I rarely read the newspaper…and have stopped watching television.   So, the means that I accquire the news these days is usually when I go up over the net and see a news flash.   Most of the time I pay little attention to them…but then there are those which draw me in.  And I find myself having to read the story…and not out of  real interest…but because I find the headline hard to believe.

Today, I came across one of  those attention grabbing headlines.   The headline read something like this…‘Gang Rape and nobody helped.’

How could such a thing happen?

What has happened to mankind?

The incident took place during a high school homecoming dance outside in some alleyway or something on the school grounds…for 2 hours long this raping continued.  And kids stood around watching, while others  jumped in to participate while a 15 year girld was raped repeatedly by up to as many…if  not more than 15 to 20 people in some way participated in this incident and stood watching.

What would possess somebody to stand around and want to cheer on or watch such a thing?

Why didn’t someone call for help?

Or run and go tell somebody?

What is going on in the minds of our young people that they could get caught up in such a thing…and then become party to it by standing around and doing nothing…or worst…jumped and became more than a watcher?

Everyone of those kids should be pulled into court…and facing some type of charges. 

Many were busy lighting up their cell phones taking pictures of the crime…and even videotaping it…a type of criminal voyeurism.   But no one called for help…or tried to stop what was going on.

I cannot imagine such a thing.  There is not anything that I can see going on…that I would not try to stop…and help.  I have seen men fighting their girlfriends…and gotten involved.  I have stopped fights between kids.  I have gotten between mama-bady-daddy drama.   And did it  because  I just can’t turn a blind eye to anything that I feel is wrong…or harmful…or potentially dangerous to someone.

I don’t have a fear of getting involved.  But I know that many people do not think like this.   And I know that many people may feel that I am putting my ownself  in jeopardy.   And if  I stopped to considered that…I might act like everybody else. 

But I am glad that  I do not.  I’ve  got nieces and nephews…and a son  that  I have to think about.   I just don’t want anything to happen to them.    So, let me try to clean up the problems now.   Later might be too late…for them and me.

But how could I not help somebody?

Or try to?

But I have never ran towards anything in order to be an observer…not even as a child.

That is something which I cannot understand.  Why would I run towards gun fire to see what is going on…or just to see who got shot…and laugh excitely about  it?

Now, that is stupid to me.

Or, why would I rush to see people fighting?

That’s dumb. 

If  anything…I go to see if  I can help…and whenever I am near a fight I go to break it up.    Not to laugh and cheer anything on.

But this is the mentality of  people…and it is definitely the mentality of  of  the kids.   Everything is a  joke…or funny.   But somebody being raped…or killed is not a joke.  And certainly not funny…nor is it entertainment.

This kind of thinking is dangerous for all mankind.  If  the new group of adults coming into this world are a bunch of  desensitized robots…uncaring…unfeeling…unthinking…uncompassionate ids….where will this world be?

How safe will any of us be…as the world falls into their hands?

I once had a lover who had been gang raped and sodomized…and who knows whatever else.    But I cannot tell you the impact it left upon her…and her life.   Every time she went to the bathroom she re-lived that situation.   That thing lived with her…it was in her insides and something she could not shake.   Though she was successful…as an actress…and part-time music teacher…that incident marked her private life.    That gang rape greatly colored her life in the in-between time.

She was not big in size…small  stature.  So, I can imagine just helpless she must have felt…not to mention the terror of  it.    She never really talked about it except to say that it had happened.   And I did not push it.

So, how could someone…20 or more people witness something like that and not do anything?

How could we…any of  us be safe if everyone walking around us only cares about themselves…and have no compassion for anyone else?

There is a great need for serious consideration to be given for where will mankind be and the type of world and societies will dominate this planet in the next 20 to 30…or 50 years from now.   Everyting is a joke.   Blood…rape…murder…crimes of every conceivable kind and inconceiveable kind are happening today…and very high rates…escalated rates.  And nobody is paying attention to it. 

And not only a need for serious consideration…but something has to be done now regarding the attitde of  our youth to crime and criminal acts.  And high officials should be concerned now about what affects desensitizing our teens to blood and criminal acts via  computer games, movies, music videos etc.  will have upon the increase of  future criminal acts and the types of crimes prepetrated…and to what degree these crimes are acted out.

Some feel that the lack of anyone getting involved had to do with fear.  But if  their  fear is that great…then they should fear how much worst it is going to be  if  people continue to allow criminal acts to take place without something being done. 

FEAR?

They don’t have any fear yet…let the criminals continue acting out as they are acting out.

Fear only empowers those perpetrating the crimes.  Fear is the biggest thing that they have going for them.  That is why the Bible says….‘Fear not.’

The last thing you want to do…even with an animal…is appear to be affraid.  Or in other words…fearful. 

What happens when fear is taken out of the equation?

Then you have power…because the power ceases to be in the hands of  him or them that are trying  to terrorize you.   It is one of the first lessons you learned really early in life.   Usually while you were in grade school when it came to bullys…who  were  only as big and as bad as you let  them be.   But did you ever finally stand up to one…and saw how quickly the table  change between you and them? 

While living in Chicago…I was at wits end.  I was being stalked…something I would suggest that no one try to do today.  Because I am no longer that person…believe me. 

But I became a nervous wreck under that situation.  I was well on my way to having a nervous breakdown…had it not been for the Lord.  I could not walk down the street without stopping everytime I heard someone walking behind me.   Being  in  a large city like Chicago…this happened quite often as someone was always behind me…just not  normally  the person who was terrorizing me.     In the evening when I went home…I would throw open the door  to my apartment before entering and step in like police detectives…leaving the door wide open behind me.   I would go peering from room to room trying to make sure no one was in my apartment…which definitely left me open for the person to enter into my apartment behind me.  But when fear has you…it has you…and you do not think clearly.   And when you are not thinking clearly…you leave yourself open for anything to happen to you.

I was tormented by fear.   So much so…that by time I finally got through it I vowed never again.  I will never go back to being in that state again.   Under any circumstances…or by anyone.

But at the end…the tables turned.   It took a drama turn…and had not God intervened I might probably be in prison now…and there for the rest of my life.  Because I would have killed the person.  I snapped…and in my snapping the tables turned…and my perpetrated went fleeing from me.  When I think of it now…it is so  Biblical….‘and I will make you enemies flee 7 ways before thee.’   And that is when it ended…when I finally stood up to the person…the phone calls…the following …the threats….everything…and I vowed ‘never…ever again’

And I have never feared anything…or anyone ever again.

And this is how I know how big a weapon fear is. 

And those who use it…count upon it being so.   They dominate neighborhoods…housing complexes…streets…cities…etc…using fear.

So, the more that people cease to do anything…if  indeed they are fearful…most of  them just don’t care.   But those who are fearful of  doing anything to stop or aid somehow a victim of a criminal act…the more you empower those who perpetrate the crimes.  Thereby, in the end causing yourself  a greater harm…because you did nothing.  And those that you fear become stronger and more aggressive.   It is an unending situation…better to deal with it sooner rather than later. 

If nobody cares about your neighborhood…then you should.   Because you do live there too.   And you should never allow anybody to chase you up or down a street…or make you run…or have you affraid to leave your home.

What happens when you become the victim?

And you will…one way or another…if you allow crime to fester unrestrained…or  actively sought to be kept down.

I was pretty sick reading about that man who had imprisoned his own daughter in a very small basement space for over 20 years of her life…breeding kids with her.   And all of this while living just above his daughter in the house with his wife…her mother.  That story made me sick for such a long time…so much so I could not talk about it…much less write about it.  But it is an example of the type of stories that we are reading and hearing about today.  But if this is what is going on today…hideous crimes…stomach turning crimes.  How much worst will these stories become in the future…if this trend continues?

Criminal activity is on an increase everywhere…and  much of it  we  never even hear about until somebody leaks something.  And many others  because the value of the poor people who have  fallen into the hands of some very sick people…well, their lives were just not worth looking into.

So, no investigation were ever initiated.

Take for instance, this story….

It is very unfortunate when police officials pick and chose who is or is not worth looking for.  So many people go missing without the police going out to look for them while they might have been found yet alive.  But if  they…any of  these poor women in this story been some rich socialite, or high city official or lawyer…somebody with some money or some type of clout…no amount of expense or time would have been spared on their behalf.

There is an imbalance in the world…and it stretches all the way around the world.

http://news.aol.com/main/nc/article/bodies-found-in-anthony-sowells/746332

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/27/california.gang.rape.investigation/index.html

http://www.sphere.com/2009/10/30/cries-for-help-not-always-answered/?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sphere.com%2F2009%2F10%2F30%2Fcries-for-help-not-always-answered%2F

I know I have told this story in an earlier blog here… www.bsmith101.wordpress.com.   It is when one night…late  night…actually early morning…when my cousin, Vincent, was on his home from having been out clubing.  As he neared his apartment…in the dark of night he heard a woman scream out for help.   He went running in the direction on the cries and came upon the woman and her perpetrator.  He grab the man and flung him to the ground…and then held him down until the police came.

My cousin was a very tall and handsome gay male.  I have no doubt that most of  his life he had to deal with people snickering about him as he was very effeminate.  But he never hesitated to step aside for a woman…or get get up to offer his seat to a woman or elderly person… or help you remove your coat…or pull out your chair and hold it for you as you sat down.  He was more a man than most ’so-called’ real men.  And not only  was  he a very nice…but also a very decent person…and caring in every way.  He really was someone who would give you the shirt off his back.  And if  it cost him…he gave to you regardless if he had suffer.

You could not have met a better person than him.

He would have never ran towards a fight to stand and watch it…but to pull the people apart.   Nor would he have stood around and watched a young girl or anyone being raped.  I wish I had a picture of  him…to put in this blog.  He was a hero.   And we need more like him.

Reggie Jackson of the New York Yankees was the same way.  His name had found its way  into  news headlines for more than baseball…more than once because of some act of  heroism on his part…when went to the aid of someone.

More people need to do it…and things would change.  Just think of 9/11…what would have happened if the people on those first 2 airplanes had been more like the people on that  3rd airplane?

In looking up information of the gang rape…I happened to come by this story.   Though I had seen this picture of this woman many times…I never knew her story.  But it is sick.  In fact, it is beastiality.

She is a socialite…who married a man…wealthy man.   He had built a jungle on his property and had a great love for his cats…the type known as ‘lions.’   So, as she started to age and as a means of re-capturing his attention she decided to disfigure herself  like this purposely.  She is called the ‘lion woman.’   Because she went under the knife to have her face disfigured into that of a lion.

It is beastiality…in its highest form.

I think she likes it even more now…with all the attention that having it  done has  given her.   Talk about… what women won’t do.   Nobody is worth destroying yourself for. 

What a sick mind…and it truly shows what having too much money and nothing concrete to do with…can bring about.

Finally, in closing… I got an comment today on my Chastity Bono blog…which has been getting a tremedous amount of  hits lately.   This particular person was very disenchanted with my statements regarding Chastity and her sex change.  But he used a very interesting word while stating his point.  

That word was…    ‘transitioning.’  

Interesting…indeed.   

Transitioning…

Evidently, this person  felt that Chastity’s…or Chad as she is calling herself these days…decision to undergo that surgery to remove somethings and to add some other things…   Well, that it is just a simple  little transition in life.   To a degree we  all  have to go through some transitioning  in our lives, I guess… overcoming some disappointments…some losses…some set-backs…etc.   But the  altering of  ones sex is a bit more deeper  than a simple little transitioning phase.  And  I think most would agree with me about that.

I was reading something on a  quakco doctor…one that performs a lot of these type of  operations…sex changes…who is now a supposed woman himself.  After having undergone the operation himself  many years ago…it seems that all of his partners have been women who ‘underwent the operation.’   He became a woman…and they became supposed men.  Which means…they kind of  ended up in the same kind of situation that they would have been in…in the first place had they merely remained what they already were. 

Sick…

I wouldn’t let anybody who is not clear headed put a knife to me.  Most of these surgeons are quakes and definitely…these so-called plastic surgeons. 

We are living in a sick world…truly.   And we should all be concerned about where this world is going…meaning….in which direction it is headed in.   Things are being turned upside down.

And I am not really trying to pass judgement on anyone.  Because we all do crazy things…and years later wake up having  lots of regrets.  I still regret some things…many things in fact.  And in the process I have grown.  But thank goodness I did nothing that committed me for my whole entire life to a big mistake.  I was fortunate…no bless…because many can’t say that.

We can’t change people’s decisions about things concerning themselves…and what it is or isn’t that they want to do.   Nor can we  force things down people’s throats…or should we try.  That is one of the greatest beauties of  God…choice.   He desires that we should have it…and with the hope that we make the right ones.

Well, the day is almost over.  Its been quiet and I am trying to finish up on some things.  I want to complete some things before the new year comes in.  I want my book, THE BISHOP’S WIFE, to be out and available for sale…my website launched.  And a couple of  other things settled too.

So, I am looking forward to transitioning into 2010…working on some other  and new  things.  And to be well on my way to doing more for the Lord. 

And I look forward to it.

Well, God bless…

Thank you for reading this blog…and  my others.  Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends… “pass it on…”  www.bsmith101.wordpress.com  ©2009

I have long held Chicago as being one of the most dangerous places I have ever lived in.  The level and the types of crimes I found there far exceeded and surpassed any I had ever encountered anywhere else…including New York.

While following this story as best as I could…being that I no longer watch TV or ever take out the time to read any newspapers.  I was stunned while standing in the laundromat doing my laundry this week.  When the story came up as an indepth report.   But that is not what stunned me…but hearing that there had been 40 murders of young people in Chicago this year alone.  That was not only stunning but shocking to me.

How could a problem such as gang or teen violence be so far out of controll?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/27/beating-death-of-derrien_n_301319.html

Though in Chicago…gang activity involves more than just teens…as 30 and 40 year old men…and I guess maybe women (and young girls)…are involved in gangs.  They actively recurit seeking out new members wherever they want to.

http://news.aol.com/article/derrion-alberts-beating-death-captured/690024

When I lived in Chicago, Dr. Reynolds (Dr. A. L. Reynolds of 6th Grace United Presbyterian Church) told me how they…some gang members had threaten to take his life.  And had annouced to him that they were going to come into his church to take who they wanted.  That is the kind of pressure that many face in Chicago.  They are under the constant threat of malicious malice by gangs…daily facing violence and all kinds of gang related activity.   With the gangs believing that they control everything… and everyone.

The problem is greater than the issue of ‘black-on-black crime.’   By far greater.  It is one of hate… and hating in particular of seeing someone… anyone raise above the preceived notions or standards of degradation… which many wallow in urban ghettos.

There has always been this problem of  black folks hating to see other black folks moving ahead…or getting further in life than themselves.  But I guess this trait is something which is in many…meaning that it is human in nature. 

When you consider history where several pockets of successful black folk, business owners, who were killed and burnt out of their homes and business prior to the 1960’s.  One such group was in Tulsa, Oakahoma, in 1921…and another in 1923 in Rosewood, Florida…as well as, other places.   But what happened to them happened because they were black…successful…and the communities in which they lived (their black communities) were flouishing… growing.    They became booming and profitable…too booming and too profitable.  

These 2 massacres, one known as the Rosewood Massacres and the other as the Tulsa Riots…were the burning out of and hanging of black folks.   They were not the acts of black- against-blacks.  But they were the product of white people against black people.   And these acts were very violent…and came about as a means of terrorizing the black people in their areas…as well as, a means to destroy everything that they had…and to  keep those ‘Negros’  in their  place.  Meaning…not thinking they were like white people…or equal to white people.  

I guess you could sort say that those boys that attacked Derrion Albert…beating him across the head with railroad irons, kicking and stomping at him…appeared to have had simular sentiments.  They wanted to keep him down.  Wanted to make an example of him…to others who might think like him…or desire to be like him.  Others who got ideas about learning…and achieving…and leaving the ghetto behind them.

http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/rosewood-massacre-1923

http://rwor.org/a/v21/1040-049/1043/tulsa.htm

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/massacre/

Considering the nature of man…that we would all be salvage beast except for the grace of God.  When you think of  the type of violence that the kids regularly watch and have become desentized to via movies, television, videos and video games…there is little wonder that we are seeing all of what we are seeing today.   Kids out on the streets banding together to attack one another…whether it is East Coast or West Coast…or Central America…their is a big problem with it.   Kids taking pleasure is beating down somebody…and everybody running to watch.  Or walking into schools or in college classrooms and shooting down everybody.  It is all very much the same whether it be in Columbine, Colorado or South Side Chicago. 

Yes, there is a problem.  And it is neither black or white.  It is a human problem.

Out of all those people…who ran to help Derrion?

Out of all of those people standing around.  Who tried to help him?

No one.

In fact, it is said that Derrion…himself became an innocent victim…because he went to help someone else.

Let’s look at this….

Who did they kill?

Someone who they realized had a future. 

Someone whom they recognized was going someplace. 

Somebody who’s ambitions were greater than hanging out on the streets. 

Somebody who wanted to learn something… achieve something… do something with his life… more than what they were doing.

While they had made bad choices…lots of them concerning their own lives…and the direction that they were headed in.   Now with some on them on their way to prison behind their very senseless murder Derrion…a very innocent person. 

But was it necessary for them to steal somebody else’s dreams…or to want to?

To take away Derrion’s life…and try to defeat him by killing him…because he refused to submit to them…and the streets?

Because Derrion wanted more out of life?

 Becuse he saw where he did have a future…and could make something out his life?  

Because he chose to learn something…and then to do something with what he was learning?

It is kind of like those massacres which took place in Tulsa and Rosewood…and other placess…when you really look back on it.  They were about people who hated others because they became successfull…were progressing.  And that is why Darrion got attack too…and was eventually murdered.

He was progressing.  

Progressive…not stuck in a box.

Aspiring to be something.

He knew that there was more to life… lots more that it had to offer him… than gang life…and gang activities.

Derrion was a 16 year old honor student on his way to college.  He had visions of  making something out of his life.  He was on the path to going to college.  And gang life…and hanging out in the streets of Chicago just did not fit into his plans.

So, therefore, Derrion was a danger to them.  Because Derrion’s mind wasn’t warped by the reality of what was around him…into believing that there was nothing else…or something better.  That living as many lived around him…was all that there was.

And…so, they saw that Derrion was different and they killed him for it.  Like those progressive black communities of Tulsa and Rosewood…were burnt down and destroyed until there was no hope of them ever coming back.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/28/chicago.teen.beating/index.html

The problem with Chicago…is that their gang problem should have been dealt with long ago.  In 1981 when Mayor Jane Byrne moved into Cabrini Green, a housing project on Chicago’s West Side…it was because people couldn’t even step outside of their apartments without becoming moving targets for target practice by the gangs which controlled their project.

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/photos/2009/10/mayor-byrne-moves-into-cabrini-green—1981.html

When gangs take over projects…hotels and are allowed to run wild and rule as they have in Chicago things can only get worst…and worst.  And they have…the levels of criminal activity in Chicago escalates from year to year. 

There is little wonder why it was not chosen for the site of the 2016 Olympic Games.

I was living in Chicago when the World Soccer Games was held there.  It was beautiful and festive.  Though Chicago is always beautiful.  But until the issue of gangs and crime is seriously addressed in Chicago…the lives of those living there will continued to be threaten by senseless acts of criminal activity.

And as long as the gang issue is considered a ‘black issue’  or a ‘minority thing’ nothing will ever be seriously done about it.  

And that goes for gang criminal acts everywhere.

Today started off  dark and rainy.  Thought that it was going to rain all day…but the sun is out now.  But there are still a few dark clouds in the sky.  So, I guess it might start raining again later.  But I hope that you are enjoying your day no matter what the weather is.  And always keep in mind sunny or dark…that God loves you. 

I am not going to get rid of this picture.   And no, I will not get tired of looking at it.  

It really does make me think of the weather that will soon be on its way. 

Well, God bless…

Thank you for reading this blog…and  my others.  Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends… “pass it on…”  www.bsmith101.wordpress.com  ©2009 

I was hoping to go to bed early tonight.  Didn’t get in until after 2 AM last night.  Had the opportunity to go into New York for the 2nd night of the funeral of the God Father of  Gospel Music, Rev. Timothy Wright.   And what an event it was.  I am still happy that we decided to go. 

It was a musical program celebrating the music and musical legacy and influence of  Dr. Timothy Wright.  So, some of everybody in gospel music was there and performed including a combined choir of 23 choirs…comprising 1,200 voices.  So, if you can imagine that…then you have a clue of  the kind of evening we had last night…and it was free and open to public.  On top of  it…it was very well organized…and had a super sound system which wasn’t anything outside of what that church already had.   And was like being in the Appollo Theater…it had to have been a converted movie theater.

So, from Ty Tribbett, to Rev. Milton Biggham, Myrna Summers, Timoney Figueroa, Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship Choir, Vershawn Mitchell,  Keith Wonder Boy, Maurette Brown, Judieth McAllister…and many manyothers performed…a host of them.  And it was fabulous…each and everyone of  them.  I am still glowing from that service in honor of  the God Father of  Gospel Music, Rev. Timothy Wright…a man I really feel was not given the real honor that his music deserved…during the course of  his life.  But he never complained…he continued writing… producing… performing and preaching to the glory of God.   Truly, a fabulous man…and a real lover of  his church…and God.   Faithful…

It shocked me the Saturday, last July when we woke up to a bunch of text messages saying Rev. Timothy Wright had met with a tragic automobile accident which took the life of  his wife and only grand son…leaving him paralyzed and mostly hospitalized until he passed just recently.  From one moment to the next…we never know what is going to happen in our life.

Earlier that evening I had stopped by Rev. Wright’s booth at AIM, in Detroit…he had just been down a few booths and to the opposite of the aisle from  Vicki Winans’   booth.   He was autographing his book while cheerfully beaconing  passerbyers to stop at his booth.

I will not forget how I had stood there telling him how great he looked…and how happy I was to see that he was doing so well healthwise…as the last time I had seen him was when I had booked him to performed at my summer outreach program called, Ministry Under the Tent.  He was not feeling well at all…but yet he travelled from New York to perform before the people here who are still talking about that show…and weekend.

Because I could see that that he was not feeling well that day…as he was dietetic…I said to him-

“If you only sing one song I’ll be okay with that.”

That’s what I told him.

But when he hit that stage with his 30 choir members…you would not have been able to tell how he had been suffering prior to performing.  And he kept on going like the Energized Bunny.  They really performed…and sounded just like the CD’s.

So, it was good to see him in Detroit doing so well health-wise…and I just kept saying it over and over…and the following morning…

To tell you seriously I felt guilty…as though I had caused that accident myself…having  raved so much about how good  Rev. Wright  had looked that Saturday afternoon.  But a car coming up onto the inter-state highway travelling in the wrong direction ran right into his car…head-on… and Rev. Timothy Wright’s life was forever changed that night.

I was shocked…his life had been turned upside down in the flash of a moment.  He had just finished performing in a large gospel concert with Mary Mary, the Clark Sisters, Ricky Dillard etc…and in a quick flash of a moment…his career had come to a end.   He lost his wife and grand son…and very nearly lost his own life in less than 6 hours since the time I had spoken with both him and his wife as they worked their booth with their grand son. 

D.U.I…driving under the influence of alcohol or anything else…is a serious problem…and it is highly dangerous and deadly to us all.  The same roadway that that accident occured was the exact highway we had to travel on later in order for us to get back home from Detroit too.  Any one of us could have met up with that driver.  It should not take until something happens to one of  us that we rally to do something about drivers who continue to  get behind the wheel knowing that they are incapable of  doing so properly or safely. 

It is sad to think about what ended up happening to Rev. Timothy Wright and his family due a driver driving under the influence…who also ended up killing himself…by not only traveling in the wrong direction.   But also travelling at a  very high speed.

Needless to say…I was happy to hear that he was no longer suffering…and trying to deal with his loses.  Yes, I was happy that he was no longer suffering from the loses in his personal life…and his physical being.

He was so gracious and so kind…when I called him…he never even asked me to sign a contract…didn’t  have to wire him any up-front money…which is highly out of  the norm.   But that is what he did…just said have the money ready when he got there.  And I did…and all cash.  I have done many shows…and never had anyone been so trusting. 

I  have been involved in both concert promotions and other large events as a promoter for both R&B  and religious concerts and events…but never had 1 entertainer… agent… manager… or other person that I  booked for an event  of any type…not  require me to sign a contract and to send some money in advance…which is typically the way that it is done.   And I am sure that through his many years in the industry…I am sure that Rev. Wright has probably had his share of  problems with promoters…yet  he did not require me to sign or forward him anything…for some reason.  Though I asked him…and he said-

“No,  just have it ready when I get there.”

I marvel at that even to this day.   And I made sure that everything for him was set and ready for him when the bus I had hired for them pulled into town and they poured off of it. 

And I cannot thank enough the Chamblee Bus Company out of  Newark, New Jersey…who at 1 AM in the morning the night before Rev.  Wright was to perform… they got me a bus and a driver…after the initial bus company I had hired for the job…to pick up Rev. Wright and his choir in Brooklyn…called me to say that they were not coming.   I marvel at that too…God worked it out in the wee hours of  the morn.   And all ended up being  just  fine…better than fine.

As I sat there listening to all those performers and expeditors…and listened to the new group of  radio gospel announcers in New York City now…my mind drifted back to all the years that I have played his music…and still do…and how he had come to perform here at Ministry Under the Tent…and I couldn’t help but cry a bit from time to time.

Following all the singing…Pastor Hubert Powell was allowed a few seconds to speak…and wow did he deliver.  I wish I could write it like he said it…but I can’t.  But he and the God Father of  Gospel Music, Rev. Timothy Wright, had been friends for over 50 years.  And I do not think…and would find it very hard to believe…that anybody who ever met him…didn’t meet somebody who they did ot like and love in the person of  Rev. Timothy Wright.  He was truly a man of  God…who got his start up under the Father of Gospel Music…James Cleveland.  

As I stated…I had decided not to write anything tonight.  I could barely keep my eyes open earlier…but while checking on some things over the internet…I came across a couple of stories which really motivated me to begin to write this blog.

The first was a story on Jesse Jackson.  I find him to be so disappointing.   Not atall the person I thought him to be.  I guess it is hard to accept when people do not meet  your expectations of  who you believe them to be…based upon your media knowledge of  them…meaning news items that you read.  

Throughout all the years all the information on Jesse Jackson had been positive…up until the story of  the illegitimate baby…and that open mic story hit the news…where Jesse…  Well, you know the story (wrote about it in 2 other blogs if  you to read that story)…how Jesse said he wanted to cut off  Obama’s…  Well…you know the story.   Until that point my preception of  Rev. Jesse Jackson had been one of  him being what he actively projected…and that is what it was a “projection”...that he was a dedicated black leader…who sincerely loved and cared for his people.

Now, reading this story further adds to my ever decreasing opinion of  Jesse Jackson.  Currently, he is being sued for $100,000 by the AEI Speakers Bureau for failing to show up at a speaking engagement in Trinidad…after…now check this out… after he had the conference promoters  charter him a private jet to transporthim from Chicago to Trinidad for the speaking engagement…and demanding a fee of $75,000 to come and speak at the event.  And I thought  Aretha Franklin’s $65,000 fee plus a portion of the gate was excessive.  Well,  it was a bit too rich for my blood…but at least she was worth the money.  I just couldn’t afford it.

Can you imagine that?

Seventy-five thousand dollars to have Jesse Jackson come to speak at a conference engagement.  And an engagement in a poor country…run by black people?

And then force them to book  him a private chartered jet?

Can you imagine the type of  hotel accommodations Jesse must have requested…5 star plus…no doubt.

They deserve to sue him.  And I hope they get every dime.  What a ridiculously greedy man.    He is definitely too full of   himself.

For the same event Rev.  Al Sharpton and Martin L. King the third were also  booked to participate…both of  whom who flew regular commercial fligts into Trinidad.

I have to admit to having read years ago while in New York…that Jesse’s Wall Street Summit was nothing but one big corporate shake-down…in the name of  black people. 

Can you imagine  Jesse Jackson getting rich on our backs?

Playing all these years…like something he has never been.  Really interested in black people…and the social injustices surrounding them.  And trying to get to get them irraticated.  When in fact…he has always been out for Jesse…at the pretense of  aiding the plight of  black people in this country. 

The Bible says…what is done in the dark will come to light.  Meaning anything that is not true…will in time be unveiled…revealed.   Jesse Jackson can truly speak to the words of  this scripture…as more and more is being revealed about him.

Now…on to Michael Steele, the chairman of  the Republican National commitee…another foolish black man…along the vain of a Clarence Thomas. 

It is sad really.

We are living in a season now…   Oh, well…come on lets grow up.    We do not have go running around and cow-tauing and bowing down to everybody.   Give me a break.   I hate ignorance…and particularly from those who want to pretend that are above others…in terms of  their intellect…place in life…etc…etc…  But they don’t know who they are…or they forget where they come from…or how to love what is their’s…namely their own people while trying to pretend to be somebody else.   And also loose their dignity by acting and talking foolishly.

Every group loves their own people…that is only natural.  And anybody who doesn’t…then something is wrong with them. 

Loving your own group doesn’t  mean that you have feel that your group is superior…smarter…or better than any other group…or have ideas of  bigotry.  No, it  just means you are proud in who you are. 

But that group called the Republicans…particularly that group of  ignorant and narrow minded black folk in that party…like Clarence Thomas, Alan Kayes…and now this Michael Steele.  This Mike Steele recently, while sitting in of  radio program chatting with a caller who had called in to discuss Barack Obama…Michael Steele made  the statement that media created Barack Obama.

What kind of dumb statement was that?

Media did not create Barack Obama…as if  he was the figment of  someone’s imagination.   Media definitely did not create Barack Obama…they chased Barack Obama because he was the story that people were interested in.  And that is what media does…they make their living tracking down stories that people want to hear and read.   That is the name of  the  business…or if  you will…the game.

Barack Obama is not a splash in a pan…he was not created by a bunch of  handlers…any more than Solomon or David was.  Media did not create  Tiger Woods…or  Michael Jordan…or  Muhammad Ali…or  Jack Nicolas…Princess Diana…or even Dr. Martin L. King, Jr…or Bobby Kennedy or Jack Kennedy, his older brother also known as  President John F. Kennedy.   Destiny did…and their talents did.

So, how foolish is it  for a supposed black man to try to down rate another black man by saying-

“Oh, he wouldn’t be nothing  if media hadn’t created him.”

Because that is exactly what Steele said…though he may not have said it in those exact words.  But  it spoke every bit of  envy.

Media did not create Barack Obama…but it could said that it assist  in informing people about him.  But the same could be said for any movie star…singing star…atlete…or anyone or anything of  interest to the masses.   That is what media does… it  informs.

Too bad Mr. Steele, an ex-governor,  is not the kind of  Republican that Col. Colin Powell is.     Col. Powell is capable of  celebrating and appreciating the abilities and achievements…and excellence of those  inside, as well as, outside of  his own party affiliation and race…and so too Obama. 

Too bad the former governor lacks their skills.

I am beginning to wonder if the excitement of the moment is starting to ware off for the Obama’s.  Living your life in a bubble cannot be fun.  Everything you do…say or wear…gets questions. 

Who would like that?

I personally do not understand all the questions about the dog…Michelle clothes…her sneakers…etc… 

I am not really a sneaker person…but in New York they are rave…and I guess everywhere else too.  But with most sneakers ranging far above Pro-Keds back in the day…which were $10…I feel that all sneakers are seriously over priced.  And as far as I can see most of them if you want a good pair are over $100.

So, then I do not understand the problem with the cost of  Michelle’s sneakers costing over $500 as most sneakers cost $200 and more.  Or maybe…the fuss was just over Michelle wearing those sneakers to some charity event…but men wear Stacy Adams shoes…and other people wear a bunch of  expensive footware today…and nobody is calling to question their shoes…or  sneakers.

In looking at the pictures of  their date night…to think that was the first walk that they have taken together free of  anybody being right up on them.  I don’t know…but I find that rather sad.   The joy of  life seems to be stolen from them.  It is the cost of fame I guess…and certainly the cost of  becoming the President, First Lady and First Family of  the United States. 

I would take my life over  their’s anyday.   But it is a sacrifice that they willingly went  into…because they felt that they could offer their service to help make this a better country.  And for that I applaud them…and feel for them. 

Nobody ever questioned the price tag of everything or anything that  Jackie Kennedy wore.   In fact, the rich never talk about price.  They have this saying-

“If  you have to ask the price then you really can’t afford it.”

Oh, I know what it is.  

Jackie “O”  never wore sneakers…only terribly expensive clothes…jewelry…and shoes.    And there were no questions about them or their price tags.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977673088&grpId=3659174697241980&nav=Groupspace

http://blog.georgetownvoice.com/2009/05/03/obamas-have-date-night-at-citronelle-in-georgetown/

http://news.aol.com/article/obama-date-night/459991

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30548300/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30548045#30548045

Well, since it is now 2 AM again…and I was hoping to try to catch up on my sleep as I am trying to put the finishing touches on my book, THE BISHOP’S WIFE,  promo for youtube…and I am becoming frustrated with my new book publishers.  It seems that they can’t get my errors corrected properly for some reason. 

Since my book had been back and forth to my former publisher…I did not have many errors this time around.  But as few as they have been…I have received the galley back  4 times with almost the same errors not having been corrected.  And I mean glearing errors that leap out at you…but evidently they do not to the person who is suppose to be setting my type and making these corrects.

I am beginning to come of a mind…that this whole self-publishing thing is for the birds.  That it probably doesn’t matter who you get…there will be problems.

Well,  I’ll keep you posted.  I really have to get some sleep now.  I’ve got to get up and out early…a lot of work yet to be done.   And the clock is ticking.

God bless…

Thank you for reading this blog…and  my others.  Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends… “pass it on…” www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2009

Well, it is snowing again.  It is suppose to snow through the night…then turn to rain and sleet by tomorrow morning.  So, I know that tomorrow will probably be a day to stay home.  But I don’t mind all the snow.

For the past few days the mounds of snow which we already have had started to melt down pretty good.   For February this really isn’t so bad…not yet.  It has been said that February goes out like a lion…meaning either a lot more snow or plenty more cold.

On Monday, I decided to do something that I had been hoping to pay someone to come in and do for me.  Through the years my parent’s house has taken such a beating.  And the kitchen walls and woodwork looked so terrible…and I would have liked to have found someone other than me to come in and clean them.  But since the house is without heat due to our blown furnace as you may or may not have read in a couple of my earlier blogs…I have been keeping the stove on with a couple of pots boiling water.  This has caused everything in the kitchen area to stream up.  Which meant that all that filth that I had been forced to look at which had caked upon the doors and other woodwork over the years in the kitchen have been steaming down off  the doors etc…etc…   So, since it had already loosened up the years grime….I just decided to pull out a bucket and an old scrub brush and get busy.  And that is how I spent my President’s Day.

It  felt good to be finally getting those doors scrubbed down and then standing off to view my handy work.  Real good.  I had been loathing touching the doors or anything else in the kitchen…or for that matter around the house.

When we were kids…I hated those Saturday mornings when my parent’s woke us up early in the morning with buckets of soapy hot water waiting on us.  It meant that we would be scrubbing most of the day.  Oh, how I hated those Saturdays when they would have us scrubbing down all the woodwork in the house and then scrub the floors too.  And my father liked to have us get on our hands and knees to do that.  Oh, how I hated it.

But as I started washing down those filthy doors with the old scrub brush thoughts of those days came back to me…and I was filled with pride.  Because here I was…in my parent’s house again…and I was taking care of their property just the way they had taught me so many years ago.

While my son was talking to me last night…he happened to mention that I wouldn’t be able to watch TV anymore if I didn’t go out a buy a converter box.  This is the thing I hate about new technology.

Why do they have to force it down our throats?

There are so many people who went out and invested in those large projector type televisions or other older models…only to find out that  that television system is now out dated and they have no option but to convert it to a digital reception system.

They did the same thing when they decided against 8-track tapes, beta systems, turntables, records, VHS tapes, cassette tapes etc…etc…etc…all gone now.   What you see is…is that the old stuff goes on sale and those looking for great deals rush out unaware that the only reason the stuff is on sale in the first place is because they are out dated…and that format is no longer going to be available…because they simply stopped making it.

Today, I’m looking for someone to build me an external floppy drive disk reader.  I hadn’t realized it until the other day when I was looking for something…that I didn’t have those files on anything digital…but on a floppy disk.  For which I have also run into the same problem with my word-processor files which I had saved on my processor’s little disk.  I had not been paying any attention and before I knew it word-processors were no longer on the market…they had been replaced by computers.   And it had took me a long time to convert from a regular typewriter to a word-processor.   So, by the time I finally bought one…the item was nearly dead already…and computers were coming into the marketplace in their place.  And I had never noticed.

This is why when my son wanted to buy a 10″ DVD player…I cautioned him and told him no.  I suggested that he invest in a laptop computer instead…where he would have a choice of much larger screens plus be able to do more with it.  And he did just like his mother had suggested…just like the good little boy he is (smile).  Now, when his mother is away from home or can’t get on-line on her own computer…I just use his laptop.   Now, how good is that…for being resourceful?

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/38843

http://www.dtv.gov/

https://www.dtv2009.gov/

No, no need trying to fight it.  It is a done deal.  If you want to continue to watch television…and got rid of your cable provider years ago…then you will have to go out and invest in a converter box.  The good part though is…I rarely watch television.  So, it really doesn’t affect me much.

Well, it is still Black History Month…and I really haven’t spoken about anyone in these blogs…outside of giving you their names.  What good is my telling you all about them…when researching to find out that information for yourself will prove more valuable to you…in that you may remember them or something about them because you looked up info on them on your own.

I can only say that I have a deep fondness for black people…and have for all of my life.  I have read many books…and loved Langston Hughes’ book on Jesse B. Simple.  I used to always have a copy of the Black Anthology.  Read Baldwin’s ‘Amen Corner’…which I saw performed by Kumuba Workshop under the direction of  Val Grey Ward.  It was one of the things which also inspired me to move to Chicago…besides, of course, my hopes of getting hired by a radio station there…WGCI or WJPC.  I have forgotten the other black radio stations they had in Chicago back then.  But I loved those productions by Kumuba.  But even more I enjoyed the time I actually met James Baldwin.  He wasn’t a very big man…and he looked very much like his photos.  But there was something about him…an aura about him…I guess you could say.   He extended his hand out towards me looking me right in my eyes.  And I knew I was in the presence of greatness…yet so humble…and kind.  He was quite gracious.  I loved him.

I had seen the play…‘Amen Corner’…and I had read his book ‘Go Tell it on the Mountain.’  But at that time, I never knew that he was still alive until he went to Mt. Holyoke College to teach.

Alexis, a friend of mine had introduced him to me.  They had become very close and I could see and understand why.  They shared something in common.  It is hard if you have never felt that you looked as good as everybody else…it is hard to understand how some people battle with these feelings most of their lives…as did James Baldwin and myself.  It is what I thought about Gwendolyn Brooks when I looked upon her picture as I added it into my last blog.  Yet, in every picture of her…she always seemed so happy and smiling.  And as I looked upon her pictures…I thought-

“She must have been a most beautiful person in ever possible way.”

Most recently I had to take some pictures.  I should preface this by saying…I am not a big picture taking person…because I have never liked the way I looked.  But I needed a promotional picture for my book.  So, I set about trying to get one that I felt I could live with.  But upon taking a few pictures and looking at them…I found that I have my grandmother’s nose.  I must admit I have been laughing and smiling every since.

I have my grandmother’s nose.  And I never knew it.

My grandmother didn’t have just any old nose…it was unique.  And I had not seen anyone else with it until we went to the church convention in Detroit this past July.  While there we re-united with some long lost family members.  And I sat there almost the whole time looking at this woman…a cousin…and thinking-

“She has Mauh’s nose.”

It was all I could think.  I just kept thinking that over and over again in my head…and I rarely took my eyes off of that woman’s nose because I loved seeing it.  So, to look into a picture and find that I have my grandmother’s nose is like finding out that all of these year’s God had played a trick on me.  I have my grandmother’s nose.

I love having my grandmother’s nose.  I can’t believe I have it.  And I have it all by myself…no one else just me and that woman…my mother’s cousin in Detroit.  We’ve got Mauh’s nose.  Seeing that nose I didn’t feel so ugly anymore…because Mauh was not ugly.  And in her day…she really must have been something…and even up to the time she died…she still had a boyfriend.  Or should I say…male friend.  I used to kid her about Mr. Alexander…the old man who everyday used to come by her house to visit with her while we down there. 

Mauh’s entire wardrobe was made of red.  Everything in her house was red.  Every pocket book she had was red and every pair of shoes.  Her bed spreads…everything…table clothes…everything all red.     Everything Mauh owned was red.  And if  it wasn’t…then it was pink.

Daddy used to say that from the time he met Mauh-

“She’s always been 30.”

He would grin real wide when he said it…because Mauh never admitted her age to anyone. 

But she was never ugly.  And I had her nose.

And from that moment I started seeing myself in a different light.  You know what?

I’m not ugly.  I’ve got Mauh’s nose.

I’m not ugly.  And for all these years I though I was.

Hope you enjoy your day tomorrow.  I will probably be buried up under the snow…but I will be loving every minute of it…and still smiling.  Because…well…because I’ve got Mauh’s nose.  And it feels so wonderful.

Well, God bless…

Thank you for reading this blog…and  my others.  Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends… “pass it on” www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2009

Today I woke up to the most interesting phone call.  It was from a daughter of a friend of mine.  I had been thinking of her since I had not heard from her for a few weeks and we usually try to touch bases with each other at least once a week, if we can.  But that just does not always happen.

So, yesterday evening while waiting on my son, I decided to give her a call and received no answer.  So, it was a pleasant surprise to see her number pop up on my cell phone when she buzzed me back this morning.

The good part was that she had not been sick…well…   She hadn’t had to go to the hospital this week.  Yes, I did say this week. 

Very early on she had begun having to deal with a series of health issues.  Many of which most people would have just given up and gone and crawled into a corner…but she didn’t. 

It has been a fight for her…weekly…and I have no doubt daily.  But she has remained strong through it.  And that is really the best part about speaking with her because through it all she has managed to smile and laugh her way through it…every single episode.  She always continues to see a brighter side.

I could not imagine myself having to deal with heavy health issues which have invaded her body since she reached womanhood.  For one thing she has what Bernie Mack had Sarcoidosis.  I don’t really know what that is…but it can cause sudden death and is considered a mysterious medical disorder.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-sarcoidosisaug12,0,5966562.story

But Vee, and I don’t often call names, also lives in Chi-town…that is Chicago for those of you who do not know what that means…just like Bernie Mack had.   She started off our conversation telling me how she has been fighting the severe Chicago cold and the frosty wind blowing in off of Lake Michigan.  And then she began to tell me about her ex-husband and how he was recently put into a hospice.

This was a guy whom when she was a high school teenager every other word that proceeded out of her mouth was his name.  It was his name and his name only.  I thought it interesting after years of having lost contact with her family…and upon finally becoming reconnected with them due to the death of her uncle, Tyrone Davis…whom if you are old enough know him by his hits…such as “Can I Change My Mind” and “In the Mood”…I thought it interesting that she had married him.

It was clearly a bad and most severe case of  ‘puppy love’…and Vee had it bad.  She adored that boy.  And it was interesting that someone whom she had adored so much she did eventually marry.  But through the years it had not worked out and eventually they got divorced only to find out that they liked each other well enough to be friends.  And it is nice when people can do that.  Break up but yet be able to pull and salvage something out those years together…and they did…and it was especially good because they had a child together.

Vee told me that he was now placed in this hospice suffering from having cancerous tumors all through his body.

http://www.aboutcancer.info/

http://www.medicinenet.com/cancer/article.htm

Warning signs are so important…but nothing beats a regular check up.  Even I am guilty of not always wanting to go to the doctors on a regular basis.   As I never get sick…but never getting sick doesn’t mean you don’t need to ensure a healthy you.

At the end of last semester when I was just finishing up with all my classes…after carrying 18 credits for the semester…one morning my right hand began shaking uncontrollably.  Since, I had to do a presentation in a few hours…I just thought I was becoming nervous or something.  

But near the beginning of my second class on that day…my right hand began to freeze up on me.  It would lock up and I could not open it…nor could I do anything with it.  By this time I knew it was something more than just possible nerves bothering me..and I began to think I was near to having a stroke or either a heart attack.  So, I immediately knew I needed to leave class to get to a hospital.

Have you ever had any warning signs?

Did you take heed…and realize that your body was trying to tell you something?

It is true…our bodies are like fine tuned automobiles…and when you start to hear some noise…well…in our case something starts to act up you better go and get it checked out.  I understand being fearful of hearing bad news. 

But what is worst?

Hearing the bad news while something can still be done…or hearing the bad news when it is too late to do anything about it?

I will never forget Mrs. Ripperton, Minnie Ripperton’s mother, who used to be a member of 6th Grace United Presbyterian Church in Chicago…down on Cottage Grove and 35th Street.  She would talk to me sometimes about Minnie and how much pain Minnie had been in before her death.  (Minnie’s daughter currently stars on Saturday Night Live…Maya Rudolph…who obviously has both of her grandparents sense of humor.  That Mr. Ripperton was so so funny…and Mrs. Ripperton called him ‘Rip.’  They were a great couple.  Wonderful family…Elaine and all of them.   I remember them all well.)

One day Mrs. Ripperton held out her arm and said-

“You see this…Minnie could take her arm and beat it against the table and not feel anything.  That’s how hard her arm had become and how filled up  it was with all the pain.”

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Minnie-Riperton-Biography/AC559ACE33FEC41248256A16001F13AB

I had known nothing about cancer…but that day Mrs. Ripperton told me something about it that has stuck with me through the years.  And I knew from that day that cancer was something I would never want to get.  But illness is hard no matter what it is that people have…and by hard here…I mean difficult to deal with.

So, it was interesting to me that Vee would have called me giving me the information on how she had been staying up talking to her ex-husband over the phone…praying with him and reading the Bible to him.  Though she said he really didn’t want to hear it…but she would read it to him anyway.

Many people say that they don’t want to hear it…that they do not want to have anybody telling them anything about the Bible or any more people coming to in to pray over them.  I have heard it…but when nothing else can help…you’ve got to learn how to call upon the name of the Lord.

A friend of mine in New York became very ill.  I had not seen her for a while.  So, one day I decided to run by her house which was only a couple blocks up and just around the corner from me. 

When her mother answered the door she told me that Jackie wasn’t feeling well…yet, another name that I have mentioned in this blog…but this blog is filled with so many people if I didn’t I call a name or 2…or 3…you would become confused.  When I went up stairs and her mother opened Jackie’s bedroom door to allow me in…I was horrified.  I was looking at death and I knew it. 

Jackie was not even a shell of herself…her lips were a bright red…her complexion was very very dark…all her weight was gone…she was curled up in the fetus position…and when I approached her…I said immediately-

“Let me go get Shirley so she can pray for you.”

Jackie refused speaking in a very low and slow voice saying-

“I have had a enough praying for me.  I don’t want any more prayers.”

But I kept begging…I was afraid for her and the only thing I knew to do was to go get somebody who get a prayer through to God.   I was not saved…but I knew the power of finding someone who truly could get to God’s ear.  Finally, Jackie consented.

I ran down the street and through the door open to Shirley’s real estate office and said-

“Shirley, you’ve got to come.  You’ve got to come and pray for Jackie.  You’ve got to come.”

Shirley got up and rushed out of her office leaving her secretary to handle her clients.  And we both rushed back up the street and around the corner.

Shirley had brought with her…her oil…and as she went into the room she began praying and anointing Jackie’s body with the oil.  I stood rubbing Jackie’s feet trying to pray as much as I could in agreement with Shirley as tears ran down my cheeks.  I cried for my friend…and I prayed for God to spare her life.

Shirley soon left but I continued to rub Jackie’s limbs…and before I left some time later… first I saw a toe move and then she stretch out one of her legs slightly.  Jackie was coming out of that fetal position.  And I could see strength coming back into her body.  Thank God for Shirley and the power of prayer. 

Today, Jackie is doing just fine…and I have no doubt that she will never doubt the power of prayer ever again.    It truly does changes things.

But I understood Vee’s ex-husband being bitter and angry over his illness.  He is young yet and a death sentence has been pronounced over his head.  That has to be harder than hard to deal with.  And then to be placed in a hospice…the ultimate declaration of death upon him.

But even in that state God is able to turn his situation around.

Which brings me to another story…since when I had tried to reach Vee last night and couldn’t…I decided to buzz someone else.  Tanya…and again I rarely called people’s names in these blogs…but sometimes I just can’t help it.  When you come upon outstanding people…it is worth calling out their names.

At first I thought I was awaking her from her sleep as her voice sounded funny…but she told me no.  She had just gotten out of the hospital…and she informed me that she had been there for an entire week.  Her lungs had filled with fluid and she had suffered a bad asthma attack…but while in the hospital she had shared a room with a woman whom she told me had been very ill.

But it is the treatment of the woman by her doctor that Tanya really shared with me.  Tanya said that the doctor had been so coarse with the woman who was…laying on her death bed.   He told her that they had  the papers from her health proxy to not resuscitate.  Tanya said the doctor was not kind or caring at all in his words…and that when he left the woman felt even worst.

But Tanya told me how she encouraged the woman by saying-

“Don’t worry, ma’am.  He doesn’t know.  You might not need to be resuscitated at all.  Can’t no doctor tell you when you are going to die.  You might even out live him.”

Because of the various medical plans that people now have to have in order to be treated…most medical facilities feel they no longer have to treat you with any type of respect, dignity or courtesy.   After all once you give them your card number they already have your money…it is as good as in the bank.   And this is a sad commentary but true. 

The medical field has gone to the dogs and pit-bulls…private companies have gone into the medical business as ‘for profit entities’…much like many prisons have also done.   They care nothing about trying to save people or making them better.  They would  have you come back and forth a hundred times…while pretending they are checking on this or checking on that.  While all the while they are just eating up your medical benefits.  It is sad…quite sad.  

But t is funny how God puts people in the right place at the right time.  Every now and then we all need someone in the right place…at the right time to encourage us when we are going through a rough time in our life.  And oftentimes…these people know and have not just a sense of who God is…but a true  relationship with Him as well.

One morning a couple of years ago, I woke up with a pain to my lower back area.  It was a very severe pain…so much so that whenever I moved I would scream out in pain.  As the day progressed the pain progressed…it got worst.  I could barely stand, walk, turn or lay down without that severe excruciating pain getting the best of me.  I, however, prefer to suffer pain rather than to take any type of medication.  So, I endure things until they pass…if they pass.  Thus far God has blessed me usually…they pass.  But this problem kept on growing worst.  And it inhibited me…I could not make the slightest move without screaming out.  

I had to push myself through this pain and it was very hard.  But I decided to drive into New York and to go to church.   While in the car the pain was bad but I didn’t let it stop me…and the funny thing about it was this.  When I got to the church and walked inside the pain was gone.  As if  it had never been.  It was gone throughout almost  the entire church service and I thought it had left me entirely.  And it had…up until the time the service ended.  And slowly the pain began to resume.

That night I decided to stay over in New York with mother.  Yes, the one I have written about in several of these blogs who recently passed near the latter part of last year.  Mother enjoyed my company.  And I…well, I enjoyed hers as well.  She was a very funny and witty woman…but she also loved the Lord and she possessed much wisdom.   I loved talking with her as she was well versed on everything from politics to the latest news topics of interest…as well as, the Bible.

She would often ask me to stay or come into New York to spend some time with her after I had left the city to return home to take care of some family matters.  But most of the time I would not…I did not want to infringe upon her or our friendship…though I knew that she did not mind.  But occasional I would stay over…and this was one of those times.

By the time we had reached mother’s apartment…my pain was almost totally back and occasionally I would screech out in pain.  But by morning it had gotten far worst…I barely got up off the bed…and when I did I knew I would not be able to lay back down.  So, I could not lay down and nor could I stand.  It was terrible…and I was at mother’s house to make it even worst.

Not wanting to worry mother over my condition, I decided I better go to the hospital.  Mother and I had lived around the corner from each other…and the hospital was right across the street from her apartment.  So, I made my way out the door…into the elevator…across the street and into the hospital where I told them upon stepping up to the reception window-

“I can’t stand and I can’t sit…I think you need to lay me down somewhere.”

And they immediately admitted me into emergency and they sent a person around to me to take all my information once I finally was able to get into a laying position.

A fairly good-looking doctor came and began servicing me…and eventually he told me my problem.  I had a slipped disc.  When I asked him about how I could get it fix…he told me I couldn’t.  He said that the disc has to slip back into place on its own.  I was in such pain…that I was willing to go up under the knife to never have to find myself back in this state again.  And that was rare…because I usually say no to such things…to operations if I felt I could live without them.  But every time I moved I was screaming out in pain that is how severe the pain was.  And I could do nothing.   So, yes…there are times when even I start to sing a different tune…and this was one of them.

The doctor had an ‘i-v’ hooked up to me and they began to feed me muscle relaxers and pain killers to cause the pain to subside.  And while laying there down there in a stall in the emergency room one of our church’s prayer warriors came in.  It was Sister Capers…this blog is filled with names today.   But she too has since passed…and I am sure she would not mind me calling her name as I celebrate her.   (though I doubt that calling any of the names in the related blogs would have bother any of my friends…but I just prefer not to)

Sister Capers had a long badge around her neck and said that the hospital allowed her full access to walk around to talk and pray for people.  She touched me and began to pray for me.  But it was the sight of seeing her…a friend come into that emergency room and stepped into my curtained off area that meant so much to me.   It was something I had not expected at all.

The pain killers and muscle relaxers began to work too…and after a few hours they released me giving me a couple of prescriptions…which I did go and get filled immediately.  And this time I took some of that medication…a couple of times in fact.  But I found it to be exceedingly strong.  And after taking it…yes, it helped the pain in my back…but I was left feeling sick to my stomach…in fact my stomach would be cramping. 

So, I stop taking the medicatjon.  Some medication today will correct one problem…but leave with something else to deal with.  If  that be the case…you should seriously weigh your options. 

What good would it have been for me to relieve by back pain (a temporary condition)…only to have burned a hole through my stomach?

Finally, the pain left…or rather I guess I should say….my disc slipped back into place.  But without having been at mother’s house I probably would not have gone to the hospital…nor would have known exactly what my problem was…and Sister Capers would not have been able to pay me a surprise visit and then pray for me.   I am happy that I elected to stay the night in New York.

So, you see in this blog that I have some friends who are going through some trying life circumstances themselves…yet because of their walk and faith in the Lord…they are bigger than what they are going through. They have managed to turn what many would say should have been their tears into smiles.   And in the process they have not been too pre-occupied with their own health issues to not be able to reach out and comfort others in their time of need.  I think that this is wonderful…and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with them as they shared their stories with me. 

I do know some phenomenal  people…they are special in every possible way.

I just could not let this day go by without sharing with you something about them.

After looking at these videos of the Whispers…I now regret having not gone through and done that ‘Headlights’ Concert which I had booked them for.  But when the tickets didn’t start moving…and the venue called  telling me that if I didn’t rush in there with the advance ticket money and bring in all the tickets that we had put out there in the various locations…that they were going to cancel the show. I felt was left with no choice.

So, as much as I didn’t want to make that call to L.A…I did.  I actually dredded calling L.A to have a conversation about cancelling the show…2 days before it was to take place.  But I did it.  I called the Whisper’s manager and told him that I was forced to cancel the show.    And this is what he said to me in response-

“What do you mean you are being forced to cancel the show?  It’s your show…your money. They can’t force you to cancel your own show.”

And you know what he was right…it was my show.  It was my money…not that large auditorium but my money that was on the line for that show.  The venue hadn’t bought the radio time for the spots…or placed any newspaper ads announcing my concert.  I was the one.

No, I was the only one invested in that concert…and I was the only one who stood to loose anything any kind of way it went.  Because I was the one responsible for paying everybody…including the venue…though I had already paid them a portion of it…that was not going to come back to me even after the cancellation.

But it was too bad I called the Whispers last…I had already pulled all the tickets…cancelled the remainder of the radio ads and then had the radio stations to start announcing that-

“Tomorrow night’s concert featuring the Whisper’s Headlights Tour is cancelled.”

That is when I realized I had had a slave mentality.  I had let that white man who booked the events at the auditorium dictate to me the lost of a very very large sum of money.  Something which will never ever happen to me again.  It was a life experience…and life experiences are made for us to learn from.

There are times when we can block our own success…by failing to believe in ourselves or what we are attempting to do.  But if you start a thing…you should be big enough to see it through.  Don’t try to second guess yourself.  Either do it…or don’t do it.  But do not kid yourself  by starting something that you are afraid of seeing through.

Monday is President’s  Day…so if you are one of those fortunate ones…I know when I worked in radio there no such thing as a holiday…particularly if you were at the low end of the totem pole.  But if you by chance you are one of those who does have the day off enjoy it. 

Isn’t  it wonderful…we now get to really celebrate that day.  I mean not that there were not other presidents who were great…but mostly they became great by being thrust into some difficult situations that forced them  to make during their times some very hard decisions.  But isn’t it interesting how being forced to make hard decisions can often work out for the good…when the right choices are made.  And make you great…as opposed to being  ‘just one of.’   Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy and Johnson may all be considered to be great Presidents because of the times and the decisions they were forced to make…and Washington simply because he was the first.

Abraham Lincoln did not have a great love for the freedom of slaves but he recognized the danger it caused to the union of all of the then 13 states of the United States of America coming together.  Slavery was the thing which tore them apart…so it made sense that slavery was the thing that had to end in order for this country to be able to move forward in order to be able to tackle the other events and things that a growing America would come to face as a nation.

It’s Black History Month…and I certainly salute it and celebrate it.  There are so many great people…inventors, doctors, lawyers, writers, news journalists, actors, orators, wise people, civic leaders, religious people, hard working desent black people who were purposely left out of the history books of this country.  I think it is time to right that error as well.

The road was not easy but they carried the torches anyhow… knowing that one day a change was going to come.

http://www.howard.edu/library/Reference/Guides/Hamer/default.htm

http://www.sweetsandbody.com/new_africa/newafrica.html

http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Brooks-Gwendolyn.html

http://www.csu.edu/gwendolynbrooks/

http://web.co.wake.nc.us/lee/vf/cr/demo/19600319nsin/10600319nsin.htm

Well, God bless…

Thank you for reading this blog…and  my others.  Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends… “pass it on” www.bsmith101.wordpress.com  ©2009  

At last they have reached an agreement on the stimulus bill which will hopefully create  jobs and get this economy back up and running.  Though I must admit to not being one of those who was hit by the problems going on with the economy…I must always say that I am concerned about others.

Many people did suffer and are suffering because the economy took a deep plunge under George W. Bush.  I doubt whether gasoline prices will ever get back down to $.99…but it would be nice. 

Wouldn’t it?

We take so much for granted until it is gone.  We never knew just how good we had it until gas prices at the pump started getting over $3.00…and when they neared $4.00…and did hit $4.00 and over in some places…we suddenly realized the party was over.

Food prices went up…everything…you name it and it all went up…due to some lousy war in Iraq that nobody wanted in the first place but George Bush and his people.  If the after-effect could have been seen before hand I doubt that little ol’ George would have stood a chance at getting that war started.   Well…maybe I should take that back.

The fact is…is that there were some pretty greedy people pushing for that war.  You saw them at the Republican National Convention…they were holding up signs that read ‘prosperity.’  

You do remember seeing those signs all actively displayed around the
Republican National Convention floor this past August?   Many of those very people realized what the outcome was going to be…long before hand.  In fact, they were hoping for it.and began buying like crazy whatever they could on the stock market.   They care about nothing… but…   prosperity …at any cost. 

They went into the stock market and started buying up everything that had to do with heating, utility companies, insulating, home improving, coal mining, oil drilling,  trucking, food…etc.  Oh, they saw it coming…and they knew it would come big.  So, what did they do…they pushed for the war.

They were going to go into Iraq and squander it…rob it…pillage it…destroy those museums and take every artifact, painting, golden vessel and piece of pottery they could find…and smuggle it out of that country.

Then they were going to set themselves up as the saviors and peacekeepers of the place…while all the while looting it and the American taxpayers too with bogus invoices…and double billing ploys…while thousands of American people innocent sons and daughters lost their lives fighting in a senseless war brought about by greed.  

It did not make sense for the United States of America to arbitrarily begin a preempted strike on Iraq…when all the world was against it and most of the American people.   Iraq had not done anything to us.  Nor were we under threat by them.

What?

For a man and his 2 sons.  Two ton bombs were unleashed upon those people, their homes, their businesses, their infrastructure, their schools etc…night after night upon building after building. 

That could not have been about Saddam Hussein and his 2 boys.  It was greater than them…it had to be.  The expense and tally was too great to just desire to depose a tyrant and his sons.  

Could it have all been for profit?

As Barack Obama came into office as President of the United States…72 hours later Blackwater pulled out of Iraq…and the others are following.  And a country is being left in devastation.

I have heard somewhere about how ‘leaving something in a better state than when you found it.’

The state of the Iraqi people has changed…but many would argue whether or not it is a better state than when George Bush and his boys went into it.

So, yes…I am happy that the Senate has finally stopped hemming and hawing.  Everybody is trying to make some points…it is so…so…like politicians.  The Republicans held it up…so the Democrats couldn’t get the credit…when they knew all the time that they were going to have to pass the stimulus package or else face the music again come another election period.

You would think those dog gone Republicans would learn.

They can stop the band…but they can’t stop the music.

Hooray, for the passage of Obama’s stimulus package.  Now, maybe some of these companies will not have to continue to lay people off or fire them.  Jobs are very much needed…they help to pay the bills.   And they are good when you want to go somewhere…you’ll have money to do it with.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/congress_stimulus

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/us/politics/12stimulus.html_r=1&hp

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=11990303&ch=4226716&src=news

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38970000/jpg/_38970537_203b_uday96_vt.jpg&imgrefurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3089379.stm&usg=__zsRi

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3089379.stm

Well, First Lady Michelle Obama will grace the cover of Vogue magazine next month (March)…making her only the 2nd First Lady to do so.

I have been trying to find a picture somewhere on the internet…but alas…to no avail.

I has to be out on newsstands by now…not to mention out in the mailboxes of thousands who subscribe.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/10/AR2009021001579.html?hpid=topnews   

February is just one of those months…I suppose that much of it has to do with the passing of my mother during the first of this month some years ago…as to why I tend to be quiet and rarely have much to say.   I had been wondering why I had so much to do…and seemed to not want to do any of it.  I had forgotten that it was February.

Even with these blogs by this time during a regular month I would have done at least 4 to 5 of them already…but this is only my second since the month has begun.  Oh, I am not as bad as I used to be…there was a time not so long ago either that every month and every day was just like the day she had passed.   Even my being able to form and shape the word ‘passed’…in my mouth or mind in connection to my mother is something new for me.  I could never put the 2 words together…’she passed’ for years upon years.

I never wanted to accept that she was…was…was gone.

I am who I am because I was given the very best of everything by God.  I had the best mother…and the best father. 

My parents never discussed with me the fact that I was gay.  There was never a mention of it…though they knew.  I had bought most of my girlfriends by the house…so, they had met some of them.  But they never discussed anything about gayness or gay people with me.  They never called anyone names…or talked negatively about anything.

When I called home from Chicago…to tell my mother that I was pregnant.   Yes…gay me…pregnant.  It is a rather long story…but in short it happened because I became depressed over loosing a lover.  I began thinking that maybe the life (gay life) was not for me.  So, I decided I would try the other side.  And the one time I did…BAM.   I was pregnant. 

Being gay I was very naive about straight life.  I would have never have thought about protection or anything like that…because…   Well, because I had never had a boyfriend…and had never dated in my life until I got into gay life…which was sometime during the age of 25.  And I had my son when I was 28.

I must say that I am a strong advocate for ‘pro-choice.’  Without choice I may have chosen differently.  I did think about abortion…even called the abortion hotline.  But when that lady started talking about ‘full anesthesia’ or ‘partial anesthesia.’   And I thought if it was going to hurt either way…then I might as well have the baby. 

So, much for my analytical process at that time.  But I thank God…I made the right choice.  I could not image life without my son…who is the best thing that ever happened to me.  And he is definitely a far better person than his mother…honestly. 

So, I called home and I tell my mother.  I don’t even know what I said…or how I phrased it or whether I just came right out and said it.  Nor can I remember what my mother said to me upon hearing that.  I am sure that perhaps she may have believed that I might not ever have any children…as I was gay.

Nor can I remember how long it took me to pick up the phone to call my parents to tell them that I was pregnant.  I had to have been months…because I knew that they would be disappointed. 

But I remember what my father said upon my arrival home during my 7th month of pregnancy…after my mother had sent one of my sisters to Chicago to bring me home.

My father said-

“Now, you will never be alone.”

That was the extent of it. 

“Now, you will never be alone.”

He was right.  I am not alone.  I am now the matriarch of our family…which continues to grow even in their absence.  And they would proud.

But during the entire period of my mother’s lifetime…I had never shown much interest as an older child or an adult child in church or church matters.  I rarely went…and was so happy when I finally moved out of my parent’s house…just so I wouldn’t have to continue going to church.

Today, the church is my whole focus.  I can’t imagine what my mother would say.  But I know she would smile and be happy.  Because it is true…it is what you put into your children that matters.  Yes, they may wander but somehow…what was pour into them when they were young will surface in their lives at some point.

It’s February…Black History Month…and as tears stream out of  my eyes as I write this thinking about my mother.  I am so thankful for those who walked before us…they poured something in…and today it has surfaced.  Many years of insults and degradation.  But today…the number one person in the world is a black man.   I am so happy…that my nieces, my nephews…my

 son…and us…we are all here to bare witness to this time in American History.  

Pictured above is…the grave stone of Benjamin Banneker, Dr. Charles Drew and Dr. George Washington Carver.   You can CLICK on the LINK right below to find out as to who they are, their accomplishments and those of other black people in American History.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cdcmaafa.org/images/pictures/famousinventors.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cdcmaafa.org/inventors.html&usg=__IuPSOBVxF7tkcjLbtwfssKU0l5U=&h=211&w=207&sz=14&hl=en&start=31&um=1&tbnid=W3F9JcICaeeMsM:&tbnh=106&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpictures%2Bof%2Bfamous%2Bblack%2Bscientist%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

It is February…

http://books.google.com/books?id=L2RMRwJ1IUsC&dq=pictures+of+black+people+in+african+american+history&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=imKTSY6QNJKasAOs_KC1Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result#PPA2007,M1

The weather has broken for a spell…and we are getting a break from the cold…the ice and the snow.  The sun has been shining for the past 2 days so lots of snow has been melting.  But today…was absolutely beautiful.  It felt like spring.  And the house has not been quite as cold.  I look forward to spring…I actually love all the seasons.   Winter…spring…summer…and fall…

Well, God bless…

Thank you for reading this blog…and  my others.  Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends… “pass it on” www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2009  

CLICK LINK BELOVE to trailer to Michael Moore’s lastest film on the bank bailout.

http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-trailers/?g=f359d88a-4848-43c3-be13-bf505c57cc30>1=28101

She clinched it.

She won her 10th Grand Slam title Saturday…and she is all smiles now.   It was a simple walk in the park for Serena Williams who won by delivering up back to back game points of 6-0, 6-3.  Soak and wet by the time it was over…she battled in the intense heat…had a series of faults…errors but she did it any how.   She won.

Serena Williams won the Australia Open Women’s singles championship.

She is now the all-time number one female athlete prize winner in the world.   Serena is the Tiger Woods in sports on the women’s side…after having just pocketed $1.28 when she took the women’s single championship on Melbourne, Australia, which put Serena over $23 million in prize winnings.  That does not even include the Williams sisters sponsorships and endorsements such as Nike, Puma, Revok  etc…etc… which was one of their first major contracts when as little girls Rebok gave them a $9 million endorsement contract.  And laden with Nike’s swoosh on everything she was wearing during the tournament…and Wilson’s ‘W’ prominently displayed on her tennis racquet.   It was definitely not hard to see just who and who is heavily invested in her ability to win and continue to showcase their products and merchandise. 

You can read more by CLICKING on the LINKS below.

 http://www.fanhouse.com/news/tennis/serena-williams-wins-australian-open/310168

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12110_4876271,00.html

And yes…Serena and Venus won the women’s double also while they were busy playing around down there in the deep ‘down under.’            

CHA- CHA—CHING!

I am so happy for them…and their family. 

What a family…those Williams are.   And somebody said competition in a family is a bad thing.   I guess so…if it is used wrongly and as a negative rather than as a positive thing.  But just look what it can do when all that negative stuff is removed.  Just look at what these young ladies are accomplishing together and separately.  They have managed to become the darlings of the courts…and thousands fill arenas to watch them play.

I think that it is interesting how after Barack Obama having been elected President of the United States and for the first time in their history the highly conservative political party known as the Republican Party of this country has now chosen…at this time…to elect a black man to head their national committee…calling it the ‘winds of change.’  

Clearly, this is a move on the Republican side to start to re-vamp their political party…and image.   I am also very sure that seeing 2 million plus poured into Washington, DC regardless of the freezing cold…to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama did in many ways have an awful lot of impact  in the making of that decision…along with the phenomenal record numbers of votes that Barack Obama received in the Presidential election…including the vast number of Republicans who turned out and also aided and supported Obama in that win.  And least we should forget the number of Red States that turned Blue also throwing their support behind Obama…this really must have been a real crusher for the Republican Party. 

Yes, that all being so…I would say the Republicans are going to have to conjure up some mighty powerful wind storms to assist in creating the type of change that needs to come about in order to blow the bad taste of George Bush for 8 years out of everybody’s mouth…and mind…if indeed they want any immediate future wins.  Yeah, I would say the Republican Party is in dire straits right now…and nobody put them there but themselves.  And it all started in November of 2000 when they decided it would be easier to steal the  Presidential election from Al Gore rather than to fairly win it.  I have always quoted this saying that I guess I learned in church-

“A thief never prospers.”

Clearly, the Republican Party has learned that the hard way.

Oh, I am happy for the brother, Michael Steele, Republican Governor of Maryland…and I know nothing about him.  So, I can’t bad mouth him.   But I view it merely as being a political tactic on the part of the Republican Party for coming political elections.   By putting black faces in key positions in the hope of reaping large numbers of black votes for future elections on the side of the Republicans.  It is called ‘eating away at the numbers.’

It is a fact that many people…particularly those in political circles have an ever non-ending belief that black folks vote largely on color lines.  Which for the most part of last semester while sitting in my class on elections…I argued against.  But it was to no avail…because it was written in the text books which had been required for the class that it was so…and this notion was accepted broadly by the class including by the instructor as law and a given.  Which I felt was insulting…and I knew it to be a lie. 

Black folks are not dumb…and because of our history through slavery…black folks have long been torn down certain lines which white folks have no understanding of…and may never understand.  But the one thing  that all black folks know…who have any sense of who they are and the things that black folks in America have gone through.   They know this beyond anything else…‘all black folks ain’t black.’

So, therefore, ploys to get large number of black folks to shift from being Democrats…and to cross over to the other side.  Well,  it would  take a whole lot more than the Republican Party putting up a few black faces in high place here and there…e.g. Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas.

The Obama effect…is not going to wash across the board.

For years black Republicans have been trying to sway larger number of black folk to cross over to the Republican side…simply by trying to point out that this would  aid in the Democratic Party to stop taking the black vote for granted.   Which is another point that those text  books in my election class clearly also stated.   Meaning that because the Democratic Party could always depend upon the black vote…as stated in the text books used in my election class (of which I thought had a very limited scope on the subject because the text was based upon white men and their thoughts not the actual thoughts of black folks).   But anyway, those writers felt that the Democratic Party realized that it did not have to do anything by way of  work to ensure the black vote because it was a given.    A point in which I was seriously at odds against…as it is not true.

Even black politicians have to work for the black vote.  I will never forget while living in Chicago that one day my boss, Dr. A. L. Reynolds, Jr., had an appointment.  I had scheduled the appointed for him but never had a clue as to who the man was even upon meeting him when he showed up in the office for his meeting with Dr. Reynolds.

Dr. Reynolds was the Pastor of Sixth Grace United Presbyterian Church located at Cottage Grove Avenue and 35th Street in the heart of the South Side of Chicago just a few blocks below  the Chicago White Sox’s baseball stadium.  The gentlemen who had come to meet with Dr. Reynolds was not someone I was familiar with as he was not a member at 6th Grace.  Following the meeting as the gentleman exited the church and began walking towards his car parked out front…Dr. Reynolds came out of his office and said to me-

“See that man there,” he said pointing out the window towards the man.  “He wants to be mayor of Chicago.”

At the time that didn’t mean anything to me…but years later when that man won and actually did become mayor of Chicago.   I    remember that day in Dr. Reynolds’ office when he had come to speak with Dr. Reynolds as he was making his rounds from church to church trying to solicit the support of the city’s black clergy. 

That man was Mayor Harold Washington…and like Obama…he made it happen.  He became the first black mayor of Chicago…as Barack Obama has succeeded in becoming the President of the United States.   I have no doubt that they both must have met being both residents of Chicago…and as each at some were both ‘community organizers.’

I remember him so well…Harold Washington.  He did not come with anyone.  No fan fair nothing and he was already a member of the Illinois Senate.  He was so unsuspecting to me.  I never would have guessed who that man was…or that he was working his way up the Illinois political  ladder.   That is the thing about great people…they do not play great.   They tend to be quiet people whom you would walk right by without ever knowing who they were or are.  Juxtapose…to those who want to pretend that they are more than what they really are.  I really do prefer the latter.

I of course was not familiar with him because I had just arrived in Chicago seeking my fame and fortune in the radio industry…which never opened up its doors to me in Chicago. 

So, you see…to a degree that may have been so about the Democratic Party taking black votes for granted…but it does not mean that Democratic candidates do not have to earn our votes nonetheless…just so that we will show up to cast them. 

Since for the most part…the same could be said for all other voters as well…when you are left to vote for the lesser of 2 evils…that is to say…when voters did not have  much to voted for except for the person whom they perceived would do them the least harm or  wrong.   And for the past years this is exactly what going out to vote had come down to…until Obama gave us all a better reason to show up in the ballot booth.    Which those text books for my election class when they talked about low voter turnout totally overlooked as  a possible reason. 

 There is no doubt that since the election of  Barack Obama the value and power of the black vote will never again be under-estimated…and spoken of flippantly such as to say-

“Oh, they don’t turn out and vote.” 

Oh, don’t we?

And particularly in record numbers when we have something or someone we really want to vote for.

Yes, the winds of change have swept into the land.   That is to say…never under-estimate a people who become tired.   Tired of injustice…unfair treatment…and of being overlooked.   Because it will bring about a change…including a change of attitude about getting out to vote.

http://news.aol.com/article/michael-steele-becomes-rncs-first-black/322054

I remember listening to Mrs. Lilly Ledbetter speak at the Democratic National Convention this past August, where President Barack Obama made his nomination acceptance speech as the Democratic Candidate for the race to the White House.  At that convention many people were allowed to participate at the convention by telling their own personal stories to the American public.   Many people watching clearly understood and may have well also been going through what those people were talking about since they all talked on various problems that plagued the United States.  The stories ranged from accounts of foreclosure, health care family problems, small business and the economy etc.    All the stories were sad…and came from people who had been suffering due the affects of the bad polices and the mis-direction of the Bush Administration.

Mrs. Ledbetter’s story touched me…as many years I had worked in a highly male dominated industry…radio…communication.   Everything to do with media or entertainment…really is this way.    And at one time all businesses were too…every office, factory…etc…etc…everything. 

 Today, you see woman sitting in many various capacities but this was not so in years past.    And never had women ever received the pay bonuses, retirement plans etc.  much less the pay of their male counter-parts in any industry or company.  

But Mrs. Ledbetter’s story was about when she found out and tried to file suit and discovered she could not because of the clock…the legal clock had run out.  In the court they call it statutes of limitation…when the time to sue had tolled.   And that was an outrage…and I felt her feelings of having been cheated because she had given the Goodyear Corp. 19 years of her life only to find out that many men who did not had her qualifications nor experience had been paid considerably more than her, received better pension plans, higher social security payments etc .

In the court system…it is important to know that for most cases…but not all…the clock begins to toll from the time the plaintiff first realizes something to be wrong.  But this is not always the case…and for most cases you have a 3 year time frame to file suit.  Once that time lapses…then it is too late.  But for every state these things are different…but simple to find out simply by going to your local legal library which can be found down in your local court house or at a nearby law college.  And by researching that information through the appropriate law book and under the correct topic.

But having worked mostly under men…in a highly male dominated  cheated industry was not always easy.   I grew to hate being referred to as ‘babe’…’baby’…and whatever else name men call women that is devised and designed to keep us in our place and recognized as not being equal to our male co-workers, associates and bosses.   Like Mrs. Ledbetter, I had had far more experience and exposure than most of my male counter-parts.  But they were, however, paid considerable more always.  And many times the companies catered to them…they became the program directors, the music directors, the general managers etc. if these positions became open…which in radio they did and quite often.

So, I clearly understood how all those women on Capitol Hill felt as they looked on with eyes filled with tears…as they crowded around President Obama as he  signed the Fair Pay  Act into law.  It is a measure way past due…and it gave an extension to the time in which to file suit.  Bravo.

 http://womensrights.change.org/blog/view/putting_fairness_first_obama_to_sign_fair_pay_acts_into_law

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=11810278&ch=4226716&src=news

http://www.girardgibbs.com/discrimination.asp?_kk=fair%20pay&_kt=d71f700e-7c51-4264-a885-1517a1fc80ac&gclid=CPv0yrqJu5gCFQu-GgodiiGubQ

http://news.aol.com/article/pro-labor-obama-executive-orders/322642

Well, I got up and out early yesterday morning had to crack some ice.  The sidewalk in front of the house had been frozen solid.  I had thrown out some more salt upon it last night before going in…and the sun was shining this morning so I knew that was a good sign.  And yes it had started to melt…enough to allow me to crack enough of the ice to clear more than a large enough walkway for people. 

But there are mounds and mounds of snow everywhere.  And I know that I am bless  because the house could be a whole lot colder due to the furnace being blown.  But thank God it is not…and I have plenty of food…and really it is very pretty outside.  It really really is.  But it is too bad I can’t light a fire in the fireplace…maybe next winter after I get it cleaned out by a chimney sweeper.   I guess they still have chimney sweepers…don’t they?

Well, God bless…

Thank you for reading this blog…and  my others.  Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends… “pass it on” www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2009  

 If they are not getting busted for fooling around on their wives…then its in a sting operation investigating fraud, shake-downs and/or corruption…and whatever else.

It seems that some politicians simply cannot learn.  They repeat the same old things over and over again.  From being caught with under aged male pages on Capitol Hill to sticking their feet into another man’s bathroom stall. 

What is the problem?

Democratics and Republicans alike…where are the morals?

Is there anyone who is not quilty?

I used to think that John Edwards was a decent stand-up guy…a good husband and family man. 

Well, that is what it seemed.  He also seemed ginuwine…and a person you could really believe. 

Boy, was I way off base there.

The guy was an out and out liar…deceiver and cheat to his wife who was ill and battling for her life against cancer.  And on top of it all…in video footage he calls himself “Ken”….of the Ken & Barbie doll thang.  And grinning no less…as he said it.  Grinning into a mirror while combing his hair.

Now, enter the Govenor of Illinois….Rod Blagojevich.

Was the guy stupid or something?

He gets busted trying to sell off Obama’s seat in the Senate. 

Did he really need money that bad?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_re_us/blagojevich_corruption_probe

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=4226934&ch=4226736&src=news

The feds actually have audio tape of phone coversation of the Governor seeking financial gain for himself and his wife behind the sell of Obama’s Illinois Senate seat.  Now, that is just plain dumb.

The Bible says they have eyes to see but they see not.  They have ears to hear but they hear not.  If someone had told him that it was a bad idea…he probably would not have listened to the person.  Because he had ears but could not hear.  And though he had eyes…and has seen other politicians go down for various reasons…yet, he could not see how trying to sell off Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder was both wrong and illegal…and that he might get caught.

Though Governor Blagojevich had a supposed list of 5 probable candidates inclusive of Jessie Jackson’s son, Jessie Jackson, III.  But  he was apparently fishing for some other fishs to add to his list…who had some deep pockets.

http://www.npr.org/multimedia/2008/11/obama/index.html

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/election2008/2008-election-map.html#/president?view=race08

The question we should all ponder is-

“What causes people to want to just throw it all away?”

“Why do they want to just throw everything away?”

Bill Clinton did it not only with Monica Lewinski…but with all those other women he had been involved with before he even got to the White House as President of the United States.   He just continually kept risking it all.

Kwame Kilpatrick did it, the Mayor of Detroit...text messaging his aid whom he was having an intra-office affair with and was sending hot steamy text messages.

High level Democrats and Republicans  and small local politicians of both parties have been quilty of doing the same…be it was sex or other forms of illegal acts.

Some actors…some business people…some just plain ordinary people…have all ventured to just chuck everything away for something that you and I would classify as…nothing.  And it was for nothing considering who they were and what they had.

Countless governors have fallen from one sex problem after another over the past 2 years.

It seems that both sex and money are still seem still high on the charts as the number 1 and 2 down falls of people.   Sex and money continuously have been the number one and two corruptors of all times…even since the beginning of time.  Though I think that back in the earlier times ‘power‘ was also counted among money and sex.  But today it those with ‘power’ who keep falling into the pits…or some may say….the web of money and/or sex.

I understand the draw of sex…but I don’t know if I would let it sink my ship.  I can admit to this.  At one point in my life that sex was all I mostly thought about and desired. 

I am so happy now that I am  no longer in that trap.

I am now neither definded by sex…nor does it any longer rule me.

But then there is money…over a few dollars some people would give their lives…their profession…and their reputation.

Can money or sex have that much value…pull…or lure?

Can you be lured in by money or sex?

I have seen people get so far down with sickness where nothing…and I do mean nothing…nothing mattered.  Not the car…not the house…not the kids….not whatever situation they had been going through a month ago…nothing.

It is when you see these kinds of things…you come to realize what is really important in life. 

The Bible says a good name is worth more than rubies.  I believe this…I don’t have much money.  I have never worked with money as my focus…and I have said ‘no’ to money many times.  I also have given away alot of money.

I have been down to my last dime…walked out of a McDonald’s and seen someone who was hungry…and gave them both my bag of hot McDonald’s food and my drink.  All of which I had not touched.  But I figured they needed it more than I did. 

While I could go home and make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich…I realized that they could not….because they had no home.

No, I don’t value money. 

In a fire would you rush to get out…or would you rush to get you money stashed in the next room first?

I think in a fire…most people think about their lives first.  Everybody would vacate the house or building leaving most of their valuables inside.  Because as long as you live you can always make more money or obtain more valuables…get some more pictures etc.  It is true…whether you say so or not…at the end of the day you value your life over money or things.

That is why…when I have seen people get to the point where they are near death…I have also seen people to whom nothing else mattered outside of their current state.  This is how I have come to know the essence of life.  And it is not money…or things.

And a good name is worth more than rubies.  And the stupidity of what that Illinois Governor has done will haunt him for a long time.  As does anythig which we have done or will do foolishly.

Well, we finally have seen our first real snow.  Wasn’t much…but I did have to shovel.   But then it is winter.

Still haven’t gotten a new furance…and thank goodness it has not been overly cold.  But the furance is coming.  God worked it out…  I am so glad that I know Him.   And believe me when I say…He has never let me down.

…pass it on…’ www.bsmith101.wordpress.com

God bless…and thanks for reading ©2008

That Dexter King is a greedy little boy.

What I have never liked about some people…I really have a distaste for people…grown children who can’t make it through this world without living on others…namely their parents. 

They have been educated…sent off to school.  But still they can’t make it on their own.  Or maybe they don’t want to.  They want everything that the parent has got…and actively set out to get it.  And many times while the parent is yet alive.

They desire to live off their parents…be it on the memory of their parents…on their parents earnings…or financial resources…or businesses.  Whatever it is…and however it is.  They seek to do it.  If the parent has a business which the parent got started then the child decides they will take it over.  And they (if more than one child) set about removing the parent. 

That whole removing thang…is really the main problem.  Because if an aging parent is not careful the child or children will remove their name from off of their own bank accounts (the parent’s name from the parent’s bank account)…and off everything else if they can. 

And I am not crazy.  It is true. 

I have seen it first hand and have had documentation of it. 

Over time the chid takes over handling all the parent’s personal business…the putting in or pulling money out of the bank for the parent.  They start writing the checks drawn against the parent’s bank account…at first supposedly taking care of the parent’s bills for them.  Which at first all might seem helpful and quite loving and attentive of the child.  And it may even be very convenient for the parent.   But parents beware.

It is a set-up for disaster. 

It is the biggest mistake any parent can make.  Before they know it nothing is their’s anymore…everything has been changed.  And the child has taken over. 

The parent will be standing around wondering how did it all happen?

It hurts. 

Yeah…I imagine that it hurts really bad when you see the people that you breath life into…fed and clothed grow up to be your own worst enemy.  But it does happen.

It’s family matters. 

Sometimes it starts as the parent starts aging.  Sometimes it starts after one of the parents passes.  But it does happen.  And before long the parent will start fearing the child who now begins to terrorize them…and telling them that they aren’t dying quick enough.

It is sad.  And there is really no real way to protect against it.  It has to go to the nature of the child.  And oftentimes this nature is never revealed until it is too late.

Enter Dexter King.  There was a point where his mother, Coretta Scott King, had removed him from being the head of the Martin L. King, Jr. Non-violence Center.  Dexter at that point claimed that she had done so because “they had had differences in opionions.”  So, it would seem that his only two remaining siblings share those same differences now also.

The below articles only prove my point about ol’ Dexter boy.  CLICK on the LINKS BELOW to read.

What a shame.  Imagine how powerful he could be…if only he…and they could live up to the legacy.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/11/14/king_obama_images.html

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/10/30/king_siblings_book.html

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/18/king-siblings-open-about-rift/

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/05/16/0516king.html

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/news/nation/stories/2006/01/MLK_CENTER_0117_COX.html

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/10/24/king_mlk_dispute.html

Fees sought for King images on Obama items

 T-shirts featuring President-elect Barack Obama and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. are shown for sale on an Atlanta street. The King family wants a share of proceeds from such items.

Who wouldn’t have expected black folks to create t-shirts and other merchandise with both Dr. Martin L. King, Jr and Barack Obama side by side. 

Are not they both icons in the black community?

Aren’t black folks equally as excited about Obama as they now celebrate Martin?

I can understand being ridgid about it…if say Nike was doing it.  But not just some brothers and sisters trying to spread the word and generate some bread (money to put food) on their kitchen tables.  I think Martin would be proud and properly smile about it. 

Imagine the long miles Martin L. King, Jr. walked.  The amount of churches he had to visit.  The number of preachers he had to try to placate just in order to get one little thing done. And to have it calumniate in a ‘Barack Obama.’ 

Oh, yeah…I know he would smile…and be proud to be on that t-shirt or that cap…or that carrying bag with his picture right up ther next to Obama’s picture. 

Baby…yeah….he smiling…

So, yeah…I think he would smile to know that some 40 years later…after his “I have a dream” speech that a tall tan black man would stand up in a square of Chicago and be accepting the nomination to be President of the United States.  In fact, he would not only be smiling…but poking out his chest…saying-

“Yes, I always knew it wasn’t going to be in vain.”

I know he would. 

I know that Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. be down right proud to be displayed on a t-shirt or on a baseball cap…or on a silk-screened carrying bay…his picture right there…right next to that of Barack.  And nobody can tell me differently…because I know Dr. King would be proud indeed.

As in the words of Langston Hughes…who wrote “A dream deferred.”  It ain’t deferred any more, baby.

And yeah…I said it. 

Dexter King is a very greedy little boy.   And I do mean ‘boy.’ 

Instead of trying to chase down folks and trying to get his share. He really should be out scouting down the best t-shirts and other merchandise and striking a deal for the copyrights.  Some of those t-shirts are fabulous.

Well, God bless.  Hope you had a great  Thanksgiving.

I am so tired I don’t know what to do.  I stayed up until 5 AM this morning working on a class presentation.  But I got it done.  Missed my 8 o’clock class though.  But the presentation went very well.  It was worth the lost of a little sleep. 

Now, I can close my eyes…without having to worry if I will get up on time.  My next class is not until 9:25 AM tomorrow morning.  And I’m going to get some much needed sleep now.

And needed it is. 

I made 10 apple pies this past holiday and boiled the sweet potatoes for the 14 pies that my son made and baked.  We had more than enough…and we are still enjoying them.  Plus everybody got to carry home at least one apple and one sweet potato each.  We have a very larged and highly blessed family.  All praises be to God most high.

…pass it on…’ www.bsmith101.wordpress.com

God bless…and thanks for reading ©2008

It is like a breath of fresh air to have a black woman who totally and so completely despells that myth that many black women have taken such a bad rap for…and has been highly heighten by black music and rap videos.  You know the ones…like being cheap…loose…trampy…brainless and easy…etc…etc….

At last a black woman who not only has grace and poise but a brain to go with it.  Somebody who is not flashing her flesh…but yet is sexy in a quiet and enticing way…not understated…or yet overstated.  But stated.  And this is not to miminize my sisters who truly have it…well, going on…some pastors…some evangelists…some business owners…some lawyers…some doctors….etc…and some just moms.  But they got it going on.

Not trying to play like someone else.  Content in who she is…in her blackness…in her feminity…in her womanhood…life…motherhood…and as a wife…daughter…and auntie…

And not only having brains…but power…confidence…and humility.  What awesome combinations!

There is little wonder that President Elect Barrack Obama refused to accept “no” while trying to continuously seeking her to date him.  Sometimes a little opposition can go a long ways.  It may have been just the thing he needed to help have the determination to make it all the way into the White House as the President of the United States this past Presidential Election period.

Having pursued her undergraduate studies at Princeton, in 1985 for her thesis topic she chose “Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community.”  Within the pages of her thesis, Michelle wrote that her experiences at Princeton University had made her more aware of her blackness than ever before.  Princeton being an Ivy League university located in Princeton, New Jersey, was a far cry from being in the large urban hub of Southside Chicago from where she came.  At the time there was no Toni Morrison there or a Dr. Cornel West on its campus back then…nor much by way of African-American studies which the school has since expanded, which may have a lot to do with a former student who minored in the subject there.

Michelle Obama graduated cum-laude from Princeton University in 1985 with a major in sociology and a minor in African-American studies.  In 1988, Michelle Obama received her doctorate degree in law from the Harvard Law School.

She met Barrack Obama when he came to work as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm for which she was working for at the time.  She was assigned to mentor him through that period at the company. 

Obviously self-confidence was not something which Barrack Obama has ever lacked.  He liked her…but she…well, she just was not interested.   She believed that co-workers should not be fraternizing while working on a job together and so…she maintained that code while Barrack never gave up trying.  He invited her to a community organization meeting and impressed her so much by his work, oration and commitment to what he was doing that slowly he began to win her over.  The rest is history…

But it is clear to say that Michelle Obama is not only a good role model for any young girl…young lady…and/or woman out there…everywhere, but an excellent one.  With Barrack Obama’s good looks it is hard to believe anybody could have ever told him ‘no.’   But Michelle Obama did and continuously several times.  If nothing else…this may prove to many that saying ‘no’ might not be such a bad thing to practice.  Look what it can get you. 

Obama didn’t just look over at Michelle and flash that winning smile at her…and she went weak in the knees.  No, that didn’t happen.  Barrack Obama had to win her affection…her love…her admiration…and her respect.  After a while he finally got her attention.  It didn’t happen the moment she laid her eyes on him.  She wasn’t looking for someone to just throw her down and leap upon her.  In fact…she wasn’t looking.

But Obama found her. 

She was sitting in an office fulfilling the capacities of her job when he stepped into her life.  She viewed it as a professional arrangement.   As something her company had put together and asked her to fulfill by being his mentor.

It is perhaps that arrangement which laid the foundation for their future life together…where she can say things to him such as she did following her introduction of him at the 2004 Democratic Primary Convention…when she said to him as she passed him while she was walking off stage, “Now, don’t blow it.”

That foundation having been laid from the time they first met positioned Michelle Obama to be Barrack Obama’s closest…dearest…most truthful confidant whom he knows will always lovingly be balantly truthful no matter how much it hurts while at the same time bringing him much joy, happiness and pride in his life.  These are combinations which cannot be beat. 

Born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on January 17, 1964, there is no way that her parents, Fraser Robinson and Marian Shields Robinson, would have known that their daughter was destine to make history.  And that history would include her marrying the first African-American man to become President of the United States, in the form of Barrack Obama…or that their daughter would ever become the First Lady of the United States of America.

At 5′11″ Michelle Obama is capable of making any fashion statement she chooses.  But if being a fashion statement is what media thinks is the only thing that Michelle Obama is all about…they better back up and think twice.  She is no Jackie ‘O’ but may go down in history as be as beloved, admired and respected.  Jackie didn’t come complete with 2 degrees from 2 very prestigious schools, Princeton and Harvard…or hold a doctorate in law…or work as a lawyer.  No, Michelle Obama will be more than just a beautiful woman on the arm of a very handsome President.  And look for her to make more than just fashion statements…though she says she is really looking forward to being just ‘First Mom.’ 

At a time when many African-American college students neglect African-American studies as part of their coor-electives or even as a major or minor…Michelle Obama’s story may prove to be an incentive in increasing the enrollment in those classes by all students…and that would be a very great thing.

Well, she ain’t no hip-hop mama shaking her booty in some rap video.  Oh, no…no…  Or some hotty stepping up out of a pool dripping wet…while a bunch of male singers gang around her and start simulating sexual acts.   No…no…she’s too wholesome, too clean cut, too mature and too hip for that…and she sho’ nuff got more than that going on.  She’s got brains plus body…but prefers to display if anything…her brains.  And she has a whole lot more of self-respect for herself than to want rub up and down on some stripper’s pole.

She is a Mack truck coming down the freeway…and it’s all brain power…and natural inner and outer beauty, baby.

And what a mother…and wife.

Barrack Obama could not have made a better choice.  

Every man owes it to himself to find a Michelle Obama…and nothing less.

And every woman owes it to herself to allow a Barrack Obama to find her, respect her…and then to become the head of their family.

Welcome into our world, Mrs. Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States of America!

And oh, yeah…First Mom.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4A00UF20081101

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2008-08/41833017.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-michelle-leadall_for_finalaug26,0,256879.story&h=350&w=500&sz=32&hl=en&start=6&um=1&usg=__UqgOxMaWRjb6gwDZLuBN9OEMLok=&tbnid=cDLIzaYShrWZSM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpicture%2Bof%2Bmichelle%2Bobama%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7720974.stm

VENUS WILLIAMS…still tearing up  the courts….

 Topping off her already superb year having won Wimbledon again, the US Open and gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this year, with her Doubles partner and sister, Serena Williams, who has also had a very outstanding year.  Which I am sure gives the entire Williams family much to cheer…smile and to be proud about…including the fact that these 2 young ladies are very great role models for young women…and young boys and men everywhere. 

They are the stuff that champions are made of…determination and lots of hard work…and forever perfecting their craft and sharpening those skills.  Both, Venus and Serena…are athletic mechines…capable to chasing down the most far reaching balls and slamming them back with razor sharp precision.

Venus Williams

It was hard work but Venus pulled it out…winning her final tournament for this year…giving her…her 39th title.  She won 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 thus giving her…her first win over Russia’s Vera Zonareva.  The tournament in Doha, Qatar this past Sunday featured the top 8 players in the world of which Serena was also one.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/10/sports/TENNIS.php

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jJyh4vNEHwFGo9veCRL1xT13GZXQ

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7705943.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7718624.stm

http://www.sportinglife.com/fanzine/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=tennis/08/11/10/manual_115915.html

Hope you are having a wonderful day…today is suppose to be a holiday…Veteran’s Day here…but since my school is private we had class.  But to any of you who are veterans…happy Veteran’s Day and thank you for your service.   

I’m due in Boston tomorrow as I am considering DIV school…that is Divinity School.  I’m viewing the campus of Harvard and sitting in on sessions…should be interesting.   Then I am also thinking about the possibility of Howard University’s Divinity School too.

Well, God bless…

…pass it on…’ www.bsmith101.wordpress.com

 It’s count down time, baby.

With less than a week to go the campaigns are heating up. McCain has decided to turn up the negatives as he has all the burners working overtime.

It was thought by some that rather than going out looking like a bad looser McCain would opt for the high road.  But somehow he has not found that road to be a likable choice for him. 

Perhaps John McCain is holding out falsely for what many of  the pundits have repeatedly chimed, “that the polls could have it all wrong.”

And they might well have.  But even so…it still won’t be in McCain’s favor.  The likihood is that the pundits have under-estimated ‘the Obama effect’ rather than having not properly measured it all.

There is no doubt that many Americans are fed up with the way things have been going in the country.  And that they will show up at voting locations all across this country this coming Tuesday to prove it. 

But very little has been said about the Hispanic vote or that of women.  During the Primaries they were the ‘hot’ topic…the ‘women’s vote’ and the ‘Hispanic vote.’  But lately we had heard very little about them.  I perdict that women will hit the polls like never before as well as the Hispanics…and that they will favor Obama.

I also believe that though McCain may have believed that he had most of the senior votes…he better take another look.  They are no fools…look for seniors in very large numbers to be casting their votes for Obama, as well.  We’re talking Medicaid, health insurance, foreclosures, gas prices, raising food costs, crashing retirement funds and everything else. 

It’s Obama…Obama…Obama, baby.   It’s destiny.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27430382

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27438594#27438594

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27425795#27425795

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/28/campbell.brown.obama/index.html

Since speaking with my son last night…who when I called him said-

“Oh, I thought you were calling about Jennifer Hudson.”

I said, “What about Jennifer Hudson?”

“You didn’t hear it over the news?  Somebody broke into their house and shot her mother…killing her.  And they shot her uncle and then kidnapped her little nephew?”

I said, “What???”

And I turned off the music I was listening to…and thought about it for a while.

I can’t believe it.

Here she is working hard trying to establish herself and find her way around Hollywood…and this.  What a tragic event that should happen…simply divastating.

The world is full of evil people…and this you should know if you don’t already do.

At some point after hearing about those murders in Chicago, I started thinking about how parents have always taught their children not to talk to strangers.  I don’t know why it came to mind…except some time ago I saw on television where the schools along with parents were aggressively teaching young children not to talk or walk off with any strangers.  All of this following a rash of strange cars near schools and a man trying to entice some children to get in.  Then there was those laws passed…they carried the names of the young victims of certain crimes.

No one ever said it…but as a young child, I was taught you did not talk to strangers.  They did this because they knew that the world is full of evil people and they wanted to protect us from them.  But in the recent years we have seen the level of evil escalate.

Oh, yes we are accustom to hearing stories of people breaking in and killing people…but we had never heard of the type of events that caused 9/11.   There was even a point where we had never heard of people who put razors in apples and then gave them out to children during ‘Trick or Treat’…or tainted candy.  But the world is full of evil people…and their numbers are multiplying. 

Or it could be argued…we are just hearing more about it now than we did before.  Take for instance that father in Austria who had imprisoned his own daughter in his basement for over 20 years and fathered some 7 or so children with her. 

How could that be classified as anything else other than sick…and quite evil?

That story sicken me so badly that I have until this very time had not said much on it.  But it was evil.

When I think of what I read on the once very popular DeBarge family…sicken me in the same way.  In that case it was a father destroying the lives of his many sons and daughter.  That story too…turned my stomach.

Life is hard in many ways…but these type of undue interruptions that cause even greater hardship of emotional conflict and personal hate…can have and  leave indelible marks and effects upon the lives of many who have had to endure the traumas of them.

I have a friend who was born in Chicago…during some time very early in her life she was gang raped by some boys in a vacant apartment across the hall from where she lived with an aunt. 

This aunt had been forced into the position of caring for her…as she had come into the world some time during the incarceration of her mother.  The whole story is quite sad…but following that rape she was later regularly sexually abused by her aunt’s boyfriend…all this while she was a very young child.  The trauma of her history has marked her entire life…and often when I speak with her…she talks of suicide.

There is  evil in this world.  And Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and 7 year old nephew all came face to face with it.

We can only say… 

“Jennifer be encouraged and seek solitude in the word of the Lord…for joy will again come in the morning.”

It is probably hard to believe that right now…but it is quite true.

After hearing the news regarding Jennifer Hudson’s family and then thinking about Obama’s grandmother…I started to cry.

It seems sad to me…after raising him that Obama’s grandmother…a woman he says-

“She poured all of what she had into me.”

It seems sad to think that she might not live to see him become President of the United States of America.

I can only reflect upon the times that once were…while living in the heartland of America an elderly white couple left to raise their daughter’s 2 non-white children.  I can imagine the stares they must have received while going to school conferences and while stepping into the dentist’s office or doctor’s offices with her little dark skinned non-white grand children. 

It was the times…when white parents were against their children having black friends…much less marrying someone black as brilliantly protrayed in the movie starring Sidney Poitier “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” 

It could not have been easy…they were probaly ostrasized and whispered about behind their backs about those 2 little black children that…yes, probably at first they probably didn’t even want…but through time grew to love and cherish as they grew to love and cherish them.

It is sad think that she is sick and might not live to see it.  Because there had to have been something in them that made her the way she was…and ultimately him who he is today.  God bless them all.

Well, have a blessed day.   And enjoy your weekend…it looks as though it may rain over this way. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27372012#27372012

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27366072/ 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/10/25/illinois.shootings/index.html

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20235862,00.html

http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2008/10/obama_we_need_to_pray_for_jenn.php

[youtbe=http://www.youtube.com/v/GyT_R1Hr-J4&hl=en&fs=1]

And I still love you, Willis Kattrell.

Smile and have a beautiful day.

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Have a beautiful day…and thank you for reading.

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