22FEB12 (1231) – They just told all of us at this airport that our flight was going to be delayed because people are looking in the left engine … Why would you tell people that? They might as well say “We have to look under the hood real quick then we’ll know get right back with y’all” GEEZ!!!  I just said it the other day but there are a few things I want to talk about Whitney Houston’s Funeral.  One Bobby Brown left because it was too long (smile) … How you let Robert Kelly sing but not let Whitney Houston’s ONLY husband of 15 years not have a remark about a woman that he shares a daughter with??? HOW? HOW? HOW?  Where was a Pastor to say … “I don’t care what they’re talking about … Bobby should be able to talk about his wife.”  I’m looking at it like this … If anything happens to Toni (and we’ve only been married 5 years) if I CAN’T talk at the Funeral … Then I’m gone get ‘Bobby Brown’ Style on the church too.  Husbands and wives share way more secrets than brothers and sisters …and I can PROMISE YOU Bobby knew more about Whitney then her cousin Dionne Warrick…not taking anything away from all the wonderful people who performed and spoke during the Homegoing, how POWERFUL was Kevin Costner though…he showed off, then everybody got mad at him because he said ‘Damn’ … can someone please make sure that I’m buried at a place that’s NOT a church because if I die before my mother she’s gonna cuss (smile) … Love that lady.  They’re now saying we can get on the plane … LOL, I’ll hit y’all later … Washington D.C. on Monday (20FEB12) Greenville, S.C. (21FEB12) Maryland tonight then The Family Comedy Tour this Saturday at The Crampton Auditorium on Howard University’s Campus! Life is AWESOME … Thank You JESUS for work …but most of all thank you LORD for not letting me be a quitter!!! AMEN

“A Dumb Lamb for JESUS”

13FEB12 (1124) – I just looked at all my posts and realized that I put 2011 on the beginning of every post. Thats CRAZY, I wonder what I was really trying to say, what kind of ‘Freudian Slip’was that? Maybe its like I always say ‘Live in the Past Die in the Past!’ (I hate to say this but … speaking of dying) As you all know Whitney Houston has passed this past Friday. What saddens me more is the state of our industry right now. How could someone as regal and … lets go past the regal blah blah blah …How can someone sell over 200 million records and not have anything. Let me tell you the math, a singer told me that when a group goes platinum (a million records in the U.S.) he / she makes $10 million for the record label … so were talking about roughly give or take a little here and there about 2 BILLION DOLLARS! Whitney Houston made a couple of billion dollars for a record label (Arista) that nobody really knew about and she died broke? I understand there are contracts and blah blah blah … money from concerts, endorsements woo woo woo but what about the money that she made for the record label, doesn’t that count for something? We all go through problems in life but Peter Parkers Uncle said it the plainest … “With great Powers come great responsibilities.” Why did we just sit back and WATCH Whitney Houston go through a drug problem, I know Clive stepped in and helped her but aren’t we all worth a GANG of chances? GOD gives us unlimited chances and human beings only give us THREE, isn’t that crazy? This is not baseball, this is life and we need help from folk out here. This industry (Entertainment) is not easy, it’s not as glamourous as people would have you believe and it sucks your Soul if you let it. But in 2012 why are some Artists being pawns to this ‘game.’ We should be owning our own brands & our own productions by now … I don’t get it. I have to think more about this … it has to be a way that this can be turned around… I pray it is. I also lost a good friend who helped me with the Comedy Night at The DugOutt Sports bar in Greenville, S.C…. Big Mike (the DJ) He was going through a lot inside of his body but he still came out on Wednesdays when he could after he stop DJing for us. GOD Bless all the families of people who have lost somebody and dealing with it… Amen. Everyone have an awesome Monday, … I’ll hit y’all tomorrow.

‘Thinking to Hard’

23JAN11 (2318) – Today was my FINAL day of that Pre-Trial Diversion Program that I put myself in … instead of paying an almost $600.00 ticket … The Class only cost $300.00 but the TIME … geez the TIME that it has been consuming …you know what though, I don’t have to worry about it anymore, no points, no charge, no nothing! Its all gone and all I had to do was sit with some folk who REALLY did crime to get it over with. It was a lady sitting next to me today who had some kids with her and some more kids in the car. Sometimes when you think your day or your life is going bad all you have to do is look around (or in my case… listen) I was speaking to my 13 year old twin nephews today & I was supposed to take them in the room and yell at them but I really just chopped it up with them on some ‘Boy to Man’ stuff. When I brought them both out of the room to confront their mother and Toni I made an analogy from The Toy Story Movies. I asked ‘What do you think the movies are all about if you had to summarize them?’ (their answers were LAME and not the point LOL …. ) I said ‘I think its about being too comfortable …because when you’re around the same thing all the time… you take it for granted!’ (Toni clapped and yelled AMEN!) and I realized right there after I said that, that I probably take my wife for granted more than I know. She cooks the best food in my life, rubs my feet, listens to my rants … woo woo woo. But in the end she’s MY Toni. When I’m on the road I NEVER get good food, I hate sleeping in hotels …and nobody is rubbing my feet (except the occasional Kim / Carol from the Nail Shops) So really fast I learned a quick lesson on ‘taking folk for granted’ … I don’t think anyone starts out saying … ‘I’m gonna take this person for granted’ it actually just kinda happens … Crazy right? I’ve talked to FOUR people in the last week (last 3 days actually) who are getting divorced or going through a divorce … I hate it for Em, I really do because I wonder did they try…then I say to myself (Mind your own business “GRIFF”!) Geez … people know why they can’t be together anymore (smile) But what we do as human beings is compare our stuff to everybody else’s stuff …and we shouldn’t do that but we do (what can you do) I’m going to work on NOT taking my family …and SOME friends for granted. Gonna make a conscious effort … (see thats why you can’t make New Years Resolutions… what if you want to do something else… you have to KEEP changing, for the better) What are you going to change or work on? Stay Blessed

‘Mr. Empathetic’

22JAN11 – You know whats funny about The NFL’s AFC / NFC Championships … well … if you’re a kicker from Baltimore or a Rookie from San Francisco … NOTHING! Let me tell you something… I almost lost TONI over the weekend because of my DOG … (long story… its actually REAL short .. Toni hates Madison) what you think Ray Lewis wanted to say to the kicker who missed “the closest kick in missing close kicks” history! What about the Rookie Special Teams Cat who let a ball hit his knee on one play then straight fumbled in OT IN Candlestick … Whats my point to all of this … its easy … I need to probably get some more fish! LOL Cause Toni really doesn’t like Madison … or maybe I like Madison too much??? I don’t know … either way … I pick Toni over a Dog (smile) Only if Toni will let me scratch her neck, put a collar around her …and don’t talk! Anyway … I have to go to my LAST little Probation Diversion WOO WOO WOO … almost got a ‘Super Speeder’ Ticket but I had to go to a class then write a couple of essays … blah blah blah … What I do know is I’m BLESSED … no complaints … need to probably open up more (smile) I’m kidding … Love y’all … Stay Blessed …

“Dog LoVA”

21JAN11 - It’s early Saturday morning and the rain is coming down ‘cartoon style.’ I say it all the time but here goes a great time to say it real quick … ‘I’M so glad that GOD knows when His Earth needs to be watered cause if it was up to humans, we would be late, call in sick … use the sick voice for not watering the planet (thats funny) So yesterday wasn’t a ‘good’ day. Got stretched all the way out and it pinpoints back to Madison (my 2 year old Jack Russell… not quite 2 yet) She doesn’t listen to anybody all the way in the house except me and she runs off and has her own adventures for an hour or so then comes back home … problem with that is easy, she’s a 6 pound dog running around doing what she wants off of Enon and Campbellton. Personally I think its kind of cool that she knows how to leave and come back but she’ll only do it for 10/12 mins if I’m home and let her out myself. But don’t let anybody else in the house let her out without a leash cause she’s GONE! (Especially Toni who has let it be known for ALMOST 2 years that she hates the dog) Truth is her family thinks all dogs are supposed to be outside… PERIOD no matter the breed or size … and I quote ‘A dog is a dog.’ Needless to say you wont be seeing anybody in her family at The local PetSmart pulling on rope toys or shopping for ‘something nice for my pet.’ Its understandable … I’m a pet person, Toni isn’t. I like the Raiders and some people don’t like football … (What up NAS… yeah the rapper) So I had to make up a new ‘rule’ in the house… problem with ‘new rules’ is its kinda like the last rule didn’t work so you’re playing it by ear (thats what I think) Like STOP signs are simply for folk to STOP while they’re at a particular intersection … now if they made up a ‘new rule’ … like only STOP if its close to 1PM everybody would go crazy. So I said all that to say this … when you get a Partner in life .. .make sure she likes animals if you do because if she doesn’t its gonna cause stress like You being the oldest and her being the youngest .. .Different habits. I’m about to have a GREAT day I have some AWESOME things I’m about to bring to fruition and Yesterday is over … What’d you leave in yesterday?

“HIM”

10JAN11 – As I sit here listening to The Fred Hammond Station I made on Pandora … I’m thrown from HOW MANY PEOPLE I KNOW who are singing all of these songs.  The LORD has REALLY let me be in the presence of all these Gospel Giants but as I look back at why I’m around all of these ‘Holy Folk’ its because I’m one of their peers.  I’ve been performing Comedy 17 years on April 14th and I have did EVERYTHING I said I wanted to do.  I have no regrets, I mean … little ones like I probably shouldn’t have broken all of those females hearts but if that wouldn’t have happened then I wouldn’t have ‘My Toni.’  If I changed one thing in my past then I wouldn’t be where I am right now (smile) & today I Thank GOD publicly for where He has me today.

As I type this from the finished basement of my home I think back at when I was living on ‘The Reservation’ in Lawrenceville, GA about seven years ago.  Just thinking about what I’ve done in Atlanta in the last 13 years is crazy: I was hired at V-103, then Fired at V-103 after three years, I was picked as the Host of THUNDERBOX, I got Baptized, I had custody of my boys, I lost custody of my boys (after my apartment burned) I was chosen to be on HOT 107.9 then after three and a half years I was replaced with the exact same and ONLY person who gave me some money when my aforementioned apartment burned.

(The Irony) LOL … I’ve traveled to the Continent of Africa well over six times … I got married here in Georgia and regained custody of my boys just to add another member to our blended family (Jamisen) I’ve been Featured on The One Love Gospel Cruise FIVE times and I’m currently on the third year of The Radio One Family Comedy Tour, over Christmas I united (I would say reunited but we didn’t know her) my 18 year old sister with our father & a month before that I moved my sister & her three sons from California to live with us here in Atlanta.  Out of all those past accomplishments (and I really didn’t list any) the most important to me is my Baptism.  I’ll never forget that day because I invited people to my Baptism as if it were a Club invitation.  LOL, its the second week of 2012 and I know who I am …who are YOU??? Stay Blessed

“GRIFF”

18JAN2011 – I’m just returning from California and when I tell you that I had an AWESOME time with my family … it brings tears to my eyes of how much learning and wisdom I received by just sitting under my mother. My mother has always been the ‘Queen’ in my life (hence ‘Cats and Puppies’) but when you get to sit under the ‘Queen’ its pretty unique on a learning level. My mother told me something that she told me before but I really didn’t pay that much thought to it… She asked me ‘Did you know that you put me through school?’ I actually knew I sent her money for different things but I didn’t know THAT was what some of the money went to. It almost brings me to tears to think that I’ve helped the woman who has influenced and helped me my entire life and casually she tells me ‘you put me through school.’ I have to admit … I’ve been doing comedy for almost 17 years in April and its been some selfish motives behind it … you know I get the attention from strangers … I get the admiration from people all across the world that I don’t know and I get the pay out of sitting and writing jokes. But when I look back over my entire career … I have been doing this ‘Crazy Job’ for everybody EXCEPT me! I did it to get back at my father for telling me what I couldn’t do and be, I did it for the people in the hood who told me I would never be on television, I did it for the teachers who said ‘If you don’t go to college you’ll have nothing as a career’ and finally I did it because my tragedy has been everybody else’s Comedy! Truthfully I’ve been performing as a comedian for almost two decades and I’ve been doing this for everybody except ME. It took me to get married and fall in love with a cool chick from BankHead & Kimberly Courts out of Atlanta to truly know my worth. I know it now …I know y’all THOUGHT I knew it cause (without being humble) I’ve been playing it off pretty well. In my mind I’ve always been able to visualize who I am or at least what I wanted to be but now I AM that person I’ve created since I was 17. The next chapter in my life will be for me… and I’m so excited about it. When are you gonna believe in GOD within you to tell you who you truly are and back up from listening to yourself?

‘HIM’