Gettin’ closer as the countdown continues.  I like football.  I like winning.  I like the Dallas Cowboys.  They are not winning.  What is a fan to do?  Guess I need a new team for Christmas…..

I received this coat as a gift after the Cowboys won the 1993 Super Bowl.  It is the only article of clothing I own that has the Dallas Cowboys name on it. I wear it only after they win Super Bowls. Been twenty five years since I last wore it. I have no other Cowboys paraphernalia.

I have owned this coat for more than 30 years.  Been a fan of the Cowboys for more than 40. I shouldn’t need to root for another team. Obviously I am not a fair weather fan. Twenty five years of mediocrity, though, can mess with a fan’s mind, you know? So….

I need a new team. No, no. I still want the pretty helmets with the stars on ’em. Still want the best uniforms in all of sports. Just want a few players who are mentally tough and play with determination. I want coaches who know how to compete, adjust and win. Mainly though, I want my “new team” to have a new owner, Team President and General Manager not named Jerry Jones. Anybody got two billion dollars to spare? ‘Tis the Season…

Day 17 of the Christmas gift countdown. Today’s gift doesn’t fit under the tree as it is more of dream, but I have to ask anyway. Can any of my friends or family arrange a ride for me in either a Navy Blue Angel F18 or an Air Force Thunderbird F16? Please?

I fell in love with airplanes at an early age. I still have memories from about the age of five of my cousins Ronda and Desi, my aunt Bobbi, my uncles Freddy and Larry, my grandmother “Mommie” and mother Thelma buying me all kinds of toy planes. Model planes, remote control planes, electric planes, gliders, you name it. Like every week someone would walk through the door and place a new plane in my hand.

I loved watching them glide through the air. As often as I lost or broke one I’d have a new one to assemble and play with. Probably numbered in the hundreds. Of them all I had two favorites: the wooden gliders that you could purchase for $1.00 at convenience stores and the custom remote control Blue Angel bought by one of my uncles.

This R/C Blue Angel was special even by today’s standards. Three foot wing span, real engine, super fast! My Uncle Larry would actually fly it for me as I was too young to maneuver it without crashing. I was hooked for life.

As a child I lived about a mile from the U.S. Naval Academy. Saw the Blue Angels fly right in my backyard every Memorial Day. I still remember distinctly some years later, in 1986, watching them fly and noticing the different planes that were used. I didn’t like the new jets. They were oddly shaped compared to the older ones I was accustomed to. Turned out that those new planes were FA18 Hornets, now one of my favorites. Along with the F16 Falcon. Which are the two jets pictured here.

Each of these have two-seater versions and occasionally allow people to ride along on flights for a “small fee”. I really wish “Santa” would let me be next in line. What’s up family and friends? ‘Tis the Season…..

R.I.P Chuck Yeager

Alright I’ll admit it. Today’s gift request is a little selfish, biased and throws some shade at people who may not deserve it. On day 18 of our Christmas countdown I want the Pittsburgh Steelers to lose to the Washington Non-Footall Team. Can anybody help with this? 

I hate, no, I dislike Pittsburgh.  (Hate is too harsh a word for the Holidays).  Always have. This hate, I mean DISLIKE, goes way back and runs deep. See I’m a Dallas fan, which means I dislike Washington too. But I dislike the Steelers much more. 

I’ve been watching football since 1975.  Yep, 1975. Back then I loved the Minnesota Vikings.  Cool helmets, cool name, but most importantly, cool ass running back named Chuck Foreman.  Talk about spin moves!  Chuck was great. For me though, what made him stand out was his sideline demeanor. He would have his helmet half-way on and pimp around the field like he was the baddest dude around.  Left a huge impression on an adolescent wanna-be running back like me for sure. Pittsburgh beat them in the Super Bowl…..

One day the Vikings had a game against this team called the  Cowboys. They had shiny helmets with big stars on ’em and players with cool names. “Too Tall” Jones. Robert Newhouse.  “Golden” Richards. “Hollywood” Henderson.  Drew and Preston Pearson. I was hooked. Had a new team.

So that year it just so happened that Dallas went to the Super Bowl. Their opponent? The Steelers. Who won? The Steelers. Dallas drafted Tony Dorsett and won the Super Bowl a couple of years later. Then Dallas played another Super Bowl against Pittsburgh. Who won? The damned Steelers again. You know I really do hate Pittsburgh.

As I said it runs deep. They beat my two favorite teams in the Super Bowl. They have ugly uniforms. They wave those dirty yellow towels. So Washington, please gift me with a win against Pittsburgh. I promise to hate you a little less. ‘Tis the Season…..

The gift ideas just keep on coming.  Day 19 of the countdown and yet another thing on my list.  Pictured above is a desk.  This desk belongs in an office. I need an office at my home.  One problem: the room that was supposed to be “my” office has been “surprisingly” claimed by my wife.  The thing is though, she won’t choose a desk to put in the room.  Let me explain.

I started this blog in March 2019 at my wife’s insistence. My father-in-law had encouraged me to do it years ago so I finally took the initiative to get started.  I read through some previous journals and songs to formulate ideas.  Chose a name. Chose a host site. Finally, I chose a comfortable place in my home to think and to write. It was my little corner in the dinette area that no one seemed to pay attention to.

Fast forward to March 2020. My wife is now working from home due to COVID. My schedule is temporarily altered.  My sons’ work schedules are reduced.  Everyone is home together more often. Space, particularly my space, is at a premium.  The unfinished part of the basement housed my music room. My oldest son has that. The finished and furnished part of the basement was my “cave”.  My youngest son has that. So I relegated myself to a small corner in the dinette that NO ONE used regularly, called it my “life corner”. That has become the wife’s home office.

So one day back in June while doing some “Spring” cleaning I decided to make our spare bedroom my space, my office, my “life corner” as you will. I started checking out desks, flooring and furniture. One day while having dinner I shared the idea with my family. Before I even finished my thought, my wife says,”Hey, I have an idea. I can make THAT room MY office since I work from home and don’t know when I’ll return to work!” And just like that I lost MY home office before I ever sat at MY desk……..

Ok. That was in June. It’s now December. Room still empty. Why? My wife has taken seven months to choose a desk. SEVEN MONTHS MAN! You would not believe her excuses. Anyway, here is what I want for today’s gift. PLEASE HELP ME CHOOSE A DESK FOR MY WIFE SO I CAN HAVE MY HOME OFFICE. That way I can finally have a wall to decorate with a picture of this crazy Koenigsegg Jesko so I can dream as I write. ‘Tis the Season….

Oh yeah!  The Markbass Marcus Miller 500 and 102 Bass Cab. Day 20 of my Christmas gift countdown.  Now this gift is one that I would have already had the Corona Virus not interrupted my first ever permanent weekly bass spot.

Man I’ve played music off and on for the last 35 years. Started of as a hobby, progressed to paying gigs with professional aspirations. All born from a passion so strong that music really has been my true mistress. While it seemingly has taken so much, it has given me much more. If it weren’t for music, playing music, studying artists and instruments, I don’t know where I’d be.

That being said, I promised myself that moving forward would not spend a dime on anything pertaining to music if I did not earn said dime from musical endeavors, be it playing, writing or producing. So I planned to save the money from weekly gig at church and use it to upgrade from my practice rig to this set up. Not so fast, huh?

So family a friends, please add this to the list of presents I expect to see under the tree. ‘Tis the Season…….

Ok, gonna get right to it today, day 21 as we countdown to Christmas. The gift I want is either the Northrop/McDonnell YF23 “Gray Ghost ” or “Black Widow”. I’ll take both if you’re asking. While it may seem outlandish and unrealistic to want this initially, you’ll realize that it’s not as crazy as it sounds.

The most advanced plane used by the U.S. Airforce is (those in the know may not agree) the Lockheed F22 Raptor. This may be a little TMI but stay with me for a second. When our military needs new planes they put out bids to contractors who build them. The top two or three bids are selected and then the government helps to finance the development with tax payer dollars. Keep this in mind. Way back in the 1980s the Air Force needed a more capable jet fighter. Two companies, Lockheed and Northrop were awarded contracts. Lockheed built the F22 and Northrop built the YF23. The Lockheed F22 won the competition and the Air Force chose it over the Northrop YF23. So whatever happened to the Northrop YF23? EXACTLY!

These planes were developed in the 1990s with TAX PAYER DOLLARS. THEY BELONG TO US. In essence, I……I mean we, already own them. I think an F23 costs about $400,000,000.00 to build. Think thats a lot? How much have you paid in federal taxes since 1990? Now multiply that by a few hundred million people. We’ve paid for these jets many times over. Facts! Even in the movies you see the commanding officer tell new pilots, “Son this jet belongs to the American tax payers so don’t be reckless out there.” It’s true.

So I want my jets and I want them now. They don’t belong in some far off museum or secret military installation. I……I mean we, should be able to see them whenever we want. We did pay for ’em. Do we pay rent or mortgage and give someone else the key? Do we pay for cars and let other people take them home? I think not! I’m not trying to fly the planes. Just want them available to the public. There are plenty military bases within driving distance of me. I want the Northrop YF23 at one of them. ‘Tis the Season.

Smile.  That’s the gift for today.  I want to see the prettiest smiles this Holiday Season.  It has been a trying year as we all know, and sometimes it takes more energy and effort for good to overcome bad.  But, if we start with the basics we can do a little at time to recharge our positive energy.  So share your best smile and hopefully it is returned in kind.  To have my best smile ready when needed I practice by looking at the beautiful Ducati Streetfighter V4 in this picture!  It makes me smile a lot…..Just in case you have trouble finding your best smile I’ve included, for your benefit, this image of Lupita Nyong’o.  See how easy she makes it look? I do. ‘Tis the Season…….

‘Tis the Season.  The Christmas gift countdown continues.  I hope you all enjoy these gift ideas as much as I do. Now this next gift is really down to earth.  Some of you may already have one.  Here it is. 

I want a personal assistant for Christmas.  Yep, I really do.  I’m not rich nor famous.  I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV, but a personal assistant is essential to my health and well-being.  Let me explain. 

I do not like washing clothes, but I manage to wash mine regularly.  However, when it is time to fold clothes and put them away I go into a mini depression.  I’m serious. All jokes aside. I get the clothes out of the dryer, pour them on my bed and stare at them for hours, unable to move because of the overwhelming thought of folding and putting them away.  The item that causes the most stress is the dreaded white tee shirt.

As I stare at the clothes, the prevailing thought is how many white tee shirts can a person wear in one week?  There are only seven days.  I’m only one person.  Yet somehow, every weekend when I wash my laundry, I end up with about 25 white tee shirts to fold.  Crew neck, V neck, recently purchased, comfortably worn, where DO they come from? 

After being shaken out of my catatonic state of fear and shock by a concerned family member, I sit on the bed phone in hand to stream music to ease my tension.  They feed me cheese steaks, honey buns, ice cream and soda to ease my heart rate, help me to relax and to lower my blood pressure.  Sometimes I get Tylenol too. These do help at times but are not 100 percent effective.

Some days I manage to get the shirts folded and put away but it’s a mental struggle. Most days I don’t. They usually stay on the bed and I ask my wife to call the doctor or take me to the emergency room and then she’ll put them away for me. Some days, when it is really emotionally challenging, I “unwittingly” put the clean shirts in the dirty clothes basket so I don’t have to fold them until the next week. My sons, in an attempt to help me I think, will come and take MY shirts and wear them and then put them in MY dirty clothes basket. I see the pile going down so I’m feeling better!

So now you see. I really need a personal assistant to handle my laundry. I would settle for someone to just handle my white tee shirts. I’m serious. I asked my wife and SHE AGREES! Serious inquiries only please. ‘Tis the Season……

Ok, one gift down, twenty four to go. Thanks to all who contributed to my first gift. Hope you saved a little. Remember I’m asking for 25 total presents. 

Which brings us to today’s gift.  The first was relatively inexpensive, right?  Well, you’re really gonna have to dig deep for this one.  Some of you may not be willing or able to give this time around.  So what do I want? Simple.  For gift number 24, all that I ask is that we have the courage, the character, the manners and the “spirit” to speak to one another during this “Christmas” season. That’s all.  That’s it.  “Hello”. Or “Hey what’s up?” Or “How you doin’ today?  Easy enough right?  You would think.  Mind if I share a couple or three stories?

These incidents stuck with me because they showed me just how easy we can become insulated (yes I meant INSULATED people) from our own humanity and take ourselves for granted.  Because of the language involved I decided to discuss this now so as to not offend anybody as we get closer to Christmas. Please accept my apology now.

A few years ago I was taking a class at the local community college. It was around the Holiday Season and the semester was about to end.  I walked down a hall towards a small group of students who were approaching me. There were two men a little younger than myself among them.  As they got closer one glanced in my direction.  I nodded once and said, “What’s up fellas?” As they walked by without speaking I heard one ask the other, “Yo, you know ‘dat mawfucka man?” The other replied, “Naw man you?” “Uh uh”.  I couldn’t help but to laugh as I heard them go on and on about NOT speaking because they didn’t know me. A simple, courteous “What’s up man” would have saved them a lot of energy.  ‘Twas the Season……….”

A few years ago during the Holidays again I was out shopping.   While standing in an isle, empty handed and minus a shopping cart, a woman in a hurry turned the corner and hit me.  Seeing the shock and what I perceived as embarrassment on her face, I said simply, “Hello miss. YOU ok?”  Without responding or speaking she took a breath, made the eye roll of death and gave a long sigh like “huuuuh”.  Now, I had never spoken or written the word “BeJesus” in my life, but this…….. woman……..boy I wanted to slap the “BeJesus” out of her ass for real!  That’s not me.  Besides, it was Christmas Season right…….?

Last one. Again during the Holidays. Leaving a store I walked towards my car in the parking lot. About 50 feet away in the same path a woman headed towards me, staring the whole time. When she got about 10 feet away she crossed the road, still staring, to go around me. Never spoke. Now let me tell you, it was early in the morning and we both were dressed in our “hope nobody we know sees us” attire and therefore were mutually “unattractive”. But manners don’t cost you nothing. So me being me, I spoke anyway. She managed a reluctant smile and said hello. I then asked,”Hey, why you cross the street when you saw me? A “sister” can’t say hello to a “brother” during the Holidays? We had a good laugh and talked about black family traditions for Christmas. No names, no games, just people showing courtesy during the Holiday Season. ‘Twas the Season.

So, ‘Tis the Season. Be bold and courageous. Share some courtesy and manners as a gift to yourself this year. Return the favor if extended to you first. And to those who don’t wanna speak, I guess I don’t know y’all mawfuckas either. Sorry I couldn’t resist. Lol.

10pm and it is already past my bedtime. I go to work at 7am.  I usually wake up at 5:40.  Thankfully I have a short commute of around 20 minutes.  Even still, I shouldn’t have to go to bed so early to get up on time. 

Man I recall a time when I could go to bed at ANYTIME and make it to work with minutes to spare.  One time, I left Atlanta, Georgia (driving) at 6pm on a Sunday night, made it home to Maryland and then to work before 7am Monday morning to fall asleep at my desk.  I also recall, way back in my twenties, going to bed after 2am every night (or morning!) for three straight weeks and making it to work on time everyday thereafter.  Slept from Thursday evening until Sunday morning the following week!

Those were the days. I routinely went to bed around 11pm or midnight.  Up by 7 at my desk by 8 MOST every day. Now however, I have to be in bed by 10, which means preparing for bed by 9. Truthfully, I’m just waking up at 6pm. I had always been an evening/night person. Not anymore. 11pm is late according to my current biological clock. Even on Friday nights I have to force myself to stay awake past midnight. I still enjoy staying up late, though I pay a higher price physiologically.

But now…..for me and my recently recalibrated biological clock, 10pm is my bedtime. And tonight I’ve gone past it. Hopefully I wake up on time tomorrow…….Goodnight.