What I've Learned

1.Listen More, Talk Less...It makes you wiser.

2.In this life, you have to work harder than the next person to really stand out.

3.I've worked on myself over the years, which is a wonderful thing to do when you've got the time.

4.I've always taken calculated risks...I've looked back over my life and wondered how I got the courage to do the things I did.

5.My Mother always said have a firm handshake and look every man in the eye...Don't look down at the ground and don't shuffle your feet. (I still shuffle my feet a little)

6.The Fact that I could sing and I could write and had the gift of gab always got me over with the girls.

7.I like to be approachable....I hate people who put themselves up on a pedestal and nobody can approach them or only certain people.

8.How would I make it through the day without my faith in God?  My Faith sustains me.

9.Do what you say and Say what you mean.

10.Some People Dip their toe in the shallow end of the pool and then retreat...Me, I fell in.

PEACE!

What I've Learned

 

1.Expect The Unexpected

2.A Broken Heart will kill you just as much as anything.

3.You spend the second twenty years of your life ,trying to sort out the first twentuy years.

4. We all have childhood trauma...By the time you're 60 you should have dealt with it and let it go.

5.Succes doesn't fix you...but purpose kinda does.

6.When I was younger, I used to lose my temper quite easily which always made a bad situation worse.

Today, not so much!

7.I used to talk a lot...A whole lot.. Toiday I don't..What I do is listen.

8.One Thing About Covid...It gave a great many people the time to think about what was really important to them.

9.I never was a Flashy dresser..It was important to me to be Hip, yet comfortable.

10.Shit Happens!

PEACE!

What I've Learned

1. I know there is intelligent life in Outer Space..  They aren't spending millions of dollars trying to come here to see if there is intelligent life on THIS PLANET!

2.I was always very talkative...I had a lot on my mind and I loved sharing my thoughts with everyone else.

3.I never tried Cocaine...but I did try marijuana....I didn't like the feeling I got...I didn't feel in control..I never like not being in control.

4.I had a pretty good life, growing up in West Philadelphia.. I never felt like or knew I was poor..and in the late 60's, Early 70's...it felt good to be young gifted and Black.

5.Your Grandchildren help you make up for all the mistakes you made with your children.

6.Writing is a solitary art...I'm amazed I get as much done as I do, being such a people person.

7.I like White Button Up Shirts or Black Button Up shirts.....Slacks don't matter as long as they fit..

8.I'm not good with money...I lose it as fast as I make it.

9.I've had a half dozen nicknames...but I was one of those rare people who actually liked the name my mother gave me.

10.I was a journalism major in college, but even then I realized....I didn't want to write the story...I wanted to BE THE STORY!.

PEACE!

Five Shows I'll Be Watching

 Here's Five TV Shows I'll Be watching this Spring.

1.Curb Your Enthusiasm- The Final Season 

2.Abbott Elementary, Season Three

3.Will Trent

4.So Help Me Todd

5. Elsbeth

What I've Learned

 

1. Cutting ties with someone doesn’t automatically mean they are a “bad” person. The connection may no longer be serving a beneficial purpose. 

 2. You don’t have to return or match energy. Ego will say “do them how they do you” or “I need my lick back” but that negativity takes a lot of energy. 

 3. Expectations cause disappointment. Meet people where they are or choose to cut ties. Don’t hold them to expectations you created but be true to what you want and need. Refer to number 1. 

 4. The feelings are valid. You may feel as if you’re overreacting but your feelings are valid. Now, you have to decide how to express them without attacking. 

5. The truth can be told without trying to tear someone down. Some people have mistaken “honesty” and just being mean. Your delivery of “truth” matters. What’s the goal? To make someone feel bad or to shed light on something important? 

 6. Friendships take work just like romantic relationships take work. Show up in your friendships. 

 7. A man with no purpose can not lead. He has no clue where he’s going. 

 8. No one can “complete” you. It’s a made up concept that causes people to be codependent. Come whole, do the work, don’t depend on someone else for your complete happiness. 

 9. Asking for help and being vulnerable are strengths but you have to know who to confide in, in these moments. 

 10. Showing up for you doesn’t have to mean not showing up for others. Everything requires balance.

Special Thanks to Rahida Rahida, proof positive, you can learn valuable lessons from others.

PEACE!

What I've Learned

 

1 What Goes Around, Does Come Around

2. Everybody is not happy for your success.

3. You'll know who your true haters are when you make a mis-step.

4. When you make a mis-step, they'll all come crawling out of the woodwork like roaches.

5. These type of people were never your friends.

6. The Truth will take a month to be known, while a lie will travel in seconds.

7. It's not true that certain people have NO REASON TO LIE.

8. Everybody has a reason to lie if you search hard enough!

9.Sometimes people hate you just because other people love you.

10. Did I say, What Goes Around really does come around?

Peace!

Turns Out I'm Woke

 

Five Shows I'll be Watching This Fall

 

1. The Irrational

2. Found

3. All Rise

4.So Help Me Todd

5.Will Trent.

Honorable Mention-Abbott Elementary.

I know that's actually six....Forgive me!

What I've Learned

1.I've always loved my city (Philadelphia PA.) The Good and the Bad of it...I was born and raised here. after all.

2. Most of my family and close friends have left Philly...I'm like the last man satnding.

3. I like living in the city, it's very convenient.

4. The Blood in my veins and my DNA is made up of Cheese Steaks and Soft Pretzels...

5.Unlike other Philadelphians...It don't feel entitled to double park....That won't fly in other towns, especially the Philadelphia  suburbs...

6. Some Pennsylvanian's and even people from South Jersey go to other places and say they're from Philadelphia because they know, no one else has heard of their small town or township.

7.My sports teams, The Phillies, 76ers and Eagles have broken my heart most of my life...but in 2008, The Phillies won the World Series ,in 2009, they went back again, though the didn't win...in 2022 they went back to the world series..and my Eagles went to the Super Bowl...They didn't win...but they did win in 2018. My Sixers won in 1983, when I was 25....Still waiting for another championship.

8.Fun for me was hanging out  on South Street on a Saturday Afternoon...

9.I love all of my hometown artists, The Roots,Jill Scott, Boyz II Men, Will Smith et al.

10. I've been all through Europe and in Asia and through most of the United States, but at the end of the day...I'm Philly all day!

PEACE!

What I've Learned

 

1.You're not always going to get the closure or the explanation you think you deserve.

2. Sometimes you have to accept something for what it is and move on

3.Everything really does happen for a reason.

4.Sex is only dirty if you do it right!

5.The right person will never get bored, tired or unhappy with you.

6.Overplayng your part, trying to prove your loyalty will almost always lead you to disappoinyment.

7.Sometimes the more people you cut out of your life, the better you feel.

8.Adversity doesn't happen to you...it happens for you.

9.Life is too short  to live with regrest....Just move on!

10.People ask what you do for a living, so they can calculate the level of respect to give to you!

PEACE!

What I've Learned

1. A 300 Dollar Watch and a $30 Watch both tell the same time.

2.A Michael Kors Wallett and a Forever 21Wallett hold the same amount of Money.

3. A Ford Focus will drive you the same amount of miles as a Bentley.

4.True Happiness is not found in materialistic things.

5. True Happiness comes from the love and laughter found with each other.

6.The Holes dug for us in the ground at the cemetery are all the same size.

7.Rome wasn't built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour. Take your time.

8.Ignoring People who deserve to be swung on is a sign of Maturity.

9.Sucess is Made in the early AM.

10.Did I say  that The Holes dug for us in the ground at the cemetery are all the same size.? Live!

Peace!

What I've Learned

1.If You Stop Telling Your Friends everything, your enemies wouldn't know so much.

2.There's A Message in the way a person treats you, Look and Listen.

3.Nobody Watches You More than People who can't stand you!

4.It's Okay to be a Nerd...The Honor roll is better than death row.

5.Silence is the best reply to a fool

6.A Person Who Feels Appreciated will always do more than expected.

7.Gossip has a tendency to manifest in your own life. Be careful of the bones you carry. You might be the dog one day.

8.Don't chase, don't beg, don't stress, don't be desperate, just relax. When you relax, it will come to you. Make your wants want you.

9.Be Distinct Or Go Extinct!

10.Storms Make Trees Take Deeper Routes.

PEACE!!!

What I've Learned

 

1. I Like to write Alone... The magic happens then...

2. A lot of good ideas for my stories and blog posts come to me in the wee morning hours at daybreak..

3. A Person close to you dies... They're gone.. It takes a minute for me to realize that I'm never going to see them again, never hear their voice again....Not in this life.

4. I never learned how to properly grieve... I've lost so many people in so short a time...

5.Now Of Days, I have almost the same reaction to someone telling me a relative of theirs died as I do to someone telling me they just bought a new shirt, Blank.

6. I've learned over the years that I'm empty inside...

7.I believe I once was full...Full of emotions, Full of Spirit...I wonder what happened?

8.When People Die and you're going through their things...Sometimes something of theirs will make you smile..It'll give you a nice memory... In that way...The person is still alive, Still with you...

9. Rest is important in a day...Can't go full blast all day!

10.Peace is not having a beef with anyone and minding one's own business.

PEACE!

What I've Learned

1. Everything I learned about Politics came from my everyday living...My money or lack of it...The people's quiet desperation around me... That's what formed my ideology...Not the Little Red Book!

2.  Freedom is being able to exist in public spaces without worrying about if somebody is carrying a gun.

3. I haven't felt Safe or Free in a long time.

4. What did I do well as a Father? I was there all the time, for everything, from parent-teacher meetings to Basketball games, Tennis matches, Weddings, birth of my grand children...I was around.

5. Your children, Your Grandchildren...They eventually grow up and have their own thoughts ,their own ideas, you have to give them room to explore all of that.

6. Your Children, Your Grandchildren are people...just like you are, just like you were, You need to give them the ability to be who they are destined to be.

7. I enjoy singing because it's a beautiful way to express myself.

8. Cicero said "The Eyes are the interpreters of the soul. That is true! I believe it!

9. Patience truly is a virtue,,,,So many people will try yours.

10. At the end of the day...The person who endures and survives is the winner.

PEACE!

What I've Learned

 1. The Greatest Actors in the world are people who secretly hate you, pretending to love you.

2.Your Bullshit detector gets better with time

3.I’ve had to reinvent myself four or five times. And I’m now working on the most challenging reinvention: survivor.

4.Bankruptcy? It’s not pleasant. There are some people who look at you like you’ve got leprosy and their bank account might drop if they touch you.

5.I'm just a writer, Always have been. I'm happiest when I'm writing. So I write every day—weekends make no difference. As a creative person , I'm driven. Always have been, really. I can still stand up for seven hours a day, Writing, creating. Writers don't retire. They write on.

6. A wise old man told me once ,  Every day is great — it's a day extra.

7.Know the importance of having rest...

8.I like to Sing because it's a pleasent and easier way at creative expression..

9. Every Culture and sub-culture has it's songs.

10. Did I say every day is great ,because it's a day extra??? Oh yeah, I did.

PEACE!!!

Party I'm A Member Of

 

What I've Learned(About Fatherhood and being a Grandfather)

 

1. After you've made your mistakes with your own child, you get to love your grandchildren and make up for all of those mistakes.

2.Children Teach you that you can still be humbled by life, That you can learn something new all the time,That's the secret to life after all. I love the sense of wonder in their eyes.

3. I never imagined myself being anybody's Grandfather or Father for that matter when I was a teenager..I couldn't see that far into the future.. I imagine, nobody does.

4. When you're a young man you don't give a damn about anything or anybody...When you become a Father, you're afraid about everything.

5.Children Learn from who and what you are...Not what you tell them.

6.My Advice to my daughter and my grandchildren... "Do the Best you can and then the hell with it. That's all you can do!

7. Basic Rule of parenting ,forgive everything!

8.The secret to relationships is never think you know it all, never think you've seen or heard it all.

9.I'm good with listening to my grandchildren's problems and giving advice. That's because I've had so many problems in life myself.

10.My Father used to drive around on Saturday and pay all of his bills in person.  I don't do that...but he did teach me, to pay all of your bills.

It's My Birthday!

 

What I've Learned

 

1. When you're talking to a Novelist or one who writes short stories or a songwriter.. You're talking to a liar.. That's what we do..We make stuff up!

2. You only have so many damn's to give in your life, so don't give a damn about anything that's not worthy of it.

3. My Goal is to get to 100.  I'll be 64 on Wednesday...That gives me 36 more years! I like those odds!

4. Luck is believing you're lucky....If you think you're lucky...You are!

5. The world is so full of information and ways to get this information...It's a wonder we don't all collapse of mental overloads.

6. Never really was stuck on Money...But I always wanted to get paid for what I did.

7. I realize now that for most of life I was grossly underpaid.

8. Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.

9. I often wonder what death is like... Does everything just go blank?

10.I have three Grand children...that's two more than I expected to have.. I feel blessed.

PEACE!

WHAT I'VE LEARNED

 

1.I Became a Political Junkie and Then became exhausted by Politics just that fast.

2. This Pandemic has made us all act like middle aged child stars...It's Time To Grow Up!

3.What I needed at a time was not a more brutal truth, but a good reason to go on.

4. I'm on Social Media a lot, but I don't air my dirty laundry like a lot of people do..That's never good.

 5. I never started out to be an influencer on social media. The whole concept seems hillarious to me.

6. The Pandemic taught me that I need very little to be happy and survive.

7. You can have your heart broken at any age.

8. Money can't buy you happiness..but not having it can sure be a pain in the ass.

9. Beauty is a double edged sword.

10. As I've gotten older I plan ahead a lot more..

PEACE!