I love this place. I don’t know why or how I can ever bring myself to leave. Settle in, because this is a long one.

I realize that I can’t be very objective in saying this, being that it’s 4:15 AM (or something like that….the time fell back), but it was probably the best homecoming ever.

I rode into town with Ericka aka E. Dubb. We arrived at about 7 PM and met up with my boy Panama Jackson. Yes, the very same Panama who I have linked on the side and is taking the internet by storm with his writing. We’ve known each other since June 4th of 1997, the day AFTER I finished High School and the first day of our summer program. Anyway it wasn’t just him I met up with. The homies Manu, Jabri, and Aziza were also in the car. We headed out to Stone Mountain to a dinner party thrown by our friends Enada and Leigha.

I still had on my “traveling clothes” so I had to iron and change, and while doing so, Manu made some great Blueberry Martinis. I drank 5, mostly because I was the only one who liked them, but it was damned good IMO. So yeah, I ate some great Lasagna…one was a regular recipe, the other was seafood (there were two others…chicken and spinach, but I was cool on those). I also drank a few more martini’s until I was nice and toasted.

I saw a few people I hadn’t seen in YEARS, most notable my boy Barry. Me and Barry have a tumultuous history. The only fight I’ve been in in my adult life was with him, but we’ve long since mended our fences. It was really good seeing him. We caught up for awhile. I also briefly saw my boy Adrian which was really good too!

At some point we decided to roll out to the club. In the car I began to talk about my burgeoning alcoholism with Malika for some strange reason. It felt pretty awkward/shameful after awhile to be honest and I don’t know how I really got started down that path. Maybe it was all the drinking I’d done before that.

We ended up going to Visions (my first time going there). There was a Halloween costume contest, and I wished I had brought my Tyrone Biggums get up down, I coulda won that contest too! “Stringer Bell” from the Wire did some DJing there and really lamed himself out in the process. As Dwayne pointed out, an actor shouldn’t go around town as his “character” especially if said character is a drug dealer on an HBO drama. You don’t see the cat who plays Paulie Walnuts DJing at Strip Clubs as Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos, but I digress. I ran into my favorite TSU grad from St. Louis, Cookie, up in Visions. It’s a really nice club. I even danced a little, and I HATE dancing (more on that later).

We left at closing time and went to Manu’s place to crash. I had a change of clothes and what not for tailgating the next day. Sleeping on air mattresses is underrated! I loved it, no bullshit! I also kind of dig sleeping on the floor to, but if I have a choice in the future it’s air mattress time for me!

So yeah after some of the best sleep I’ve had in years I was awakened by my phone at about 10:30 or so in the morning. I had a look around Manu’s place, it’s really nice. I need a spot like that when I come back to Atlanta. He also had Season 2 of In Living Color on DVD so I got my flashback on. Some of that stuff is dated, but most of it was still funny as all get out.

Panama and Manu took a trip out to Austell (or possibly Alabama…who knows!) to get liquor and such for our tailgating. Pinchback aka The Homecoming MVP aka the most kicking it nigga I know, came through to eventually ride out with us. When Panama and Manu came back Jabri, Aziza, and I went to go grab something to eat and got lost trying to find Metropolitan Ave. from Manu’s place (yes I was ashamed as an Atlanta native). We ended up finding a Church’s Chicken. We also got lost on the way back to Manu’s, but eventually made it.

From there we all piled into Manu’s car. Lots of jokes were made because there were 4 dudes in the backseat, ranging from “mexican” jokes (apologies to any Mexican readers I may have) to butt cheek jokes (I could spend a few paragraphs explaining them away, but I won’t….let your imagination run wild!). So after parking at the Mall West End (which is a misnomer if there ever was, but that’s neither here nor there). We ended up walking to the tailgate. Well actually we first headed to where Barry and company were barbequing. We took a shot of 151 there (still burns) and then headed out into the madness.

Man, NOTHING on earth beats tailgating. As was discussed later on (I forget who the involded parties were) if you describe tailgating at an HBCU homecoming to someone who’s never done it, it will inevitably come out sounding boring as hell, but you just have to experiece it! It was warm (actually HOT). There was plenty of beer and liquor to be had. And the WOMEN…..MY GOD the women…..so many, so many!!! Man it was a sea of humanity. The only down part is that I left my camera in Enada’s car the previous night so I didn’t get it until late, and the battery was low because I couldn’t recharge it (that means few pictures….sorry!). But yeah man, I couldn’t begin to list all of the people I saw who I hadn’t seen in forever. But the one that surprised me the most was my long lost friend Will. It really warmed my heart to see him. His parents went to Albany State (who destroyed us 50-15….but who cares about the game at Homecoming anyway?) so he met up with them here in Atlanta. I told him where Barry had set up shop and we all met back up over there. I ran into him while I was with my mother and sister (after I had seen my Dad). I had seen Nina with her friends Mia, Riahnte (I messed her name ALL the way up), and Tara. Nina had a shirt with my mom’s senior picture from Spelman’s yearbook. It’s actually very dope!

So tailgating went on for awhile before I met back up with Adrian, Frank, Enada, and Leigha. We ended up going to Burger King and shooting the shit for awhile before I headed back to Manu’s. Then Panama dropped me by the crib so I could drop off some clothes I’m now washing. And then we went BACK to Manu’s to get ready for the party at Luxe (formerly known as Mumbo Jumbo). Man that joint was PACKED. But a BUNCH of people were there. Some people from my graduating class (including my main man Allen aka AJ) were the hosts. I got a call as I was coming in from my friend Tiffany. Turns out she was like right next to me with her line sisters and what not.

So I settled in to post up and what not. And here is where you will get a quick lesson in some of my idiosyncracies and stuff. First things first at the club, I’m an observer. I’m a post up on the wall kind of guy. I DON’T dance. I may dance occassionally if I’m REALLY feeling either a song, a girl, or the amount of drink I’ve had (or some combination), but more often than not I’m content to post up and people watch. Besides the fact that I love to admire the female form, the explanation is quite simple….I CANNOT DANCE! Tiffany tried to tell me the same thing I’ve heard countless times, “All Black people can dance!” That’s some bullshit. I can’t! She actually MADE me dance once and then tried to ask me, “Why are you so stiff?” To which I replied, “Muthafucka, because I can’t dance!!!”. Then she tried to tell me how women like dudes who can dance (like I didn’t know that already….LOL) and I told her I can slow dance, which is pretty true…I hold my own then. Anyway, I prefer when a girl does like Enada did and just kind of pins me against the wall and has her way with me. I like a girl who can take control of the whole dancing thing….I’m lazy like that.

Another thing about me. I’m a nice guy and all to people I know pretty well, but I’m also mean and could even be classified as an asshole. I’ll elaborate. I don’t go out of my way to speak to people. Especially people who I figured only used to speak to me because I was friends with certain other people and generally wouldn’t give me the time of day. I’m just not a friendly/fake guy like that. I don’t make small talk and shit like that. I talk to my friends. I don’t dap up everybody. If I didn’t/don’t like you, I don’t see the reason for it. I hate all of that. Also it’s pretty awkward when people who a year and a half ago told you that they never wanted to speak to you again all of a sudden come and speak as if none of that other history occurred. So the beef (that I never really started in the first place….unlike some of my other beefs) is dead now….just like that? Strange shit man.

Anyway, in short, I can’t dance and I’m slightly anti-social. Ya’ll knew that already. Anyway, we headed back after the whole club thing (I really had fun, by the way….I don’t have to dance and shit….I just like watching people and talking to a select few). After a stop at Krystal’s Frank and Jabri made it to the crib in College Park which leads me to now.

My dissappointments (besides the previously mentioned camera thing) are: STILL not meeting the Diva Herself (Jen), the fact that my boys Bernard and Eulus couldn’t make it this time, that Little Nikki doesn’t know I’m alive and I didn’t man up and force my existance upon her, and that it had to end!

My best moments: Seeing all of my old friends, hanging with Panama and Manu and them, seeing Cade and Tamaini, running into Tiffany at the club.

I have some people to see tomorrow so it ain’t over. I’ll try to write again before I leave. Right now I’m going to reload the washer/dryer and then take these contacts out and go to bed. If you read all of this in one sitting you got some stamina…..cuz it took me an hour to write it!