draconian jones

Last week I referred to senator John McCain a few times. Namely because I wrote about him and his over zealous overview of economics and economic reform. Moreover because his depiction doesn't match my understanding of mathematics, as limited as it is. Also, because I could not post such given the incessant tags I was getting. Truth be told I have a major disdain for this thing they call “tagging” and don’t like math. either – I just know how to do it proficiently.

But before I go any further, I would like to say (1) Reverend Wright put it down in Detroit at the NAACP dinner, (2) George W. Bush is a funny cat at least what I can suppurate from his speech he gave at this years annual White House Corespondents Association dinner and (3) I love the LSU new baseball uniforms, throwback, Negro League style.

But Back to McCain, I have a basic difference with his math and fundamental approach to economics. I mean, I finally got a look at some semi-specifics regarding his pompous assertion that he will be able to end the budget deficit by the end of his first term as president - like he gone get in office and have a second term at that. LMBAO.

I feel that getting in office is going to be hard. First he has basically a financial vote of no confidence from the GOP seeing he has only raised about 3 million dollars for the general election. Meaning to me he will likely have to give all that loot back and accept federal funding to compete with Hillary (who has raised about 21 million) or Obama (who has raised about 8 million) for the general election slated for this November. As it stands now, Obama has 42 million available for the remanding primaries and Hillary has about 8 million. However she has debts accrued during the primaries of about 10 million dollars. Rule of thumb, if a candidate for the presidency is in debt during the primaries, how can one take their economic plan for the country serious?

But McCain, in one word is scary. He in his economic proposal is proposing a spending cut that will amount to about one third of the annual domestic budget. The package asserts about 600 billion dollars in cuts, however most of the compensation will be directed toward corporations and upper income earning households. Thus programs like education, student loans, social security and medicare will have to loose a lot of loot if what he has proposed is to take place. My problem is that Jones aint even said what he will cut - and it would be wise for him to tell me before the elections if he is going to be “straight talking” to the general electorate. Not to mention, folk say he gone do all of this while at the same time increasing the size of the military. This tells me that more money will be required for his 100 year war and more money will be needed to increase the military with respect to service personnel, support staff and equipment.

McCain is giving a new meaning to Draconian if you asked me. In fact I think from now on, in concert with his Mcainanomics and 100 years in Iraq, he has given a new epitaph to laws that can be considered exceedingly harsh; very severe - Draconian. But then again I’m a poor black man with a feeble vocabulary, so what would I know?

#1 son

I know I write a lot about fatherhood and what a great thing it is and how important being a father is to me. I also know that I talk a lot about lil momma. Namely because she is still new to me, being that she is going on three in June. But I want to say for the record that my son, well he is the shit too. He is likely the best son a person can have next to me LOL (love ya mom).

And I am not saying this because they won today in the last inning 6-5, making the Grady High School Knights 7-1 (1st place), nor because he is almost a “chip off the old block.” But because it is the truth. See although his mother has been in his life somewhat, I have raised him his entire life. When he was born, I commandeered a wheel chair and we rolled all around Crawford Long Hospital. He would be in my office at Emory in a walker, while his mother would be out clubbing, trying to find her girlfriend’s husbands. He has traveled to Africa with me on multiple occasions and was on his second passport by 8 years of age. He has been under my roof as well his entire life.

I am not saying this because I have coached him from age 4 to 14 in Little League baseball or AAU basketball at Ben Hill, the Fulton County League or Old national. But rather for the little things. Like the way he calls me Poppa, or the way he gets up on the weekend when I am tired and cooks breakfast for his sister.

And as I said, sure his mother has been in his life, and it used to hurt me like an Ice Pick in my right thigh (yes, i have been stabbed in my rt thigh with an ice pick) when he would say he didn’t want to go over to her house. Once I told him that if I ever heard him say that or anything negative about his mom again, I’d knock out his teeth. Sure he can be a knucklehead. Like this past semester when he brought home 3 A’s, 4 B’s and an F. Or like when he nailed this kid in the back of the head at school who swung on him. But Men aren’t we all at times?

I remember growing up Looking at Charlie Chan; he always had his number one son with him in the movies to help solve his cases. Biti (short for Thabiti which means a true man) is my number one son and my fist born. Yep, his name serves him well. He has seen it all with me, from cleaning guns to tracking wild turkey. When he was nine he said, “Poppa, when I’m 27 and old enough to have sex, I’m gonna carry condoms with me all the time.” I responded, “well little daddy, if u can’t wait until 27 just ask me for some. This past November, he did just that. “Poppa, can you bring me some condoms to school?” I said “Sure. You wanna do this, I mean are you ready, if it breaks to take care of a family as I do?”

I took him the condoms. He didn’t use them. When I asked what happened, he said, “she fessed…. But I wasn’t ready to take care of children like you do me and Chi.”

Like I said, nothing better than being a father and that it is the little things that mean the most, like when I came home sat from the shop, and he had mopped the kitchen floor. And all of this came to me while i was listening to Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture by Tchaikovsky (one of my favorites along with Ovarture of 1812 and Nutcracker).

Afraid to Parent

It was my intention to get the following off my chest last week. However, I was blessed with the notification that my latest book came off the press, and so I went with that. But something else happened that same day that has tormented me since it occurred. The same day my book was released, I went up to my son’s school to drop him off $80.00 for some baseball cleats (they just lost their first game, 8-5, canceled to rain now they 3 –1; he stole 4 bases). While there, I had to wait. A beautiful sunny Friday in Georgia it was. I was in a good mood because I had just secured painters to do the spot I had selected for my dog store. Yet at the same time, I was kind of up set. Not because of the day, because it had started out a little chilly. So I left the house knotted in a Khaki colored Canali two piece suits with 3 buttons, a multicolor blue stripped Pink (not the color) shirt and a pair of suede open toe sandals. Meaning my feet was cold well up until 2pm. Since I know most of the Black students at his school, I walked up the step to give some dap to one of his friends who played football and basketball with him. We talked and I asked him if he had seen my son. He said no. We talked more, and he informed that he had a 3.1 GPA when I asked about his grades. A young lady next to him asked if I was looking for my son and I said yes. Using her cell phone she called someone to tell him that I was waiting for him.
Eventually I saw him walking up the side of the school with one of his folk. He followed me to the car and I gave him the loot.

As I was pulling out of my parking space in the rental I was driving, a wave of students rushed toward me. Looking ahead, since I was backing out, I saw several boys fighting. Instantly I threw that shit in park, and with door wide open, ran to intervene. I would estimate about five boys fighting. As I handled one set of three, a mother whose son plays football, baseball and basketball with my son ran to assist me, at the same time, his football coach did too. It only took us about 20 seconds to break it up. All he time I am screaming at the top of my vocal cords to all involved “This is why jails full of folk like you already, yawl ass need to be in the library. I also turned to the crowed and said yawl stupid too running to a fight if they started shooting, yawl would have been wondering why you got shot by a stray bullet.

Coach came by and thanked me. I know they were kids, and that kids will be kids, but what I could not understand was how could maybe 20 or thirty other parents who were just as closer or closer than I was did not attempt to stop the foolishness? I even so one-man rush his son in the car when it started, and another lock their door. I could tell that coach saw the same thing because we looked at each other and just shook our heads as if to say it was a shame, to both the fight and the fact no other parents attempted to help.

I don’t know if it was what I observed as a child, seeing everybody in my neighborhood act as if they were my mother or father, or all my years of coaching little league baseball and AAU basketball that made me do what I did. Regardless, I felt it was what I was supposed to do as a parent, I mean, I felt if they were all my son’s and daughters. The only good thing was I didn’t mess up my suit, or stub my toes, and more importantly, I saw my son (in picture) and his folk still at the top of the stairs. They along with a few others did not run to the stupidity.

He did come back down to the car as I was getting back in and said, “Yo pop’s, You still looking good.”

“Main, I’m just glad you aint run too see it.”

“Well I would have, cause for a minute I thought they were gone swing on you and me and all my boys would have swooped on folk.”

I laughed, rubbed his head and said “Lil daddy, as long as yawl didn’t run to watch I’m cool, ‘cause any fool can fight, but a man can run away, and if needed, break one up.”

I just don’t get it, are folks really afraid to be parents and accept the responsibility and blessing to be such, or are they afraid to honor the parental commitment to kid, all kids in general? Maybe I was wrong for sticking my nose in and breaking up the fight. But what did I have to loose, other than my divine belief that we are all responsible for our community and our kids.

PS: Shouts to lil daddy, his 9 stolen bases leads the team and tied in district for lead. Grady High School Knights 5-1.