Manns Medium

When you feel like you have been in a prize fight and could not defend yourself from the massive amounts of blows thrown by your opponent.  When you thought you had a handle on your opposition only to find yourself trying to dodge a flurry of punches.  Some landing and some glancing but each one inflicting a little damage all the same.  During these times, you realize that this is not a title fight nor is it a dream or a figment of your imagination.  This is life, plain and simple and if you are going to play it, buckle up because it will be a long and bumpy ride. Why so gloom you ask, well I have just discovered that there is a very strong possibility that I have two beautiful daughters that I never got a chance to know, watch grow or hold.  Their names are April and Ashley and they lived in my dreams.  They have relocated into my heart and there they have built a mansion to remain for the rest of my days.  You see, I had taken a military doctor’s ...

On November 13, 2008, I received a letter from the Commandant of the Marine Corps.  Now for those who might not know who that is or know that my prior life was served as a United States Marine from 1980 till 1991, the Commandant is the top executive in the Marines.  He is the guy who sets the policies, procedures and standards that all Marines must live by.  Getting that letter, made me first wonder why he was writing me and if the Marines had finally gotten around to issuing my overdue medals or was there another sinister meaning for this letter.  What I discovered after reading that letter would prove more devastating  than I could have known. The letter was actually from Major General E.G. Payne, Assistant Deputy Commandant, thanking me for taking part in a study  that was seeking to see if there was a link between individuals who had lived and worked at Camp LeJeune between 1957 and 1987 and the cancer causing toxins dumped in the drinking water. ...

Since Mitt Romney won the Republican Party nomination for President, we have heard nothing but negative comments on the job being performed by Obama.  There were negative comments before but not as often as they have been lately.  Also present are the assist that the Romney campaign is receiving from outside groups and those who seem to have a burning desire to hate this president. The label “angry black man” is what was expected by those who view this president as less than they are but the more they attack him both professionally and personally, they can not seem to get him to react in that manner.  So many may now be wondering why I say that the GOP has given credence to this label, I ask you to consider this. Many from the minority groups have been demanded an equal playing field and claiming that they are always at a disadvantage.  Image doing and following every rule established to get ahead only after accomplishing them do you find that there have now bee...

My favorite moments was less about speeches and more about, sometimes, missed actions by those who participated.  The little things that makes one heart sing and reinforce your belief in the goodness of people. One of these was the sincere look Michelle Obama had on her face when she spoke about how her husband sat and read those letters, committing and re-committing himself to doing whatever he could to ease their pain.  Another was hearing Joe Biden tell us how his first question was always “How will this effect the lives of everyday people.”  For a person to make this there first priority means that he surely seeks to answer to a much higher power than delegates and donors.  I was touched by Bill Clinton’s real reaction when he turned to see Barack coming toward him on the stage.  The bending at the waist was a real reaction and not a staged one.  The embrace that both man shared and the closing of their eyes to soak in the true meaning of their relat...