"I Got JOKES" Commentaries: My Sugarliciously Steelerific Day

This is tha’ day that initiated tha’ process that led to all of ya’ll bein’ blessed wit’ a cute dimpled brotha’ named Sugar Ray…a brotha’ of sugarliciously delicious comical levels and an upper echelon mentality…

( did THIS get my blog post deleted ?? )

I’m happy that I get to share my “celebratory moment” with ya’ !!

I woke up Sunday, looked in tha’ mirror and I said to myself, “SUG…ya’ made it to anotha’ dayummm year !! Make it good one…NO !! Make it a GRRREAT one this time !! Reach new levels that seem outta’ reach !! OH WAIT…nothin’ seems outta’ reach, especially since nothin’ IS outta’ reach !! Okay then…make your MOM proud again !! Make your DAD proud again !! Keep makin’ Jada and Autumn proud !! Make your LIL’ BROTHA’ proud again !! Make my three LIL’ SISTAS proud again !! Make your COUSINS proud again !! Make your AUNTS proud again !! Make your UNCLES proud again !! And all those people that consider you a friend…make THEM proud again !! Make ALLLL of ‘em proud again and in doin’ so, you’ll make GOD proud…HE’S tha’ one that made it possible for ya’ to even HAVE a NATURAL birf’day and to have tha’ SECOND birf’day…”

:::: sees all tha’ looks of confusion ::::

Okay…SUNDAY was my natural birf’day…tha’ day I was born to my parents and embarkin’ on this journey called “Life”…but that life of mine came to an abrupt end on May 16, 1993 !!

:::: deep breath ::::

THEN as I explained in my previous blog, through tha’ grace of “Big Man Upstairs”, I was givin’ anotha’ chance to live again…on that same day, May 16, 1993…tha’ day a drunk driver abruptly altered tha’ lives of 5 people and their families…forever !!

I was tha’ only survivor and I live my life, reborn and rejuvenated…”sugarlicious” in fact…

Hmmmm…

”Sugarlicious”…what does that mean ??

While I make folks laugh at things in my life, make folks laugh from my point of view and just make folks laugh in general, I’ve noticed that after my last blog commentary, quite a large number of you are curious ‘bout lil’ ol’ ME…which makes my black ass a bit nervous !! Ya’ll want DETAILS fo’ cryin’ out loud !! And while I give speeches about tha’ circumstances that made it possible for me to enjoy life sittin’ on my ass all tha’ time ( and bein’ face-to-face with plenty of asses ), I realize that I haven’t really shared a whole lot with ya’ll in my writin’…so today’s ya’ lucky day !! Bein’ “sugarlicious” means sharin’…so here it goes !!

Basically it’s like this…some of ya’ll know this already and some of ya’ll don’t…

My life was planned-out for me…havin’ been a hard-headed and SOMEWHAT arrogant athlete had me thinkin’ that I was impervious to everything…I knew that I was good and that life was meant for me to “have it all” !! Visualizin’ success was a normal thought for me and thoughts of takin’ care of my family was tha’ fuel that I used to “plan ahead”…

What I DIDN’T plan on was “chance” and “unforseen occurrence”…

All it took was a few seconds to put me back at “square one”, with no ideas and no plans…a drunk driver and his drunk passenger ultimately had tha’ last say and I was denied permission to follow through with my NBA pursuit…as I woke up on a ventilator, unable to speak or breathe on my own and thoroughly confused as to HOW I came to be in such a situation, I quickly realized that I was in for the fight of my life…

As I laid there with a tube down my throat and a machine “breathing” for me, tha’ doctors tried to reassure me…

“Ray…you were in an accident…relax and let the machine breathe for you…we’ll help you as much as we can…it’s gonna’ be okay”…etc…

I knew that it wasn’t gonna’ be okay though…plus I was in too much pain to worry about it…I was hurtin’ too much to even think about it…tha’ looks on the faces of everyone in that operation room told me that this was tha’ 4th quarter, with 2:00 minutes to go and me bein’ in tha’ hospital served as my last “time out” !!

I was gonna’ have to devise a plan and make it count…

Over tha’ next year or so in and outta’ hospital stay, I pushed-on through countless surgeries, various complications with my body tryin’ to adjust, struggles within myself as to who I was and who I was YET to be, as well as losin’ of one of my dearest and best friends, Geoffrey Pelton, in this very accident…all at barely 21 years old !!

It wasn’t fair !!

I was SUPPOSED to be havin’ FUN !!
I was SUPPOSED to be care-FREE !!
I was SUPPOSED to be takin’ care of my family !!

I was supposed to…

…and then it hit me !!

Tha’ ONLY thing that I was SUPPOSED to be doin’ was givin’ 100% and handlin’ one thing at a time…which meant that I needed to stop worryin’ about what I DIDN’T have and start focusin’ on what I DID have…what I COULD have !! MORE IMPORTANTLY though, I needed to focus on what I could LEARN and GIVE BACK !! So rest assured, I’m gonna’ keep on sharin’ laughs and sharin’ things I learn…no matter what !!

WHY ??

Well it’s actually part of fulfillin’ my original plan…I’m here to help other people FEEL better and DO better !! THAT’S my purpose…THAT’S my pathway…THAT’S what it means to be “Sugar Ray”…my name literally means “Sweet Sunshine”…hence my phrase “Sugarlicious”…

When tha’ day seems to be full of “clouds”, I’m that sunshine…that “sweet sunshine” !!

Oh I’ve had my own “cloudy, rainy days”…tha’ cloudiest and rainiest of ‘em bein’ on May 16th, 1993…

That was tha’ day that drunk driver and his passenger hit us head-on, goin’ 110 mph as they crossed a grassy median of Interstate 581 in Roanoke, Virginia…there were two people in their car, Geoff and I in our car and one woman in tha’ car behind us that we were pushed into…

I’m tha’ only survivor…

Tha’ drunk driver was behind tha’ wheel of his drunk passenger’s car…they didn’t have their seatbelts on…they were declared as “habitual offenders” and had suspended licenses…they were banned from Virginia highways for ten years each…

Yet THEY were NOT in jail…and THEY ruined SO many lives that night…

A lotta’ folks wanted to know what transpired and I was unwillin’ to use it as a topic of casual conversation...hopefully in readin’ it now, someone WON’T go out and do tha’ same damn thing !! But we’ll see…

Now, am I tryin’ to say that “they” are tha’ reason I’m feelin’ tha’ way I am ?? Absolutely not…I’ve faced that particular hurdle and cleared it long ago…it was however one of tha’ many thoughts goin’ through my head as I tried to figure out what tha’ problem may be…

Have ya’ ever felt like everything in ya’ life that was once viewed as an accomplishment suddenly became a liability of sorts ??

It’s weird…

Sometimes we are happy to be there for others and happy that we’ve been able to progress so far in our lives, smilin’ with more determination to continue reachin’ out, to continue lovin’ everyone 100% unless they prove themselves unworthy, etc…

Then we reach a point where we ask ourselves “why” ?? For what ??

Sacrifices made don’t seem to have mattered at all when things do tha’ “full circle” scenario, only to find ya’self right back at tha’ same startin’ point every time…compassionate efforts to help seem pointless when tha’ very same people who sought your help in tha’ first place repeat tha’ same “dead end” course of actions…

Blah, blah, blah…

I could go on and on, but again…WHY ??

I could keep hope alive that so many good things that we are taught about as children will come about when we’re adults…but why ?? We KNOW that they won’t…shit is plummetin’ in a downward spiral, faster and faster by tha’ second…

Grown-ass people actin’ like muh’fuckin’ children and throwin’ temper tantrums, hurtin’ tha’ very people they claim to “love” in tha’ process...

Kids aren’t taught tha’ proper things at home, which in turn shows when they act a damn fool in public and start actin’-out towards whoever pisses ‘em off…

People are more shady than EVER IMAGINED and we have given them tha’ perfect way to “sharpen” their skills in tha’ form of somethin’ that was SUPPOSED to revolutionize humanity…tha’ muh’fuckin’ INTERNET…

Everything is becomin’ more and more shitty and I’m SO tired of flushin’ tha’ damn toilet !!

I tend to be a bit TOO analytical sometimes and yet, I think that’s what keeps me determined and keeps me focused…so there’s hope…

I perform in front of lots of people, friends, family, strangers, etc and always seem be able to get ‘em laughin’…so there’s hope !!

I publicly speak about what happened to me, about my continued achievements and it gives people encouragement to do tha’ same thing in their lives, whether they’re in wheelchairs or not…so there’s hope !!

I am blessed every single day in every single way, which I wanna’ share with everyone that I can and thanks to “Big Man Upstairs”, I’m able to find a way to reach all types of personalities and be of some kinda’ help…which tells me that there’s hope !!

I see my daughters growin’ and understandin’ more and more as I help, teach and protect ‘em until they can do so for themselves…then I’ll keep doin’ so anyway…so there’s hope !!

I’m so loved by my family that extends all around tha’ globe and realize that even in such a large family, our love is not lost in tha’ shuffle, nor are any of us who could’ve easily lost contact with one anotha’…so there’s hope !! FAMILY is FIRST…after God !!

I then recognize that all of you readin’ this and who let me into ya’ lives while takin’ your place in mine are my extended family too…all of YOU play a HUGE part in me bein’ as successful as I am…as “sugarlicious” as I am…

( I wonder if THIS was what got me deleted before )

…so there’s hope !!

God is good folks…pull your heads outta’ yo’ asses and recognize, then elevate to where I am at least…it ain’t EVER bad enough to allow yourselves to remain STUCK WHERE YOU ARE !!

SHUT tha’ fuck up…LOOK tha’ fuck up and GET THA’ FUCK UP !!

If you ain’t where ya’ think you SHOULD be in life, don’t jus’ COMPLAIN about it…CHANGE it !! Get yo’ ass up off ya’ shoulders so that you can pull ya’ head outta’ your ass and devise a muh’fuckin’ plan…act like Nike and JUS’ DO THA’ DAMN THANG !!

If that’s not motivation enough, then I guarantee that what I’m ‘bout to say will “motivate” ya’…

Sugar Ray Says: I’m a guy in a wheelchair that’s achievin’ every damn thing possible for any one man at this very moment !! I may need help every now and then, but it’s only outta’ necessity...what’s YOUR excuse ??!!

:::: raised eyebrow ::::

And for those who didn’t LIKE what I just said, I have one last thing for ya’...THREE SHOES !!

Two on ya’ FEET…
One IN YO’ ASS !!

YEAH…I said that shit out loud !! Only people who REFUSE to do BETTER for THEMSELVES will find somethin’ wrong with it, which means that THEY don’t DESERVE to have a Sugar Ray in their lives ANY DAMN WAY !! To those, I’m pointin’ “to tha’ left, to tha’ left”…don’t let tha’ doorknob hitcha’ where tha’ good Lord splitcha’ !!

Everybody ELSE, c’mon…let’s watch my STEELERS win tha’ Super Bowl !!