Journey 155 ~B’s Are Threatening, Virgil~

“It is an awesome feeling to know you are about to change someone’s life forever.” “Tomorrow When The War Began…” Sometimes it’s as simple a thing as walking into the Day Job. Or walking my youngest son, 2V. But always, “B’s Are Threatening, Virgil.”

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Journey 155 ~B’s Are Threatening, Virgil~

Bless Me, Echo,
For I have sinned… If I lived in an Asian household? Maybe. I could be allergic. I’ve never been stung. Plan B…

If I were a motivational speaker, talking about Plan B. Will Smith said it distracts from Plan A. And Apollo Creed screamed in Rocky III, “THERE IS NO TOMORROW!” Echo.

M Anime didn’t want to hear about Plan B either, wanting babies. Lots of babies! Inspector, what about my babies, my boys, Braxton and Virgil? I start writing and… blah.

All these things are threats, Inspector Echo. But you know what wasn’t a threat? And I might be digging my own grave here, but the Day Job. What happened, Inspector?

Threats, fury, and a nine-to-five no longer? Nothing Echo. Not a damn thing. I mean…

Forgetfulness, indifference… the same typical humiliations. Nothing more or less.

Seriously, have you seen me these past three weeks, Inspector?

“Fill my lungs with fear, and I EXHALE!”
It’s My Turn To Fly, The Urge

My sin is putting these days on the same level as losing Braxton. I watched him die for a little over a week. Though I didn’t notice until that Wednesday and by Sunday, January 31, 2025… That’s how the world’s been to me forever. To them, I’m all Linkin Park.

Inspector, “In The End,” it doesn’t even matter. I’m worrying about the Day Job, women, and my worrywart of a son, Virgil. Because again, my firstborn son, B III, is gone, and I’m still working at my Day Job. And that’s the insult, Echo. I blame myself and that place.

The Bad Place, Braxton thought of my Day Job. There was also the Kidney Failure. But no, I’m to blame and the Day Job. Euthanasia…

How can I put my child and the place that took him from me on the same level? How dare I, Echo? I’d be furious if I weren’t exhausted and disgusted. Stress relief? Uh eww!

So let’s say the Day Job isn’t in jeopardy. You play Butch, and I’ll be Marsellus Wallace, okay? No, The Long Walk, The Running Man references? “Pulp Fiction,” Inspector Echo.

What now? “Oh, that what now?” I can go back to worrying about watching wrestling. Do you remember me “stealing” Survivor Series: WarGames (2025)? I’ve gotten into this new game, Whiteout Survival, and in my state, on “My block, I’d never leave my block, my beep need me.” Then there’s “augmenting” AI. Terrible, Tempting, and Threatening. B’s Are Threatening, Virgil.

1767 Days Without B III, Day 1208 of Virgil’s Arrival

B.L.M. Braxton’s Life Matters,
Will

Journey 153 ~Somedays B’s, Somedays V’s~

This all sounds too familiar, blah, blah, blah, days to be worried. Blah, blah, blah, the moment. Blah, blah, blah, family. Someday I won’t have to worry about any of it. But I didn’t get lucky today. “Somedays B’s, Somedays V’s.”

Monday, December 1, 2025

Journey 153 ~Somedays B’s, Somedays V’s~

Hey Dad,
It’s Me, Baby B… “Day ‘N’ Nite.” I know, Dad, you would much rather have some pretty girl. My Favorite Girl? She’s married.

You humans and your connections. And M Anime… I wish we both could’ve been there.

That someday you were always telling me about. My stepmom, Virgil, and some two-legged siblings. Someday, a “real” family. But we already were/are a family. You, me, my little brother V., and whoever else shows up, someday. Or last night, as you lie dreaming about the door, crashing, collapsing, more like crumbling. What was trying to get in, Daddy? I miss the days after I’d sit on your face and you’d finally wake up, Dad.

Some days, “It’s A Sunshine Day.” Others, it’s “The Long Walk.” Today, what was it?

Frigid, fun less, and always fearful. But a different type of FEAR. The kind I couldn’t fight… The Bad Place.

“I fill my lungs with fear and I Exhale!”
It’s My Turn to Fly, The Urge ‧ 2000 (Titan A.E.)

Another someday. You would tell me one day that you would never go back. After me…

Daddy, you never blamed me for leaving or the pokey people, or Higher Powers…

Honestly, Daddy, you only blamed yourself and The Bad Place. And the next day you went right back there. And that’s how you’ve been feeling for the last couple of weeks. If you go back and the mean people there say they don’t want you, what does it mean, Dad?

That the RAGE you felt, that you tried to protect me from, meant nothing. You could have been here with me. You could have saved me… And what about Virgil? With everything you’ve done without The Bad Place, what future does V have? What someday?

“Truth is singular. Its ‘versions’ are mistruths.”
Sonmi-451, Cloud Atlas

Is that what was trying to break down the door last night in your head? The truth? Which truth would you like? We’re not MAGA with “alternative facts.” Effing Cracker Hats, and FDT! I know, Daddy, language. But you are an honest man, my father. And you raised honest men, V and me, fur and all. V’s not afraid of being afraid. And you, Dad?

Start with something small, like my brother. Why did he get the name Virgil Vivi?

  1. Guided Dante Through Hell
  2. Black Mage FF IX
  3. 2B, Black-and-White, NieR: Automata
  4. 2E, Executioners, You, Work

Someday, you won’t believe that last one. “Gotta Knock a Little Harder,” I guess. Because someday we gon be “Alright” Dad. Somedays B’s, Somedays V’s

“You’re better to take it a day at a time, is all I’m saying. If people just took it a day at a time, they’d be a lot happier.
The Long Walk ― Richard Bachman

“Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.”
Aeneas ― The Aeneid

1765 Days Without B III, Day 1206 of Virgil’s Arrival

Always and Forever,
Your Son

Journey 148 ~Virgil, Braxton Calls It~

Here I am, this is me. And while Braxton and Virgil would “Stand By Me,” for “The Long Walk” I have to take today. I’ll still be “The Running Man.” Because I’m feeling more like Winston Smith and the rats… Room 101. Virgil, Braxton Calls It

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Journey 148 ~Virgil, Braxton Calls It~

Bless Me, Echo,
For I have sinned… I could prattle on about the usual, but the main sin happens… Well, I have thirty minutes. Maybe.

Make the call. Make that change—literally, Inspector. I can go to the Day Job, what Braxton calls “The Bad Place,” and be a ‘better’ man, be belittled because of the Panic Attack that is happening, or just barf all over the place. Eww! I’m going to be sick, Echo.

I’m willing it. Hell! I was very much so with everything that happened yesterday, Echo.

I don’t have to do this… Make the call. I can’t go in. I CAN’T DO THIS. Make the call.

But if I make that call, it will change my existence. And what about Virgil? He needs to eat. I didn’t eat till midnight, being so sick. If I lose the Day Job, Virgil and I will both understand Braxton.

“Fill my lungs with fear, and I EXHALE!”
It’s My Turn To Fly, The Urge

Starvation? “Desperate for changing, starving for truth.” “Hanging By A Moment”

Inspector, indeed I am. I’ve said I’ll always choose the physical pain over any mental anguish. My Braxton was the same way. He would rather stay and wither away beside me than think about leaving me. And Virgil? Well, he’s in Braxton’s room, hiding?

Inspector, neither one of us wants to deal with our bosses. But if I don’t go today, what about Black Friday? Thanksgiving indeed. Did you see my last paycheck, Inspector?

Everything has taken a backseat to this moment. The back fence falling, being broke, not wanting to leave this bed. Even Braxton, which is the greatest sin of all, Inspector.

Forgetting my firstborn son? Never! Being sad or being SCARED?

I’ll take damn near anything over FEAR, which is why I’m right here, phone ready.

“I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change.”
Man in the Mirror, Song by Michael Jackson

Inspector, what should I do? I heard once that you should flip a coin. For the second, it’s in the air; you know what you truly want. Belly or head? Eww! I’m not in the least bit horny, but me being me, I was thinking about sex and/or a blowjob. But my belly says be sick and stay here. My head says, they’re looking for any excuse to fire you. Physical and mental seem to be together. I’m shaking, my stomach hurts, I’m sweating, and my mind is ripping apart knowing what this will all mean. “Panic Attack” Inspector Echo!

Seriously, am I calling or not? Virgil, Braxton Calls It.

“I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that. I won’t do that.”
I’d Do Anything for Love

1760 Days Without B III, Day 1201 of Virgil’s Arrival

B.L.M. Braxton’s Life Matters,
Will

Journey 146 ~Daddy, B, V, She~

There are too many days I’m worried about. Braxton lived moment to moment. I promised him… A good Dad? I tried to be. Siblings? Well, Virgil was the first. A step-mom and two-legged siblings. It’s been three months since my breakup. Daddy, B, V, She.

Monday, November 24, 2025

Journey 146 ~Daddy, B, V, She~

Hey Dad,
It’s Me, Baby B… Don’t believe me? You haven’t cried all day. Not even for M Anime. Your third month without her. Me?

That’s all it took for your eyes to glaze over. You would have listened to my playlist all day and been bawling your eyes out. But like father and son, right? Or from King Ezekiel.

“And yet, I smile. For we will mine glory from the rock of struggle this day. We will honor and protect this… this bastion of life in a land of the dead, and we will win. You trust the king… we will win. I smile… I laugh… I rejoice this day… for on this day, we are joined in purpose and vision… we are of a singular heart and mind. On this day, we are one!”
King Ezekiel, Some Guy

Honestly, today is the closest we’re getting to “that week.” The ending of January 2021. I’m supposed to be the one who makes you feel better, Dad. And neither one of us likes thinking about that week. But I remember. You didn’t think I knew, but I did, my father.

It helped me to take my mind off myself. I worried about you, and you were trying not to hurt me because there was such… RAGE. You were never bad. You simply kept your distance. Virgil is just like me.

“I fill my lungs with fear and I Exhale!”
It’s My Turn to Fly, The Urge ‧ 2000 (Titan A.E.)

Distance meant my brother and I slept at the foot of the bed instead of right next to you, Dad. You even had to play sick today because I think you’ve decided what to do.

Wednesday, Friday? You got Chicken Noodle Soup and Sprite. Black parenting. I remember when you were really sick, and I would lie beside you. Virgil again is very much the same. And M Anime. She was gone before E-Day, Virgil’s Birthday, and whatever is going on now. The Bad Place? We both hate the Bad Place? But you would tell me that’s how you got me French Fries, so you had to go there even if it k*lled you Dad. And if you go in on Wednesday or Friday… Don’t think that… To join me.

Heart attack, stroke, and any other disease that MAGA and the Cracker Hats have unleashed. I was there for the entire Trump term. FDT! But this isn’t about them, Daddy.

Today isn’t even about M Anime. She’s been gone three months, and she gets nothing.

“I’ve been gone, I’ve been gone for way too long.” “Only God Knows Why,” or as you would say, only Braxton knows why. Today is “All About You.” Again, like father, like son. Or more like the tunes of Jeymus Samuel and “The Book Of Clarence.” What about your book, my father? My book. Virgil will get one someday. M Anime has several. And why? Because of the Day Job. You’re scared, seething, but also somebody. Daddy, B, V, She

“I really don’t want the end of creation to be my fault.”
Succubus Lord 3

“Evil is nourished and grows by concealment.”
― The Aeneid

1758 Days Without B III, Day 1199 of Virgil’s Arrival

Always and Forever,
Your Son

Journey 141 ~B Grateful For V~

So many years ago, at my Day Job, I was asked to work the return station, and within minutes, I walked out. Now I’m on the schedule in black and white. Wendy’s tried that… Quit/fired. Arby’s? I never went back. My Day Job? B Grateful For V.

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Journey 141 ~B Grateful For V~

Bless Me, Echo,
For I have sinned… Why? Because I’m not grateful… Forty-One? How many years have I given to the Day Job? I’m afraid?

You’re goddamn right, I’m afraid, Inspector Echo. Did Quintus Arrius ask Ben-Hur, AKA “Forty-One,” if he was scared? What did it matter? Forty-One was enslaved. I’m not hmm. America, right…

I can quit, such is the great FEAR. Then I would be living in Cormac McCarthy’s book. “The Road.” Better that than what I’m being asked to do at the Day Job. We’ll get there, Inspector Echo. But while I’m bawling, I’d rather it be for my boys, Braxton, Virgil.

Inspector, if I could survive Braxton’s passing, I can survive anything. I should be telling myself, I’m So Thankful even to have the job of Daddy. Grateful, thankful, dogs, babies. I never feared it ending until one day, Braxton just wasn’t here anymore. And Thanksgiving?

“Fill my lungs with fear and I EXHALE!”
It’s My Turn To Fly, The Urge

In case you think this is awfully soon. It’s never too early or too late for FEAR, my dear lady Echo. So let me give you another one. FEAR of losing my everything, hmm? Braxton?

Inspector, what about the FEAR of dying alone? Besides counting my days at the Day Job, we’re heading into my third month after breaking up with M Anime. So STUPID.

Echo, I mean me. I never learn. Neither at the Day Job, being a DogDad, nor the yearnings of my wayward d*ck. Do you remember, Sweetness? One more hot-to-trot Latina.

Inspector, here I am after damn near stalking that girl to having my heart broken at Forty-One by a Puerto Rican woman. Every day we creep closer to January, Inspector.

Only let’s focus on today; no more on the 26th and 28th. WTF is Return Drop! Please, I know now! Because this morning I was begging like a b*tch to get out of it, Inspector.

Those thirteen hours are going to cost me my Day Job, Echo. Wendy’s? Cashier? People?

I can’t do this at my retail job, Inspector. Let me repeat that. I CAN’T DO THIS! So what’s next? I can be grateful for the wasted years of my life, Echo. Lanyard, Badge, Goodbye.

That’s on top of the Humiliations Galore that I experienced today. Virgil hasn’t said anything. Uh, being a dog. I’m The Running Man, Lieutenant Barclay, The Vault Dweller/Sole Survivor, The Walking Dead, Forty-One, a scared man… B Grateful For V.

“Being afraid all of the time, of forgetting somebody’s name, not, not knowing… what to do with your hands. I mean, I, I am the guy who writes down things to remember to say when there’s a party. And then, when he finally gets there, he winds up alone, in the corner, trying to look comfortable, examining a potted plant.

You’re just shy.

Just shy… Sounds like nothing serious – doesn’t it? You can’t know.”
Star Trek TNG: Hollow Pursuits

“A man chasing two rabbits ends up hungry; A wise man grows carrots.”
Stoics Meditations

1753 Days Without B III, Day 1194 of Virgil’s Arrival

B.L.M. Braxton’s Life Matters,
Will

Journey 139 ~Braxton, A NOISY Virgil~

It’s day-to-day for me. Is it the silence or the noise that scares me more? The alarm clock, 2-V crying, and everyone asking me why I wasn’t playing DJ today. Or B III’s loss, my sleeping, and the augmenting of reality… Braxton, A NOISY Virgil.

Monday, November 17, 2025

Journey 139 ~Braxton, A NOISY Virgil~

Hey Dad,
It’s Me, Baby B… Not just noise, not the sniff, sniff of my nose, or in other words, breathing. Not nothing or never.

But your son. Though right now, to you at least, I sound like the Can You Hear Me Now” guy from Verizon. That was one of the great things about us, Dad. You talk a lot about how Virgil has my eyes but our ears. Scary, sleepy, satisfied, whatever we heard, everything and then some. And then there was the silence. We were safe, Daddy.

Honestly, how do you feel after today? We’re talking over “The Weeknd” ha-ha because today, well… What could I tell you that you would believe? Steve, Bob Marely, and I.

I want to say that “every little thing is gonna be alright.” “Everything is gonna be okay,” like Blue’s Clues.

I remember Steve from Blue’s Clues. Pokémon. I would sit in your lap as you played video games. The wonders of the glow box. You even did the Dad thing and said it would rot my brain when you left it on when you went somewhere. The bad place? Negativity.

“I fill my lungs with fear and I Exhale!”
It’s My Turn to Fly, The Urge ‧ 2000 (Titan A.E.)

I won’t add to that noise, Daddy. If anything, one of the best sounds in the world spent in front of the glow box was you, me, and my Favorite Girl watching movies together. Dad?

Next to you, hearing how I would call to you without a sound. It was your breathing, the beat of your heart. The being you, not just with me but with her. Second Favorite person…

Yeah, that wasn’t family. But I hope you hear when I say this. My father…

You are my person, my human, my Dad, definitely my Favorite Boy. And today Dad…

You’re still breathing, you’re alive. That’s the noise I long to hear on days like this one, Dad. Is it better when Sia sings it? “Alive?” It’s not like you got to listen to it at the bad place, right? As you would say, that’s not negativity; it’s simply the truth. And you are here, Dad. But if I were there in that bad place with you, I’m sure that my barking would have stopped anyone from asking you anything to hurt you. And Virgil wants to cover one of your ears as you have an AirPod in the other. There’s noise and what’s worth listening to. And what is that? Braxton, A NOISY Virgil

“You’re a special person to the universe in ways I don’t think you know.”
― Bikini Magic by Michael Dalton

“A hideous noise of shouting rose to the heavens as young men fought and fell under the iron hand of Mars.”
From ― The Aeneid

1751 Days Without B III, Day 1192 of Virgil’s Arrival

Always and Forever,
Your Son

Journey 134 ~The I’s, Braxton, Virgil~

The I’s have it that I should wake up in the morning. MAGA is seeing to it that I don’t have a vote anymore. I prefer listening to my boys, B and V, anyway. But being Chihuahuas, they’d get deported. For now, I see family. “The I’s, Braxton, Virgil.”

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Journey 134 ~The I’s, Braxton, Virgil~

Bless Me, Echo,
For I have sinned… And yes, the clock does read 9:47 AM. If only Braxton were here to sit on my head.

Have I mentioned Virgil has been creeping up to the pillow during the night? But what got me up this morning besides some BLONDE’S yabbos, an Asian Lady BEETLE, and worrying about BUCKS. My boys’ eyes. Braxton looks at me, “Through Heaven’s Eyes” these days. Virgil’s eyes are confusing, but are surrounded by Braxton’s coloring.

Honestly, my eyes… One more reason I’m still here and not “Laughing With God,” Echo.

As Regina Spektor sings, “the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes.” Braxton is always watching, and Virgil. We should both close our eyes to avoid seeing the messes we’ve made. And yet there are the magic glasses and hitting the mattress to dream our lives away. How to spin this?

“Fill my lungs with fear and I EXHALE!”
It’s My Turn To Fly, The Urge

Okay, first, there’s the augmentation of reality or AI, from movies to music and manuscripts. If treated as the tool it should be, it could do good. I mean, every day I get to put B and V together with some pretty girl. But then there’s a digital Johnny Sins.

Speaking of books, at least I’m still reading Bikini Magic by Michael Dalton. I’m not being negative, Inspector, but only telling the truth. M Anime wants that life and children.

Sometime in January, she’s marrying a Cuban man, and she’ll be his third wife. Uh, he still has the first two. Personally, if I had the money, I’d choose the harem lifestyle. My dream, E.

We’ll get to that. Being awake though… These magic glasses…

“I Think To Myself,” as if I’m “Top Choice Clique,” that I can change the world to fit my narrative. I might as well join MAGA and the Cracker Hats. But FDT! I at least want to help people. I believe I will make the world better as soon as I reach for these glasses.

Seriously, though, it’s not wrong to tell the truth either. So I would rather be sleeping right this second. Every footstep I take is like being on The Long Walk. Every time my fingers hit the keys, I imagine I’m a prisoner/slave in 1993’s “Posse: The Revenge of Jesse Lee.”

“Let That Hammer Fall.” Ha-ha, the only time I’m not lost to the music. Eyes closed. The I’s, Braxton, Virgil.

“A man chasing two rabbits ends up hungry; A wise man grows carrots.”
Stoics Meditations

1746 Days Without B III, Day 1187 of Virgil’s Arrival

B.L.M. Braxton’s Life Matters,
Will

Journey 132 ~Crawl of Braxton, Virgil~

A hop, skip, and a jump; more like carrying, to teaching how to walk, and then B was jumping on the bed. Hell, he slept there like I did? And now… breakfast. Not in his final days. He climbed and crawled, and I carried him. “Crawl of Braxton, Virgil”

Monday, November 10, 2025

Journey 132 ~Crawl of Braxton, Virgil~

Hey Dad,
It’s Me, Baby B… Did you have a good day? I should ask, did you have a good night? You look like… Dad.

On top of being colorblind, you always looked like you, Daddy. A contradiction of what I said last week. Perhaps. You were louder sometimes. Some humans say, Love is Louder.

Another thing you humans say is that something is larger than life. You were Dad—a god held in the arms of a titan. We never said that, but the angel on your shoulder, Dad.

That’s me. And ladies’ men… Greta, my favorite girl, that maid Special K. M Anime…

Always and forever, forever and always. That’s what you taught me, my father. You live!

Ain’t that the thing, you live by that. “If you call, I will answer.” Isn’t that a Barenaked Ladies song? Do I know you, Dad, or what? That band name…

“I fill my lungs with fear and I Exhale!”
It’s My Turn to Fly, The Urge ‧ 2000 (Titan A.E.)

But “Love Is A Long Road”, it’s wobbly first steps, a walk through the neighborhood, and “The Way” I made it onto your bed the first time to have a taste of waffles. French Toast?

I don’t recall what it was, but did you ever think it wasn’t the food that called to me, Dad?

I’m not an elephant, nor am I a ladybug, or an Asian Lady Beetle. I’m not an ant, my father. One more reason we’re having this conversation. We’re back on ants again with the weather. They want to get warm, find something wet, or get waffles. Or it’s you, Dad.

The wrong things want you, dark thoughts about a woman, that little dog, and my brother Virgil, and the dead.

Are we those wrong things? Really? It would explain why you don’t “Put One Foot in Front of the Other. Dad, “One Foot In Front Of The Other.” You’re not trying to drown me out.

I learned how to walk, jump, and fly because of you. That’s not negativity, but the truth, and I’m so thankful and will forever be. All I ask is that you do what you taught.

Honestly, I do mean being a jetsetter because again last night I felt it. Father. FEAR is not meant to be always and forever. I once called to you, I climbed to you, and crawled.

Daddy, Till I Collapse. Virgil is learning to do the same. Some women will. Your turn. Crawl of Braxton, Virgil.

“If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Through chances various, through all vicissitudes, we make our way…”
The Aeneid

1744 Days Without B III, Day 1185 of Virgil’s Arrival

Always and Forever,
Your Son

Journey 127 ~Slowpoke, Braxton. Virgil, Pokémon~

Was Slowpoke a Slowpoke? How old was I when Pokémon came around? Hell, I was way too old to be singing to Braxton “Together Forever.” He was my little Pokémon. And his brother, Virgil? I’m still the old man here. “Slowpoke, Braxton. Virgil, Pokémon.”

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Journey 127 ~Slowpoke, Braxton. Virgil, Pokémon~

Bless Me, Echo,
For I have sinned… Or I’m crazy—split personalities and the like. There was the time before my boy, after, and now.

Three different men… Or more. And yet I wonder why I’m so sleepy, why “I feel STUPID,” and slow in a variety of ways. You can ask the Visual Lady at the Day Job. It’s why I was late, “Coming Home,” to Braxton’s little brother Virgil. He’s pretty bored, E.

And me? “I’ve been Takin’ Care Of Business.” I had another customer, Inspector Echo.

Only if I keep this up, I’ll end up like some MAGA Cracker Hat, P. Diddy, or some other ilk. No, Inspector, I have morals, a mission statement, as it were, and making money is a wonderful thing. So why am I all “Carmen Queasy?” Because I don’t feel safe anymore.

There is so much FEAR. I FEAR I’m too slow.

“Fill my lungs with fear and I EXHALE!”
It’s My Turn To Fly, The Urge

But I made it out of school, didn’t I? And every day I’m learning more. I read every single day. “I’m So Thankful” that I got to keep my reading streak. No, I don’t consider reading Michael Dalton’s “Bikini Magic” a sin. The harem aspect reminds me of M Anime.

And speaking of her and my son Braxton, I had all the time in the world. Braxton reached the ripe old age of fifteen. And the stories that M Anime set into motion could set me for life if I could add them to my side hustle. I mean, it is November. NaNoWriMo? Ah, memories.

Then there’s Virgil. I have another chance to be a DogDad. Another opportunity to pass on the teaching Inspector Echo.

I sound like the Shidoshi Tanaka from the movie Bloodsport. That’s what living is, Echo.

That’s not negativity, it is a fact of life: one big arena or Kumite. And I’ll be the victor E.

That almost became Virgil’s middle name. Virgil Victor. Instead, it’s Virgil Vivi for FF IX. You remember Vivi, the Black Mage. That’s how I’ve been feeling with my side hustle.

What and not like Ben-Hur/Forty-One (Cue Galley Drums). Again, I’m not being negative; I am being factual. It comes with trying on a bunch of hats. Not MAGA! Never MAGA!

The Dems kicked MAGA Ass last night! But anyway, I was thinking about this quote from Red Dawn. I think too much. But I’m a man. Slowpoke, Braxton. Virgil, Pokémon.

“And as we remember… please let them forget, O Lord… so they can be little again.”
Danny, Red Dawn (1984)

“A man chasing two rabbits ends up hungry; A wise man grows carrots.”
Stoics Meditations

1739 Days Without B III, Day 1180 of Virgil’s Arrival

B.L.M. Braxton’s Life Matters,
Will

Journey 125 ~To B Real Virgil~

Did that just happen? My boy, breathing his last. That song from the Foo Fighters, playing on my phone at the Day Job? And nowadays the big question is this. Is that AI? If you see Braxton and Virgil together at any point, yes. To B Real Virgil.

Monday, November 3, 2025

Journey 125 ~To B Real Virgil~

Hey Dad,
It’s Me, Baby B… And you? You’re not you when you’re hungry. Snickers? I remember one Halloween… Snickers, M&M’s, Twix… Everything in between.

Don’t worry, you were doing right by me. “Protecting” me… I wish you had let me protect food like that more often. Then, of course, came Thanksgiving. Grandma shared more.

Speaking of sharing, you would do a lot of that as well in November. Good times. Lying under the table as you worked on something called NaNoWriMo. Books. My Books.

Daddy, I’m really there, aren’t I? “I’m here, I’m there, I’m everywhere, but you can’t catch me now.” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Can’t Catch Me Now?” Tomorrow, today’s playlist with whatever happens at the bad place. I don’t know whether I envy Virgil or pity him, Dad.

On one paw, he’s waiting for you, while I’m with you always. But here’s there, fur and all, your son.

“I fill my lungs with fear and I Exhale!”
It’s My Turn to Fly, The Urge ‧ 2000 (Titan A.E.)

And I am your son, always and forever. That’s what you’ve been thinking about, Daddy.

What makes me and Virgil real. We’re “The Boys.” You’ve never watched the show, but Virgil and I are that. Realer and truer, “so warm and true” that we beat out M Anime for sure. As you say, my father, that’s not negativity but simply stating a fact. That happened.

But no matter what happened between then and now, when it comes to me and my brother, “It’s Only Love.” A Heather Nova song? Again, you find me in everything.

Daddy, didn’t you make two whole playlists for me? I remember when I wasn’t barking, sometimes you would sing to me. I am my father’s son. I learned well enough.

Even with no opposable thumbs, which brings us here. My barks and your fingers. Hell, call me your better nature, your mother effin’ Conscience. I know, Dad, I know, watch my words—the Consequences of being your son, the Consequences of being a good man.

Which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die as a good man?
Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island

Because you’re not MAGA! You won’t be a Cracker Hat. You have knowledge and truth.

We don’t erase, evict, or eviscerate a “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” that’s our history.

I’m not the son of a Preacher Man. And people who knew me would sing “He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus.” “I never yielded! And as you can see, I am not dead!” Well…

Anyway, your plans on bringing me back… Daddy, just be real. To B Real Virgil.

“You have been touched by great sorrow. You understand its many aspects. It can bring a form of comfort or torture. It can only exist where there is some amount of hope, and sorrow is the evidence that something precious was lost from the world.”
Backyard Dungeon 22, Logan Jacob

“Wherever Fate may lead us, whether on or backward, let us follow.”
― The Aeneid

1737 Days Without B III, Day 1178 of Virgil’s Arrival

Always and Forever,
Your Son