Thursday, January 22, 2009
Today's jewelry item for sale
Garnet and diamond ring set in 10K gold, size 7, Perfect for Valentines day! $139.00! 
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The challenge
I am looking foreward to hearing from many of you and get your ideas. The President has sent us a challenge to volunteer and help our communities. Know of an organization you would like to join? Make that phone call, know of a person who needs help, reach out and help that person, know that in your community something is lacking, start a grassroots organization to fulfill that need, enlist your friends and neighbors to help you. You will be amazed by the blesings that you will receive, the joy in your heart will be contagious!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Joyous day in America
Today marks the beginning of new hope, renewed spirit of the American citizens and the installation of an African American as our leader and President, a President of the people and for the people of this great nation. I am a direct descendant of an abolitionist. In my heart and soul I always believed that all people are created equal that they should all be given the same opportunities and educational benefits. WE should respect and love one another. No race is superiors to another. My great uncle was born in England in 1812 and came to the US in 1836, He was a trained Baptist minister. He was horrified by the atrocities of slavery of both the African Americans as well as the Native Americans held captive as slaves. He began his journey in Wisconsin by setting the slaves free than offering safe houses for those slaves who escaped from the South through the underground railroad. He would be so happy today that his dream was realized. I am thrilled and more than teary eyes with joy that President Obama is our leader. Edward Mathews then went on to Chicago to help more slaves. i was born in Chicago in 1950. Chicago was a town then where segregation was the norm, on my mom's side was the ?Swedes and English who would stay in certain sections of the city. I always wondered if it was because they preferred to speak their mother tongue and the stores carried familiar grocery items. Then too there was the German section, Polish section, Mexican, Italian, Lithuanian and Croatian sections. Coming together would take many, many years.
The first time I ever really felt segregation was when my family moved to Florida. My Dad and I were driving from Chicago to Miami. One stop that still haunts me was in ST. Augustine FL. I was thirsty and wanted a drink of water from a fountain. There was a sign above the water fountain that said "colored only". I wanted a drink and proceeded to see what "color" the water was, I was given dirty looks and a yank by my Dad. I knew what regular water was but I wanted to taste and see "colored water". It tasted the same and looked the same. Next there was wonderful cooking odors and whetted my apatite for some good cooking. Again it was frowned upon to enter that restaurant to sample that heavenly smell of cooking. I wondered why there were different restaurants and water, aren't we humans all the same? I was 12 years old at the time, the year was 1962. It was then that I saw the way people were treated so differently and was ashamed that we allowed that in this country. Didn't Abe Lincoln free the slaves ? Why was it taking so long, over 100 years for us to share a seat in a restaurant, the same bathrooms, the same water, the same neighborhoods? What was wrong and why did it take so long? I still don't know why it took so long to honor people of different races and religions. Then Martin Luther King also a Baptist minister came and gave the speech "I have a Dream". I was most impressed and had felt that way all my life. I thought things would happen much quicker and everyone would have the same opportunities. I didn't know that African Americans didn't even have the right to vote yet, they were not given a choice in leadership or to share in the decision making, they didn't have the same educational opportunities. Black history was not taught in schools.
AS I got older I learned so much about the contributions African American made to this country. WE had captured Kings and Queens deceived them into thinking that they would be consultants in building America and we would return them to the glory of Africa. Rich in gold, diamonds, emerald, tanzanite and other precious and semi precious stones. WE took the best architects to build, the farmers who knew how to grow and maintain crops, the engineers who knew how to flood fields and teach us to grow rice, tea and indigo . I currently live in South Carolina and adore history. It has reduced me to tears on many occasions when I saw shackles, read stories of the many deaths that occurred in crossing an ocean with cruelty, hunger, thirst and illness. Many slave owners were cruel. I still see slave quarters at the old plantations, I hear whispers of the dead and how they suffered, struggled to learn how to read, were prosecuted, did not received medical care, used the herbs of Africa to heal. So many of Southern recipes are based on slave recipes that they brought with them..
Today is a monumental day in history, we have Barack H. Obama as our President and leader.
He has called upon us all to build a better America, to reach out and help one another, to build grassroots community services. Let us all be brothers and sisters. Reach out and help your neighbors. We can build America to greatness once again. Commit some time to your community, inspire others to help, make it a habit. American is known for its generosity, let us be generous to each other as well. We all want the same things, safety, education for our children, healthcare and never to leave anyone out, treat each other with respect and love.
Let us Bless and Pray for our new President, his family and his cabinet. Let us all be wealthy in our hearts with joy.
The first time I ever really felt segregation was when my family moved to Florida. My Dad and I were driving from Chicago to Miami. One stop that still haunts me was in ST. Augustine FL. I was thirsty and wanted a drink of water from a fountain. There was a sign above the water fountain that said "colored only". I wanted a drink and proceeded to see what "color" the water was, I was given dirty looks and a yank by my Dad. I knew what regular water was but I wanted to taste and see "colored water". It tasted the same and looked the same. Next there was wonderful cooking odors and whetted my apatite for some good cooking. Again it was frowned upon to enter that restaurant to sample that heavenly smell of cooking. I wondered why there were different restaurants and water, aren't we humans all the same? I was 12 years old at the time, the year was 1962. It was then that I saw the way people were treated so differently and was ashamed that we allowed that in this country. Didn't Abe Lincoln free the slaves ? Why was it taking so long, over 100 years for us to share a seat in a restaurant, the same bathrooms, the same water, the same neighborhoods? What was wrong and why did it take so long? I still don't know why it took so long to honor people of different races and religions. Then Martin Luther King also a Baptist minister came and gave the speech "I have a Dream". I was most impressed and had felt that way all my life. I thought things would happen much quicker and everyone would have the same opportunities. I didn't know that African Americans didn't even have the right to vote yet, they were not given a choice in leadership or to share in the decision making, they didn't have the same educational opportunities. Black history was not taught in schools.
AS I got older I learned so much about the contributions African American made to this country. WE had captured Kings and Queens deceived them into thinking that they would be consultants in building America and we would return them to the glory of Africa. Rich in gold, diamonds, emerald, tanzanite and other precious and semi precious stones. WE took the best architects to build, the farmers who knew how to grow and maintain crops, the engineers who knew how to flood fields and teach us to grow rice, tea and indigo . I currently live in South Carolina and adore history. It has reduced me to tears on many occasions when I saw shackles, read stories of the many deaths that occurred in crossing an ocean with cruelty, hunger, thirst and illness. Many slave owners were cruel. I still see slave quarters at the old plantations, I hear whispers of the dead and how they suffered, struggled to learn how to read, were prosecuted, did not received medical care, used the herbs of Africa to heal. So many of Southern recipes are based on slave recipes that they brought with them..
Today is a monumental day in history, we have Barack H. Obama as our President and leader.
He has called upon us all to build a better America, to reach out and help one another, to build grassroots community services. Let us all be brothers and sisters. Reach out and help your neighbors. We can build America to greatness once again. Commit some time to your community, inspire others to help, make it a habit. American is known for its generosity, let us be generous to each other as well. We all want the same things, safety, education for our children, healthcare and never to leave anyone out, treat each other with respect and love.
Let us Bless and Pray for our new President, his family and his cabinet. Let us all be wealthy in our hearts with joy.
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