Who has two thumbs, the swagger of a tiger, the tenderness of a baby seal and the knowledge of an owl? E. Marcel Pourtout!

Wow, 28 years. 28 years ago today the spawn of Barbara and Marcel was born at Brooklyn Jewish Hospital. He was named Etienne Marcel Pourtout, even though if he had a vote in the process, Lucious Lightfoot, Czar Johnson, Bucky Edgardo Rodriguez, Constantine Guadalajara or the clubhouse leader for future name change, Roberto Zeblo would have been considered options.

Since that time, this young man has played the life, lived the dream and continues to inspire generations of children of South Carolinians and Martinique descendants.

As I reflect on my life on this glorious day…

OK, enough about me. Yes, today happens to be my birthday and for that I’m grateful. People die everyday from literally millions of ways and for me to make 28 years is a blessing.

I’ll get into some birthday thoughts in a second but as usual, business has to be taken care of:

Music to listen to: Pushit by Tool and the entire Mars Volta concert at the Lowlands

I include the Tool because around the time they came out was when I started to embrace music as a major part of my life so respect to that. I include the Volta because honestly, you know how much I love them and they should be included in the celebration.

Crush of the Day: Ashley Judd

Could it be anyone else?

Ok, just as if I’m receiving an award, first all praise goes to God and the Jesus. Next, much love goes to Barbara and Marcel for having me.

My family has been tremendous to me over the years, more than I even deserve. I try to live by the statement of no complaints and no excuses and the main reason for this is because I have the best support system anyone can ask for. I find inspiration from everyone.

It will always start with my mother. Words don’t do her justice. Her constant faith in me is amazing.

My siblings are awesome as well. Troy, Denny, Aline and Angie are all important parts of my life and always been there for me.

I have so many uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews that are a big part of my life as well.

In the past year, my family has lost some but we lost our two matriarchs in the past year, Mary McGraw and Marion Washington. We still miss you Grandma and Nana.

I’ve had the fortune of making so many friends over the years back in the NYC, Charleston, Atlanta and of course, Nashville. The past two years have been such a growing period for me and all of them have been a part of it.

I’m glad that Mr. Grumpy hasn’t made an appearance today

I’m thankful for my health. Never, ever take that for granted.

When you’re a kid or even a teenager, your birthday represents a time for you to party and celebrate with some friends, family, and some tremendous cake. Scratch that, some awesome pie and punch, sweet, sweet punch.

However, by the time I reached 25 and didn’t ever have a birthday party, that was over.

Now I reflect on my life and look at it from a positive light. Were there some benchmarks that I thought I would be at by now? Sure. I really thought that by this age, I would be married, kicking it with the wife, on two kids and eating stale cake. That’s the stage that everyone else in my family was at by 28.

However, I’m proud of the path that I’ve taken. Its been different but its my own. Personal ownership is essential to personal development. You can quote me on that.

In the end, accept your faults, acknowledge the consequences and dominate.

I tell people that life is full of depression and random moments of happiness. This is true. However, the key to enjoying your life is to value the happiness more than the depression.

Ok, those are my quick thoughts. I have a baseball game to prepare for. I’ll be back here later today for a sports post.

Oh, one more thing. Thank you for reading my Blog. It means a lot to me that you take time off from your day to read my writings. Much love goes to The People’s Champion, Mr. McMahon, Mr. Kansas City, Langdon, Meggie, Jared, Erica C., Joel, Dafnos, the Tennessee Tornado, Belmont baseball’s BK, Sarah T., Bari, Erica C., Jackie, Daniel L. and the countless others who have visited the site. Of course, thanks to Kenisha as well for inspiring me to start the Blog in the beginning.