Get To Know - The RBM

Get To Know The RBM

The Mecca Lounge: Who is your greatest inspiration when it comes other writers, family,
friends, or anything?
The RBM: I'm not able to really write that there are specific authors that have been an influence for
me when it comes to my writing, however there are many that help shape my way of thinking and
believing with their arguments about life, culture, and society. As far as family or friends, honestly, a
lot of them have no idea of how serious I am when it comes to my writing, they sometimes joke
about it or fail to really ask questions about what and why I do what I do. That being written
though, that isn't inspiration for me, it's a type of motivation because though it doesn't encourage me
to write more, it keeps feelings stirred inside that I am able to use towards what I write.

The Mecca Lounge: What inspires you and sparks the fire that allows you to write such
great pieces.
The RBM: Great pieces? Well I'm not too sure about that, but kinda going back to the previous
question, past experiences and people that I have been blessed to encounter have all inspired me in
some sense. For me, the difference between blessings and curses is how a person reacts to a
situation, or being in what we perceive to be trials and tribulations. Have we learned anything or do
we ignore what He wants us to take away from them and instead of growing as people, we either
remain in the place we are physically or remain in the same mindset and start a emotional draining
cycle? So really everyone inspires me to write, people I know and don't know, situations I've been
in, ones that I see others close to me in, and any revelations I have about particular instances.

The Mecca Lounge: I personally want to know why you created TML (The Mecca Lounge).
The RBM: Back in the summer of 2005, when I started to focus on my writing and then began
sharing it online in a poetry group, I eventually felt that a place like Mecca was needed for those of
us who were most active. Mecca was originally just a forum with maybe like four or five sections
and it was created because the site where AAP (the group) was/is honestly, sucked. No type of
control as far as posting, editing, erasing, hundreds of members with like 15 actually active, and
other little things that'll make anybody go crazy/crazier sometimes made it difficult to deal with. So I
just wanted a place where the writers had more control, a chance to interact more, and a place
where I wasn't bound by rules that people who didn't know AAP existed had. So I asked Sherman
(Synapticalist in Mecca) and ColdAugust what they thought about the idea, they supported it, and it
just kinda grew from a small poetry site to one for writers of all genres (with a few other options).

The Mecca Lounge: What other interesting things are you a part of?
The RBM: Let's see, um, I am a writer for a local television show here in Milwaukee called "That's
What's Up", which is a show created by young, positive, and motivated black Men here with the
goals of opening the minds of African Americans in our community, bringing the issues that are
most important to our culture here in Milwaukee to them directly, and educating those who may not
be aware of or have perceptions about certain local situations. I own a pretty in-depth fantasy
football league which has it's own website that I update and maintain (during football season), um,
then with my full time job, maintaining Mecca, reading a lot, focusing on the relationship I'm in,
writing, politics, all sports, and then focusing on my own personal development (not in that order),
there's not much time for anything else really (including sleep -smile-).

The Mecca Lounge: Are you married/involved/single (just curious because you seem so
mysterious for some reason)?
The RBM: Oops, kinda gave the answer away with the last answer. I am involved. She and I have
been seeing each other since October and in a relationship since December.

The Mecca Lounge: Where are your creative processes motivated from?
The RBM: I can write a long time about this subject, so I'll be general. Whatever creativity I have
comes from my desire to always get better at whatever it is I do. So because I'm never satisfied and
the bar is always just out of my reach, I'm forced to think of new heights to reach and new ways of
reaching them. Because I think so much I have tons of new ideas about seemingly everything, and
because I have an ever changing project in Mecca, it's my best outlet to show that side of myself.

The Mecca Lounge: Can you talk about your family?
The RBM: Like a lot of people, I grew up in a rough situation where I could have easily done things
that I know were wrong, so in that sense, my experience is one that you hear (in my opinion) way
too often, and it makes the unique experience too commercial. However, it was because that I had a
younger sister to look after (two years younger) and I knew that I influenced her, it made me look at
things objectively. Though I wasn't a Christian then, I did a lot of praying, asking for and receiving
things that I had no business receiving because I was very "sometimes", acknowledging Him only
when I needed something. But having the experiences that my sister an I had together makes her the
most important person in my worldly existence. She and I are very close, so close in fact that a lot
of family members are jealous and envious of the loyalty and respect we have of one another. My
mom live here in Milwaukee and is a medical assistant and my dad works in radio in Detroit. I have
another younger sister who lives in North Carolina with her mom, but I rarely talk to her at all. For
the most part, I'm pretty private, I don't like a lot of people in my personal business because I try to
keep wise council, which then puts my family and I at odds quite a bit. I have a friend that has been
around for almost 20 years now, so though I don't have any biological brothers, he is as close to one
as I'm ever gonna get.

The Mecca Lounge: Also how do you feel about The Mecca Lounge and all that you've
accomplished with this forum?
The RBM: When I think of accomplishments, goals, and what my definition of success is for
Mecca, I feel that we've attained those already. Personally, Mecca has transcended from just being
that writing forum to a true Community and that's more than I've ever asked for. I often tell people
that even if no one else ever registers with us, as long as what we have now, the respect, love,
family-like atmosphere, and bonds that we share remains, what else do we need? Everything else
that we've accomplished, will accomplish, and currently are accomplishing, to me is extra, just
making us better. Plus we're doing this together, all of us are Mecca, never-mind the .com sites, the
interviews, and the whatever-elses, it's the relationships that we've built, the foundation that is
Mecca. We are already a success.

The Mecca Lounge: Do you think that The Mecca Lounge will grow much more?
The RBM: From a structural standpoint and what we eventually get involved in throughout the
writing world on and offline, yes. I mentioned that we are already are a success, and because I
believe that we are a unique Community, we have the potential (I don't really like that word) to do
big things with that success in the sense of educating writers, and assisting them attain the goals that
any aspiring writer would want and need. The staff and I are hard at work setting up these avenues
as you read this and so many ideas are being worked into reality, that I'm very excited about our
future. All of what we are planning will be built off that foundation I wrote about earlier, not the
other way around, so hopefully you will be as pleased and excited as we are.

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