Searching For The Line To Cross : What's Going Too Far?

“"Put molly all in her champagne/ She ain't even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that/ She ain't even know it,"

People are upset over some of the lyrics from Rick Ross that seem to glorify rape.  He was on the radio here in New Orleans and said he does not condone rape. He didn’t even say the word rape. Rick Ross is either ignorant in not knowing the full definition of what a rape is or he’s so stupid that he thinks you don’t condone something by not saying the word even if you describe it. My personal opinion is that you can only keep talking about the same subject song after song and he slipped up in an attempt to be creative. It was wrong and he should apologize and never perform that song.

There a few times a year when the community has a moment that triggers a reaction and you wonder if we are finally at the line where everyone thinks it’s time to stop certain behavior and get ourselves in order. Usually it’s something much bigger than a song lyric like a baby being shot or Trayvon Martin. No matter how much these events affect us things seem to go right back to the way they were. I don’t think that’s because we don’t care. I think it’s because we don’t know what the line is anymore. When there doesn’t appear to be a limit to what you can say and how you can act it’s difficult to know when enough is enough.

When I was in high school The Geto Boys had a song called Gangsta of Love. If my daddy had known this kind of song was in those headphones that I never took off he would have made me sleep on the porch. I was going to post a link to it but I don’t know who is going to read this. That song’s lyrics are so misogynistic it makes the things today’s rappers say seem like love songs. That was over 20 years ago right when the crack era was in full swing. From those days until now we have experienced so many things and nothing has seemed to pull the community together to correct itself. There has to be a limit somewhere.

I have my own personal limits to what I will and won’t do. In any situation I can feel if I am taking something too far and pull myself back. I got that from my family who set expectations on a certain level of behavior. I know there are a lot of black families who have the same expectations and standards. There are reasons I may not be smart enough to figure out that makes it seem like it’s impossible to spread this around to the community as a whole. I think the downward spiral started when we made the decision to embrace hustling and getting money above all else. That’s how drug dealers got to thrive for so long in our neighborhoods while destroying them. That’s why mothers let their sons stay out all night doing things they shouldn’t do to buy tennis shoes and clothes because they think he needs those things to be somebody. That’s why our young ladies love those guys and why Rick Ross can get rich faking like he’s one o f them. How was he supposed to know a line about slipping a molly into a woman’s drink was going to piss anyone off? He may have performed that song live a few times and the first three rows full of women were singing along with him.

You should never say anything that indicates it’s okay to have sex with a woman without her consent. I’m not a fan of Rick Ross and its okay for people to go after him for awhile but let’s keep it all in perspective. Unless we make some tough choices and have the family argument we need to get these things corrected we are headed for a full blown rape song.  Anything is possible when the game has no rules.

Sitting On My Porch Part Eighty Seven

2013 has gotten off to a rocky start. First, my take home pay was reduced when the Medicaid tax cut expired. Second, my take home pay was reduced when my private insurance went up again just because they could do it. The only thing more expensive in this country than potential illness is actually being sick. Maybe I’ll get some of that money back when the insurance exchanges kick in next year. I’m not optimistic about it since I live in Louisiana and our governor seems to be trying to do all he can to make sure everyone has to pay as much as possible for healthcare. 

When I found out that our insurance at work was going up again I thought about not signing those papers. I figured I’m young enough where I could make it a year or two without coverage. The extra few hundred dollars in my pocket would be good. I eventually sucked it up and agreed to keep paying because anything can happen in life no matter how old you are and if I really needed medical attention I would rather be faced with coming up with the money to cover the portion my insurance won’t or going into complete financial ruin by having to pay for everything. After the country almost broke out in another civil war behind healthcare legislation a few years ago, the fact people are still making these kinds of decisions makes all that seem like a big waste of time.

Now we are all in the middle of the sequester drama. I don’t think my job is affected in the short term but who knows what the future holds. I guess it will depend on how Congress and the president feel about the homeless. There's 96 million in cuts to homeless assistance programs so I guess they don't feel that good about it. I'm sure if the budget was slashed and my position was eliminated I can get one of those great private sector jobs if the freeloaders who are laid off sooner haven't taken them all. Everyone in Louisiana will have a great job from a Fortune 500 company once the governor frees them from the burden of corporate taxes so I'm not worried.

I don’t really understand why Democrats would have ever agreed to this in the first place unless they wanted it to happen. Nothing has forced Congress to move from any of their positions on spending in the last few years. They gave in a little during the Fiscal Cliff crisis and were acting like they sold out all of their values. They weren't moving on the sequester deal. I think they threw the military cuts in the deal to give the GOP a reason to cooperate and even that didn’t work. It seems like he’s been talked into more unnecessary financial crisis and every time his opponents get more and more of that they want.  He gave up his biggest playing card when he didn’t let the Bush tax cuts expire. He would have had the same hate towards him and the same attacks on his character only with half the deficit that would be steadily shrinking. I support the president but something is wrong when he can't get one long term financial deal done while President Bush got two wars funded, a tax cut, and a bank bailout while the deficit was growing. It makes you think the current administration is taking the wrong approach. I'm not smart enough to know what the right approach is but the current one doesn't seem to be working. 

I always have a lot on my mind and I used to write about it to let it out. I’ve shared a lot of my personal feelings with the public. I’ve tried not to do that as much lately. Sometimes I think about some of the blogs I posted and how personal they were. I’m not sure if I would write some of the things I did in 2006 and 2007 in 2013. When I first started blogging social media and self appointed spokespersons weren’t as out of control as they are now. There are two issues that I have a problem with. The first is that people can take something you say out of context and run with it without you having a chance to explain yourself. I guess that’s the price you pay for sharing your opinions in the first place. The other issue is some people are labeling themselves as an example of a particular way of life or ideology. There are a lot of people trying to become famous by being the voice of the “intelligent black man”, or the “strong black woman”, or the “New Orleans expert”, “black fathers”, or “the hood” and any other niche you could think of. I never wrote anything to try to be the voice of any of these things.  I’m just trying to be Cliff and not mess that up too much.

I don’t have a lot of guys in my inner circle. I’ve never made close friends with guys that easy. I had more friends when I was younger but life and time has made that number even less. I value those guys like family so to lose one is a devastating blow. A few weeks ago I lost one of them in a truck accident and the world seems a lot less fun. I want to close this post by saying rest in peace to Black Chris. I think about him every time I have a really crazy thought during the day and I need someone to share it with. I don’t think I’m ever going to have that kind of routine with another friend again because I wouldn’t let anyone cuss at me the way he did.

Quick Thoughts on Super Bowl and It's Host City

I’ve never watched Superbowl coverage. I didn’t even watch it when the Saints were playing. There’s only so many ways you can hear the same analysis about the same game before you get tired of it. There have actually been only a few Superbowls I’ve watched all the way through because I don’t care who wins. I am going to try and watch as much as I can of the game today. By the time I post this it could be over but I’ll go ahead and predict 49ers 27 Ravens 21. I don’t like the 49ers but I like the way they play football. I think they had the best team all year. 

I have tried all week not to be the sourpuss that ruins the party for everyone. It could be a good thing I have had the flu all week and couldn’t really get into any of the local SuperBowl festivities. I’m glad the visitors are having a good time and I am glad the city did a good job. I just don’t understand why we are carrying on like this isn’t our tenth Superbowl. We kind of know what we are doing with these things or the NFL keeps coming back. Our local leaders and media are acting like this is the first big event we’ve ever hosted. Maybe that’s because so many of them weren’t living here when we hosted the other ones. I don’t know what the issue is. I may have given everyone a pass if this was the first event since Katrina. We already have done 7 Mardi Gras, a final four, a BCS Championship, and about 200 festivals. I’ll admit that the Superbowl is bigger than any of that but we need to tone it down a bit.  Hosting people is what we do best. We need to go overboard with patting ourselves on the back when we cut the murder rate in half or end homelessness.

Manti And Today's Culture

I’ve been watching and reading about Manti Te’o for the last two days. It’s a real fascinating story. It has so many elements of what I feel is wrong with our current culture. There are a lot of situations with this same kind of vibe to them going on but we usually don’t get a chance to break them down the way you can with Manti’s dilemma. The best part about it is that you can talk about it and even joke about it because no one has really been hurt in this. Since the girl doesn’t exist you can’t disrespect her family. No one around Te’o set up a fundraising event for cancer so there’s been no real fraud. Unless something changes this story is entertaining and harmless but there are some things that should alarm everybody.

I’ve known people personally who have fell in love with someone online that they haven’t met in person. It’s one of the elements of our society with so much technology. I can talk to everyone in my life without ever picking up the phone or leaving my house if I chose to. It was inevitable when the Internet became accessible as it now that people would be meeting that way. Besides, there’s a dating site for just about ever demographic you can think of. I’m not questioning that part of his story. The part that I will question is how in 2012 he wouldn’t at least have a camera phone or Instagram picture of the lady. There are people who take so many pictures during the day that you wonder what kind of cell phone batteries they have. I know Manti is Mormon and is a little slow socially but that’s ridiculous.

Personally, if I was in love with someone but I never saw her and couldn’t at least describe her I probably would have kept that relationship to myself. That way I could protect myself just in case things didn’t work out. Manti chose to go on a promotional tour highlighting his strength and perseverance to play through the pain of losing her and his grandmother on the same day as if his grandmother wasn’t enough lost on her own. It doesn’t matter if he was duped or not. It’s his fault for trying to milk the story for everything he good. He took that story and embellished it in an effort to transcend football and it worked well enough to place second in the Heisman trophy balloting. It seems like we can’t have a nice story and move on. We had to take him playing through grief and turn it into him damn near walking on water. Anyone can make themselves a national figure if they go over the top with their story enough. This is how Donald Trump became a legitimate voice in the presidential election.

That brings me to the most troubling part of this entire thing. How did a football player at one of the most famous schools in the country manage to go this long with a story that got attention from national media without anyone checking the facts long before this? It’s not like an on campus blogger blew the story up and it became viral. This story was blown up by major news corporations. These are some of the same news corporations we depend on for information about the policies and issues that are shaping our world. It makes you wonder how many people are walking around misinformed but don’t think they are misinformed because they got their information from the six o clock news. Maybe Manti Te’o’s story is basically harmless but we just had an election cycle with so many lies and negativity that I don’t think anyone really knows what’s going on. We are all just going on what we want to believe based on our personal beliefs. In the same way Te’o wanted that young lady to be a real person we want to believe that the things we are told by media and our leaders is honest. We may all be getting “catfished” right now.

Walk with a Real One: Mama's Words

This is another edition of "Walk with a Real One" and this post is dedicated to the five foot something lady who has always been by my side whenever I need her.  Yes, I'm talking about my dear mother, the queen bee, the lady in charge.  I think if I tried to express what this lady means to me, I would need about 3 blog posts but the reason she's my focus of this post is because she,too, is joining the blogging world.  My mom has decided to do a blog called "Mama's Words" and I think its going to be really great once she gets it up and going.

My mom has a very creative mind and can come up with things right off the top of her head.  I would love to read about what my mom has on her mind and see how she puts it into words of her own.  Since I've moved out, i've made a conscious effort to go over when I can and see what's new and with the blog, I can know what's on her mind more often even if I'm not there.

So as I end this and brag on my outstanding mother some more,  I encourage everyone to read this and I know you're going to love it.  It must be something in the Harris bloodstream that gets those creative juices flowing.  This has been another edition of "Walk with a Real One" and I'll sign out with these words of encouragement: GO READ MY MAMA BLOG!!!

Sitting On My Porch Part Eighty Six

This is the first blog post of 2013. I have to say it was a good holiday season. There wasn’t anything I did or money I spent that I regret. The kids just went back to school and I just started a rare early year vacation.  The agency finally got serious about me taking some of my vacation days. While everyone else is getting into the flow for the New Year I am watching ESPN and drinking a few cups of coffee.  I wrote a task list for this week so I could feel like I was productive in some way. There’s a good chance that only one or two of the things I wrote down will get done. 

I was snapped out of holiday mode last Friday after receiving my paycheck and noticing my social security tax increase. When I first saw the decrease in my take home pay I got upset. No one wants to lose money they could be using throughout the week. Then I calmed down and realized that I have to do my part.  Besides, who knows what we will be paying in deductions after the next government showdown on the debt and the budget. It seems like we are going to have one of those every two months so this increase may only be temporary. It’s almost time for the next debt ceiling crisis so who knows what may happen.  I figure if people raise too much hell about the increase it may trigger the politicians to rationalize that no one wants social security and try to do something to cut it. It doesn’t take much to talk the president into making a bad deal so I’ll just be quiet. 

It’s just a minor adjustment to the budget until the insurance exchanges kick in and I can find a health insurance policy that cost a lot less than the HMO’s plan that is draining our agency and is going up yet again in 2013. I would have still preferred the public option but I guess the exchange will have to do. Between the insurance and the taxes, you have to set your budget with some overhead just in case.
I didn’t watch any football this weekend. After the Saints bounty season I needed a break. It felt like my team’s chances were taken away from them off the field. It’s hard to tell if the team would have made the playoffs even if they had the coach. After all, they did give up a record number of yards on defense. I don’t know if Sean Payton could have done anything about that. We’ll never know if we could have or not and that’s what sucks about the situation. It’s going to be interesting when Roger Goodell gets to town for the Super Bowl.

Speaking of the Super Bowl…...

I will not be heading anywhere near the CBD unless I absolutely have to. I don’t have time or the patience to keep up with all of the street closures and I am not sitting in traffic for 30 minutes just to get back to work. It’s going to be hectic down there until Mardi Gras.  I am not sure why we have to start blocking off streets so soon. The Superbowl is almost a month away. I guess you have to set up security and everything but that just seems like a long time to shut off streets in the city.

I have been thinking about cutting back on social networking in 2013. That’s going to be a more difficult task than I expected. First of all I have two cell phones, a tablet, and a laptop available everywhere I go. Second of all, I just had an evening long conversation with friends and family on Facebook about whether you should soak red beans before you cook them.  I would miss those moments.

There’s a rapper name Trinidad James that kind of sucks to me because I am grown. I was riding around with a teenager in the car Friday and when that guy came on he acted like he was listening to Marvin Gaye. Instead of acting like an old man and putting down hip hop in general, I tried to break down life and explain the impact of Rakim in 1987. It’s my responsibility to let the kids understand greatness.

2013: Moving Forward and Looking Back To A Lazy 2012

2012 is coming to a close. The best thing about this year is that for the first year in a long time I didn’t have to be anyone’s pall bearer. Despite the ups and downs this makes the year a good one overall for me.

In 2013 my daughter will be taking the Leap test to move to the 5th grade. I’m not nervous about it. That test is still stupid. I can remember writing about my frustration getting her registered for kindergarten almost five years ago. She’s growing up while I and this blog are getting old.

In 2013 I will celebrate my 39th birthday which means I have one more year left before my 40’s start.  Since the life expectancy for black men is 70 years old, I think 39 is a good year for a cool mid life crisis. I think I’m going to let my hair grow and get a mohawk. I hope it stays in style long enough for me to get it without looking out of touch like I really am.

In 2013 I will still be getting my middle class tax break from the president which will almost be enough to offset the increases in our agency’s insurance plan.

In 2013 something will happen in the country that challenges one group’s beliefs. Since we are no longer allowed to think beyond ideology anymore, that group will come up with a way to make an obvious problem unclear so we won’t develop any real solutions.

In 2013 New Orleans will host the Superbowl. Because we have no choice our leaders will have to embrace the NFL commissioner. He’ll probably get greeted at the airport by a second line and Mardi Gras Indians. At that point an entire fan base will all throw up simultaneously setting a world record and creating a financial boon for carpet cleaning services in the area.

Other than these things the only thing I am certain of is that 2013 will look a lot like 2012, 2011, 2010, etc…..

When the calendar changes to a new year it gives you a feeling of starting fresh. There are two times a year where people talk themselves into thinking they can reset their lives. One of those times is your birthday and the other one is New Years. Those two annual days are used by humans to put off things they have wanted to work on but didn’t want to actually start working on. There are people who have been waiting since August to lose fifty pounds but they put it off and it becomes their New Year’s resolution. I’m starting to come to the realization that it doesn’t matter what I decide to because I’m probably not going to change much anyway.  I’m not saying that to be negative. I’m just being realistic. Nevertheless, it’s still good to look back at the year and see what went right and what went wrong. If I had to put a theme to 2012 it would be the year that I became lazy and partially tuned out on the world around me. This year was the year where I stopped paying attention like I used to.

I have always had a bit of a lazy streak in me. It goes hand in hand with my difficulty focusing on something for a long time. Most days my preference would be to do absolutely nothing. Somehow as an adult I have managed to push through it and develop a strong work ethic. It's the reason I have received perfect attendance records from employers and have so much vacation hours saved that I can take off weeks at a time. Being lazy as I am now hasn't stopped me from doing all the things I have to do throughout the week. Where my laziness kicks in is when it comes to things that I want to do or could be doing but have the option not to. My laziness shows up in the meetings and events I was invited to but didn’t attend. It’s in the rides to Memphis I didn’t take to see my parents. It’s in the voicemails I didn’t return, the family and friends I didn’t visit and all the weekends I stayed home and watched too much television. My laziness can be found in all of the things I didn’t read and things I didn’t write.

I bought a basketball a while ago because I love playing it. It was one thing I did as a kid that I missed and felt I could still do again even if I went out there in the morning and just shot free throws until I got into enough shape to play a game with the other guys. I’ve only used that ball once for about fifteen minutes.

Usually during the last week of the year I get in a deep state of reflection trying to get myself prepared for the upcoming year. This year it feels like I have been in that mode since late November trying to get my energy right. I’m working on that for the New Year.  That’s about all I can do to keep myself going. We have no idea what’s going to really happen next year. All you can do is make sure you are prepared and your own agenda is intact.

I’m ready for 2013. I hope everyone has a good one.

Walk With A Real One: On My Own Now

This second edition of "Walk With a Real One" has a different tone to it.  I'm now speaking as a 21 year old young man in college, with a job, and now living on my own in my new apartment.  I'm very happy to be taking this step in my life and I look forward to living life as an adult with new responsibilities. 


When I told my parents I was moving out on my own, the reaction was what I expected.  It sort of came out of nowhere to them and they were a bit shocked but at the end of the day, they understood that I wanted to get out there and do my own thing.  It wasn't easy moving out and missing the people you seen everyday on a daily basis.  My parents, brother, and sister used to be in the same house as me but now its a 15 min drive to go visit.  I know it will be tough adjusting at first but I'm confident that the things my older siblings and my parents taught me will stay with me as I become older.  My parents are so caring and they told me that the door is always open if times get rough.

I think knowing how to budget my money and deciding on whats more important to me are the two key things for me.  I'm not much of a shopper so I don't see myself blowing money on unnecessary things and my job and my school work takes up majority of my time anyway.  I'm living with one of my best friends from school so that's a major plus.  I know he's got my back and I got his and as long as there is gas in my Buick, I'm A-Okay. 

Well this has been another edition of "Walk with a Real One."  I hope you guys enjoy and wish me luck on my own.

A Moment of Silence

I was in a meeting Friday when we heard about what happened in Connecticut. It didn’t really sink in just how tragic it was at first but once it did I had the urge to call my mama. That’s who I turn to when something happens that I don’t understand and I need someone to make me feel calm. I thought I was no longer capable of being overwhelmed by an incident dealing with gun violence because of where I live. It’s sad to admit but it’s sort of a routine thing around here.  The only time I really get shaken is when a kid is involved. Hearing about those kids being shot down like that really got to me.

Since Friday there’s been a lot of discussion about all the things that could have led to the tragedy.  The gun control proponents are looking for tougher laws. The gun rights proponents want guns in the school. Some religious folks are saying there needs to be more prayer in schools. It goes on and on.

There are many different topics we can talk about in relation to this tragedy and we should keep those discussions going until something is done. However, out of respect for the families of the victims, I choose not to give my opinion about any of it until they have at least had time to bury their love ones. I think sometimes it’s a good idea to just grieve and be silent for awhile. Besides, it’s not like our government is going to pass any law or make any changes to it left versus right philosophy just because of this one event.

I think everyone should just be quiet for awhile because the last thing the victims’ families need is to be caught up in a 24 hour news cycle while pundits yell back and forth about things they already should have been concerned about before Friday.

Finally Getting Into Holiday Mode

I finally bought a Christmas tree today. This is the latest I have ever been into the holiday season without decorating the tree. I usually do it the first weekend after Thanksgiving but I wasn’t in the mood. I haven’t even listened to any holiday music unless it came on a television commercial. As of right now I haven’t gotten into the holiday spirit. Waiting around to get into the holidays can be expensive. I learned today that the longer you wait to buy a tree the more expensive and less choices you will have. The tree I bought today cost so much more than what I usually pay that it made me almost wish I had one of those ugly plastic one that come in a box. I may not be into the holidays yet but I will never have a plastic tree.

My mom called me about ten days ago to see if I had the tree up. She said there was something she wanted to do but I needed to have it up. She sounded pretty enthusiastic about whatever it was so I told her I would get it the next day. That was more than a week ago and I am just getting the tree. She may be upset. I’ll call her tomorrow to tell her I finally got it and hopefully I didn’t mess up her plans.

Just for the record, I am not depressed, sad, or upset about anything. I guess I’m always upset about something happening on a larger scale but from a personal standpoint I’m good. I’m about as good as I have ever been in the post Katrina world. It just doesn’t feel like the holiday season.

It could be the weather. I was wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts everywhere until Monday. It could be that everyone is just going through the motions and so busy trying to get through the daily grind they don’t have time to be festive. My block is usually pretty lit when it comes to holiday decorations but up until today the only house on the block with lights on was the lady who decorates for holiday on the calendar and we can’t count her because she decorated her house for everything when she was still in a FEMA trailer.

The older I get the longer it takes for me to get into the holiday spirit. It’s hard to turn off everything going on for the first eleven months and flip the switch to peace on Earth and goodwill toward men. Of course I am saying that as a 38 year old man with 14 hour days and little sleep. Kids don’t feel that way. They are just as excited and happy as ever looking forward to Santa. I was just like that as a child. Now I wish Santa would send me a light bill voucher after busting my budget at Wal Mart and Best Buy. Nevertheless, we all must do what we have to do so I will search for holiday inspiration everywhere I can.

I guess if Earl Simmons can get into the Christmas spirit there’s no reason for me not to.

Walk wit a Real One: My Thoughts about the Saints

Okay, before i start, I would like to say that the reason I am doing this post about my beloved hometown New Orleans Saints is because my big brother explained to me that he was too distraught.  So I will gladly take the baton from him and run with this one.


Now, for all that don't know, I cheer on almost all teams associated with my city and state and that includes the New Orleans Hornets and the LSU Tigers. The Hornets are young and inexperienced and have a softie for a superstar (Eric Gordon) but Anthony Davis looks really good for the future so I'm not really flipping my wig when I watch them.  I really like my LSU Tigers every year because we always have a good to really good defense with very talented players but my only displeasure I have with them is the bad quarterback play I've had to witness the last couple of years (i,e. Jordan Jefferson) and of course the maestro behind all the madness, LES MILES!!! O yes the mad hatter makes my blood boil on a weekly basis because he has bad timeout management and for some odd reason, his team is never fully prepared.  But enough about that, let's get down to what we are really here to talk about and that's those Saints.

Now, there's this man I go to school with that I see on occasion and he always has on Saints apparel, whether  it be a hat, a jersey, or his big Saints cup with the black and gold straw in it.  Well, I seen him one day and noticed him and I said "Who Dat" towards him and he responded back with a resounding "Who Dat." For anybody who wants to find a real Saints fan, shout "Who Dat' toward them and check out the reaction you get.  It will be a look of pride that they are proud to be Saints fans. When the Saints started the season 0-4, me and this gentleman would see each other on occasion around campus and the "Who Dat' was very weak between us, but as soon as the Saints got to rolling and won a couple of games, the "Who Dat' tone changed as it was alive and full of that pride again. Well Monday on the way to the library, I seen the gentleman again donning his New Orleans Saints snap back and the "Who Dat' had once again turned weak.

Now let's analyze the problem with the loss Sunday to the 49ers 31-21.  First of all, I am requesting the NFL to review those referees eyes for that game because they missed a good three or four pass interference calls.  Secondly, the offensive line was completely overwhelmed by the 49ers D-Line, which accounted for 7 sacks against Drew Brees.  And finally, STOP WITH THE MARK INGRAM EXPERIMENT!!  Chris Ivory or "The Dreaded Bulldozer" as I like to secretly call him, came from out of nowhere off the bench and has helped us win these last couple of games by giving us a steady running attack averaging at least 4 yards a carry which is all you need for an offense that throws 90 percent of the time anyway.  Mark Ingram had 10 carries for 27 yards which is about 2.7 yards a carry.  Not good. Chris Ivory finished with two fewer carries than Ingram but seven more rushing yards with a 4.2 yard per carry and against a stout 49ers defense, I'll take that.  Ingram has been very lackluster since the Saints drafted him and I'm just not totally sure about his ability in our type of offense.  I'm sure he could be good if he played with Pittsburgh or the Ravens who live to run the ball with big O-lineman to block for him but in this offense as a running back, you got to know how to break some tackles and get tough yards because the Saints O-Line is not really equipped to run block really well.  With all that said, it was just a tough game to watch because once again and against the same team, our mistakes cost us the game.  Once Brees threw that first pick six, it was the beginning of the end because it totally destroyed the momentum we had.

As I sign out with this, I will say that I would like to wish my Saints a good luck because Thursday on NFL Network, we face off with those Falcons again.  We got them the first time in the Superdome so I hold hope that we can just do what worked that game and repeat it in their building.  It would really look good on the resume for this team and this season to beat the top team in the NFL,record-wise anyway, and in our division two times as it has been a tough season to deal with without Sean Payton and might I add some really bad defense.  This has been "Walk wit a Real One" and I hope you all enjoy the game.  "WHO DAT!"