only thing worse than a recession

is rain. Seeds gotta eat.

I wanna lay on you daddy/Pop’s I’m running the shop today

Its Sunday and I am, Home today. Usually I would have been at my shop by now, for at least a good 3 hours. Now it is double figures in the morning – something I have not had a chance to wake up in since I started my store for dogs and my son returned back to school.

Little momma woke me up. She scatted out of her room on the other side of the house I can imagine and crawled in my bed. I asked if she was ready to eat and she shook her head in the negative and said, “I just wanna lay on you daddy.” I said ok. She arranged the covers and adjusted the pillows and assumed her spot under my arms laying her head on my shoulder, and as she always does, grabbed my arm and placed it around her. With my arm around her waist and my hand on her stomach, she gently rubbed her hands up and down my arms and whispered “love you so much poppa.” I smiled.

As we returned to slumber again, I received a phone call. It was from my son. “Hey man, where you at Jones?” I asked. He responded, “I’m at the shop pops, you stay at home to day, I’m gonna run the shop for us today. You don’t have to come down, Ill catch the train and ride the bike back home.

All I could do was smile. Nothing like a family business but still better than that, nothing like having the two best kids in the whole wide world. I don’t know what it is about them; maybe it’s the way they call me poppa, or just the way they laugh in their usual uncontrollable manner. I have tried in detail to remember when they have not been able to smile or laugh. I do know I see it when I take lil momma to her mom’s house and it crushes me. And I do know I see it when I tell little man he can’t do something or that he is doing something incorrectly. They so head strong and independent – wonder where they got that from.

They both love being at the shop. My son is the CFO on paper, and makes sales, cleans and counts the loot in the cash register each morning and every night at closing. Lil Momma, COO on paper, is always outside asking folks to “come into my daddy’s store” and passing out the shop’s postcards. She sometimes ask me to be quiet when I am telling folks about the products by saying “let me do it, let me show them.” I like, really love it all, especially when she pretends on her play phone to answer it and always with “Braincell.”

I tell ya folk, especially you men who may read this, gotta get you a number one son and a number one daughter, and even more so, start a family business. I mean, dang, best day I done had in a while, just hearing them two phrases: “I wanna lay on you daddy” and “Pop’s, I’m running the shop today.”

update on new hustle #4

some toys and more clothes

some of the food, canine caviar on top

shampoos and stuff (all natural)

more food and clothes

Obama shirts and Intimidator dog food

Yankee jackets and Jordon warm-ups

a few of the bowls

more clothes and dog food

castor & pollux dog food and of course for dogs that cant swim

Still one of my best customers - loves the Intimidator dogfood for his pits

work hard and don’t complain

Growing up in Memphis, there were 3 general things I was inculcated with from either my Grand folk, Mom or Uncles:

1] If you gone be a ditch digger be the best ditch digger and they will always call Torrance to dig that ditch

2] Somebody gotta be number one, may as well be you.

3] Competition is for folk who have to prove something to themselves; you don’t need to compete boy if you already know yourself.

Over the years, I have had a lot of things said about me, but never have I been called lazy nor have I ever had my work ethic questioned. The little I know about my mothers father and my granny’s brother, I do recant both of them giving me advice as a child under the age of 4. My Great Uncle, while drinking Scotch and chain smoking Pall Mall Red would say “what makes a man is how hard he works, not for himself but his family and neighborhood – men take care of others.” These were straight old school cats, with my great uncle, like my granny, being straight up on out of Yazoo City, Mississippi.

Even after they both died, and my mother’s brother took over the reign of my family being the last oldest male in the household, he said the same thing to me over and over but added “we will always work hard and take care of out children, and working smart is the hardest work to do.”

I am writing this because of a request I received from one of my readers. He suggested that I was always talking about self suffiency and that I should share my joy of hard work and working for myself to others such to maybe motivates them to do the same. I honestly hope that this tractate does his request honor. For it is a joy, a joy unfortunately equal to that I experienced when my son and daughter were born, only without the tears. You see after both were born, I left the delivery room, looked at the moon in one case and the rising sun in the other and cried, like it was straight out of Roots.

Nowadays, not like there is nothing wrong with it, but many of us want the easy way out, We want to rely on our looks and become models, or we want to rap, or worse, we spend $10 to $20 dollars weekly trying to hit the lotto. No longer do we desire to wait or even earn what we desire for in our myopic purview, me, and me now is all that counts. We will complain while we have other providing or taking care of us because we cannot see that their work ethic is what sustains us, or that the opportunity given to us is always a function of chance; and that we need to make the best of all opportunities for we may not get another.

But for some of us, the easy way is the best way. Even if that means selling drugs, jacking someone’s shit, depending on others or just not being able to be on time for a job if one is fortunate enough to have one. And dont give me this bitch azz shit about its the only way folk can make money. Truth be told, hard work is a throw back like black and white TV. I mean we are so lazy that we will walk in front of a TV looking for a remote control to change the channel instead of doing it manually. We even too lazy to change our oil or even cook our own meals, preferring to waste loot at Jiffy Lube or McDonalds, while at the same time being, or saying we are too busy to sit at the dinner table together. To busy with all the convience around us – go figure. All I am saying is that work ethic is what engenders sprit of faith and accomplishment. Without such, we have nothing, for we will ask and wait for folk to give us shit, even if its freedom, liberty or equality. I see what George Clinton meant now when he said Free your mind and your ass will follow. For I am the last eldest man left in my family and outside of love, alll i can leave them with are my actions through my work ethic - can u dig it?

Amplification: In last post ACTION means macking or trying to get a girls number for yawl lames LOL - not sex.

recess is on

Point of order: 1] Putting a stone in my bed does not make u my friend – Damu Proverb. [I say this because some folk, who have put stones in my bed, expect me to be appreciative of them and their stones. I am not.]

2] Read this over my folk spot (beautiful souls of black sisters) the other day, I bet a lot of momma’s (if u can call them that) ask men, even married ones, to sponsor or take care off or support their daughters – dang.

My folk stopped by the shop when I was getting it set up about a month ago. The conversation, tersely, went something like this:

Folk: Jones, whad up? Whad up with the mean mug?

Me: Gave bald fist dap as a precursor to a hug, pulled back and showed him my mouth.

Folk: Jones, not the no teeth mode, real raw dawg. You subject to mack a hundred babes and shoot at a few mutha fucas (he laughed).

Me: Jones, loot. 40 stacks up in this camp. For real though, kids got to eat. I aint studying no babes, if they want me find me, and fuck a mutha fucka. Recess is on Jones.

Yep, this conversation was the impetus for this title. Now what did folk here mean by this statement? I am gone try to explain. See Jones here got no loot coming in at all. Sure done inked a few contracts for a few 100 stacks over three years, but they don’t start until November. Outside of that, just this store for dogs, and my savings albeit they are hefty. And I got my kids, not to mention another human liability. Meaning I gotta eat and they gotta eat and we neck bone pimpin plus up in this camp (prime rib last night and pot roast today).

Currently there is a recession in effect in America; regardless of what these cranial constricted and teleprompted bitch azz media pundits be telling yawl. At least by the economic indicators I follow (payroll, employment, industrial production, real personal income and, real manufacturing). Not to mention something I wrote about a few months ago regarding how traditionally when gold, and oil rose, so did the dollar – but not any more. Not to mention folk here was raised on John Kenneth Gailbraith.

As such from my standpoint, there is no better time to start a business than now, for as I have suggested in prior essays, in the future, outside of growing your own food, the only folks that will be able to eat are those that will be able to pay themselves – sleep if you want to.

I mean it is a down economy. Real-estate prices are flat, not to mention there are normally about 5 start up businesses for each start up Idea. I got lucking picking a store for dogs and locating it in the number one dog concentrated area in the city of Atlanta. Especially given that the top two disposable income industries in the country are Porn and dogs Dog food and porn are recession proof), and folk here don’t have a video camera. But again don’t sleep, horse man production will kick off soon, just need some volunteers-lmbao.

But like I said, it can be done, in particular if you don’t require no venture capital, and got your own loot like folk here. Moreover, even if you are starting a business without intellectual property rights (microchip patten for example), now is still a great time. Especially is you aint got no job security - which no one has. The way I see it, with my store for dogs, im with the ToyRus, KFC, Home depots and the like which started off as an Ideal. But I wont get greedy, for now all the folks closing shops. The Layne Bryants, Gaps, Linen and Things. Cause they wanted to make moey by openeing more stores, which looks good on paper, but an empty package because sales dont match.

So I just say this to suggest. Back in the day we had recess, you know kickball, four square and pick up and run. Now schools dont. Recess is on for us now in this economic lull. A lull that proffers the perfect opportunity to make a decison to do for self instead or talk. Scared say ya scared. Im not. Im with the old school, the family business school. Im leaving not only loot and land to my seeds, but also a legacy. Meet my CFO (son) and COO (daughter). With their help, we will create our own reality.

n the key of life

Yo, no biggy today, but watch out for RECESS-IS-ON and REAL N THE FIELD latter on this week. Jones truck fckn with him. I’m tired 16 hr days, no kitty head, barely basketball. So mind numb time. Tell me

What song would u use to describe me or how u feel about me or my writing?

Ps: Inventory control

More inventory

update on new hustle #2

Dog Store is coming along well. I wanted to be open this Friday but I still aint got merchant equipment to accept credit cards from Merill Lynch Yet.I suggest all yawl live your dream and work for yourself. The 12 to 14 hour days to get up and stacking my loot, well I have faith it will pay off. I got cable, phone and internet lines installed yesterday and still waiting on more merchandise - mainly clothes. I got dog foods from around the world made with duck and sweet potato to Bison to Phesant and wild rice.

Little moma has a chair. She put's it in front of the door and waves and says hello to all that pass. All she need is a Shot Gun (Her job description also includes sweeping and breaking merchandise - only once). It great having a family business. Lil Daddy comes from School and helps with inventory and pricing.

I put fences on the wall over peg board to display some of the items, mainly clothes. Had an Interior Decorator, but she wanted 7 stacks. Im like folk, this aint Lenox Mall, this a store for dogs.

Im gonna carry beds, cages, and got shampoo made with wine, aloe, oatmeal and flea powereds that are natural.

That taste of the wild above is made with salmon and one is made with wild game birds.

Still More Dogfood. Waiting on my clothes and my dog t-shirts and wife beaters.

My Granny and momma were here for a day Mother's day. My lil cuz raduated rom Tuskeggee

Four Generations (im just not in pic)and they all in my store at one time - priceless. I just lost one granny. She didnt get to see the store but this one and my mom did. Still got a lot of work to do but i have work ethic, and faith and Anything I think of I can do - some one has to be number one, may as well be me. 572 Edgewood, suite 117, ATL ....Back to politics, and culture and history as usual tommorow.