My Friday Thoughts by Electric Ladyland

Have you ever been to Electric Ladyland? The magic carpet place for you, so don't you be late...

For whatever reason that song is in my head today. The word of the day is 'TEMERITY.'

I'm a member of an organization that was founded to have fun and do good. For whatever reasons, haters from everywhere fear us and do anything they can to tear us down. So I wonder how these people have the temerity to do what they've been doing, and seemingly expecting no retribution whatsoever? Power wears out those who don't have it.

I'm wearing red today for the Atlanta Falcons.

My Syracuse application is due in 12 days, and I am a bit nervous, but so ready to turn it in.

5 years ago, we were gearing up for Super Bowl XXXIV. Man was it cold.

Nobody's mentioned it, (not even me up until right now) but for the first time in NFC history, two black quarterbacks are facing off for the NFC Championship. We can't lose baby! There's gonna be a Black starting QB in the Super Bowl!

I think that next week I'm going to read 'The Catcher in the Rye' or 'The Great Gatsby' again. It's been quite some time, and I want to feel the youthful exhuberance of Salinger's or Fitzgerald's words.

I met and spent a considerable amount of time with Maya Angelou when I was seven years old and my brother was 4. She called us 'handsome, intelligent and incorrigable' I believe. I met her again when I was 8. She dropped the term 'incorrigable.' I met her again when I was 14 and she zeroed in on my appearance and apparent sophistication noting how well I'd grown up. When I was a freshman at Howard, she had come to Metropolitan Baptist Church and was going to be speaking that Sunday. Although we were late, she walked by my friend Benji and I in a receiving line, and looked me in my eyes in front of two hundred well wishers and said, "Joseph, darling...what are you doing here?" We hugged, and I was a minor celebrity for three whole days to four of the most beautiful freshwomen that were in Howard's class of 1997.

I drink far less than I did when I was younger.

I don't smoke cigars like I did when I was younger either.

And I never wear cowboy boots anymore. I've got to do something about the latter two things.

I'm Joe and that's how I see it.