Man Card Revocations and Letting Daughters Down

It was late one Sunday night that I realized two things. First, my man card had to be turned in. Secondly, my daughters had a sucka for a father. Ok, not really on either account, but fora few hours, this could’ve been the case.

See y’all gotta understand, like, I HATE bugs. Not worms, or even most spiders, or even the slow walking ones. The kind I hate are the ones that creep along, but sense you moving around, and dart off like Carl Lewis in his prime. They move too fast for the average person to get them the first time, and then you gotta look for them, but hope you see them before they see you. It’s stressful.

So anyway, like I was saying; Sunday night I got home and the commenced to watching Law & Order like an OG ‘spose to. Out the corner of my eye, I think I see something gray moving slow. It’s dark so I assume it’s lint being blown around by the A/C. A couple of minutes later, the “lint” is creeping in front of the TV. Bruh…I IMMEGIATELY hop up to cut the light on, but never take my eye off the “living lint”.

As SOON as the light illuminated what was going to be a dark time in my night and life, the thing gets ghost! I usually sleep on the couch, and where does the bug go? Under the m*********n’ couch! Now I’m telling the bug and myself, “nope, nah, not tonight champ…I got work in the morning. We are NOT doing this. You gotta go bug, tonight!”

The first thing I did was grab the broom. I figure, “if I can squash it, I’m good and then I can go to sleep.” The only problem was, I had no attack plan.

The Better Man Project

Focus on the door that’s shut, or look for those that have opened.

Opportunities present themselves in the face of adversity all the time. In fact, when we fall, it’s much easier to see what we are really made of than when we are flying in blue skies. Life often works like a series of “the next 200ft.” Things can be so foggy at times that you never really know what you are dealing with ahead of what you can see. That’s where faith comes in. Faith is the courage to keep going when you honestly and absolutely have no idea what really is going to happen to you after you complete the 200ft in front of you. Going headstrong into that takes some guts.

I encourage you to endure. To keep chipping away. Did you know that a lot of the railroad through Sierras…you know those tunnels that the…

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Love Letter To The Black Woman

Where do I begin? What can I possibly say to let you know how I feel?

Do I start off by telling you how fine I think you are? Nope.  That only speaks to your outward self…though, for the record, you are so, so fine.

Do I begin by saying how you’re everything any man would want in a woman?  Nah.  That’s not really telling you anything because it’s so damn basic and general.  But that it factor a woman *has* to have?  You embody it.

Those starting points are ok, but “from the heart” is the best place to begin, so here goes…

Things haven’t been easy for you.  For some time now, you’ve had to be so many things to so many people; no doubt your tired.  It’s time I took the burden off of your shoulders and allowed you to lean on me.

For once, let me be the strength that you need.  Let me protect you from the cares of this world.  Let me provide a place of refuge that you can escape to when “it” all becomes too much.  Let me do these things because, simply, I love you.  And because I do, I will.

I’ve cherished you since before I even knew I was supposed to.  The greatness that is in me was birthed by you. You’ve been a teacher to me; you’ve shown me what a fulfilled person looks like.  All at a cost of “you”, and you never complained.  You’ve poured out strength from a reserve that only The Creator could’ve given you; it seems endless.

You always find a way to make magic happen, turning nothing into something.  Society hasn’t been kind to you, calling you names and looking to make you fit a stereotype that’s the antithesis of what you are…the prototype.  And that’s said with utmost reverence.  You are the earth that we all came from; the nurturing element that brought, and continues to bring forth greatness.

When I imagine my life without you, I see nothing. There’s no me without you. I cease to exist if I don’t nurture what’s inside you. It may be selfish, but I need you to survive.  And because I know this, I’ll do what’s necessary to ensure you feel alive.

The future of us is contained within you, your heart, and your womb. The younger (just as precious) versions of you shall be cherished and adored.  I will show the younger (protective of you) versions of me how to cherish and adore them.

Taking care of you has been a responsibility that I’ve neglected for far too long.  When I see the glimpses of your radiating light, my desire is for you to illuminate more of my world.  And not just mine, but the entire world. It’s only the right, and natural order of things.

I can never seem to find the right words to truly express how I feel about you…but, this time?  I say simply, “black woman, you are everything that is right in this world. I adore you, I believe in you, and I embrace the wonderfulness that is you.”

Lovingly Yours,

A Black Man