Living Off My Reputation

I have been getting sloppy lately. When I first accepted the position of coordinator for the system that I work with I was so gung ho about having a title for the first time in years that I put allot into it. I even took over doing the trainings and meetings around the area. It was sort of a way to get away from things going on personally. I did a great job and I have a excellent reputation in my line of work. If I got paid based on my reputation and image I would be at seven figures, but somewhere along the line I stopped being focused. Maybe all the compliments and good will lulled me into a false sense of security and stopped paying attention to detail. Maybe it's my insomnia or my constant post Katrina hangover that gets worse every time I realize everything about my life was better before and things basically suck at the moment and I see no positives. Whatever the reason is doesn’t matter.. I have not been doing my job that well at all the past few months.My favorite part of work is teaching classes. It's a rush to stand in front of people and help then learn what you already know. I took it so seriously that I would prepare the equipment two days in advance and would actually plan out everything I was going to say down to my opening joke. The last few have been horrible. I have not been ready. Yesterday I forgot to log on the computers so everyone sat in front of a blank screen. I even skipped and entire step on one of the procedures. This morning I was reading some documents that users have to sign before I can let them use the system. There was a brother in there that stopped me on the first page and asked a very valid question about a procedure that I should have been able to explain.

I couldn't answer him.

I made up some stuff that sounded like it might be correct but actually he had me at a lost for words. My explanation was so bad that other trainees started adding on to his question and I wanted to jump out of the glass doors and cancel the whole damn thing. There were about three more times today where I really couldn't formulate my answer to user questions. I knew the answers but I wasn't focused enough to get it out. Today was the first class who left one of my trainings that could legitimately ask if I know what the hell I am doing. That drives a egomaniacal dude with a Napoleon complex like me crazy. The brother that started all of the debate earlier probably thought I was pissed at him. When I let everyone out for lunch I shook his hand and thanked him. I thanked him for being sharp enough to pick up on the discrepancy in what I was saying and for being the one that finally made me realize I have to get my act together. Once the class was over, I went back to my desk, opened my notepad and wrote the following words inside of the front cover......THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! Even with all the stress, I still have to represent my name.

Let There Be Light

If there are any people reading this blog that are planning to visit the city of New Orleans I have a request. See, the ratio of importance our local government puts on things that locals want in relation to things tourist like to do is about ten to one. For example, we don’t have a midnight to 5AM curfew to help with crime in the city because people like to go to the French Quarter and get pissy drunk until 4AM. That’s why I need all the tourist to call their travel agents and the hotels and start demanding that you be able to go fishing or hang out on the lake after dark so the city can turn the lights on. Every evening around sundown the Lakefront police come out and put the damn barricades up and the lake becomes pitch black. I think after all we have had to put up with before, during and after the storm, the least we could get is some lights so the old people can catch some catfish and I can sit on a bench, enjoy a nice cigar and a drink while dodging mosquitoes. That’s one of my favorite parts about living here even if some of the lake was sitting in my living room. So please tourists, let’s start getting those buses out to Lakeshore Dr. If bus tours could get the Lower Ninth Ward cleaned up some then I am sure a few daily trips after hours can get the lights at the lakefront turned on. On behalf of all the late night fisherman and young people with nowhere else to chill, I thank you in advance for your help.

Spy In The Building!!

For almost a year now I have been waiting to hire someone to work with me. I have given at least five resumes to my director with all different levels of education and qualifications. Lately I have been pushing him to advertise for it again because I am tired of working alone and some of the things I want to do will require more than one person. You have to be careful what you wish for.
This morning he tells me he wants me to meet someone he interviewed. That was confusing because I was here all last week and I didn't see any ads or candidates. The person is the other new director's boyfriend that moved from Florida with her. How am I supposed to be honest about how I feel about him if he already knows all of upper management? That explains why she paraded him around last week on a tour of this raggedy office. My director says he likes him, and it's the other one's boyfriend so why even go through the fake process of my interview? Just hire the sumbitch and don't patronize me acting like I have a say so. I don't know the man personally. He might be a good guy. We just have one major issue. HE KNOCKS BOOTS WITH A MEMBER OF UPPER MANAGEMENT!!! Have you ever worked at a job with someone who was sleeping with or closely related to upper management? They are basically untouchable. Plus, do you know how much information you can get from a man after sex? What's to stop him from telling her everything going on in our department? One of the beauties of my job is that no one here besides my director really knows exactly what I do. Now he is bringing his ass in here to let out all the secrets. Plus, we couldn't find anyone from New Orleans trying to come home to give a job to? He's not even that qualified. I am not above planting a nickel bag of weed and a switchblade in his desk if he comes in here tripping.

A Poem I Wanted to Share

I borrowed this from a talented sister named Tanisha. I love this piece and I figured this was a good way to kick the week off.

Our Rainbow*

High-Yellow

As the rising sun

Vibrant

Caramel

Like the melted butter fused with sugar

Full of flavor

Sienna dipped Milk Chocolate

Resembling portions of broken earth

Unique

Blue-black

Like the night sky after sunset

Peaceful

When the storms bring gloom

Our rainbow shines brightly

For we are

Vibrant

Full of Flavor

Unique

Peaceful

and strong enough to tackle any obstacle

© 2007 tlg

Cliff's Rambling Again

This blog is dedicated to Joe “Hollywood “Horn. We gonna miss you in the black and gold. Pleaaassse don’t sign with Atlanta and make me hate you.

The office is a rough place sometimes. As I sip on this long island tea and watch wrestling, I have to reflect on my day today. Sometimes you just have one that sucked. I can’t focus on anything in particular and the things I want to write about contain a personal conflict. I can’t write about my job because I think I have a nosey co-worker who reads this page and I will probably have to say something about his sensitive ass. I can’t write about the criminal justice system in New Orleans because I have a friend that’s a DA and I got a ticket that’s still floating. I can’t complain about the Road Home program because I have a friend that works for them and I don’t really understand the damn thing anyway. I was going to go off about Walter Reed Medical Center and the treatment of the troops but since I have been checking on a close friend who has a good enough position there to testify before Congress I can’t talk about that. All of those factors mean you get to read a bunch of foolishness until the end of the week. Here are some things to ponder while I get this office together.

Is it okay to call Britney Spears the Caucasian Whitney Houston?

How many times can a woman your mother’s age range age piss you off at work before you say something to her like she’s young? I am going to call my mama and ask her. I am her baby so it will probably be one time and that’s it. She might wanna come down here and get her for me.

How many months have to pass before we are allowed as a people to claim a body and bury it? James Brown died weeks before Anna Nicole Smith and she has already been laid to rest. A perm can’t hold together that long. Its going to really bother me that Brother James started his eternal rest with a dry process in his head. This would have never happened to Elvis.

A blonde playboy model with multiple baby daddies really fascinates white people.

If I go to the same strip club ten years after the first time I went, is it ok for me to not believe the girl anymore who told me she was dancing to pay her college tuition? I’m just saying…she should be a damn professor by now.

In 2007 New Orleans will enter the record books when a car rolls over a pothole, disappears and ends up in China. It will surely happen uptown where driving to work is like a video game.

Is New Orleans the only city where a bunch of people can get together to reminisce, talk about buying liquor and cigarettes from the sweet shop at five years old for thier family and no one in the room thinks anything is wrong with that?

I saw a dude today who had his pants buckled at his knees. The question I have is where did he find those boxer shorts that went all the way to his ankles? They don’t have those in the big and tall catalog. If I can't send my dad any drawers for Father's Day it will be because the skinny dudes bought em all.

Ladies, I don’t mean to be rude but it has to be said. There is a fashion crisis going on in the hood. Listen, if your hips and waist are the same measurements (36, 36, 36) you can’t wear those jeans that hang on your waist. You don't have anything to hold them up so when you walk they start falling down. When you are in the store and bend down to get something from the bottom shelf, guys come with one dollar bills to put in your pockets. I'm tired of looking at your all your business in Walmart.

How many times must a person call you back to back within a ten minute span before you can cuss at them when you speak? If I don’t answer the work phone and you leave a message, I can’t finish what I am doing, check the message and call you back in the thirty seconds it took you to call my cell and leave another message. The Cliff rule is that if you call me twice before I call you back I won’t call at all for the rest of the day.

I knew I was getting old when someone said there goes Mr. Harris and I started looking around for my dad. It was a long ride home when I realize they were talking about me. Lil Wayne doesn’t sound the same after a teenager calls you mister.

Here,Now,& Before...The Grill

The hurricane come and took my Louisiana home, And all I got in return was a durn country song

Lil Wayne – Hollywood Divorce




For the first time since August 2005, I went outside and lit up the BBQ grill. My boy gave me a goat leg to break in my new grill once I moved back to the house. I got up in the morning, went to the store to get some other meat and beer, to my parents house to get the table off of the porch and to my friend’s house to get my new unopened BBQ utensils my mom sent me for my birthday. It came with a Saints apron too so you know I was ready. The day was great. The sun was beaming but it wasn’t hot. The radio was playing. Kids were running around playing. My neighbor kept coming to the back while working on his house to try to talk his way into a plate. Then my boy finally got over his hangover and came out of the trailer to help me. We had the Crown, the beer, and the meat. What else could you want in New Orleans in March?

Then it hit me. Saturday was my one of my brothers' birthday. That means that I would have been at my parents house in the Lower Nine grilling whatever he wanted. On birthdays we always get to pick the menu for the family. I probably would have gone to Mildred or one of my aunts to ask them how to cook a goat. Then I would have went by Geraldine and told her I had a goat leg, made a crazy joke she would only laugh at because I told it then had to sit back and listen to Bernadine make wise cracks and jokes about the goat for hours while Big Cliff told us everything we were doing wrong on the grill as he left to buy more beer. That would have been fly. Even if it wasn’t my brother’s birthday, everyone knows that before Katrina I was the king of waking up in the morning and turning the desire to grill into a 50 guest event in a few hours. No one can organize a freestyle party like me. Some of that guest list lives in Dallas, Memphis and Opelousas now. While we were outside adding wood to the fire, I mentioned to my boy how the blue rocks in the driveway came out of my fish tank when they were cleaning and gutting the house. He picked a few up and told me to put them in the new tank when I bought it. I started thinking about Big Blue and Tupac my two beloved fish. I started wondering if a catfish that made it through an open window had eaten my boys. After that, we were walking in the yard looking for some more wood and the damn cable I used to tie Sandy to when I had to open the gate is still wrapped around the pole in the shed. I started talking about finding her on one of those pet rescue sites and this stupid bitch answers the phone and swears to me that they hadn’t received any Katrina dogs in weeks when I called. I should have drove to the shelter in Houston anyway. Post Katrina New Orleans may be the only place in the country where you could be having the time of your life and making yourself really depressed at the exact same time. It’s sort of like going to a jazz funeral every single day for 18 months. That’s the emotional price we are paying for bringing our ass back. At least we can still have fun.

President Bush was in New Orleans yesterday to let us know that we are not forgotten.
Have you ever had a friend that owes you money who always mentions it whenever you two are together but can't seem to find the time to reach into his wallet and give it to you? That's what it feels like whenever we get a visit from the federal government.

Keep Your Damn Game

When the Hornets first came to New Orleans I was worried and not enthused. The reason why I never jumped on that bandwagon is because I could tell from the attitude of the commissioner that he really didn't want a team here. After Katrina we lost both of our professional sports teams had to relocate. The NFL found a way to come back and thrive. The Hornets are still playing in Oklahoma City. Since the NBA felt bad because the NFL showed such a commitment to the city, David Stern decided to give New Orleans the 2008 All-Star game. Last week's game in Vegas ended up being a big ass gang fight all over town. Now, the players are scared to come to New Orleans out of fear of safety?

I have a newsflash for those who don't live here or who haven't been here since the storm. When I step out of my door and head to work every morning, I am not ducking bullets being sprayed across the highway. Crime here is no worse than it is anywhere else really. It's just glorified because we have a group of citizens and media looking to assassinate our character. If there is one thing New Orleans knows how to do well it is hosting big events. I would remind these punk ass NBA players that since Katrina we have hosted Mardi Gras twice, a Jazz festival, Sugar Bowl, Bayou Classic and a NFL playoff game. What makes you think we can't handle your little boring ass event? I get so sick and tired of people who are not living here or haven't even visited since the storm passing judgment on my city based on some story they saw on the news 6 months ago. Just because the Las Vegas police couldn't handle a few ignorant Negroes doesn't mean the NOPD can't. Even if the NOPD has trouble we can just call Harry Lee and he'll take care of everything. I am pure blood New Orleans soldier. That means that there are times when even though I may need to be nice and accommodating, I will say something mean and hateful because I am thinking with my emotions and not my brain. This is one of those times. Keep your damn NBA All Star game and take your funky ass Hornets team to another city. I am sick and tired of having to kiss uninformed people's ass. Tracy McGrady is just mad because he's not Kobe. Nobody is going to your lazy eyed ass anything.

Too Much Information

A few days ago Rev. Al Sharpton discovered that his descendants were once owned by the descendants of the late Senator Strom Thurmond (the one with the secret black baby). I know how progressive black people feel about having one person speak for all of us so I will only speak for me and probably most of my close friends. I don't think I am ready to find out what white family owned my kin folks. That's a psychological barrier I am not prepared to climb. I guess it's ok to find out what tribe you are from unless you are from the one that sold the first slaves. Then you have to deal with being the brothers that started this madness. What if you are a supervisor somewhere full of confidence then you find out that the janitor's great great grandfather used to make your great great grandfather pull the plow when the donkey got tired. I don't care who you are, that's going to bother you. I think I am cool knowing my people are from the 7th Ward. No one owned us once we got that far.

Denial is a Problem's No. 1 Enabler.

There are a few columns I like to read all the time. Really high on that list is Jason Whitlock from the Kansas City Star newspaper and AOL Sports. He is usually on point with his opinions except for picking against the Saints for most of the year. He wrote two pieces this week that I would like you to read.

You have to read this one first.

Then read the follow-up.

The Black KKK is a serious term.

Stupid But Honest

Tim Hardaway has been getting unwanted attention after saying he hates gay people and they shouldn't exist. That was some harsh statements. Everybody is pissed at Tim when we all know lots of NBA players feel like he does. Speaking for myself, I don't prejudge anyone based on race, relation or sexual orientation. It's much better to get to know somebody and then not like them. Plus, I am a Katrina survivor that hasn't gotten over it yet so the anger I feel is crisp and precise. I know who I hate and why I hate them so I am not down with Tim and his blanket statements.
What I really don't understand is why we can't have a discussion in America about issues without someone getting labeled. It's like the politically correct police pick the side that makes you civilized and anyone that goes against suffers the consequences. You know even if Tim would have thought before he spoke and cleaned it up he still would have been punished. Call me crazy but if I was the first openly gay male professional athlete in a team sport I would want to know where everyone stood honestly. I need that info for two reasons. The first one is that maybe this person is uninformed and I can open his mind up to who I am. The second reason is that if he is one of those over the top ignorant people like Tim was sounding I may have to watch my back in the locker room. In 1947 when Branch Rickey was looking for a brother to break the color line in baseball, he chose Jackie Robinson primarily because he knew Jackie had enough intelligence to understand the bigger purpose take a lot of crap from people that didn't understand. Imagine that if it was like it is now back then and everyone would have been scared to say they didn't want to play with that nigger. He would have got some brother with no tolerance for bullshit and sent him out there. Inevitably he would have whipped someones ass and messed it up for everybody. No one in this country can honestly say how they feel anymore if the mainstream is against them.

Building Them Up

Last week I wrote about the tragic story of two young men. One is deceased and the other’s life is destroyed after a fist fight turned into a shooting. I asked the people that might come across this blog to send me names of positive brothers since I was tired of getting beat down by all the negativity. The site of that kid on the front page of the paper with his gun and money really depressed me. I was only hoping to have 100 names. I received over 200. Thanks to everyone who sent me an email or a comment. I only have a very small number of readers. If I have 200 names imagine what would happen if blackamericaweb.com would ask for the same thing. You would have hundreds of thousands of us. That means that we really don’t have an excuse for people for any of our brothers to be like they are. I’m going to do my part. I just don’t know exactly what it is yet. We have to build them up. I’m going to build these brothers up right here.

Ade Young
Freddie Wilson lll
Mr. Alfred Givens
Pastor Perry Wainwright
Albert Baptiste
George Thomas
Mr. Alton Celestine
Pastor Philip Davis
Alonzo McGhee
Gregory Anthony Clayton
Mr. Andre McCoy Sr.
Pastor Raymond Watson Jr.
Alphonso Sims
Haywood Cavett Jr.
Mr. Anthony Johnson
Pastor Robert Davis
Alvin St. Cyr
Henry McCathen
Mr. Billy Perkins
Pastor Troy G. Peters Sr.
Andre Wilson
Henry Smith Sr.
Mr. Cedric R. Williams
Pastor William Davis
Andrew Burrell
Herman Reese III
Mr. Cleophus Green Sr.
Patrick Mcdowell
Anthony Curry
Isaac Evans
Mr. Clifton J. Harris Sr.
Perry Bolden
Antoine McGhee
Jai Atkins
Mr. Corwin D. Broady Sr.
Phillip Martin
Antone Estes
James Mcdowell
Mr. Curtis Woods Sr.
Randy Verdin
Antonio Gaines
James Reid
Mr. Darvin Dotson
Ray Johnson
Augustus Robinson
Jason DeJesus
Mr. Dwayne Taylor
Raymond Southall
Ayo Young
Jason Turner
Mr. Edward Williams Jr.
Reginald O'Neal
Benjamin Cisrow
Jasper Howard
Mr. Elwod Mitchell
Rev. Arthur Harris
Bishop Oscar Francis
Jefferey Johnson Sr.
Mr. Eric Wright
Rev. Darrell Knight
Brandon Cooper
Jeffery Turner
Mr. Fabian Ballard
Rev. Jessie Williams
Brandon Harris
Jerald Harris
Mr. Frank Hubbard, Jr.
Ricardo Davis
Brian Monroe
Jeremie Buie
Mr. Frank Hubbard, Sr.
Robert Eames Jr.
Brien Richard
Jerome Magee
Mr. George Roberson
Robert Ellis
Bryant Thornton
Jesse Magee
Mr. Gregory Watson
Roderick Fleming
Calvin Brumfield
Jessie Ricks, Sr.
Mr. Harold Garrett
Roderick Wright
Charles Casimere
Joe Gayten
Mr. Ivy Lee Perkins
Ron Sterling
Charles McPherson
John Boykin Sr.
Mr. Jack Givens
Ronald Robinson
Charles Phillips
John Morton
Mr. Jerido
Ronald Russell
Chief L. Charles Gaines
John Thomas Robertson
Mr. John Williams
Roy Cager Jr.
Christopher Lorenzo Williams
Jon Miguel
Mr. Johnny Griffin Sr.
Sam Taylor
Christopher Small
Joseph Corley
Mr. Joseph Perkins Jr.
Samuel Young
Christopher Turner
Joseph Davis Sr.
Mr. Joseph Perkins Sr.
Sean Rosser
Clarence L. Long
Joseph Green
Mr. Kenric Polart
Shaun Evans
Clarence White
Justin Gaudet
Mr. Lanny Scharpon, Sr.
Stacey Thomas
Corey Jackson
JW Moore
Mr. Lawrence Moody
Terrell Haynes
Corey Mickel
Keith Ambrose
Mr. Lawrence Williams Sr.
Terrence Thomas
Dale Robinson
Keith Smith
Mr. Lloyd Harris
Terry Smith Jr.
Dalton Scott
Kenneth Johnson
Mr. Louis Burnett
Theodore Spence
Damon Williams
Kenyatta Arnette
Mr. Marlon Adkins
Timothy Pugh
Danny Tyler
Lamar Smith
Mr. Patrick Harris
Tom Hillard
Darly Finch
Larry Alberts
Mr. Rasheed Lacour
Tommy Cavett
Darrell Mc Cloud
Larry Taylor
Mr. Ray Parker Roberts Jr.
Tommy Lee Ricks
Darrius Epps
Larry Turner
Mr. Raymond Watson Sr.
Tommy Tobias Sr.
Darryl Fleming
Lee Estes
Mr. Robert Bateman
Tony Gaines
Darryl Shuford
Lewis Ridgley
Mr. Sean Watson
Tony Lee
Darryl Tate
Lionel Grant
Mr. Shawn Hubert
Torey Bullock
David Baker
Lorenzo Bradley
Mr. Sol Williams III
Tory Anderson
David Tate
Lt. Sheldon C. Matthews
Mr. Sol Williams Jr.
Tory Anderson
Derek Jones
Lyric Anderson
Mr. Sterling Young
Troy Lawrence, Pastor
Diallo Jackson
Marcus Moore
Mr. Thomas R. Peters Sr.
Troy Louis Raymond Southall
Douglas James Robinson
Marcus Parham
Mr. Travis A. Peters
Tyran Grainger
Dwayne Butler
Mark Cullota
Mr. Trevor Brister
Waddell B. Penn III
Dwayne Hills
Markee K Cooper
Mr. Walter Harris
Walter Smith Sr.
Eddie Lawrence Robinson
Marvin Martin
Mr. William L. Harris Jr.
Walter Wade Harris
Eddie Scott Jr.
Maurice Cullota
Mr. Willie T. Marshall
Wayne Johnson
Edgar Lane
Maurice Gilford
Nate Williams
William Owens, Jr.
Edward James
Meina Mwura
Olu Young
William Wilson
Emmanuel Mahand
Melvin Lamar
Oscar Cavett
Willie Henderson
Eric Clay
Melvyn Molder
Otis Palmer
Willie Rawls Jr.
Eric Moore Sr.
Mitchell Williams
Wilson Gage
Freddie Blue
Montrell Cooper
Zion S Cooper

Just Leave

Before I post my list of positive brothers I have something else to get off of my chest. Lots of people left New Orleans after the storm and many haven't returned. Some haven't been able to and others have found better opportunities in other cities and chose to build their lives in these places. I have no problem with these two groups in general. I also admire anyone that has came back home like I did and is trying to rebuild their lives and the pride we have in the city. It's been a very steep hill to climb. Some days it's down right depressing to be here. Every decent person here knows what kind of toll this rebuilding effort takes emotionally. That is why I am so sick and tired of national news stories about local residents talking about how miserable they are and leaving. I don't have a problem with you leaving just shut the hell up about it. It's bad enough I have to live through this shit everyday without you traitors adding fuel to the national fire and bitching to the press. If you are not happy pack your shit and go. Don't invite these big city publications into your home to show them everything that's wrong. They are not trying to help. They just want the story so they can feel better about the boring ass city where they live.

100 Brothers Strong

Two days ago two teenage boys got into a good old fashioned fistfight. One kid, Clarence Johnson apparently lost and went home. His mama gave him a gun sent him back outside and told him to “kill them all”. Here is the story if you want to read it. The young man that was murdered, Robert Dawson was taking care of his mom who has some health problems. He had been home for only four hours after riding 10 hours from Dallas with his mama. The picture of Clarence Johnson above was on the front page of the newspaper. His mama, Vanessa Johnson had this up on her mantle at home the same way you would have your child’s graduation photo. This story has affected my entire day but I am not going to dwell on it. As a black man this is a depressing thing and we tend to dwell on depressing issues. What we need to do is combat this ignorance with something uplifting. It just so happens that after I read this, brother Lionel Milton came on the radio. He is now a world renowned artist and a graduate of Thomas Edison Elementary school (a year before me). I couldn’t be prouder of that brother. That’s when I decided to write this blog at my desk this morning.
I am not writing another blog until I get the names of at least 100 black men that are positive, strong, and working hard to do the right thing. I hope to get way more than that but since this is a blog I will stick with a low number. I want anyone reading this that knows one, and we all do, to send me a comment or an email and give me their names. Once I get them all I will post them here. It doesn’t have to be a doctor, or a professor. It can be the plumber that lived across the street when you were growing up. It can be your husband, brother, dad, friend, co-worker, or anybody. Age doesn’t matter. We just need to counteract the negative. So send me your names and send this to your friends who may want to contribute.

I’ll start off with these:

Mr. Clifton J. Harris Sr.
Mr. Cedric R. Williams
Mr. Alton Celestine
Mr. Curtis Woods
Mr. Trevor Brister
Mr. Shawn Hubert
Mr. Marlon Adkins

No Respect

Yesterday I was driving to this meeting I had. I was Second and Baronne uptown in New Orleans. I am naming the streets in case someone that reads this is related to this girl and wants to go slap her. I was getting ready to park my car on First and Baronne. To my left was a group of old men sitting outside of a FEMA trailer. They were just staring at something but I couldn't see what it was. When I got a little closer I noticed a teenage boy and girl playing around. They looked innocent enough but they kept laughing at something behind this truck. When I got next to the truck I realized what the kids were laughing at and the old men were staring at. There was this teenaged girl with her legs off the ground and this boy was holding her up. This baby was serving this boy with a lap dance in the middle of the sidewalk at two o'clock in the afternoon when they both needed to be in school. I’m sure those old men wanted to say something but youngsters are so scary looking that they just shook their head.

I'm not going to preach about this one. I just have a message to everybody. If I see one of my daughters, any of my friend's daughters, any of my family members, or any of my family member's daughters out here giving some young jackass a lap dance with her legs off of the ground during the day in public, I am taking the baseball bat out of my trunk and beating down everyone involved and anyone that is out there finding it funny. I guarantee that will be the last time they shame themselves in public. We have to get some respect for ourselves back into the race. When I was ten years old me and my dad were driving and saw this girl leaning against her boyfriend's private parts at the bus stop. Big Cliff looked at me and said "if I ever see you treating your girlfriend with that kind of disrespect in public I am going to beat your ass". He was not joking at all. I'm glad my daddy wasn't with me yesterday because seeing that might have killed him.

If anybody in the New Orleans area wants me to monitor someone they know for the beat down send me an e-mail. All I need is a picture, their first name, and where they hang out.

The Most Serious Problem

For many years the kids of New Orleans have received sub par education. New Orleans has done a horrible job at educating its youth, me included, for decades. By no means am I trying to free the local school board for the mismanagement and abuse of the system. The state has been trying to take over the schools for years. I always thought local activists were crazy for fighting this considering the condition of the schools. After Katrina, Governor Blanco put the schools takeover in the special session of the legislature and the state took over while the population of the city was still hanging out in hotels. It’s now seventeen months later and some kids just got into school on yesterday after being on a waiting list. The school year started in August. When I saw this the only thing I could come up with is questions.

How in the hell are these kids supposed to learn everything they have missed? Will they still have to take the LEAP test? If they take it and fail it, is that part of their permanent school record even though they’ve missed six months of school time because there were not enough classrooms and teachers? Why did the state fire 7500 faculty and staff without at least estimating how many schools might open first? Some of those custodians would have been here night and day getting those schools together. Why didn't we have a housing plan for teachers that did come back or want to? Why did Lusher School (who already had a dry building) get to move to Fortier High School's building that could have accommodated thousands of kids immediately since it didn't have any damage? Why are there schools sitting untouched since the storm? Why is my mayor talking about a jazz park and all this pretty stuff and not saying anything about kids not having anywhere to go school? Shouldn't he and the city council be holding press conferences in the governor's mansion everyday to protest? Shouldn't this have been the first item in their "crime prevention summit"? Is Cleo Fields the only black politician in the region with the conviction to say something? Is the Recovery School District having public meetings so the citizens can voice their concerns? If they do, why is it I never hear about them? If I had school aged children, would it have been right to bring them back? How many concerned parents like mine with a school aged child didn't bring their kids back because of stuff like this? Doesn't that hurt the recovery of the city if concerned parents either can't come home or have second thoughts when they get here and leave out? The final question is this. How many people will be around to pick up the bodies of these babies from the streets after most of them become victims to the cycle of crime and violence because their country abandoned them during their formative years? Who will tell their story instead of just calling them thugs?

It might take someone more educated than I am to come up with answers and solutions to these things. I can only give you my humble opinion. My opinion is that all of these things are a cause of class warfare, racism, coward black politicians that care more about their political careers than their people, and uninformed citizens too worried about getting over. Parents have to be responsible but there isn’t a government in America that expects parents to build their own school buildings and hire their own teachers. I don't know who it is or where they are going to come from. Hell, it might even have to start with me. Something has got to be done to save these kids from this shameful activity. Maybe we should get as many buses and rides as possible and drive over to those big state of the art public schools in the suburbs and just walk on in. If we keep this up we won’t need a tidal surge and a failed levee system to destroy the city again. It will be done from the inside by the ignorance of our own children when they destroy each other and take the community with them.

Clifton

A Few Houses At A Time

A group of volunteers and paid workers helps build two new homes in the 2300 block of Delery Street. The houses, feature a new hurricane-resistent design, are the result of a partnership of the group ACORN and the LSU School of Architecture.Chris Granger / Times-Picayune

The Lower Nine is coming back a few houses at a time.

To Mr. Dungy

Today's blog is dedicated Tony Dungy for being the first black coach to win a Superbowl. In American professional sports there have only been nine coaches total to ever win a title. There are 119 Division One college programs that have 46% of black players. There are only 6 black coaches at these programs. That's why Tony Dungy winning was a very big deal.

It's not just that he won and his skin is dark. Tony Dungy has class, dignity, faith, and character and he didn't compromise any of it to make it in a profession dominated by people that don't look like him. He kept his head up after the tragedy in his family and he didn't show any bitterness when he was fired in Tampa and another man got to take all the credit for something he built. It goes to show that if you stay true to who you are things can work out for you even when there is adversity. That's a great lesson in this day and age when black men seem to want to go to war for the slightest sign of disrespect. I've never heard anyone say a negative word about him as a man. You never have to cross your fingers and hope nothing stupid is coming when Tony Dungy is on television. As a black man and a sports fan you have no idea how much that means.

Congratulations Tony Dungy and the Colts.

Still Bitter...

I'll give Tony Dungy and his team props in the morning. After watching the game tonight the only thing I can think of is. Why in the hell didn't we run Deuce right at these clowns. This is going to haunt me for months...

Damn you Sean Payton. We should have ran the Deuce.

I Used to Like This Guy Too

"I mean, you've got the first sort of mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a story-book, man,"

Senator Joe Biden

The key in this statement is first sort of mainstream. That means that in all the years he has been a public official Barak Obama is the first black man that Joe Biden has ever been impressed with. Guess what? Joe Biden's a Democrat. There are not many statements made publicly that offend me but this one does. In fact, this is worse than Michael Richards using the N-Word because this man has a say so in the policies of America. Did I mention he was a Democrat? Everyone who thinks Barak Obama has a real chance of winning a popular vote in this country please speak now.

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said Wednesday night, "It was a gaffe. It was not an intentional racially pejorative statement. It could be interpreted that way, but that's not what he meant."

Is Jesse Jackson serious? The only reason he feels this way is because Biden is a Democrat. If Joe Biden was a conservative Republican from Alabama or Mississippi, he would be leading a march to his house and demanding he step down.