Me and My Hoodie

We all know by now, unless you've been in a coma, the story of Trayvon Martin.  I have thought about how to properly write something that would make some people understand why this is an outrage, and I could think of no better way than putting the shoe on the other foot.  So, that's what I'm going to ask everyone to do.  How anyone is not outraged over this murder of an unarmed child is beyond me.  But that being said, there are those out there who don't understand why there is such an outrage about it.  There are also those out there, Geraldo Rivera, who think that this child wearing a hoodie led to his murder.  If you agree with that, you need to be checked to see if you have a heart in your chest, or a brain in your head.  Maybe you live in Oz. 

In 1997 or 1998, my best friend Juan and I were walking home from the fireworks show at Catonsville high school.  Juan had his hat cocked to the side or backwards as he always did, and had his shorts sagging.  We were kids, we all did that.  For the record, now that I'm in my mid 30's, I think it looks stupid...especially on grown men.  We were stopped by the cops while walking back to his house amongst the masses of people.  The cop asked us what we were doing.  Juan, as he always did, had the perfect answer: "We're walking home."  Then he asked the cop: "What seems to be the problem?"  The cop proceeded to tell us that we looked suspicious.  So, Juan appropriately pointed out that the drunk guy climbing the telephone pole across the street from us looked suspicious.  The cops response said it all..."yeah, but his pants aren't hanging off his butt, and he doesn't have his hat cocked to the side."  This....is what many minorities have had to deal with growing up.  We weren't drinking, smoking anything, or causing anyone any trouble.  However, the drunk guy climbing the telephone pole was less of a problem than we were...because of the way we were dressed.

Fast forward 15 years.  I have two favorite sweatshirts, both of them are hoodies.  One is about 7-8 years old, gray, and my wife can't stand it.  I wear it ALL the time when it's cold outside!  The other is a brand new Virginia Tech hoodie.  I wear that when I'm going somewhere I can't wear my gray one.  When I get up to walk the dog in the winter, I throw on my gray hoodie.  If I'm running to the store, I throw on my gray hoodie.  It's comfortable, easy to put on, and I always put my hood up instead of wearing a hat.  That's me, and that's what I like.

We live 3 blocks from a grocery store.  I like to walk there on occasion when I have the time.  Let's say, for instance, I walk to said store to get my kids some milk.  On the way back, I notice a car following me, and tell my wife on the phone that someone is following me.  I begin to run to get away, and the guy in the car gives chase.  When he catches up to me, he is twice my size, but I fight him anyway (because that's what I would do).  I get the better hand, so he pulls out a gun and shoots me in the chest at close range, killing me just a block away from my house.  Would he be arrested?  Who would take care of my kids?  Who would take care of my wife?  What if Maryland had a law that said it was okay to shoot someone if you were scared for your life?  Would this then be okay for this man to have killed me? 

Let's fast forward to the release of the 911 tapes.  What if we heard the man on the tape say: "he's a black guy wearing a hoodie.  He has something in his hand.  He's running!  I'm going after him!"  Is it still okay?  Will the police justify the killing because I was wearing a hoodie and looked "suspicious"? 

Here is the bottom line...I don't care how stupid someone dresses.  You could wear a wedding dress and flip flops to 7-11 or a 3 piece suit and Air Force One's to go play basketball.  You could wear your pants hanging off your butt or a skully in the middle of July.  Nobody deserves to be murdered or have their civil liberties abused because of the way they look or dress.  Will you get a strange look, sure.  That comes with the territory, and if you don't want anyone looking at you strangely, don't dress like that.  But dressing how you feel comfortable does not define who you are.  I work in corporate America, and I love my hoodie.  Monday through Friday I wear a shirt and tie and manage people.  But on cold Saturday and Sunday morning's I'm putting on my hoodie to walk my dog.  I shouldn't be murdered for that.  And neither should have Trayvon Martin.  It's time to stand up for OUR son, Trayvon Martin.  Black, white, Latino, Asian, and Middle Eastern.  We ALL owe it to OUR children to fight this gross injustice. 

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" - Martin Luther King Jr.

Penn State Football - Death Penalty

It's been a little over a year since I last blogged, and what a way to come back.  This Penn State child sex abuse scandal has taken over the country.  I've thought long and hard about how I feel about the events of the last 6 days, and I'll do my best to outline them a quickly as possible.  There is no need to discuss the details as we all have been subjected to them in it's brutality line by line over the last week.

I will say that from the time I started watching and playing football, I dreamed of playing linebacker at Penn State University.  I wanted to play for Coach Paterno, and then I wanted to go on to play for the Washington Redskins.  I wasn't good enough to realize either of those dreams, but I still have always rooted for Penn State, and have always rooted for the Coach who ran a clean program with what seemed like the moral standard that anyone would admire.

While I honestly do believe that Joe Paterno has made good football players better men, and has turned out great football players and great citizens in our society at the same time, I also believe, unfortunately, that he dropped the ball.  At some point, the football program became more important than the morals that Joe Paterno had built his reputation on.  This was true for not only Joe Pa, but for University officials as well.  This is why the firing of Joe Paterno was necessary, and needed to be done.

As far as the penalties for the program, I believe that the Penn State football program needs to be given the death penalty.  While the NCAA has not said barely ONE word about this horrific set of circumstances, they need to act accordingly to let every program in this country know that football, or any other sport, will never be more important than the victims that they are allowing to be victimized.  The bottom line is that the University, the football program, the coaches (who knew what was going on), as well as many others, allowed a sexual predator to prey on young boys and use their facilities to do it.  They also allowed this predator to use their name to promote an outreach program that allowed him to keep fostering his victims.

Where are the NCAA dictators who suspend a kid for an entire season for having a conversation with a former athlete?  Where are these dictators who put a program on probation because a player receives money to buy a pair of shoes?  Where are these dictators who punish kids four years after the guilty party has left the campus, kids who never even played with the guilty party?  Where are these dictators who suspend a kid for selling his jersey, or trading his jersey for jewelry?

The NCAA has said that they would never hand down a sentence of 'death' again to a program.  My question is this, how can SMU or any other program in the history of sports ever do anything worse than this?  The NCAA loves to use phrases like, "lack of organizational control".  Please, tell me WHERE there has EVER been a bigger case of this in the history of college athletics?  There is no comparison to schools paying players and schools harboring a fugitive of the worst kind.

The Penalty?  If I was the one handing down the sentencing it would be this:
1) The Penn State football program would be shut down for the 2012 season.
2) They would not be allowed to participate in post-season play for 3 years thereafter.
3) All current football players would be allowed to transfer immediately without sitting out the mandatory one year.
4) Any coach that is found to have knowledge of what was happening and did nothing to report this to the police would be banned from college athletics for life!

Is this harsh, yes!  But is it any worse than what these children went through?  It's not even in the same discussion.  Football is, always has been, and always will be, a game.  The rape of young boys by a sexual predator when grown men just sit by and do nothing is the worst of humanity.

I hope the NCAA stops investigating kids who are taking $50 for a good game, and shuts down this program.  A program that up until last Saturday, I loved dearly. 

The Line is Drawn - Pick a Side!

I’ve been in blog hibernation for months. Every time I go to write, something comes up or I’m just too pissed off to write, and fear that it won’t come out the right way. So, without further ado, here we go…

Yesterday we had our mid-term elections. I’m pretty sure you know about it since all you’ve seen on TV for the last few months have been monkey’s slinging ish at each other on every other commercial. Not once did I hear anyone say what they were going to do; only what the other guy/gal wouldn’t do. Great way to get your message out.

I want to address two issues here, one being Obama and his HATERS, and one being the tea baggers. Yes, tea baggers, because that’s all they are, and all we’ll all be if these ridiculous idiots find their way into our national, state, or local governments.

Let’s start with them. The whole premise that we’ve been “taxed enough already” is stupid. No? It’s not? Okay, raise your hands if you don’t want to ever pay taxes again. Everybody have their hand up like me? Okay, now, take your hand down if when your house is burning, you want to call the fire department. For those with them still up, take your hand down if when your elderly mother’s house is being broken into, you want to call the cops. Take your hand down if you want the ambulance to come to that same house when your mother falls down the steps and nobody is there to help her. I see some of you still have them up (probably were raised by apes), so let’s try something else. If you have children and would like them to be taught in the public schools, read in the public libraries, play in public parks, visit national parks, and have sidewalks to walk on next to busy streets, please, put your hands down. Okay, so you don’t have kids. If you have a car and would like to have paved roads, working bridges that won’t fall down when you drive over them, streets plowed when we get 10 feet of snow in one winter, and pot holes fixed after the streets have thawed, put your hands down. Maybe you are a schizophrenic who is scared to ever leave your house. So, let’s just say that we are attacked on all four borders by four different countries. If you would like to have a military to protect us, put your hands DOWN! For those of you with your hands still up, go back to your cave.

The point is this, Taxes. Are. Necessary! Taxes pay for all of the local, state, and federal necessities that we require as citizens of this great nation. Instead of realizing this, we have the moose lady who can see Russia from her backyard endorsing a witch who claims time and time again to be a constitutional expert, but who doesn’t even know what the hell is in the 1st Amendment!!!!!!!!! Come on people! Wake up! These are the people that you want to run our country? After eight agonizing years of overspending, tax breaks for the richest of the rich (Reagan-omics has NEVER worked), a war that was unwarranted and crippled our economy, the biggest national disaster in the country’s history that went unnoticed until days later, and a damn near depression, and you want to go back to that??? Disgusting!

The thing I hear time and time again is, “Obama hasn’t done anything.” Hmmm, let’s see, well, how long has he been in office? Let’s put it in perspective. If you spend eight years running up credit card debt, relatively speaking to the tune of $100K (which is a lot for most of us, unless you’re used to getting a Bush tax break), how long would it take you to pay that off? Two years? Maybe if you win the lottery! Bush destroyed our nation behind the premise of fear. He taxed the hell out of the middle class so that the top 2% could live lavishly. He got us into a war that destroyed lives, and our economy. How long do you think it will take to fix that? And you people that sit here on your high horse and say that Obama hasn’t done anything? What did you expect him to do in 22 months? It takes YEARS to fix something like this! Clinton didn’t fix the first Bush’s mess in two years, it took him eight! BUT, when he left, he left with the highest approval rating of any President who ever left office before him. In five words, give the man a chance! He needs ALL of us to stop with the finger pointing and work TOGETHER to fix the mess that he was left. Yeah, I’m pointing fingers because the bottom line is that Obama didn’t cause this, and I’m pointing out that fact. I’m not sitting here on my hands doing nothing about it though! Somehow, he gets handed an economy that is in a near depression, and it’s his fault that he hasn’t fixed it. How soon we forget.

I haven’t spoken on the healthcare issue like everyone thought I was going to do a while back. So, here it is, France, by capita, smokes more, drinks more, exercises less, and lives longer than citizens of the United States. Socialism is not a bad word, and the bottom line is that the party who wants to be the party of God, does more things that go against God’s word than the party who apparently isn’t for God. Example: caring for your fellow man. The Republicans (and tea baggers) should just say that they are the party of power and money. They don’t care about what God has to say, or what is right, only themselves and to hell with everyone else. But, since they only care about their bottom dollar, check this out: a healthier America means everyone makes more money. That’s right! If emergency rooms aren’t writing off millions of dollars of bad debt because their patients have insurance, guess who doesn’t pay that bill? You and me!

Decide what you stand for, if it’s the party who ended a depression, got us out of a war that we should have never been in, and is fighting for equality for all, then you know who to support over the next two years – and forever more.  Get off your butt and start helping this country move in the right direction! If you stand for yourself and don’t care about anyone else and just want your billions (cause if you aren’t making billions, you aren’t supported either), then fight the establishment. If you say that you stand for Christ, then remember that Christ = Love. Not only love for yourself, but love for your fellow man. If that’s not you, and it’s only about you and your money stacks, then you’re just a tea bagger.

The debate can now commence, but if you know me, then you know that you will get my full force when we debate politics. Come strong or stay under your rock!

A Brother's Support

Last Thursday night I received a phone call. It was 11:30pm, and I was unwinding and enjoying the fact that I didn't have to get up for work on my Friday off! It was one of those times that when the phone rings, you know immediately that something is wrong. The rest of the world is usually asleep - at least people in my age bracket - and if not, then my friends know that I'm usually asleep. As it turns out, it was my 'sand'. My fraternity brother who I crossed with, who was my best friend in college, and who was my best man in my wedding. We usually don't talk except for every 4 or 5 months or so, and we've only seen each other once in the last 5 years - at a reunion last December. He lives in Atlanta, and me being in the DMV area is the reason why. The conversation went something like this (I'm calling him Rufus because he doesn't know I'm writing this - Rufus has significant meaning to him, LOL):

Me: Hello?
Rufus: Sherm?

Me: What's up, man?
Rufus (starting to cry): My mom is dying. She only has a few days to live.

Me (stunned): Wha? Whe? Huh??? Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!
Rufus: I don't know why I called you, but I just figured I could.

The rest of the hour and a half conversation will remain private, between two friends, two brothers, as it should be. I will only say that there were lots of tears, some laughs, and a simple "I love you, brother" as we hung up. But that's not what this post is about.

I've posted blogs about my fraternity before, and this is another. So, that being said, feel free to stop reading here.

If you're still with me, I just want to share what happened following that conversation. The next morning I woke up, my dear friend still heavily on my heart and mind, and I sent a text message to the now men who we spent so much time with in our college days. We don't hardly see each other, or even talk to each other, on a regular basis, but I felt that they would want to know what was going on with one of our own. There is a group of about 12 of us that remain closer than ever, even though we are spread out across the country. I received a lot of return messages thanking me for filling them in, and asking me to pass on everyone's well wishes.

His mother passed that afternoon, while he was in route to get home. With arrangements made, and our friend hurting, we all decided to go in on flowers. Nothing big, nothing extravagant, but it is something. This also is not easy to pull off with people scattered all over the country! Thanks to technology, it was able to get done. Again, this doesn't seem like much, but what this was, was brothers pulling together for one of our own. Most of us never met his mother. I, fortunately, was able to, and am very thankful for that! Despite this, and despite that we are all separated by 1000 miles, we all came together through technology to just say, "we're here, my friend. We may not see each other, we may not talk as often as we would all like. But, in your time of need, we'll all be here together, forever."

We haven't all lived in the same city for 10 years now. Despite this, I am always moved at how close my brothers always remain in each other's hearts. Distance can definitely never separate the very special bond that we all share. It is not by coincidence that nearly every one of my fraternity brothers who has gotten married, has had another fraternity brother as their best man. It's not always about the partying. It is truly a lifelong bond that says, "we will always be one." In pain, in celebration; in failure, and in success. When one of us goes through something, we will all go through it...together.

Time to Man Up

The following entry is very tough for me to write, on a lot of levels. Thanks for reading.

Recently, my son has been having some trouble – mainly, just not liking school, and not liking how hard I am on him about it. I decided to take him for a field trip last night. We started driving, and I talked to him about me being hard on him because I love him, and me being the one responsible to show him how to “be a man”, and all that good stuff. I explained to him that dads are always harder than mom’s, and it’s a great responsibility that God has given fathers and husbands, etc.

I drove him past the state penitentiary in Jessup, and told him that up to 80% of the residents there look like me and him, and that probably 90% of them didn’t have a dad being hard on them, and pushing them to do well in school. I told him that if we were to ask, most of them would have wished that they had a dad being hard on them and showing them the right way. I also explained to him what happens in prison…in full detail! I then took him to West Baltimore, and showed him corners where drug dealers were (and he actually got to see a transaction take place), and showed him someone who was doing the ‘dopefiene lean’. I talked to him about the lack of education, and what can happen without it, and what can happen without a father who is pushing you to fly straight.

Finally, I took him to the corner where, in a hail of bullets, I was spared. Where I was given a second chance to fly straight and do right. I explained to him that our decisions define who we are. I explained that the decision to stay in school, hang out in the right places with the right people, stay with God, and obey your parents will make life a lot easier. I explained to him that there are always exceptions to the rule (Barack Obama), but that by having your father in your life to be hard on you greatly reduces your chances of becoming a statistic. Everything seemed to really be an eye opening experience for him.

What happened next, I knew would happen one day, but not yesterday. He asked me why his first father doesn’t care like I do. He said, “You know, the one who wasn’t ready for me”? I had to explain to him that not all men take care of their responsibilities, and when they don’t, they can ruin a child’s life forever. I told him that his ‘biological’ is the one missing out, not him. This was very tough to talk about, without bashing his ‘biological’. I also told him that when he is ready, I will help him find his ‘biological’ so that he can ask him for himself.

This, along with a conversation with my best friend, led me to think about the impact of men leaving their children. My son has not seen or heard from his ‘biological’ since he was one, and obviously, doesn’t remember that. Yet, there is still pain in his heart because of this. He has no closure, and he wants to know what he could have done differently to make his ‘biological’ stay around. Despite me, his father, being at every game he’s ever played in (except one game when he was six), and despite me coaching him in every sport, taking him to every practice, helping him with his homework, teaching him to play chess, playing the Xbox with him, fixing his bike, teaching him to play golf, teaching him to fish, taking him to baseball, football, and hockey games, and providing a roof over his head, clothes on his back, and food on his table, for the last 7 years, he still has a yearning for more. He yearns for something I can never give him.

I’m writing this today because I want to urge ALL fathers, even if you have never even seen your child, to call them. Build a relationship with them, no matter how minimal it may be. They may already have a man in their life who is loving them like you should, but don’t, and they may not need anything more than to know that they aren’t to blame for your mistake. They are not the mistake, the mistake is the choice you made by abandoning them. That’s all they need to know. You don’t have to get them every other weekend; you don’t have to call them every day. You just need to tell them, “It’s me, not you”. Give them the closure that they need. Let them live in peace, and be as much a part of their life that you, them, and their mother can agree to. If you are a mother doing the same thing, then I urge you to do the same.

That’s all – thanks for reading.

LeBron - Hype, Bust, or Truth?

Fresh off the devastating loss for the Cavaliers, and the city of Cleveland, let's get something out first and foremost. Everyone drink a tall glass of STFU!!!

LeBron is not dead, the Celtics won a TEAM game, the Cavs lost, and life will go on - including the REST OF THE NBA PLAYOFFS! I have never been so disgusted with sports tv, and sports talk radio. As Herm Edwards said, "you play to win the game". The championship was not granted to the Cavs, they had to WIN as a TEAM to get it! LeBron did not lose, his team lost. Rondo did not win, his team won. Everyone today has been acting like the game of basketball is now over. It's NOT! Now that everyone is straight on that, and I'm sure plenty of you disagree, let's move forward.

I have heard it all today, and here are a few things I've heard:

1) LeBron quit on his team and his city.
2) LeBron never had what it takes - is lazy, has no work ethic, and is a narcissistic a-hole!
3) LeBron is the most overrated player in the history of the game.
4) LeBron is only worried about himself, and doesn't care about anyone else.

Okay - now that you are done laughing, and you better be laughing at this foolishness, let's get some facts straight:

1) The media hyped LeBron up when he was a junior in high school. He didn't ask for any of this. His coach didn't ask for it, and neither did his mother. ESPN thinks it's cool - just like the world of AAU basketball - to start ranking kids at the age of 8. Whether he liked it or not, he was thrust into the basketball spotlight at the age of 16. He has been named the savior of the financially distraught area of Cleveland, and the championship starved city of Cleveland, since the Cavs effectively threw away their 02/03 season to draft their hometown hero. = FACT! And a disgusting fact at that.

2) The one thing this guy is not, is a quitter. Nobody of that stature quits. I don't care what you say. He wouldn't quit in game 5 to only come out and drop a triple double in game 6. = FACT!

3) LeBron has the work ethic that most of YOU should have! He's never had his name in the news, and the only bad thing you can say about him is that his TEAM has not won a title. That's it! LeBron may not be the best player in the league, but tell me who has stopped him? That makes him the most valuable. Much like vintage Shaq, and current day D. Howard, there is nobody that can match up with him, which makes him dominant. He works his a$$ off, year around, and doesn't deserve that.

4) I've heard the - he was being "it's all about me" last night after the game for shaking hands with the Celtics and the fans. Hmmmm, I wonder if these are the same people who said the same thing last year when he walked off the floor after losing to the Magic withOUT shaking anyone's hand? Remember? It was all about him then, too. You can't have it both ways!

5) To call LeBron a bust is, well, stupid. Put down your crack pipe and seek help! Is he the 2nd coming? Maybe not, but time will tell. He is by far not now, or ever will be, a bust. Remember, his rookie season, with all that hype, he was 1000 times better than Kobe at the same age. If you don't believe me, go ask the Utah Jazz how Kobe performed as a teenager in the playoffs. Two words: air ball.

6) I want everyone who has not seen the movie 'More Than a Game' to go rent it this weekend. No, tonight! This man cares more about his family, friends, teammates, city than he has EVER been given credit for. Hands down!

7) LeBron should only worry about basketball and nothing else. He's a basketball player and needs to stop hanging around people from other industries, sports, etc. If you think this, then here's something for you: I don't want to see your sorry tail doing nothing but working! If you're a UPS driver, I shouldn't see you doing nothing but practicing lifting packages off a truck, honking your horn when putting the truck in gear, and driving down the road like a bat out of hell! Bottom line is this, we all have professions and careers. We also have a life outside of it! Playing basketball is this man's job! It doesn't mean that he can't be involved with anything else, as long as it does not affect his work. If you feel differently, then get a life. This is my blog, you don't have to agree!

Now, I will finish by giving the ideas that I thought LeBron could have done to prevent this:

1) Re-sign with the Cavs before the end of the regular season.

2) Announce last year that this was a one shot deal at winning this thing in Cleveland, and that he is going to be a free agent next year.

That's it! I honestly think that the pressure of EVERYTHING this man has been facing since he was 16 caught up to him. Should he stay or go? Will he be abandoning the people who have been behind him since high school?

Just think about the emotional stress this man has been under with this type of decision! It's more than Jordan, Kobe, or anyone else has EVER been under! Remember, when Jordan had this much emotional stress, he left the game. Granted, it wasn't the same, but just try and live in LeBron's shoes for ONE minute! He's being called everything in the book, and he is the only one who is being held accountable for his TEAM's loss.

Here's the kicker before you call me a LeBron lover, and all that crap. I was rooting for the Celtics. I just know fair when I see it, and the criticism he's getting, isn't it. I'm a product of team sports, and a coach of football and basketball. One thing I preach is this: you're only as good as your weakest link. The Celtics played a team game, and were out coached, and outplayed from the starters through the bench. They won by playing a team game. LeBron had teammates too, and his team didn't win. No more, no less.

Cut the guy some slack.

Peace and Love.

Music

From the beginning, it was always music and sports for me, my way to escape whatever was going on. I guess I'm not alone in that, in many ways, but either way, that's what it was. It's probably the very reason that the very best job I've ever had was working at Camelot music in Security Square Mall when I was in high school I not only increased my cd collection 100 fold by working there, but I was around music constantly. I was able to meet musicians, and learn more about music that I wasn't quite familiar with before. I was the R&B and Hip Hop expert of the store, and could name almost any song from the 70's through the 90's.

My love of music started early, and the very first cassette tapes I owned were Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' and the soundtrack to 'Footloose', both of which I was given on my 6th or 7th birthday at McDonalds. Remember when you could have your birthday party at McDonalds? The first cd I ever owned was Young MC's 'Stone Cold Rymin'. Ironically, I bought it from the same Camelot music store that I would work some 4 years later. I remember that day like it was yesterday, big ass box with half of it Styrofoam that is undoubtedly killing the environment today.

I still prefer the old skool when it comes to both Hip Hop. Biggie changed the game, but not like NWA did. Snap had the 'Power' which always got me lifted to another level before football games. Ice Cube is still one of my favorites, but nobody...NOBODY can EVER touch Public Enemy! I'm East coast Hip Hop until the day I die, but had respect from some of my West coast artists as you can see. I even flirted with some No Limit during my 3 years in the 'Heart of Dixie', but that was right after Biggie went down. I was lost and depressed, and looking for something that, as I found out, would never be again. Wu-Tang Clan is still nothing to fuck with (excuse my language), and their biggest mistake was going solo, though I still think I own every solo album that every one of them ever created!

Same with R&B. Boys II Men was my group, but Tevin Campbell's 'Twisted' will live forever on the ipod. K-Ci and JoJO threw it down during their 15 minutes of fame, and Maxwell (and no, I'm not gay) continues to impress every 8 years when he releases an album. Sade is still the queen, and one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Anthony Hamilton makes me remember, but not quite like Brian McKnight does. Chris Brown was ready to take it over, before his emotions took over his career.

The funny thing is that I was also into other music, particularly jazz, at an early age. Norman Brown was my first favorite, and his rendition of Janet's 'That's the Way Love Goes' is still one of the most sensual songs I can remember. And of course, the Art of Noise everyone from my age group remembers! Back before we knew what we were listening too, we were listening to it!

The beauty of music is that it is timeless. There can be a song that I can hear, and I instantly know exactly where I was, who I was with, and the feeling I had when hearing the song. Music can take you back to a place you either loved or hated, and it can help you create those same memories for the future. The simple mention of a certain artists name will make you remember someone, or some place. It's our release from reality, a place to mentally go if even for just a minute to forget about the troubles of the day, and the struggles of life. Music can bring you peace, comfort, and even a soothing start or finish to a day.

Thursday night I turned off the tv and the lights, sat on my couch, turned on the ipod, and went into a zone. Nobody was awake in the house. I sat in the dark, not sleeping, though it was after midnight, and listened to the shuffle for about an hour and a half. Before I knew it, it was almost 2am. I hadn't moved, hadn't said a word or even come close to falling asleep. I just simply went somewhere else in my mind. Wherever the music was taking me, I was free to go. No interruptions, and no reason to get up for anything, just meditate. I thought of old friends that I don't talk to that much anymore, friends that I, unfortunately, can never talk to again, and as soon as Otis Redding came on, I thought of my father. His favorite artist who he would sing with from the old record player, and I remembered watching him with joy as he danced and singed along with the man who, like my father, left this earth far too soon. I cried some, laughed some, and I was sad and happy at the same time. Weird? Yes. But that's what music does to me, it allows me to 'go there'. Get away from it all, and just remember the good times, the sad times, and those people that you shared them with.

Music. It is, my life.