An Open Letter To My New Half-Brother

Dear New Half-Brother,

Welcome to this beautiful, magical, mysterious, and wondrous world we call Earth. I can only imagine what you must think as you look around at all of the new things and how amazed you must be, even though you have no clue that you're amazed. I thought it would be fitting that I offer you this letter at the least-- it will likely be all you ever have (though you'll likely never see it) from me for a considerable amount of time. One day I'll maybe have the opportunity to explain why this was all you got.


Well this is me. I'm John and I'm your "half-brother" though it won't really mean anything until you and I are considerably older. I'm still trying to grasp the thought that when you are my age I'll be 40. That's absolutely bizarre. One day I hope you agree.

I'm an Auburn student and I study microbiology. I followed my heart and ran away from our "father" and am far removed from Boaz for the most part. In theory, I suppose you're removed from Boaz as well. Which, even though I've got some sour tastes on my tongue from Boaz, I would still say Boaz was the best place for me to grow up. So I apologize that you won't get that opportunity. But you get to write your own story-- what a wild thought-- since we aren't necessarily tied together or anything.

I decided to write this to you, in theory, as a way of telling you the other side of all the things about this new thing you'll eventually call life. I write this partially because I'm afraid you won't get the benefit of being raised on the same principles I was raised on and the things that have helped me turn out okay in the world. So here's a very short list of things I was raised on or that I've learned throughout the years:

1.) Follow the Scout Oath and Law
     If there is anything that will without a doubt take you where you need to go you can find it within Scout Oath and Law. It's really simple and easy to remember, but abiding by it is a lot more difficult than it sounds.
2.) Love Everything You Do
     Find things you are interested in. Do whatever it is often and become good at it.
3.) Do Everything You Can To The Best Of Your Ability
     Realize that it's okay to fail; it's okay to not get it right the first time.
     B's are completely and utterly acceptable grades, no matter what anyone says.
     Being a perfectionist isn't worth it, and don't allow Him to turn you into one-- it sucks.
4.) Develop A Big Heart
     Be a loving, giving, dedicated person to others. I think eventually you'll find that giving your time for the benefit of others is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Don't let anyone stop you from being able to give.
5.) Stick Through The Tough Times
     I can't guarantee that you'll see the same challenges, trials, tribulations, road blocks, uncertainties or anything bad that I have seen but I guarantee that there are better things ahead. Stick through all the lows because the highs are much more worth it.
   

In June 2012 your dad, my source of half of my genome, left me, my mom, and my (I guess "our") brother for your mom. She's roughly three years older than me, which is 100% weird to me. I don't know much about her beyond that she was a former high school student of His, but she's not what I've got. And for that not only do I apologize but I also brag.

See, my mother was there for me when "our" father was too busy grading papers, taking classes, coaching teams, announcing sports, refereeing games, teaching night classes, and anything else that will take time away from "you and him time". But don't have faith in the whole "me and dad are going to play catch and get ice cream and have guy time" stereotype. He doesn't buy in to that; at least he didn't with me. Also, never beat him in a video game or he'll just get huffy and puffy and never play again.

Now the great thing about my mom is that she would teach me, play games with me, watch television with me, go on adventures with me, and so much more. And I'm sure you and your mom will do some cool stuff. But your mom isn't nearly as cool or as amazing as my mom is; sorry you got the short end of the stick. And your step-brother will never be nearly as cool, talented, funny, and awesome as my brother is; again, tough. Maybe something will change by the time you're older and He will realize the mistakes he made with me and Jesse. The saying goes "third time's a charm" but don't necessarily get your hopes up. And don't blame yourself when He lets you down. It's much more difficult that way.

The unfortunate fact of the matter for you is that you'll never have what I have; no object of value nor amount of money could make me choose something material over what I have. We may have a tough time here and there, but we're inseparable. Through thick and thin, you better believe The Real Mayhall Clan will still be together, united against the world's worst and celebrating its best,

together.

Kid, I implore you to make the best out of all this life gives you; maybe one day our paths will cross- who knows. If he ever does to you what he did to me, give me a ring. I'd love to talk.


Your Half Brother,

JM

Two Pennies on the Pigskin: National Championship Edition

Hello World!

If you're reading this, you likely clicked the link in the post on my Facebook where I said something to the effect of "If you'd like to see some honest, unbiased as possible, thoughts about the game that came from me, click below."

Welcome to my blog! Home of maybe two posts... I think I'm going to try to do this more often. I digress.

I write this to elaborate on some posts I made on Facebook concerning the UA Football team and who I would pull for during the game. So, let's begin.

Fact: I'm very happy for you. 
I think it's great that you get to celebrate the achievements of your team, Alma Mater, etc. I understand how exciting it is to win games! I love the feeling of being able to walk out of a stadium or turn off the television and say, "Our team did it. Chalk it up in the Dubya column. It's nap time". Celebrating a win really brings people together; football is a great escape tool in which we can forget about the problems, rally behind a group of muscular men, and watch them beat each other senseless for bragging rights, a trophy, and some prize money.
I think 2-1 in bowl game record from one state is pretty awesome. Winning the game once more has established that Alabama is the state to be in to play high caliber football. Alabama Won. Auburn Won. Sorry Calhoun County, but props to a great season nonetheless.

There are great Alabama and Auburn fans. Yet for each great fan, there are many more that would tape Cam's jersey to a statue or poison some trees. I despise Harvey Updyke; I despised him before I decided I would attend Auburn. Any post I ever make about the poisoned trees or Updyke are never meant to make fun of you as a fan. I post those kinds of things to give someone a tiny chuckle as they continue to scroll through their numerous updates. What he did is awful, but sometimes it can be good to make light of a dark situation. i'm sure my posts were misconstrued by a number of people, and that's okay. Anything I posted was only intended to make people laugh. If it didn't make you laugh, sorry. If it did, thanks! I was pretty proud of how clever some of those were.

  But even after all these things...

I pulled for Clemson. But I didn't pull against you, personally. Unless you're Barry Mayhall. And if you're reading this, father, I pulled for Clemson especially for you. 

     Let me begin by saying, I truly didn't care about the outcome of the game. If Alabama won, great. If Clemson won, great. I knew I would be watching the game one way or another in the midst of a velveeta dip and pizza induced food coma no matter the outcome. I rooted for Clemson for the  its similarities to Auburn. One thing would have made or broken that game: the level of play displayed by Clemson. I hope you can agree and think back to the National Championship game where a hyped up Notre Dame was absolutely flattened by Alabama. I didn't want that to happen. It's not interesting when one team absolutely demolishes the other. It doesn't keep viewers. It doesn't make money for advertisements. It's just another game in this grand scheme of "The Process" if it's another blowout; only with a ring, a trophy, and Obama.

Then there was this. Please continue reading.

     Someone created this meme (both props and credits to the creator; very clever). And it got me thinking: Why should I, an Auburn student, be expected to pull for an in-state rival team? Now, I know there are a number of very reasonable answers to this question. But I'm not going to address those in the here and now.

     I'm a huge (both in size and amount of loyalty) Chicago Bears fan. But by no means did I pull for the Packers in Sunday's Wild Card Game over Washington just because they are in the same division.

     I'm also a big Chicago Blackhawks fan. But I don't expect extra love in Stanley Cup time from Predators or Red Wings Fans if they don't make it deep in the playoffs.

I don't expect Red Sox loyal to pull for the Yankees when they make it to the World Series.

     I don't expect Heat fans to give extra love to LeBron in Cleveland during the Finals while the Miami loyal watch the game and prepare their hopes for next season.

     The bottom line is Rivalry is a good thing; but our rivals are rivals for a reason. I shouldn't be expected to pull for your team and you shouldn't be expected to pull for mine; not even if it's in the same conference, state, or county. In a society where every "you know you're from Alabama if..." starts with something akin to: "You either say War Eagle or Roll Tide, but never the other", I should by no means be expected to root for the rival. But this is a lose-lose game. As an Auburn student and fan, if I root for Alabama I'm criticized for rooting for a big rival. If I root against Alabama I'm called a bad sport. So one way or another, I don't come out of this match up on top.

But college football is too ingrained in Southern Culture of which I participate in for me to just ignore a big college football game.

I think it's just one of those things that there's no real fix for unless it's just ignored completely. I digress.

All that being said doesn't mean I'm mad, upset, etc. that your team won;
 let me reiterate:
I am happy for you that your team won, if they won! Celebrate victory and celebrate well! (Celebrate success, apple ciroc.- DJ Khaled)

On to the game itself. 
That was probably the best, most competitive game of football I have watched since the 2014 Iron Bowl. 

     Both teams played their best ball of the entire year. The amount of competition that occurred on that field really did show that both teams deserved to be in the game. The game was a tooth and nail battle to the very end, it made for a very entertaining experience and will be remembered by me as one of the best National Championships I've seen. I think it was a fitting match between Heisman trophy recipient and Heisman runner-up. Both Henry and Watson were dynamic leaders on the field and made great contributions to both teams success. Seven touchdowns between the two players? Ridiculous.

Coker played a great game. Renfrow played a great game. Both defenses were phenomenal.

It was a really good last game of College football.

What this means for the State of Alabama: 
Everyone's a winner! (Again, sorry Gamecock faithful)
Auburn won in a dominating performance against favored Memphis.
Alabama won in a spectacular finish to another Championship caliber Clemson.

Right now, we are less than one month from National Signing Day. There will be a nice break of football where we can all rejoice in our team's final victories of the 2015-2016 season.

I am currently 236 days away from seeing my Auburn Tigers take on the Clemson in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

War Eagle! Yea, Alabama! And to all, a very happy offseason.

So It's My Birthday!

So it's my birthday! *Woo hoo* *eats a piece of metaphorical cake*

I got to thinking about today late last night. I mean, this is number 20. The big (or not) 2-0. Something the Bears haven't been in a very long time.

But I got to thinking about some of the things I've done. Whether productive or not, I'm listing a few. I feel like it's been a pretty cool 20 years. Unless I'm older than 20... What if time as we know it was wrong and the year was actually shorter and the day was meant to be longer? How weird. I digress. Here's what I came up with:

2005: Wins International Essay Contest in Boys Life Magazine
2007-2013: Attends Alabama All-State Choir
2007-2013: Boaz Show Choir
2008: Inducted into the Order of the Arrow
2009-2012: Various leadership positions in High School Club
2009: Beat the running back in Musical Chairs
2010: Mountain Lake Chapter Chief
2011: Koasati Chapter Chief
2012: Coosa Lodge Vice Chief of Service
2012:  Vigil Honor Recipient
2012: I choose Auburn
2013: I earn Eagle Scout
2013: Graduate 9th From Boaz (Which isn't NEARLY as impressive as I thought it was)
2013: Coosa Lodge Chief
2013: I initiate into Alpha Phi Omega at Auburn
2013: I meet some of my absolutely best friends (Ryan, Kyle, Jacob, Kelly, etc)
2013: Picture with War Eagle VI! (Kinda)
2013: BANDIT!!!
2014: Acting Scouting Representative for Fraternity
2014: I meet more of my absolute best friends (Chris, Peter, etc)
2014: Appointed NOAC Contingent Chairman
2014: Service Vice-President in Fraternity
2015: Meet some more of my best friends (Ethan, Kevin, etc)
2015: Lead a 700+ person service project
2015: Make it through Semester alive
2015: Elected Summer President of Fraternity
2015: Elected Fall President of Fraternity
2015: I go to OA events to take pictures and fun stuff
2015: I turn 20
2015: ...
2016: ...


And those last two may be my favorite. I've got an impressive history (I believe) but I think the future is only brighter for me. Who knows.

But it's going to be exciting.

Thoughts On the SAE Comments at OU

So before I share my opinion on my blog I'd like to clarify a few things:

1. I am not some sort of ridiculous white supremacist 
2. I do not condone racism by any means, everyone should be kind to each other
3. It's okay to be stupid; isn't that part of what college is about
4. Yada yada yada don't complain about my opinion. :) 

So I'm not a Social Fraternity kind of guy. I've never been too excited about the idea of spending that much money to be in a group. I could also talk about the stereotypical Fraternity complaints of "I don't want to buy my friends", "I don't want to join a group just to party", things along those lines. So I'm gonna tear clear of those things. 

However, I do want to give you my opinion about the racial SAE chant that was captured on someone's iPhone after either A) a party or B) a formal ; I would assume at least. Who knows. I'm too busy to pay too much attention to things of that nature. 

But here's the issue: 

"There will never be a ni**** SAE. There will never be a ni**** SAE. You can hang him from a tree, but he can never sign with me. There will never be a ni**** SAE." - CNN

This isn't okay by any means. It's not cool to use these kind of slanderous words towards people whether it be concerning a fraternity, being a restaurant, a public office, anything. These kinds of words shouldn't be spoken (even if they are thought) whether the target audience  of these words deserves it or not based on actions, ideals, etc.  I feel like the "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" rule wasn't thought of. 

The "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all ESPECIALLY on video" rule was also forgotten. 

Along with: 

"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all ESPECIALLY on video OR with your organization". 

These fraternity brothers were stupid. 

Their actions warranted the severed ties between OU and the SAE chapter/Fraternity. 

Here's where it gets a bit sketchy for me: 

According to the New York Times, two members of the SAE Chapter were identified and expelled for their racial chants with their fraternity. 

That's wrong in my book. 

Again, I feel like removing the fraternity from the university was extremely appropriate. I feel like being expelled because you were racist with your fraternity brothers is far too much. 

I also feel like their expulsion was influenced too strongly by the national media attention this incident received. At the end of the day, using racial slander is protected by the 1st Amendment, Right? Someone back me up? Someone gonna read this? Anyone going to read this? (Meh.) 

Also, if I can't say ni***** on camera because I'll be expelled does that apply to all racially slanderous terms? There's another question I'm interested to find the answer to. 

It's just like how Westboro Baptist Church has the right to protest all the things they protest, just like how the family of Michael Brown was able to yell "Burn this bitch down" after the officer was not charged, and the same way that I can give my opinion on this issue. 

I think Oklahoma University should have been happy enough with removing the fraternity from the campus. I think the expulsion of the brothers was a bit extreme for saying something racial. I think if you're going to be stupid in college it's imperative that you be stupid off camera. 

Just some thoughts. Take them or leave them. 

Merit Badge University is Done!!!

YES!!!!! MBU is done!

So if you didn't know, didn't ask me, didn't look at my Facebook page, anything. I will fill you in, I suppose.

So I was the Merit Badge University Director for my fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, at Auburn. Planning began somewhere in early August 2014, if not earlier. MBU was planned little by little. Bit by bit. Instructor after instructor confirmed. Details fell into place. Days, weeks, months. All of them passed. Hours were spent working on MBU planning; it was all worth it, too.

MBU went so so smoothly! I wasn't expecting things to fall into place nearly as well as they did.

 I was worried about not having enough volunteers? Volunteers came through.

I was worried about rain messing up the day somehow. Prettiest Auburn day i've seen in a long time.

I was worried that instructors would back up. They did. My leadership team was able to work around each and every setback through the week before the event. There were four or five instructors that backed out the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before MBU.

Everything works itself out at the end of the day. It always seems to. Someway. Somehow.

Here are some of the things that happened at MBU:

690 Scouts participated
Abbie The Tiger attended!
Two Red-Tailed Hawks visited lunch
The National President of Alpha Phi Omega was in attendance.
Multiple people on Section and Region Staff with Alpha Phi Omega
44 Merit Badges were taught
We had someone with a Quad-Copter take video from the sky!

It was just a really great event. I've got photos and video from the weekend that I will be putting together in to a video to be posted once everything settles down.

Mom, Jesse, and company stayed at my apartment with me. The weekend concludes with a huge bonfire at Chewacla State Park. After the bonfire I was ready for bed. I got three hours of sleep the night before; it finally caught up with me. Oddly, mother's Xterra refused to crank.

This caused great distress and confusion. See, the vehicle would crank and would turn on the vehicle's electronics; however, the engine would not turn over nor start and it would not release the car key. The steering wheel was not "locked" and these issues puzzled each and every person at that camp. Collectively we diagnosed the car from almost everything from starter issues to a bad alternator and probably more.

A very small flashlight was inhibiting the gearshift's ability to be fully in park. Everything appeared to be in park when it was actually between park and reverse.

So many men. SO. MANY. MEN. Were incapable of figuring out what was going on with the car. Something as simple as checking the gearshift could have saved my hour of sleep that I lost due to the springing forward of all our clocks. Big thanks to you, Ben Franklin, for messing up all our sleep schedules (if that's correct with Big Ben).

MBU was so much fun. It turned out so well. It went so smoothly. The shirts and patches were big hits! AND I got this Selfie with Aubie and like 7 other pictures with America's best mascot! 

A First Post

Wow,

I find it semi hard to believe that I have decided to take blogging as a hobby. Many moons ago I considered blogging but I decided it was lame and way too much work. I have recently found myself bored and utterly distracted from and by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. I feel like blogging may be a better way for me to post about what is going on in my life. I doubt too many people will be overly interested; I assume it will be a similar number to those who visit my social media profiles.


Congratulations, folks, you've got another way to read me complain about the things that excite me, irk me, and sadden me. I know that's just what you all wanted to be able to read.


I am hoping to make more posts, but I don't want to "bog my blog" (ehehehehe...sigh..) with purposeless nonsense with no meaning, value, or interest.


As I type this, I have asked my lovely cat, Bandit, about what else I should add . Her response included an ugly stare sourced from disgust and annoyance in that I woke her up to ask what I should type and she went back to sleep.


So there's my first post. Semi short, semi sweet, and just enough to give you all (or lack there of) something to read when you visit.


Cheers!