Good morning, ladies and gentlemen: As many of you know; my grandson who is 14 years old, came to me and tells me that that he wanted to be like me and dress like me, wear cologne like me. His reasoning is that he sees how people notice and respect me wherever we go. (Yes, I'm having a proud moment), The one thing that I did, was to teach him the way I was raised; if you can smell yourself then others can smell you, now this can be in a good way or a bad way. Either way the point was personal hygiene is crucial to oneself. My grandfather raised us men in the family that you always wear some type of cologne; at the time the cheap thing was Brute 33 and Old Spice. Now, I am not going to spend hundreds of dollars on cologne for a 14-year-old boy unless he is on stage with his four brothers (the Jacksons Five, the older generation). But I wanted to teach him the same values I was raised with, so I buy the generic versions that I found of name brand colognes so he can learn and also build confidence in himself. I had to attend a parent teacher conference at his school, and I had never been in the school before nor have I met any of his teachers or the office staff, ( let me paint picture; I'm black and he is white) ( paint, lol sorry, I digress) but when I walked in everyone knew who I was and who my grandson was. In speaking to his teachers, all of them had one thing in common, they all complimented on how nice my grandson smelled every day and how they loved that he wore different fragrances all the time. Some teachers actually said, they have him sit next to them because he smells great all the time, (little creepy but I get it), some say they have him by the door, because unfortunately some kids do not have proper hygiene and the tend to bring that odor in the classroom with them so when other teachers and adults walk in they smell my grandson first, (again creepy but I get it). I personally get compliments all the time on my colognes and yes, even some made the comments" I am so glad you are here because someone has bad body odor." I have been to conferences where people have asked me to sit at their table because they had someone there that did not have a favorable odor on them.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, Many of you like myself grew up learning to not only to print but also to write in cursive. Writing in cursive was a sign that you were at that level in fact; most reports that we had to write in school, had to be in cursive; not only that, but it had to be legible. For those of us that grew up in this era, you felt that you achieved something when you could write and sign your name. There was nothing more exciting was the ability to buy something or to sign your name to a contract and write your name in cursive. Now days, this is not being taught in the schools anymore, there is no need to have to write in cursive, and for ladies and gentlemen in my era, we even stopped writing in cursive and gone to simply printing. I am curious for those who grew up learning cursive, when was the last time you wrote in cursive? When was the last time you signed your name in cursive? Why is this subject important? Because when we were signing our names writing in cursive it was difficult if not impossible for someone to duplicate you writing. Yes, there were skilled people who were able to on certain people; duplicate their writings, but they were skilled and they could only do certain people. Some of us; if we were going to do any type of duplicate, it was our parents signatures for report cards or permission slips. Even this was not an easy task, because some teachers knew your parents signatures and would catch it the moment you did this. Now days, so many people are having their identities stolen, and people think that it just has to do with people getting ahold of their personal information. Yes this is part of it, but the other factor is that most people now days sign contracts and legal documents with either their initials or a simple “X”. Some will just scribble on the paper and call it their signature. Being in the field that I am in, I have seen so many people loose almost if not everything because someone took their identity and used a scribble to steal from them. You might say well I can just say that I did not sign for that or that is not was not me; but here is the deal, what proof do you have? I have a friend that a man walked into a car dealership; and with his identity and scribble a half signature drove off the lot a brand new car. They finally found the car months later several states away wrecked. Yes , they finally cleared him of this, but the things he had to do to clear his name and prove that it was not him why< because no company is going to take thousands of dollars loss because you say “ that was not me”, it was crazy.

I would like to thanks to all my brothers who supported, motivated me to achieve this milestone being a part of this unique community after 20 months i am at level 9, i try my best to be connected and participated at best of mine. Thanks to all my brothers here will not be enough i might forgot some one but all have same respect for me, thanks @Julio Gutierrez @Lon Chaneyfield @Paul Bartnicki @Srinesh C m @Gunny Khan @Michael LoCascio Sr Sr @Jamal Moore @Jeff Beason @Renato Carotti @Jonathan Ventura @Edward Mooney @Justin Tillery others i am not able to tag but i am thanking them here for continuous support and encouragement.

Let’s show some brotherhood love this valentine weekend. Everyone probably has that one member of BOS who influenced them the most and added fuel to their fragrance passion. For me, the answer is obvious. @Julio Gutierrez is the one who truly kickstarted it all. Who’s that person for you?

"May you find grace as you surrender to life. May you find happiness, as you stop seeking it. May you come to trust these laws and inherit the wisdom of the earth. May you reconnect with the heart of nature and feel the blessings of the Spirit." Dan Millman Have a great day brothers.