Meet Mmog37: Get to Know An Everyday Guy and AC Content Producer
I was born and raised in a small black community called Kinloch. I'm number two of six children. My parents paid for us to go to private school up until I reached high school. By then the tuition for six kids was kind of crazy.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/713947/meet_mmog37_get_to_know_an_everyday.html

 

Looking Back...

  If you are a subscriber to my feed for this blog, then you probably noticed that my post kind of slowed down a few months back.  Scratch that, my postings came to a virtual stand still.  With just a few months left in the year my family and I went on a trip to visit family members we had not seen in quite a while since we moved from the West Coast.  I can't speak for the rest of the members of my family, but that trip was the start of a lot of soul searching and questioning for me.  I thought I would share some of those with you today...

 Stewardship...

 My California trip wasn't all fun and games however, one of my agendas on this trip was to clear out a storage space that I had been paying for, for more than 4 years now.  Looking back that was thousands of dollars that I could have utilized elsewhere or even applied toward charitable donations, which led me to the conclusion that I must become a better steward of what God has blessed me with.  There really was no excuse as to why I prolonged getting rid of that storage, I have visited California several times over the past years, but I allowed myself to be distracted or hindered by other people.

 As I began clearing out the storage I new that I was going to have to make some tough decisions, after all I hadn't seen a lot of this stuff for more than four years, so obviously I could live without them.  Again I was convicted about my stewardship as I perused items that I had repurchased, and items that were very costly just sitting and gathering dust.  I found myself repenting and promising to do better. 

  As I began to separate the items that we were keeping from those we were getting rid of, my thoughts began to go in a different direction.  It began to bother me that there was no one in my West Coast Circle that I could have depended on to take care of this for me (pause)


Friendship...
  Before I finish the previous thought I must tell you that there was one person that I knew would take care of it for me, her and her husband have been absolute God sends to my wife and I, my wife has had the pleasure of knowing her all of her life and I had the pleasure of meeting her after marrying my wife...she has always been there for us, and I feel that she has done more than I could ever repay her for, and she is one hard working woman...I'm still amazed that she manages to find time to read my rantings and leave me encouraging messages.  When I look back at the major events of our lives, she was there good or bad.  I am thankful to God for her, because she and her family are truly one of the great treasures He has blessed us with.  It warmed my heart to be able to spend time with them during our visit to California.  I even enjoyed her sister who all but held up flashcards with math problems on them to see if homeschooling has made my children retarded.  (she must not read any of my blogs or articles)  I pray that in 2009 I develop closer friendships, but I doubt that any of them will be as special :)

While I'm on the subject of friends, I learned who my real friends were in 2008.  I began conducting an experiment about halfway through the year.  It was simple, just start telling people no, don't offer an excuse just tell them no...I can't do it.  I expected that there would be a few people who would be upset with me telling them no...but I was not quite prepared for people to begin to dump on me and tell me what they really thought about me and my family.  Even now on the last day of the year I still haven't heard a single word from some of these people I said no to, and some of them have only spoken to me because we were in the same spot at the same time and it would have been to awkward for them to have to try and explain to everyone else why they were avoiding me.  On the bright side however my phone rang a lot less and I was pretty sure that the people who continue to talk to me and come around even after the no's were around for me and not for what I could do for them.  Do you need to weed out the bad seeds among your friends...try telling them no.

Life & Family...

  After returning from my trip to California, I seem to be plagued with back to back injuries or illness.  Several times I was at the point where I couldn't do much of anything.  During this time my wife and children were my lifeline.  I am grateful that God has equipped them with the patience and grace it takes to live with and deal with mmog37.  If you know me then you know that nothing bothers me like having to sit still or be served by others, and it seems like God has a sense of humor in the sense that something periodically happens that causes me to have to "be still and know...."

Looking back I am thankful for all of the time we have had with each other, our trips, our first Major League Baseball Game together, Our first Online Revenue competition (which they spanked me royally) and many others.  I pray that our times together mean as much them as they do to to me...


Remembering...

My excavation into my storage, yielded a major find for me, I discovered a collections of journals and prayer books I had been keeping since 1996.  More than thirteen years of me spilling my heart and thoughts on paper.  I rejoiced as I saw that many of the things I had been praying about over the years, had been answered.  I was ashamed as I saw some of my entries during the time in between those prayers being answered. My prayer books were my own person hard copy that God really does hear and answer prayer...and that He always goes above and beyond.  Those prayer books also helped me see that many times the delay in them being answered was due to me asking for wrong reasons, or even me getting in the way...

I also  recognized how powerful and therapeutic those journals were, especially the prayer books.  I noticed that over time after writing my prayers down I was better equipped to trust God, and go on with what I needed to do and let Him do His part.  These long lost journals I found helped me see my growth process, and they encouraged me and gave me hope that I even though I am not quite where I should be, I am not where I used to be...but more than that I am am encouraged and motivated to go all out to get where I need to be...

Thanks...


  As 2008 comes to a close , I want to say Thank you for taking the time to read any of my writings, I hope that something I have written has either encouraged you, challenged you or at the very least made you smile.  I  encourage you to stay tuned in 2009, because the limits are off in the New Year and who knows what's I'm going to write about, and hopefully I will be announcing the completion of my book.  Thanks Again and God Bless

  Seems like you can't turn on the television or go anywhere online without seeing or hearing someone offering gloomy predictions for tommorow.  With one day left in 2008 I am reflecting on the past year and looking forward to a better and brighter tommorow.  How about you?


Tevin Campbell - Tommorow

People have been telling me for the past 18 years that eventually the magic will fade...well it hasn't!  I still feel overwhelmed. awestruck and extremely blessed to have found the love of my life.  This is for the love of my life...God's rich gift to me *smiles really big*

B. Reith - Awestruck

As I sat in front of the fireplace, snuggled up on the big comfy couch with the misses and the children, I couldn't help but feel warm and cozy.  Although the flames were happily dancing about the logs in the fireplace, it wasn't their heat that had me feeling warm.  It was an inner glow that started as a smile and grew into a full fledged feeling of contentment and happiness.

 Over the years we have had our share of trials and tribulations, the loss of a child, death of a sibling, physical challenges and even losing almost every material possesion we owned.  As devastating as many of these events were, we faced them all together helping and supporting each other.  These "trials" drew us closer together and even made us stronger.  Most importantly these trials helped us realize the treasure we have in each other.

 This Christmas I can honestly say that not once did I ever think about or look forward to recieving any gifts, because I realize that second to God's Love, I already have the best gift a man could have...the love of a good woman...and children who still run into my open arms even when my hands are empty.


 Today, as I am looking forward to the close of one year and the start of another, my desire is that my family and I continue on this journey called life together, and that we continue to cherish and appreciate every moment we have with each other.  I don't know what awaits for us in 2009, but as long as I have God and my family I say...Bring It On!

Happy Holidays

It's been about a week since my last post here.  At the time of my last writing I was on the verge of ranting about "business as usual."  I was joking with my children the other day, to not set their hopes too high.  At the rate things are going, by the time they are grown Customer Service will be reduced to someone sitting at a desk pushing buttons on a console with pictures...kind of like what they have at McDonald's now.

  I'm all for people making their jobs easier, but not at the expense of the people they are supposed to be servicing or helping.  The funny thing is that it takes a whole lot more work and energy to try and avoid doing your job or halfway doing and then having to do it over again.

  Maybe it's me...maybe I am just being tested to see how i will respond when people pretend to be inept (they are pretending right?) Maybe someone is following me at a distance waiting to catch me respond negatively and then put it on youtube for the world to see.  Whatever the case I refuse to let them upset me.

It's Friday morning and something has been bugging me all week. It started on Monday. I had been sitting at my desk, hard at work. Every few minutes a nice breeze would come through the window bringing with it the smell of burnt wood. As it is still summer I didn't think to much about it, I just figured someone was about to fire up their grill. Thirty minutes later I still smelled the same burning wood smell, so I took a look around and seeing nothing on fire I decided that it was nothing to worry about.

I went back to work and ignored the smell. Lunchtime came and it was time for me to go to a doctor's appointment. Upon arrival I was treated to business as usual, sign in and then wait. Then it was the same old why are you here routine that we go through every time. Four years I have been back in St Louis, going to the same Medical Facility and after four years I am still just a number without a face when I walk through those doors.

After being thoroughly frustrated and wasting half of my day I returned home determined to get some work done. While sitting at my desk working I was continually distracted by the smell of smoke. About an hour later my wife was sitting across from me talking on the phone and I noticed a look of surprise on her face. As she hung up the phone she asked me to go outside with her.

On our way outside she told me that while she was talking on the phone, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something really big fall in our backyard. We made into the backyard and sure enough there was a large branch laying in my yard. We both began to look to see where the branch came from because we didn't have any trees in that particular spot of our yard. We both looked up and discovered where the branch came from and the source of the smoke smell.

We discovered that one of our neighbors trees had split and fallen over, and had came to rest on the overhead power lines. Apparently while it was resting on the line a piece of the branch had been smoldering, hence the smell of burning wood. We weren't sure how long it had been like that, but it was long enough for that branch to be burnt all the way through causing it to break off and drop into my yard.

While I was out there looking at the branch the wind picked up a little and the power line began sparking and popping. I immediately went inside and called the power company. Within an hour someone from the power company arrived, but he was by himself and said that he didn't have the right equipment to remove the branch. He said that the tree cutters would be there later that evening to remove the tree. By the time I went to bed no tree cutters had arrived.

Fast forward to Wednesday, still no tree cutters and I was back at the doctor's office, and back to playing the whole why are you here routine (which I didn't find funny and led me to making some complaints and making a change to a different care provider.) After a long day of dealing with their usual process which makes less work for them, but more inconvenience for the patients, I was thoroughly exhausted and didn't get much work done at all.

Thursday came and I was feeling somewhat better, and decided to get some work done. I had a fairly productive day, I ran a few errands and spent some time with the family. We were sitting down to watch a movie together that evening when it began to rain. The winds were picking up and it was getting pretty nasty out. I sent my son to close some of the windows in the back of the house, as he was closing them he said he saw flames coming from one of the trees in the back yard.

I thought that he was exaggerating, but when I went to look, sure enough the branch that still resting on the power lines was blazing, I ended up calling the fire department, who arrived within minutes. Because of the live power lines they were unable to approach the branch and as the winds died down, the flames subsided into a small smolder. While they were there they put in another emergency call to the Power Company. The fire department instructed me to stay out of the back yard, just in case the power lines snapped...and so I have.

Which brings me to today, it's Friday morning, and still the same large tree is resting on the power lines, still sparking occasionally, and apparently not enough of an emergency for the power company to send someone out to remove it. Just another Friday morning of business as usual.

So it looks like I wont be getting too much done today either because the firemen explained to me that if the line does end up snapping it could arc and cause electrical damage. So until the problem is resolved I am going to keep everything powered down.

...With Krispy Kreme Donuts

I love em...but I hate em...but I love em...but I hate em cause they love me right back...refusing to leave me...clinging to the very heart of me...literally. Grabbing a hold of me and attaching themselves to my "love" handles. Why oh why do they tempt and tease me so...calling me with the flashing red light....I must investigate to discover what level of hell these sultry treats were created in...

My children and I were out the other day. Being the observers that we are we are, we couldn't help but notice how many young guys were doing this funky penguin waddle walk. The walk was the result of their pants being way down near their knees. Every few minutes, sometimes even in unison they would reach down and pull them up just a little to prevent them from falling all the way down.

I began to chuckle to myself, because it was a funny site indeed. That's when it hit me. I came up with an idea for a new game. Those country kids sneak out at night and have fun cow tipping. Why can't the urban folks have a fun game like that...they can...it's called Thug Tippin!

The object of the game is to wait for the right time, and when someone with their pants down at their knees walks by...you give them a quick push..and watch them topple over. (Be sure to have you video camera ready) Bonus points are awarded if you can take out an entire crew like a set of dominoes. We're still working out the details...but it's gonna be fun LOL!


Just kidding :), you can read an article I published for more about what I think about recent proposals to make saggy pants a crime, it's called "No End In Sight." Enjoy!

Early this year on another of my blogs I mentioned this movie. I knew once I had seen the premise that someone was going to have a problem with Robert Downey Jr. playing the role of a black person.

Personally having seen some of the movie already I happened to find it hilarious. Anyone familiar with Ben Stiller knows that no one is off limits when it comes to making fun of people...especially on this go round where the real targets are actors.

I was prepared to hear some flack about Downey being made up as and acting like a black person, I was surprised to see the real fallout was over the repeated use of the word retard. I'm pretty sure that Tropic Thunder is far from being politically correct...but most Hollywood comedies aren't...I think that sometimes that's what makes people laugh.

Maybe that's what people need to do more...laugh at themselves instead of just sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for someone to say something offensive so they can raise up in protest.

  It was exciting to see Cullen Jones get the opportunity to go for the gold as part of the US Men's Olympic Swim team.  Although he is not the first African American Olympic Swimmer, not the first to receive a Gold Medal, the fact that his participation is a part of the Phelps Phenomenon has permanently etched Jones win in athletic and Olympic History.   Ironically the first African American swimmer to go gold was Anthony Ervin, in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Australia swimming on the relay team with a young (15 year old) Michael Phelps.

As I watched Cullen Jones at the Press Conference, I found myself in agreement with him that the stereotype and stigma that Black people can't swim can finally be put to rest.  Jones, himself actually became a swimmer after almost drowning  as a kid.  It's also worth noting that Jones dedicates his time to help make sure that more African Americans learn how to swim.   

I have always enjoyed watching the Olympics. It's better that watching a soap opera or a dramatic movie. The 2008 Olympics in Beijing have been particularly interesting to me. I can't help but be inspired as I watch athletes like Michael Phelps push themselves to do what was once thought to be impossible. To be honest after watching him win all of those medals and do it with such style and grace I was tempted to go hop in the pool myself. In any case the 2008 Olympics in China are shaping up to be extremely memorable indeed.

Senator John Edwards has come clean and has admitted to cheating on his wife. In so doing he has fallen from grace with many of his supporters. Personally I am not surprised when political officials get caught in affairs. They make a living out of rationalizing things and making things look good for the people..it's not a far stretch for them to justify having an extra marital affair.

What is puzzling to me, however is the apparent double standard there seems to be. Here we have John Edwards on the hot seat because of his affair...and yet earlier this year Babara Walters was rewarded with a pat on the back and an increase in book sales when she confessed of her own infidelity. It just has me wondering if there is a double standard here? I think adultery is wrong no matter who you are...but it does seem that we make allowances and excuses for some when they do it...what do you think...

It's never about who's the best person for the job...it's always I'm better than the other guy.  But this new trick by McCain is actually pretty darn clever...if you are not the most popular choice then paint the popular guy as a celebrity and nothing more...that way as your popularity begins to decline you can attribute it to that fact that you are not a celebrity like that other guy...it's wickedly brilliant don't you think?   Or as Paris Hilton would say "That's Hot!"

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so...

One thing my parents and teachers have always told me is to think before I speak. It's worth the few extra minutes it takes to put some thought into what you are about to let come out of your mouth, because once it comes out...try as you may you can't take it back.

This year I have been paying close attention to the political race...well not really close attention, just more attention than I normally do. I can't believe how many times someone has opened their mouth only to have to come back later on and apologize and back pedal on what they said.

A recent example is the new line of ads coming from the McCain Camp. The ads equate Obama as nothing more than a celebrity similar to Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears. Ironically Paris Hilton's mother happens to be a McCain supporter and she didn't think the ads were funny at all. Maybe when they came up with the idea it seemed like it would be funny...who knows maybe if they would have actually took a minute to think about it that might have decided on something else. Bottom line is once the words come out...you can't take them back...so it is always a good idea to "think before you speak."

I like the way he puts it...

Poetri - Monsters in My Stomach