Welcome to The Daily’s — my personal sandbox of ideas, reflections, and writing challenges. This is where I meet the prompts head-on, whether they come from WordPress or the strange corners of my mind. Some days, it’s a piece of fiction; other days, it’s something raw, real, or maybe just a rant wrapped in a metaphor.
What you’ll find here is a little bit of everything: moments of introspection, bursts of creativity, slices of life, and stories that refuse to behave. This space lets me stretch as a writer — experiment, connect, and sometimes just make sense of the day.
Every post is a snapshot of where my head (and heart) was at the time. Thanks for reading. Dive in. Stay a while.
Latest posts
Signal Through the Static
I was never a cartoon kid. The bright colors, the slapstick chaos, the noise—they all felt like they were shouting past me. But every now and then, something stranger slipped through the broadcast. Clutch Cargo. Space Angel. The 70s Spider-Man…
The Discipline of a Quiet Man
There are words we use carelessly, scattering them across people who haven’t earned them. Honor is not one of them. Honor is not a word; it’s a state of being. Many treat it as a relic from old books, a…
Instincts, Echoes, and the Work of Coming Back
Of course I trust my instincts. These instincts are the reason I’m still here. They’re the early warning system that kicked in long before I had the language to explain what was happening. They’ve pulled me out of bad situations,…
The Line Between Us and the Wild Is Paper-Thin
Some days, I feel like the unofficial understudy for Marlon Perkins from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom—minus the khaki shorts and the camera crew. No judgement here, khaki’s are so comfortable. Wildlife keeps showing up in my life like it’s…
Skills from a Graduate of the School of Hard Knocks
If I’m being honest, the things I’m good at didn’t come from any classroom with fluorescent lights and tidy rows. They came from life pulling me aside, usually at the worst possible moment, and saying, “Pay attention—this part matters.” Most…
The Boy Who Wasn’t Afraid of the Dark
There’s something about the night I’ve never managed to explain without feeling like I’m circling the real truth instead of touching it. It isn’t just the absence of light. It’s the way the world exhales after midnight, how everything settles…
The Hardest Decision Was Saying Yes to Myself
The hardest decision I’ve made recently wasn’t life-or-death. It was deciding to release my work—actually release it. Not hide it in drafts. Not polish it into oblivion. Not drop something small into the void and pretend I didn’t care about…
The People I Keep Close
These days, my favorite people aren’t the loud ones. They aren’t the ones chasing applause, reposting their virtues, or building entire personalities out of whatever trend is paying attention this week. I find myself drawn to the honest ones—the people…
The Draft 2
Chapter 2 The Magnificent Seven, Mangus Style I’m sitting at the table, drinking coffee, smoking a cigarette, waiting for the liquor distributors to show up. The invoices are spread out like old confessions. Ursula drops into the booth beside me,…
Fuzzy Creatures, Women, and the Truth
I’ve been to several corners of the world. I’ve spent time in places that would make people cringe—hell, they make me cringe when I let my mind drift back there. But when I look at these two choices, it feels…
Can You Read a Person’s Soul in Five Seconds?
When I was young, they drilled it into us: “First impressions are lasting impressions.”Dress right, talk right, act right.Show people the best version of yourself and they’ll treat you accordingly. Then I stepped into the world as a Black man…
What We Pretend Not to See
It’s never as simple as answering, “What book are you reading right now?” I usually have four or five going at once — most of them nonfiction. Histories, craft books, philosophy, the “how did this happen and why does it…
The Bookstore I Never Opened
What alternative career paths have you considered or are interested in? When I think about alternate paths, I don’t lean toward regret so much as curiosity. I made the choices I needed to make—provide for my family, show up when…
I Didn’t Grow Up — I Got Drafted
Some people swear I was never a child. They talk about me like I came out of the womb already irritated with humanity—scowl pre-installed, voice warmed up and ready to yell at strangers. And honestly? I get it. I spent…
The Place That Doesn’t Ask Anything of Me
If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d choose a place that doesn’t demand explanations or performances. I’ve lived in cities, deserts, the deep woods — turns out I can settle in just about any landscape as long as…
What I Found, What I Kept, What I Became
A simple sewing kit, a lifetime of inherited rhythm. I ended up with my mother’s sewing kit after she crossed over, though “kit” might be too generous a word. It was a simple plastic box the color of old Tupperware,…
Confessions of a Horrible Student II: The Connie Winford Diabolical
“Because sometimes the lessons that shape you come folded, ink-stained, and intercepted by your parents.” The last time we talked, I narrowly escaped the fallout from The Battle.I still don’t know why my father even put up a fight. In…
The Negotiation of Light: Notes on Screens, Silence, and Stillness
In the mornings, when I sit on the porch with my coffee, I watch the world before it fully wakes. The birds navigate from post to post, wings catching the soft light as if they were practicing choreography from a…
Everything Must Go… Time Is Running Out
The Time Machine Files, Vol. 3 Depends. You selling or giving it away? People love to talk about time like it’s a membership program — renewable, limited, and probably ad-supported.“There’s not enough time in the day.”“I wish I had more…
Oh Look, Another Time Travel Question
They asked what my life will be like in three years. I told them I’m still trying to figure out next Tuesday. Some men build time machines. Others read about alien pods and synthetic sheep, hoping to understand what went…
International Chucklehead Day
No one remembers who started it. Probably someone who said something so catastrophically dumb that laughter was the only way to keep the world from collapsing in on itself. That’s the real magic of it — turning foolishness into fellowship. …
Do’s, Don’ts, and Dumbshit: A Brief Guide to Time Travel
This could be an interesting question, depending on how you look at it.If we’re talking about glory days—back before the gray, before the knees filed for early retirement, before hangovers started needing a recovery plan—then no thanks. I have no…
The Price of Stolen Time
As a lifelong student of history, I’ve never been able to pull one event from the timeline and say, “This is my jam,” or “This right here—this is the shit.” I’ve said it, of course. Probably said it too often.…
No Cheap Shit
The Lab’s gone quiet tonight. Just me, a dead desktop, and the taste of old regret. Turns out, every shortcut comes with a bill — and this time, I paid in time I can’t get back. NO CHEAP SHIT.That’s my…
Well Shit, There Is Never Enough Duct Tape
Weathered, Hard Knocks Wisdom Well shit. There is never enough duct tape. Guppy and I are sitting in the middle of chaos again. She’s perched on the edge of the desk, licking her paw like she’s above it all. Around…
Tell Yourself Whatever You Need To
Most people think I’m loud — the kind of person who fills a room just by showing up. The one cracking jokes, telling stories, holding court like I was born to. I let them believe it. It keeps things easier,…
The Geography of Silence
A good neighbor knows when not to wave.They nod from across the street, maybe lift a hand if the mood strikes, but mostly—they stay put. They don’t wander over with gossip wrapped in small talk or ask what that noise…
When Nobody’s Watching
On the kind of truth that doesn’t need an audience. I’ve always felt that people who do things “as a matter of principle” are full of it. Too often, they cling to their moral code like a lifeboat, even when…
When the Words Stop Belonging to Me
Somewhere between the promise to finish and the fear of release, I found the echo of a voice that used to steady me. Maybe finishing isn’t the victory—it’s the letting go. The hardest personal goal I’ve set for myself was…
Detention, Da Vinci, and the Making of a Misfit
I wouldn’t know the names of the masters if you paid me a million dollars. I can’t look at a painting and tell you who brushed what stroke or why it matters. There are a few comic book artists I…
The Stories That Yearn to Be Told
I didn’t set out to be a writer. It happened by accident, somewhere between a half-finished sketch and a notebook full of half-thought ideas. Back then, I was a teenager with more curiosity than direction, filling pages because it felt…
One Size Fits Nobody
When I was young, we didn’t know anything about bipolar, ADHD, or OCD. For most of the kids who looked like me, we were troublemakers. Lazy. Not living up to our “potential.” And my personal favorite — “at risk.” I saw things that…
Well… You Know
What it means to be labeled, to mock, and to finally understand. There’s something about that question — “Tell us about a time when you felt out of place” — that stirs up more than I want to admit. For someone like me,…
Living Both Lives
Coffee, Miles Davis, and a fresh OS On the surface, it sounds simple. Life without a computer? Quiet. Peaceful. No antivirus sales pop-ups, no Cialis spam at cost, no desperate emails from Classmates.com trying to drag me back to people…
The Details That Keep Me Here
Learning to Trade Control for Presence Looking back, I see the shift clear as day. In 2023, I leaned hard on control—details, contingencies, the belief that if I just tightened the screws enough, nothing could come loose. By 2024, the…
No Punk in Me
On anniversaries, admin work, and the grit to keep moving. The end of the month always brings a surge in paperwork. Spreadsheets, backend checks, the kind of admin work that keeps my websites standing upright instead of collapsing in a…
Burnt Coffee & Time Machines
When I first answered this question years ago, I leaned into time travel, jukeboxes, and 24-hour diners. Those images still live in me—they always will—but retirement has shifted my perspective. Now it isn’t about dreaming up another job so much…
Where’d I Go?
Geez, where do I start? There’s a whole damn syllabus of lessons I should’ve heeded earlier. One of the few perks of aging—besides knowing which joints will protest the weather—is the slow burn of wisdom. The kind you don’t get…
What the Silence Knows
On Leadership and Reading the Room The question lands like a pebble in the gut.Not heavy, but unsettling—because it asks for a tidy answer when my life has been anything but tidy. I’ve led unintentionally and followed on purpose. I’ve…
Coffee, Smoke, and Silence
Some weeks, peace isn’t found in grand adventures or endless productivity. It’s found in the quiet. A cup of coffee that doesn’t go cold. Smoke curling from a half-forgotten cigarette. And, maybe most importantly, silence from the noise people bring…
You Can’t Keep the Force Waiting
Relax? I’m not even sure I know what that word means. I can define it, sure. I can even toss it into a sentence with some authority, like I’ve got the concept nailed down. But when it comes to actually…
Mangus Khan: Exposed, then Reborn
I didn’t start blogging out of passion. I started because somebody told me I needed a website. Truth is, I didn’t even know what a blog was. I opened an account here on WordPress, a couple more elsewhere, and thought…
MiMi, the Jedi Master
What TV shows did you watch as a kid? When I was a kid, I wanted to be a Jedi.Broomsticks hacked down to lightsaber length, me out in the yard defending the galaxy one swing at a time. I even…
Convoys, Replicants, and a Lady Who Sings the Blues
When I was a kid, I wore out VHS tapes like other kids wore out sneakers. I’d rewind, replay, and rewind again until my mother finally snapped, “Lord, not this one again!” We laughed about it years later when my…
The Streets Breathe, the Shadows Crawl
I used to treat setting like an afterthought—slap a name on a town, maybe add a landmark, and call it done. But by accident, I stumbled into a book on worldbuilding, and it flipped something in me. Now I see…
The Long Exhale
The positive emotion I feel most often is contentment. I’m not one of those sunshine-all-the-time people, and I’m not walking around mad at the world either. I land somewhere in the middle. When I finish a project and it matches…
How I Learned to Stop Hating S.M.A.R.T. Goals (And Make Them Useful)
There’s no shortage of nifty acronyms about goals floating around the internet. Toss a dart and you’ll hit one. When I was growing up, we didn’t talk about “goals.” We had tasks. You made a checklist, worked through it, and…
When the Lights Go Out: A P.A.C.E. Guide to Staying Connected and Powered
When I was in the military, I used P.A.C.E. more times than I can count. We prepared, checked, and rechecked things to the extreme. We did this because we had to — failure wasn’t an option. Fast forward a few…
Does Anybody Know What the Hell They’re Saying Anymore?
I can’t tell you when it started, but some genius decided “surreal” was the sexiest word in the English language, and everyone lined up to mangle it. Back in the day, we actually looked words up in a dictionary, underlined…
Somewhere Between Woods and Desert
I have no damn idea. People talk about peace like it’s a cabin in the woods, or a deep breath, or some Instagram-ready sunset. Sounds nice, I guess. But my life’s been a long stretch of noise—some of it mine,…
This Is Not a Mission Statement; It’s Just the Way It Is
We’ve been trained to expect clarity.To believe every big feeling must end with a moral—A neat conclusion, a TED Talk takeaway, a three-step solution. But here’s the truth, I keep chewing like nasty gristle: Some things don’t resolve.Some stories stay…
Smoke, Mirrors, and Monkey-Poop Coffee
This is what I talked about the first time I answered this question: I’ve dropped stupid money on “fine dining” more than once, usually to be served food that looks like it belongs in a museum instead of my stomach.…
Counting Happiness Feels Like a Lie
I don’t get this thing where people make lists about what makes them happy. Feels like busywork for souls that forgot how to breathe. Maybe that’s the trick now—scribble down thirty reasons to keep your heart beating and hope one…
Writing’s the Only Weapon Left
Writing didn’t start as some big calling. It was just something to do when there was nothing else, a way to keep my head from turning into static. A hobby, they called it. Hell, I never thought of it as…
Kindness Shouldn’t Have a Name
Some lessons in decency don’t need applause—they just need doing. When we were kids, life taught us early how far a nickel could stretch—and how often it didn’t. We’d walk the streets collecting bottles and cans, hoping to scrape enough…
She Kissed Me Hard and Left Me Staggering
Some truths don’t need eyes to see. You feel them in the weight of a man’s silence. What good is a physical description to someone blind? They won’t get lost in your eyes. They won’t grin at your sculpted muscle…
The Tradition I Refused to Keep
Traditions? We didn’t have those. What we had was the grind—long hours, picket lines, busted knuckles, and dreams that never quite made it past the kitchen table. That’s what I grew up with. That’s what I walked away from. My…
Typical? Not Even Close.
If you asked me this morning, I’d have said yeah, just another day in the trenches. But now? Sitting in a half-dismantled lab, my old Mac humming like it’s judging me for abandoning it years ago, and my desktop sulking…
Listening My Way Out
A reflection on what I hear when I write. It depends on the work. And, if I’m honest, the version of me doing it. If I’m handling logistics—email chains, platform fixes, all the invisible gears of the MKU—I’ll throw on…
How I Learned to Story
A Journey Through Games, Memory, and Becoming a Writer I’ve played my fair share of games across formats—cards, boards, consoles, even a few tabletop RPGs. But there’s one that always pulls me back, not because of its graphics or mechanics,…
Notes from the Edge: Go to Sleep
Prompt Addicts Anonymous – Session Two Are you being serious right now? You do know I’m a writer, right? Losing track of time isn’t a bug — it’s a feature. A built-in occupational hazard. Time slips, evaporates, gets swallowed whole.…
Scarred, Still Writing
About Things Faith Ignored It’s not like I haven’t given workshops before. I have. I’ve stood in front of rooms, talked craft, told stories, helped shape sentences and spark ideas. But this time feels different. Maybe it’s because I haven’t…
When Sleep Slips Out and the Muse Kicks In
Insomniac Chronicles, Vol. 1 Sleep and I have a complicated history. We used to be close, tight, even. But somewhere along the way, we grew apart. Maybe it was the late-night thoughts that wouldn’t shut up, or the memories that…
Teaching from Both Sides of the Desk
We tend to think of teachers as just the ones in the classroom. But they’re not the only ones, are they? The truth is, our education doesn’t start in a classroom—and it certainly doesn’t end there either. I didn’t really…
Baptized in Madness
What I owe to the women who made me, and the ink I spill because of them. Let’s dive a little deeper into that whole “I write every day” thing. Give me a second while I get comfortable. Gotta grab…
Not for Praise or Glory; Just Keep Writing
I write every day—not for praise or glory, just because I have to. Somewhere, someone once claimed you need 10,000 hours to master a craft. Personally, I think that number is nonsense—I’ve seen folks master things in far less time,…
Diet Be Damned: A Pie Worth Fighting For
Pie, Memory, and a Whole Lot of Butter By the size of my waistline, it’s clear I’ve enjoyed several delicious things over the years. I’m not shy about my love for food—comfort food, street food, grandma’s Sunday roasts, and that…
Einstein, My Daughters, and the Great Color Uprising
A dad’s lifelong devotion to black tees, military logic, and resisting floral print tyranny. Wearing the same outfit every day? That’s not a hypothetical for me — that was life.I spent most of my adult years in the military, where…
Awe Without Agreement
Why Spirituality Still Guides Me, Even Without Certainty Spirituality isn’t just important in my life—it’s foundational, not in a rigid or performative sense, but like a compass in the dark: quiet, steady, essential. It’s how I move through the world—not…
This Is How I Survive: Ink and Breath
The dawn slowly burns away the remnants of the night. It’s already hot, but most of the world still sleeps—for now. Soon, they’ll rise. They’ll fall into motion, surrendering to the bustle, the pursuit of progress, the comfort of productivity.…
How Ralph Ellison Punked Us
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE On Naming the Nameless, Winning the Awards, and Blinding Us with 1,369 Light Bulbs There are far too many historical figures I respect to name just one. Frankly, the question borders on the ridiculous—like picking a favorite…
Half In – Half Out: The Whispers of Madness
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE “He has such a vivid imagination,” my teachers used to tell my mother. I never knew if they were trying to say she didn’t really know me, or if they just wanted to show off that they…
Retired and Slightly Feral
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE Funny question. I’m already retired — so that ship has sailed, caught fire, and drifted into the fog. I didn’t exactly plan it this way. I retired earlier than I intended, not because I hit a financial…
Notes from a Feeble-Minded Insomniac
What’s the oldest thing I own that I still use daily?The last time I answered this question, I mentioned my old pickup sitting in the driveway. It’s beat to hell, leaks a little oil, and rattles like a shopping cart…
The Moment That Catches You
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE Throughout my life, I have had numerous moments that make me smile, chuckle, and even cry. That’s not unique — we all carry those. So, I won’t go there. Instead, I’d like to discuss something else. Something…
Chronically Challenged: A Friday the 13th Love Story
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE – FICTION SHORT STORY SERIAL Chapter 1: The Ask Dr. Fiona Klausner had survived worse. She’d survived peer review by an all-male panel who said things like “feisty formula” and “adorably ambitious.” She’d survived seventeen-hour data cleanses…
Bucking the Tiger’s Odds and Surviving
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE Remembering who I am after nearly losing everything If you had asked me what I was passionate about before this moment, I probably would’ve said, “I have no idea.” Not because I didn’t care, but because I…
Winter Is My Favorite Season (Except When It Tries to Kill Me)
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE If I had to pick a favorite season, it’s winter. Yeah, I said it. The one that makes most people curl up under three blankets, clutching cocoa like it’s a life preserver. There’s just something about winter.…
The Quiet Things That Save Me
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE The kind of luxury I crave isn’t wrapped in gold or stitched with labels. It’s quieter. It’s a full night of sleep—something I’ve been chasing for decades like a mirage. When you’ve lived with insomnia long enough,…
From the Splinters of Madness
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE “When the inkwell weeps, I howl.” A writer trapped inside the mind of a psychopath — but not a complete monster. He lets me out sometimes, just long enough to tickle the page, to scrape a little…
Peace, Integrity, Humility — And Other Ways to Make Life Harder on Yourself
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE What are the most important things needed to live a good life? For me, it really boils down to three things: peace of mind, integrity, and humility. Peace of mind isn’t just a cute idea you chase…
Confessions of a Chocoholic: I Manifested the Ultimate Chocolate Bar
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE Let’s get something straight: when people say “dream big,” they usually mean winning the lottery or finally getting the top bunk. I say, dream bigger. Dream in chocolate. Now, I’m not talking about your run-of-the-mill “gourmet” chocolate…
The Book That Taught Survival: Black Boy Wasn’t History. It Was a Mirror.
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE Reading Richard Wright as a teenager wasn’t an assignment. It was a confrontation with a world that hadn’t changed nearly enough. As a young Black teenager in America, most of the books I was required to read…
Lessons That Endure: Faith, Reflection, and the Blank Page
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE Usually, I might point to a novel, a collection of poetry, or a dense work of philosophy. But today, I want to get back to basics — to the books that have stayed with me through different…
Vigilance by Another Name
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE Fear: My Old Friend Rides Shotgun You get older and realize you didn’t know a damn thing. When I was young, fear was the one thing I wasn’t allowed to show. Not in my house, not in…
Post-Its, Index Cards, and the Lies the Internet Told Us
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE Let’s clear something up: I’m not ancient. I didn’t walk uphill both ways to school with a torch in one hand and a stone tablet in the other. But I do remember life before the internet —…
I Thought I Could Fix Everything—Until I Couldn’t
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE I’m good at solving problems—the real ones. The messy, inconvenient, “everything’s-on-fire” kind that show up at 2 a.m. I was that guy—the one you call when it’s all falling apart. And by sunrise, I’d be walking away…
The Pain in My Ass I’d Never Trade
Who would you like to talk to soon? DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE My stepmom has been a pain in my ass for over forty years. Don’t judge me — the feeling’s mutual, and we both know it. That’s just how we…
My Life Goals Include Coffee
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE “Having it all” sounds like the title of a self-help book ghostwritten by someone who drinks green juice for dinner and cries in their Tesla. It’s vague enough to seem profound, and just specific enough to make…
Holding the Line: Fractures and All
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”— Edmund Burke For years, I stood for what I believed couldn’t be broken: humor, integrity, truth. It’s not the kind you…
Winter French Kissed Me and It Was Not Okay
How do you feel about cold weather? DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE —a survivor’s guide to atmospheric betrayal How do I feel about cold weather?First of all, what a ridiculous question. Clearly asked by someone who’s never had to warm their jeans…
Work-Life Balance After Work: Still a Full-Time Job
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE I’m retired now, so technically, no “work” is left on paper. But here’s the joke—retirement doesn’t come with an off-switch. When you’ve spent 40+ years measuring your worth by how much you get done in a day,…
The Stuff They Give Up (So the Rest of Us Don’t Have To)
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE Everyone makes sacrifices. That’s just part of being an adult—along with bills, back pain, and pretending to understand how taxes work. But some sacrifices don’t get enough credit. They’re quiet, constant, and totally underappreciated. Let’s start with…
The Slap Bible (MiMi Edition):
DAILY PROMPT RESPONSE – ME CUTTING UP I Don’t Slap for Free, But I Would A Field Guide to Slappin’ Sense into the Senseless MiMi used to say, “Don’t let me slap the taste out ya mouth.”I never really got…
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Memoirs of Madness 