Sitting on My Porch Part Twenty Nine

Someone I know lost her brother two years ago. Her family didn’t know who did it. Last week a young man was killed and the word got back to them that this was the person who killed her brother. I asked myself that if that many people know this was the person why they just didn’t tell the police and give their family closure. Then I thought about the fact that while they would have had closure someone else would have probably got shot for snitching and another family would be grieving. I couldn’t think of a scenario where at least one more person was killed and that is depressing. It leads back to the only real option that we have to stop the killing cold turkey. The cycle continues and I don't know when it is going to end.

Councilwoman Shelly Midura says she is not running for re-election. I respect that decision and think everyone else on the council should not run as well. There’s no way you can be in this city government for the last four years and not be so drained that you can barely keep enough composure not to start cursing at people during meetings. I will go even further and say I am going to be extra skeptical of anyone over eager to run for office or re-election. The task facing the next group is going to be so great that no one who is not insane should be that excited about the job. It's good to have ambition and want a shot at the job but I think some hesitation in running for office is normal.

Lets all agree that the jobs that are being lost now were already in the process of being eliminated months before the stimulus was passed. Unless we were going to cut a check directly to every company in America with a guarantee that no one loses their job there was no way to stop most of these layoffs from happening. That's what companies do when they are having financial problems. If there are 500 employees on your job and 200 of you get laid off, someone has already figured out how to make that place run with the 300 people that are left. Even if things get better there isn't necessarily a need to hire anyone back.

In the past month I have met three people who recently moved to my city and got really good jobs within two weeks of being here. At the same time I know qualified people who have been here their whole life that can’t get an interview. It’s time to switch up the game plan. Everyone from the city needs to put an out of state address on their resume. I think the hood zip codes have been flagged for file 13. We just need to find a way to hide our accents. Don't feel less worthy if someone puts in a good word or sets up a job opportunity for you. Everyone else is doing it.

I’m happy to report that I am still not on Twitter and Facebook is looking kind of shaky to me. It’s strange that no matter how little information you put on your Facebook profile it can find everyone you went to school with, worked with, or had a date with in the last 20 years. If you are one of those people who wanted to ignore your past then you shouldn't be on Facebook.

Today I had a few minutes at work and decided to look at the kind of emails that are in my spam folder. Am I the only guy that thinks if the subject matter that comes through spam was all legit my life would be legendary and iconic? If the offers in spam were real there would be guys calling in from work just to check their email all day.

One of the few cool things left about living in the city you grew up in is going somewhere that kicks in a childhood memory. Tonight I went to a convenience store and parked in the same spot where when I was nine years old my brother put my dad’s Ford LTD and we started rolling backwards into Bayou St. John. I still remember me and my sister screaming in panic while my dad ran out of the store like the black Indiana Jones to jump in and stop the car. That was a good day.

This song is dedicated to all the people who are struggling with something at the moment. Try to stay positive and if you just need to smile think about me wearing the black hat the brother has on in this video because I think I want one.