Thursday, December 31, 2020

End of the Year, 2020 Edition

I am glad that we made it through 2020. I'm not saying that we should never make a mention of the calendar year again, but there are a few things we should learn from, and those topics will manifest themselves throughout the course of the text. Good, bad, indifferent...it doesn't matter:  If I can remember what happened, it'll get a contextual response. 

JANUARY
I welcomed the new decade from the ER. What happened, one may ask? I suffered from hypotensive syncope and also had an upper respiratory infection. In other words, my blood pressure bottomed out and I passed out. This episode should've gotten me to go all-in and get my health in order before I mess and leave this world prematurely, and that result has been a mixed bag. One thing I certainly did was scare the person closest to me - my wife.
Welcoming the new decade from the ER is no one's idea of fun:  Better get it together before this is my last decade.

FEBRUARY 
As per the custom, Black History Month is the most popular post from AD&AD for the 29 days each historically accurate fact is shared because we simply haven't been taught our great achievements and contributions to the larger world community are more often than not minimized if not outright dismissed. For me, the accomplishment has been a sharper focus on local culture:  if all our babies know are the struggle, Martin, Rosa, and Barack, then we've all missed the point. 

In unrelated news, I started catering! I absolutely refuse to do any social media accounts for the business as I'd like for the product to stand up and speak for itself;  therefore, Dub Shack BBQ is still taking small steps toward guaranteeing all of you that every day is a GREAT day for barbecue! You can reach me anytime for sauce orders, and I may possibly do the local farmer's market circuit in 2021.

Little Bear turned 5.
MARCH
Coronavirus officially locked us down. No one had the foggiest idea of what to do except to stay our butts at home (if we're able) and added essential employee and social distancing to the lexicon for likely will be for some time in the next year. The global economy nearly came to a standstill - remember paying 85 cents per gallons for regular pump gas - and the so-called creators began to feel the pinch as their profit margins dwindled daily. In the church, leaders and congregants scrambled to adapt to conference calls and livestream worship experiences, and in some groups, were brought into the 21st century kicking and screaming along the way. Another result of the shuffling is the loss of the busywork, unnecessary meetings, and a reduction of afternoon programs such as choir anniversary; Men's and Women's Day programs; Vacation Bible School (this year); and the rote and routine portions of traditional religion. Anyone not doing viable outreach found themselves further behind the 8-ball as maintaining the bag was the furthest thing from Kingdom building. 

What does that mean for us?

The missus began her first WFH stint, Little Miss Sunshine's year of pre-K ended at spring break, and beyond a couple of Coronacation-related posts, I didn't do much. Whoops:  I tested and debuted Peachin' Ain't Easy, the spring BBQ sauce. It's peach-flavored and if you're into barbecue sauce that is really sweet, this is your jam. 
It's pretty safe to say this is how we spent spring break.

APRIL
After the initial "essential employee" appreciation of company-paid lunches and the accompanying work passes, the grind got old quickly. Of course, I'd rather take the cash but that isn't how things work in this industry. As the first round of stimulus checks began to hit our bank accounts, some of us used it to stay afloat while others shored up savings, and then there are those who did their parts as consumers purchasing everything in sight as the unseen hour of repayment had not arisen yet. 

There was the insanity of overstocking hand sanitizer, paper towels, and toilet paper. You read that right:  TOILET PAPER🧻. Perhaps having the runs was an early symptom of testing positive for COVID-19. I remember not even being able to find ground beef - or any sort of beef, for that matter. For a while, it seemed like you had to have a plug wearing a trench coat to get a one-pound roll of 73/27 ground beef in order to make spaghetti for our families; I don't even want to discuss how brisket and beef ribs went sky high in price. In our neighborhood, the kids began to come outside and once they started playing, look out! 
Maybe this is a bit extra, but don't act like you didn't think it.

MAY
In our house, we still post up in quarantine. 
As most decent people kept their butts at home, we found ourselves paying closer attention to the news cycle to the video recordings of Black death by law enforcement and its minions by extension such as the extrajudicial killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd for simply being - and in Breonna's case, sleeping when four of Louisville's finest ended her life. We also saw how quickly that thin blue line became an impenetrable wall with assists from news media locally and nationally and all of its backers who overly rely on police to maintain American society as they perceived it to be. Disagree? Read any Next Door or Facebook post from this time period and tell me differently. I know what I read.

Remember those decent people who kept their butts at home? We also had to contend with degenerates who have never been told no in their lives complaining about not getting haircuts or being served lukewarm unsweetened tea in their local Applebees in addition to whining about having to wear masks to curtail the spread of coronavirus. 

JUNE
The month I dropped some of the most controversial (for Arkansas) and misunderstood gems of the year via AD&AD, Dub Shack BBQ had its most successful month with catering gigs, box lunches, and sauces selling as quickly as they could be made. That controversial post was This Is War, and the misunderstood one was Hi! I'm Token, if you're curious. I did appreciate the outpouring of support in the comments section and continued discussions and shares on those two blue platforms as well as you eating my barbecue;  if nothing else, the awkward conversations made their introductions to the forefront as the only sources of entertainment were the NBA and Verzuz battles staged by Swizz Beats and Timbaland. 

I also shared my favorite recipe of 2020:  Smoked Queso. The meats may vary, but if you ask nicely, I am the friendliest pitmaster/plug🔌 in this part of the state. 
Every day is a GREAT day for Dub Shack BBQ! 

I should've used a PTO day for Juneteenth but please believe I will from now on.
Juneteenth had a clearly significant meaning in 2020

I gave my first TED talk in June! Hopefully I won't have to do it again over the same topic because it'll prove that nothing was learned, and some wypipo will call on the Black voice "we 'respect' and hope his words are palatable for our ears". In theory, the small groups are cool but in practice, action doesn't happen because we are intentional in our comfort versus becoming more of the bridge, as the popular social justice course Be the Bridge outlined in its curriculum. 

JULY
The 4th was just a regular day for us except...if you know me well enough, you know I'm a bit of a shitstarter:  I wore my Black Lives Matter to Bryant's Pops at the Park primarily to test other people's gangstas. Thankfully I didn't have to put these hands to good use, but know I was ready - could it have been the big-ass Afro and matching beard that kept the crowd at bay? 

For those who think Abraham Lincoln was a good dude because the slaves were freed during his administration,  peep this truth:  
Not just Abe but also Nixon, Reagan, both Bushes, and Trump👆🏿:  Show me the lie.

In the midst of staying our butts at home, I inadvertently became the Popsicle Man. Thanks to Little Miss Sunshine and every kid in our neighborhood and the parents who condoned this tomfoolery as they would play with Caeli and eat her popsicles - fortunately, the bags were two dollars apiece. For the one day the ice cream lady drove through, no one had any idea of what to do; some of our parents would whoop our tails for keeping the babies so sheltered that the ice cream truck can be largely ignored.

AUGUST
Little Miss Sunshine starts kindergarten 

Once again, the way better half found enough reason and desire to keep me around for a little while longer as we celebrated our ninth anniversary traveling from room to room, and for a rare moment, to the backyard for a romantic dinner by the firepit. As Caeli began preparing for kindergarten, I wondered 1)how she'd do in an atmosphere certain to bring culture shock to her and 2)if I'd well up and bawl because our baby bear is going off to big school. Well...she loves kindergarten, and neither of us cried. Now, let's work on bedtime. 
Happy 9th anniversary, babe: We're aging like fine wine - Chastity is also proof that Black don't crack.

SEPTEMBER 
Tragedy befell the family with the death of my cousin Kavon, murdered in Pine Bluff two days after he started working. Seeing a young gun turn the corner and begin his journey into his next chapter only for it all to be taken away hurts to this date, and given my desire to avenge Red, cooler heads prevailed as his killers await their day in court. It's still a raw feeling for us - I won't even lie - yet that is a part of the process:  May their trials be speedy, and a swift guilty verdict with decades behind bars be their deserved fate.
Kavon Mitchell, aka R3D. Cuzzo was nice with the rock among other things:  RIL, fam. Say hey to Jason, Teryn, Grandpa, Ween, Uncle Ray, and everyone else for us.

Wanna know how much Caeli likes Collegeville? She was queen of the room for a day! 

Oh yeah, I held a contest to name my mango-flavored barbecue sauce. Thanks to everyone who participated, and shout out to Amy for the winning name Dang! Oh, Mango and her prize in addition to that bottle was three others of her choice. Look for random giveaways and assorted fun stuff from your friendly pitmaster at Dub Shack BBQ throughout 2021 as well as helping me evangelize the gospel of "every day is a GREAT day for barbecue!" 
Meet Dang! Oh, Mango 

OCTOBER
I was beyond tired of the political season and turned the TV off. Since nearly everyone in my six degrees of separation had made up their minds, there was little else to do but change the channel - so it was time to coalesce around the family and barbecue. As I look back at it now - and pro-Black issues had reached the forefront which in itself was a huge win, I personally feel like we didn't keep our feet on the gas for tangibles larger than some seats at the table:  Check out Ice Cube's Contract With Black America, which outlined our demands in such a clear manner it can be compared to The Black Panther Party's Ten Points. 
There should be something said of valuing our spaces - and living rent-free in some of our former friends' minds with the three words BLACK. LIVES. MATTER.
Also, here's a confession:  I seriously considered running for the open school board seat here in Bryant but ultimately decided my best role is to be an advocate for my daughter and her needs as well as a supporter of the educators who work tirelessly to teach a well-rounded curriculum to every Hornet of all ages, grade levels, shapes, sizes, colors, abilities, and so forth.

NOVEMBER 
Election Day came and there was no definitive winner of the 2020 season yet the blue wave we heard so much about was a puddle at best despite the diverse candidates giving it their all for months at end, and the most disheartening thing that came of it to me was that the same people who disavowed the incumbent POTUS in public privately voted for him (62% in Arkansas), and the recently reelected US Senator comfortably kept his seat garnering 67% of their votes. You cannot tell me hate mongering isn't a real thing in the Natural State - was it the bag and outright racism (I never bought the economic anxiety lie) that led these Pharisees and Saducees to ignore the real work of Christianity? Any count, that outcome may reveal itself any day now.

Chastity had an eventual birthday in quarantine. 
We're still keeping our butts at home. 
Furthermore, in the #StayYoAssAtHome Thanksgiving, I took a shovel to swat a fly when I smoked this year's turkey breast. As evidenced by the carcass I ended up bringing home, it was a pretty good turkey. QUICK PITMASTER TIP:  This cook was a 1:1 ratio of one beer per hour. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if you got wasted and burned Thanksgiving dinner to the point that IHOP is your only option in this COVID-19 infested year. Not a good idea, so imbibe carefully especially if this is the first time doing the featured presentation. 

DECEMBER 
At last, we've come to the end of 2020 and with a few breaths not promised to us, 2021 lurks behind the curtains as the sign of hope we anticipate. Not Joe Biden's victory over the incumbent POTUS in Donald Trump, not a renewed effort in staying our butts at home, nor even the rising costs of public school education nickel-and-diming us at every corner can keep our eyes off the prize we take so often for granted:  life. Did it take R3D's death in September or Karen transitioning to eternity in October to appreciate the smallest things and each other? Surely not. I still haven't looked through the boxes in storage for those tribe pictures but the group text threads of five friends have some zingers, thumb hugs, and for a brief period in 2009, all of us together for the first time in the same place since college. (Whoops:  Who would've known that the actual last time we were all together was my wedding two years later?) Beyond the obvious Eff You, Rona, this has been a wild ride akin to the way West Virginia portrays itself on its border signs and license plates.  In the midst of presently observing Kwanzaa, Christmas for the other two was materially solid even as I had Grinch moments throughout the season. Thanks to Chastity and Caeli for putting up with my periodic surliness; I promise to be a better husband and father to you both. As for the swamp...it's a place to make the money to pay bills with and little more.

Turning 42 on the 3rd caused me to realize a few things:  I've been Greek - and legally able to buy my own beer - for half my life. My legs don't have the same bounce as I learned playing with Caeli last week; my relationship with God is a bit stronger than it was January 1 while I've become jaded with the rote and routine portions of religion regarding its misuse to control the masses to secure a bag, massage egos, and otherwise clout seekers; and as an aside, retirement is a long, long, long time coming if at all. By no means am I perfect - this is a moment to reflect on the hits and misses of 2020. It also gives me the chance to look up from the smoker or away from computers to put the year in perspective. 
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