break you down until you're not the man you used to be

The Patriots are beasts. In slang, that's a good thing. My uncle called me to ager a gentleman's bet. He lives in Jacksonville. The Patriots are going to StompdashTouttaDaJags. I declined. Oh well. Just call me mister risk averse.

I take calculated risks. On one hand, I can b a little too spontaneous and erratic in my decision-making. Waiting until the last minute doe snot alway work out. But there are other instances where I guess you could call me methodical and organized. I can't put a finer on what the split truly is, but who cares. Life is what you make it.

We risk our short-term excitement for future happiness when there's no guarantee that the sun will continue to shine come tomorrow. Some of the risks we take are well-intentioned. Others are - simply put - bone-headed and short-sighted. But just like that sun, no one is promised tomorrow. On this night, I am reminded every year of how real the words are. I already alluded to it in a previous post, so I'll save the memory lane BS.

When I speak to youth, I always find myself picturing myself in their chairs and how my words would have rung to my ears. Would my credibility be taken as a joke if I wasn't able to connect with them? Would the teacher or whoever invited me to speak blacklist me for straying from the script. Would they intimidate me they way we used to do to wack-a$$ guest speakers who seemed to need more advising themselves? Who knows. But what I do know is that I give my all and try to follow suit in all of the many facets of my life. Sometimes it works out well and sometimes, well, it just barely works, if at all. The choices of our past help to chart our future, but that future ain't doomed by default for the bad choices we made. We gotta just roll with punches, take our lumps, and stand tall on our own two. It's a life lesson that I try to frame in a variety of ways depending on the audience (1 or 1000), but it rings true nonetheless. Keep it real (and realistic) and do you. The sun will come out.

RIP Herbert Louis Frazier, Jr. and everyone else who departed this earth before their new moon arose.