We’re Going To The White House!!!

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Kickin’ it with Ronald McDonald at the White House Easter Egg Roll in ’81. Pops got me all messed up with the brown cords and the tight maroon jacket.

Yep… that’s right. Uncle G. Mo is taking the nieces to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. If you recall, that is the residence of President Barack Obama and family. I haven’t told the girls yet, but best believe that they’ll be excited when I inform them. Now most folks are aware that I’ve got hook-ups from here to Timbuktu, but when it came to copping these tickets, bruh man had to do work. I sat in my office logged onto the White House website for hours. Every 5 minutes or so I’d hit F5 on the 3 different browsers I had open. For the first 3 hrs of trying I got nothing but the “Thank you for your patience” message screen. Around 2:15pm, I had 6 tickets selected once and then got booted. About 10 minutes later I was able to get back on and it went through for the 6 tickets that time. Presto!!! I was in.

My hands started shaking like I had arthritis as I tried to type the pertinent info into the blanks. The excitement of actually getting through the system was what shocked me. I mean, I always believe that I’m going to get whatever I want. But sometimes I end up on the short end of the stick. This time, I got lucky. Seriously, I can’t even say it was anything more than that. I didn’t get a chance to take the girls to the Inauguration and I was kinda sad about that. So I really wanted to find a way to get them to the White House. This coup today, sealed the deal.

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*picks up mic*

Test… 1…2.. See it kinda goes like this. I already knew I was gonna get em before I did. I spoke it into existence. I told myself “Self… we gone get these tickets for the girls to see President Obama at the White House”. I said it this morning while eating my cereal. I said it in the car in traffic on 29. I said it when I sat down in the office. It was destiny. You gotta believe… Thank you

*drops mic*

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Back in the early 80’s when Ronald Reagan was President, my dad used to take me to the White House. I remember those days like they happened yesterday. I didn’t care about Democrats and Republicans back then. I just had fun on the lawn with the rest of the kids, the cartoon characters and playing games. That is one experience that I want my own child to have one day as well. But for now, I’ve got 3 little girls who call me uncle who will be happy to go. Hopefully they’ll get souvenirs like I did back in those days. I still have my wooden eggs from ’81 & ’82.

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It’s amazing to think I actually kept them that long. As much as I’ve talked to them about President Obama and the interest that they’ve shown in him being President, it will be historical for not just them… but me too. Hell, I might be just as excited as they’ll be when I tell em. Best believe that I’ll be taking plenty of pics of our day.

Peace & Love…

G. Mo

When the Yellow Rice aint yellow

A brotha was preparing the after work meal at the crib and grabs a box of Zatarain’s Yellow Rice as he does on the regular. The directions are quite simple that even a child in kindergarten can figure it out. But on this occasion, things were quite different. One think struck me instantly when the packet in the box was opened. The yellow rice wasn’t yellow, it was white. Now, I’m hold “Hold up, what happened to the yellow rice?” They done pulled a switcheroo on me. So I went ahead and cooked as usual and it was aiiight… for white rice. But I bought the yellow for a reason. I wanted yellow. So best believe that I got on the phone with the Zatarain’s Consumer Affairs dept and let them know the deal. The lady I spoke with was very polite and apologetic. She stated that they’d send me some free coupons as an olive branch for the inconvenience. 48 hrs later, I had my letter and the coupons. I try to tell folks that writing letters and contacting customer care departments about issues that occur are a necessity.

I have a file of letters I’ve written for the past 15 years with hard copies as well as on the computer. Ask Pentagon City Mall what happened when I saw a roach in their food court while dining one Saturday afternoon in ’94. How about the letter I wrote to Subway corporate 2 yrs ago when I went to get a sandwich at 8:45 and the clowns who were hired to do their jobs til 9pm had closed the doors 15 minutes early and refused to open them as I stood outside patiently for 10 minutes. I contacted General Mills about 10 yrs ago when my Honey Nut Cheerios box had regular Cheerios inside. Let me not forget Comcast HQ in Philly 4 yrs ago when a tech just totally messed up my install. Now their execs send me Christmas cards each year. Want something done? Write a letter or voice your issues with the companies who have ‘wronged’ you. Screaming, fussing and cursing don’t get you anywhere or the issues resolved in most cases. Patience and a calm attitude will get better responses when things happen. Just remember that.

Have you ever opened a product from the grocery store and what you had bought wasn’t inside the box or package or it was missing the number that was supposed to be inside??? If so, did you write a letter or contact the customer care dept of the company? Just curious to the experiences of others…

Peace & Love…

G. Mo

“I Beat To My Own Beat”

You can thank Mr. Terrell Owens for inspiring my latest creation. A web page, soon to be website with the domain name I Beat To My Own Beat Dot Com. Yeah, I had a little bit too much time on my hands last night and what!!!??? I thought about that stupid phrase for 3 days and the bright light came on when I was driving home that I might be able to register it. Did you think for a sec that I wasn’t gonna scoop up the domain name off GoDaddy? I’mma full time hustler and on the grind regularly. Gotta find ways to make that cake. Maybe I’ll put some effort into the site. Maybe I’ll add some guest writers and columns and what not. Who knows. Buffalo Bills fans if you’re out there, hit me up. Folks who got $$$ who want the domain, hit me up. I’m out.

Peace & Love…

G. Mo

15 Albums That Changed My Life

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My homie on Facebook hit me with this one, so I figured I’d go ahead and complete the task.

Think of 15 albums, CDs, LPs (if you’re over 35) that had such a profound effect on you, that they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. Dig into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. “Best of” collections are excluded because that would be too easy.

Anyway, it’s hard as hard to limit this list to 15. But here goes…

1. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Car Wash… Mom and I would sing this song and alternate the parts “Hey, get your car washed today”… “Fill up and you don’t have to pay”… “Come on and give us a play”…”Do the wash, right away”… and then both sing “Car wash… talkin’ bout the car wash” together.

2. Whitney Houston – Whitney Houston… I had a crazy crush crush on Whitney Houston and loved the song “Saving All My Love For You”. Next thing ya know she was on Silver Spoons singing it to Dexter. I was mad as hell when they censored “making love the whole night through” and changed it to “holding each other the whole night through” – for the show. You Give Good Love was another song I played relentlessly.

3. Thriller – Michael Jackson… this was my bike riding music… I would get on my Huffy dirt bike and ride with my Walkman down Rhode Island Ave from Peace Cross in Bladensburg to New York Avenue and back… I’d occasionally stop riding and rewind P.Y.T and Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ to the beginning cuz I used to get amped off of those joints.

4. It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back – Public Enemy… From Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos to Don’t Believe The Hype to Night of the Living Baseheads, I ran around quoting and hollering like Flavor Flav.

5. New Edition – New Edition… I was stingy as hell with this tape… I never let anyone borrow it… I took this tape to camp with me in the Blue Ridge Mountains and listening to I knew every word to Mr. Telephone Man, Cool It Now, My Secret, Kinda Girls We Like and Lost In Love.

6. Destiny – Jackson 5… Just imagine me singing “Don’t blame it on sunshine, Don’t blame it on moonlight, Don’t blame it on good times, Blame it on the boogie”, while in my bedroom pretending to be Dr. J as I dunked my Nerf basketball over on the basket hanging over the door. My other favorite song on that album was Shake Your Body. I’d be hollering “Let’s dance, Let’s shout, Shake you body down to the ground” while emulating Tony Dorsett running into the end zone for the Cowboys.

7. That’s the Way of the World – Earth, Wind & Fire… There were a lot of great songs on this album, but that’s not why I remember it. I reflect on it cuz when Ma played this one song, it used to scare me. I thought it was a woman crying. Wanna know what that song was??? It was Reasons. I’m sorry, but you couldn’t have told me back then that Philip Bailey wasn’t a woman singing a sad song. I used to go back in my room and turn the TV up loud so I wouldn’t have to hear that song. LOL.

8. Long Live The Kane – Big Daddy Kane… I had a Betamax in my bedroom and recorded the “Aint No Half Steppin” video off BET if I recall and played it nonstop… plus I bought the LP from Waxie Maxie’s… in fact, that LP is still in my basement.

9. Take Two – The Brothers of Washington D.C…. I’m sure you’re looking like “Who the (blank) are they???… this was an all men’s gospel group that my father was a part of in the late 70’s, early 80’s. I spent many, many years going to Friday night rehearsals and subsequent concerts at various churches across the country. They had 3 albums before my dad left the group, but on this second album I recall being around a great deal during the preparation. On this one they sang Lift Every Voice And Sing, Let Us Break Bread Together, Swing Down Sweet Chariot, This Little Light Of Mine, The Lord’s Prayer and a rack of other classics. It’s out of print, but lucked up and found the LP in a used record store recently for $3.

10. Let’s Do It Again Soundtrack – The Staple Singers… Loved the title song and played this album to death… you hear me!!!???

11. I’ve Got Love – Melba Moore… Just the recollection of mom singing songs from this album while cleaning the house on Sunday mornings, makes me smile.

12. Straight Outta Compton – NWA… I hated the police and this album didn’t exactly make me fond of law enforcement… but best believe that I could’ve gotten on stage and performed every song word for word and not missed a beat

13. Family Reunion – The O’Jays… I remember running around the house as a kid singing “I Love Music”

14. Inseparable – Natalie Cole… My mom played this album and sang it so much that I thought Natalie Cole was a friend of hers. I know what the album jacket looks like from front to back cuz when I tried to use it as a dust pan, I almost got killed.

15. Original Musiquarium I – Stevie Wonder… So many classic songs on this album. This is technically a compilation album, but the songs I like the most were new tracks “Do I Do”, “Ribbon in the Sky” and “That Girl”. My cousin used to play this tape so much in her Camaro in ’82 that I became addicted to Stevie’s music. I know there are a ton of Stevie albums that trump this one, but this one is where I first really became a fan of his music.

Ok, so I finally finished. A great deal of inspiration comes from my parents who both sang a lot back then. They provided me my own record player and from there I just fell in love with a lot of tunes I still love today. That’s all…

Peace & Love

G. Mo

Just when you thought…

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(I feel ya Larry… that hurt me too homie)

Football season is officially over with the Steelers victory of the Cardinals last night. Arizona gave us just enough hope in thinking they could pull off the miracle upset. But in the end, we all know the result. I’m aiiight with Mike Tomlin cuz he’s a smooth brotha. But I still hate the Steelers!

That’s all I got today..

Peace & Love..

G. Mo

Change Has Arrived

President Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration and Address

Just a beautiful moment in time. A day that I’ll never forget. I’m so glad that my grandparents, parents, wife & family, baby bro & sis and nieces were able to witness this day.

Peace & Love…

G. Mo

Do you still own a ‘Big Butt’ TV set?

Y’all know what I’m talkin’ bout. The TV sets with like 2 feet of body in the back. It can’t be moved any closer to the wall, can’t be slid neatly onto a bookshelf and sure as hell can’t be carried under one arm. You gotta cradle the joint with two arms and try to keep it balanced. Don’t tip it the wrong way or it’s gonna end up crashing to the floor.

Get rid of those big booty Judy TV sets. If not for yourself, do it for your friends and family who come over to help you move. You’ll stand around sippin a glass of Red Kool-Aid while Pookie & nem try to get that super dooper joint down the stairs safely, so you can move that big butt heffa to your new crib.

Sell them. Donate them. Just get them out the house. It’s 2009 folks. Step up to flat screens.

This has been a Public Service Announcement from ChocolateCityWeb.com

Peace & Love..

G. Mo

“Nah… We Straight”

That’s my President right there!!!!

Obama Gets a Half-Smoke at Ben’s Chili BowlWashington Post

By Amy Argetsinger

For years, a sign at U Street’s landmark Ben’s Chili Bowl carried this message:

“Who eats free at Ben’s: Bill Cosby. No one else.”

During the 2008 race, they changed it: “Who eats free at Ben’s: Bill Cosby. The Obama Family.” And today, the president-elect finally investigated the offer.

Barack Obama arrived at the fast-food joint with D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty shortly before 1 p.m. He posed with diners and staff, then returned to the counter to collect his order: a chili half-smoke and sweet tea, plus cheese fries and water for the mayor. They dined together at a two-person table.

Asked by a member of the traveling press pool about the significance of his visit, Obama said, “It means I’m going to get a hot dog.”

And as for Ben’s generous offer… As promised, they didn’t try to charge him. Obama handed over a $20 bill anyway for what would have been a roughly $12 meal, reports our colleague N.C. Aizenman. Did he want change, the counterman asked. “No, we’re straight,” said the future prez.

Now all I gotta do is get my man some wings and mumbo sauce and it’ll be official.

Peace & Love…

G. Mo

Building A Gingerbread House

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Talk about fun. Wow!!!! We had a great time, made a huge mess and got through the process of making the entire house without eating it all. This might’ve been the best $13 I’ve ever spent at Costco.

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the rest of the pics are in the link below… you’ll be able to tell how serious we were about the project and all the fun we really had

Building A Gingerbread House

Hope everyone has an enjoyable Christmas and holiday season. Best believe we’ve got joy on this side of town.

Peace & Love…

G. Mo

The Road to Peace and Tranquility

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I’ve been rather quiet on here as of late and the truth of the matter is that I’ve been extremely busy. I mean busy to the point where I tend to not even want to write. That’s unlike me for real. But between therapy on my knee 3 days a week at 7am each morning for 2 hrs each session, working crazy hours the last part of November through the past week and just tending to family issues, a brotha has been drained. But through it all, everything is good. I have no complaints about life as things are currently. In fact, God continues to bless me and my wife in so many ways. No matter how good or bad times have been, I have to say that God is indeed good.

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I’ve been doing a lot at church in working with the youth the past 9 months or so and I really enjoy it. Most of the kids are between the ages of 12-17. I’ve never considered myself a leader, I just love to talk. Yet I feel inspired to just talk openly to the kids about life and things from a Biblical perspective as it relates to life. In the process, I’ve nurtured myself in so many ways and been reading the Bible a lot more. It’s very therapeutic. We’ve all made mistakes and Lord knows I’ve made my share of bad ones not just in my teenage years, but in my adult life as well. I feel like when I talk about things with the kids that they trust me. I talk about issues that have affected me and just how difficult things were during certain periods of my life.

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Some of the topics are uncomfortable to talk about, but I feel that these discussions are necessary. These kids are hurting out here. It pains me to see some of the struggles that they’re going through and these are just kids that are coming to church. I can’t even imagine what’s going on with children who don’t have any kind of spiritual guidance. So for a few Sunday’s a month at 8:30, I’m there running my mouth. I feel like it’s my obligation. You never know who you can touch with positive reinforcement and words and I if I impact the life of one youngster out here, it’s all worthwhile.

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All this to say that I truly feel so blessed right now. Sometimes I look back on my life and feel like I don’t deserve to be here. I’m serious, I start to tear up when I think about it. I’ve cheated death a few times. I’ve been in places where I shouldn’t have been with folks who got caught up. For some reason I didn’t. I’ve lost a lot of friends from my childhood to violent circumstances. I know a lot of cats who are locked up and will probably be for their natural lives. I’ve dealt with tragedy of epic proportions from emotional distress to debilitating physical ailments which spurned addiction to painkillers to personal loss of just about everything that I owned. I mean truly starting from the bottom after being almost at the top. Yet I’m still here standing tall… well, all of 5’9″… LOL. But seriously, that’s not me, that’s God.

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Another blessing has been bestowed upon me and my family and again I’m thankful to God for shining His light down on us. We all dream of a location where we can reside in peace and serenity. A home where we don’t have to worry about certain elements that we grew up under. Most folks don’t know that I’ve moved 22 times in my life. 22 times!!!! I’m only 36. You do the math. You aint got to worry anymore why my body feels like I’m 60 with all that moving around. I gotta carry WD40 in my back pocket. But honestly, I prayed in earnest that I would have the financial means to provide stability for my family and in raising children. The Lord has provided for us and we’re going to have that home. I’m so excited right now that I can’t even sleep. Look at the time of this post. Heck, the Cowboys just lost and I don’t even care. I suppose that I’ll get a few hours of sleep before getting up to be at church for 8:30. Best believe that we’ve got a testimony to give.

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Peace & Love…

G. Mo