Making Sense out of Nonsense

I can barely contain my disgust over the ridiculous argument that the President of the United States of America should not speak to school age children about the importance of education, and doing their best. What is wrong with us? Since when EVER in American history, would any red-blooded American deny the Commander-in-Chief the opportunity to address American children? I hate bringing up the race card, but sometimes you just have to call it like it is. When I look at some of those persons interviewed, you can tell by their facial expressions and body language that they have a different agenda. Just as the President was labeled a "socialist", during the campaign, and now a "Nazi" by those who don't want healthcare reform. Both words, and now the "Hitler-like" graphics are the not so subliminal suggestion reminding people to hate and to distrust the "black" President of the United States.

How sad America. I knew that the glorious moment shared by millions worldwide in Grant Park on November 4th would not last forever. I am not that naive. What I could not have imagined is the stupidity of Americans refusing to have a Harvard Law School graduate President an opportunity to talk about the importance of education to our children! Particularly when American students are losing ground academically in core subjects to other nations. Specifically, when black boys in America are failing to graduate from high school, yet alone get past the 9th grade. What's worse is that so many of these people identify themselves as Christians. I'm trying to figure out, what part of "love thy neighbor as thyself", didn't they understand? What about the Golden Rule: "do unto others, as you would have them do unto you"? I guess they skipped Sunday school when that lesson was being taught too.

Perhaps the question really should be, What would Jesus do? (WWJD) What would He say if He were to come among us now, and observe this ridiculous behavior?

Photo credit from: www.karamaureen.com

A Part of My Childhood is Gone...Michael Jackson

Where do I begin? I first learned of Michael Jackson's cardiac arrest on Twitter, from "my favorite Robin", Robin Caldwell, publicist extraordinaire and principal of The J Standard (@thejstandard). There would be no second-guessing, because I know of Robin's integrity. More tweets came, I had the television tuned to CNN then to MSNBC, but Twitter broke the news first, long before it was confirmed on traditional media. When I realized that Michael had really passed, I was stunned. But it took some hours for the enormity of "the event" to fully sink in.

I have always told my daughters (all 3 of them) of my first concert I ever attended. The Jackson 5 concert at the now defunct Olympia Stadium on Grand River Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. I was 10 years old, and boy was I ever excited! My world revolved around the Jackson 5. I spent my allowance money on Right On! magazines, so that I could post their photos and posters on my bedroom walls. I memorized all of Michael's biography--I can still visually remember the Detroit Free Press article that touted how the Jackson kids only got a $1.00 allowance, which made me really be able to identify with them! Those were the days.....so simple,precious and innocent.

The day of the concert, I can recall my putting out my outfit the night before. My favorite pants--hot pink crush-velvet! LOL I can remember that they had this little gold link belt embellished on the waist. I paired my favorite pants with a purple knit sweater that had a v-neck style. I was gonna be sharp! LOL I attended the Jackson 5 concert with Kevin and Karen Boston. These two also attended St. John's Lutheran School with me. Kevin was a reluctant concert goer, as he was Karen's big brother. He said that he would be checkin' out all of the cute girls! Ha! Karen and I told him he didn't have a chance, 'cause all the girls were there for the Jackson's! Needless to say he wasn't happy with us, but our mom's made him go to look after us. LOL

When the concert began, there was a deafening roar of squealing adolescent girls- yours truly included. We were sitting in some balcony seats, facing the back of the stage, yet as I recall we seemed so close. When the Jackson 5 began singing my jam, "I Wanna Be Where You Are", I lost it. I leaned over the metal banister yelling: "Michael! Michael!" I swear he must've heard me above all other screams, as he reached up to me, as I was reaching down to him over that banister! "Gotta, gotta be where you are...OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!" he sang reaching up to me. I was in heaven! Michael Jackson and I made a real connection--at least it was real to me! And then I felt these hands around my waist pulling me back off of the banister....and this voice yelling in my ear: "Have you lost your mind!? Girl you could fall down on that stage!" That was Kevin being his bossy self! Humph! Ask me if I cared what he said, I KNOW I made a connection with Michael, and that's all that mattered.

To further our glorious experience of that day, Karen and I convinced Kevin that we just HAD to go around to the back of Olympia Stadium to see the Jackson 5 off. He relented reluctantly. You see, we had done research on everything related to the Jackson's, and we knew that if we waited for awhile after the concert, we would get a chance to see the limo that would come to pick them up and whisk them away. Our research proved correct! And even better, there weren't a ton of people who had done the extra homework. There was a relatively small group of us waiting for them to leave. When they departed the stadium, my screams started all over again! I was sooo excited and happy! They waved at us....and I think Michael blew some kisses. Whatever, I had had my moment. I had made my connection with my dream guy, Michael Jackson!

Michael's sudden death has been such a surreal experience for me. I feel as though a big piece of my childhood is gone now. Such memories I have. All of the endless dreams of love and life with Michael Jackson as a young pubescent girl. "The Got to Be There" album is one of my all time favorites, because I LOVED the photo of him on the cover. I thought he was the cutest boy ever! I would stare at it endlessly, making me fodder for jokes among my family members.

But now Michael is gone--but only in the physical realm. My children love him, and I just discovered that we own all of his videos--or close to it. It's simply amazing to see several generations love his music and relate to the stories he told in his awesome music videos. Literally he touched the world. It hurts to hear how lonely he was, and how he changed his appearance over the years, tells me that he wasn't as accepting and loving of HIMSELF, as he was of others. There's a lesson in his pain. Hope we can learn it.

Rest in peace Michael. The world celebrates your life and music.

It's Time--NOW

As usual all of my words are in my head, and they take awhile to be typed onto the computer or to find their way onto a pad of paper. Yet when they do come out, they are a series of my musings that range from politics (a favorite subject--can't you tell? :) to social causes, music & entertainment, and my beloved hometown-DETROIT. Whatever I muse about, I thank you for reading and adding your comments. I am open to guest bloggers. My dear friend, Ken McGee has been a guest here, and will continue to add his special touch on this blog from time to time, in between rescuing puppies being discarded, as the result of the economy. Check him out at: www.eyesshuttightmcgee.com

What do you have to say? Have your "musings" published here. Hit me up @ prpropam1@yahoo.com


Now is the time to get it right. That's a phrase that my pastor, Rev. Philip R. Cousin, Jr. often tells the congregation at St. Joseph's AME Church. When you consider the economic and psychological whirlwind our country has been through these past few months, it does make you wonder where we're headed as a nation. It all seems so surreal. In July 2008 I say it was around the 3rd week of the month, gas began to shoot up rapidly. Americans were in shock paying $3.50 for each gallon of gas, and then it went completely out of the stratosphere at over $4.00 a gallon! Food prices shot up,and the American consumer was in need of resuscitation. The US economy which had become solely based upon what Americans consumed, rather than what they produce, was in serious trouble.

But how did it come to this? How did we, the United States of America home of automobile manufacturing, which created the middle class, become a service oriented economy? Some blame NAFTA, pushed and passed under the Clinton administration, I couldn't for the life of me understand what was good about the North American Free Trade Agreement. Others blame unions like the UAW and AFL-CIO for making increasing demands in the face of global competition, while American laborers are producing inferior products. No doubt there's plenty of blame to go around. It makes no sense that given what America went through during the '70's gas shortages and rationing, that our Big 3 automakers built gas-guzzling land yachts that get virtually no miles per gallon of gas.

And yet, since I first began this post (I had started it some months ago, and am just now revisiting it), I have been floored by the mere mention of Chrysler and now GM filing for bankruptcy protection. You cannot possibly understand unless you grew up in the Motor City or in the Rust Belt, how it feels to even think of one, yet alone two of the Big 3 crumbling. It truly is a surreal moment to read a bankruptcy headline. I still have fresh in my memory working for a top 20 ad agency--Ross Roy Communications in West Bloomfield Hills, seeing the MAN, my personal hero in business, the legendary Lee Iaccoca ride the glass elevator from CEO Glenn Fortinberry's office to our lobby Christmas party. Back in those days, I'd be the lone African American female, maybe 1 or 2 other black males were present--1 VP and the other was an art director present at the festivities.

They obviously don't make business titans like Lee Iaccoca anymore. Straight-talkin', no nonsense speakin', proud Italian son of immigrants-engineering graduate of Lehigh University......out of the steel-making town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The last I knew of Mr. Iacocca making contributions to industry was back in the '90's when he was marketing and manufacturing electric bikes. He was well ahead of the curve regarding using green energy and technology. So, one only can wonder out loud why is it that the auto titans that came behind him didn't have the same vision? The know-how and technological advances have been there, my alma mater, The University of Michigan engineering school has long worked hand-in-hand with the auto industry. So was it a sweetheart deal with the oil companies that kept innovation at bay? If not, what was it? Because certainly nothing else makes any sense. Money, and lots of it, had to be what was at stake for America's auto industry to sell it's soul. At least I hope so, because sheer laziness and stupidity are solutions that are just too hard for me to swallow!

Now is the time to proverbially pull ourselves up out of the "miry clay" that we're in, and start anew. This time, let's return to our roots, and let good old fashioned American innovation rule, and ignore the greed seekers and "get a quick buck" schemes. Let's produce safe, eco-friendly vehicles that have the style and panache that American automakers are known for. There's no doubt that we're down--but we're not out! I'm still betting on my hometown of Detroit. Hey, and I would LOVE to be a part of the PR effort to help her strut her stuff again! She's got a few knicks and bruises, but she'll polish up good, and will shine again. The time is NOW-to start making it happen!

My Motor City

My first car was a Dodge Dart. Her name was "CT", after my beloved high school Cass Tech in Detroit, Michigan. I named her that because her body was dark green, and her hard top was white. I grew accustomed to having 4-doors after owning CT, and never again purchased a 2-door car after her. I remember the lessons my dad and uncle tried to teach me about how important it was to keep the oil changed, and the importance of good tires. Growing up in the Motor City, cars were our "mini gods". Despite the harsh Michigan winters--or perhaps in spite of, most folks worked very hard at keeping their cars clean and running well.

Virtually everyone in my family and my friends families worked in the auto industry. The pay was great! If you were lucky enough to get a job at "the plant" (it didn't matter which one, Ford, GM or Chrysler) during the summer months, you were certain to fatten up your bank account and have plenty to purchase school supplies, maybe buy your first car, or to enjoy some fun going over to Windsor, Ontario, the beach or attending the numerous big name concerts that would come to Detroit.

Those were the good 'ole days. I can see them in my mind's eye so clearly. I can feel the pride and excitement that came with every International Auto Show that was presented in Cobo Hall. Cars, cars and more cars, they dominated the lives of Detroiters---and of Michiganders as a whole. They still do. The problems that my hometown is experiencing--that of its dependence upon one industry has been something most forward thinking people have been concerned about for years. Then, during the late '80's I think it was, up until the early to mid-90's, gambling became the "answer" to Detroit's diversification of its economy solution. How I hated the idea then, as I do now, with all of vice that comes with the gambling mindset. Soon billboards were posted up all over town, not advertising the latest new vehicle or product, but for a service. A service to circumvent the growing gambling problems now plaguing Detroiters on the verge of losing it all due to bad debts-- and this was BEFORE the financial meltdown. SIGH. What makes it worse, is that a contingency of religious "leaders" lead the clarion call to make Detroit's new economy based upon gambling a reality.

So what is it with my beloved Motor City? Do we lack vision? Leadership? Given the past couple of decades of decision making, I'd say too much of both. There is one glimmer of hope.....with my late dad's former employer: Ford Motor Company. While Bill Ford will readily admit that no one saw the horrific economic meltdown that we're currently in, they did, as their old slogan states, "had a better idea". Ford thought strategically, and aligned themselves with board members who could raise the capital necessary to assist them in weathering an economic slide that they felt the rumblings of, but could not have imagined its severity. They remain the only domestic automobile manufacturer who has not taken out a loan from the US Treasury to stay afloat. For that reason alone, Ford Motor Company has risen above the fray, and has scored a tremendous amount of PR points for just remaining independent. If Ford can produce their new energy efficient, green-friendly vehicles with few, if any manufacturing glitches for the consumer, they'll score a homerun for sure. I'm the eternal optimist--I believe they can do it!

I am hopeful (there's that word again) that the Motor City will redefine itself. While none of us has a crystal ball and can forsee the future, we can believe, encourage and demand, that however the Big 3 emerge from this crisis, they will do so smarter, not resting on the laurels of their 100 year pedigrees, and boasting on what they "used to do". They will be mindful that while America is a mighty nation, we are but a part of the global economy, and others have taken our technological know-how, improved it, and have taken it to new heights. Detroiters and Michiganders in general are "can do" people. We'll all have to dig deep to work our way out of this crisis. "YES WE CAN!"

100 days have come and gone

I confess. I was one of the Obama-obssessed. My dear friend Grace and I--also an ardent follower of politics would talk every night, multiple times per night about the latest news brief, leak, and gossip tidbit, concerning now President Obama's campaign. She and I on election day here in North Carolina, stood in the pouring rain at a major intersection in town with posters, shouting "Turn North Carolina Blue!" It was our running joke, that we would one day tell Michelle Obama, that her husband was the ONLY man we ever stood on the corner working for! With our sense of off-color humor aside, we were, and still are President Barack Obama die-hards. We no longer obssess over every news conference or breaking news event. It has taken me literally, almost these entire 100 days to stop silently crying every time I saw images of the President and his family in the media. Now, I just smile. I have always been patriotic, but the moment the election was sealed, I removed my campaign poster on my front lawn, and replaced it with not one but TWO American flags in my mailbox flower garden.

Now, fast forward to the grading of the President for his first 100 days. He has struck the right chord with the American people by literally and figuratively, hitting the ground running. With two wars, an economic crisis unseen since the days of the Great Depression, he has behaved as a leader, with calm resolve. He makes Americans and those abroad believe that we will get out of this financial recession. Simply put, President Barack Obama exudes to the world HOPE.

Proud to Be An American

I haven't posted on my blog in a couple of months, as this has been a very busy, interesting and perplexing time. It has taken me a week to absorb the fact that President-elect Obama is really going to be the 44th President of the United States of America. I cannot fully express my feelings about this amazing event, only to say that I am so proud of my country and what we accomplished on November 4,2008. God bless the United States of America!

WAKE UP !

Now that both political conventions are over. I must hand to Senator McCain, he threw us a surprise in selecting a little known governor, from the state of Alaska to spice up the fall presidential campaign. Make no doubt about it, the selection of Governor Palin was and is a gimmick---a ploy to woo women voters. Sarah Palin is NO Hillary Clinton--please don't get it twisted. To look into her policies and idealogy, reminds me of W all over again--in a skirt! My concern is that black religious leaders don't focus on a singular issue, or become focused on what their individual churches may gain by a president purporting Christian values and faith-based initiatives.

Radio show host Michael Baisden brought up this issue of singular focus points making black people vote contrary to their convictions based upon ONE ISSUE! Black Americans, indeed ALL Americans need to be smarter than that! Wake up people, Palin and her husband have associations with a secessionist movement in Alaska; she has a reputation for firing those who disagree with her; as mayor of Wasilla she wanted to ban several books, and attempted to get rid of the librarian who stood up to her--and there's more. The McCain camp did not properly vet her, because his selection is a gimmick, ala Karl Rove style and making.

Don't get it twisted folks! We can ill afford another 4 years of the same fiscal policies of the Bush administration! I read that our nation is 53 trillion dollars in debt! That is criminal, as our grandchildren's grandchildren will still be paying on this enormous debt! WAKE UP! VOTE!