Saturday June 27th The Pieces of Me

I would like to think that (EYE) have always been insightful and had this great outlook on the world, but as we all know with age comes wisdom. As a little boy (EYE) pondered Heaven & Hell and life's cycles and even to this day (EYE) wonder what (EYE) will leave as my mark when I'm gone. (EYE) would like to say tho (EYE) have had some troubling times in my life and some extremely joyous occasions life as a whole as been a big theme park ... some of the rides make your stomach drop but its has been a learning experience. I've learned some of the lessens; some (EYE) didn't, but (EYE) do recognize that there was/is a lesson involved so (EYE) realized that (EYE) might not pick up on it the very first time but it may come back to me days or even years down the road. My point is this, (EYE) am just a sum of the life experiences that (EYE) have been through, and there are still areas that (EYE) may be inexperienced in and I'm fine with not knowing some things , however whether good or bad this is the sum I've come up with at this moment hate it or love it.

Friday June 26th 2009 The Alt Factor

Sometimes the best route is not the path most take. In life, at times you have to do what is good for you not the masses. The route everybody else takes to be successful in life may not be the plan that works best for you. We must all understand that the maps our forefathers leave for us should only be used as a framework. It hurts to see a young mind discouraged because he followed someone else’s map to success to the letter and did not get the same results. One of my good friends said to me one day “…Al you have to do what feels good to you.” Meaning you have to go with your gut instincts at that moment and be prepared to live with what you have chosen. So many times I see people contrived to one line of thinking believing that this is what it takes to be successful, when if you really look at history. it says otherwise.

Thursday June 25th 2009 The Fate of a Beetle

Suspended … the fate of a beetle. Sometimes when things happen in our lives we tend to linger on them for prolonged periods. In the hours after the death of the third of three icons to fall this week I asked myself a painstaking question ..should my blog contain some random Michael Jackson photo that I pulled from the net? The answer to that question is NO! I am going to miss the old Mike and his hits but that MJ has been gone for years so I’m not going to dwell on that subject.

There comes a time when all things my come to pass and in the waking moments of MJ’s death me typing this should not be taken as disrespect to MJ’s legacy, but as a tribute to what Mike meant … he was an icon and music genius, but let’s not stop everything be cause Mike is gone and suspend living … let’s press on and be innovators like Mike did in music. If it help’s you deal with it say you did it in the name of old MJ…cause once you get suspended you may suffer the same fate as this beetle caught in the spider web …when life eats you alive!!! R.I.P. EM…FF..& MJ

Wednesday June 23rd 2009 Suicide On Wheels

I applaud the person who came up with the idea that old stuff could be trendy again if we just called it retro! Are you serious? There a is a reason this makes no since to me. We don’t use old stuff anymore because inventers have found ways to improve on the old things duh!!!! I understand that somethings never get old but why would I play Pong when the PS3 in on the market?

Let's take this bike for instance, this bike has no reflectors no brakes small tires and half S’d handle bars …. And you gonna ride this home after your shift @ 11 pm. You might as well write your suicide note for your next of kin. This bike is a tragedy waiting to happen. Not to mention if you actual make it home you back will be hurting so bad from the slumped over position you won’t sleep well. You would have been better off walking the bike home. There’s no way you’d catch me on this rolling death trap. I’m just glad I saw this only block away from the emergency room. You think they have a bike rack outside?
Evolve people …stop hoarding old things and calling them retro … just let it go!

Tuesday June 23rd 2009 The Garden Club

Ahh the garden club… You can say that there is a slight bit of steam coming from me on this but if you knew me you’d know I was just showing my love. If you don’t know I work with a bunch of middle aged women and I’m not mad but sometimes they get cranky over the darn’est things. I’m a hip hop lover so at times I bang on the desk just making a beat … so they call me the lil drummer boy …lol wtf!

Anyway I live in an apartment so I don’t have a yard but as soon as the weather breaks the garden club goes into full swing! It starts around February the chatter about what they will be planting and what new gardening tip they have learnt and what not to do that failed last year. In March and April they are ordeing each other seeds and gadgets to help the crops grow bigger and better than last years. May they have planted the seeds and the race is on! To see who will grow the fastest and the fullest! The come in happy and a kid on Christmas when something new pops up. The club floods each other’s space with digital cameras showing off the new sprouts, herbs and crops uggggh! I have had it with the gardens!!!!
Just when I think I have had it and I really can’t take any more garden talk … one of these ladies offers cucumbers and tomatoes fresh from the backyard … it’s makes for a good brunch. So here’s to eating right and eating fresh from your backyard!!

Monday June 22nd 2009 Mountain

Not really much i have to say about this .... as a city boy i am in awe everytime we come back ... the mountains just seem so majestic.

Peal the windows get the wind in my skin ..

Drop the top and let the sun shine in ..

Exchanging vivid scenes in my panes ..

I’m catching different angles …from the sun ..

So I guess I change rays on my veins..

Miles From the vile’s that held cracks and cocaine

To the where neighbors got the miles in between …

From the ugly attitudes … that make everyday Halloween

To aptitude and trees …keeping the air clean

When I breathe in …‘slike ………I’m refreshing my whole being

The running river makes the scene so serene

Escaping the smog …flexing in the downward dog

In the shade with lemon drinks …getting my old man on …

With Minute Maid … those minutes hold peace like the leaves in the wind

Then it’s back to begin again …Next weekend …

I promise to watch the sunset ..

Ova a mountain crest …and just …take it all in

travel miles away with Miles and Coltrane

Just letting melodic notes fill my brain

My speakers Releasing Monk as my best kept secret …

Exclaiming the three keys he hit …

While wifie’s sleepin …exceeding the speed limit

80 in the far left …To the lights were the stars left …

back to the concrete Jungle where my lion's paws step ...

Sunday June 21st 2009 Finder's Keepers

I probably catch some heat from this one but …. It’s my blog and I’ll say what I want! The sign read “REWARD LOST CAT” …Now the thing that always got me about a reward is the monetary value. The monetry value would have to be one that would make you want to return what ever is found. Well in this case I have to ask a couple of questions because no one just finds a cat, only a cat lover could say something like that … and what amount would you offer a cat lover who could just keep your cat?

Now your right I don’t have a family pet and I don’t really know what it would mean to me if I had one and lost it or it got killed or something happen. What I do know is …getting a new cat can not be that expensive as a matter of fact cat lover generally know other cat lovers so the next time someone’s cat is having a litter you should just grab one I’m sure they won’t even charge you. So what is the reward for returning this cat? I almost called and asked but for the sake of not being totally insensitive to my animal lovers I thought it would be best if I didn’t. What I really and truly belive thought is this is going to turn into a case of finder’s keepers until your cat finds it’s way back home.

Friday June 19th 2009 Valet Parking

Ahh yes! June 19th is finally here and I’m all hyped up to see my high school friends. Even with the recent Facebook explosion I was still ecstatic about getting to see 7 years worth of graduating classes attend this one big reunion. Anxious to see what everybody has blossomed into I let my poor judgment get the best of me. The city of Norfolk Commercials seem so inviting. The commercials show Downtown as a beacon for the new trendy down town party life with fresh new clubs and eateries popping up all the time. What they don’t tell you is that the mistake of parking in the wrong spot can turn a 100 dollar night out into a nightmare.

Dude Where’s my car? Atfer laughing and chumming it up with old high school buddies … laughing and drinking I deiced that the bar is closing and it’s time to head home! I would never drive drunk so I made sure I took my time to drink early and sober up before I left, so I was in excellent condition when I walked out of the venue. Wait. My car is not in the spot where I left it!! I am generally calm in the face of adversity knew there was only one explanation for this missing car … I was towed! Damn it! I was sure I had read all 5 signs carefully before I exited the vehicle and was sure my car had been taken by mistake. Had my wife played a trick on me and taken the car home making sure I was not drive while under the influence wasn’t far fetched. I called my wife, and her answer to the question at hand was a sharp no! Awwwww man! I call one of my closes friends, and say hey come back and get me I’m gonna need a ride.
While waiting for my friend to return I decided I need to know where the car actual is before I can get him to take me to it. I approach Officer Friendly … you remember how they come to your elementary school introduce themselves and turn on the lights and be polite and tell you all the things you wanted to hear about being there to help WRONG! This old man perch in the middle of the street atop one of those three wheeled soap boxes (three wheeled Segway) was everything but friendly, I guess this was trendy part the commercial talked about. His nonchalant attitude and sarcasm didn’t really sit well with me .. But I couldn’t let this grey haired old man get under my skin or get me off the task of finding my car. The vaguest directions possible where given “ behind Ruby Tuesday on Raby Rd.” Great! … there’s only 5 tow companies back there …. You’ ve been a great help! To only make matter worst … my cell phone had just used the last cell and died so I cursed Motorola too. Standing on this corner looking like GQ’s Big Man of the Month waiting for this friend I potted my next move . After about 20mins they finally pooped out of the side street Yes!

After searching two of the tow companies and find them unmanned I almost gave up for the night! Ugh! There was one more spot I needed to check Jacks towing… as I was giving up on finding my car tonight I ran into another one of my high school buddies driving a tow truck for Jack’s awww Wayne don’t tell me it was you … I described my car to him and he said nah it wasn’t him but he would give me a number to call to find out where it was. I called this number and they couldn’t tell me where the place was… “What!? Are you serious?” but they did give me the number come to find out they were right around the corner. Great! I get there and the lady behind the glass window give me a ticket for 35 dollars … I’m thinking sweet!! That’s all … then she taxes me with the 135 towing fee … What! You had it for 2 hours and I was only 3 mile from the yard. Astronomical!

Sat June 20th 2009 Collen Drive In "Tastee Freeze"

Small town eatery with big city taste. I am a big fan of those off the beaten path restaurants that hold special recipes and claims to fame on the menu. Places like the aforementioned are really hard to find unless you know the you happen to stumbble across them or know someone. It seem that every one of these places has a short story behind them and all though I didn’t have time to ask the history behind this roadside Ice Cream Heaven I thought I might take a little time to let it shine.

Right down on 29 South about 25 mins from Charlottesville, Va home of UVA’s Wahoo’s sit’s a little blur of a drive up Ice Cream shack call Colleen Drive In … or known affectingly by the locals as “Tasty Freeze!” there is really not much to the whole set up .. You drive up …walk up … and place your order and wait. Now on this day approaching 100 degrees the giant appeared on the horizon like a mirage… I had driven this road so many times but this time the cone seemed to call out to me. Half sleep while the wife wiz’d up the freeway I saw it …and with my parched throat called out to her to stop for ice cream. As we pulled in I could see that this was no Dairy Queen but the beckoning of the big ice cream cone told me I wouldn’t be disappointed. The cars sat neatly parked around the front of the building some with motors still running …as I decided to let my wife who’s from these parts do the ordering. I decided what I wanted to eat and waited. While we waited for my Mother in Laws chicken snack, my wife’s 1 foot tall cone taunted me from the driver’s seat as she enjoyed the cool chocolate and vanilla swirl… about 7 mins and we where summoned back to the window for my the chicken wings and my parfait. I deicided to wait the rest of the five minute trip up the mountain side so I could enjoy the ice cream with out the worries of spilling or crash. The fluffy ice cream pineapples and strawberry’s were delightful and everything seem to blend just nice. I’m not eating meat right now so I passed on any of the other tastes on the menu but I will say if your every on 29 Between Lynchburg and Charlottesville … and the big cone comes across the hill take five mins. and enjoy good ice cream your passengers will love you for it!

Thursday June 11th 2009 Mail Man Gone Wild

See what happens when you come home early ….what is this the mail man has pulled his truck on the curb and back it in front of someone’s door. Is He robbing the place? Is he moving with the company truck? What is going on .. You have to ask this question especially when the mailboxes are at the other end of the block. Is this a special delivery? Are they running guns to New Jersey? I really didn’t have much to say tonight I just thought this picture was interesting.

Wednesday June 10th 2009 Over Rated

I just always thought that giving roses where cheap and thoughtless and make for an average response. If you really want her to think that you mean something it has to appear that you’ve put time into it. The more time or thought it appears you’ve put into anything the more likely you are to succeed at your mission, what ever it may be. Guys don’t really care about how much time you put into it as long as you thought about us and you weren’t angry we’re good. With the ladies it’s different you don’t have to go “all out” you just have to make it seem like you put some serious thought into it. Try it and I’ll bet a homemade card and fresh Tulips trumps roses every time.

Tuesday June 9th 2009 For My New Jersy OB&L Viewers

I always say …“when I travel I like to party with the locals,” until I went to Atlanta Georgia. This fine Saturday morning I don’t know if he was starting the party early or ending the party late either way I was Glad I missed it… lol. Thanks Denise & Sue in Jersey you guys make the day go by quicker with a little chuckle! Thought I’d return the favor.

Monday June 8th 2009 Single Female ISO

Whomever’s idea it was to say “I like slow walks on the beach..” would be a good thing to tell chicks, when you find him tell him to take a towel tie one end to the rack and the other around his neck and run away from it as fast as he can!!! Men have catered to women for so long that has become ridiculous. Even in the female’s want adds read as a check list of what a man should like when trying to land a date with this babe! LoL let’s be serious if she was so hot would she need to advertise? I hope your expectations are not high. Now don’t take this wrong way I’m not saying that everybody that uses online dating or something of that nature is ugly or can not find a date I’m just saying we should be real with someone if we are really looking for a mate.
I understand the romance involved in taking a stroll down the shoreline with your loved one, but you’ll probably never see a woman’s ad that reads …SF seeking someone who hates xbox, sports, porn, and beer must love Chic flicks, backseat drivers, putting the seat down, In laws and being called a wussie by his friends! Fella’s Grow A Pair!! then get out and date the old fashion way.

Sunday June 7th 2009 For the Love Of Money

How much does what you do for a living reflect your character? Are you doing something that you don’t morally agree with just to make money? If you are faced with the task of doing something that you don’t morally agree with in order to stay employed would you? As I sit here and type these words out on this page I can say that I was only once asked to do something that did not sit well with me.

Here I was this 15 year old boy working at this well known breakfast restaurant chain bussing tables for a summer job. I have always been one with a good work ethic so it did not take long for me to move up in the ranks. With in a few weeks I had moved from the cute lil boy that worked in the back washing dishes to head busboy. The title didn’t mean much, there were only about 12 of us but it came with a raise and a bit of authority which meant I was never washing dishes again! Even though I had gain some power my thirst did not stop there, before long I had moved to the kitchen as a junior cook, even though I was well under age to be there and very immature.
Well as the story goes, one day I was told to empty some contents from a can into smaller containers for storage. Not knowing what I know now about restaurant inventory control, and portions I emptied the can into the containers and chucked the can into the trash, then report back to my work station. The new owner; some greasy older Arab dude, came thru the work station and spotted the can at the bottom of the trash can fish it out of the bottom and requested the person who did the prepping to step forward.
Even at the age of 15 I wasn’t afraid of anything I stepped up and owned what I had done. Looking at the can with about 1/8 of the food still in it he exclaimed that what was inside needed to be scraped out and put into the containers with the rest of it. To make a long story short, I didn’t lose my job that day for not putting that food in the containers but it went against what I thought was right so I didn’t do it. I hid the can in a different trash can and made sure I took the trash out. LOL!

Saturday June 6th 2009 Get your Feet Wet

Fear …is one of the more interesting traits of humans has probably created more change on this planet than mother nature herself. It is said that we give off and odor when we are scared that animals pick up on; why I don’t doubt this, I feel that it is something that can be managed in the face of change. Why did I say change? Because that is what fear thrives on isn’t it?

People are so afraid of change that the will let their fear anything control their path, health and even their way of life. It never ceases to amaze me the lengths people will go to, to avoid certain situations. I’m reminded daily that change will come weather you like it or not, so why not I make change instead of responding to it. Why don’t I start grad school? Why don’t I buy a new car? Why don’t I tell my boss that I don’t think my pay is fair? Why don’t I tell my spouse that I’ve fallen out of love? Those questions are just a small taste of the questions people ask themselves everyday and don’t react to because they are scared of the work it will take to make it happen, failure or even succeeding! which in my book is crazy but it happens. So if your reading this and you are one of those people don’t be afraid to get YA FEET WET!

Friday June 5th 2009 Rainy Days

Rain, Rain go away! As a kid you wished it never rained because that meant time outside with your friends in the rain was not an option. When I was younger, the first sign of the storm meant every piece of electronic equipment in the house was to be shut off and every person was to be quite because the Lord was doing his work. I spent many summer afternoons in complete quite listening to the rain drops pound with an inconsistent rhythm and count the Mississippi’s between flashes and thunder rolls. At the age of 9½ my patience with the Virginia rain had begun to run thin. I started watching the thunderstorms out of my window waiting for lightening to set the sky on fire for the brief moments only to end in a darken crash as the thunder rolled. I began to love thunderstorms.

As a grown man I’ve learned to love the rain because it means that time inside with a S.O. is the option. Rainy days generally start with some relaxing music, incense and a comfy couch. Relishing the peaceful sound in the undetermined rhythm of sporadically placed rain drops and dripping water seems to make the day slow down a bit. It seems as if the city slows from the fast paced hustle and bustle to walk easy for a few moments. Now as the world takes careful steps outside I stay inside snuggled and nestled in my soft couch listening to the rain trying not to drift off to sleep.

Thursday June 4th 2009 Cleaning Day

Clean Up! Clean Up! Everybody Everywhere Clean Up! Clean Up! Everybody do your share. This is one of the first songs your kids learn how to sing in preschool. This is song is generally sung when everybody is pitching in to clean up the room after playtime, but this could be applied to our adult lives as well. Cleaning up your circle and ridding that circle of those whom are not doing their share is something that we need to do every so often.

Weighing the value of the relationships we have with the people we let into our inner circle can be a time consuming and painful task. One must first decipher the root meaning or common thread of the relationship? Next is that common thread or root meaning worth keeping that person around. People change and change can mean two different things. Change will bring people closer or it will drive them apart. At the moment we recognize that we’ve changed and that the change has effected our common thread we must dissolve our ties for the time being. Cleaning up is not to say you will never speak to that person again it’s to say that right now is not a good time for you to be in that person’s inner circle. Most times this is not done out right, doing this out right may turn confrontational it is more or less done more in a more subtle ways and friends just seem to fade away. So when is the last time you’ve cleaned up?

Wednesday June 3rd 2009 Fire Fight

Some of us go years without even speaking to our neighbors and I think that is a crappy way to live. Not that your business should have an open door policy, just that when you’re going thru a struggle you never know who can help you or who you can help. When you are struggling it doesn’t pay to roll over and just take it. If you take a proactive stance against anything that is oppressing you, you soften the blow even if it’s just a little bit.
If your house burnt to the ground right now who would you turn to? If you lost everything what would you do? If you had to start all over where would you start? These are the painful questions people are faced with everyday, are you prepared to answer these questions? No plan is fool proof but it’s in everyone’s best interest to at least have a plan. You can not think of everything that is going to happen in life, but it’s better to be walking around putting out life’s little fires, than not being prepared and having a big one.

Tuesday June 2nd 2009 Bread and Water

Food ... bread and water what we need to sustain this life force that we have thriving in our bodies, but what do we need mentally to carry on each day? I ponder these questions while I reflected on my last couple of weeks. I thought of this quote from the movie Training Day as the actor says “..life is all about how well you manage your smiles and cries..” and I thought damn! smiles and cries have to be the mental equivalent to bread and water.

With that I thought back to a coworker who has to be the master of smiles and cries. I have grown close to the women I work with and talk to on a daily basis so much that they are starting feel like family. We spend most of our days going back and forth on gender issues and my out look on life mainly because they think that I’m crazy (figuratively speaking). I usually find myself in a losing battle because the women outnumber the men in my office like 15 to one, Never the less the conversation is good.

Well, in the last weeks she has suffered … the lost of a car, a new car, the lost of her grandmother …the wedding of her sister …then funeral of her grandmother … after which her aunt died on the same night … her daughters senior prom … and is waiting the funeral of her aunt… and I haven’t even seen her flinch. On top of all that, she deals with me and my antics at work without even a sign of her stopping or slowing. Some might say she is masking the hurt and may all come out at some time ..I say she is the master of smiles and cries … and she is my hero …because even as a grown man on the verge of losing my grandmother I can’t hide it…I can’t manage it…. I applaud your resilience! Z(eye)N

Monday June 1st 2009 Grand Closing

Man ... I’m wolfing (slang term needing a hair cut) so today I decide to stop pass the barber shop, see what’s good in the hood and either wait for a cut or make plans with my barber to come in and get strait in the chair. Now there’s nothing wrong with waiting, if you know me you know I blow hours in the barber shop, but sometimes you want to get in and get out. Today was something different tho. I get to the shop and I see this on the door! WOW shaking my head in disgust I swear you would saw a light bulb over my head as reached back into my car for my camera.

Black Business Owner’s or any business owner for that matter you can used this blog as your personal focus group the reason we ( the consumer) go to other owners because you are unreliable! If things are not going how they need to re work your plan do something look at your numbers again don’t let things like this happen. I’m mad cause I got to walk around for another couple of days wolfing …but I’m embarrassed to have to make this post. Further more to know that you put my barber, who is also a good friend; in jeopardy with this has made this even worst . I lost respect for you get ya weight up.