, I felt I needed to major in something that would “guarantee” me a good career in the event that professional football did not work out.  Mrs. Schutt looked at me that day in her classroom and said, “What a waste!  I cannot believe that you are not going to share that wonderful gift that you have with the world!”  (The gift to which she was referring was my writing as “Annie” was one of my biggest fans.)  I continued to write, while at Vanderbilt and wowed my professors in all of my elective classes with my ability to express myself through the use of a pen and some paper.  Poetry remained a treasured hobby as I would often sit in my room and write both poetry and rap songs to amuse my college teammates.  After college, poetry specifically became more important to me. I realized that it was not my talent but rather God’s presence which allowed me to write poetry.  Whenever He decides to give me the inspiration, I am hardly able to write fast enough to convey all of the words that He wants me to convey.

So a few years ago, I was told by God to “Write the book!”  Having written over 100 poems in my lifetime, some of which are 18 to 25 pages long, I was not exactly sure what God meant with His directive.  Well recently on a vacation to Cabo San Lucas, He clearly showed me what He wanted.  I had gone there on a much needed R&R mission to get away from the daily grind at the gym.  In the midst of the most beautiful places I have ever been visited, I was not having a lot of fun… until He decided to show up!  All of a sudden I was just filled with this wonderful inspiration and the words to write this book.  And therein lies the reason for the title of this book: “Quips From Cabo.”  The vast majority of this book was written during my vacation in Cabo San Lucas.  A few of the poems were written later when I returned to my home in Lawrenceville, GA.  However, ALL of the words herein are His!  I am simply trying to do as I’ve been instructed.

The poems are organized in the order in which I received the inspiration.  The poems contained inside this book cover a very broad range of topics. It is my sincere hope that everyone who reads this book will come away with a thought provoking idea, a revelation about their lives, or just a simple smile or chuckle to help get them through the day.  It is my desire that something you read in this book (even if it is just the Foreword that you are now reading) will give you the inspiration to either start or complete something God has called you to do!  I honestly believe that He is calling all of us to do His bidding (open a business, start a ministry, go on a mission trip, write a book, etc.).  All that we have to do is have faith and “take a step (or a leap) of faith,” and allow God to work through us.  That is my reason for writing this book.  All praise be to Him!

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