about me

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My name's Pat and I live in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.

I'm always on the go and I never sit in one place for very long. If the sun is out, I'm gritn' and grindin'.

I do maintenance work in in senior living facilities but my job entails much more than maintenance. I put my heart into my job. I feel like I was born to work there and be a contributor in this industry. I find it incredibly easy to do things for elderly humans, big or small, labor intensive or not, I love it. The feel goods I get inside after helping a resident is far more valuable than my salary.

One of the earliest memories I can recollect is one of me as a toddler, running around a nursing home, playing with the residents while my Mom worked. My Mom has worked as a nurse in senior living facilities since before I was born, so any of them have a slight home feeling to me.

All day long, everyday, all I do is try to enrich the lives of Memphis seniors and I'll do whatever that takes. I will do all that's in my power for elderly humans and advocate for them when I can.

It didn't always use to be like this. I was extremely lost at one point in my life. 

I spent a decade running the Memphis streets, using heroin and any other drug you can think of. Addiction has taken a lot from me, at one point it took everything. Bad drugs have killed people that I love, many of them.

My Dad, some really good friends; Big D, Ced, Thomas, JJ, only to name a few, have died via overdoses from illicit fentanyl.

Shelby County, Tennessee and the entirety of the mid-south is currently in the middle of a drug overdose epidemic. All Memphians have sat back and watched the Shelby County Health Department flex their muscles and exercise their authority during the COVID-19 pandemic, why do they ignore a totally separate epidemic? They both fuel each other and we do nothing.

During my addiction I was literally screaming for help but nobody would listen. Thankfully and by the skin of my teeth I made it out alive, not unscathed but nevertheless, alive.

Knowing the pain of withdrawal personally, along with knowing the difficulty to find formidable treatment, has turned me into a very passionate advocate for addicts currently still using.

Where I stand on some particular issues;

• Drugs: I advocate for the decriminalization of all popular illicit substances. Illicit fentanyl became popular because of our governments' heavy restrictions on prescription pain pills and a massive decrease of imported heroine. Loads of people in chronic pain have been sent home without anything to provide relief, therefore they turn to the street. Legalizing all the illicit substances would save lives, massive amounts of money, and could also significantly boost tax revenue for every state of our union. The fact that alcohol, AKA the most dangerous drug ever known to humankind, is sold on nearly every street corner, in concentrated forms, such as Everclear (95% or 190 proof), tell me that the drug war is not being fought because or out of concern for "public health", money is what's being fought over.

                             [Google Scholarly Literature Search: "legalizing drugs would save lives"]

• Trump: I am typically a Republican voter. I supported Donald Trump in the beginning but I don't anymore. When I listened to the voice recording between then President Trump and Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Trump asked the SoS to "find" "x" amount of votes. The definition of "find" is to discover something unexpectedly. Trump was essentially asking the SoS to fabricate "x" amount of votes. This was, in my opinion, an impeachable and removable offense, which should also disqualify him from ever becoming President again. 

                             [Audio Recording: President Trump & Georgia SoS Brad Raffensperger]

• SleepyJoe: Need I say more? #SleepyJoeForNursingHome

• Republicans/Democrats: Our two party system has created an extremely partisan government, along with causing unrest among the people. We must abolish this whole "party" concept. Ranked-choice voting should be implemented as soon as possible. A candidate should not win the presidency if they didn't win the popular vote, it's absolutely insane that they can currently.

• 2nd Amendment: I am a staunch pro-2nd amendment advocate. I believe this is one of our most precious rights we as Americans share. Rifles, such as the semi-automatic AR15 and AK47, are essential to the security of our nation. Additionally, another important aspect of the second amendment is the ability to rebel against a tyrannical government. It also gives citizens the right to protect themselves against criminal citizens and foreign enemies, without restrictions from the government.

• Labor and jobs: Minimum wage should be at least $15/hour, maybe more. There is absolutely no reason why someone working 40+ hours a week, anywhere, should not be able to 100% financially provide for themselves.