The Chase

Reinforcement

2012-06-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

My brother Nathan Taylor works with inner city youth. I applaud him for his work, and I also remind him of how ambitious of a task he is taking on. He normally responds that if he can change the life of one kid, that kid can change the life of another. By day Nathan works on pension plans, by night he spends time with young men at a juvenile rehabilitation center.

I'm proud of him for the work he does. He's investing in the lives of others, hoping and praying that he can gain a positive return. His reward is not money, but seeing young men develop and become productive people that can take care of their families and be of benefit to the community.

Which brings me to the concept of reinforcement. The first time I remember hearing this term was in high school. In this high school course, we covered a mix of topics in sociology and psychology. Then in college, I had a semester of psychology and I was reminded of one of my favorite topics. Pavlov's dog! Dr. Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist that conducted groundbreaking research on the conditional reflex. Pavlov won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in 1904.

A quick summary of one of Dr. Pavlov's experiment is as follows:
1) Observation: Dog's salivate before being fed
2) Experiment: Pavlov rings a bell, then serves the dog food
3) Result: Dog begins to salivate upon hearing bell ring
4) Conclusion: The dog has been conditioned to understand that a ringing bell leads to food

All seems very simple, but my summary doesn't do Dr. Pavlov's work justice.

Dr. Pavlov's was a master of physiology. However, these same basic principles can be used to describe our own human nature and general principles of sociology.

My mother is a social worker. I asked her the other night, how she feels about the concept of reinforcement. I asked her, in her career has she seen the impact of children receiving positive reinforcement versus children receiving negative reinforcement? She looked at me, and succinctly said YES! It all seemed so simple to me, but I wondered out loud, does our youth receive enough structure with positive reinforcement?

Sadly, when you consider all things, our society glorifies negativity and negative reinforcement. Its demonstrated when you watch television, read the newspaper, and look at the actions of people around us. Instead of killing people with kindness, we often see how people will just kill others with rudeness. This negativity however is rewarded when the person that is rude gets their way, while the person that is kind is walked over.

Positive reinforcement too me isn't making sure all the kids on the little league baseball team get a medal or a plaque at the end of the year. Its making sure to tell our youth good job when you graduate from high school. Or I'm proud of you for working hard and saving up money this summer to buy your books this fall for college. Reward the youth when they do the right thing, when they say the right thing, dress the right way, and treat others the way they want to be treated.

My brother Nathan is doing his part. I'm writing about his work, and thinking about how I need to do my part. We can all chip in, because I'm pretty sure Nathan can't do it by himself.

-SAB

Set into motion...

2012-02-23T23:38:00.001-08:00

We never really think about the small details in our life. But usually it's the small details that add up to the big picture. Life is very puzzling, and yet the only way to solve our puzzling lives is to try to bring each minor piece of the puzzle together. As we fit each piece together the picture becomes somewhat more clear. But, this only happens piece by piece by piece.

As I reflect on my own life its interesting to sit down and think about the people that have come into my life, stayed in my life, or eventually left my life. Each person had their on impact. It could have been a simple smile, it could have been a hug, or it could have led to a long lasting friendship. Either way, God set these events into motion to compose my story.

Ask yourself, how did I end up here? How did I end up where I am today?

A few days ago, about six classmates and myself had lunch with the Dean of the pharmacy school that I attend. I grabbed a few slices of pizza and a bottle of water and sat down at a large conference table. Everyone really didn't know what to say, so there wasn't much chit chat. An awkward silence was felt in the room as each person looked around and waited for the Dean to speak. He eventually spoke and he said, "I would like each one of you to introduce yourselves and tell us briefly how you ended up at Samford for pharmacy school?"

I figured after four years of being in school that this question could be answered quickly. As each person spoke, it was interesting to hear how God set their lives into motion to choose a career in pharmacy. The more that each individual spoke, the more that I realized that my story wasn't that simple either. In our daily communications with people, we commonly give people the two minute summary of how we ended up somewhere. As the years pass, the story gets shorter and shorter. So, if someone were to ask me how I ended up in pharmacy school, I feel that I could give them a complete answer in 10 seconds. So... it was finally my turn to tell my story. To be honest, I had gotten so use to telling people the 10 second version, that after hearing my peers tell each of their stories I almost felt like I had to hold back tears before I could begin telling my own. In a matter of minutes, a flood of repressed emotions hit me all at once.

Reflect...

I thought about all the people that had come into my life. People that I loved, people that I disliked, people that had passed away, people that looked up to me, and even the people that didn't think I was worth the effort to invest in. People that offered me words of encouragement and even the people that told me I would never be good enough.

As I began my reflection before I spoke, I thought about how I needed every person. I needed the people that were good for my life, and even the people that weren't so good for my life. I needed the good times, and I needed the bad times. I needed to succeed, and I needed to fail. All of those events led to this day, a day that I could sit before my peers at that conference table and briefly explain how my story had been set into motion.

Whats your Impact?

The impact that we have on the lives of people around us is so great. I work with medications each day, and while I very much believe in the need for medication therapy. I also am a big believer that we are built to interact with one another face to face, and also that we're built to gain satisfaction through belief in a higher power. Our physical lives, spiritual lives, and emotional lives must be in symmetry to truly attain balance.

While medicine is a powerful antidote for our physical and emotional concerns. The best medicine I believe is found through having confidence that a higher power has our lives set into motion for a destination. Even more profound than that, is the importance in pouring our lives into serving others. Human interactions and building solid relationships with others must be done to create opportunities to be a servant. Serving others to me, means that we use the gifts that God has given us to not only better our lives, but that we use these talents to also better the lives of others.

God set each of our lives into motion. We have each been given talents. If we bury our talents, nothing multiples. Individually we will not grow, and our impact on others is minimized. However, by setting forth on often unknown voyages, we put our talents into position to be of use to glorify the Creator of all things. Individual glory dies like a flame in a wind, but an investment into the lives of others can blaze an eternal flame that is reflected in having all the pieces of the puzzle come together.

The story has been written, but we all have to do our part..

Now its time for you to play your piece of the puzzle. Because I'm pretty sure everything has been set into motion.

Pharmacy

2012-02-15T23:28:00.000-08:00

Pharmacy is a big part of my life. I'll graduate in May of this year and as the day gets closer, I have begun shifting my attention to how life will feel practicing as a pharmacist day in and day out. What's most interesting to me about my profession is how little the public actually knows about what I do on a daily basis. In many ways, pharmacy is sort of a secret society. You get hazed for four years, graduate, and then keep your mouth shut to ensure that you receive your check biweekly. And what has become more interesting as time has passed is trying to explain to family, friends, and even my patients as to what services pharmacist offer.

So tonight, I will give my family and friends that have no association with pharmacy an education as to what I have studied for four years. Which as a side note apparently will cost you a house note upon graduation. If you're one of those young people thinking about taking up pharmacy as a career path, maybe this will be informative.

After completing two to three years of undergraduate work, you can apply to a pharmacy program which then takes four years to complete.

Calculations-a course designed to introduce pharmacy students to the basic math concepts seen in everyday community or hospital practice. Some of the things you will learn to calculate are total parental nutrition for patients that don't have gut motility or can't eat. Or how to calculate IV infusion rates and when its appropriate to use different formulations of normal saline, dextrose, etc. For the community pharmacist, how to calculate appropriate days supply or how to appropriately compound a suspension, solution, or cream.

Pathophysiology-I think the course name speaks for itself. Its the study of human physiology. For instance, diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels raise in the body. Insulin is produced by the pancreas and brings the blood glucose levels at a normal range of 70-110. Patho means disease in latin, while pathology is the study of disease. Thus this course describes how you will study what occurs in a healthy body, and what occurs in the disease state.

Medical Biochemistry-To be brief, biochemistry is the combination of biology and organic chemistry.

Pharmaceutical Dosage Form-The study of dosage forms and how different dosage forms are appropriate for disease states. The easiest example off the top of my head is rather than a woman taking a daily dose of a birth control pill, she can choose to receive Depo Provera(medroxyprogesterone). A shot that once injected into the muscle releases slowly over a 3 month period.

Sterile Products-A class dedicated to understanding the process of compounding IV formulation, total parental nutrition, etc. under USP797. USP797 dictates that for patient safety a sterile environment must be maintained so that the drug product does not introduce pathogen into the body.

Infectious Disease-The study of bacterial, fungal, protozoa, and viral infections that affect the human body. With each disease a review of treatment guidelines takes place.

Medicinal Chemistry-The study of chemical drug structures and how each class of drug has its own uniform appearance. What you find is that the only difference between many drugs within the same class are a few functional groups.

Pharmacology-The study of pharmaceutical drugs. Damn, theres alot of drugs. Ha!

There is three years of classroom work, with one year of rotations. Rotations are just a word that describes that you attend a different site each month. One month you could be at a hospital and the next month you could be at a community pharmacy.

So with all that being said the degree a person is rewarded is a Doctor of Pharmacy and you're able to practice only after completing the NAPLEX and State Law exam.

So, I've set the stage for how much education it takes to get the degree. In some regard I've discussed how much it costs, you can take an estimate. So with all this education, what do I do? Well... In some regards, even I have difficulty quantifying what I do everyday.

A brief job description could include: patient medication review of potential drug duplication and drug interactions, knowing your product in regards to shape, color, liquid, tablet, injection and how it should be appropriately administered, patient consultation for drug products, financial billing of drug products, ensure that pharmacy law in regards to federal and state is being followed, provide drug information to patients and the healthcare team, administer vaccinations, and of course ensure patient safety.

With all this being said with all the education that nurses, physicians, physical therapists, and pharmacists have to undertake to even practice. I feel as though there is a level of decay in the amount of respect that people show healthcare providers. And although I've learned that its just part of the business, it is very frustrating.

Education is a privilege. The easiest thing for a person to do is to not share the knowledge, while the hardest thing for a person to do is to take the time to explain how a process works. When I consider what frustrates me in the business of pharmacy, it only takes a split second for me to realize that my profession is no different than that of a teacher, lawyer, police officer, and the list goes on. From the least paid to the most paid, I find it interesting that people don't take the time to understand what the people around us do for a living.

I think its natural for people to get so wrapped up in their own lives that they don't take the time to educate themselves on the world around them. Funny thing though, is that you truly don't grasp why you do what you do, until you sit down and realize why other people do what they do. Does that make sense? Think of it like this. For someone to have a true appreciation of how my brain processes information and how I formulate perceptions and conclusions, I must first take the time to understand another person's process.

So, do we take the time to understand each other? Or are our lives moving so fast, that we only get fixated on our process, our desires, and our needs? So the next time a person wants their prescription filled as if it is a big mac with a large fry, or a high school teacher gets cursed out by a student because the student doesn't want to turn in homework, or a police officer gets spit on just because they're a cop... It makes you wonder, are we becoming a nation that doesn't take the time to understand one another. Maybe a brief description of what I do everyday for a living will help you understand me.

Long time..

2012-02-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

So its been awhile. I went without internet for a few months because Charter was ripping me a new one. I have some AT&T UVERSE now, it has a better picture, better service, and 60 bucks a month. Point I'm trying to make is don't use Charter.

While we're discussing being used.

Don't you hate these rappers that are always talking about I'm sorry I went to jail for a year, but now I'm back...

Buy my album!? Clear my throat... Double AHEMS...

Lil Wayne & TI! This is your official public service announcement. Going to jail and then writing a CD about how the MAN is against you, then selling millions of CDs, that was based off of the man being against you is straight lunacy.

Stop it rappers, stop making me feel like your lyrics are so great that I had nothing else to do in the past year since you decided to go to jail to boost your public relations campaign. I mean, now we have Lil Wayne coming out with a book of his diary entries from his jail cell.

Rappers making money on going to jail....

Pause..Contemplate.. What curse words come to mind. COME ON MANNNNNNNNNNNN!

Now that we have that out the way, what shall we discuss? In my Alex Trebek voice... Politics, love, music, television....

For 100 points Alex, I'll take love. Okay, love is the best four letter word I know. When I think of love, I think people automatically expect me to begin the discussion of love between a man and a woman. But, if you were expecting that, guess what? My blogs don't last three pages son!

Valentine's day is coming up, and people are always thinking about what they're gonna buy their significant other for that special day. But... I had a discussion with a man by the name of Matthew Fanaei that reminds me to to remember the the big picture.

AND SO THE STORY GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS:

See, it was a Saturday evening and I was just minding my business, I was hanging out with my girl as she's trying to prepare for the Red Dress Event..An event that raises money for the American Heart Association. Make sure you come FEB 10 9-3PM at the MLOUNGE, cheap plug!

Well as she begins walking the building with one of her classmates checking for where different decorations were going to be placed, I stood there and began talking to Mr. Fanaei.

Mr. Fanaei was born in IRAN and migrated to the states in 1978. His family well to do, he wanted to attend college in America. Then THE SHAH happened! To make a long story short, google THE SHAH of IRAN and you will read interesting articles about American Hostages in IRAN, etc.

This IRANIAN revolution greatly affected how IRANIANs were perceived back in America. Mr. Fanaei talked about how difficult it was for him in Alabama, but he never resented the ignorant stares and taunts that he received.

As he stated to me, "people just didn't know any better."

He's a man that went on to own over 50,000 square feet in downtown Birmingham.

MONEY, SUCCESS, MONEY, SUCCESS, MONEY, SUCCESS, MONEY, SUCCESS!!!!!

AND THEN...He told me that his daughter was the UAB student gunned down in the parking lot a few blocks away from UAB back in 2007.

He was a man that had alot to say in the short time that I spoke with him.

He was a man that stated, "I have all the earthly possessions, I have all the wealth...but what is money without family?!"

A MAN thats had the highest of professional highs, and the lowest of personal lows...

Mr. Fanaei is a very smart man. He's made lots of money, he's overcome major odds against him in being successful in America during a very difficult period of transition in world politics.

And sadly, he's even dealt with the death of a beautiful daughter. Who was gunned down because her perpetrators wanted a nice car.

My point of the night, is that we think about Valentine's day as if it's only a representation of love and romance between a couple.

Well, after talking to Mr. Fanaei I felt like writing a blog about reminding you and myself that we shouldn't glorify these generic calendar dates.

WHY?

Because everyday in my opinion should be a good day to take the time to tell the people around you that you love them.

Never take those around you for granted.

With that being said...

I love you guys.

Battery Packed

2012-01-07T05:03:00.000-08:00

So this month, I have a rotation at Shelby Baptist Hospital. I'm working with one of my professors from Samford and another student. We're learning alot, doing total parental nutrition checks, vancomycin and aminoglycoside dosing...and blah blah blah blah blah.. Yea, I won't bore you with all the details for fear of putting you to sleep.

Its been awhile since I posted anything, mainly because I've had nothing to write about. Life is moving by at warp speed and time is not stopping for anyone. The rotation that I'm on is known as an adult medicine rotation, thus I see a little bit of everything everyday. I also keep long hours to keep up with the pace of how much we're learning. Usually I'm at the hospital around 5am and I'll leave around 4pm.

So, I'm sitting at dinner with my girlfriend the other night, its around 9PM and I start to tell her how I've been awake since 4am. We're talking, we're talking...And then I pause. I look at her and say, "what are we powered by?" She says, "What do you mean?" Then, I proceed to state, "Well, have you ever realized that we're creatures that function without battery, electricity, water energy, wind energy, and don't forget nuclear energy!" She looks at me and says, "Sam...are you delusional?"

I've told this brief story I guess to prove a point. I'm calling it my battery pack theory as to explain the mystery of God. So often we forget about his existence. But in my long days of being on rotation, without much sleep and waking up at the crack of dawn, and sometimes hopping in the car and then working another four or five hour shift at Walgreens, I started to ask myself one thing over and over. Where do I receive my energy? Who gives me my strength?

I take God for granted everyday. But who amongst us doesn't take God for granted and life for granted? Think about it. We don't walk around with energizer battery packs strapped to our bodies, and you don't have to plug yourself up to an outlet at night to recharge. Its really crazy to think about it like that, but on a delusional night and not much sleep, it made perfect sense.

I love HIP HOP

2011-11-11T20:01:00.001-08:00

With the death of Heavy D, I began to reflect on my love for Hip Hop. I started to think about the first raps I can remember. I can't even recollect who it was, but I knew I loved it. See, hip hop has been in my life since I can remember.

I was born in 1982 in Chattanooga, TN. I grew up on East 3rd Street. If anybody from Chattanooga reads this, they will know 3rd street is like 20 miles long. But, my house was just up the block from Notre Dame High School. Back then East Third had a reputation for being a little rough. My first couple of bikes as a youngster were stolen pretty quick...hell, I remember some crackheads stole my grandma's water hose. SMH!!!!

The streets were street, and the music began to become a reflection of black people's struggle. One of my favorite television shows growing up was YO MTV RAPS! I loved that show. It was hosted by FAB Five Freddy. Back then Fab Five was the man.

Back then you had a few hard core groups like N.W.A, but the main types of rap you would hear were sounds that you could dance and groove to. Every rap video would have a dance. And my boy Heavy D was the overweight lover that could groove. I remember I would go to the kitchen, make some kool aid, get me a cup and then find the television. I would sit my cup of punch down on the table next to the television and start dancing with the videos. During commercial breaks, I would take a sip of juice, towel off my sweat, and start dancing again when another music video would come on.

Man, it makes me recall the days of the group Kid and Play and their movies that starred unknowns like Martin Lawrence. The fights on the playground in elementary school of who was a better rapper MC Hammer or Vanilla Ice? Queen Latifah making songs about not calling women bitches and hoes. Dr.Dre and Ice Cube when they was just some guys off the block. Go back and look... Ice Cube was rocking a jerry curl. MC Lyte, Digable Planets, a Tribe Called Quest, Sugarhill Gang, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane. The list goes on. These guys were just a part of my beginning stages of finding love with Hip Hop. Me and my cousins loved hip hop so much back then that one of my first dogs was a white cocker spaniel whose name was Eazy-E.

As we progressed into the 90's, I finally got my first rap cassette. Wrecks N Effect was the group. They had a few hits, and I would wear that tape out. Rump Shaker was their classic hit. You can hear that saxophone sliced and placed into Jay-Z's song Show me What you Got from the album Kingdom Come...See, I been listening to rap so long, I knew Jay Z had bought the saxophone section from the Rump Shaker song and placed it into his own song...pretty dope Jigga.

About in the fifth grade, I moved from a predominately all black neighborhood to an all white neighborhood. Talk about culture shock. But, I adapted, especially when it was time for recess. In the mornings my mom would drop me off to school for before care around 6am so she could get to work on time. I met this kid by the name of Brandon York. Brandon was this lil white kid with red freckles and red hair. Every time I would come to school I would always see him sitting there listening to a tape player. One day, I didn't feel like playing super nintendo, so I asked him what he was listening to that day? His response, "Snoop Doggy Dog"!

Now, I'm sure some parents and older folks reading this will think...In the fifth grade you were listening to SNOOP DOGGY DOG!? And the answer is yes! I listened to it. That tape, was a classic for my generation. That tape had grandmama's singing SNOOP DOGGY DDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOG! BOW WOW WOW Yippe Yo Yippe Ya...DEATH ROW IN THE HOUSE! haha....

From Murder was the Case to Gin and Juice, wow...that tape was a classic. I can only shake my head and laugh that the whitest white boy introduced me to Snoop Dog. The irony of that is comical. But that's hip hop, it doesn't judge. Think about it, a white boy by the name of Emniem may just go down as the greatest MC to ever pick up a mic.

Hip hop became a reflection of the times. From Notorious BIG, Tupac, Puff Daddy, Wu-Tang, Red Man, Method Man, Master P, Outkast, Mystikal, Eminem, Jay Z...Its amazing to look back on those years and realize how the rap game has evolved. Who would have ever thought Jay-Z would be part owner of Brooklyn Nets? Tupac would have college professors lecturing about his lyrics? And Snoop Dogg would go from being on trial for murder, to being on daytime talk shows like the View and Ellen?

I guess I love Hip Hop because it defines an attitude of rebellion. The rapper often time chronicles his times from poverty to fulfilling riches. He tells the listener that he doesn't care what you think of him. He doesn't want you to give him approval. He doesn't want your respect. Because by the time you finish listening to the entire tape/cd you were like damn...This guy is fighting to survive. He earned my respect because he's hussling to make his life better. Instead of robbing, stealing, and slanging dope often the rapper is using their talents to have a life of rhymes instead of a life of crime. Biggie says it best in his song Juicy:

I love you hip hop because you gave my generation a voice. I'm not talking about this crap rap. I'm talking about real raps about the streets, about the struggles, about life, death...Thats hip hop. I think sometimes, I'm gonna outgrow hip hop. I'm lying to myself. What I've realized is that my hip hop will just be a new genre called mature hop. I love you hip hop because you looked in the mirror and said the poor will survive. I will be strong. I will dust the haters off and be a winner.

My hip hop ain't just raps, its reality.

Scared to Compete

2011-11-06T21:47:00.000-08:00

"You don't deserve anything! You earn everything you got! Nobody's gonna give you anything!"
Boys and girls across the world are hearing these words in different languages from athletic coaches, teachers, and parents.

When I think of competing, one of the first people that pops into my mind is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many people consider Arnold to be the greatest bodybuilder to have ever stepped foot on earth. He's also pretty good at making action movies. Arnold even made his way into the Governor's mansion of California. Not shabby for a guy from Austria that wasn't even his father's favorite son. See, Arnold's dad thought that he was conceived from an affair. When you read Arnold's story, one thing comes to mind. What motivated him to become the man that he became? Mr.Olympia, Terminator, Governor...

Oprah Winfrey grew up in poverty. She was abused early in her childhood and sent to live with her father because her mother didn't want to raise her. What motivated her to become Oprah? A black woman that just so happens to be worth a billion dollars?

Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States. His father died in an automobile accident before he was even born. His mother eventually remarried. In regards to his stepfather, President Clinton states, "He remembers that his step father was a gambler and an alcoholic that physically abused his mom and half brother." What motivated him to become the 42nd President of the United States?

I sat back and thought about it for awhile. And I decided that these people were successful because they embodied the following characteristics:

1) Playing the game.
We're all scared to fail. But I would bet that most successful people fear not being able to compete more than losing. What's worse... Playing the game and losing? Or standing on the sidelines and watching everyone else play the game?

2)A person that works hard with good talent can become more successful than the person with average work ethic and excellent talent.
I remember watching an interview of Michael Jordan. And the guy interviewing him asked him if he had ever played against a basketball player with more talent than he had? Jordan smiled, and said yes. He had played against alot of guys with more talent than him, but for whatever reason they never made it. In his words, those guys either just didn't work hard enough, got caught up living a hard knock life, or it just wasn't meant to be...

3)Presence
Its not measurable, but you know it when you see it. When these people walk into a room, you wonder who they are.

4)Persistence
Even in defeat a true winner gets off the ground and dusts themselves off. One of my professors told me once while I was applying to schools that you might get letters telling you no, but that I only needed one school to send me a letter saying yes. That holds true in all aspects of life. One door may close but if you're patient another door will open up that may lead you to greater heights.

5)Never took an opportunity for granted
When presented with an opportunity to better themselves, they made the most of it.

6)Faith in a vision
Even when no one else believed in their dreams, they saw their path.

7)Making money wasn't their main motivation, their main motivation was to achieve their full potential.
Money comes and goes, but what's better than having someone walk up to you one day and say..."You're one of the best that ever did it."

8) A desire to compete.
A passion for your field of choice. A desire to work hard when no ones looking. Thats what we love as a human race. Survival of the fittest.

So it begs to be asked about American society...

1) Are we working hard enough?

2) Are we more consumed about choosing a profession to make money, rather than finding a profession that we have a passion for?

3) Do we have vision?

I wonder these things because we're a beautiful country. We're a country where people of modest means can work hard and become successful.

Bill Clinton. Oprah Winfrey. Arnold Schwarzenegger...

But are we going to keep our place as an innovative society? Are we becoming complacent?

Its obvious that we're scared to compete.

Crude Examples
-In little league sports everyone gets a trophy these days, even if you come in last place.
-A person that does poor work often gets paid the same amount as a person that does excellent work.
- No child should left behind...What if that child chooses not to put in the effort to do their school work?

Accountability...Are We Scared to Compete?

These are questions I'm just asking out loud.. What do I know..

Yo Momma!

2011-11-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

There was a show on MTV a few years ago called Yo Momma. It was hosted by an annoying little man by the name of Wilmer Valderrama.

I call him an annoying little man because...Well, because he dissed Mandy Moore. Who disses Mandy Moore? COME ON MAN?!!

I mean you hate on Mandy Moore, and then on top of it, you tell Howard Stern the king of FILTH about your love encounter with Mandy Moore. The cute girl that falls in love, but abruptly dies from an illness in the classic chick flick A WALK TO REMEMBER?!

Wilmer? WTF!

Completely off topic...

Now back to the topic. Wilmer Valderrama hosted Yo Momma, which was a pretty popular MTV show. The basis of the show was to get a group of people to battle one another with jokes. Think of it as the poor man's debate team.

In real debates you have McCain vs Obama debating taxes and gun rights.

In poor man debates you discuss who has better rims, who's girlfriend is..well a hussie, and the ultimate diss of all.....WHO's MOMMA IS UGLIER! WHOoooooooooooaaaa!!!!!!!! NO HE DIDN"T TALK ABOUT MY MOMMA?!

Now, this all seems very childish, but I must admit I'm pretty childish at times. And I got enjoyment out of this show primarily because I grew up going to a predominately black inner city elementary school. I don't know what you were doing at your elementary school. But, at my elementary school you had to be good at at least one of four things as a boy.

1.) Can you play basketball? I mean if you're black... You better know how to at least dribble.
2.) Can you get a girl to check the yes box when you ask her to be your girlfriend? Pimping ain't EZ!
3.) Can you battle another kid in YO MOMMA jokes?
4.) Can you beat another kid up in the bathroom during bathroom break without the teacher catching you?

Look at the list, which ones were you good at in elementary school?

I remember as a kid going home and practicing my YO MOMMA jokes. Literally, I practiced telling YO MOMMA jokes... Looking at the mirror with a sheet of paper, with written jokes, imagining what the other kid would say. And returning fire with a better YO MOMMA line!

Looking back on this is pretty damn comical. Hell, I can still tell a few jokes. You wanna hear?

-Yo Momma so fat, when she went to the kitchen she slipped on the floor broke her leg and gravy poured out.
-Yo Momma is so skinny, she can hang-glide on a Dorrito Chip.
-Yo Momma so stupid, she tried putting M&M's in alphabetical order.
-Yo Momma faster than Nascar, heard she burned four rubbers last night...

Now seriously...You can laugh at some of those jokes, but now I'm 28 years old. And as I reflect, I'm wondering how in the heck I memorized those jokes in the third grade. Which brings me to the following questions.

I know, I know... I ASK ALOT OF QUESTIONS... But think about these really quick.

Of the following two holidays, which do you celebrate with greater happiness? Which one do you spend more money on? And if you live away from your hometown, which holiday do you actually go back home to celebrate? Only One ANSWER CHOICE IS ACCEPTABLE!

a) Father's Day
b)Mother's Day

When I was in elementary school, a teacher overheard me battling a fellow peer in YO MOMMA barbs. YO MOMMA FAT! YO MOMMA UGLY! YO MOMMA STUPID! The teacher took us both aside, and told us both to shut up and stand on the wall.

Then she walked to another teacher and her statement was, "Ain't it a shame, they ain't got nothing to say about they DADDY!"

Why?

Because in my community, you didn't hurt a kid's pride by talking about his father. You hurt his pride by talking about the one parent he knew...His momma!

After all the jokes fade away. And you grow up and reflect on it, I think its pretty damn sad that this has become so many kids reality. We laugh and joke about yo momma this, and may even buy a few t-shirts that say yo momma.

But take a few moments and really think about the reality of this situation. Its an epidemic. More and more young people are growing up without a male remodel in their lives. Its the new family dynamic. Its the new norm.

Imagine this situation. A young man with alot of potential decides to make the wrong decision. Now unfortunately, he's standing before the judge for sentencing. The judge says, "Son...I'm giving you probation and community service. I want to say that you seem to have alot of potential. But you need to grow up...and become a MAN."

Well judge, those are pretty good words, and sound advice...

Except for the fact that this guy ain't got a clue how to be a man, because he's never known a man.

Think about it...

You'll quickly realize that Yo momma jokes suddenly ain't so damn funny anymore.

Race

2011-10-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

I have a brother thats white. His name is Nathan Taylor. He's around five foot six, but I'm pretty sure he says he's five foot eight. And I'm guessing he's around 160 pounds these days.

I'm a black male thats five foot ten 220lbs. If you were to look at us, you would quickly realize that we were not born from the same womb. But, nevertheless he is still my brother. Why? Hell, I don't know... I love the guy.

Me and him both are from the south. I was born in TN, and have since lived in Birmingham, AL for eight years. He's from a little town in GA, by the name of Rockmart.

I love the south because I'm a southern boy at heart. I love the smell of the country, I love the smell of barbecue and Jack Daniels on a Saturday morning before a SEC football game. And all in all I just love my southern heritage. There are things that I don't like, but being from the south is in my DNA. You can take a man out of the south, but you can't take the south out of the man.

Yet, the south has a dirty history of racism. Blacks faced years of prejudice with Jim Crow Laws set into place after Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation in 1863. The Civil Rights Movement, the riots, and police brutality led by the likes of Birmingham's Bull Connor. The South to put it mildly, hadn't always been home sweet home for its black citizens.

Through all this, I believe that our world has rapidly changed in the last 100 years. Some may beg to differ, but think about it. Fifty years ago our country was embroiled in the civil rights movement. Who would have ever imagined then that we would now have a black president?

And who would ever imagine that there would be a Condoleeza Rice, a Colin Powell, Oprah Winfrey... The list of names and faces are many, some famous and some not so famous. Many taking roles in education, healthcare, and business.

So now black america must ask itself. Does racism still exist?

If the answer to this question is yes.

Then my follow up question is, does racism impede your progress from achieving your goals and reaching your full potential?

The last question I would pose to a black audience would be...

Are you any less racist than a white person?

Back to my brother by a different mother. Its obvious that he's white. It's obvious to me that we have different perspectives and viewpoints on what life means and what race means. But, he's still family. He would be family to me regardless of his skin color. Because its his soul, its his heart and mind that I love.

Like Dr. King said, "Judge me by the content of my character, not the color of my skin." That goes for both white and black. To me, the only way black america can grow is for us to take full ownership of our shortcomings. To look in the mirror and not blame others for our failings.

Lastly, I will leave you with this thought...

In the 21st century, who's the SLAVEMASTER?

Is it a white man? Is it a black man? Or is it... the reflection of yourself in the mirror?

The Chase

2011-10-31T00:27:00.000-07:00

We're all chasing. Yet, I'm very certain that if we were to really ask ourselves what we're chasing after we wouldn't even have a clue. One day, we might desire respect, the next day money, and the next day...and the next day.

The chase is exhausting, especially when you wake up in the morning stare at yourself and think...What am I really here to do? What is my place amongst a growing population of nearly 7 billion people?

We all ask ourselves what is my purpose? And depending on our mood, we will have different answers. I've chased, and I've pushed things to the side, procrastinated with decisions. But one day, a question was asked of me that completely changed my life. It was a simple question. But it had an amazing impact on me. So I figured I'd share it.

The question:"Where do you see yourself in five years?"

Well, this question is pretty simple. And it shouldn't take much thought to answer. Right? WRONG! Because its one of those open-ended questions. A question that you can answer with many statements, but was followed with this question.

The follow-up question: "What plans have you made to achieve your goals in the next five years?"

See, what I realized in this simple interaction was that just because I could easily say where I wanted to be in the next five years. I hadn't actually made up an action plan to achieve any of these goals.

Honestly, it hurt to realize that the only person that was holding me back from my potential was myself. I had no one else to blame for my failures or my shortcomings. It made me re-analyze my process. And, what I realized is that I had gotten caught up in the end result and not focused enough on taking time to make sure I was following the correct process.

Its like a good free throw shooter in basketball. Sure they make a high percentage of free throws, but look at their process before they shoot each shot. You will often find, its the same actions. Following a process, allows them to feel prepared to make the shot.

What I've realized is that we must constantly re-evaluate our process, and decide on why we do what we do. Is there a better way to solve a problem? Is there a better way to get to the end result? Because if the process is flawed, you will never reach your potential.

It's hard to accept that you have no control over the future. But its easier to grasp life's uncertainties when you sit down, reflect on your life and begin planning for how you would like to see yourself in the next 5 or 10 years. Plans never work out completely, but what I've found is that having a 5 year plan on paper is better than having no plan at all.

The chase... well, I've found that you can transform it to The plan...
And a plan only leads to purpose.