MISSING::: Langford Patton Jr. Ward of the State/Patient at the Water P. Ruether Psychiatric Hospital 30901 Palmer Road Westland, Michigan 48186 Phone: (734) 367-8400 Last seen in Westland, MI April 15, 2018 at 2pm headed south on Wayne Road running from the MJR movie theater. Wearing a light gray coat, navy blue skull cap, khaki pants, and navy-blue Nike gym shoes. It is likely that he may show up in the Dexter/Davison area, specifically on Sturtevant and or Cortland between Dexter & Linwood. If see, please call 911 immediately, do now engage with him at all. He may be a danger to himself or strangers and will continue to run. A missing persons report was filed in the city of Westland, MI & the Water P. Ruether Psychiatric Hospital has been alerted Please contact family representative, Tafari Stevenson-Howard, if you have tips or potentially helpful information at 734-678-0974. Thank you!

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Last Thursday, I got a call from my brother’s case manager, Stacy Wetters at the Water P. Ruether Psychiatric Hospital informing me that he was eligible for a day pass. I got excited when she asked me if I would be comfortable picking up for an 8-hour period. With no hesitation, I said yes, got the details then it was officially a plan. I got off the phone, called our momma and told her the good news and we were both so excited! Langford (Topot) got into some big trouble almost 2 years ago while living in an adult foster care home who allowed him to go unmedicated. When my brother slips off of his medications, all hell breaks loose and it did… He went into a local restaurant, waving a knife demanding food. He even went behind the counter with the knife further making demands. The workers were able to get him to leave the building but then he went to the dumpster looking and ultimately fell asleep in front of the restaurant with the knife and was arrested… Fast forward and he’s now facing a 4+ year felony charge, was transferred to the Wayne County Jail, put on trial, transferred to the Ruether Psychiatric Hospital, where he was put back on medication, had them adjusted, got cleaned up, I was able to visit with him. Later found incompetent to stand trial and the case was dropped. Although the case was dropped, he couldn’t return to the street until he was mentally stable and put into a home that could meet his high needs and that’s the challenge. I last met with his treating team over 6 weeks ago and no movement since then but he’s doing so good. I visit him often. We usually have snacks, talk about old times, play cards and he usually has some interested fantasy stories that he tells me. I always listen no matter how out there the stories are & they are usually out there… Back to now… So I pick him up yesterday for the 8-hour pass, he looked great! So bright, happy, and excited to be getting some fresh air. My plan was to take him to see "Black Panther," then some lunch and back to my house to chill. When we got in the car, he asked me to put on some jazz, so I did. We listened to the Brand New Heavies, one of his favorites. Then he asked if we could listen to more jazz when we got to my house. I had a surprise for him… I found a Paul Hardcastle album at the record store the day before and we both love Paul Hardcastle so it was a treat. We get to the movies, get snacks, get seats and it’s going great… He then has to use the rest room. Then minutes go by. Then more minutes and I’m like where is he. He sits back down next to me smelling like cigarettes. OMG! One of my instructions was no cigarettes, no liquor, no other drugs… All of this can interfere with his medications. As a matter of fact, any of this can make him have seizures. I asked about the cigarettes & he popped off at the mouth and then he had to use the restroom again… At this point, I sensed trouble and knew I had to cut the day short. I explained that I was taking him back. He got upset and as soon as we got outside headed to the car, he bolted. I was shocked but immediately started chasing him. He was running like a fucking gazelle bobbing and weaving through a very busy street with cars coming in both directions. It was like a scene in a movie then I stopped… Why am I chasing him. WHY??? Really putting myself at risk. He always told me he was a ninja and a green beret (whatever that is). yesterday, I believed him. The way he ran across Wayne road through those cars and disappeared trips me out. I mean... he took off running. Like he was Carl Lewis. I walk back to the car in the freezing rain… Thinking… What am I gonna say to the hospital. All my fault. The police. All my fault. He’s grown but he’s not. Called the police and Water P. Ruether Psychiatric Hospital. Reports were filed. Cars were out searching. I headed home. He knows my phone number and may call. He may run to our old neighborhood for refuge. I don’t know but I do know that I’m drained! DRAINED! Mental illness is such a heavy load! For those affected and for those family members who love & support. Last night, I felt like I was at the end of my rope. I went through a range of emotions. Through my family experience with my grandmother (paranoid schizophrenic) and brother (paranoid schizophrenic), I see how your family will give up on you because of mental illness. I don’t want to be how I saw my mother, aunts and uncles were with my grandmother. I don’t want to be like that to my brother. It’s so hard. A hard place. I want to be my brother’s keeper but damn…

Last week, I hosted my first official [housewarming] party of the year at my new home, the Humble Ranch. So many of my family & friends came out to celebrate this awesome life event with me.

It was a simple affair complete with excellent texture, color, design, drink, & food mixed with African flair.

Everybody knows that I'm all about a fun party flyer so for this occasion I decided to use a few vignettes from my home as a background to spread the word. With many of my friends not seeing my home before the party, the flyers offered a sneak peek into my life & design esthetic.

As you can see, the set was 4-8pm but things lasted much longer & it was all good. People love a good party, including me!

I'm so appreciative of the wonderful people that I have in my life, they really showed your boy some tremendous love!

I've been in my new home now for almost 4 months and it's honestly THE best home that I've ever lived as an adult for so many reasons.

As a matter of fact: The top image was taken with my Nikon DSLR, the last two were taken with my iPhone 6.

I am not a big fan of going out during the week, but when my girl Mayaeni organized a show, there was no way that I could not be there. She gave the standing room audience everything they needed and then some! And as an extra rock songstress bonus, she had Steffanie Christi'an on stage for the end of the set. It was a great night & I'm happy that I broke my rule.

"Anger, can make you old, yes it can I said anger, can make you sick, children... oh Jesus Anger destroys your soul Rage, there's no room for rage in there There's no room for rage in here Line up some place to go to be mad It's a sin to treat your body bad" Marvin Gaye - Anger ~ 1979 I choose to live in peace because it takes little to no effort & it makes me happy. My heart is open & there is plenty of room for love. Anger will kill. Anger will destroy. Anger will eat you alive. Anger will block your growth. Let it go & free yourself. Easier said than done but it is doable. I'm living proof.

Three years ago, I made a plan to purchase a home. Last week, the plan materialized & I'm beyond happy. Staying committed to the plan was a little rough as I had to really resift my priorities to make things happen but it was worth all of the sacrifices. Waking up to a home drenched in sunlight, covered in love is where my happiness stems from! I've never been a morning person but I find myself waking up early to enjoy the quiet peace of my new home. Still kinda feels like a dream; a great dream in my dream home.

My cousin, best best best friend, Cousin Dee is having a baby!!! She broke the news several months ago and it was the best news ever. Of course, I had to photograph this wonderful moment in my family's history. The image above is my absolute favorite from our little session. We were joking and sing some T-Pain song and we both just burst out laughing. Not to put myself out there too much but I just recently discover T-Pain's music & that's because of a story on NPR. You have to see this video. I love it! Like for real…. Can't wait to meet my little cousin/nephew. I already have a nick name… Uncle Baba TT. I hate it. I hate it so much but it's pretty damn funny.

Earlier this week, I made my way to San Antonio, TX for the first time. I've wanted to visit for years after seeing various enticing shows on the Travel Channel & Food Network and as a history buff, I totally wanted to visit the Alamo and Catholic missions that are around the famed city. Well, this trip to San Antonio served two purposes; business & pleasure. Business: I was presented on a University of Michigan career development program at the 2014 CUPA-HR (College and University Professional Association for Human Resources) annual conference. Pleasure: Eating, sightseeing, & whatever else I could get into. The conference was AWESOME and my presentation went very well. I pretty much wanted to kick my feet in mid air after it was over.  I present frequently but this was my first time nationally so I'm feeling swell about this feather in my cap. Everything else on the pleasure side was what I wanted and more. San Antonio is such a beautiful city! Met some fun locals & many other conference attendees at networking events. Had amazing food but honestly, I over dosed on Tex-Mex and prickly pear margaritas. Upon leaving, I felt energized & empowered from the conference & certainly planning to go back to discover more of what the city has to offer. It was a great week & I rocked it out! Video done on the iPhone 6 with slow motion. Music credit: "Keep Up" by Slakah The Beatchild featuring Ayah See a few snapshots from my trip here

Cousin Dee & I took a quick little road trip to NYC this past weekend for a needed break and to attend José Vilson's, "This Is Not A Test" book launch. The trip was hype. Ate at some of my favorite spots, discovered some new spots, kicked it with great people, took a lot of damn pictures. Best of all, I was able to check out the Carrie Mae Weems exhibit at the Guggenheim and the Black Eye pop up exhibit in TriBeCa, where I had a very unique interchange with the exhibit's curator, the beautiful, Nicola Vassell.   Interestingly enough, Carrie Mae Weems and Black Eye contributor Rashid Johnson have given me inspiration to do a series of introspective photos of myself that will most likely be centered around my body, my vulnerability intersected with cultural identity to share a narrative that will hopefully push me further as an artist. We'll see how this plays out…

Yesterday, I attended my first BBQ of the short season aKa spring/summer or is it still winter.  It was last minute and typically, I like taking salads to cook outs but yesterday, I decided to do a quick and fun lemonade using what I already had on hand. - English cucumber - Basil - Orange (for fun) - Lemon (for fun) - Simply Lemonade - Tanqueray Rangpur - West Indian Orange bitters I really didn’t measure out anything just chopped, poured, & stirred. After mixing everything together, & let it sit in the freezer for 2 hours to give it a good chill. The basil gave this concoction life. The cucumber mellowed it out and made it super refreshing. It turned out great & it was gone before I knew it.

Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers is certainly a grand Detroit holiday! Tailgaters everywhere! Debauchery everywhere! Chaos everywhere! People doing way too much everywhere! I had a great time celebrating the opening of the season with my boo, my friends, and a whole host of randoms in my orange fashion sweater that they all love to hate. For some reason, I felt like I was Ferris Bueller, minus the car situation & the sister with the scorching case of herpes. It was all good! Pictured above is Detroit Tiger, Austin Jackson. A great player and a great person all the way around! Here's to a great season!

Every thing about this photo here screams 1980s Jet magazine Newport ad. I love it & I'm so not into cigarettes!

One light… One woman… Two looks… Doing more with less is my new black. And having beautiful friends who are willing to be photographed by me is always a good thing! I appreciate you TR.

Bad ass woman of earth & wind.