[ DISCLAIMER ]   By the time I attended United States Marine Corps Recruit Training (1996), I’d already been in a number of physical altercations. As my experience with fistfights began in elementary school, I had awareness of what it was like to get punched in the face.   For instance, as a resident of a children’s home in middle and high school, I’d engaged in mutual affrays with various boys. On one instance, a school bus driver pulled me off of a boy who sucker punched me

[ DISCLAIMER ]   Earlier, when looking through video content from my time in the Marine Corps (1996-2007), for a Veterans Day  blogpost, I came across footage of my first time ice skating. In 1998, when stationed in Okinawa, Japan, I found that there was no exception to gravity’s force when on ice.   The memory of that subjectively humorous event reminded me of a Passport Rav song from his 2021 album Sand in My Carry On , entitled “ Ice Skating ”. For those who are unfamilia

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , fair use   Halfway through my fifth grade year, my mom sent me from Amarillo, Texas, where I lived with her, to live with my dad in Aurora, Colorado. I was an overweight, white-appearing, biracial (white and black) child with a thick Texas accent, and who didn’t know any other kids at school.   When enrolled in Crawford Elementary School (pictured above), I was introduced to Crips  who lived in the local neighborhood. This introduction was by way

[ DISCLAIMER ]   In a blogpost entitled Practice How You Perform , I discussed a concept that I learned in childhood: Practice how you play and play how you practice. This expression was also reflected throughout my training when I served in the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps (1996-2007).   For example, the above photo is the only image I have depicting my law enforcement defensive tactics  training when becoming military police (MP) while stationed aboard Fort McClellan ,

[ DISCLAIMER ]   When assigned to the Marine Security Guard detachment (det) in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (1999-2000), I was quite athletic...

[DISCLAIMER]   Have you ever been exposed to a CS gas chamber? I have. In a blogpost entitled Resilience, I described my experience from...

[ DISCLAIMER ]     On his 2000 album The Understanding , rapper Memphis Bleek  released the track “In My Life” which featured a sample of...

[DISCLAIMER] Only the strong I remember the passionate sound of Jerry Butler’s 1968 song “Only the Strong Survive” playing from a vinyl...

[DISCLAIMER] (My high school friend, “1/2 Ton,” with me in the late ‘90s, as “2 Nice” was stenciled on my jacket) Shame attacking When...

[DISCLAIMER] From childhood, I recall when children would often say, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words shall never hurt...