Being a dad (baba) is one of the greatest joys in the world.  My little girl Kali is so precious to me and I would do anything for her.  Since her mom and I ended our marriage (before she was one), it has been a tug of war of emotions.  Through it all, I have learned some hard lessons on love, betrayal, lust, confusion, enlightenment, discretion, over-protection, spirituality, artistic expression, and so on.

I have grown so much and owe a great deal to the life and development of our daughter.  I honor her existence and so look forward to the new experiences that we will share over the years.  So with that, here’s a glimpse into our lives and the delight that comes with baba life…

Waiting for the Lord to rise

I look into my daughter’s eyes

And realize that I’mma learn through her

The Messiah, might even return through her

If I’mma do it, I gotta change the world through her.

from Common – “BE”

Also, I’m throwing in a few shots of my two pets over the past 16 years – Pharoh Kareem and Paka Kidogo (Little Cat) a.k.a. Squeakers a.k.a. Jamal, J-Mizzle, the Miz (I know it’s pitiful how many names this cat gets).  My journey with Pharoh began on a warm Mississippi evening in 1998 when a coworker from Red Lobster announced that her puppies were old enough to be released.  From that day, we were on a journey that eventually end in 2012 in Cleveland.  I miss that little dude.  Now I have this little golden mouser of a cat and he is so quiet (really, he can’t meow like a typical cat) and he has a bit of a foot fetish, but he is cool and decent company.

And so, once again, I’ve been hit with a painful moment.  My cat transitioned on Dec. 5, 2016  No idea what was the cause, but I found him in his bed – still, gone.  Wow.  I’m hurt, mainly because I didn’t see it coming.  But, I’m glad that it wasn’t a violent death.  He showed slight signs of awkward behavior just two days before, but that was about it.  Then suddenly, he was gone.  It’s hard to believe.  See ya on the other side my friend.

And then right before the pandemic, we added this little lady to the family!