Stubbornly My thoughts, feelings & more...

[beingstubbornlyme]

Dumbasses.

SMH.

File this under: “I hate running a successful company, so let me go ahead and piss off my base so I can retire early.”

“Dick’s Sporting Goods just went all-in on gun control. It officially hired three lobbyists on Monday to push exclusively for gun control.“ ~Sean Davis reports & covers this idiocy by Dick’s (has there ever been a more appropriate company name!? EVER?!?!) at The Federalist.

[beingstubbornlyme]

Wow. Liberals (AGAIN) go after law enforcement trying to do their jobs, instead of the criminals! #eyeroll

New York Governor is parroting Democrats across the nation who claim ICE should be abolished because it's breaking apart families and peaceful communities

Umm, first off, how many times can I “LIKE” that image?! (Asking for a ... actually, no, I'm asking for me!)

Great article by Betsy McCaughey on the idiocy of liberals putting illegals, especially VIOLENT illegals, over Americans & LEGAL immigrants!

A staggering 80% of those apprehended in recent ICE raids in New York were either convicted criminals or charged with crimes. 

Clearly, THEY are victims!  #eyeroll

New York Governor is parroting Democrats across the nation who claim ICE should be abolished because it's breaking apart families and peaceful communities.

Peaceful my ass! Many of these poor communities are being terrorized & destroyed. If not be Democrat politicians, by violent gangs. Who is looking out for the people in the community ... in NON election years that is?

The governor complained that Aguilar's children had to watch their father being pinned by officers to block his escape.

Boo-friggin-hoo!! I’m more concerned about AMERICAN kids. Democrats NEVER seem to mention THEM. Oh, unless they can someone exploit them to call anyone who disagrees with them a heartless POS!

January 2016, at least 25 Long Island youths have been executed by the MS-13 gang of Central American illegal immigrants. Some of the victims are left so mutilated they can hardly be identified. MS-13 beats the youngsters with baseball bats, puts plastic bags over their heads to suffocate them, and then slices off their noses, ears and lips with machetes.

Yeah, THESE are the best & the brightest! THESE are who Democrats are fighting for! POTUS was NOT wrong when he mentioned all the “bad hombres” our non existent immigration system has let in America.

Donald Trump calls them "animals" who have turned peaceful neighborhoods "into bloodstained killing fields." He's got the right plan: "We will find you. We will arrest you. We will jail you. And we will deport you."

Yes please! I hope POTUS follows through. We need this... and now!

[beingstubbornlyme]

Twitter sucks ... and so do liberals!

As a conservative, you know the feeling. Sadly, many liberals dont seem to give a damn! That's cool. I knew they were losers, but now they're proving it. If you're a liberal, fine. I don't care. But if you don't even see the threat coming from "#resist", you're a #@$%ing jackass who I can't have any respect for. Division. Lies. Coups. Winning at any cost. These do NOT make a happy, strong, stable, prosperous, and probably most importantly, UNIFIED country. The UNITED States of America is now a misnomer. We are NOT unified, and honestly, 99.9% of the blame lies at the feet of complicit, slavish, liberal supporters who NEVER demand their party put PEOPLE FIRST! Love, or hate, POTUS Donald Trump, you can NOT say the man doesn't put the people of AMERICA first. Tax cuts. Foreign policy. Cutting job killing regulations. Tariffs. Judges. What do Democrats have? We hate that you got your money back? We want to shut the government down & help people who are here ILLEGALLY! We will do NOTHING to help fix many of America's problems. That's more than sad & pathetic, it's offensive & disgusting. So, instead of taking my point of view back to Twitter, after being suspended ONCE AGAIN for daring be a black conservative who fights back against a stupid liberal, #resist jackass, I am going to be here. No more will I give Twitter any traffic. They don't care. And neither do I. I've gone a week without them. I will go another week, then a month, then wont even miss them. Many smart people NEVER use Twitter. I'm joining their ranks. Part of me feels I let this buffoonish loser liberal coward win, but part of me says "#@$% her!" She's clearly a pathetic miserable being, who hates life & has no friends. I love my life, my girlfriend, my friends, my family & I follow NO MAN'S rules! Winning, me. ~SM

[beingstubbornlyme]

Then take your hot niece home!

Soooo, I think we all know that I’m ridiculous, I love to make things awkward, I don’t hide my feelings (at least not very well) and my filter is broken. This combination has created some awkward, bad, funny & sometimes really hilariously weird moments! Recently, my mouth and “WTF, dont blame me!” attitude led to another such memorable moment. Enjoy!

Lady FRIEND: Are you hitting on my niece!? Me: Umm, SHE is hitting on ME! [yeaaah, i *might* have said this with a bit more arrogance than needed, but hey, deal with it!] Lady: She is 18!! Me: Ok, then why the $@#% is she out in the bars getting hammered with you!?

Look, this ain't my fault! If you're upset a guy hit on your niece, instead of you, then don't bring your TALL, HOT, SWEDISH BLONDE niece!! Bring the trollish, Frodo lookin' niece with the lazy eye! Damn, I thought this shit was basic knowledge, but I guess not. I'm sure it doesn't help that she wanted to date a few months ago, but yeeeah, no interest. LMAO. ps. YES, I KNOW I'm an asshole.

[beingstubbornlyme]

In order to save the republic, @realdonaldtrump must succeed.

Yes, Donald Trump, the improbably 45th president is the Republic's final hope, and yes, I feel like Princess Leia as she flawlessly executed her iconic line, "This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." Now, before all you never trump jackasses, NTJ's, start losing your shit, rolling your eyes & pounding the keyboard to refute my claim, can you at least calm the $@#% down & read the rest of the post? 

[muttering] Dumbasses.

I am not placing President Trump on a pedestal, claiming he's a god or anything of the sort. He's the 45th flawed man who has been leader of our stumbling nation. I say stumbling because we still have the chance to be great again, but we're close to stumbling off of a cliff. Unfortunately, this isn't gonna be one of those falls that we love to watch on repeat, pausing only to stop the pain of laughing so hard. No, this fall from power will be in the Roman Empire, British Empire & countless other "unstoppable, globally dominant" empires that fell & never regained a fraction of their once glory type of fall.

The reason is a three syllable, very simple, powerful, once you lose it, it's damn near impossible to get back, reason: con-fi-dence. Right now, the American public's confidence in our republic is at an alarming low, and for MANY damn good reasons. 

Insane levels of debt, and not because the government doesn't take in enough money in taxes and fees; corruption in every level of government; political figures getting away with obvious crimes because they are connected to other political figures; politicians writing laws that only apply to us peons (eg. #Obamacare being the most egregious example, but there are many); politicians that lie straight to our faces and do not even fear the consequences because their big money buddies ensure they will get re-elected and there are enough stupid voters to ensure they're right; there are two parties, but it's now clear that they are really just ONE party; surveillance has gotten out of control; nearly ALL of the major industries we deal with are monopolies, crushing any innovation and TRUE competition; our military is being overrun with liberal, globalist, politicians who are willing to let certain officials run their social construct experiments on the last respected, trusted institution Americans know of; public officials and government workers feel, and act, more like masters than OUR servants; whenever we hear "comprehensive" we KNOW we're about to be screwed; the mainstream media colludes with one party to push propaganda instead of report the facts, and on and on and on it goes. This list could go on for at least another paragraph, but you get the point ... shit is a mess.

All of these things are the reason candidate Donald Trump and all of his missteps won, and honestly, was the best choice, BY FAR. If you were objective, it wasn't even close. Trump was the ONLY candidate who bonded with the people, listened to their complaints, talked directly and authentically, was entertaining (yes, that DOES matter, even though NJT's act like it has NEVER mattered! They're so annoying.), gave voice to the people's biggest concerns (jobs, immigration & the direction of our beloved country) and most importantly, called out the power establishment, not only in America, but globally. I mean c'mon, how many times did the guy rail against "China!", said in his most unique way? How many times did he call out big business, DC lobbyist, the Bush family, & their dynasty that has left some pretty awful scars, lil Marco, lyin' Ted, low energy Jeb, mccain (sorry, but I will NOT capitalize his name! He does NOT deserve that respect, not even after serving in the military! He has been that despicable as a politician!) and allll their lil buddies? All. The. Damn. Time. If Trump was campaigning, he was bitch slappin' these fools, and with good cause! They are coconspirators in this crime against the republic, enriching themselves at OUR expense. These fools act so damn smart, yet their record of failure makes the Cleveland Brown's look like a well run, successful football team. So what in the hell have they done to feel so confidant about? I'll tell you what: they have been able to get away with lying to us & becoming millionaires in the process.

We were fed up, and along came someone unafraid to give voice to that frustration with name recognition AND a long career of success. You could not have scripted a more perfect candidate, contrary to the "educated" chuckleheads in DC & NY. (Don't get me started on these DUMBASSES!! That is a whole article in and of itself.)  So this perfectly timed candidate was able to capture people's last bit of hope and let of an exasperated "FI-NALLY!" This candidate gave them hope that someone would go to DC and give them back THEIR government, fight these "swamp creatures", clean up the cess pool, get the checkbook into order, hire competent people, keep your promises, call out the fools trying to screw us and get rid of the shit left by the previous tenant, obama. 

This is why Trump voters are so loyal. This is why it's so important that President Trump not break his core promises. So far, he has been great on keeping his promises, but there is some very concerning whispering coming out regarding amnesty, and no wall, as of late. This would not only break his tough stance on illegal immigration, but also a promise made so often, and so exciting, that I think I saw a girl with a "Build that wall!" tramp stamp tattoo. Americans want a damn border wall on the southern border, PERIOD.

If Trump were to break this promise, the last bit of trust and faith would be lost. Imagine cheating on your partner, being busted multiple times and them giving you ONE MORE chance to get your shit together, and you blow it .. again. There is no chance you're gonna stay together, and there is also a good chance they're gonna stop dating for a long time. The disappointment, betrayal, loss of hope and pain the voters would feel if President Trump decides to join the swamp would destroy the full faith and credit of our government, something necessary to govern effectively. If trust is broken, people will not feel bad about lying on their taxes, paying employees under the table, voting turnout goes down, things get worse, the votrs mood responds to things getting worse, which makes things worse, ... see the spiral downward ... and at what point do things reach a dangerous tipping point? Let's hope America never gets close to finding out. 

The mood of the country, and the optimism, has picked up with the victory of Donald Trump. No one can deny that. No one can deny that the mood and faith of the public is also very important to any successful, lasting, stable government, so even if you're not a Trump voter, you should be rooting for him to succeed, because if he doesn't, your guy, or your party, will be left with a bigger pile of shit, and there won't be anything for them to steal. So, if it is even for simply selfish reasons, everyone should be rooting for President Trump to Make America Great Again.

[lybr3]

SMH. Take a camera, add a microphone and Maxine Waters and you have the recipe for “Jackass soup.” Seriously, the ignorance never stops flowing when the California Democrat starts talking.

“Stay woke!” the geriatric liberal screamed to a crowd of millennial Democrat buffoons who can’t stay informed, stay civil or stay employed, a few months ago.

“I’m going to take his a$$ apart!” she ranted to a crowd when discussing the upcoming testimony of new HUD secretary Ben Carson before her committee.

When Tucker Carlson rightfully questioned the vast amount of wealth a PUBLIC SERVANT has attained (we won’t talk about her being voted the most unethical member of Congress … in CONGRESS, the most unethical people in our nation!), Waters reached for the tried and true race card. Democrats never leave home without it. 

Quoting Fox New’s story:

Waters recently said that she “owns several properties” and “the way Carlson talked about it is ‘what right does an African-American woman have to do well?’" 

Wow. So much ignorance that we taxpayers are having to fund. In her latest bout of idiocy, Waters goes back to her favorite subject, Trump’s “impeachment”. She still has not produced the crime, but she says, ‘I Give It to About December.’ I’m assuming by then, almost 2 years of investigating our president, Mueller will have been able to manufacture some sort of crime. 

Maxine is crazy. Maxine is out of her mind. Maxine has no ideas to help Americans. Maxine is a typical Democrat.

2020 looks good for President Donald Trump.

[beingstubbornlyme]

Illegal immigration has all sorts of bad affects on the economy, and honest people know this. The problem is that we’re not dealing with honest people. In fact, we’re dealing with not only dishonest people, but rich and powerful, dishonest people.

Today, in a Fox News report, they pointed out that Texas home builders were complaining about the rising cost of building a home because their precious cheap labor is fleeing the state. Some are even fleeing the country.

Good. Bye. Don’t let the door hit you in the rear. 

Why are these people, who have been living here brazenly for years, now suddenly fleeing like drunk teens fleeing a friend’s parents home when the cops show up? 3 words for ya: President. Donald. Trump.

In a remarkable display of what attitude can accomplish, the 45th president is showing that tackling immigration may be part fence, but it is mainly attitude. The drop in ILLEGAL immigration crossings, two words dishonest liberals never put together, is down over 65% in just a few months! That is great news, because it not only slows down drug flows, and human trafficking, but it slows down the flood of cheap labor.

The labor market is no different from any other market: too much supply drives prices down, or keeps a ceiling on the market. Cheap, ILLEGAL labor has long been coming to America, and the government has done nothing to stop it. WHAT?! But Republicans say they’re against illegal immigration and Democrats claim they care about the “little man”. 

[cough] BULLSH*T! [cough]

Neither party gives a darn about Americans, and President Trump is proving this, which is why they hate him so much and are so determined to oust him. 

Cheap, ILLEGAL labor has kept the wages of AMERICANS and LEGAL immigrants down, and with this new sheriff in the White House, maybe those people will finally see a pay increase.

Even if the price of homes go up, with a pay increase, these people will have more money in their pockets and can potentially afford to move into these homes they are working on, instead of being permanent renters. Also, these big, dishonest businesses never mention the fact that regulations slow down the construction of homes, and time is money. If the president gets his wish to speed up the regulatory process, and remove some of those hurdles, salary expenses can be offset with savings in complying with ridiculous regulations.

In the end, the foundation of the pro immigrant, pro cheap labor crowd, on both the right and the left, is very shaky. There are major cracks in their arguments and we’re seeing it play out.

Keep making America great again Mr. President.

[beingstubbornlyme]

Will Republican elitist like @davidafrench, @billkristol & #nevertrump clowns go start their own party? Please, we won’t miss them. #FreeLaura

Look, storming a stage, not my thing. I’ll admit. Some of the tactics used, not my style. Contrary to what most might think, I don’t like that kind of attention. That all being said, I COMPLETELY get why prominent activist conservatives like Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec& Laura Loomer @LauraLoomer DID do this. It’s time to take a stand. It’s time to pick a side. It’s time to push back, just to send the message that enough is enough. 

In case you missed it, here is a great video by @SandraTXAS:

#FreeLaura: Reporter arrested protesting the violence of Trump play. Amazing,at Antifa violent protests there's never an arrest. #MAGA pic.twitter.com/zOmHIHmKxx

Now, most American’s can see that is simply peaceful protest. Disruptive? Yes. Attention seeking? Of course. Worthy of being arrested? Hell yes, and ummm, THAT is the point. You get arrested, you get more media, more attention, more followers & you increase your messages power. THAT is all this is. This is a conservative using publicity tactics to halt this slide many Americans see happening like some horrible film that we’re all unwilling actors in. 

No biggie, right??? WRONG! You could NOT be more wrong! After countless liberals have destroyed stores, cars, punched conservatives, knocked out women, SHOT AT Republicans just this week, the evil posted by liberals afterwards & wished all kinds of ills on POTUS Trump’s family, NOW we see the ire of political shills David French & never trump losers. Now. NOW?!?! According to this nimrod, THIS is tyranny! THIS is an outrage! THIS is being anti-free speech fascists! THIS is, as the hyperbolic panty waste dork, French, called it “tribalism”. To be clear, he is attacking ...wait for it... CONSERVATIVES! 

Wow. [insert major eyeroll here]

(Yes, THAT will do. Thank you Sherlock.)

Seriously, these clowns are not conservatives, they are Republicans. These are NOT the same thing. Republicans love money more than principle. They love the DC parties, to look down on middle America, trade schools, FAIR trade & want government to be as big as they can get away with, just like Democrats. They are the other side of the same coin.

This list of deceitful, duplicitous, dramatic dorks is long & getting longer. Don’t forget to add George Will, Romney, forehead Evan McMullin, McCain, Graham, Flake, Sasse, Jennifer Rubin, Rove, Anna Navarro, etc etc et-friggin’-cetera! This is just a small group of the losers. There are many never trumpers out here. They put THEIR beliefs & THEIR methods of getting what they want, over all else. What arrogance. That is why I do NOT call myself a Republican. THOSE people are Republicans, while I am a conservative. We need 2 different center-right parties, and quickly.

Hopefully when Trump has exited politics, in 8 years, his win will bring this new party about. If it doesn’t, the GOP will go back to being a fraudulent party happy to just get the crumbs the Democrats toss them.

Again, losers. 

[beingstubbornlyme]

Me every day on Twitter dealing with liberals.

[beingstubbornlyme]

Disney, feminism & entitlement have screwed over women.

We all know her, hell sometimes she evens knows she’s being it, but nothing ever changes. We go around accepting this, but in the end, it’s making all of us miserable. What is it I’m talking about? I’m talking about the bad attitude of too many women nowadays. Now, before you lose your shit & think I’m demeaning women, or some other stupid feminist bullshit, take a few deep breaths, put down the knife, step away from any social media, take another deep breath, and LISTEN. Look, I’m trying to help you ladies out by telling you some harsh truths. I’m trying to let you know that Disney, feminism & your parents have screwed you over. You are the victim, BUT you are also the key to knock it the f*ck off! 

We all know the girl, she’s not bad looking, maybe even hot, and she wants to be a princess. Hell, she walks around acting like one (even though she has no title), barks orders at people like she is heir to a throne (even though the closest she’s come to a throne is her toilet) & constantly talks about her prince charming (who she either hasn’t found yet --- shocker --- OR if you’ve seen her “Prince Charming”, he’s more like a polished crackhead than any prince). But here’s the thing, this demanding, annoying, entitled, brat wants a prince, but she’s no princess! I mean c’mon! What good guy wants to put up with hearing feminist bull every day? What successful man wants to come home to 24/7 nagging from a harpie who spends his money like crazy? What idiot would put himself in that position, ESPECIALLY if he one day decides he’s had enough & wants a divorce. 

Umm, go ahead and bend over now bro. No, no, you do NOT get any lubrication. BONUS: you get to pay 50% of your salary, lose 50% of your wealth, maaaaaybe see your kids & have little, to no, say in how they’re raised. 

Yaaaaay, where do I sign up?!

[yeah, sarcasm.]

Look, you can’t be more Cruella da Ville than Cinderella & think you’re gonna live happily ever after. That ain’t how this thing works!! It’s NEVER worked like that! If you want prince charming, you need to be a princess. Also, you need to stop looking for your prince in places only douchebag lil boys hang out!

Is this harsh? Maybe. I don’t care though, this needs to be said.

I can hear it over the interwebz now, some bitter loser is pounding on her keys typing out an angry tweet, calling me sexist, a woman hater & more! Yawn. Borrr-ing! I’m not sexist, I’m just telling you shit no one will tell you & you’re getting your lil feewings hurt! Aww. It’s called the cold hard truth, life, adulthood, reality, etc. Suck it up. Strong women will hear my words, think it over, look around & say ‘Wow, maybe he’s on to something.’, look inside & eventually find a great guy, while the loser feminists shrieking at her laptop as she tries to type furiously but her keyboards broken because umm, she’s a lunatic, will have to “Netflix & chill” with her 3 cats ... forever.

The choice is yours. Trust me, I’m allll good over here. I learned my lesson & now I stick to foreign women. I don’t hate American women, it’s just I got tired of all the stupidity. I found that outside of USA & western Europe, women still love men, want families, want to be wives, & mothers, & think feminism is the dumbest thing ever. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard it. My dating life has never been more peaceful, passionate, honest & direct as the day I decided “I’m out! Head east young man!”

I hope women listen. Look at the # of failed marriages. Look at the age men are now deciding that they want to get married. Look at the hollow lives being led, and turn the tide. If not, you’re hurting yourself, not me, no matter what mean things you say to me online.

ps. Those mean comments only prove my point AND make me laugh. Win-win for me. Loooove you. hahaha!

[beingstubbornlyme]

Ok, it’s getting nuts out here for us guys! Can the sane, cute women please stand up? No, seriously, please stand up. #RealityWinner, #KathyGriffin

Ok, ok, it's been a while since I’ve written. I've had some requests to let out my feelings (which are always ridiculous & very strong!) and honestly, it's definitely long overdue, so I am finally gonna write and it's about the ridiculous crap going on out here with some of these ridiculous women.

(It's no coincidence that most of the time, they're liberals.)

I had to write because we're reaching peak libtard. Seriously, these next examples are just from the past 7-10 days. One, one jackass liberal woman compared the #JamesComey testimony to trying to file a rape charge.

Comey is getting a little glimpse of what it feels like to be a woman trying to report a rape or sexual harassment: https://t.co/ZGXizv8c3b

— Andrea Chalupa (@AndreaChalupa)

June 8, 2017

Huh? [Rubs temples.] Second, there's the lunatic Kathy Griffin. This batshit crazy liberal did a video of decaptitating Trump, the president, pointed that out just to tweak you moronic #notmypresident liberals, rightfully received a bunch of backlash, gave a half ass apology, then after that didn't satisfy us rational, sensible people, she did what every sane person who makes a video of decapitating someone does, she BLAMED the victim! Duhhh. Oh, I failed to mention that Trumps 11yr old son saw the video & thought it was real AND this isn't the first time she's attacked a kid! [someone, please pass me 10 Ibuprofen ... oh, and that big bottle of Jack!] The trifecta of dumbassery was finished today when 25yr old liberal, loser & leaker "Reality Winner" said she plans to play the 'pretty, white, cute' card. Waaaait, whhhhaaaat?! No, seriously, c'monnnn!!

What....the...f**k?! Is she talking about herself? The only part of her description of her fugly self is "white"!! THAT WAS IT! THAT set me off! NO MORE!! It's like people are just tryin' to piss me off, or troll me! We all know I don't have a filter, and this was too much for a man to take! I will NOT sit by & let ugly ass clowns start referring to themself as cute! (Yes, THAT was my breaking point! NOT the decapitation or idiotic rape comment! Some no name calling herself cute. Hey, I have my priorities, you have yours!) Look, it's clear that I'm shallow, we all know that, and I'm not even tryin' to hide it, but I actually do appreciate all women of any look. (Well, unless you are SO BUSTED UP I cant find one compliment. Then, I'll just run in the other direction to avoid all awkewardness & me laughing in anyone's face. Hey, at least I know my asshole-ness & embrace it) But back to the subject, I am fine with women from 1-10's. Me personally, I prefer smarter women TO DATE, but when I'm bored, I like to roll out and enjoy myself a nice 8-10 Russian.

(Nooo, I am NOT an operative for Putin!) Look, no one's talking about marriage here. Plus, to be honest, I did admit that Im bored, & we ALL know that the hotter they are, the crazier they come. (Now THAT is some "settled science"). If you haven't seen the hot-crazy matrix, or you're like me & just enjoy watching it, check it out here. So, where I lose my shit is when 1-3's sashay through bars like they are 10's or 20's!! NOW, HOLD THE $@#% UP!! NO!! Nahhhh homey! THAT SHIT AINT EVEN COOL! It's annoying. Hot & smart 10's act like they're 3's and 3's act like they're 10's. [anger rising] I mean, can someone hand me a job application for "Ego checker"?! I go around letting these fuggos know that confidence is cool, but you're only allowed to go up 2 levels. 3 MAX! So all you 3's, y'all better not go over a 6 in attitude. If you do, I will call your ugly asses out. Think I'm kidding?! Ask my friend who had hold me back & pull me aside because I was about to tell off his ugly ass 2 for a friend because she thought I was ignoring her because I liked her! NO, 2! I'M IGNORING YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE A 2 with a 'TUDE!!! Uggh. Ugly on the inside and out doesnt get ya laid. It gets you at home, alone on Friday, Netflix & chillin' with your cats. Yeah, cat-s! Plural.

[beingstubbornlyme]

Emilio.

As some of you may know, this weekend I volunteered at a Special Olympics tennis tournament here in Houston.

It was a new thing for me.

Stepping out of my own, self absorbed zone.

Giving of my time.

Something, which I all too often, selfishly place too much value on.

Yet I woke up, went to help out, nervous, but excited.

Getting there, within minutes, I felt happy I found out about this event, committed to volunteering & signed up.

Immediately I noticed that everyone was so nice, so committed to making this a special occasion for these athletes.

These kids, THEY were the #1 priority!

No worries about Obamacare, stresses at work, finances, or anything else.

If only for this one moment, this one morning, this one breezy, overcast (which is a blessing!) Houston Saturday.

Put everything but these very special athletes aside.

That day, while refereeing a match, I met Emilio.

Little did I know, realize or grasp how Emilio would forever be part of my life.

Like all the other athletes, he had a huge smile on his face, was such a good sport, thanking the other player, shaking my hand & thanking me for refereeing (multiple times) & just simply....being happy!

It was soul stirring.

I was touched.

I’m not one to get too sentimental (in public), but this was the first of multiple times that I had to hold back raw, genuine emotion.

As I walked off the court one time, an elderly woman pulled me aside & thanked me kindly. She reached out, & wanted to shake my hand. She was saying how thankful she was to me, & to all the volunteers, for giving our time to help her son & those like him. She proceeds to tell me about her son who was 50yrs old. Hearing how he didn’t speak until he was 8 years old, held a job with the Houston Independent School District for 29 years & how much this even meant to him, to her & all the other families.

***holding back emotion AGAIN!  What the heck?!   Are these people TRYING TO MAKE ME CRY!?   Knock it off people!!!***

She explains to me how this gave her son the confidence to initiate introductions of himself to more people. [C’mon Lawrence, hold it together man!] Such a simple act that we take for granted. But, that was just it though. There are so many things we take for granted as simple, standard, "the norm", yet these were not "the norm" for these kids, adults, athletes! What WAS "the norm"? Smiles! Smiles on everyone’s faces! Each....and...every...single...one of them! Smiles, appreciation (even in loss), excitement. It was infectious. 

[I need a moment alone to gather myself.]

During each & every match for the rest of the day, I struggled calling things out or declaring a winner. Yet, as always, the “losing” athlete, just smiled & moved on to the next point, game, match & event. I think, actually, I WAS more upset when they loss!

Why?!

I wasn’t playing.

Why, because I saw it as something it wasn't. 

Because I couldn't “see”. 

I was blind.

I could only see with my broken vision being defeated by your opponent, trying so hard, yet coming up short. 

I didn't “see” that by these athletes just being out there, running, competing, hearing the cheers of encouragement & trying 100%, they were WINNING! 

They DID win.

The score didn't matter. 

Was it out? Yes. Does it REALLY matter? No.

Did I hit it into the net? Yes. Does it REALLY matter? Not really. 

Those things did...not...matter!

Not really. 

Not in the grand scheme of life.

These athletes had already won something so much more precious than a win over a new friend. 

More precious than a piece of paper. 

More precious than really anything that I would have valued, but would have been a fleeting memory.

They won longer term gifts, definitely more precious.

They won pride from trying.

They won joy.

They won attention, encouragement & support from parents, families, friends &this ref.

THEY. WON. PERIOD.

So, as I walked back to my car, my soul on FULL, smile on my face, I thanked God for all the things that I have that I take for granted.

Little did I know, the impact would not end there.

Fast forward a few days later, & I'm driving to the grocery store. As I'm pulling into the parking lot, I recognize this guy pushing a shopping cart.

I paused, head cocked to the side, trying to remember how I know this guy.

"OHHHH YEAH, Emilio!" I said to myself.

I stop, roll down my window, lean over & yell out to him. It catches him a lil off guard.

"Hey man, do you remember me? I'm the guy who ref’d your tennis match this past weekend. It's Emilio, right?!"

He doesn't recognize me at first, but he has that same, constant smile on his face. It dawns on me that I have on sunglasses & haven't shaved in days, so he probably doesn't recognize me (heck I BARELY recognize me!). Then, as if a veil is pulled back & at that moment he can finally see who I am, he realizes who I am & a big grin comes across his amazing face.

He reaches in to shake my hand, & gives me an infectious “Hello!”, then (again) “Thanks for refereeing!” & proceeds to tell me all about his new job. Turns out he just got this job at Kroger’s grocery store helping with the shopping carts. He's absolutely beaming with pride!!

Once again, the emotion is overwhelming. I tell him congrats & that I'm proud of him.

He goes on to shake my hand again & ask if I'm going to ref next year too.

"OF COURSE MAN! Without a doubt. I'll be there!"

We shake hands, for the fourth, fifth, sixth, I lost track, time. You have to have been there. He just wanted to shake my hand, be nice, show appreciation, love, innocence. I'm all to willing to shake as many times as he wants to! Well, we shake one final time and off he goes back to work.

Driving off I hear him yelling to a co-worker, "THAT'S MY FRIEND!" & it hits me with a wave of emotions. I lose it. I just start crying.

So proud that me, a simple man, just one person, is HIS friend. 

I'm more than touched to be called your friend Emilio, but I'm actually more proud that you are so excited to be mine.

In the end, Emilio did MORE for me than I could ever have done for him. I also must say “Thank you!” to Kroger’s, & companies like Kroger's, for giving such joy to great people like Emilio.

Also, thank you to God, for the moment to appreciate the amazing people that touch our hearts in this world.