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EST Gee’s ‘Mad’ Album Trailer Teases A Personal Look Into His Harrowing Life Experiences

It looks like new music from EST Gee is coming sooner than we thought. On Friday (March 3), the Louisville rapper shared a trailer on Instagram for his upcoming project, Mad.

The trailer seems to tease that Mad will offer a more personal look into EST Gee’s life, as he shares stories of the trauma he’s been forced to deal with. In the short clip, viewers see a 2017 phone call between EST Gee and his friend Red, who was killed shortly after returning from prison.

In a voiceover, EST Gee shares some words, as he fights through the pain.

“You gonna look at me and tell me it ain’t that bad,” EST Gee says in the clip. “Let them bang on my past. Bet you don’t feel nothing, you can’t be mad. You cannot be mad… Ain’t no tragedy in life like the death of a child, they say.”

Mad marks EST Gee’s second project in six months, his previous being I Never Felt Nun. In an interview for Rolling Stone conducted around that time, EST Gee shared that he hopes his success motivates other rappers from Louisville.

“They know me,” said EST Gee. “So, where I was standing at, a lot of people standing at [now], so they know they can get on. That was important to see. Because Jack [Harlow], yeah, he from Louisville, but he from a different place, different demographic. So people just like me, [my success] motivates them. They created a scene where there wasn’t no scene before and there’s a scene now.”

You can check out the trailer above.

Mad is out 3/17 via CMG and Interscope.

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‘BMF’ To Blowin’ Money Fast: Limits, Like Fear, Are Often An Illusion In Season 2, Episode 8

(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s BMF episode will be found below.)

Each week for the ‘BMF’ To Blowin’ Money Fast series, we’ll recap the episode by looking at a few key things to see how they hurt Meech and Terry’s money-making goals and overall well-being. Each item will be marked as a profit or a loss, the former keeping them in the black and the latter pushing them into the red. Throughout the season, something that was once unprofitable could turn profitable, and vice versa, but we’ll have to wait and see what that might be.

Meech and Terry have taken big steps to put themselves in the position to be bosses in season two of BMF. Last week in episode seven “Both Sides Of The Fence,” we watched the Flenory boys make their way to St. Martin to strike up a deal with the Colombians to get 100 bricks of cocaine to sell in Detroit and beyond. That mission turned out to be more successful than they imagined as they ended up leaving the island with 300 bricks of cocaine on consignment.

In this week’s episode, “Push It To The Limit,” Meech and Terry are back in Detroit ready to live and move as the bosses they always dreamed of being. While Meech is in a celebratory mood, Terry reminds him that the true work for them is just starting, and soon enough, they get right to it. Meech heads to Cleveland to establish a new hub there now that he’s in the position to be a connect for other dealers. Terry stays in Detroit and looks for drivers to help him move the new product out of the city while instructing them on the ways that they can avoid being stopped and searched by the police. Elsewhere, Lucille catches on to Charles’ infidelity, Terry seems to make progress in his relationship with Markeisha, and sparks fly for Detectives Bryant and Jin, but their police work isn’t as magical.

Meech

PROFIT

Meech continues to be one step ahead of everyone in this week’s episode. After returning to Detroit and retrieving the cocaine that was left for him by the Colombians, Meech decides that his next move is to head out to Cleveland to establish a hub of sorts over there through a man named Bleek. Initially, things don’t go as smoothly as Meech would’ve liked with Bleek but that’s no worry to him. He’s quickly able to make some noise in Cleveland, and despite some pushback from Bleek’s crew, Meech is not only able to get them out of his way, but he’s also able to get Bleek on his side. Elsewhere, Meech is also able to finally track B-Mickie who explains why he’s been missing for some time. B-Mickie also tells Meech that Detective Bryant has the gun that he used to kill Jay Mo and Kato. Despite his moment of betrayal, Meech tries to help Mickie get the gun and later says that he’ll always have B-Mickie’s back — something that could be genuine or because getting rid of the gun would be beneficial to them both.

Charles

LOSS

Charles can’t catch a break, but if we’re being honest, he’s brought it upon himself. In “Push It To The Limit,” Mabel ends up cutting things off with Charles after their time in a hotel room proved to be far less intimate than they imagined. Charles returns to Lucille at the roller rink, all for her to discover that he was at the hotel after a receipt fell out of his jacket. For what it’s worth, it’s kind of crazy that Charles wasted money on a hotel room with Mabel when the Flenory family certainly doesn’t have money to waste. Nonetheless, Lucille tells him off in front of everyone at the rink in what was an extremely embarrassing moment for him and the family. It’s more stress for the Flenorys that Meech and Terry don’t need to deal with, yet here we are.

Terry

PROFIT

Just like Meech, Terry was very sharp in this episode. While Meech was in Cleveland making moves with Bleek, Terry stayed put to find and instruct new drivers for BMF. Even through his instruction to the drivers, it was clear that he was, is, and will be an essential aspect of BMF going forward. Outside of the group, things seem to be going well with Markeisha nowadays. Her main concern with Terry was whether or not he’d be able to provide for her and her kids, and now that he’s in the position to be a connect and a boss, she’s sold on his ability to do so. They go shopping together, have dinner, and more. In Terry’s world, all is going well which makes it easier for him to be on his A-game and get things done for BMF.

Detectives Bryant & Jin

LOSS

Detectives Bryant & Jin are more dead set than ever on taking down the Flenory brothers. Their previous attempts haven’t worked so well, so they’ve now resorted to attacking the brothers from the inside. After photographing Markeisha and Terry having sex, Bryant and Jin took the photos to Wanda with the hope that it would frustrate her so much into ratting the duo out. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out too well for them as Wanda told them to stay away from her family going forward. Though this is an early win for BMF, it’s proof that Bryant and Jin will go to whatever lengths necessary to take down Meech and Terry. Now, that Meech is aware that Bryant has the gun B-Mickie used to kill Jay Mo and Kato, he and Terry will have to be more careful than they’ve already been

K-9

PROFIT

At the beginning of “Push It To The Limit,” Meech and Terry are informed that K-9 was arrested by the feds in Los Angeles. This news seemed to be too good to be true, but sure enough, it got confirmed when Detectives Bryant and Jin’s new boss announced it to them and the rest of the force. This is a big win for Meech and Terry. While K-9 wasn’t going to interfere with their work, it removes another competitor for the Flenory brothers in the local market. That means K-9’s former consumer base will now look to BMF to buy their drugs from. Sure, that puts a new target on their back, but it isn’t something that Meech and Terry can’t handle, especially 300 bricks of cocaine to their name now. Meech and Terry always wanted to be the top dogs, and now they can be, we’ll just have to see how it plays out in the last two episodes of season two.

New episodes of ‘BMF’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.

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Randy Orton Has An Idea Of Which Song Should Appear On Key Glock’s Set List

Last month, Key Glock released his much-anticipated album, Glockoma 2, which featured some acclaimed new tracks. One of the fan favorites was one named after wrestler Randy Orton, appropriately titled, “Randy Orton.”

On the song, he alludes to the wrestler, rapping on the chorus, “I’m savage, but don’t call me Randy, yeah / I’m slammin’ these bitches like Randy Orton.”

Tomorrow (March 6), Key will kick off the Glockoma tour, however, it appears he’s still finalizing the setlist. Today (March 4), Key took to Twitter to ask fans for help selecting songs.

“I need y’all help on my set list,” said Key.

It appears Orton himself has caught wind of the song. Making a rare appearance on Twitter, Orton responded to Key’s inquiry with a thinking emoji. This marks Orton’s first time tweeting in nearly four months.

At the time of writing, Key did not confirm if he was including it on his set list, however, judging by an Instagram post in which he shared a screenshot of Orton’s quoted reply, it’s safe to assume he’ll perform it.

“What other songs y’all wanna hear on tour ??,” asked Key in the post’s caption.

You can find a list of dates for the Glockoma tour here.

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Do You Have To Watch ‘Creed I’ & ‘Creed II’ To Understand ‘Creed III?’

This weekend brings the long-awaited threequel in the Creed series, which is itself the ninth movie in the Rocky-verse. (It’s also the first without the guy who started it all, Sylvester Stallone.) There have only been three films in this wing of the franchise, which began back in 2015 with the original Creed. That’s not a lot. In fact, is it possible to watch this new one without having seen the first two?

The answer is: It’s up to you! The Creed films, like the Rockys before them, have a continuing story. It’s probably in your best interest to see how Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis a) rose the ranks of the boxing world and b) met the love of his life, Tessa Thompson’s Bianca. Also the first is a very good movie! And the Ryan Coogler-less first sequel ain’t bad either!

That said, it’s not like these are Marvel movies, where you have to at least read up on a bunch of shows you might not have seen to understand the basic plot. Each Creed film is simple: Adonis faces off against some opponent. Again, there’s an ongoing story about Adonis’ personal life and him battling demons. But the tale isn’t so complex that you probably can’t pick it up as the threequel chugs along.

Besides, there’s always Wikipedia if you need to catch up before the movie. But it’s a lot more fun to watch Creed and Creed II than do that, even if it takes exponentially longer.

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Anthony Richardson Put Up Some Crazy Testing Numbers At The NFL Draft Combine

There may not be another player in the 2023 NFL Draft who generated more buzz than Florida signal caller Anthony Richardson. While there has been a top-3 on most quarterback big boards for months — some order of Will Levis, C.J. Stroud, and Bryce Young — the thought is that Richardson is the kind of once-in-a-generation athletic freak who could crash that party.

The quarterbacks got their day in Indianapolis on Saturday, and Richardson put on a show for the ages. Richardson set a pair of Combine records on both of his jumps, as his 10’9 broad jump and his 40.5″ vertical jump were the two best that we’ve ever seen.

His 40-yard dash didn’t quite set a record, but considering he is a hair over 6’4 and weighs 244 pounds, it is terrifying. Richardson ran the fourth-fasted 40-yard dash in Combine history at 4.44 seconds — the only quarterbacks to get the better of him in history are Michael Vick, Reggie McNeal, and Robert Griffin III.

NFL Network lined up Richardson’s 40 with those of Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, and it is pretty incredible to watch him leave both of them in the dust.

Now, there are questions about Richardson as a prospect. His ability to steamroll defenses with his legs is special, and his arm strength to take the top off of a defense very well be the best in this class. There are accuracy concerns — he completed 53.8 percent of his passes as a junior in Gainesville last season — but if a team believes that can get ironed out, it’s not hard to see why Richardson could go very, very high in a few weeks.

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‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’ Now Holds A Very Specific Record Amongst TV Shows

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has had its share of milestones. For one thing, it’s two years from turning 20, with 15 seasons and three more recently ordered. But mind-blowing longevity has nothing to do with a new record it’s achieved: As caught by The Wrap, a new study concludes that the show about five bickering dirtbags is TV’s “wordiest” show.

The study, done by WordFinderX, was launched in a broader study of subtitles and how much they’re accessible to those with disabilities. The National Disability Authority recommends that English language subtitles not exceed 170 words per minute, though they prefer that they stick to a maximum of 140 pm.

After collecting subtitles from the most popular TV shows on subtitle downloading services and breaking down the WPM, what did they find? Well, comedy was the wordiest genre they studied, at an average of 133.6 wpm — still well below the authority’s recommended maximum output. For context, no popular sci-fi/fantasy shows they studied exceeded 100 wpm, while the wordiest superhero show was DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

This isn’t that surprising. Comedy often relies heavily on language, and pratfalls and slapstick aren’t what they once were. What’s also not surprising is that the wordiest comedy they encountered was It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which broke the maximum recommended wordage with a whopping 176.2 wpm.

The gang sure does like to talk, as anyone even casually familiar with the show can attest. As the study points out, the network even once pitched it as “like Seinfeld on crack,” referencing another language-heavy comedy about a group that loves to yada yada. It’s Always Sunny, meanwhile, has one more protagonist, plus plenty of recurring weirdos, like the one known only as The Waitress, the McPoyle brothers (who haven’t been seen in ages), and poor old “Rickety Cricket.”

(One flaw in the study, by the way, is that subtitles are sometimes not straight transcripts of dialogue, but often simplify it, partly for condensation purposes. In other words, the It’s Always Sunny gang probably rattle off even more words than the study thinks, which is saying something.)

Anyway, congrats on the new seasons orders, which will take the show through at least 2026, and congrats on having the most words.

(Via The Wrap)

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‘BMF’: Here’s All The Music You Heard In Season 2, Episode 7

(SPOILERS for this week’s BMF episode will be found below.)

In episode seven of season two of BMF, titled “Both Sides Of The Fence,” Meech and Terry are on the move once again. This time, they’re on their way to St. Martin to make a deal with the Colombians for a new supply of drugs. To do this, they’d have to go behind K-9’s back to make the deal happen. Despite some hiccups, Meech and Terry strike up a deal with the Colombians and receive 300 bricks of cocaine on consignment, rather than the 100 bricks they hoped for. The Felonry brothers return to Detroit and inform K-9 of their decision, and rather than threaten or harm them, K-9 salutes them and tells Meech and Terry that he would’ve done the same in their shoes.

Elsewhere, Meech learns that Charles is cheating on his mother after catching him at a strip club, Tee’s lady troubles get worse when Wanda discovers that he’s been sleeping with Markeisha, and speaking of Markeisha, she and Terry get into another argument.

The aforementioned events in the seventh episode of BMF season two, titled ““Both Sides Of The Fence”,” are soundtracked by songs that help to accentuate the emotions behind each scene. You can find a list of them belong as well as details about the scenes that the records soundtracked.

The following records were provided thanks to the Starz Public Relations team.

Mr. Anderson — “Million”

We hear this record around the 0:30 mark as Detective Bryant opens the truck where he left B-Mickie to threaten him over the missing bricks of cocaine. He adds that he will move his mom out of the good hospital and press murder charges on him for the deaths of Jay Mo and Kato if he doesn’t give him the details of the missing product.

Travon — “Soft Organ Music”

Around the 1:22 mark, this song plays as Meech and Terry are at the repast following Sockie’s funeral. They’re talking about B-Mickie’s whereabouts before they’re approached by Pastor Swift who expresses his disappointment in Meech and Terry’s participation in the drug game.

50 Cent — “Wish Me Luck” Feat. Charlie Wilson

This is the theme song of BMF. It plays at the 5:23 mark in “Both Sides Of The Fence.” While it’s only 50 Cent and Charlie Wilson’s voices that are heard at this moment, the song also features Snoop Dogg and Moneybagg Yo.

The Commodores — “Jesus is Love”

The Commodores’ “Jesus Is Love” plays around the 07:51 mark as Charles sits in his room upset that Terry cashed out of the Flenory Car Ride Service business. Lucille consoles him but begs that he doesn’t kick Terry out of the house as he did Meech.

Osinachi — “Retro Hip Hop”

This song plays around the 12:38 mark, as Meech and Terry arrive at K-9’s “Rich Man Poor Man” party. Meech makes a deal with K-9’s cousin Rayzin to orchestrate a meeting with the Colombians. Shortly after, Meech and Terry watch K-9 shoot his aunt at the party.

Don Cabán — “Tryna Tell You”

We hear this record around the 14:27 mark as Meech and Terry argue about bringing Rayzin with them to help make the deal with the Colombians. Meech reluctantly agrees to leave Rayzin but warns Tee not to pack any weapons for the flight. We find out later that Terry ignored Meech’s wishes.

Extreme — “Cascada” & “Elegante”

Around the 20:00 mark, both songs play as Terry and Markeisha sit outside to talk for the time since their motel stay. Terry buys roses for Markeisha, dances with her, tells her that he loves her, and lets her know that Wanda is pregnant.

Aerin — “Get Through to You”

We hear this record around the 21:38 mark as Lucille, Nicole, Wanda, and Wanda’s mom sit together for a girl’s night together. Wanda expresses her frustrations about Terry’s reaction to her being pregnant and Lucille assures her that the baby will be welcomed into their family. Wanda’s mom plots a way to make Terry more focused on his relationship with Wanda.

Marlon Coles — “Bounce Dat”

Marlon Coles’ “Bounce Dat” plays around the 22:38 mark as Charles nervously walks into a strip club with Mabel. There, Mabel gets a lap dance from one of the club’s dancers and Charles is having the time of his life. It all comes crashing down when he spots Meech across the room.

Atlanta Pan Sonic — “Gammin Nights”

Around the 25:02 mark, this song plays as Terry teases Nicole with a condom placed on a trophy after she bothers him about Wanda being pregnant. Lucille scolds him and Charles nervously asks Terry if he spoke to Meech recently.

Laces Out — “Preachers Organ in D”

This song plays around the 26:37 mark as Meech and Terry arrive at St. Martins. Terry takes their bags up to their room and Meech comes across an attractive lady who he takes up their room. When they get there, the Meech gets punched and robbed of his and Terry’s stuff.

The Jackson 5 — “I’ll Be There”

The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” plays around the 41:10 mark as Charles meets Meech at the record store. Charles tries to explain what he was doing at the strip club with Mabel and adds that it has nothing to do with Lucille. In the end, Meech assures Charles that he won’t Lucille about what he saw.

Taequan Black x Osinachi — “Code”

We hear this record around the 48:08 mark, we hear this track after B-Mickie learns that his mother passed away while he was tied up in the trunk of a car that Detective Bryant left him in.

New episodes of ‘BMF’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.

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Speech pathologist teaches her dog to use a soundboard and now it communicates in sentences

Christina Hunger, 26, is a speech-language pathologist in San Diego, California who believes that “everyone deserves a voice.”

Hunger works with one- and two-year-old children, many of which use adaptive devices to communicate. So she wondered what would happen if she taught her two-month-old puppy, a Catahoula/Blue Heeler named Stella, to do the same.

“If dogs can understand words we say to them, shouldn’t they be able to say words to us? Can dogs use AAC to communicate with humans?”
she wondered.


Hunger and her fiancé Jake started simply by creating a button that said “outside” and then pressed it every time they said the word or opened the door. After a few weeks, every time Hunger said “outside,” Stella looked at the button.

Soon, Stella began to step on the button every time she wanted to go outside.

They soon added more buttons that say “eat,” “water,” “play,” “walk,” “no,” “come,” “help,” “bye,” and “love you.”

“Every day I spent time using Stella’s buttons to talk with her and teach her words just as I would in speech therapy sessions with children,” she wrote on her blog.

“Instead of rewarding Stella with a treat for using a button, we responded to her communication by acknowledging her message and responding accordingly. Stella’s voice and opinions matter just as our own do,” she continued.

If Stella’s water bowl is empty, she says “water.” If she wants to play tug of war, she says, “play.” She even began to tell friends “bye” if they put on their jackets by the door.

Stella soon learned to combine different words to make phrases.

One afternoon, shortly after daylight savings, she began saying “eat” at 3:00 pm. When Hunger didn’t respond with food, she said, “love you no” and walked out of the room.

Today, Stella has learned over 29 words and can combine up to five at a time to make a phrase or sentence.

“The way she uses words to communicate and the words she’s combining is really similar to a 2-year-old child,” Hunger says of her blog.

She believes her work has the potential to transform the bond between humans and dogs.

“I think how important dogs are to their humans,” Hunger says. “I just imagine how much deeper the bond will be.”

Stella asks to play ball outside.

Stella clearly wants some more breakfast.

After a fun day at the beach, Stella wants to go back.

Stella telling Hunger that she doesn’t want her to leave to work.

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Soon, Stella began to step on the button every time she wanted to go outside.

They soon added more buttons that say “eat,” “water,” “play,” “walk,” “no,” “come,” “help,” “bye,” and “love you.”

“Every day I spent time using Stella’s buttons to talk with her and teach her words just as I would in speech therapy sessions with children,” she wrote on her blog.

“Instead of rewarding Stella with a treat for using a button, we responded to her communication by acknowledging her message and responding accordingly. Stella’s voice and opinions matter just as our own do,” she continued.

If Stella’s water bowl is empty, she says “water.” If she wants to play tug of war, she says, “play.” She even began to tell friends “bye” if they put on their jackets by the door.

This article originally appeared on 11.08.19

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A teen student delivered a masterclass on the true history of the Confederate flag

Six years ago, a high school student named Christopher Justice eloquently explained the multiple problems with flying the Confederate flag. A video clip of Justice’s truth bomb has made the viral rounds a few times since then, and here it is once again getting the attention it deserves.

Justice doesn’t just explain why the flag is seen as a symbol of racism. He also explains the history of when the flag originated and why flying a Confederate flag makes no sense for people who claim to be loyal Americans.

But that clip, as great as it is, is a small part of the whole story. Knowing how the discussion came about and seeing the full debate in context is even more impressive.


In 2015, a student at Shawnee Mission East High School outside of Kansas City came up with the idea to have student journalists document students engaging in open discussions about various topics. In support of this idea, history teacher David Muhammad helped arrange a debate about the use of the Confederate flag in American society in his classroom.

According to the Shawnee Mission Post, Muhammad had prepared a basic outline and some basic guiding questions for the discussion, but mainly let the students debate freely. And the result was one of the most interesting debates about the Confederate flag you’ll ever see—one that both reflects the perspectives in American society at large and serves as an example of how to hold a respectful conversation on a controversial topic.

The full discussion is definitely worth a watch. Justice had quite a few Confederacy defenders to contend with, and he skillfully responded to each point with facts and logic. Other students also chimed in, and the discussion is wildly familiar to anyone who has engaged in debate on this topic. For his part, Mr. Muhammad did an excellent job of guiding the students through the debate.

“I had Chris in class, so I knew he was super intelligent and that he read a lot,” Muhammad told the Shawnee Mission Post in 2018. “But that really came out of left-field. He was never out there very much socially, so I didn’t expect for him to want to speak in front of a crowd like that.”

(In case you’re wondering, according to LinkedIn, Christopher Justice is now studying political science at Wichita State University after switching his major from sports management. David Muhammad is now Dean of Students at Pembroke Middle School and also serves as a Diversity Consultant.)

Thanks, SM East, for documenting and sharing such a great discussion.

This article originally appeared on 08.05.21

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Dad writes heartbreaking message after the death of his son

A dad from Portland, Oregon, has taken to LinkedIn to write an emotional plea to parents after he learned that his son had died during a conference call at work. J.R. Storment, of Portland, Oregon, encouraged parents to spend less time at work and more time with their kids after his son’s death.


In an open letter on LinkedIn, which has so far garnered over 26,000 likes and 2,700 comments, Storment explains that his son, Wiley, passed away during his sleep as a result of complications from his mild epilepsy. He then goes on to blast himself for not spending enough time with his son, and encourages other parents to take more time off work.

Widowed father with his family

Storment starts by explaining that the day his son passed away started like any other:

“Eight years ago, during the same month, I had twin boys and co-founded Cloudability. About three months ago Cloudability was acquired. About three weeks ago we lost one of our boys.”

“When I got the call I was sitting in a conference room with 12 people at our Portland office talking about PTO policies. Minutes earlier, I had admitted to the group that in the last 8 years I’d not taken more than a contiguous week off.”

That’s when Storment received a call from his distraught wife.

“My wife and I have an agreement that when one of us calls, the other answers. So when the phone rang I stood up and walked to the conference room door immediately.”

“I was still walking through the door when I answered with ‘Hey, what’s up?'”

“Her reply was icy and immediate: ‘J.R., Wiley is dead.'”

“‘What?’ I responded incredulously.”

“‘Wiley has died.’ she reiterated.”

“‘What?! No.’ I yelled out, ‘No!'”

“‘I’m so sorry, I have to call 911.'”

Storment goes on to explain the chaos that happened next.

“That was the entire conversation. The next thing I know I’m sprinting out the front door of the office with my car keys in hand, running ferociously across the street and muttering ‘oh F**k. oh F**k. oh F**k.’ Half way down the block I realize I don’t have the opener to my parking garage. Running back into the lobby, I all but shout “Someone drive me! Somebody drive me!” Thankfully, a helpful colleague did.”

Storment made it home, but not yet knowing the cause of death, police were treating the house as a possible crime scene. The heartbroken father was unable to see his son for two and a half hours.

“When the medical examiner finally finished his work, we were allowed in the room. An eerie calm came over me. I laid down next to him in the bed that he loved, held his hand and kept repeating, ‘What happened, buddy? What happened?'”

“We stayed next to him for maybe 30 minutes and stroked his hair before they returned with a gurney to take him away. I walked him out, holding his hand and his forehead through the body bag as he was wheeled down our driveway. Then all the cars drove away. The last one to leave was the black minivan with Wiley in it.”

Storment goes on to explain his son’s dreams and aspirations, and the difficulty he had signing his son’s death certificate.

“Wiley was obsessed with starting a business. One day it was a smoothie stand, the next it would be a gallery, then a VR headset company, then a ‘coder’, then a spaceship building company. In each of these scenarios he was the boss. His brother (and sometimes us) were invited to work for—not with— him and were each assigned jobs. In the gallery scenario, Wiley informed Oliver that he would be manning the cash register.”

“Around 5 years old, Wiley decided he was going to get married as an adult. By 6 he had identified the girl, holding her hand at recess on the first day of kindergarten. Over the next two years as we moved from Portland to London to Hawaii, he kept in touch with her by handwritten letter. Not long before we moved back to Portland, the two agreed (by letter) to marry. She beat him to the punch and asked him. He accepted. Happily, he got to see her twice after we moved back to Portland in June.”

“One of the countless difficult moments of this month was signing his death certificate. Seeing his name written on the top of it was hard. However, two fields further down the form crushed me. The first said: ‘Occupation: Never worked’ and the next: ‘Marital Status: Never married.’ He wanted so badly to do both of those things. I feel both fortunate and guilty to have had success in each.”

Storment then criticises himself for spending too much time at work. And while it sounds that Wiley got to live an amazing life, Storment only wishes he could have done more with him.

“Over the last three weeks I have come up with an endless stream of things I regret. They tend to fall into two categories: things I wish I had done differently and things I’m sad not to see him do. My wife is constantly reminding me of all the things he did do: Wiley went to 10 countries, drove a car on a farm road in Hawaii, hiked in Greece, snorkeled in Fiji, wore a suit to a fantastic British prep school every day for two years, got rescued from a shark on a jet ski, kissed multiple girls, got good enough at chess to beat me twice in a row, wrote short stories and drew comics obsessively.”

Storment hadn’t checked on the boys the morning of the tragedy because he had to get up early for meetings, a decision he seems to regret.

“Around 5:40am, the next morning I woke up for a series of back to back meetings. I did a Peloton ride, took an analyst call from my home office, one with a colleague on the drive to work, then the rest at the office. None seem that important now. I left that morning without saying goodbye or checking on the boys.”

Storment has a simple message for parents:

“Many have asked what they can do to help. Hug your kids. Don’t work too late. A lot of the things you are likely spending your time on you’ll regret once you no longer have the time. I’m guessing you have 1:1 meetings on the books with a lot of people you work with. Do you have them regularly scheduled with your kids? If there’s any lesson to take away from this, it’s to remind others (and myself) not to miss out on the things that matter.”

“The big question is how to return to work in a way that won’t leave me again with the regrets I have now. To be honest, I’ve considered not going back. But I believe in the words of Kahlil Gibran who said, ‘Work is love made visible.’ To me, that line is a testament to how much we gain, grow and offer through the work we do. But that work needs to have a balance that I have rarely lived. It’s a balance that lets us offer our gifts to the world but not at the cost of self and family.”

“While I sat writing this post, my living son, Oliver, came in to ask for screen time. Instead of saying the usual ‘no’, I stopped writing and asked if I could play with him. He was happily surprised by my answer and we connected in a way I would have formerly missed out on. Small things matter. One silver lining from this tragedy is the improving relationship I have with him.”

“Our family has gone from having two units of two (the parents and the twins) to now being a triangle of three. That’s a big adjustment for a family that has always been four. Oliver’s brilliant reply when we discussed the shape of our new family: ‘But Papa, the triangle is the strongest shape.’ By some sad and beautiful irony, Oliver has met three sets of 8-year-old twins in our new neighborhood since Wiley passed.”

“I’ve learned to stop waiting to do the things the kids ask for. When we sold the business I gave each of the boys a $100 dollar bill. They decided to pool their money to buy a tent for camping. But we didn’t make it happen before Wiley died. Another regret. So, after the first round of family visits after his death, I took Jessica and Oliver to REI to get gear and we left town quickly to camp near Mt. St. Helens.”

“Somehow, we got to the wilderness without enough cash to cover the campground fee and had a slight panic. Jessica then realized that Wiley’s $100 bill was still in his seat pocket. He got to spend his money on camping after all. Collectively, the family said a big, ‘Thanks, buddy’ out-loud to him. It was one of many bittersweet moments we will experience for the rest of our lives. Each happy time brings with it the sadness that he doesn’t get to experience it.”

“One of Wiley’s happy times was listening to music and dancing. Damn, could that kid dance. He loved the Oregon Country Fair and the year before we left for London, we listened to a band there play a version of ‘Enjoy yourself (It’s later than you think)‘. The words stuck with me that day three years ago and painfully so now:”

“You work and work for years and years, you’re always on the go

You never take a minute off, too busy makin’ dough

Someday, you say, you’ll have your fun, when you’re a millionaire

Imagine all the fun you’ll have in your old rockin’ chair

Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think

Enjoy yourself, while you’re still in the pink

The years go by, as quickly as a wink

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think”

This article originally appeared on 07.10.21