I remember

I remember playing football in the front yard with Jahmal. He was fast and got really sad when I left him for Tiger. I remember the first time I ever met my fifth grade teacher. I remember my last day of Junior High and then my first day of High School. I remember Christmas when I was eight. I remember the first time my mom cried. It was right after baseball practice and I was eleven. I remember being 16. I remember hiding my first A- from my parents for six months. Six months full of useless anxiety and exhaust. 

Practice

 Coming for you THE SUN...Readin blogs ya bish

#practice

All business

"Unusual business can be something of gold."

I'll see ya'll on Forbes. 

Jeter

Nobody retired in better fashion than Derek Jeter, so to retire my pen name I'm going to stick with the best:

Stay Classy

                      -Talmage Lamb

Chi Cha

A very wise man once said "it ain't no fun if the homies can't have none"
So I'm here to share a gift you can't put a price on-
For all you playas tryna "close the deal" sometime soon I suggest you use this elite playlist:

Springsteen-Eric Church
Mine Would Be You-Blake Shelton
I Don't Dance-Lee Brice
Let Me Down Easy-Billy Currington
Highway Don't Care-Tim McGraw
Give it all we've got tonight-George Strait
It did-Brad Paisley
Take your Time-Sam Hunt
Must Be doing Something Right-Billy Currington
One Step Up-Kenny Chesney
The House That Built Me-Miranda Lambert
Then-Brad Paisley
Come Over-Kenny Chesney
Cop Car-Keith Urban
Young Love-Kip Moore
Seven Days-Kenny Chesney
Remember When-Alan Jackson
Shotgun Rider-Kenny Chesney
Hey Pretty Girl-Kip Moore
Colder Weather-Zac Brown Band
Like a Wrecking Ball-Eric Church
Wild Child-Kenny Chesney
Highway 20 ride-Zac Brown Band
Like Jesus Does-Eric Church
You and Tequila-Kenny Chesney
Girl Crush-Little Big Town
The Trouble With Girls-Scotty Mcreery (Credit to Nick L for that one ;))
Making Memories of us-Keith Urban
Who Are you when I'm not Looking-Blake Shelton
Die a Happy Man-Thomas Rhett


Works every time :)
Expect some good Chi Cha

Heart

Heart- it's afraid of what it doesn't already know.

So would you rather spend a night sleeping on the moon? Or on a raft floating in the Pacific?

I'd take a night on the moon. I'm not a fan of whatever you can't see below you in the ocean, in fact: I'm terrified of it. If you dropped me in the middle of the Pacific I would die. Likewise I would carry some worry if I was put on the moon all alone, but I wouldn't be scared. It'd be an adventure and my view would be top-notch. Also, as far as I know, there isn't any living thing that could kill me on the moon; unlike the ocean, where I stick my hand in the water and I'm dead within two minutes. I know that the ocean has been explored a lot more, and It's much closer to home. I'm not sure what causes my fear of it, but it's a very significant one in my life. Therefore, my final answer is the Moon, where I would feel safe and adventure into the unknown.

familiar sounds

Constantly, from all directions, shots go off, sound all around us. Shotguns went off when we smashed into the back of that truck. Joe Buck's voice in the background of our 2009 celebration. That wooden crack of Summer, followed by the firework's explosion later that night. The same playlist I use for all my Sunday "drives." Ray Charles while I'm peeling down the snowy mountainside all the way to my Kenny Chesney while I'm sitting on the beach. A couple short months later it's Winter and there isn't any more noise. Just a couple more cold moths until I hear that wooden crack again.

10 ways to kill a Sunday

1. Go to church, even if you aren't Mormon or if you are, church takes a solid three hours out your day.
2. Eat some chips and Sals when you get home.
3. Sunday night football
4. Lots and lots of homework
5. You could go on long drives with your spouse or significant other.
6. You could watch game 5 of the 2015 World Series.
7. Call up that significant other and get some chi cha.
8. Toss the pigskin around with the guys and maybe drink some protein.
9. Play ping pong with an old friend you haven't seen in a while.
10. Send your neighbor a heart-warming text just to show your support to him/her.

Uneasy

Not afraid of the dark, spiders, or zombies. I'm not afraid of getting kidnapped or murdered in my sleep. I'm not afraid of snakes, Sharks, and heights. I'm not afraid of clowns and I'm definitely not afraid of drowning.

It's the easy things that make me uneasy.

I'm afraid of embarrassment, of divorce, and an evil world. I'm afraid of losing one of my children or one of my siblings. I'm afraid I won't be able to provide for my family or that I'll graduate and have nothing to show for it. I'm afraid my life won't be as promising as I picture it. Most of all I'm afraid of being a failure.

The First Time

It was a weekend I'll never forget, too hot to lose memory of. I was in St. George with all of my best friends. We wandered through the town day and night looking for anything that would grab our attention for more than 5 minutes. When the night rolled around we specified our search to females only. What I discovered was far more emotionally effective than anything I could've anticipated. We saw the bright lights flashing just barely off the freeway. I had no previous experience with the corporation leading up to that turning point in my life. It was just a good suggestion by my friend Nick. I had always wondered what was so special about the inside of that building. I had heard magical things but never anything that I could've prepared myself for. Ten minutes later I was sitting there when the number "21," rang out over the intercom. I eagerly walked to the front and received that very substance that changed my life forever. My teeth sank into that In N Out burger, I heard bells, saw stars, and was temporarily KO'd in the very seat I occupied. It was the first time, the first time I felt alive, and every time my teeth meet the perimeter of that burger, it again feels like the first time.

Red Brick Houses

I used to throw bricks on the concrete for fun because it made a loud Noise.
They were the bricks that were left over from the big brick house we bought.
Jahmal thought it was so dope to throw those bricks around.
I miss throwing the bricks around, I wish I never left that house.
I miss playing football with Jahmal, and I miss the bricks that made all the houses in that neihhborhood.
I miss the people there too, because they cared more about the people on the outside of their bricks.

The fastest food

My main girl is In-n-out, but she doesn't know about my side chick. (Chick Fil A)
I'm not very loyal to my main, every once in a while I'll go back to an old girl like Burger King.
Subway is always there for me though. She's more of like a good friend I can talk to about my problems, every once in a while i'll stay and sit down but usually I just grab my sandwich and bounce. I'll go hit up Roxberry, but that's only on a special occasion, usually not weekends. I used to hit up McDonalds a lot but she's kinda ratchet, I can't have that shiz tearing my rep down. Pizza Pie Cafe doesn't taste very good, but she gives me as much as I want so that's not a bad option. JCW's is close to my home (VASA) so I'll go over there sometimes. Sometimes the biggest decider for me is just gas money, or whatever I'm feeling.

Playoffs?

Love is a game.

It's not that serious yet, it's just fun. We're all just messing around in the regular season right now, although some people think they're already in the playoffs.

Some of us don't want the regular season to end, but how are we supposed to win the championship if we never get to the playoffs? Going to playoffs is a matter of choice, it's really not even that competitive. 

Sometimes during the regular season a game can get kinda chippy. It's a love-hate relationship.

You can also play games whenever you want, its kind of like an open schedule. I like to play my games on the weekend, but it just depends what you're into.

There's no standings, no one really keeps track of other people's wins and losses. Some of us don't lose, other's are still looking for that first win. The games can last however long you would like, but most referees require it to be over by midnight.

We all play the game, no matter who you are, and just so you know, like any sport, there's gonna be heartbreakers. So next time  you break your heart, don't hate the playa, hate the game. ;)

Chills

Those cold pricks that overtake our bodies and make our hairs stick up are what separate us from the robots.

Its the goosebumps that come from the speeches, the songs, and the poems.

They come from memories. The good, the bad, the forsaken, and the cherished. Those memories that make you fired up or make you grateful for what you have. 

Warm July nights, Cold November nights, first days of school, first days of summer. 

I get them from goodbyes, all the people I’ll never see again, even when I hug my mom goodbye in the morning, because who knows when the last time I see her will be. I get them when I eat her cookies, or after a nice home cooked meal. 

I used to get them when my dad read poems to me before bed. There’s one song that gets me every time I hear it.

 Then there’s that part in the Star-Spangled Banner that just kills me. Those cold pricks overtake my whole body and thats when I really know I’m not a robot.

Plus: Would a robot know these dope AF lyrics?

"Once I throw on this bow chicka wow wow
What you gonna say?
You act like you gon' leave
But I know that you gon' stay
Break it down, docky down down
Girl, don't even play
Once I set the mood right
I'm a make you sound like”

-Mike Posner

Camera Roll

My camera roll is a time machine.

It starts me out hugging my mom on my 17th birthday. It takes me to a random Sunday, then to Junior Prom. It takes me to the last time with my best buds. After that I'm at the cemetery, but it sure is beautiful. It takes me back to something Truman said, then to graduation. Now I'm in a black hoodie taking pictures with my boy Vladivostok. It really takes me for a loop when it goes through the throwback section, family picture after family picture, a new person in each picture. Sitting in a hammock with some friends who I don't really see anymore. The Bronx, the Lake, and The Cabin. New friends pop up, old ones stay back at the beginning of the roll. Mission Pic, wedding, St. George, then Sophomore Prom. William Ernest Henley, California, Rodeo. Another rodeo, new friends come up, old ones disappear again. This time they appear as soon as they leave on their missions. There are a couple concerts and a beach or two in there as well. All leading to the present and hopefully there's a future, but who knows only the next picture will tell.

The Road Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Out of the night that covers me, 

Im unafraid, I believe

Beyond this place Of wrath and tears

beyond the hours that turn to years 

I thank whatever, whatever Gods may be.

Two roads diverged in  a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by, 

And that has made all the difference.

Winnie the Pooh

I used to wake up on Saturday mornings, pour myself a bowl of sugar cereal and watch Cartoon Network. My mom never let me eat sugar cereal during the week so I would get up early to eat that bowl of Captain Crunch. I used to have stomach problems because I was a nervous kid. I can count on my hand how many times I slept in my own bed through the whole night. Every night I woke up and moved my blankets to my mom and dad’s room and slept at the foot of their bed. I thought school lunch was gross so my mom made me a lunch everyday. It had a cheese and miracle whip sandwich, with fruit and dessert. I stopped eating that lunch about a year ago. I used to only be allowed to wear sporty shorts once a week. I used to give the best hugs. I loved Winnie the Pooh, I only at Cinnamon Life cereal, my best friend’s name was Tiger and he was real, he wasn’t a power ranger or a stuffed animal. I used to walk to the Peppermint Place when I visited my Grandma in the Summer. Now I wake up whenever I want on Saturday, and I don’t really even eat cereal. I don’t think Cartoon Network even is a thing anymore. I sleep in my bed for the whole night now. I don’t hug anyone but my mom. (and I still write her the best letters on her birthday and on Mother’s day.) She still makes me lunches but I haven’t had a cheese sandwich for a good while. Looking back it’s sad, I don’t know when all of this disappeared. I feel robbed, almost like a whole part of me was killed or taken away from me. The one thing that hasn’t really left me is the nervous stomach, but you wouldn’t know if I didn’t tell you. It’s still there though, I guess its the only proof I have left that there’s still a little child left in me.

Dream Life

I like driving at night. I like listening to music and driving at night. I always can see it in my head. When I picture it, I’m leaving a party. My wife and I are dressed up nice, suit and dress, it must’ve been a nice event. The car I’m driving is black. I don’t know what kind of car it is because I’m not a car guy. I know what music is playing because I’m a music guy. It’s slow, sounds old. One minute its Chris Botti, and the next it’s a Nocturne by Chopin. I’ve always been into old, slow music. I don’t recognize the girl, that means I haven’t met her yet. I can’t promise that I’m anywhere close to here, in fact, I’m probably not. It doesn’t show me where I’m headed, there’s nothing plugged into the GPS so I’m probably on my way home. I just hope for one thing, that wherever we’re headed, I hope it’s a long drive.

I’m On Fire

Right now I can hear Montana and I’m thinking about that video that I want to forget. I just heard Ghosts and I now it’s ninth grade and Im driving around Alpine in my dad’s car. All of a sudden I hear Brandon Flowers' voice and I’m depressed driving late at night in the same car. Then I hear Someone Saved My Life Tonight and I’m pulling away from the chapel we all met at to give our condolences. The scene turns even colder and After the Storm is trying to convince me that things could possibly get better. The Piano Man starts and I’m in my grandma’s living room playing with my brother. Eminem starts telling me about his daughters and all of a sudden it doesn’t feel so bad. I hear about a Broken Crown and I just get mad, mad at everyone and everything. Bruce Springsteen is telling me a story about going One Step Up and two steps back. Then “beyond this place of wrath and tears, I thank whatever, whatever Gods may be.” It all kills me inside, each song I skip over just brings back a and memory, each song a pit of despair. These are my favorite songs, the songs that make you go numb.

The Mad Hatter

I wore a hat to church today, you aren’t supposed to wear hats to church, but the hats we wear are what separates us from the animals. Even if I don’t wear a hat to school its always on my head. They’re different each day and they change almost simultaneously throughout the day, its not like any of us can really control them. I can promise you, you wouldn’t understand the hat I’m wearing right now, because the one you see is the one I know I’m not really wearing. I’ve got good hats and I’ve got the bad ones, I’ve got the ones that I wish I could get rid of but they’re not going anywhere. Some of them carry memories I wish would leave me alone but that’s part of the reason I hold onto them. Their gonna be the death of me sooner or later, its inevitable really.

 Sometimes my favorite part about wearing a hat is how it looks from the back, hair flowing. I like how they sit right over my eye-brows, almost making my eyes a one way mirror. 

Sometimes I can see other people’s hats, it makes me hate most of those people, but I can’t be too harsh because if you saw the hats in my head you would hate me too.

Inauguration

Saturday, March 4th 1865



The newly reelected President Lincoln stood there in front of a melancholy crowd, this time assuming a role that felt more like a mediator than a president. "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” After delivering this speech, his presidential responsibilities fell to his third-ranking title, following “Father.” 



January 20, 1961



A new face stood before hopeful Americans, this time in a different century, subjects to the same peril and evil that has threatened the world since the beginning of time. "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” The charismatic John F. Kennedy stood in front of a nation living in fear of an abominable evil. Kennedy offered nothing more than the bright symbol of hope and liberty.




Father’s of time, yet neither making it through six decades. Physically dead, yet there souls unconquered by death. Golden in their day, but nothing gold can stay.