Final Entry: The Jigabod Archetype

"......What's that...up ahead... It looks like... we're slowing down..."

Ladies and gentlemen, as hard as it is to believe, we've come full circle. Romancexpress has encompassed a full year, and the station is coming into view. We're pulling in for our final destination. BUT, I don't want you to be sad. Before we're done here, you're going to discover something profound. We'll end our engagement on a high note, eh?

From Jig to Jigabod... did you notice? When we first started out, remember how I told you where my name came from? I told you it came from a feeling in my soul; an urge to "dance a jig" when I felt happy. Well, I wasn't lying to you when I said that. But...

Romancexpress has been an evolution for me; I've been able to watch myself go through transitions as I've had experience after experience. And with that change, my name took a change too. And it wasn't just for aesthetic appeal. So, as we close this journey on Romancexpress, I'd like to end by reintroducing myself: I am Jigabod, the Jigabod Archetype.

I am a constantly changing creature; the worst thing one can ever do is try to categorize me because as soon as I am "captured", I transform. I become whatever I need to become at the moment; this was a dilemma at the beginning of Romancexpress because I had changed so much that I had lost my identity. I now realize that the purpose of Romancexpress' journey was for me to rediscover who I am at the core of my being. Mission accomplished.

From Jig to Jigabod; what's in the name? Much. There are 4 components to the name Jigabod: Jig, Ichabod, Jigaboo, and Jig-a-bod.

The Jig in Jigabod still represents what it did in the beginning; that little being still dances in my heart when I'm happy. Yet, I'm not so happy as I was at the beginning of the journey. And so, the name carries more meaning, because in my journey I've had to go beyond happiness and understand myself as a person in all seasons.

Ichabod represents Ichabod Crane, a character from the famous tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He came into a town as a stranger and a teacher. He wasn't in the image of the "hunks" of the town; he lacked the machismo and the size and strength. He was actually fairly odd, built like a scarecrow and light on his feet. But, though he was a stranger in the town, he was no stranger to love, and in being his odd self he became a threat to every "hunk" in the town. 'Can't say my experiences haven't been similar.

Jigaboo is an old racist slur used against Black people. But it's not the word itself that holds the meaning. Part of the racism that we've faced has come in the form of people making us ashamed of our own culture. I've found that we've turned away from those things that were deemed "unacceptable" about us by the established culture. Things like the curl of our hair, or the fact that we are a musical people, neither of which is something to be ashamed of. So on one hand, this element of my name is an acceptance of those things attributed to Black people that are hated by other cultures. On the other hand, the change from "'boo" to "'bod" expresses that we are not only a unique culture, but a unique culture with much to teach and offer, as was Ichabod in the story; and like Ichabod also, we are hated for those things that make us unique.

Jig-a-bod simply translates to "jig-a-body". It represents my ability to touch people and pass my feelings to them. That little "jig" I feel in my heart, I do my best to bring it out of others. Not only that, but even the anger, pain, sadness, victories, anxiety, wonder and hundreds of other states of human being; I try to evoke them all with every word that I write. This is why Romancexpress was written as an open invitation: so that as I discover myself, you can discover yourself in my writings. I jig; you jig. Get it?

In my rapping, people say my specialty is "complexity"; layering multiple meanings in few words. You have just witnessed a perfect example of that. One word--- Jigabod--- four paragraphs of meaning. I am the Jigabod archetype; the first Jigabod and the last there will ever be. Not even my own progeny will become who or what I am.

So you're probably reading all this totally wrong right now; no, I'm not saying Jigabod is some great unreachable standard or something. At the end of this journey you should know better: the best thing that any man can ever be is himself. To attempt to be in another man's image, with the exception of Christ Himself, only limits you to the limited existence of another limited being. In simple terms: why copy something that's no better than you are? I'm Jigabod, and you're a wonderful person in your own right. I can't wait to hear your story.

So in closing this volume... oh yeah, I think I forgot to mention. You didn't think I was really gonna stop Romancexpress so abruptly like this did ya? lol, Nah. This is only the end of Romancexpress Volume I. I'm already building a second site for a second journey. There's still more life to live!

So again, in closing this volume of Romancexpress, I just thought I'd sum things up by saying this: I'm not saying I'm better than anybody else. All I'm saying is, I can't believe I'm not butter...

Jesus PeaceB-J