So...where do we start?
JANUARY
I had my pork, black eye peas, cornbread, and greens to start the year off properly. Yeah, I know, it's a bit pagan [So are most holidays. Tell ya mama on me and see who gets slapped with the KJV of the Bible that 47 didn't sign] yet this one has an intricate chokehold on the community that no one would dare to deviate from it. I ain't eating chitterlings aka dookie noodles; to each his own if you do.
It was also good starting the year off not having to file an accident claim. For those who do not know the story, the go-kart (our 2001 Ford Escape) was sideswiped last New Year’s Day on my way to church and nearly totaled for the fender. Three months later, I was able to finally get it repaired and the service tech told me he was $20 away from calling it a goner. Because I had lost my old truck to a similar fate - once the frame is bent, then it's curtains - I wasn't exactly going to contest the repair over a badging job. Any count, Campbell CDJR did a pretty solid job of making the car look like a star from fifteen feet away.
FEBRUARY
We have a nine-year-old whose birthday party did not aggravate new injuries from what in my mind was a fleeting athletic career. Caeli had a blast at the arcade with thirteen of her classmates, and that one might be worth repeating.
As for one of my favorite times of the year in Black History Month: The contest got bigger, the sauces traveled far and near, and I even found time to stand outside and smoke some things. I also need to ban family members from participating since my wife ended up nearly winning the whole thing, but the point is the knowledge. Now, if you're against my teaching BHM, then kick rocks. Shout out to Jessica (this year's grand winner), Chastity the first runner-up, Cynthia (second place), and Sonya (third) for liking AND sharing my posts. Every day is a GREAT day for Dub Shack BBQ - and my sauces need to become a part of the cookout.
MARCH
Finally, a chance to get out of town.
Big Grey (my new-to-me F-150, purchased the Monday before Thanksgiving) ate the miles from here to south Florida, around the manatees and panthers, through the Emerald Coast, and back home for spring break. How did we spend an entire week with that kind of proximity to sunny sandy beaches only to play in the white stuff some 500 miles northwest in Destin on a cloudy day behooves me, but that is what happened. A couple of notes: Georgia State Patrol does not play about the speed limit, and leg day finally paid off in spades at the Miami Zoo.
Who knew the 305 was the home of BBL surgeries?
APRIL
Aside from Easter, how did the month of showers become the most mundane one? Those thirty days were as forgettable as Tuesdays at the post office. All I remember doing was shoveling manure into raised gardens, and hanging out with the chihuahua for a little bit longer.
MAY
Finally, the end of the 2023-24 school year and struggling to get Little Miss Sunshine to school on time each morning and on to the return of both summer break and swim season. As we've surmised, sports (in our house) season begins with swim in April and ends with volleyball in November. I got some really cool stuff from Porter Road in beef bacon, Mother's Day was a hit, and in a move that surely pleases Paw Paw, Caeli learned some carpentry and made a birdhouse.
My little buddy Rocky moved to Sheridan because it was unfair of us to leave him in his kennel for half the day without getting to play, explore, and dig in peace. I miss him, but chihuahuas cannot be held down.
JUNE
The season of success continues with one cousin graduating from kindergarten, another matriculation from Head Start, and the swimmer winning races. Instead of my normal Father's Day dinner spread of cooking everything I wanted for the family, the church threw a cookout for the body: Your friendly pitmaster's role: The smoked turkey - and the sign-up sheet.
By the looks of things, this was going to be a fun summer.
JULY
Midway through the year of minding my own Black-ass business (you knew that was inevitable), vacation time was upon us, and this time, it was an eight-hour drive southwest to San Antonio and SeaWorld on the central Texas autobahn bypassing Austin. We had a blast though I missed out on the Alamo, and found out that the barbecue game there is trash. If you live in San Antonio, tell me where some decent 'cue is - and it better not be Bill Miller. However, the Mexican food was fire!
The women folk enjoyed SeaWorld as evidenced in the pictures.
AUGUST
As swim season wound down, Caeli racked up more wins and the reality of fourth grade starting began to sink in. When I say academic atrophy is real, trust me: Getting back into the rote and routine of school life was painful for those first few weeks, yet we persevered to the point of getting to the bus stop without choosing violence.
The missus thought I was worthy enough of another hot year of marriage, so we posted up and enjoyed the precursor to the final season of Tailgating For Everyone and all that Dub Shack BBQ has allowed first as a backyard cook and second a parttime competitor. If the judging classes for Memphis in May were not scheduled for early November...
Unfortunately, she ran over one of those highway alligators better known as tire tread on Interstate 30, and as a result, back to having dual car payments for the first time in years. The bus - my nickname for Chastity's Explorer - comes with a learning curve and a whole lot of modern comforts that I might want in my next truck, just no time soon especially since there are some options Ford has locked away in the higher trim levels that I really enjoy at the moment.
SEPTEMBER
If I have failed to mention it, this marked the final season of T4E. I smoked more meat and other tasty items in eleven consecutive weeks of Reddie football, and to the Meatlist, thank you for being the first to enjoy product, spread the word, and otherwise support the movement.
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| Smoking Cheez-Its |
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| Those Malvern HS alumni didn't duck smoke |
OCTOBER
Thank God Caeli looks like her mama!
The Volley Queens ran off to a 6-0 start as they found ways to win, and as long as the sizzling start continued, the players began to exert more confidence in not only each other but also in themselves. It also helped that they had fun - which is more than what I could say of the American political atmosphere. Needless to say, I did my Black job. It remained to be seen if that was enough though I already knew the answer.
In better news, Grandma turned 97. Here she is with the "onlies" - the generation of cousins who also happen to be only children. Had Kai been in Gould that day, it would've been a perfect snapshot.
NOVEMBER
Here we are, in the ultimate cacophony of a year that revealed too much about not only celebrities but also each other. While one may think that I am talking about Diddy and his freak-offs, this also extends to the death of critical thinking in some people I have known since childhood in addition to two sets of rules becoming more prominent: One for the suckers, and one for those who sucker the other group. You know who you are and which group you fit in.
The Volley Queens are now league champions! Those eight girls are some of the most resilient nine-, ten-, and eleven- year old athletes who dug deep - and had me looking for the blood pressure pills - to stand tall over fierce competitors across the net as the bullseye was placed on their green and pink jerseys after that 6-0 start. When I say the league wanted that smoke, they sure got it.
The way-more significant other blew out another candle earlier this month, and a year after her life-changing procedure, she looks finer than frog hair.
DECEMBER
Ahoy, we made it to the end!
As we reach the end of 2024, let us shine a lighted candle for those we knew - and some we tried to emulate - who crossed over to the other shore. From my childhood friends April and Natalie leaving here to that neighborhood legend (and spiritual O.G.) Deacon Dave Conley becoming one of the ancestors upon completing his race, death marks the end of one round and the welcoming to eternity in another realm. Continue to uplift their families in your prayers as their presence and memories will stay with us.
Off to the highlights: the carpenter made a snow globe for her project, I had a restful birthday which the cake was punished the day before and phone remained tethered to its charger to keep up with your wishes, and the holidays have been fun.
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| Aston came to town to hoop |
One thing I do not have control over is the future that 2025 delivers to us; yet, let us remember what Matthew 7:21-23 teaches of doing for the least of these. While we will always have the poor among us, let us be mindful that in more households than we care to admit that we are truthfully one paycheck away from struggling and needing the aid that was cut off to spite the face.
May God bless each and every single one of you,and may 2025 be everything AND more you desire in His will.
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