The Deck Volume 46 (The I Plead the 5th Edition)

Alright now, it's feeling cool on the Deck for the 2nd straight end of July/firdt of August!  The deck and life feels better with Fall and football just around the corner. 

Fauci, Odyssey, bonnets, All Star weekend recaps, back to school giveaways parasite

Ok by now most know about Dr. Fauci pleading the 5th during the COVID/CDC hearings. Even those that took the vaccine/followed COVID protocols knew Fauci was full of it, likely was behind creating it and an opportunist. I don't know many that dispute that. What is also disputed (I'm so over talking about it) is the way the USA handled the COVID pandemic. Dr. Fauci was again an opportunist. We all should always do our due diligence. Trust but verify. 

The Odyssey as well as the newest Spiderman are currently the biggest in the theaters right now. Everytime I get ready to drop Regal Unlimited a new string of good movies comes out. Now far as historical accuracy (specifically involving race), we were not there. We do not know whom looked like who. We can ascertain based on the area and ancestors but we cannot say that everyone was white. It goes back to Cleopatra, Napoleon, Beetoven, even Jesus Christ. 

The bonnet/durag debate at HBCUs has definitely heated up the socials lately.  I'm going to say this as a former college student and a current manager that's enforcing dress codes. Dress for the occasion, use common sense and good judgment to know when it's appropriate to cover your heads, put on a decent T-shirt and show some class. I dressed down much of my college experience in the classroom and residence halls. You better believe I dressed differently when I went to administrative offices, meetings and especially the Cafe at 615pm (if you went to the WU in the 90s you know!). I'm currently in the middle of a fashion makeover and if these are things you don't know naturally know then the rules must be stricter. I'm a heterosexual man and honestly I get sick of seeing young women with booty shorts and basically their bras. There is a time and place for everything. 

All-Star weekend in Gaffney was again a success.  It doesn't seem like the crowds came like they have in the past. You all know I can be critical of events and event planners. However I don't think this was all on them. It's the crowds as well. These guys and the community have been very consistent, successful and I'm confident adjustments and improvements will continue to be made. One thing would be to lower the amount of games, announce the dates further in advance and possibly even do a 2 day game pass instead of so much for each day. People genuinely want to see the games but with back to school so early this year there is a choice to be made. 

Speaking of back to school, it is so early this year! I'm not used to this. I have to adjust my commutes and traffic patterns. Also I didn't really prepare properly to give to back to school drives also due to a busy July (my birthday month plus busy stuff at work).  I'll continue to post on this throughout the month but it is taking summer away from the children and staff members.  Unless they're getting multiple days off like years past.

It appears the food parasite is starting to pass us by. It hit ginger ale, lettuce and then bacon. Most I know that got sick (myself included) appear to be recovering.  We should always take heed in which foods we trust. 

The Deck Volume 45

Back on the Deck as we are finally getting sustained rainfall in the dog day's of summer! 

-Food recalls/explosive diarrhea 

- Quiet on the creek

-Bron to Phil

-Term limits 

- All-Star weekend in Gaffney

We have food recalls often and this is the first time in years I can honestly recollect a spell of explosive diarrhea. If you're Gen X and above, that's honestly not the worse thing (IYKYK) unless you're not near a toilet or if you have food poisoning. I may have to go exclusively to Red Rock ginger ale or even to Vernors for a while due to some ginger ale brands being affected though. 

I am angered at this "quiet on the creek" meaning. Being from the country, I thought it referred to fishing. Some of you know my mind can be nasty but innocent on certain accounts. Now this is disturbing. I am curious to know what the LGBT community thinks of this. 

Welp LeBron has made his 40th decision. I guessed Philly because he goes back some long years with one of the executives. You're about to see a different brand of Philly fans. I will also say I'm glad Bron didn't do this on my birthday/birthday week for once. 

Lindsay Graham has passed, Mitch McConnell is on his death bed. Now people are having the discussion about term limits again. I think it all depends on health and mental competence as well. No more than 4 terms should be it in my thoughts. I keep wondering who is voting for these folks? 

I'm still gathering feedback from All-Star weekend in Gaffney. It was a vibe but diluted from years past. Could it be due to some of the players that played/didn't play? Sickness (parasite) and the storms? We will circle back later. 2 years ago I was on time and couldn't find a good parking space. This year I was late both days and still plenty of parking. Now York and Lancaster counties may partake. 

Almost the end of July!

The Deck Part 44 (4th of July/Birthday edition)

Good to be back on the deck between the 4th of July and my 48th birthday having my morning coffee and mantras. Here's what we're talking about. 

4th of July overall recap

Hash quality 

Wedding guests

USA v Belgium World Cup

Braves slump

YMCA?

Famous track star connection 

Know your friends

Big Tigger

I will likely go back on the deck before returning to work next Monday but we will start here. 

Ok despite the usual 4th of July controversy and the milestone being the 250th anniversary of our country it was still a great weekend. Listen if anyone paid attention in history class we all know Blacks were still in slavery 250 years ago. We do know that Blacks were not considered equal at the time the Declaration of Independence was signed. I nor anyone else should excuse this. However, people of all cultures still celebrated. Whether be independence, family, or simply a weekend of good food, family, cooking out, fireworks. etc, who says you can't celebrate? You are in America, this is 2026, celebrate whatever you like (even if it's Juneteenth the remix, Juneteenth 2.0, 704 day, my birthday, family reunions). Staying inside and doing nothing nets you nothing, period. 

I'm seeing more and more folk in South Carolina make and sell hash. For my next batch, I've decided to add two more ingredients, one you will immediately recognize. I think this is awesome given just 30 years ago where if you didn't make it out by 9am to your favorite hash place you were out of luck. Now hash (beef/pork, etc) is a South Carolina delicacy that's mostly enjoyed on the 4th of July and now even year round. Basically it should have at least beef, butter, onions, salt, pepper and some potatoes. I currently make mine without potatoes and it gives a different taste and texture. 

I like the debate about wedding guests. I always think it should start with close family and friends. One married couple is only inviting those that know them both. I see nothing wrong. Weddings are uber expensive and some people aren't coming for your best interest. They are coming to see and be seen. The plus one deal is another topic. I'm ok with a miscellaneous plus one. I like what my accounting guy from the WU said a while back about RSVPs, gifts, etc. Either way, invite whom you want (including no children), keep it under budget and remember whose day it actually is. 

The USA's FIFA World Cup run ended with a loss to Belgium. I do love how our country has come together over the past few weeks and how soccer is becoming more of a norm in youth sports. One day, one day!

The Atlanta Braves are in a downspiral after not losing a series from April-June. Going into All-Star break we need to see if we should keep Acuna Jr or not given his injuries. It's also time to go after another big star, a leader. We need that presence at the moment. 

Man listen the YMCA is where it's at! I'm glad I can finally enjoy along with keeping my current gym membership active. It's a modified all access pass, great facilities, staff and also a pool to go to from sun up to sundown.  Sun tans and better diving here I come! 

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden put the track world on notice by beating ShaCarri Richardson in a recent 100 meter face off. ShaCarri of course is well known, Melissa is mostly known around our area as she's from Coastal Carolina. Best part, my friend/current gym manager was her former coach. I'm over the moon for them both! 

In the wake of all of these mysterious murders and going back to Kenneka Jenkins and those, KNOW YOUR FRIENDS! I'm friendly with lots of folks but I trust few. Especially without my phone, where I am outnumbered in minority, and near clear danger. I'm not making this a racial thing (yet). Everything does add up. We as adults and parents have to be viligant regarding whom our children associate with. I can see now why my mom was so protective. She was ahead of her time and knew what could go wrong. We have to see discrepancies and red flags before it's too late! 

Ok with the Big Tigger drama. There's no telling how long this was going on and let's be real, this was more than about that phone. Always look within. 

The Deck Part 43 (Independence and Freedom)

We sit here on the deck after a much needed 5 days off from work before Prime Week. I took a small social media break also. Let's dive in and not just the pool. 

7on7, Braves, Knicks, racism, next 36 days, Spud, pools in bigger cities

I get so tired of not only white privilege but the blatant racism. My people and DEFINITELY myself have educated you all on systemic racism and our struggle for 6 years now. At this point if you know me and still fail to see this, it's a choice. Again I'm tired and the justice system is far too unfair on Black folks. The evidence and metrics are there. Reading is fundamental and all one has to do is read to listen and understand, not read to react. I do not pretend to fully understand another culture or females. Please don't act like you understand my lifetime struggle or think I'm not seen as a Black man in society.  I am biracial, I know exactly who I am. I have to move accordingly and advocate for the Black experience though. 

7 on 7 tournaments in high school football have really heated up over the past decade. Speaking of things, concepts I cannot understand is this. Maybe because I'm old sure and a purist of football. I realize the game has changed in rules, speed and conditioning development due to full adoption of the spread offense and compensating for lack of hitting and tackling drills. I'm good with 7on7 tournaments, weight lifting meets, lineman camps and the like. What I'm not good with are fans/parents treating them like they're games. They are not, sorry. They are glorified, extended spring practices/mini camps. I do love getting the teams together and building that camaraderie, seeing other schools, etc. But competition, winning trophies? Nah man you just won a backyard two hand touch football game. You didn't win an actual football game and let's not forget what the actual sport in real time stands for. 

I am soo happy, proud and elated that my New York Knicks FINALLY broke the 53 year championship drought and are NBA world champions. I don't care how they did, if the NBA is rigged or not. The universe came together for long time Knicks fans like myself. Last Saturday hanging with friends all day and watching the Knicks close out that championship was one of the best days of 2026 thus far. 

On that note, all the small dogs on 260/270 are now gone in under a two month span. First Roxy, then Bud and now Spud. Those dogs really gave me comfort and emotional support when I needed it. Although one of my best friends has a Jack Russell terrier, I didn't realize how much I liked them until now. I still thankfully have my cat Mosey. It goes back to a saying I heard years ago about us as humans being a dog's entire life. 

People talk and get outraged about all of of the annexing, small town growth and such. My question is why don't these cities have more local pools? I'm a country boy and I'm a huge fan of creeks, rivers and swimming holes. Sometimes when I'm out, I would like a good public swimming facility to go to. I have friends and families with pools (and even a neighbor). However they work full time during the day, have lives. The Y is pricey but I may have to go that route for my water therapy. 

Ok now we are what I call the 36 days of independence and freedom: the stretch between my dad's birthday (June 17) and my mom's birthday (July 21). In between are Juneteenth, Father's Day, the 4th of July and my birthday on 7/11. Many are choosing to celebrate one but not the other. To me, that's fine.  America turns 250 years old this year and I live in walking distance of the very grounds the Revolutionary War was won on. Many Blacks take issue with that. I have a podcast episode already about that. In short, you don't have Juneteenth if America isn't free from Great Britain. It took far too long for Blacks to be free from slavery, that's a fact. It's still okay to celebrate being in America and love your culture.  Good grief Charlie Brown!  

Ok I may not be back onto the deck until after the 4th of July ironically. Please enjoy celebrating independence, freedom or whatever else these next two weeks. That's your choice and the purpose of having frredom. 

The Deck Part 42 the ✊🏾Cookout!

Back from Washington, DC, back on the deck for ya guy. This is not talking about cookouts but it is cookout season. At black cookouts, the conversations can get serious. This will be one of those deck roundtables

More racism/system imbalance

Racial boycotting

Small town growth issues

I needed to get away for a few days and I'm grateful my company did that for me. Between the young lady in Shelby and of course young Cyrus getting shot and his Asian murderer getting away with him, I am emotionally drained. It's always tough to be a person of color in this country. It's even more tough and traumatic seeing stuff like this continue to happen. That's why we as a people must continue to vote, run for these offices, have our REAL IDs (trust me on this one), have meetups and roundtables with your elected officials. This especially holds true at the local level. It's not always about Republican and Democrat either. We need folks in office that are going to stand for equality and not nonsense. I'm just tired man, so tired. 

Now of course we have come with boycotting. This is now boycotting Asian services (nail salons, restaurants, etc). Ok whoa, whoa, WHOA!!! Now if this was similar to the NFL or the recent DCEU boycott then yeah that's different. We cannot cancel ALL Asians for the behavior of one. I'm all about uplifting the Black community but canceling an entire culture for the behavior of one? Nah I'll sit that one out. What I won't sit out our boycotts period. Someone told me the DC boycott is a trap door and that boycotts are rarely effective. Since when? Let's go back to nearly a year ago when Cracker Barrell tried to change their logo. See how quickly that was halted. Other boycotts that have proved effective are Papa John's, DirecTV, and currently Target. Google is free, AI is so reliable. It's hard to make you feel welcome to the cookout when not only do you make statements like this, you can't back them up. 

I'll save some iPhone nonsense I saw for another day. Meanwhile,...

Data centers and even a 1.2B dollar company that's coming to Blacksburg and Cherokee County is causing problems. Up to 400 new jobs will be created but much of the old guard is mad. Now I've watched this happen in Rock Hill and Fort Mill. All growth isn't good growth and I'm very skeptical of data centers. However, when resources and jobs are created, it benefits even a small town. Residents are more likely to pour back into the town when they have reason to and don't have to drive to the next largest city.  I remember just in the 80s we didn't have to go to Spartanburg, Gastonia or Rock Hill often, not even for work. The textile mills provided stable employment and more small businesses were around. How many would rather live near their jobs while paying lower taxes and have more businesses closeby? Don't thikn too hard now. 

Ok this is an action packed month and I nearly forgot it's also Men's Mental Health Month and Black Music Month 

The Deck at 260 Volume 41

Happy Memorial Day weekend on the Deck. Earlier this week it felt like July. Right now it feels like October with the rain and cooling off. 

Speaking of folks and things that need cooling off, 

3 albums Drake?

NBA playoffs so far

Prom v formals

Graduations or promotion ceremonies 

Drake not only released "Iceman" last Friday he released 2 other albums. This was after the much hyped beef with Kendrick Lamar in which Drake filed a lawsuit. I'm not a Drake fan, don't care for much of his music personally. This is good for the current generation of hip hop fans and summertime. He's already ruffling feathers including with adult entertainment star Cherokee D'Ass. 

Honestly even with my Knicks in the fold the NBA playoffs have been meh thus far. Boston, LA, Dallas, Golden State and Denver are all eliminated along with Minnesota and Ant-Man. It's truly a transition that I don't think many were ready for. Wemby and Brunson are rising as expected. This is truly a different generation of NBA stars. 

Ok I feel like we have to do this every year. A prom is different from a formal or a ball. I'm very happy for Mook and Meek that they went to their head start and 5th grade dances. They are NOT proms so let's ensure we have defined this clearly.  Prom is in high school. Just like graduations. 

Congratulations to all of the high school graduates! I'm good with honoring kindergarten graduates and every age below that. However, after a while these are PROMOTION ceremonies, not graduations. It just bugs the Heck out of me. Certain people tell me it's because I don't have kids and perhaps that's the case. I'm also neodivergent so certain small things bother me more than others. It's one of the reasons I have this outlet.  

Cheers to the unofficial beginning of summer! (yes I know summer isn't until June 21, I'm actually ok with calling this the beginning of summer)  

The Deck at 260 Volume 40

Maan can't believe we've been on the Deck for 40 sessions. It's mid May and it's chilly. Had some rain so now I can have a good bonfire tonight. Here's our lineup 

Michael movie reception/talk

100 years of Blacksburg High School (SC)

Hantavirus and cruises

Mother's Day recap

Shootings and being outside

AI is here like it or not

VOTE please!

You all know I'm a huge Michael Jackson fan. It's MJ 24/7/365 over here at 260, always has and will be. The Michael movie got all MJ fans (diehard, fair weather, bandwagon, etc) talking. Biggest things I've seen are the women MJ slept with and how their father really controlled them. Now although Michael claimed to be a virgin until 35 and was likely neodivergent, I'm sure if he didn't sleep with many of his close female friends (i.e., Diana Ross, Brooke Shields), there was other stuff happening.  Mike loved Diana, big facts. He included her in his will. It's been documented many times the control and abuse Joseph Jackson had on those boys late into adulthood. Now I'm seeing all of the LaVar Ball, Williams dad, etc comparisons. Yes many black parents back then (and even now) administered BTA whoopings. I believe in corporal punishment but ABUSE is abuse and control and manipulation is real.  Joseph did all of that to those boys and Michael may have gotten it the worst. That said, I'm ready for part 2 when it really goes beyond the music and dancing. 

I love food trucks and food truck festivals! There's literally been 4 in 2 days within close driving distance of me. I only did one and stayed disciplined. I try to support my folks the best I can even when I can't/don't attend. Best believe if you have a food truck, I likely know where you set up at on the regular.  I found that BBQ truck and maan I don't regret it. I only regret not finding it sooner. 

The hantavirus is the latest epidemic and guess what, it's occurring in an election year. I haven't heard of it and it's apparently administered by rats. Now my cat Mosey kills rats every night here. I've seen and been around these rodents my entire life. NYC and other areas are infested with them. What makes that one cruise ship so different? Also y'all when are we going to stop being scared of cruises due to isolated incidents. There are many that are frequent fliers, skydive, bungee jump, ride ATVs and motorcycles, swim, etc. But you won't take a cruise? There is something else going on and not just isolated incidents. Please don't deviled egg this up and mess up another person's good time. 

Ok we will talk about AI. It's everywhere, those ChatGPT flyers are getting old, many workplaces (like mine) are adopting it full time. For those that are skeptical and hate change, AI is here to stay and it's the current technology wave. There will be ups and downs but it's best that you learn it, adapt it to your lifestyle, and even use it to help you earn money. Gas is currently on the high end, you may as well benefit. 

Mother's Day has come and gone. It's harder for me obviously. However I don't think anyone argues about it being overcommercialized nor anything else. Only thing is you know you better plan accordingly if you're going out to eat that day or even shop. Even at the JOB with a limited engagement budget, I knew I couldn't fumble the recognition of our awesome mother figures. 

It's the time where people are out more and don't know how to have a good time without shooting. South Carolina is now open carry without CWP so it's more hayware. I'll just say protect yourself accordingly, don't cause nor take any mess and really be careful where you go. 

Last but not least, VOTE! This shouldn't be a question with all the redistricting of voters and areas. If you do/do not want a person in office, we must collectively find ways to get them in or out. This is not exclusive to party affiliation either. Stand on your vote/decision/candidates. 

Dang next weekend is Memorial Day weekend!