Thankfulness

I am always grateful to God for allowing me to live past what should have been the end of my days in my thirties. Yet, God knows not every morning am I thankful for the bountiful blessings He has bestowed upon me. Sometimes, it seems a secular event such as Thanksgiving even with it focus on food and cheer can make life's blessing clearer for me.

This Thanksgiving, this morning, I am thankful to have my mother at home with me. I am thankful for my sisters and brother. My friends for life, who have provided me with love and encouragement for years, it seems that thanking them is such a small thing for such an important gift. Mostly though, I thank God for showing us that He is still faithful. He has brought us a Joshua in the form of Barack Obama who is human but full of blessings from the Lord and will change this country with us to become better, stronger and more cooperative.

I am also thankful to live in a state that sincerely looks out after its people..." the least of thee" of which we were them. I have lived in several states and I can fairly compare the support services of them to Massachusetts and can say that although the area is expensive in comparison to the other states there are services and even work available for those who seek it. No one state is doing a flawless job of meeting the needs of every citizen in it but, Massachusetts comes pretty close. I am grateful for that.

Thankfulness extends to my birth state for we know how to treat people. While the government there is stingy and sometimes corrupt the people are generous and kind. New Orleans is the greatest city in the country. It has heart and resilience. What it needs is like almost all of the country's cities are good paying jobs. It also needs a serious infusion of money to rebuild its infrastructure. The beautiful WPA parks and buildings are due for repairs, upgrades, or replacement. Also, the city's power-holders need to relinquish enough of their hold on the economy as to encourage and nurture entrepreneurs who create the new jobs that power economic development.

Finally, I am thankful for my health and access to health care. If but only one thing I would want accomplished by the Obama administration it would be the reality of the United States of America having universal health care. We need health care to be considered a right of citizens rather than being forced to purchase insurance products that are less than we need or to have to forgo medical insurance because we simply cannot afford it. We need to focus on preventative care, fair priced drugs, dental heath coverage and making mental health and therapy less of an after thought and instead being a necessary component of good health care.

God, family, friends, health care, food, clothing and shelter are what I am deeply thankful for today on Thanksgiving Day. Why are you thankful?

When did you cry?

I cried the next morning on my way to work as the air seemed different, the people kinder, and the world even with its many problems seem lighter. God Please bless this man Barack Obama. He is our Joshua, You remember the story of Joshua? When it was time for the children of Abraham who had been wandering in the wilderness as punishment for their disobedience and unbelief, there was needed a leader to lead them the way to the promised land. Moses would not be allowed to go to the promised land. There was a need for a new leader. Young Joshua fit the bill. He was brave, level headed and was called to encourage the people and battle their enemies until they arrived in the promised land.

Barack Obama is America's Joshua, brave, level headed, and strong of character. Like the Israelites we have to follow him to lead us out of the mess we are in now. He is not Jesus, he is not infallible. He is though like Joshua with heart and vision. My prayer is that he stays safe, maintains clear vision and stay courageous. We need him. The world needs him.

An Open Letter to the People of Alaska

Dear Wonderful People of one of our most beautiful states in America,

As a part of our nation I just wanted you to know that I am indeed thankful to have you as a part of our union and think that being our largest state land wise is a really cool thing. I have visited your state and have seen for myself how precious and rich it is in natural resources. The people were warm and gracious to me and my traveling companion. It was a trip of a lifetime to be able to see all of the things I had read about in books before my very eyes.

I appreciate the oil and gas you provide although I would prefer to leave Alaska pristine rather than exploit all of your natural resources. I shall always remember the awful look of clear-cutting some of your beautiful and densely packed forests. I remember how the logs bobbed in the water not far from the ship I was traveling like common trash. The places where the trees were removed looked sparse and ugly. I have no qualms using natural products but feel strongly that we must replace what we use.

I would like to see you harness the arctic winds to help produce energy and to be the ones who perfect solar energy since you unlike the other 49 other states have a period of no nightfall each year in which you could experiment with the best solar collectors and distributors for consumer energy needs. The rest of the states could learn a lot from you.

In turn I ask that you keep one export at home for yourselves...your governor. I think that her brand of populism (I hail from a state that grew one of history's most flamboyant populist... Huey Long) is divisive. It seems that you are able to handle that. The rest of the 48 have enough trouble without adding such angry, condescension, and animosity to their already stressed lives. Now that the middle class will have to bear the burden of Wall Street's excess it is important that we lower the rising stress level by removing the possibility that we will have a right wing Bush knock off administration going even further into abyss that G.W. Bush's administration did and look how that turned out.

And so, this open letter to you is a plea to keep the one thing unenviable that you have...your governor in Alaska with you. Please.

Sincerely,

A Fellow American

Tim Wise and his very wise words...

Please follow this link to view this honest man's words:

http://www.lipmagazine.org/~timwise/WhitenessShowing.html

Then link on to this to me an even better post:

http://www.redroom.com/blog/tim-wise/this-your-nat ion-white-privilege

Ma Broke Her Hip

On Friday morning around 2 a.m. Ma snuck out of the house and got as far as the green mailbox across the street before she fell and broke her hip. My next door neighbor knew where she lived so she rang the doorbell. A woman I had never seen before scooped Ma up and brought her into the house. I realized how much damage she had done to herself and called the EMS. As usual they loved her and promised to take good care of her. I had to stay behind because under Massachusetts Law Joel was too young to stay home alone. So I packed him up and off we went to my sister's house. I woke her and sent Joel in while telling her about Ma. She said that she would relieve me at the hospital after she got dressed. I drove off wondering how bad her hip was this time.

I loathe hospitals. I am nervous and agitated whenever I am in one. Sick people scare me and I am a terrible nurse. So, I arrived at the hospital only to find out that she just got there and they were assessing her. That meant I had to sit out among the sick and the angry. My sister arrived and thankfully, I was able to go home. I had just started work and would not be able to take the day off.

Ma had to have surgery. This is the first time she had ever had to have surgery in her life. We were very concerned about the anesthesia. Ma has an extremely low tolerance for drugs. The strongest thing she can have is maybe Tylenol extra strength and that can make her sleepy. We were concerned that the anesthesia would kill her. Surgery went well now it is time for her to heal. One of the nurses had an old cantankerous mother at his home and was very supportive. Ma hits everybody. The sad and funny thing is that there is nothing we can do about it. Her fighting to me though means that she is going to be alright. It's that Narcisse blood. That stuff should be bottled.

Two hellish months later:

It helps that she is a Narcisse. They live a long time and "can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'".
She is now home being Ma. Thanks for the prayers and well wishes!

In God's Hands

Man plans and God laughs. HE did say, "Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it will be opened unto you," so it seems that as Americans we need to be about the business of praying for Senator Obama. Then we need to get busy checking our friends and relatives to see if the are registered to vote and if not then registering to vote. We also need to be sure not to be discouraged. Do not let the lions in the way discourage you from voting. Make sure that regardless as to what the journalists say go out and do God's will and vote for Senator Obama.

After eight years we have a chance to come out of the wilderness. Senator Obama is our Joshua. He has the intelligence and skill to lead us like President Bill Clinton did to a more prosperous eight years where our country is respected and is a beacon to those who suffer under the yoke of dictatorships and totalitarian governments. WE have a chance to turn this country around and make a better path for future generations to follow.

If we fail to act then we will have sentenced ourselves to at least four more years of economic pain for everyone but the "haves" and "have mores" the true base of the Republican Party. Do not let them fool you about what they intend to do. They intend to keep things as the are at best and to make other things like the economy worse. Do we need to go to war with everyone? Can we afford the wars we are in now? Starving the treasury will not help end our borrowing craze from the Chinese. We need to boost our econonmy first , by repairing our infrastructure. We need to make education part of our security defense because an educated populace is a great defense against tyrany which requires ingorance and inaction. Finally, we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and use our American know how to develop green and renewable energy. It measns no more wars for oil!

Senator Obama is not perfect but he is qualified and ready to be President of this country. Senator Obama needs all thinking Americans to support him by voting for him on November 4th. We cannot live like we do any longer. If you don't want to vote for him then vote for you and your economic interest by voting for him. In an Obama Aministration we will get a better law abiding government that serves all of the people and a chance at a more prosperous one too.

We have a once in four years chance to make a dramatic change. Pray. Talk to family and friends about voting or becoming a registered voter and then on November 4th...VOTE! After you do then it will truly be in God's Hands. God willing Barack Obama will be our President.

1-866-MYVOTE1 or 1-866-698-6831
Register yourself or someone else today!

Katrina 3 Years Later

It has been three years and I finally face my grief. In my soul is a deep unhappiness. I have been struggling toward normalcy so long and so hard that I forgot to take care of my wounded soul. Now, it seems to have turned on me. What I desire most is to move on past what has happened. What has kept me in the dark bitter place is the fact that my healing depends on the remnants of my family living without the cocked gun of a shoddy levee system in place. So far, flood prevention in New Orleans is escaping the United States Army Corps of Engineers. My family that continues to reside in New Orleans have rebuilt their homes but, now I fear for them. I cannot bring our mother back to the state where she was born because first there are few if any services for dementia patients and having to run for safety again I am sure would kill her.

Three years later and yes, I am still bitter that the city I love was in such a horrible shape economically that most working poor prefer newer places of exploitation since they are paid more and live better where they have landed. It is the richness of the culture and the strong bonds of family that kept many of us there. Now, that we are away we can clearly see how devastating holding on can be. What angers me most is that the sheer numbers of dead are no longer mentioned. Over 1800 deaths are attributed to Karina. The somehow seem to be forgotten and that too is a shame.

Washington Post has a Pick Your President Map

Spend a few minutes choosing how (state by state) you believe the 2008 Presidential Race will turn out. My link is called Deb's Daring Revolution 2008 and I realize that it is very optimistic. Remember to vote in November! Click on this article's title and check it out.

My Hero, Popeye

My hero has always been Popeye the Sailorman. He was not handsome, yet Popeye thought well of himself. He had a disability. One eye seemed permanently shut. He had an addiction. Smoking. He was in love with a taller than he shapeless very skinny woman named Olive Oyl. He was loyal. He parented a child that maybe was not his own...baby momma drama!

For the most part Popeye was meek. Then things hit the fan when a loved one or friend were in trouble. Long suffering, Popeye would utter his motto just as he was about to open that can of whoop-ass..."Ive taken all I can stands and I can't stands no more!" Bluto, Brutus or Alice the Goon would get dealt with and things would go back to what was normal for them: Olive Oyl leading Popeye on, Sweet Pea needing his time, and Whimpy needing some cash to feed his hamburger Jones. After Popeye sorted things out order is achieved.

Oh, how I wish that that could be my life

He's Making Heaven Laugh
Bernie Mac October 5, 2007 to August 9, 2008

It was a shock when tolling through my email I saw an alert from the Chicago Tribune that comedian and actor Bernie Mac had died. Just bringing to mind his face makes me smile. He was funny in that way that took our culture and justified it. Lately, the Tom Joyner Show played a clip of his act and the topic was how black folks could tell a whole story using the expletive m*ther f*cker and everybody listening would understand. Not only did he demonstrate his point by producing a story about a man trying to collect a debt but his story made sense and was very familiar to me. I heard the piece during the week about four times and I laughed as hard the fourth time as the first because the story was familiar and while there were no names to his characters I certainly had heard the real life version of the story and could name those characters myself.

I love smart observant comedians like Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Robin Harris, and Bernie Mack. Those guys had the "touch" with their humor. Bad children are still called Baybay kids. I am to this day mindful of accumulating "stuff." When you go to the court house looking for justice there is still "just us" there. And m*ther f*cker will always be a noun for me. You rest in peace guys. Heaven is a whole lot funnier now.

Let's Vote Already!

I don't know about you but I wish we could have the November election right now. Yes, after that long and trying primary season my patience with politics is razor thin. I am going to vote for Obama and every single Democratic office seeker, so why not let me do that now? I am so sick of what the Republican Party officeholders have done to this country that at this point nothing they can say or do can change my mind towards voting for them. They are bankrupt of ideas except for graft and need to be stopped.

I just simply want to do my voting now so that I can tune out the asinine main stream media and read stacks of good and some trashy books until February 1, 2009 when the Democrats will be running the country. Then I pay attention again to hold them accountable to our country.

Let us vote now we need the rest!

Ma's "School"

My mother attends adult day care. She relates to it as school. Even with her dementia she still loves learning, so the learning/memory games they play at her school pique her interest and keeps her brain sharp. Ma is a born missionary so now her school includes Bible Study too. One of the things that she is not so good with is being pushed around. Ma is from that group of folks who promote the "don't start nothing and there won't be nothing" philosophy. So she was booted out of her school because she was fighting. We were not surprised just aggravated. She weighs about 98 pounds, she is about 4 feet tall and you could push her over with one finger. However, she becomes Muhammad Ali when she feels pushed around so she strikes the boxer's pose and has a mean left hook. Alas, she punched a health worker in the eye and was asked to leave the program unless we drug her. We refused because drugging her would not help her…just them. They are the professionals and we believe that they should have handled her better.

Ma has dementia. She is 94 years old. When she is lucid she is smart as a whip (that's really the problem) and takes no crap off of anyone including me. She can be childlike with imaginary friends and invented additional family members, as if we need more. We have prevented her from cooking because she forgets what she is doing and abandons it, plus her vision is bad. She runs away from home believe me that can scare the heck out of the care giver. My nephew Pete still has not forgiven her for running away on his watch. She ran away on my watch thee times once successfully. Ma ran away from my sister's house but returned on her own...my brother-in-law was impressed. Having a secure, safe place for her during the day with a caring staff is imperative for our peace of mind.

Last week she had her geriatric psych screening and Ma being Ma charmed them. Her geriatric doctor said that nothing was wrong with Ma...it was the caregivers. Of course being a caregiver I knew it included me too and rightly so. I have found that I have inherited her stubborn streak and do really individualize care...I see a mission and move towards it regardless of what others want or need because it is efficient. I am trying hard to change that. Ma loves drama. I do not. So, we are working our way through that little detail. Mean while the goal is to get Ma to use other non-violent means to let people know when she is displeased.

Now, as we venture to enroll Ma into a new "school" I hope that they keep in mind that we are entrusting them with our family jewel even if she does have a good right hook too. She deserves to be treated with dignity and care and not abandoned her when her illness causes "trouble." That would be the professional thing to do.

Autism

My grandnephew Andy has autism. It is obvious upon simple observation that he does not speak and acts differently than other 4 year olds. The problem for Andy, his parents, and me is that he has not received a diagnosis of autism yet. He has the classical signs of autism like refusing to make eye contact, talking to his hand, not speaking, and frustration from his inability to make us understand what he needs or wants sometimes.

Why does it take so long to have someone in authority to sign a document saying Andy is autistic? Our fear is that with the passage of time and no intervention Andy will find it harder to get the help he needs to learn how to communicate, socialize with others, and invariably be successful in school. It pains me to see him struggle and I am without the skills to help him other than by providing his basic needs and a pair of loving arms into which he enjoys snuggling. More technical support for parents and family members who are trying the navigate the torturous path towards getting that diagnosis would make the waiting much less stressful.

More and more children are being diagnosed with autism. Many people are diagnosed as adults with autism. There simply needs to be a more efficient and effective way of getting services for our autistic loved ones. I want to see Andy read and hear him tell me my arms are like pillows to him. That would be a blessing.

Fun as a Cure for Being Overwhelmed

I have the responsibility for the care and feeding of my 94 and a half year old mother and my 12 and a half year old nephew. I am sometimes overwhelmed because they both are crotchety, ungrateful, complainers. I dearly love them but whiners they are just the same. My test comes with cooking. Neither eats a wide variety of things. Ma is much better than Joel but it comes to the same thing all they want is... Junk Food! And junk food is a very bad thing for me. Look, I don't need one more ounce on this already overloaded frame.

So, every day I struggle to think of something that we all like to eat. I eat hamburgers but never had an abiding love of them...Joel is a hamburger nut. Ma, eats like an atrocity survivor...barely anything. Whereas I love all kinds of foods especially seafood. I am also very allergic to shellfish so that limits my seafood by quite a bit. Still, I manage to feed them something. It wears on my frame and my mind.

I spend most of my time with them. They do not like anything that I do. We live in a city with many interesting things...museums, historical sights, a decent theater life, cultural festivals and of course an active church. I find that my social life is bland limited to occasional church attendance because when Ma does not want to go Joel and I have learned that making her does not work. So it is wonderful that my best friends from New Orleans are coming to my new town to see me. My spirits are lifted high because I know that we will laugh, encourage each other, commiserate about our lives, and enjoy the things that we all like. Here's to starting my new life and soon my new job with the encouragement and blessings of my friends.

So Dawn and Kim here's a God Bless you and a heartfelt thank you even before you arrive.

Much love for you!

Deb

Good Dementia Article for Dementia Caretakers

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/health/24deme.html?ex=1372046400&en=6c1ebe3a7786081
b&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

New York Times
Health

Doctors Say Medication Is Overused in Dementia

By LAURIE TARKAN

Published: June 24, 2008

The use of antipsychotic drugs to tamp down the agitation, combative behavior and outbursts of dementia patients has soared.

A Very Good Commencement Speech
J.K. Rowling's author of the Harry Potter Series
Harvard University Commencement 2008

http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/1:npr708:9311c0b7c0ce94e1bfb78ccd5c9a4f45

Action for a Responsible Press Alert!

Dear Friends,

Right now, Fox News is trying to paint Barack Obama as foreign, un-American, suspicious, and scary. They're trying to send Americans the message that our country's first viable Black candidate for President is not "one of us."

I've joined on to ColorOfChange.org's campaign to push back on Fox, publicly demanding they stop their race-baiting and fear mongering. If that doesn't work, then we'll go to their advertisers and the FCC. I wanted to invite you to sign on as well. It takes only a moment:

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/?id=1953-546747

Here's what happened recently:

After Senator Obama won the nomination, he and his wife gave each other a "pound" in front of the cameras. Fox anchor E.D. Hill called the act of celebration a "terrorist fist jab." Then last week, a Fox News on-screen graphic referred to Michelle Obama as "Obama's baby mama"--slang used to describe the unmarried mother of a man's child. It was a clear attempt to associate the Obamas with negative cultural stereotypes about Black people, an insult not only to Michelle Obama but to women and Black people everywhere.

After each of the incidents mentioned, Fox issued some form of weak apology. But what does it mean when you slap someone in the face, apologize the next day, then slap them again on the third? It means the apology is meaningless.

These aren't one-time incidents--they're part of a pattern that continues no matter how often Fox is forced to apologize. Fox has a clear record of attacking and undermining Black institutions, Black leaders, and Black people in general.

If we don't push back now, we will see more of the same from now until November. Please join me in helping to bring an end to Fox's behavior.

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/?id=1953-546747

Thanks.

My Ma

I have lived as an adult with my mother since 1998. It has been an education. The social dynamics alone could fill several posts. My mother whom I have always called Ma is one of the toughest people I know.

She in her deep knowledge and fearless dependence on the Gospel of Jesus Christ took on the Jehovah Witnesses that held our neighborhood (of diverse religious beliefs and a couple of atheist s too) hostage on Saturday mornings. I remember that day clearly. The nice ladies came up to the house. Ma shouted orders to invite them into the living room, go make tea, use the best tea set, and go to the ripoff corner store and buy that expensive box of Nabisco mixed cookies that held a sampling of Nabisco's best cookies in two layers, clearly Ma was rolling out her reddest carpet for the visiting Jehovah Witnesses.

Ma pulled her huge Bible with the picture of a white Jesus on it on her lap. She put her Concordance on the floor against her right leg. I don't know how those ladies did not know the battle was on but they handed her their Watch Tower Magazine/pamphlet and it was on! I have no taste for live blood sport (except for boxing). So, I did not watch the battle. I did see the results. They came back only once. Then for the rest of our lives in the neighborhood no Jehovah Witnesses came through to convert us on early Saturday mornings or any other times thereafter.

Ma if she were born to another family in another time would have been some university's prized professor. She is the one who taught us all to love reading, books, and information of all kinds. She is also the one who saw to it that we had a religious upbringing. Ma is the person who taught us to hold fiercely to family, to help each other and pray for each other to stay a family. Now, that she is nearing 95 and there are no more "old ones" other than Ma at the top of the family tree the family lessons she taught are being handed down to the next generation to carry on by us the next "old ones". May we do half as well as she and daddy did.

When I Am Old I Shall Wear Red

My favorite color is red. I feel happy, carefree, and even alluring when red covers my body. As I steadily grow larger the less red clothes I find to adorn my body. I miss that hot red dress. I even walk differently when I wear red. My hips swing and my head tosses and a smile is plastered on my face. My world at that point is hot, fun, and filled with secret thrills. I mean I love red so much my attitude pours confidence all over everything I am doing at the moment. Hmm, red really is powerful. So why when folks get older they don't wear it as much? I mean a few sisters flash their red suits on Sunday during the rest of the week they wear those indigo, green, white and black colors. Why not have a hot red week? Wear red every day to just bowl folks over with the you of you!

Some folks say purple and royal blue are the colors of royalty but give me the loudest red you've got and no queen can out shine or out rank me. You can never wear too much red. They say I look like a flame? Well, isn't that the point?

Virginia Singleton Britton- Graduate 2008

On May 29, at 7:00 p.m. after several years of diligent work, Mrs. Virginia Singleton Britton graduated at the Bonnabel High School in Kenner, LA.

Mrs. Britton came to The Learning Center to get her GED. She never quit. She is a fighter which comes in handy when you as an adult have so many "issues" that erupt and threaten to throw you off of your game or just stop you cold. Virginia came to The Center needing work in everything. Unlike many students who feel overwhelmed and quit Virginia stuck to it. She kept going after it repeatedly taking the GED examination coming close but not quite making the grade. She pressed on. She enrolled at Delgado Community College in New Orleans without her GED and took challenging college courses and passed them too while studying for the GED. She kept taking the GED until finally she passed it!

When Hurricane Katrina destroyed The Center and disbursed the staff she landed in Baton Rouge where she continued to take courses at Southern University that would take her closer to reaching her goal of becoming a pharmacist. Later, missing New Orleans and wanting to be closer to her family she returned to New Orleans and battled to get decent affordable housing. She succeeded at that too.

Upon returning to New Orleans she enrolled at Southern University at New Orleans passing very difficult science and mathematics courses. After completing her work there she will return to Delgado Community College this summer to get her Associate degree in Pharmacy Technology in May of 2009. She expects to graduate from Delgado Community College so that she can immediately enroll at Xavier University in New Orleans' School of Pharmacy in the Fall of 2009.

All of us who understand the odds that she overcame and the personal struggles she persevered through to accomplish this critical step toward reaching her goal of becoming a pharmacist congratulate her and cheer her on to further success.

Virginia you do The Learning Center proud. Congratulations, it is well deserved.