At this moment.

This is a classic time of the year.  At this moment the holiday season is upon us.  We tend to focus more on sales and taking advantage of opportunities.  Others give more attention to family and nearly break their neck to get a flight, bus, or a car to get to see family.  We need to focus on this more often throughout the year.  Many people don't even call their friends or family until this time of the year.  I am no exception I am just as guilty.  We all need to find a way to come together more during the year.  None of of us know the day or the time when we will be called to our maker.  Cherish every day and make every hour, every minute, and every second count.

Cigarettes

It is easy to leave but so hard to say good-bye.  The mere thought of separating from the ones you love is heart wrenching.  Verbally telling someone that you are leaving must be even more difficult.  You know my dad left to get a pack of cigarettes and he never came back.  My only thought is he did not know how to say good-bye.  I wonder if mom feels the same way that I do?

?

Step on a crack

Break your Mother's back

What about fathers?

STRANGERS

Strangers pass each other every day
Admist the hustle and bustle
Blind to the laws of fate
Blind to the laws of fate
Never taking time to gaze or see
Never taking time to notice me
I too dare not to think or say
Strangers pass each other every day

'INVINCIBLE'

     I will live forever and death to me is nowhere in my thought pattern. I fear nothing because I don't know anybody that has died. Well, I know a few, but all of them were older and I really only knew some of them. My grandfathers' both of whom passed away when I was a little kid, and some long distant relative that I only knew through pictures and family conversation. My mother's father suffered from a long bout with cancer and my dad's father had a massive heart attack in his 50's. Those were the first times that I saw genuine emotion from my father. The loss of his father as well as the loss of his father-in-law whom he considered a father.  This is not a barrel of machismo like real men don't cry. It's just that I had never seen my father cry before. After these tragedies I still wasn't convinced that life is precious. I wasn't convinced that our body, our temple is as delicate as a flower. Let's take a long hard look at this situation. One grandfather had a terrible incurable disease and the other experienced an untimely death at an early age. Neither of these could happen to me because I was a kid for goodness sake. I was a kid that walked to school every day and never got abducted or hit by a car. The same kid that climbed on top of the porch and jumped 3 feet onto the garage and never fell off once. A kid that jumped off the roof into the the pool and never broke his neck. This same kid braved the deadly outdoor stairs at his former high school only equipped with a dirt bike and never flipped once. I was ‘invincible’. This level of invincibility continued on into my adolescent years and beyond. I went on to play sports and yes I did endure the occasional bumps and bruises like other kids. But before long I was back on the playing field and was as good as new. I think about the times I pushed the limits in nearly every aspect of my life because of this invincibility. Aside from running into oncoming traffic during rush hour I pretty much lived reckless as a teenager. Fortunately, I emerged pretty much unscathed with an arrogance that makes Adonis shy in the corner with envy. I was loved by nearly everyone and this was all I ever really wanted.


     Somewhere between adolescent and adulthood my father became extremely ill. That dreaded word "cancer" reared its ugly head again into our family. We did what families do and united as a strong group, but we all were preparing for the worst. What would I do without my father he was such an important and strong figure in my life? I didn't know what to think, after all I was 'invincible'. My father was invincible as far as I could tell. He only cried during the loss of his fathers' so many years ago. So where did that leave me? I was lost somewhere between the edge of sanity and a nervous breakdown. In reflection I don't think they are too far apart. No one knew what was going on probably because I kept mum about the situation. Whose business was it anyway? Besides they probably wouldn't understand if I told them about it. People only say what they are robotically trained to say under certain circumstances. "I am so sorry to hear that and we are praying for your family". Well that is not what I wanted to hear and there was no way in hell they knew how I felt. My father pulled through after a 3 million dollar surgery along with radiation with a heavy dose of chemo-therapy. So to me my father was invincible because he beat the odds and told the doctors to kiss his ass so to speak.
     It was not until I took a trip with family to a local water park that it hit me like a ton of bricks. As I climbed the ladder to the 90 foot slide that crashes down into a small puddle of water, I froze. "I can actually die on this ride", I was thinking to myself. My nephew is behind me with a happy face and I am standing there about to lose it. I had never had an issue with heights or anything else for that matter. I had done this a thousand times before but this time it was different. For the first time in my life I did not feel 'invincible'.

Cerebellum

You allow me to think


You allow me to cry


You allow me to laugh


You don’t ask why


You control my emotions

Forgive And Forget

We are a very forgiving society. But that forgiveness comes with criteria. You must be able to provide a service to the public that will in turn make money for someone else. When I say money I mean real money not these nickels and dimes that we make on our daily grind. Everyone in the world makes mistakes, but most of us are not under the microscope with all our transgressions magnified for the world to see. With all the reality television shows, tmz, extra, entertainment tonight and the endless sporting news we as a people feel as though we know these stars . When these stars mess up we are quick to judge and are appalled at their actions. Hollywood actually has firms that focus primarily on repairing a stars image after they inevitably screw up. Sadly they don’t focus on behaviors they focus on how to make the problems disappear. If I see another person go to rehab for anymore bullshit I am going to scream. I think the worst was Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy) going to rehab for calling his co-star an expletive about his sexuality. Are you kidding me? These people might as well slap and spit in the face of people with real issues and addictions. That is the most asinine crap I have ever witnessed. Now his PR firm should have been fired for suggesting that stupid ass shit.


So whether you piss on little girls like R-Kelley, manipulate an intern that has low self-esteem like Bill Clinton, kill a pedestrian walking across the street like Donte Stallworth, crash into a tree after drinking; killing your best friend like Danny Heatly, sleep with whomever you want like Eldrick "Tiger" Woods, rant on national television screaming "nigger" like Dog The Bounty Hunter, call the Rutgers women basketball team "nappy headed hoes" like Don Imus, bite on prostitutes like Marv Albert, scream out anti-Semitic gibberish like Mel Gibson, rape and sodomize little girls like Roman Polanski, sleep with your staff and joke about it like David Letterman on national tv you will be fine just fine. That is as long as you continue to be the cash cow for the powers that be. If it was you, I or the majority of the population that has a regular job, we would be vilified. We would be finished, kaput, ostracized, banned, and ridiculed…etc. I am sure you get the picture. I am not a role model but this is not about me. Just giving you something to think about.

PERFECT IMPERFECTIONS

A man was in search of a life surrounded by perfection. He seemed to accomplish this goal through nearly every facet of his life. He had the perfect parents which allowed him to have the perfect childhood. He attended the perfect schools which in turn allowed him to receive the perfect education. Following college he landed the perfect job, at the perfect company, right in the middle of downtown. He managed to stay fit by joining the best gym in the area. He purchased the perfect car which got the best gas mileage and gave off the fewest emissions, keeping the environment perfect. He acquired the perfect real estate agent and purchased the perfect home. He seemed to have everything going his way but he still was not happy. He felt a sort of emptiness like a pit in stomach. He never stopped to realize that underneath all this perfection he was lonely.
One day he stopped by his perfect coffee shop and he met the perfect woman. Before long they began to date and as their relationship grew everything was perfect. They were nearly inseparable as they attended plays, ball games as well as weekend getaways. Eventually the relationship became serious and over time the next step was naturally marriage. Once again he found the best jeweler in town who in turn gave him the best deal on the perfect ring. While he was on his way to pop the question he pulled over on the side of the road in his perfect car. He began to think that the thought of someone permanently in his perfect space would disrupt a perfectly good life. He remembered when she put the put the plates where the glasses went or better yet when she ordered pizza and did not order pan crust. Now that was not perfect. He reflected upon the times she was late or the time she forget to pick up the dry cleaning. Now that was not perfect at all. He remembered how she burned the cookies she was baking or forgot to turn off the hallway light. Now he really knew she wasn't perfect. So instead of popping the question he thought of the perfect excuse to end the relationship.
About six months down the line he felt that same imperfect pit in the bottom of his stomach. She came into his thoughts along with all her imperfections. He reflected upon his childhood and how his parents argued constantly. Now that is not perfect. He thought about the imperfect schools he attended and the injustices that took place there. He thought about his perfect job that overworked him, and required him to put in long hours without compensation. He pictured his perfect house that had the smallest yard, as well as the only unfinished garage on the block. He remembered his perfect car that he had to put in the shop six times since the perfect salesman sold it to him. He thought about his entire life which was really and truly littered with imperfections. As he looked back none of his life was really perfect. Every aspect of his life had some form of imperfection. Sadly, he chose not to notice the imperfections until he allowed the most perfect thing to walk out of his life.

Moral: Blessings are not always black and white or standing directly in front of you.

Budlight & A Bag Of Pork Rinds

I just want to share with ya'll for a bit. Hills and valleys are way too prevelant in the daily grind we all call life. I would much rather grab a bag of pork rinds and a case of budlight and get on the lake to fish. Unfortunately we have to punch a clock to earn a living. I am truly grateful, but would the same thing happen at 6:00am when the alarm goes off it I hit the lottery? Probably not. Or would it? I don't know, but I am more of a realist. What do we all truly need to be happy? After I got the nice home that I desire, with the movie theater (equipped with MI seats of course), a drop top camaro, ferrari, hummer (before they go out of bizness), my mother and fathers' wants and desires and pay my credit cards off; what is there? Oh, siblings, give them some hush money and hope that they are responsible enough to manage it...lol. Then, there are the many charities that I would donate to. All the Jerry's kids on the commercials and the sick looking animals would get their cut of course. After all that what is left to do? You can only blow so much money on scantily clad women in various gentlemen's clubs or at the gambling tables in Vegas. I said all that to say this. I just want to be happy and have enough to live off and still be able to buy a couple of beers, a bag of pork rinds and go fishing. Cuz that is what I am going to do if I am rich or poor. It just takes some people longer to figure that out..

Chet Brown

Life Is A Bottle Of Water

Reflecting upon a childhood that brought many challenges accompanied by many rewards. I often take issue with the state in which we all live. I mean there are many other things to address but as I watched people walk down the street with water bottles I had an epiphany. Whatever happened to turning on the garden hose or the kitchen faucet for a drink of water? Now it’s all about bottled water and to some the Sam’s club brand is just not good enough. There is a bottle of water that sells for $40 a bottle. I don’t know about you but that is a little over my budget. Do you realize that sales are in the billions for something that used to be virtually free? And to think I use to get scolded for taking too long of a shower. This is just a small example of the world today. Times are changing and have just about passed some of us up. Oh, by the way, I like bottled water also; I just don’t like to pay for it. I am curious to know how you feel about the way the times have changed for better or worse.
Chet Brown

The Darkness

I sit alone in the darkness
Alone on the edge of sanity
People pass by like time
Blinded solely by shades
All roads lead to darkness

Chet Brown

Double Standard

I was sitting in front of the idiot box and I felt myself progressively getting angrier and angrier. Why? I am watching the highlights of Baylor’s Brittney Griner dominate Tennessee. I think back just a few weeks ago when I see this same Brittney Griner dominate in another way. But that time it was more like Friday night fights. Yes, in a girl’s collegiate basketball game Brittany Griner punched and broke another girl’s nose. Her punishment was a stern and deathly two game suspension. This allows us to be entertained by her on this day. I usually don’t get affected by things like this and maybe that’s because I have seen it before. With all the violence in all sports, was this “female athlete” given a pass? I am not saying that she deserved a stiffer sentence because I am a male. I am purely stating this because I am human.

(Photo by examiner)