Love is...........

Love is something you can't deny
It's a feeling you can't buy
It's not not for people to be sad
It's for people to be glad
It's a feeling full of joy
For all people to enjoy

Love is showing that you care
It is something that you share
you can find it deep inside
'cause it's something you can't hide
Love is for all races
It fills up all the empty spaces

Love is something you can't miss
It's a feeling full of bliss
So, just look deep in your heart
It's a masterpiece of art!

Somethings to think about when it comes to dating.

Dating can often be a tricky and frustrating experience. Navigating the complex maze of the dating world can seem daunting at times. While there is no official rulebook for playing the dating game, there are many suggestions (or "rules") that you should follow as you try to find that perfect Mr. or Mrs. Right.
Do be Receptive
If you have always been attracted to the tall, macho guy with bulging muscles and perfect swag as yall would call it, or that looks like one of the celebrities you see on TV, don't rule out a short normal size, pretty decent guy. The same rule applies to men. Just because your dream girl looks like "Barbie girl" and wears barely-there dresses doesn't mean that she's the one for you. Give those who are not "your type" a chance. Who knows--you might just have been dating the wrong type of girl all along. Opposites can and do attract.
Be on Time
Nothing shows disinterest and disrespect more than someone who is consistently late for dates. This shows that the person does not value your time and that he/she is very selfish. If it happens once in a great while, don't sweat it, because things can happen. However, if your date is late with regularity, consider moving on to someone who values you more than him or herself.
Pay Attention
No one likes having to repeat themselves endlessly. Showing your potential special someone that you remembered a little detail about them (favorite food, movie, flower or other similar things) will take you far. People want others to pay attention to them. They will be touched you remember the small things about them.
Be Honest
If you are just looking to casually date, let the person know, so they don't get their hopes up that you are ready to run down the aisle or get into a committed relationship anytime soon. If you have been married, or even in past relationship don't keep this from the person you are dating, I guarantee they will ask you. If you have kids, be upfront. If you have slept with hundreds of people, do not feign virginity. More than likely, anything you don't spill upfront will have a way of getting out eventually. They will appreciate your honesty and integrity, even if it is not something they necessarily wants to hear. Honesty and trust are both the foundation of a good, long-lasting relationship.
Don't be Desperate
Just because he/she hasn't called or texted you 20 minutes after your date ended, doesn't mean he/she is not interested. By all means, do not bombard them with strings of texts or calls. Nothing screams "Needy and Desperate" more than this. Have enough confidence in yourself to realize that if he/she doesn't call you or decides not to date you, it's their loss, not yours.
Do not Settle
If you are not interested in your date, tell her early-on and cut ties, the sooner the better. Don't try to just use them as some kind of sexual object. It is better to get it out in the open right away as opposed to letting the relationship drag on for months or even years. By allowing it to continue on, you risk far more emotional and psychological damage to the other person, especially if their feelings intensify. The right person is out there for you. Don't settle just because you do not have the confidence in yourself to be single and on your own, or once again to try to use the person for something.
Be Creative
Just because you had a couple of great dinner-and-movie dates doesn't mean that is the only type of date you two will have successfully. I Like to workout, so If I have common interests with a person, as in working out explore those options. For example, if ever i meet a girl who likes to workout or likes baseball, why not take her to a baseball game or invite them to the gym, of course I have to hope she don't take it as an insult but if she likes to workout most likely she won't. Take in the beautiful scenery and challenge each other along the way. Being active together will bring you two closer together over a common bond. Take your date to the amusement park, a local tourist attraction if they're into that thing or even out of town for the weekend. Keeping it interesting and creative will keep the relationship alive and thriving.
Do not Become Intimate Right Away
Jumping into the sack after the first date can send mixed signals. Physical attraction does not necessarily equate to a good dating relationship. While one party might be in it purely for the sex, the other might take it to mean that the person is falling for them, and might become too emotionally involved too quickly. Take it slow. Give the relationship time to blossom outside the bedroom before you take that big step. Make sure you are both on the same page about what you want out of the relationship first.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Take note(physically or mental) of how your date treats others, their parents and their friends. Just because they can be sweet and attentive to you does not mean that is how they are once outside the dating phase. If they are dismissive and rude toward others, chances are they will end up doing the same to you. Cut and run early on you before they take you off the pedestal and starts treating you as poorly as they treats others.
Get to Know Each Other's Friends
A person's friends can reveal a lot about them. If their friends are all unemployed druggies, for example, you should wonder why they don't have friends that are not more successful and on the right path. I know you heard that ole' saying "You are what you hang around." Rather you want to believe it or not it's true. If they are a group of womanizing guys who bar hoops nightly picking up one-night stands, this is a red flag not to ignore. The same goes for a group of half-dressed females who go looking guys with money or that look likes they can support them. It is important to question why they don't have a better group of friends and what this says about their character.

The Creation of Firefighters

When the Lord was creating Firefighters, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, "Your doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And the Lord said, "Have you read the specifications of this person? Firefighters have to be able to go for hours fighting fires or tending to a person that the usual everyday person would never touch, while putting in the back of their mind the circumstances. They have to be able to move at a second's notice and not think twice of what they are about to do, no matter what the danger. They have to be in top physical condition at all times, running on half-eaten meals and they must have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands....no way."

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord, "it's the three pairs of eyes a Firefighter has to have."

"That's on the standard?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through the fire and where they and their fellow Firefighters should fight the fire next. Another pair here in the side of the head to see their fellow Firefighters and keep them safe. And another pair of eyes in the front so that they can look for the victims caught in the fire that need their help."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, "Rest and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't." said the Lord. "I already have a model that can carry a 250 pound man down a flight of stairs and to safety from a burning building, and can feed a family of five on a civil service paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the Firefighter very slowly, "Can it think?"

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the elements of a hundred fires; and can recite procedures in their sleep that are needed to care for a person until they reach the hospital. And all the while they have to keep their wits about themselves. This Firefighter also has phenomenal personal control. They can deal with a scene full of pain and hurt, coaxing a child's mother into letting go of the child so that they can care for the child in need. And still rarely get the recognition for a job well done from anybody, other that from fellow Firefighters."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Firefighter. "There's a leak", she pronounced. "Lord it's a tear."

"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's a tear from bottled-up emotions for fallen comrades. A tear for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American Flag. It's a tear for all the pain and suffering they have encountered. And it's a tear for their commitment to caring for and saving lives of their fellow man!" replied the Lord.

"What a wonderful feature Lord, you're a genius" said the angel.

My Vision of a Hero

IF I COULD DESCRIBE A HERO
AND YOU'D ASK ME WHAT IT WOULD BE?

A FIREMAN I WOULD ANSWER AND THIS IS WHY YOU SEE

THEY GO INTO A FIRE NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL.
THEY DO NOT HESITATE ONCE, AFTER YOU HAVE PLACED THAT CALL

FORGETTING ABOUT THEMSELVES AND DOING WHAT THEY LOVE AND KNOW
THIS IS NOT AN ACT NOR IS IT A SHOW

THEY WILL RACE DEEP WITHIN THE HEART OF A FIRE WE CALL THE BEAST
TO THEM BEATING IT IS THEIR ULTIMATE FEAST

TO THEM THIS IS THEIR JOB AND WHAT THEY LIKE TO DO
BUT I BELIEVE THIS IS WHERE THE UTMOST RESPECT IS DUE

RESPECT IS WHAT THEY DESERVE FROM EVERYONE ALL THE TIME
NOT JUST WHEN THEY LOOSE A BROTHER WHILE FIGHTING THAT FRONT LINE

FOR ALL THAT HAVE COME TO PAY THEIR RESPECT WHICH IS GREATLY DUE
JUST GO HOME AND THINK WHAT A FIREMAN MEANS TO YOU

THEY DO NOT RESPECT YOU PART OF THE TIME
OR ELSE THEIR LIVES THEY WOULD NOT LAY ON THE LINE

SO THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE A FIREMAN THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
TELL THEM THEY ARE LOVED AND GIVE THEM THE RESPECT THEY ARE DUE

THIS COMES TO YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART
I WANT ALL YOU FIREFIGHTERS TO KNOW MY LIFE YOU ARE A PART

I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST AND HOPE YOU'LL ALL STAY SAFE
I KNOW AT LEAST IN MY HEART YOU ALL HAVE A SPACE

LOVE YOU GUYS

A Day I Still Can't Believe is Near

In exactly a Week from today at approx. 2:31 am my baby brother will no longer be a baby as he celebrates his 18th birthday. For some reason I can't cope with the idea that he will be a legal adult. I still see him as the lil boy who never said anything, the lil boy who stayed outsides for hours and hours of the day, the lil boy that my mama always spoiled and still do to this day. Sometimes I wonder why can't I deal with this fact, why can't i accept it? I come up with a few different answers, most important one being the fact that as adults me and my 2 brother are more closer now than ever. To understand me and my brother is practically impossible for anybody, I'm not even sure how much my own parents understands us, the reason I say this is because we we're like distant brother in the same household. Coming up we just wasn't the closest for whatever reason, of course we always cared for and loved each other because we are born brothers so we was taught to do those things but coming up we did our own things. We participated in the same activities(sports) with the same organization, we went to the same schools for as long as we could, I even remember the days living in westmont when we bath together as kids and I never liked too for the simple fact that they liked the water way to hot for me. As adolescents and/or teenagers I can really only speak for myself, because i spent most of that time away from home. Ages 15-17, arguably the most important years of a boys' life, I spent with my older cousin. Every summer of them years I spent under a cousin who was the same age as my older brother, I was spending weeks at a time at his house, it got so bad that my mama had to make me come home, and would go to him when I got in trouble in school and need a talking to or to be shook up. To get back on the subject, during that time i have no way of telling what kind of relationship my big brother and baby brother had developed at the time. By far our best years together in my opinion has been the last 3 to 4 years, because we finally started to act as people say brothers should. These we're the year I went through some of the most crucial stumbles in my life, which turn out to be a good thing because my big brother was there to see me through them, which taught me the importance of brotherhood at the time my baby brother was in that 15-17 age range. I can't help but to think God plan it exactly that way. I finally feel like I'm getting to know my lil brother now, I have a long ways to go because I knew so little about him, for example I have not the slightest idea of what my brother wants to be in life other than a professional athlete, and what kid don't have that dream? The fact that he's still the quiet, unpredictable, and un-readable person he is don't help the problem. He is my little brother and because of that I realize we have a lot of similarities, because of that fact i can kind of get understand of who he is and how think and try to build off that. Today I look at my little brother as something like a son I guess, because of that sometimes I find myself being a little overprotected and trying to protect him from things and problems that going to make him into the man that he's soon to be. I'm working at getting to the point where I just sit back and observe into it times to step in and help, and be there when he ask for help, which will probably never happen because i never ask my older brother for help he kind of stepped in when he figure he needed too. The thought of my brother about to actually be out of high-school in the next year, be his own man, start to have a night-life these things right now are just not sitting in well with me right now. The fact that he's so independent and to his self is the part that scares me, I don't know what he knows as far as street smarts, how to handle his self in public, how to stay away from bad crowds, how to surround himself with positive people that can actually help him in life and positively rub off on him, how to handle these fast lil ladies out here, and what his decision making is like. I guess I have to just trust my faith in God to keep him and good hands, and trust what he inherited from growing up with the same parents and the core values me and my oldest brother grown up with. I try not to worry to much, he has done good so far. I guess the best educations I can give him now is to just lead by example. My will for success is so strong because I want to not only be able to tell him how to do right, but more importantly show him. He is one of my main motivations to be successful. Every challenge I face, every road block I come across, every obstacle that gets in my way I go at we the thought of failure not being an options, and beside me other reason I want to succeed for him. I want to be the best firefighter I can be for the community, myself, and to also represent my family and the Dunn name. I had a friend ask me, "What if your brother wanted to follow your footsteps and be a fireman?" After thinking about it, I learn that the idea of that is not something I like to think about. I know the dangers of this job and how tough it can be physically, emotionally, and mentally. I guess the only way I would be cool with Ivan being a fireman, is if only he work in the same house as me on the same crew. To have my baby brother working in the same profession as me, as dangerous as it is, I want nobody else looking after him then me. The fact that I don't know what he wants to do in life, makes this a very strong possibility, one that I don't know how to deal with. My lil brother is turning 18, that really rattles my mind. It's funny how times flies really. He still young and I think we always need guidance through out life, and for as long as I live I can say that I will always be there for my brothers, even as the little one grow old. Even though he has grown to be taller than me, and is the tallest of all three of us, he will always be the baby and the way I see it, he is my priority until the day that i start my own family and even then he is still a priority of mine he and his family, and they will always be token care of and in goods hands. So to my baby brother, as you turn 18, keep nose out the sky, keep your heart to God and ride the roller coaster of life as your only allow one go around. Continue to grow and do as you have been doing, be successful, know that the people in your corner is ol so strong and because of that you can take risk, the ol saying says "To win big rewards, you must take big risk." So Ivan take your risk, take your risk proudly and strong mind, knowing that if ever you fail, if ever you fall there will always be somebody there to pick you up, dust you off and put you back on the track, remember that with the family, me, and God never are you alone.

Abortion in the Black Community

Riding home this morning from work, I was listening to the WIZ(Cincinnati's #1 station for hip-hop and R&B). Interesting topic they was talking about today, Abortion in the black community. This topic brings out a lot of opinions from a lot of different people, this post is for you, for you to voice your opinion and speak on how you feel. All I can do is voice mine, and some of you may not agree but we are entitled to our opinion. Statistics can say a lot, you can find many different statistic in many different places. I'm not exactly sure where the WIZ source was from but statistics says, "Minority women constitute only about 13% of the female population (age 15-44) in the United States, but they underwent approximately 36% of the abortions." To simplify this on average, 1,876 black babies are aborted every day in the United States. Why is this??? It can be many different reason. The two main reason I was hearing this morning was because abortion clinics are mostly build in black neighborhoods. Some also say it starts within the home, mean we not teaching are kids these things, and the important of safe sex and reproduction. First off let me say that with the way society is today, and all the things children, teenagers, and even young adults like myself are exposed too, you can only teach your kids so much about these topics. You are at a disadvantage, and fighting a tough battle against society and all of what it teaches. The best thing you can do as parents is teach your kids skills like how to think before they act, teaching them right from wrong, moral respect and things like this. If you succeed in teaching these things to your children at a young age then once society start to consume most of their time they can fight the battle on their own. As far as the location of abortion clinics, yeah it may be true that there is more located within black communities then white. I don't see what the problem is. Yeah it's stereotypical, and maybe judgmental but facts is facts, black communities uses them more than white communities. If anything I think black communities should look at it as a good thing, look at it as an advantage, if it going to be a high use for them at least their close and easy to access and get to. Personally I don't believe in abortions, but as long as it's legal people will use it, you wish that everybody would be considered enough to stop getting pregnant when your not ready, but we don't live in a perfect world. If you think about it, you wonder how could you ban abortion? If you did would you really be making the situation better? How can you tell somebody they must carry a child? How could you even enforce the law if you made abortion illegal? All women would do is not take care of themselves and mis-carry the baby anyway, then what??? Throw the woman in jail??? What about the other half? The guy? Would he go to jail too? Making abortion illegal only add more problems, as I think about it I can't come up with a solution to the problems we will face if we make abortion illegal. Most people are probably against abortion, but if you've never been in the situation how can you say what you would do? I couldn't imagine what a guy and girl go through when they "slip up". I know people that are just as much against abortion as I am, but once they got caught up in that tough situation, where abortions seem like the best option for them they went through with it. There is no solutions to this problem, it one of those things that's best left the way it is. Then you can't forget about women who health is in danger when it comes to giving birth, or just carrying a baby. What happen to these women if you make abortions illegal??? Everybody can't afford getting there tubes tied, and the operation might put them in the same kind of danger if not more. Bottom line is this, making abortion illegal causes more problem and put women in danger. If you make it illegal, there ways around all laws, with that said if someone feel it necessary they will do it anyway, what they call back-alley abortion. This is a problem with no solution, a topic that we can go on and on about, back and forth, it can be never ending. I don't think abortion will ever be illegal, and though I don't believe in it, I think that's a good thing. Keep thing as is, something are made not to be mess with and this is one of them, everybody have their own beliefs, the best thing you can do is follow what you believe in, raise your kids with those beliefs, if you are a mentor or public figure that people look up too, it's OK to let the kids know what your belief is, but also let them know they have the right to believe in whatever it is they want. As stated earlier all you can do is try to educate kids about this topic, about what right and wrong, and how to prevent these problems, after that it all about hope and prayer for them to be OK once they get out on their own.