Cereal Killer

So just like any given weekend my son is here with me. I will admit that he's a very picky eater. But he does get it honest. So when breakfast time rolls around and he's given the usual choices for breakfast, you never know what exactly he will choose. Well this morning he chose to have cereal. However, my son chooses to eat his cereal dry no milk. But will take a cup of juice on the side. Don't ask me why, but like I said the boy is a picky eater. Well this morning I decided to join him in a bowl of cereal. But as I was eating I asked myself a question that I have asked before. Am I too old to be eating some damn cereal?

I mean I've never seen any age restrictions on a box of cereal. But this morning as I was eating my cereal, I sat and thought should a grown ass man really be eating Fruity Pebbles? I mean just the name of the cereal alone doesn't sound like anything a grown ass man should be associated with. I guess Fruit Loops fits this same category. LOL. Now that's not necessarily my favorite cereal, but it's what we had in the cupboard at the time. I mean I very rarely will even eat breakfast at all. But the very few times I eat cereal, I will admit that I have a very strange way of eating my cereal. I'll break down how it works.

While most do the typical pour cereal in the bowl and add milk then eat, I choose a different approach. See my main goal in eating cereal is to avoid it getting soggy. I don't know about anyone else but soggy cereal is probably one of the most disgusting things there is. I have never liked it since a kid. I can't even watch someone else eat soggy cereal. And I hated when I got told "You better finish your cereal before you get up from the table" especially after it got soggy. Why someone has not invented a way to keep a cereal from going soggy behooves me to this day. I found this supposed "invention" online called the "New Angle Cereal Bowl" that's supposed to eliminate the cereal from getting soggy. You can watch the video of the commercial for yourself, but it seems very suspect to me. My version of eating cereal does the exact same thing if you ask me.

But anyways I digress. Back to my cereal eating process.

Step 1: Add Milk to bowl.

Step 2: Bring bowl with milk and spoon and box of cereal to table.

Step 3: Pour a small amount of cereal into the milk.

Step 4: Quickly begin to eat the cereal.

Step 5: After cereal in bowl is gone repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 until the milk is all gone.

Again, I admit that it's a weird process to eat a bowl of cereal but it eliminates the chance of it getting soggy. Small amounts of cereal poured in at a time limit this from happening. I will also admit that for this reason, when I eat cereal I don't really get to enjoy it. I feel like it's a race against time. I have to devour what's in the bowl before it gets soggy. This is one of the reasons I choose to eat cereal alone. Well there is another reason, but that is probably equally as strange. For some reason I can not sit and eat cereal with another person. Don't judge me. I will attempt to explain and plead my sanity case a little further. LoL.

I can remember being younger and at breakfast time my brother would sit across from me. But for some reason listening to him eat cereal just got on my damn nerves. I mean I'm so far from being the morning person. Therefore, already waking up being irritated and hearing him slurp down a bowl of cereal made me want to toss my bowl across the table at him. Sorry Bro, but it's true. LoL. If you asked he will probably admit that he felt the exact same about me when it came to cereal eating. I guess cereal is just not a quiet enough food to eat.

Lastly, I'm curious has anyone else ever done this nasty mess here. I remember my bro and I being at my cousins house. Now it was about 4 of them at the time so imagine a house full of 6 kids ranging from ages 5-10. Well when breakfast time came just like all little kids we wanted cereal. Well just like that scene in the movie Friday, we all poured up big bowls of cereal. And of course we go to the fridge for milk and there is none. Well we were all pretty broke in those days and we were told there would be no milk for this breakfast. I can't recall the culprit, but I have a clue. But someone yelled out I'm eating mines with water and proceeded to pour up. WTF? Water? I was going to eat mines dry like my son, but that ruined my entire appetite there. LoL. In an effort to keep the not snitching streak going I won't mention any names.

Well I don't know if me occasionally enjoying a bowl or 5 of cereal constitutes juvenile behavior but if so then it is what it is. If I could enjoy breakfast in bed (which I recently had. ;-) LoL) on the daily with pancakes, eggs, and bacon then I would stray away from cereal. But until then I will surely be enjoying a bowl of cereal every now and then. Not to mention I'm not a milk drinker so eating cereal allows my minimal amount of calcium intake. LoL. In closing gotta give a shout out to a few of my favorites.

Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes, Captain Crunch, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix, Fruit Loops, Honey Comb, and Golden Grahams. Oh and I found this one quite interesting. Obama O's. LoL. It's a damn shame, but someone's probably buying this mess. LoL.

--C-Recks--

Live and in Stereo(type)

Last Wednesday, our first black Attorney General gave a speech honoring black history month. In the speech, Eric Holder made this pronouncement: "Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting, in things racial, we have always been, and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards." He went on to say that race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race." I found this statement by Mr. Holder to be rather interesting considering that for the better part of the last three months, the vast majority have been celebrating and discussing the fact that we now have the first black President in American history. Whether you are in favor of it or not, Barack Obama's race has been a central theme of a lot of our recent political discussion. Is that appropriate? Is that the kind of conversation that Mr. Holder feels as though we are supposed to be having? Well, if you've been a fan of this blog for any significant amount of time, you know that I'm the political of the Brothers Williams. And I feel as though I've done more than my part to discuss race. But just in case when Mr. Holder was referring to me when he said that we are a nation of cowards, let me do my part to open the lines of communication with the many races of America. (Don't worry, I will handle it with my usual delicate and witty self).

The first place I want to start deals with the recent Hoopla surrounding a particular cartoon. On the very same day that Mr. Holder gave his speech, I came across an article about a cartoon that was supposed to be under scrutiny. I didn't read the article, but the lead of the article had the cartoon. I looked at the cartoon. In case you haven't seen it, here it is:



Now I don't know about you, but I laughed when I saw this. I mean, the people who wrote the stimulus package were no smarter than chimps. Hilarious. Later that day, it was brought to my attention that Reverend Al (Sharpton) was upset about the photo, and his perception that it was a blatant racial attack against President Obama. Now anyone who has lived on this Earth for at least 20 years should be very familiar with Rev. Al's antics. So my immediate reaction was one of indifference. But I had to stop and think for a second. Was the cartoon meant to depict President Obama as a monkey? I couldn't exactly come to that conclusion, so I had to run it past the one person who I knew would surely be offended. My best friend.

So later that night, I showed her the cartoon. And without fail, she immediately was pissed. So quickly, in fact, that it actually surprised me. After a 20 minute discussion about it, I began to wonder if there was something wrong with me. I mean, in no way did I draw the connection between the chimp with two bullet holes in him, and President Obama. So my new question became, is there something wrong with me? I am a pretty laid back kind of guy. I never thought it would take a lot to offend me, but I don't know any more.

Do you all remember the Don Imus fiasco? That was when the radio host referred to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "Nappy Headed Hoes." When that controversy first broke, I immediately remembered watching their game against the Tennessee Volunteers, and I myself remarked at how the Rutgers women were a little rough looking in comparison to Candace Parker and the Volunteers. Well needless to say, this particular controversy had my best friend up in arms. We had many a conversation in which I was judged to be uncaring to the plight of African-American women. And that's not what it was at all. I just feel that we as black people need to stand up for once, and admit some things about ourselves. We also need to stop being so overly sensitive about subjects. I hope that when Mr. Holder referred to Americans as cowards, he was, without implicitly saying so, referring to black people as well. Much like with this monkey cartoon, we don't have to allow ourselves to be offended. Sometimes, things are as simple as being a cartoon about the people who wrote the stimulus package being as smart as chimps. (By the way, though President Obama called for the stimulus package, the authors of said stimulus package were the United States Congress).

So I want to contribute to the national discussion about race. I want to talk about stereotypes. Starting with my people of course:

1.) Black People love watermelon and fried chicken. Personally I can't stand watermelon. (Or any other melon for that matter). So to anyone who thinks that all black people like watermelon, you now know one who doesn't. Fried chicken on the other hand, I have to admit that I'm guilty of that one. Its not an essential component of my diet, but I am down with the yard bird. (That's what my father calls it).

2.) One of the biggest hurdles to us as black people is the stereotype that we are a bunch of criminals. I have to be honest about this one, we are the source of this stereotype. I myself included. Because this is a snitch free blog, I'm not gonna go into details, but I too have found myself on the wrong side of the law. (Rightfully so). Since then I have changed my life, and I consider myself to be a productive member of society, but that isn't the case for all my fellow brothas. I say that with this stereotype, don't judge a book by its cover. Because the person that you judge as being "safe" just might be the person who's quickest to harm you, and the person who you cross the street to avoid just might be the one who would come to your rescue. Think about it.

3.) Black men make a bunch of babies that they don't take care of. This stereotype is one that I take offense to. Not so much that it is completely untrue, because let's face it, there are far too many brothas who do walk away from their responsibilities as fathers. It offends me because the brothas who do the right things are still lumped into this category. As I said in my last blog, I had a daughter. And if I was given the chance, there's no way on God's green Earth, that she would have gone without knowing me, and being provided for by me. Even still, I have encountered people who are under the impression that I have children scattered across America. NO! Never have, never will. My parents raised me to know that any child I bring into this world, I will take care of. And if not, my father threatened to take me out himself. I just wish more fathers were around to make that very same threat to their sons.

4.) Along the same vane, black men are a bunch of players. Once again this stereotype doesn't fit me. I Love women, don't get me wrong. But for as much as I Love women, I don't think there's anything as good as having one woman who's down for you, and vice versa. The whole "player" lifestyle doesn't seem too appealing. Now unfortunately I am still single, partly due to my own choices, partly due to some circumstance I have found myself thrown into. But regardless, I'm still on the hunt for that one true lasting relationship. And once I find it, I promise you that I won't throw it away on the search for indiscriminate sex.

5.) All black people have rhythm or all black people can dance. Sorry to say, and I am ashamed of this one, I can't dance to save my life. It hasn't always been the case. Back when the running man, and the Roger Rabbit were popular dances, I was like Omarion on the dance floor. However as time has gone on, I just lost the "rhythm" that's supposedly in my genes. Sad thing is that I haven't stopped dancing. I've just got this gangsta bounce or sway that I do. Something I picked up during my many club visits in Atlanta. My best friend says I dance like her grandfather D.B. So whenever we go dancing she always says "Do the D.B. for me". One day I'm gonna get my dancing weight up. Either that or I'll be as old as her grandfather, and my dancing won't be so out of style anymore. Lol.

6.) All black men are well endowed. This stereotype, well I Love it. I mean, what a wonderful thing to walk around and have everyone believe about you. Well, I'm gonna keep it ALL the way real with ya'll. Yes its true. Lol. Moving on...

Now that I've discussed some stereotypes about my people, I want to discuss some about other races. When I say what I'm about to say, I'm just being honest about what my perceptions are about some other races. If you happen to be of that particular race, I invite you to comment and talk about how those particular stereotype makes you feel. Considering that the point of this blog is to open the line of communication, I want to be honest about my feeling:

White People
My biggest stereotype about white people is that they do a lot of crazy shit. Shit like bungee jumping, skydiving, swimming with sharks, you know, shit like that. I have two very good white friends, and they recently invited me snow boarding. Its not my thing. But for the sake of being adventurous with them, I might do it. They say being black on a day to day basis is adventurous enough. (Dodging cops and what not). I wonder if that's why we aren't the thrill seeking type? Or are we just too logical to do those things. Hell, I'm sure that some of you who read this blog are thrill seeking black people, so who knows.

Asians
My stereotype for Asians is that ya'll can't drive worth a damn. Well, that and that you're smart as hell. Since I have yet to find an illiterate Asian, I'll tackle the driving thing. I have driven, literally, from coast to coast, and I find that I disproportionately find myself have near misses with Asian drivers. I can't quite explain why. (Please help me with this one).

Native Americans
Indians are a bunch of drunks. This one is, unfortunately, one that I have encountered first hand. I dated an Indian girl last year, and oh my God. She and her friend that I hung out with could drink anyone under the table. I'm not an alcoholic, but it does run in my family. So I can hold my liquor... most of the time. I once even out drank some Irish guys in Connecticut. But not once could I hang with her and her crew. The worst part about this stereotype is how many of them I have come across who have more or less drank their lives away. I'm not saying that this stereotype applies to every Indian, but I believe they are genetically susceptible to alcoholism.

Muslims
My stereotype of Muslims are that they are religious zealots. I guess that this is the lasting image of 9/11. I know that not all Muslim are that extreme, but to me, there's something about Islam that appeals to people who are more, how do you say, disillusioned with the world. I mean, look at Nation of Islam muslims. Even they, without the violence of course, are anti establishment. Hopefully, at some point, the 90% of Muslims who are not fundamentalist will stand up against the 10% who fly airplanes into buildings. But until that day, I will be continue to be suspicious of men with long beards getting on an airplane. Just being honest.

So that's what I got. I have officially kicked off the Brothers' Blog discussion about race. If you have any comment, feel free to post. Please be courteous in your responses, but let's be honest as well. I believe that we can have an adult conversation about who we are as Americans. Let's just all remember that no matter what ethnicity we put before Americans, its the second part of the hyphenation that's important.

-DrizaDre-


P.S. I had been doing well with not using the N-word. I had been on 3 for a while. But while listening to Deep Cover by Dr. Dre and Snoop, I let one fly. My brother says it counts, but you guys let me know.

Dollars and Sense

I don't know about any of you, but I am no economist. As a matter of fact, I'm not really that great with money. So it makes it somewhat difficult to completely understand the current circumstances that our country's economy finds itself in. I listened to the press conference given by President Obama on Monday, and as much as I root for Obama to succeed as the President, I couldn't really get with his economic stimulus plan. I mean, the last number that I heard about the bill is that it would cost us around 750 billion dollars. Some of that is to jump start the economy, but there's no guarantee that it will work. According to Vice-President Joe Biden, if we do everything right, there's still a 30% chance that all of the money that we're committing to spending will have no positive effect. That's no good. I mean, if you spend 750 billion dollars, you expect that it will drastically improve your current circumstances.

I heard a little bit of math that will show just how much money 750 billion dollars is. If you were to spend one million dollars a day on every day that has existed since Jesus walked the Earth, you still wouldn't have spent 750 billion dollars. Here's the math. Its 2009, but Jesus died at the age of 33. So its been 1,976 years since then. A million dollars spent every day for a years is 365 million. Multiply that times 1,976, and you come up with $721,240,000,000. Tack on another 494 million dollars to compensate for those extra February 29ths, and you have a grand total of 721 billion, 734 million dollars. Almost 30 billion less than what the stimulus plan calls for. I don't know about you, but when you talk about that kind of math, I'm gonna say that it should have better than a 70% chance of success.

Now I know that some of you are gonna say that Bush asked for nearly the same amount for the TARP fund. (Troubled Assets Relief Program). And though I wasn't exactly in favor of handing out that money, it was on a slightly different scale. As I understand it, the TARP money that has been given out is money that at some point and time, when the banks become profitable again, the Government will be repaid that money. Now don't get me wrong, getting money from the Government is like "borrowing" $100 from your mother. Yes you technically owe her, but if you only give her back say $50, and it takes two months for her to get that, its not like she's gonna send Barry Bonds to take out your knees with one swing. (By the way mom, I know I still owe you, just give me a little more time. Lol). Same thing with the government. As all of this was presented to us on Monday, I also was struck by how unsure President Obama seemed about the whole ordeal. I mean, the brotha is usually cool, calm, and well spoken on matters. To me, it seemed like he was just as unsure, and at a loss about the whole mess. That's not a major problem per se, but the President of the United States is like the coach of a football team. Right now the US is down by 30 at halftime, and that speech was supposed to inspire us to come out and take it to the opponent in the second half. Well, what I gathered from his speech is that we're probably gonna lose. Hell, I almost would have appreciated it more if Barack would've just said "Look, things are bad. Bad to a degree that I can't really comprehend. Now I know that you guys elected me to fix the problem. In turn, I have chosen the best in the business. And I believe in these people. I can't tell you everything that they're gonna do, because much of it is beyond my understanding. But I guarantee you that we're gonna take care of this". Now I know that saying something like that is beyond the scope of most politicians, but it would have made me more confident that we could actually erase this 30 point halftime deficit.

So that's just my take on the current economic crisis. A part of me feels that though things are bad, they're no worse than anything we've faced in the past. The difference is that we as a country have made significant improvement in our quality of life since we last found ourselves in similar circumstances. And though we don't want to admit it, we really screwed up by buying $40,000 cars, and $500,000 homes on student loan inflated $35,000 salaries. Its gonna hurt people, but maybe this is exactly what we needed to get back to living the "right" kind of lives.

-DrizaDre-

"N"th Degree

Well it all became official today. Like many of you, I woke up very early in the morning (6:30 L.A. time), and watched the swearing in of our first official black President. I know some of y'all don't want to remember, but we unofficially claimed Bill Clinton. Only because we never thought we'd actually live to see this day. But I digress. So I woke up to the alarm, got myself out of bed, and began watching the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration. This wasn't the first Inauguration that I'd watched. I want to say that I'd seen either Reagan's second, or George H. W. Bush's inauguration while in school, I don't remember which. Needless to say, Obama's was by far the best that I'd ever seen.

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, but I love being an American. I'm sure at some point during the day, you may have heard one or several somebodies speak to the orderly and peaceful transition of power in the United States. Well all I have to say is THANK GOD. I mean, elections are hard enough. I couldn't imagine living in a country in which the only means of "Regime Change" would be through the plotting and scheming of the current President's demise. Nor the fact that merely speaking out against that current President could get you jailed or killed. I know that when this country was formed, the founding fathers didn't quite bestow the complete status that I now enjoy as a Black Man in America, but I still have to thank them for their enduring wisdom as to how we cycle through our elected leaders.

The next part of the day that stood out to me was the massive amount of people that showed up this event. The last estimate that I heard was 1.4 million people. May God bless each and every one of them, because frankly, I couldn't do it. I mean, I know that history is made in the moment, but I've been to D.C., and its a miserable place to get around on a regular day, let alone during this particular inauguration. I know we kind of take D.C. for granted, but it's on occasions such as this that I have to say, the people of D.C. do the rest of America a tremendous service. They hosted this massive event, and pulled it off without a hitch. Do you believe that the same would have occurred if this happened in L.A., Atlanta, Chicago, or New York City? I'd say probably not. So my hats off to D.C.

Speaking of hats, did anyone catch the massive head piece worn by the Queen of Soul Ms. Aretha Franklin? Who am I kidding, of course you saw that thing. I believe the Hubble Telescope picked up that thing. Black women, I love y'all to death. (I swear I do!). But why do some of y'all do that to yourselves? All eyes should have been on Aretha for her singing, not the giant ribbon that adorned her hat. Unfortunately I had to say to myself, you'd only see this at the inauguration of a black President. Black women of my generation (20-40 years old) I ask this of you: please leave this fashion to our mothers and grandmothers. When it comes time for you to strut around the church, please get ya church lady hat game up? That's just a personal request, you can take it for what its worth.

And now to the true purpose of this blog. I want to state that I am awe struck by President Obama and his beautiful family. I know that normally when you see well to do black families, sometimes you say that they're bourgeoisie, but that's never even crossed my mind when I've seen the Obama family. And during these inauguration festivities, the thought that really comes to mind is elegant. Not that I've never seen it before, but I honestly felt that I saw the very best of black people today. I really felt that the ceiling on how high we can rise has officially been removed. Hell, its really been blown off. And now the sky's the limit.

So with that being said, I want to make an announcement. To support our current President, and honor both him, and my own black heritage, I will no longer be using the N-word. Yes I said it, I will no longer be using it. I just feel that we should officially move up into a higher status in the world. And words like that only bind us to our unflattering past. I mean, in today's day and age you're 1,245,632 times more likely to be called the N-word by someone black as you are someone white. (Nothing scientific in my numbers, just my own personal estimate). That's a serious problem. I know that we've come up with clever acronyms and explained that using the words just reduces its power, but let's be honest everyone, as long as we're using it, it still has the same power that it held before. The only difference is that we use it now to disparage each other. And I can no longer condone myself partaking of the continued use of the word. Please don't mistake me, I don't judge anyone else who may continue using it. And I don't want to appear holier than thou, I am not. I am making a personal choice, and I just want to broadcast it to the people who, whether they agree or disagree, read my many different musings. For a further understanding of why I've made this choice, listen to "The Experience" by my man Cee-lo of the Goodie Mob.



So that's it people. A quick recap of what I found interesting about this glorious day. I pray that President Obama finds success during his term in office. And may we all grow from this experience.


-DrizaDre-

Update: Though I know I said I wasn't going to use the word, a conversation I had with my brother pulled it out of me. I know its gonna be hard, but since my man took office, I've only used it once. Once in the first 12 hours is not a bad start for me. There will be an ongoing tally in the top right hand of our blog. So check back for an update. Hopefully, I can stay at 1.

Off Da Hooky!!

Many of you are off of work today in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Unfortunately, I'm not as lucky as some of you. My job doesn't give me the option to have this day off, so I'm here still slaving. And yeah I'm kinda hating on y'all on the low. LoL. However, I do plan on calling in sick tomorrow.

Yes we all know that tomorrow is the day we've been waiting for since November 4th. Yes the inauguration of our nation's first black President Barack Obama will take place tomorrow. Some of you lucky individuals will have the opportunity to attend the historic event in person. I will not be in attendance, so for those of you that do attend, I look forward to hearing all about it. So you're probably wondering why am I calling off then?

Well the reason I plan on calling off is because I have a job interview tomorrow. Now I won't front things at my job are on very thin ice, and at times I feel like I weigh 500 pounds. For this and many other reasons I have been trying to find a new job. So, as ecstatic as I was when I got that call back after my phone interview to interview in person, I was still reluctant. The reason being that the only date they had available for this interview is tomorrow. Yep the same day as the inauguration. Just in case you're still wondering what's the big deal I'll break it down even further.

I'm the ONLY black person in my office now. Tomorrow is the inauguration for our first black President. Therefore, I feel like regardless of what excuse I use to call off, in their minds they'll be thinking "bullshit, this nigga is just calling off because of the inauguration." Well that is false I will actually miss the majority, if not all of the inauguration due to the scheduled time of the interview. But it's cool I got my DVR set to record. As much as I'd like to watch live, unless Barack is going to hook me up with a job I'm going to have to check out the DVR version of the inauguration. LoL.

But this whole calling off tomorrow got me to thinking about excuses and reasons used to call off from work. I don't call off too often, but the times I have I'm sure I've used some type of excuse that they just had to accept as truth. For instance, my brother and I took a road trip to St. Louis, Mo. back in November to watch the Chicago Bears play against the St. Louis Rams. After drinking during tailgating and during the game, we knew we weren't driving back home to Chicago. Which meant I would have to call off work on Monday morning. Well since I was quite intoxicated it was nothing for me to wake up early that morning and in my best sick voice call off. I mean technically I was sick right? Plus sick voice and hang over voice pretty much sound the same so no one could tell the difference.

Funny thing about that story is when I came back to work that Tuesday a co-worker of mines asks me "Did you go to the game Sunday?" I immediately said no. Then she goes "oh okay I just asked because I went and someone told me you may have been going." Dammit I forgot I told one person in advance I may be attending the game. Also, I remembered my brother saying he was on the Jumbo Tron and he was excited about it. So I'm thinking to myself I hope she didn't see me on the screen as well. Luckily, this is someone that I'm cool with so she wouldn't snitch on me. I hope. But I just found it funny.

Now as a general rule I try not to call off with excuses that involve any type of emergency for fear they may come true. For instance, I've never really used the whole "my son is sick or had an accident" excuse. Only because I would feel horrible if something were to happen to him or if he got sick after me saying so. However, I won't hesitate to claim I'm sick or something that has to do with me.

So to be honest I have no clue what excuse I will be using tomorrow when I call off. I may just freestyle it as the phone rings and come off the cuff. I'm good like that. LoL. But I tried to find some info online that would be informative but this is all I got. "The top three reasons healthy employees call out sick, something 35% of workers admit to are personal errands, appointments, catching up on sleep, and simply relaxing, according to hiring managers surveyed by CareerBuilder.com. They had some bizarre excuses used by some employees, but they were simply stupid excuses that would never fly or even be believed by the stupidest of managers. For instance "I was sprayed by a skunk, I was spit on by a venomous snake, or a hit man was looking for me."

Needless to say I won't be using any of those dumb excuses. However, I'm curious to know what excuses you guys would suggest for me to use? Also, what are your most outrageous and or frequently used excuses to call off from work? (That worked of course). Hopefully, the whole interview on inauguration day will have some significance and I'll land this job. Wish me luck y'all. Below is a funny clip about black people calling off from work by D.L. Hughley. Classic Material. The part I'm referring runs from about the 1:00 to 1:45 minute mark.

**** UPDATE ****
For those of you that may be wondering what excuse did I come up with to call off today here it is. I left a voice mail saying this. "Hi _(Manager)_ I'm calling because I just dropped my son off at Pre-School and on my way to work they called me and said I had to come back and pick him back up because a bunch of kids were sick. My son was just sick last week so I don't want him to be exposed. My son's mom and grandparents are out of town so I'm the only one available to watch him. I will try to see if I can find a sitter and come in later I will let you know."

I called later. "I was unable to find anyone to watch my son so I will just be in tomorrow morning any questions or suggestions you can call me at #...."

The interview went very well. Hopefully, I'll have some good news come next week. But we'll see tomorrow the reaction I get for me having called off today.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

--C-Recks--

Set It Off

I recently saw the above sign while I was in the bank a couple of weeks ago. I apologize that it's not legible. But I took a quick picture and that's the best I got. I don't think they take kindly to people taking pictures while inside of the bank. But for those that can't read it the sign says:

No Hats, Hoods, or Sunglasses

In an effort to better recognize and serve our valuable clients, please remove these items before entering. Thank You.

Now when I first saw this sign I was a little taken a back. When I saw the sign I was in front of the teller cashing my check and I was actually wearing a hat and hoodie at the time. I read the sign and then looked around to make sure security wasn't about to come tap me on my shoulder and ask me to remove my hat and hood. I finished my transaction and as I exited the bank. I hadn't paid attention, but as I left I noticed that the same sign was also on the front door. I attempted to take a picture of the sign, but then I saw the security guard start walking towards me and I thought I should leave right away. Black man in a hat and hood taking pictures in a bank probably not the best idea. However, the next time I was in the bank I took the picture above.

Upon analyzing the sign I first understood why the bank chose to implement this rule. Obviously a real customer won't mind removing these items. Where as, a potential bank robber will want to stay disguised behind their hat, hood, and or sunglasses. Nevertheless, I then began to think that this sign had some unrealistic expectations. First off, the day I went into the bank the temperature may have been 10 degrees max and probably closer to 0 with the wind chill factor. Therefore, having come into the bank from the cold my initial instinct was to stay warm and not to remove my warm clothing.

Likewise, the same goes for when it's summer time. I don't wear sunglasses, but I have seen people wear them indoors and outdoors. And I personally wear hats during any season and don't usually remove them when stepping into a store or bank. Now I've never attempted any bank robbery in my life, but I'd be 100% lying if I said it's never crossed my mind. Now don't get to thinking I got a criminal mind like I'm plotting in a basement like in the movie Dead Presidents or Jason's Lyric. But we've probably all been here before. You're in front of the teller and you're cashing your measly weekly check for whatever underpaid rate your job pays. Then one of the bank employees behind you brings a bag of money out [gotta be 10-20 stacks easy] and starts counting it in the money machine. You feel like "damn why they have to do this right in front of me?" Then right there for a split second that thought runs through your head. If I hop over the counter grab a bag and be out they won't miss it. LoL.

Okay well maybe I'm the only one and if that gives me a criminal mind so be it I'm just keeping it real. Of course I would NEVER in my life act on such thoughts; however, if I were to attempt something so foolish as bank robbery I think I would be a bit more creative with my disguise. The sign mentions NO hats, hoods or sunglasses. However, in defense of the banking industry, when I went to search for images of bank robbers I was shocked. The majority of the images I noticed were of individuals wearing just that a hat, sunglasses and or hood. Go figure!

Now it was my understanding that when you're robbing a bank the object is to get in get the money and get out without being caught or identified. We all know banks have cameras every where. Even upon entering you are being monitored for security purposes. I know that with sunglasses and a hat you can blend in with the regular customers and can get the drop on security. Thus increasing your chances of making it out of the bank before security is alerted. But what about in the long run? Are you really going to get away with this crime when your face is plastered over the evening news? Isn't someone going to say that looks like so and so down the block just with glasses and a hood on?But maybe I'm the only one that would consider that before pulling this idiot move.

Disclaimer: We at Brothers' Blog do not condone nor recommend anyone to utilize any of the information provided to try to rob a bank. It is illegal and just not a smart thing to do. This information is purely for entertainment purposes. Also, if I am ever accused of such a crime this blog shall not be used as evidence to self incriminate me. LoL.

Okay so below are some of the other more popular, weird and down right stupid bank robbery disguises I found while searching online.

Presidential Mask
I guess while you're stealing dead presidents what better to wear than a mask depicting some of our dead presidents right? I know of the 4 in the pic Carter is still alive. But I still say stick to the presidents of old when going this route. I don't want to see anyone robbing a bank with a Barack Obama mask on. Don't do our first black president like that!!

Stockings
Stockings are another disguise that don't really make sense to me. I mean you can see right through them. Although they do distort your image some what, if you know who the person is you will be able to tell it's them with or without the stockings on.

The Ski Mask Way

The ski mask always seemed to be one of the best ways to disguise yourself. All you can see is the eyes and the mouth. I guess it doesn't hide what race you are though because you can clearly tell this is a black man under this ski mask.

Bandanna
The bandanna was one used back in the Wild West days. Although this guy didn't tie the other over his face but just held it to his nose. Therefore he got the cool nick name "The Runny Nose Bandit." Yeah I'm sure a threatening name like that is gonna for sure keep his man hood in tact when he reaches Federal Prison.

Cross Dresser

This is a pretty extreme disguise of choice for my man right here. He actually dressed up as an elderly female. While no one probably expected him to rob the bank, I'm not sure it was worth cross dressing for. Unless that was something he already was into. Hey I don't judge anyone do what you do. LoL. But again in prison not sure if the "cross dressing bandit" is a cool nickname to have.

Motorcycle Helmet
Now I've never ridden a motorcycle before, but this was a pretty smart disguise. You clearly can't tell who the individual under the helmet is. Let's just hope he was smart enough to use a car for a get away vehicle as opposed to his motorcycle. Bank robber with a motorcycle helmet on a motorcycle sure no one will ever suspect that.

Muslim Garment
This clever outfit shows nothing but the eyes. She or he can walk into the bank and no one can say remove those garments to them. This is part of her culture and religion. However, as you can see the person under the garments used their culture to their advantage. Not to mention you can't even tell if the person under the garment is really Muslim or not. It could just be a regular American using this outfit to just rob banks.

Duct Tape
Now this on just baffles the hell out of me. Why the hell would this idiot try to bandage himself up like a mummy using duct tape?Now I know duct tape has 1,001 uses but I can't see bank robbery disguise as one of them. He would have been better off wrapping up in toilet tissue. I hope that he shaved every hair on his head and face before suiting up in this attire. Also, I hope for his sake that he didn't get caught by authorities wearing this duct tape. Because I could see them enjoying ripping every inch of that duct tape off his head. And if he did have any hair on his head or face prior to he definitely wont after this stuff comes off.

Fake Beard

Well what better way to disguise your face than to wear the fake beard and or wig? That way the authorities can never tell it's you once you're clean shaven. This guy sorta looks like Santa Claus on vacation with that hat and sunglasses. I hope he had Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer prepped to high tail it outta there once he makes his way out with his sack of money.

Doo Rag

Now I just found this funny because my mans just kept it all the way hood. He still rocking his doo rag and he threw on some stunna shades and tried to get away with robbing this bank that's obviously inside a grocery store. And doesn't that look like a work shirt from a local mechanic shop or something he probably works at? Come on bruh. SMH!

Not sure if anyone else have seen these signs inside of banks. But perhaps this bank is just getting ahead of the game. I heard recently on the news theft and shop lifting are up due to these tough economic times. So, I'm sure bank robbery probably has increased as well. But banks have been getting robbed since their inception. And as long as banks remain around there will always be some fool that takes the mere thought of trying to get rich quick to the next level. I guess at some point they'll be adding these other items to the list of No Nos to wear inside of the bank. But regardless of what your disguise of choice is, robbing a bank is just not a smart thing to do. You will eventually get caught and bank robbery = Fed Time. So that means you're doing almost day for day in the Fed. So in the end like Just Jasmine indicated in her recent blog it's just not worth it. Crime really does not pay. Did we not learn anything from Queen Latifah and the crew? Leave the Setting it Off to the movies.

--C-Recks--

Politics As Usual !!!

So I was in the San Francisco Bay area this past October. I happened to be with a "friend" of mine, and we swung by her mother's house for a quick visit. Inevitably while I was there, the conversation turned to politics. Her mother knows that I am well versed when it comes to talking politics, and she asked my opinion of the, then, upcoming election. As I stated in the past, I voted for President Bush in the 2004 election, and her mother asked me, quite sarcastically I might add, "so are you voting for John McCain this time"? This question lead us to talk about a book that I was reading at the time called "The case against Barack Obama". She had heard of the book, and asked what was the gist of the argument against him. At that point, I had only made it through the first few chapters, so I explained to her that they were questioning some of his associations with local Chicago politicians. I said "I've heard of many of the people that they linked him with, and I must admit that I too have a problem with those associations. Chicago politics is a very dirty game, and I wonder just how down and dirty Obama got". It is with the backdrop of that conversation that I officially start this blog.

When you heard that O.J. Simpson had gotten himself in trouble again back in 2007, I'm sure that many of you asked yourselves a similar question to mine: Who could be so stupid? Well, on Tuesday, I got my answer. His name is Rod Blagojevich, the Governor of Illinois. (Or as I will call him from here on in this blog, Inmate number 11042008). On Tuesday, Inmate number 11042008 and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested on charges of wire and mail fraud, and solicitation of bribes. The charges themselves were not terribly surprising. What was surprising was that he was arrested for trying to sell the soon to be vacated Senate seat of Barack Obama. So I said to myself "they've had this fool under investigation for a while. Why would he be so stupid as to try and get bribes while the Feds were listening? I mean, he had to know that he wouldn't get away with it".

The Governor's actions were appalling and took a set of balls that would weigh down Paul Bunyan. But as usual, Inmate 11042008 has denied all charges. And with that denial, comes the inevitable refusal on his part to resign from his post. That to me is the biggest crime of all. I'm tired of government officials screwing up, and then refusing to, metaphorically, "fall on their sword".

The city of Detroit dealt with a huge scandal involving their then mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The video below is a synopsis of the charges lobbed against Kilpatrick.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLQ02-pbRB0

I'd been hearing about the mayor and his troubles for a while. And I will be completely honest, I gave the brotha the benefit of the doubt. But as more and more information came to light, it became readily apparent that my man really needed to step down. Unfortunately, like many politicians in similar positions, he allowed his ego to get in the way, and he remained in office for far too long. Eventually Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to the charges, and was sentenced to 120 days in jail. However, according to wikipedia, there were a laundry list of charges lobbed against Kilpatrick. Personally, I believe this brotha got off incredibly lucky.

Then there was Larry Craig. He was the Idaho senator who was busted in the Minneapolis Airport soliciting sex from an undercover (male) police officer in June of 2007. He originally pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct. But when the charges came to light, Craig tried to withdraw his guilty plea, something he is still contesting to this day. He also has denied being gay, however there have been many people who have come forward and refuted that claim. As usual, there were calls for Craig to step down as Senator. He initially refused to step down, but relented on September 1, 2007. Separate from the whole gay issue, which is none of my business, Craig was wrong for getting caught soliciting sex. He should have immediately given up his Senate seat.

My belief is that we as Americans made a huge mistake back in 1998-99. See, when the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal came to light, too many of us, me included, rallied to Bill Clinton's defense. What my man did was wrong. Yes cheating on his wife, but even worse than that, lying under oath. I liked Bill. Unofficially, he was the first black President. But my man had a greater responsibility to the American people. When it came to light that he had been fooling around in the White House, he should have resigned from office, and preserved the dignity of the office of the Presidency. By him fighting the charges, narrowly avoiding impeachment, and then finishing his term as President, he has given rise to other politicians across the country. Now they feel as though "Well, I'm not the President. And if he can get away with what he did, what I did is no big deal." Well what they do is a big deal! We elect these people to represent us, not themselves. I don't know about you, but I'd NEVER cheat on my wife. I'd NEVER solicit sex from a male police officer. And I'd NEVER try and sell a Senate seat! So why should I be represented by anyone who would?

In closing, I'd just like to say this about Inmate 11042008. I know that Chicago politics has always been a crooked game. Pay for play has been going on as long as the Championship drought for my beloved Cubs. But given the fact that you took over for a previously disgraced Governor, George Ryan, wouldn't it have been wise for you to try and restore some of the public trust? But I guess you just couldn't escape what "Chicago Way."

-DrizaDre-

Ready or Not, Here He Comes!

Well people, we did. We finally got the first black President. And yes, it does feel good. 3 weeks later, I'm still on a high that's pretty amazing. The saddening aspect of this historic feat has been the reaction that I've seen and heard by others. I mean, for as much as this election has shown that we've come a long way, the reaction has reminded us of just how far we have to go.

As I've said in previous blogs, I travel across the country for a living. I have been to all of the lower 48 states, and one of the states that, to me, is very underrated is Wyoming. Very beautiful scenery. No, there's not much to do there, and of course there are very few black people there. (1.15% black as of 2005). In spite of that, I have found the people of Wyoming to be very engaging and hospitable. Well that all changed a couple of weeks ago. I don't want to disparage all the people of Wyoming because of one particular incident, but I must admit that it definitely put me on guard.

I was coming inside a truck stop. As I was heading to the bathroom, I happened to walk past a trucker who looked at me somewhat menacingly. I wouldn't have thought much of it, except for the fact that the man was wearing a shirt that had a confederate flag on it and said "Dixie Trucker". Now I'm not from the south. I was born in Chicago, and I've split my life between there and L.A. So most of my exposure to southern culture has been on the road, from television, and my country ass cousins. But like most black people, the confederate flag represents the absolute worst of American culture. So the fact that this man was eyeballing me, and rockin this on his shirt, I was absolutely on guard. Yes, I could have just been misreading this experience. However, some of these are unmistakable.

Speaking of T-Shirts, there are almost no words to describe what this fool is wearing. (For those who can't read it, it says "Nigger Please! Its called a White House!). I mean, I understand that your candidate lost, but have some respect. Its unfortunate that nearly 150 years after slavery was abolished, there are still people with attitudes like this. I guess the last remaining segregated club has just been infiltrated. Can't call it.

I caught this little article the other day. Apparently after the election, while a large percentage of us were celebrating Barack's victory, someone got the bright idea to start an assassination pool. Yes, in Portland, Maine, a General Store had a sign outside that read "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." The saddest part about this is that it plays to Blacks biggest fears, someone will assassinate Obama. Yes its in the back of all of our minds, but I think its very ridiculous for white people to joke around, and take such a subject so lightly.

The last example is one that hit me very hard. Last week, I turned on Fox News, and across the screen it said something to the effect of "Al-Qaeda uses racial slur to describe Obama". Instantly I was pissed. I mean, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? They called Barack a nigga. Well if only it could have been so simple. Of course I just needed to know. I couldn't wait for Bill O'Reilly to eventually get to the story. So I hit the Internet. Damn, it was so much worse. Essentially, Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman Al Zawahiri called Barack a "House Nigger", and also said that he was a disgrace to Malcolm X. I was livid. I can't front, if I was in the military, I would have asked to be shipped to Iraq or Afghanistan just to fight these fools. I mean, how the hell can you not even be from this country, and have the audacity to go there? You're gonna call someone a "House Nigger" and essentially you're lower than dog shit on the evolutionary scale. Please. Don't worry, you'll pay for that one bruh.

My friend and I have been having a long running discussion: Were we really ready for a Black President? I want so badly to say that we were. Examples such as these, I do believe, expose that we truly were not. Yeah well, its here, and its real. And some people obviously need to wake up, and get their act together. Because going forward, everything has changed. And I think that's exactly what Barack wanted.


--DrizaDre--

Eight is Enough!

I want to start out by saying that this is not an indictment against those who are in support of gay-marriage. I have my own personal feelings about it, but due to the sensitive nature of the issue, I choose not to address those feelings at this time. Instead I'd like to talk about the reaction to California's passage of Proposition 8.

I'll be perfectly honest, going into Tuesday's election, I was mentally prepared that if Barack Obama lost the election, there may be some civil unrest in the streets. Protest for sure, slight rioting potentially. Thankfully, that scenario was unrealized. However when I turned on the television to watch the 10 o'clock news, reports rolled in from West Hollywood about protests relating to the, then, possible passage of Prop. 8. Instinctually, I knew that this couldn't be good. I mean, every city has their gay section of town: Chicago has Boystown, San Francisco has, well, San Francisco, and Los Angeles has West Hollywood. So there was no shortage of people in this section of town to draw out for the protest.

Let me give you a little background information on Proposition 8. California voted in 2000 to pass Proposition 22, defining marriage as between a man and a woman. In the summer of 2008, the California courts declared that Proposition unconstitutional, clearing the way for 18,000 same sex couples to get married. Another Proposition was put on the November ballot, Proposition 8, which made an ammendment to the California constitution making it to where only marriages between one man and one woman would be recognized by the state.

The protest of election night didn't bother me at all. I mean, I understood. Here were people who poured their hearts and efforts into defeating a Proposition that they felt was a threat to their way of life. The protest was relatively peaceful, only 7 people arrested, so again it didn't bother me at all. The next morning as I awoke to read news about Obama's landslide victory, I stumbled across an article updating Proposition 8. At that point, it was still too close to call. However, with the NO on Prop. 8 side losing, Gay Rights groups were already preparing to challenge in the courts. I can't remember the exact quote, but the person they interviewed said something to this effect: "The people didn't have the legal right to pass the ban without the approval of the California legislature". My exact words were "What the Hell"? I mean, that makes absolutely no sense at all. How come the people don't have the legal right? A proposition was put forth on the ballot. The people came out in droves and voted to pass Prop 8. Which aspect of this process was illegal in this man's mind? The fact that it didn't have the backing of the California legislature was completely irrelevant. As a matter of fact, that proves that Politics is completely out of wack. The people who we vote and our representatives are supposed to do our will, not have their own personal agendas. So in this case, the people spoke for themselves instead of using a middle man/woman.

Since then, there have been many more protests across California. At some of these rallies, there have been signs and chants. One sign that I saw read "Blacks, Hispanics, if someone violates your civil rights, we don't want to hear it". This sign too made me say "What the Hell"? I understand that Gays are upset that 7 out of 10 blacks voted in favor of Prop. 8., and along with Hispanics, were instrumental in the passage of Prop. 8. But this sign exposed another problem that I have with the Gay Rights agenda. Too often, I've heard individuals compare the plight of Gays to that of Blacks. This in my opinion is Bullshit! The theory of are people born gay or make a choice has not been settled. (No matter what some people would have you to believe). I was absolutely born black. There was no choice made on my part. The science has definitely been settled on that on. Also, other than Michael Jackson, I can't think of too many people who were black, and are now something else. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who once lived a homosexual lifestyle, and now no longer do. So to make a correlation between the two is absolutely insulting to me and my ancestors.

I also heard a gentleman say that before, blacks and whites were banned from marrying. While I admit that this is the closest thing to a reasoned arguement that I have heard, I again have to respectfully disagree with them. Indeed, interracial marriage was illegal at one time. However, when those laws were overturned, the actual definition of marriage remained the same. A black man could marry a white woman, and a white man could marry a black woman. The essential components of what would constitute a marriage remained the same. So just as their earlier arguement didn't hold water, neither does this one.


The last thing that bothers me is how many of these protests are aimed at churches. The Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) were intricately involved in the passage of Prop. 8. The members of the church gave money and time to the cause. They even coordinated with members in Black churches to pass Prop. 8. For that, they have been targeted by Gay Rights groups. To this issue, I say, "What would you expect for churches to do"? I mean, churches follow their respective bibles. I'm no biblical scholar, but the bible is the final word on particular issues for some people. Why would you expect the church to stand for something that they don't believe in? And you can't take that personally. I mean, I lean more Libertarian in my political beliefs. I'm not exactly the staunchest supporter of drug laws we have on the books. If Marijuana legalization was on the ballot, I would probably vote in favor of that proposition. Would I expect the church to come out in favor of it, of course not. I'm realistic. The church is going to follow what it says within it bible, and I don't believe Jesus is in favor of me grabbing a sack of Northern Lights to smoke on the weekends. Yes, if smoking weed is my thing, that's what I'm gonna do. But I would never expect that the church should necessarily sanction my behavior.

In an act that was truly despicable, an extreme Gay Rights group called Bash Back protested a church in Lansing, Michigan. They picketed outside the church chanting slogans such as "Jesus was a Homo". A few of their members blended in with regular churchgoers. During the services, those Bash Back members pulled a fire alarm, and stormed the church stage confronting members of the church and its leadership. Some members put up a banner that read "ITS OK TO BE GAY! BASH BACK!". I hope that, no matter what side of the argument you fall on, this kind of action offends. First off, Jesus was no homo. That's just ridiculous. (And blasphemous might add). Second, when you go into a person's house of worship, you treat it with the utmost respect. Whatever you feel should stay outside those church doors. If you disagree with them, don't bring that into the church. To me, this kind of protest is the most extreme.

I don't write this to "Bash" homosexuals. Honestly, I have members of my family who are gay. I Love them dearly. I even understand why those in the homosexual community want the right to marry. That's not my beef. My beef is that despite their desire for "rights", they still have to go about this in a responsible manner. Marching and protesting is cool. I just wish that some of the rhetoric that is used is less offensive the the members of my community. Just because people are not in favor of gay marriage doesn't mean that those very same individuals hate gays. You can support traditional marriage, and still want gays to be treated fairly. I just hope that we eventually can have an honest, and well reasoned debate on the issue. Everyone's point of view is valid on this issue.


-DrizaDre-

I hope that those who chose to read this were not offended. This was not written as an attack, but rather to address an issue from a mature and rational position.

Black to the Future

It's late afternoon on March 23, 2050.

"Grandaddy. I need some help with my homework". Jesse, a cute little girl of 9 snuggles up to her grandfather.

OK baby, what do you need help with.

"You know that President that just died? Well we need to do a report on him. Our teacher told us to interview someone who was alive when he was President. So I figured I would interview you".
You mean President Obama baby?

"I guess" the little girl shrugs.

OK, well what do you want to know?

"I don't know. Tell me about when you voted for him and stuff like that".

OK. Well, it's actually a very funny story. See, I was in Chicago on that Saturday before the election. I was absolutely determined to get back to Los Angeles to vote. I mean, this was going to be historic, and I didn't want to be sitting on the sidelines for this moment in history. So I left Chicago on Saturday evening. I was supposed to go bowling with my brother Cory and my nephew Cory, but they wouldn't let us. Some snake league was bowling. In hind sight, its probably best that I didn't get the chance. You'll understand why later.

Anyway. I left Chicago that evening, and back in the day I actually drove cars. Not how you guys have flying cars now, I actually had to steer and drive myself. So I drove all the way to Denver, Colorado. I made it there on Sunday evening. From there, I had to drive to Salt Lake City, Utah. I didn't make it to Salt Lake City until Monday afternoon. I would have caught a flight from Salt Lake to Los Angeles, but your grandfather isn't the flying type. So I bought a ticket to ride the bus. Well, the company the ran the buses back then was called Greyhound, and let me tell you that they were the absolute worst. I got on the bus, and the bus was supposed to leave at 6:30 p.m. Well, at 7 p.m., the bus was still sitting in Salt Lake. And as a matter of fact, the driver put me off the bus so that they could put on some other passengers.

I was so upset. It really was beginning to look like I wasn't gonna be able to make it home in time to vote. But I got a bright idea. I called someone from my job, and I figured out that if I took the bus to San Francisco, I could pickup a car and drive myself to Los Angeles. So I went for it. I made it to San Francisco around 2:30 p.m. that Tuesday afternoon. Greyhound was supposed to get me there earlier, but again, they were the absolute worst company back then. Probably the reason they are no longer operating this many years late.

So I left San Francisco at 3 p.m. Well unlike today, we had a such thing as traffic back in my day. And San Francisco was notorious for having some of the worst traffic in the country. I can't deny, I was weaving in and out of the car pool lanes trying to pass up some people. Eventually I made some headway, and I was flying. I mean, going so fast that I could have given these flying cars of today a run for their money. I had to drive 344 miles, and I needed to get to my polling place by 8 p.m. It was hectic for sure. I pulled up to my polling place at 7:58 p.m. (Pacific Time) I ran inside. Out of breath, I asked the lady for a ballot. She said "you barely made it". I told her that after all that I had been through, I was happy that I made it at all. She handed me my ballot, and I went to do my civic duty. I finished voting, got my stub and my "I voted sticker" and I went back out to the car.
As soon as I got back in the car, they made the announcement that Barack Obama would be our 44th President. I was ecstatic. I mean, after traveling all that great distance, I had cast the ballot that sealed the deal for Barack Obama.

"No you didn't Grandaddy. You just voted, that's all"

Hey, I'm telling the story not you. Were you there in 2008?

With a big grin on her face, Jesse shakes her head no.

Alright then. Anyway. The most important thing that I want you to take from this story is this; too often our people, back then, believed that their vote was insignificant. And unfortunately, that's exactly what certain segment of our population wanted them to believe. But President Obama reminded people that it was not only a privilege to vote in this country, but a responsibility. And plenty of our ancestors died for us to have just this very privilege. That's why I tried to move Heaven and Earth to get myself home in time to vote. I mean, I knew one day that you and you brothers and sisters would need to hear this story. And most importantly, you one day would tell your own children and grandchildren. Your Grandaddy voted for the first Black President of the United States. I know that it doesn't seem like much now considering that we've had other Black Presidents, including Barack's daughter Malia, but you need to know that on November 4th, 2008, the world did change. President Obama did make it to where we as black people understood that we were important in this country. And yes, we could make a change.
So when you do your report, you make sure you let your class know that though I never thought I'd ever see a black President, I give glory to God that I was absolutely wrong.

"I will grandaddy, I will!!"


-DrizaDre-