Hurricane Katrina

I am always in awe of the strength and damage caused by hurricanes. And it seems Katrina has left her mark on the southeastern USA. My heart certainly goes out to the people in LA, MS, and AL. I can only imagne based on the images on the news as to the devestation caused. Of course being who I am, I always find things to ponder or contemplate on in every situation and Hurricane Katrina is no different. Therefore, there are a few things that come to my mind as I watch her fury from the comfort of my warm dry home...

1. Who decides who gets to be the news journalist who has to report on the hurricane while standing in the hurricane? Do they draw straws? Do they pick on the rookies? Have you guys ever watch these folks? They are being blown all over the place but three things remain constant - (1) They will have one hand on the mic and the other trying to keep the hood of their rain jackets from blowing off. These folks are yelling in the mic "The winds are very strong..." NO KIDDING!!! We can tell by the fact they are being whipped mercilessly by the wind. And at what point do they realized they are soaked and keeping that little hood on doesn't really matter. (2) There will always be the faithful cameraman sidekick who doesn't seem to have a problem with the wind. Because the camera seems to capture every riduculous moment of the anchorperson. (3) These folks are invincible. 200 million casualties can be reported but you never hear of an anchorman death.

Here are some good ones:
One reporter, no kidding, stood outside and then finally said "I'm getting out of here, the roof of a building just blew right at my feet!" Does it really take almost getting hit by a roof to realize you shouldn't be standing outside? I mean if it is not okay for anybody else then hello???...but I guess that is where the invincibility factor comes in. Do they get hazard pay? I wonder if the networks have taken out a little extra insurance on these guys...

Or how about the idiot reporter who runs out into the storm and crouches behind a big blue mailbox so he "could see what was going on". HEL-LO, could he not see the 140 mile per hour winds? Maybe the flying debris or car floating down the street, wasn't indication enough. And he runs from under a sheltered of a building to hide behind a mailbox??? Why did they have all those people evacuate, they could have just called the USPS to bring in thousands of big blue mailboxes.

2. 25% of the oil comes from LA! Which means, just because Katrina didn't leave some of us homeless from the winds and rains...by the time the gas prices go up, we'll all have to sell our homes just to buy gas. If my monthly gas costs ever get higher than my car payment, I might have to buy a bicycle.

3. I bet those folks being housed in the Superdome aren't really concerned about race, religion, ecomonic status or any of the other things that causes racism in this country. They are all just 9000 hot, hungry, wet, red-blooded Louisanians, and as Brian Williams put it alittle "aromatic" which a nice way of saying a little "funky". Hmmmm, kinda sad that it takes something drastic to make us realize we are all the same.

4. THE LOOTERS! C'mon people. On the news, they show these looters pushing buggies full of stolen stuff through flood water. What in the world are they going to do with this stuff? Can you say "WATER DAMAGE!" So not only have they stolen stuff they won't be able to use, they are caught on tv doing it! So now they are going to jail. If you are gonna steal something, steal a boat!

5. Finally, man seems to have been able to do a lot of remarkable things, space flight, cloning, atomic bombs, miracle drugs, etc but stop a hurricane with its mighty winds and forceful downpours, I don't think so! Which lets us know, the CREATER of the Universe is still running things and we need not forget it!!!

Jeremiah 25:32 - Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

Jeremiah 30:23 - Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.

Amos 4:13 - For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

Nahum 1:3 - The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

In God We Trust...

Earlier today I received an email which addressed the issue about "TRUST". What exactly is trust anyway? And can you ever say in all honesty, you trust someone 100%? I know for a fact that I have trust issues. I am working on it though but I can admit it. But I bet if some of you were asked, you would probably say "Oh yeah there are people, I trust completely" (i.e spouses, best friends, etc...) But I tend to think that there is a limit to how much we actually trust other people. What does this mean for our relationship with them if we admit we don't fully trust them?
Reason I say this, well, nobody is perfect so how could we say for certain, that this person won't do something to break our trust. The other reason I am a skeptic is because if you can say there are people you absolutely trust, then you most definitely gotta trust God, right? He is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19). Okay this post may not be for everybody but for those of you who proclaim to have a relationship with the Lord, do you trust him?

Our US money says, IN GOD WE TRUST! (If you don't believe me, check out a coin, don't have one, I have provided one above for your visual inspection). What exactly does that mean considering we don't trust God with our money...(ex. tithes) And what does it mean when we ask God to deliver us from a situation and we continue to worry and dwell on it? And what does it mean when He told us He would fight our battles for us but we take up our own brand of revenge? And what does it mean when He told us in Hebrews 13:5 - Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee but yet we still feel lonely or want what other people have instead of being satisfied with what we have. Or what does it mean when He tells us in Isaiah 43:25 - I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. But we find it hard to forgive ourselves for the sins we asked God to forgive us. Do we really believe He has forgiven us? None of these apply to you, hmmmm...

What about this? God says in Isaiah 53:5 - But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. But we run to the doctor for every ailment and pop a pill for every headache.

Don't get me wrong, I am stepping on my own toes. Like I admitted previously, I do have trust issues and until today I thought my issues were just with other people but the more I thought about it, I realize I must have a trust issue with God too. And that my friends, is not easy to admit...

Who wants to be Bobby Brown?

Yep, I know in an earlier post I said I would not watch the show Being Bobby Brown but I got coerced into watching not 1, not 2 but 4 episodes. So who has seen this show? Oh my goodness! This show is ridiculous and sad all at the same time. Okay let's start with Bobby. What happen to the "Mr. Telephone Man" Bobby? He is always drinking, cussing, and looking confused as Whitney talks trash to him. I can say he does spend time with his kids. He has four but for some seem to think he has more than that.

Although I don't think he can do anything with Bobby Kristina. Now I don't like to talk about children but could they please get that child a hairstylist. I mean her parents have money, or so they say...and I know there are some good hairstylist in Atlanta. But in the episodes I watched, she looked real thrown away. I think she must be raising herself. But she ain't going hungry cause little sistah girl doesn't look like she has missed a meal. But it's not the hair or the chubbiness that turns me off from this child. It is her smart mouth. When she said to her mother, "leave me alone before I hit you". I was like "oh no she didn't say that to her momma!" But considering the momma...

Now let's talk about Miz Whitney. She is a few people short of a full house if you know what I mean. I know yall think Bobby cause her ghetto-fabulousness but I don't think so. All she does is smoke and cuss. And what's up with the wigs? Now I can go up the road to Beauty World and get a serious no nonsense wig and look like a movie star. Her wigs look so raggedy and unwashed. Ugh...But I guess the same person who does Bobby Kristina's hair is doing Whitney's. And in all of the four episodes I watched, she was only looking decent once. The rest of the time, she just looked a hot mess. Poor Whitney! I hope since she he has been back to rehab, she has gotten herself together. I bet when she does get straight and she looks back on these shows, she will be like, Who in the world let me look and act like that?

All I can say is after seeing Being Bobby Brown, I can't say I would know why anyone would want to be Bobby Brown.

The NBTF, TJMS and Winston-Salem

It has been a minute since I have posted to this blog. But I got caught up in the festivities of the National Black Theater Festival, www.nbtf.org, held every 2 years here in W-S. Black Celebs from stage, screen, and tv come together to participate and enjoy black theater.

Now these plays are not the like those plays we are used to like "My man is a dog but I am still blessed and highly favored..." Yall know the type. These are very well written entertaining plays. I had the chance to see The Jackie Wilson Story again. It was very good. Chester Gregory II, who played Jackie has a awesome voice. After hearing him sing LIVE, it makes you wonder how these other raggedy artist (i.e. Usher, sorry I am not a fan) ever get recording contracts, while the real singers never get to reach the fame and fortune of these average singers (i.e. Beyonce - sorry I am not a fan). OT - I wish Whitney Houston would get herself together and save our ears. I refuse to watch "Being Bobby Brown." But I digress...

Anyway, I also saw a one man show called Emergence-SEE. It is hard to describe but it was about a slave ship appearing at the Statue of Liberty and the effect slavery, etc has had on black america. It was real deep and the brother had a lot of valid points. I just wish more young people could have been there to hear what he had to say. OT - there were so many white t-shirts, baggy pants, and gold teeth downtown W-S this weekend. For the life of me, I can't understand the fascination with gold teeth.

On Friday, if you listened to the Tom Joyner Morning Show, then you know he was airing the Sky Show from Winston-Salem. And the Winston-Salem-ites did turn out in glorious ghetto-fabulous fashion. Yep, I was there too. Tom, Jay, Sybil, Ms. Dupree and Myra J. were all there and we got to hear the bands Con-Funk-Shun, Midnight Star, and the SOS band. They all were real good. However, Midnight Star kept giving a shout out to "Greensboro". How can you not know what city you are in? But it was 6:00 am!!! Anyway, the show was very entertaining.

I was also able to see a few celebs (James Avery - Uncle Phil, Jeffery the butler both from Fresh Prince). And guess who? Ralph Carter, yes - Michael Evans, was in the house. I should have asked him to read my blog. Maybe he could have added some perspective to my Good Times topic. Anyway, I did not get to see my "boyfriend" Lamman Rucker, formerly on As the World Turns, currently on All My Children which is my fav. soap so I always got a tape ready to record.

Oh yeah, they had the International Vendors Market too. Now you know whenever you have a black event, you are gonna have vendors. No fish sandwich or cheap T-shirt stands though. These vendors had some expensive stuff!!! So I bought absolutely nothing!

Well, I guess I gotta wait until 2007 for the next festival. Maybe next time you can join me and we can become blinded by the GOLD TEETH together!

Oh yeah - one more thing - A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUCEMENT:
Friends please don't let friends wear outfits that are too small or too tight! Just because it was made in your size doesn't mean you should buy it and wear it!

Is it true Wal-Mart?

Most of you who know me, know that I love Wal-Mart! And when I retire I am going to be a Wal-Mart greeter. Hey, you gotta have dreams!

But is Wal-Mart exploiting children? I hope it isn't so just like I hope Michael Jackson is really innocent. But I have to ask myself, if there comes hard core proof, will I stop shopping there? A life without Wal-Mart...I can't say I remember what that was like. How do they manage to outsell everyone else? Or is this a ploy to cripple Wal-Mart because they are dominating over the competition. Is this a ploy by TAR-GEY' I mean Target?

Wal-Mart is no different from anything else that exploits anybody. So why are they being targeted? There are alot of battles out there that need to be fought. One thing I can say for those who are opposing Wal-Mart, they are standing up and defending what they feel is right. Most of us talk a good game but when it comes down to it. We'll say "Wal-Mart is terrible for doing this" as we stand in the 20 items of less checkout line. I do have to punish Wal-Mart for bad business so maybe instead of going there 3 - 4 times a week, I will cut it down to 1 or 2. That'll show'em.

In all seriousness, what we have to decide is who is being hurt by the choices we make. If in fact, children are being used as cheap labor, then Wal-Mart needs to correct this ASAP and we should support those who have the guts to take a stand. We need to decide if saving a buck or two is worth it.

In the meantme, can somebody point me to the establishment which is doing everything right all the time, I need to shop there? I didn't think so.