Day: July 7, 2026

If you have brown skin, avoid Florida at all cost. I realize some may take this as race baiting or even challenge it on the grounds of demographic make up, but trust, Florida is not it. I’m not even talking about ‘Florida Man’ that law which provides the news with so much ‘general’ information about the ongoing insanity of Florida residents. I am talking about the way these folks are actually trying to rewrite history and ‘put colored folk in their proper place’. For this argument you need look no further than the Terrion Arnold debacle. This man lost his entire livelyhood in a Castle Doctrine state, because his people took the law into their own hands and decided to lure and beat down a dude who they thought robbed Arnold’s Airbnb. To make matters worse, Arnold is the only one facing life in prison over the matter. The brother got a raw deal.

He should have known. He’s from Florida. He lived in Tallahassee. Nobody hates an upwardly mobile black male more than a Floridian. Honestly, the only ones they really got behind are O’Neal and Wade. I think we can safely say that if Arnold played (or agrees to play) for the Miami Dolphins, things would change quickly. I suspect this might be the outcome of all the drama. They’ll put this case to bed if he gets picked up as a low cost free agent. That’s the bonkers kind of place Florida is, and the bonkers kind of world we live in. Speaking of which…

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Inspectors enter Manhattan high-rise after building stops moving: FDNY” You read right. STOPS moving. That think was shaking like a reed in the wind, and not in the ‘I can support the weight’ kind of way. The building was shedding bricks. Right there on 42nd street. Wild times.

Started the week by finishing a story and opening a wound. I’ve been working on a new short for a grad class that I hope to one day publish. It isn’t there yet. It reminds me of how out of touch I am with particular age demographics. I need to get a lot better about understanding various age groups if I want to continue to be successful as a writer. I cannot simply write about withering 40-60 year olds and age up my characters as I myself continue aging up. I gotta be able to cross spectrum to tell good story.

I don’t identify with young people. I don’t understand them nearly as much as I thought I did. I don’t understand my own kid. I’m speaking of the youngest, who asked me for money today. He wants cash for a football camp. Of course, Dad instinct wants to get him right, but I also feel really sad and hurt that the only time I manifest in his mind is when he needs money. Everything else is me reaching out to him and him possibly responding within a few days. It sucks and it hurts, especially since I was not invited on a single college visit that I didn’t pay for. That doesn’t feel like respect or love. I am supposed to provide and I generally do, but this one hurts. It feels like an opportunity to teach a lesson. The problem is, I don’t think it will teach the proper lesson. I think it says, “dad won’t come through because dad doesn’t care.” I hate that this is the script he’s being read on the other side of the parenting fence, but there it is.

Unfortunately I am trapped in a situation where giving without receiving is the known currency of love. I don’t want to be trapped in that. I know how painful it will be to break that hardened cycle. We are running out of moments, the kid and I. There’s a few more HS dances, there’s a few more big game moments (will the Lady Talis and I be invited to walk with him for Senior Night?). I don’t know what I will be a part of and what will be denied me. Then its college time–where he really has to learn how to be an individual fast.

I hope we have enough of a relationship left that I can help him through that extremely tough time.

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Australian officials ask fans to respect the privacy of Neil, a 1-ton seal who respects nothing” This after a saw a Sea Otter run up on to the beach today and up into the city. Animals be wierding.