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Thanks to My Kids, I Hope to Never Hear âWho Let The Dogs Outâ Again. Iâll Probably Listen to It Again This Afternoon
Weâve been down this old town road before. A few months ago, my wife and I took my two boys to Monster Jam, the traveling monster truck competition and demonstration show during its Washington, D.C. stop. One of the trucks, Monster Mutt, comes out to Baha Menâs 2000, Grammy-award winning (!!!!!) cover, âWho Let The…
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How Black Is it Not to Know the Real Names of Folks in Your Family? Possibly Ever.
So, I have a question thatâs been perplexing me that will illuminate some things, possibly about me and you, your momma and your cousin, too. Iâm hoping that Iâm not alone in this; in fact, Iâm assuming that Iâm not. The question is: How black is this? But thereâs a sub-question here, too. You see,…
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My Daughter Came Down With The Flu and I Learned All About My Family Medical History
The Washington, D.C. area has been hit particularly hard with the flu this season. At my daughterâs school, for instance, as many as 41 kids were out at one time. My boysâ school also felt like a ghost town on several separate days. All three of my children came down with the flu; my daughter…
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Visiting Cape Coast and Elmina âSlave Castlesâ: In Everlasting Memory of the Anguish of Our Ancestors
When I was 12 or 13 and living in Frankfurt, Germany, my parents loaded my siblings and me into the car and we drove about four hours south and east to a small-ish town in the Bavarian region that was the site of the first concentration camp opened in Nazi Germany: Dachau. Built in 1933…
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10 Thoughts and Observations About My First Trip to Ghana (and Africa)
When I got married in October 2018, my wife and I broached the idea of going to Accra, Ghana, for our honeymoon. Now, this wasnât a random âLetâs go to Africa!â ideation; Iâd never been to the African continent in any of my travels and had wanted to go, and my wife grew up in…
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Stepping on Shit in the Middle of the Night: A Discourse on Parenting Little Children
Iâd like to be one of those parents who can say that my kids have never heard me use profanity. But I canât do that. In fact, if you live within a mile of my house, it is highly likely that if you have kids, theyâve heard me use profanity. Stepping on shit my kids…
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I'm About to Get My Year of the Return on in Ghana and I'm Stressing Over What and How Many Shoes to Bring
What started out as a thought about going to Ghana for our honeymoon in 2018 has me and my wife preparing to head back to her home country in a few days. My wifeâwho was born in Abidjan, Cote DâIvoire, but grew up in Accra, Ghana, until moving to the United States in the early…
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If You Piss Off My Youngest Kid, the Way His Petty Is Set Up, You Are Absolutely Not Coming to His Birthday Party
You know, as I watch my kids grow, Iâve come to the realization that, in life, the 3-5 age range is really the sweet spot. For kids, itâs the age before they are required to know better and thus do better so they can pretty much say anything they want (short of curse words around…
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Shawty Got Gifts: A Product Review of Ray Jâs Raycon E55 True Wireless Earbuds
I promise you that I donât engage in pure unfettered foolishness just because Iâm comfortable in life. And yet, here we are doing a product review of Rayconâs E55 True Wireless Earbuds. Raycon is, of course, an electronics brand by one William Raymond Norwood Jr. also known as The Artist Formerly Known as Hey Waitaminute Ainât…
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An Ode to Palmer's Cocoa Butter for Holdin' a Brotha Down for the Past 30 Years. Thank You for Being a Friend
I donât know what prompted me to go into my parentsâ bathroom and look for some lotion when I was around 10 years old. I was a boy after all, and I donât remember my parents ever stressing me about the finer points of proper moisturization. Hell, I vividly remember times I jumped right out…
