News

I Get It Now

Yesterday on Facebook I spoke out against gun control. I’m so thankful for my blog because it reminds me of the reason why I started it. People always tell me to speak for myself but when I do, I end up hitting someone’s nerve. I’m all for people having their own opinions but I can’t tolerate dealing with people who can’t see anything else, a debate becomes a headache instantly.

The post that I wrote said,” Everyone wants to talk about gun control but no one wants to talk about broken homes”. Oh! Why did I say that?! Here comes the backlash!

Everyone wants to talk about mass murders but no one wants to talk about what started it all prior to the person pulling the trigger. Bullying, delinquent associates, substance abuse, untreated mental illnesses and so forth all goes back to a child’s upbringing. Poor family relations and poor parental supervision are some of the reasons for the lack of parental intervention. No one wants to address the potential risk and need factors before the violence occurs.

Now please don’t misunderstand me I am sorry for the lives that were lost in violent crimes. I just don’t feel that gun control is the solution. People want a quick fix to more than likely a problem that they may have helped to contribute to. Its let’s take the guns away but don’t talk about poor home training. Everything isn’t a microwave fix sometimes a stove has to be used. Modern times have spoiled some people, they want quick fixes without putting in the work.

No one wants to talk about some women not using birth control or caring about the kind of partner they are having children with (who will soon be absent). The crazy thing is that some of the very people who support abortion feel that it’s okay to take away a person’s right to bear arms.

Like I said, “it’s all fun and games to talk about taking away someone else’s right until it’s something that they care about”. I’m being honest some of the black people who are for gun control because of the mass shootings are the same ones who get upset when black on black crime is mentioned. Some black people want to talk about the crazy white kid who committed mass murder but doesn’t care about a black kid being shot on the street corner. That’s when the snitches get stitches come in to play and no one says a word that could help to solve a murder. Some black people are selective about certain causes. Yes. I said it. They rather talk about the broken homes happening overseas. They don’t want to talk about the 72% out of wedlock rate that is climbing. The children born out of wedlock will want to know where they came from and why their parent is absent. It is selfish for adults to mess up as parents and expect their children to be okay. There are no do-overs in parenting it’s easier to fix a damaged kid than a broken adult. These broken people go out into the world, become society’s problem and sometimes people get hurt.

I am convinced more than ever that everything that I experienced growing up has lead up to this moment. I used to be ashamed about the pain from my childhood but now I want to help others. I get it now my past has molded me and now I am speaking out.

While growing up in a broken home
All I ever wanted
Was if I was blessed to become a mother
That my children would not experience
The same thing
My father was abusive
My mother struggled
She did her best of raising me
More important than the
Time spent, home cooking, cooking lessons
Was teaching me about Christ,
Responsibility and accountability
People say that the best way
To reach others is to be
Able to relate
To their pain
To their upbringing
I get it now
Everything that happened in my life
Was meant for something greater
People speak of gun control
But no one wants to speak
About the dysfunction
That is produced from a broken home
Serial killers, mass murders, bombers,
Black on black crime, terrorist etc.
All of these people are apart of situations
Where innocent people were killed
Not all by guns
When people want to kill
They don’t always use guns
One way or another
They will find a way to get it done
They will do what they set out to do
It’s time for me
To speak the truth
Being silent
There is no use
I get it now

A Blizzard is Coming

Yaaay!!! My first post of 2018! Happy New Year! Now that I got that out of my system, the area where I live is expecting a blizzard. The word blizzard differs from state to state New York wouldn’t look at my area’s snow fall as a blizzard. When I think of a blizzard I think of the year of 1980. The year 1980 had one of the largest snow falls ever. I remember being on the school bus looking out the window at my mother walking to come get me. I will never forget her walking against the wind and falling snow that was trying to push her backwards. My mother was pregnant with my youngest sister too but she was always on top of doing her motherly duties.

Ooh here comes the circus snow! Back in the day every time the ringling brothers circus came to our city my mother would say “Oh man here comes the snow”. The younger generation don’t know about the circus snow because it began coming in April up until it shut down after 146 years of being in business. The blizzard of 1980 is the most known one in the area – because people were trapped in the Norfolk Scope that night after coming to see the ringling brothers circus. Every time there might be a rumor of snow in these parts someone blurts out “circus blizzard, circus blizzard!”, on Facebook or on the news. For years people would always joke that when the circus came to town, we’re going to get snow. The storm came earlier than expected, so people arrived at the circus, thinking they would be home before it snowed. When circus-goers left the morning show at 2 p.m, the snow was beginning to pile up, with more people arriving for the afternoon show. The circus was all “the show must go on”, so on it went, and when the afternoon show ended, nobody could leave the Scope–they were snowed in. It was too dangerous to drive and thus the phrase circus blizzard was formed!

My feeling about snow starts off as excitement, then I start down memory lane and then I start wishing that it goes away!!! Still I think of how beautiful the snow is and how God truly makes amazing things.

Moment of Silence

Let me start off by saying that I have Not watched an award show since the 90s as far as I am concerned today’s music isn’t good music at all. In my day artist cared about making a great album and not just making a hit song. Man, where did music go wrong? The artist from the 80s and 90s helps the music of today to be halfway worth listening to. The music today samples a lot of the old music of yesterday. With that being said I am Not pleased about the tribute that was given to Chris Cornell a moment of silence!? Like you folks have to be kidding me!! Chris Cornell deserved way more than a moment of silence.

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Yeah, I know it sounds like I’m in my feelings well that’s because I am. I am beyond disappointed. I’m glad that I don’t watch award shows especially the Billboards awards they’re absolute garbage anyway. Chris Cornell passed way on a Wednesday and you are telling me that they couldn’t come up with a better tribute than what he got?! Stick a fork in me because I’m done. Nothing against Cher, Celine Dion or Drake if you like watching your grandma parading around in sheer garments at 71, a walking white rose that has been plucked from dress and synthesized voices. Enlighten me were those the original outfits Cher wore when I was a teenager I have got to know?! Ummmm Cher you cannot turn back time you’re a grandma’s age no disrespect. What was Celine Dion wearing last night?! Drake won an award nothing against synthesized voices however Robert Troutman did it better just ask 2Pac California Love baby!!!

If I was in charge of giving a tribute for Chris Cornell it would have been truly memorable. The moment of silence didn’t last because the people in the audience didn’t have enough respect to stay silent for long. What can I say that’s just the way of the world. Okay I am done ranting. On a lighter note U2, Dave Mustaine, Areosmith, Queensryche, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica gave a tribute to Chris Cornell. Thank goodness for the artist from years ago they are keeping great music alive.

For Chris

Music transcends race, age, gender and social class. Music can bring different people to together while they sing the same lyrics to a song. People who know me know that I listen to all kinds of music however rock music is my baby. I love rock music. The Seattle Scene was everything Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains one can throw Candlebox up in there too. I had every cassette of the bands from the Settle Scene.  Growing up 1991 was a great year of music in April my mother brought me the cassette Temple of the Dog and in October Badmotorfinger. My mother brought me Motorvision on VHS of course it was the 90s. Man, kids of today will never know what it’s like to watch a VHS tape and be able to tell which parts were watched the most from constantly rewinding certain parts on a tape. On Motorvision I kept watching the part where Soundgarden performed Searching with My Good Eye Closed the energy was amazing!!!! I have been a fan of Soundgarden for more than half of my age. A lot of mainstream fans (not putting them down) think that Superunknown put Soundgarden on the map but it was Badmotorfinger actually. My favorite songs off Badmotorfinger are Rusty Cage, Outshined, Slaves and Bulldozers and Searching with My Good Eye Closed. As a teenager I battled with depression and music helped me out a lot. This is the reason why I was so heartbroken about Chris Cornell’s death. I am Not idolizing Chris Cornell and quite frankly I’m sick of people who make a person feel bad about sharing about how someone touched their life.

My birthday is May 17 and Chris Cornell died on my birthday it’s so sad. I remember my phone going off from an email that I received. The email said Audioslave and Soundgarden leader singer so I click on it to open it and found out about his passing. I feel so sorry for Chris Cornell’s wife and children as well as everyone whose lives that he touched. Chris Cornell voice was unique that could hit a high C vocal range and he was an amazing songwriter too. Chris wrote most of the songs of the groups that he was in. On the album Superunknown one of my favorite songs is “Fell on Black Days. Fell on Black Days written by Chris is about how he suffered from a severe case of depression during his teenage years rarely leaving the house. Chris once spent a whole year without leaving the house he played the guitar and drums. I could go on and on about Chris Cornell’s songs and his talent. In an interview with Launch Radio Networks, Chris Cornell said: “The ‘be yourself’ part really just came from a lot of things that I’ve gone through in my life and a lot of different changes and all the different tragedies and all the horrendously stupid mistakes I’ve made in my personal life, and wanting to be able to make up for those things and wanting to be able to not be ashamed, all that stuff. You know, that’s the one thing about getting older that’s better, and this song kind of says it so simply, to a degree that 10 years ago I would’ve been embarrassed to put it in a song ’cause it is so simple. But there it is.”

In the song “Show me how to live”, Chris Cornell asks for help from God, saying that He created him, but now needs his guidance. There are a few religious references in the song, including “Nail in my hand,” which is relates to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Near the end, Cornell created an interesting vocal effect by hitting his throat with the side of his hand to change the pitch of his voice

I went over to Chris Cornell’s website and read his thoughts about his tribute to Prince; he performed Prince’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U”. He said “Sadly now his own lyrics in this song could not be more relevant than at this moment, and I sing them now in reverence as I pay tribute to this unequaled artist who has given all of our lives so much inspiration and made the world so much more interesting.” Those words are exactly how I feel right now Chris Cornell there will never be another like you because “Nothing Compares 2 U.” I know that you sometimes “Fell on Black Days” wanted the “Black Hole Sun” to come but you continued “ Searching with Your Good Eye Closed” asked God to “Show You How to Live” while you continued to “Be Yourself”. You were an awesome artist Say Hello to Heaven.

Seeing the Gold

The internet can be a crazy place. We see true stuff, fake news as Trump calls it and lots of added on stuff. The internet can be a world filled with gossip. Recently I wrote about reading a book called The Woman Code in it the author of the book ninth code was Do not gossip. The Bible talks about gossip a lot one doesn’t have to be a Christian to realize how badly gossip can affect a person’s life. I know that I don’t want to gossip or indulge in it either. I wouldn’t like to be lied on. Gossip causes a lot of damage most of it cannot be undone. Proverbs 16:28 A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

Let’s think about it what are some reasons why men and women gossip about a person or people? Let’s be honest most times gossip are lies. I mean why else would the person who’s spreading the gossip tell a person not to tell anyone? Why won’t the person who’s doing the gossiping tell the person whom they are gossiping about directly? Hmmmmm….sounds suspect to me and I’m not Lieutenant Columbo. “One more thing sir…”

Angry people use the internet to publicly humiliate others they are nothing more than keyboard gangsters who hides behind the screen…a bunch of trolls who belong under a bridge in some land far far away. Yeah I said it! They don’t have any facts but lots of lies. So if you talk behind a fool one will sound like one.

We all should know better than to take anything on the internet as facts. Right now I am taking a Statistic course. Last week I turned in an assignment and had points deducted from me because she said that  I needed to support my work with facts…..allow that to sink in. I have had people tell lies about me I knew why they were angry with me some still are. Once people stop talking to you they start talking about you. Our enemies are nothing more than estranged family members, formal associates,or formal friends. Think about it if a person is no longer speaking to another person anymore how true is their information. Example if a person is still gossiping about someone after a long period of time and have not been in contact with the person how accurate are their words? Why would a person continue to gossip about a someone whom they no longer speak to? Just something to think about.

I always try to be Christ like and try to put myself in other people’s shoes. If  I were to see something on the internet about someone  I would question the person who wrote it. Gossip is something that an angry person does so I would wonder why they are doing that. Not everything we read or find on the internet is true. Beyonce went to dinner last night now her photo has been made into a meme already no telling what they say. People make up memes, create rumors, and twist things around to cause division, turn people against each other,and fuel hate. People who gossip about someone else does it in hopes of hurting the people whom they are talking about and isolating them from others by attempting to turn people off from that person. As a Christian I pray for discernment I don’t want to share or spread lies about a person on social media otherwise I would have to question my character as well as why would  I want to put faith in angry words.

When we assassinate the character of others we inescapably annihilate our own in the process. We become no better than whatever we’re saying about another. The soul is better fed with words that speak life and hope.

I don’t know about anyone else but I’d rather be a peacemaker I don’t want to play a role in causing the flames of gossip to grow higher I rather put them out. Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

My Name Is Gossip.
I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing.
I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.

The more I am quoted the more I am believed.
I flourish at every level of society.
My victims are helpless.
They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.

To track me down is impossible.
The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
I am nobody’s friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and ruin marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartache and indigestion.
I spawn suspicion and generate grief.

I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses.

I AM CALLED GOSSIP.

Father God help me to have control over my words and to see the gold in others.

Proverbs 11:27

27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

Skeletons in Your Closet

My mother loved music one song that she used to play a lot was called Skeletons by Stevie Wonder. The beat to that song Skeletons was everything!! Anyway the lyrics went:

Skeletons in your closest

Itchin’ to come outside

Messin’ with your conscience

In a way your face can’t hide

Well you see where I am going with this. We all have skeletons in our closet still God has forgiven us. No one should be walking around with a heavy heart behind past events that God has already forgiven us for. Don’t allow anyone to make you feel guilty about your past because that isn’t cool. Especially when people don’t know you or your story. We have to get rid of people who are quick to judge and slow to love.

In my opinion when we can’t move on from past mistakes it robs us of our present. Our present is a gift. I don’t care how many bones a person has in their closet whether it’s enough to make a human skeleton or a dinosaur museum. Who are we to judge? A person of the world reminds a person of their past a real Christian knows better than to do that. Everyone has skeletons and everyone has a story that they don’t want to read aloud.

So don’t allow the devil, your guilt, your enemies, or anybody to make you feel guilty about what you and God has already worked out. Life is too short to worry about unpaid critics that feel that they have a right to judge your life. What did Jesus tell the woman who was caught in adultery? What did Jesus say to the Pharisees who was about to stone her? Alright enjoy the life that God has given you and be blessed!

2 Corinthians 5:17

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

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Farewell

I am so sad about Tony Romo leaving the Dallas Cowboys. Tony Romo had so many injuries in the past and he’s played with some of them. The fan base of celebrities and sports are wishy washy there have been negative as well as positive things being sad about Tony Romo. In my opinion  I feel that Tony Romo should retire but his ego won’t allow it. I just feel that Tony shouldn’t continue to risk his health one has to realize when it’s time to throw in the towel.

There have been some players who went on to another team and won a Superbowl ring others have not. Drew Brees and Peyton Manning won a Superbowl when they went to another team. Hoping that Tony Romo has some kind of success it would break my heart to see his career ruined.

I want to thank Tony Romo for all of his hard work and dedication. You are one heck of a player!! I enjoyed when he teamed up with T.O, Marion Barber, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten the list just goes on. I’m praying that he remains healthy. Many blessings to you!

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Black Queen

The internet has been buzzing about the surprise nuptials of Mr. Tyrese Gibson but not exactly for the reasons most would think. Recently Tyrese shared his wedding pictures on Instagram with the hashtag my black queen. He’s been getting slammed because his wife looks white. To be honest I have mixed feelings about this situation. I for one am happy for Tyrese from what  I researched his new wife is really religious. Tyrese new wife has influenced his views on God it was shown through posts. In my opinion anyone who can influence your outlook about God and causes you to walk closer with Him is a blessing. I don’t care what color that they are because in my eyes love has no color.

The person that I am is one who is curious about what makes people do what they do. Tyrese fan base is made up of mostly black women so  I am thinking that he doesn’t want to lose fans that why he kept the marriage quiet. Another thing that I have noticed about Tyrese is that most of the women that he has dated have been very light skinned. I have written about the colorism that goes on in the black community. Even though we grow up and become an adult there are still some things that have occurred in our childhood that we carry with us. Some of the comments that  I read on Tyrese Instagram prior to him taking his wedding photos were terrible like attacking his skin tone. I wonder did he get attacked behind his skin tone a lot as a child and as an adult. It doesn’t matter about him being a celebrity he’s still a human being with feelings.

I’ll never meet Tyrese but I am glad that he is happy. He looked very happy in his wedding photos and that’s great. I pray that his wife makes him happy for many more years to come. I do feel that there are some deep seeded problems within the black community I have said this many times before. Tyrese calls his wife who looks white a black queen yet Jesse Williams is thought of as not being black enough. It just doesn’t make sense to me nevertheless blessings to Tyrese and his wife.

One last thing I would like to add pertaining to a comment left on Tyrese photo the writer wrote “Men dark as Tyrese are the ones with the biggest self-hatred” if that is the case let’s not add to his case by attacking the man. I pray that God sends me a true Man of God that helps to strengthen my walk with Christ. Tyrese obviously has reached the understanding with his wife’s help that having a strong relationship with God is more important than anything.

Mark 10:8

And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

Frederick Douglass

With all the eyebrows being raised recently pertaining to Trump’s knowledge of Fredrick Douglass I decided to write about him. Unlike my post from yesterday regarding Claudette Colvin and the bus boycotts Fredrick Douglass was taught to us in school. Not sure as to why Trump’s knowledge is so poor on a subject that was taught to many in elementary school.

Fredrick Douglass (February 1818-February 20,1895) was a born into slavery he was a abolitionist and writer. Abolitionist is (especially prior to the Civil War) a person who advocated or supported the abolition of slavery in the U.S. Fredrick Douglass was born Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey he changed his name to keep from being captured. Fredrick Douglass mother was black and father was white he quoted this on the subject about his father “Men do not love those who remind them of their sins.” Douglass wrote a book about his life as a slave it was very descriptive and he used the real name of his owner. Once Douglass used his owner’s real name it placed him in danger of being captured.

What  I didn’t learn in school was that Fredrick Douglass was married twice his first wife Anna Murray- Douglass was black and they had five children together. Anna and Fredrick Douglass were married from 1838-1882 until she died. Fredrick Douglass second wife his former secretary was white her name was Helen Pitts Douglass. Helen and Fredrick Douglass were married from 1884-1895 until he died. Fredrick Douglass second married was not welcomed by anyone. Even though Helen’s parents were abolitionist they didn’t approve of their marriage and they stop talking to her. Helen Pitts Douglass said this pertaining to her marriage “Love came to me, and I was not afraid to marry the man I loved because of his color.” Douglass has this to say about his marriage to Helen,” No man, perhaps, had ever more offended popular prejudice than I had then lately done. I had married a wife. People who had remained silent over the unlawful relations of white slave masters with their colored slave women loudly condemned me for marrying a wife a few shades lighter than myself. They would have had no objection to my marrying a person much darker in complexion than myself, but to marry one much lighter, and of the complexion of my father rather than of that of my mother, was, in the popular eye, a shocking offense, and one for which I was to be ostracized by white and black alike.”

I enjoyed refreshing my memory about Fredrick Douglass and learning about Helen Pitts Douglass. Helen Pitts Douglass fought for the legacy of her husband and that showed how much she loved him.

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