May 06

DRUGS ANYONE?

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
I put off writing this one for some time because I didn’t want to write about the subject matter while I was angry. This time I couldn’t stop myself. I just watched NY1 a local Time Warner/Spectrum cable channel that I really like a lot because it keeps me tuned into what’s going on around the city. The channel mentioned a new drug treatment program starting in Staten Island soon. The program sponsored in part by the Staten Island DA’s office and arranges for treatment programs for substance abuse addicts rather than prison sentences. Apparently the other part of the program, the punitive side, prosecutes the sellers of illegal drugs. I have nothing against going after folks who commit certain crimes. Heaven knows in my job as a NYC property manager during the crack/cocaine epidemic of the late seventies, eighties and nineties, I’ve met a number of folks who were either users or sellers. Sometimes, they engaged in both activities. I wonder how the Staten Island program will deal with cases like this? As for me, I think the sentencing should match the crime. In the case of many first time sellers and buyer (users), the crime didn’t justify the […]
May 01

WHY PEOPLE LIE

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
For most of my life, I’ve been curious about something that seems to be a human phenomenon. Little kids do it. Teenagers do it. And adults do it. Even Disney characters (think Pinocchio) do it. It’s called lying. Lately I find myself wondering why people do it. Most people make such a mess of it. They tell whoppers that can so easily be uncovered. In this age of cellphone videos, body cams, social media, and information breaches, who doesn’t know your business? To me, lying seems worthless or at least more work than it’s worth. Yet people still do it. And I keeping asking myself, why do people lie? Experts Victoria Talwar and Kang Lee say that there are three types of lies. The first one is called a primary lie. This type of lie is told to hide what the teller did but fails to consider the mental state of the listener. Children as young as two and as old as four tell these kinds of lies. By the time children are four, they learn to tell secondary lies. These lies are more plausible. The teller has learned through trial and error to shape the lie to the listener’s […]
Apr 22

WHY I WROTE ME & MRS. JONES

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
  This is my second book in the newly minted series “SONGBOOKS.” I give older popular songs, modern viewpoints that turn into novels. I always loved the song “Me and Mrs. Jones.” It was a ballad sung by smooth, jazzy Billy Paul in 1972. The ballad told the tale of a man committing adultery with a married woman. He knows she knows that it’s wrong. He knows it’s wrong to keep seeing her; but he can’t stop. She can’t stop the affair either. The two of them have a favorite meeting place where nobody knows them so nobody can tell their respective spouses about their affair. They can listen to their favorite songs and share their favorite meals together at this special meeting spot. By the end of the song, I understood how difficult it was to stop doing something that was so very wrong but felt oh, so-o-o very good. After hearing this song recently on a long drive to visit my mother and my sister in Ohio, I thought. Whoa! Wouldn’t it be interesting to write a novel based on the tale that I heard in my head every time I listened to the lyrics? What I imagined […]
Apr 15

WADE IN THE WATERS

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
I’m not one for religious symbolism but the more I hear about foreign involvement in our democratic election system, I keep thinking of a song I used to hear in church Sunday mornings. I was a kid back then. Everybody knows Baby boomer children couldn’t say. “Mom, Dad I’m not going to church. It’s Sunday morning. I think I just sit this visit out. I don’t like how that old guy wearing that long robe talks to us. He’s always screaming about devils and doing bad stuff from that platform he stands on. You and Dad might like him; but he scares the mess out of me. Today, I’ll just sit home and do something that makes me happy. Watching Sunday morning cartoons makes me happy and so I’ll be doing that today, okay? I’ll see you both when you get back from church if I’m not napping, right?” No way was that going to fly with my parents back then. In the only thing flying, would be my butt into next week. That would be after I was released from the children’s ward of the hospital, my father’s opened can of whup my backside sent me. But I digress. […]
Apr 08

SOUND ADVICE IN TRYING TIMES

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
I was reviewing some old posts and found this one from two years ago. I believe it is still appropriate for today’s times too. It’s simple. Sometimes less complicated is the best way to go. My sister sent me this message several months ago, when I was feeling low down and abit helpless. I loved it so much I decided to pass it on. Thanks Sis. My only comment, I would add some additional suggestions to Number 9. If you can’t show up and be counted because of limitations, you can still do something. Call your representatives like I did or email them or write to them like I did. All of that works too.  The point is to do something positive. Don’t stay in your own little bubble world and complain about how bad things are if you aren’t willing to do more than complain. Read the rest of the advice below. It needs no further explanation From a friend’s page. Sound advice for the times. This is also going around and for good reason: Don’t use his name. Remember this is a regime and he’s not acting alone. Do not belittle those who support him–it doesn’t work. Focus […]
Apr 01

Me & Mrs. Jones, a love story

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
Wealthy married Black woman, Vernella Burton-Jones, has been suffering verbal and sometimes physical abuse at the hands of her wife Frances for years. The clincher occurs when Vernella discovers that Frances is cheating on her and embezzling from the company Vernella’s father built up from the ground. Vernella feels helpless to stop this cycle of bullying and abuse, until she meets Clementine. Clementine Rogers is a young, white female driver and sometime street fighter applying for what seems to be an ideal job. However, when she witnesses her potential employer’s wife abusing her and intervenes, she wants to do more to protect Vernella, but isn’t sure her attractive new boss will appreciate her interference. Can Vernella take steps to prevent more abuse and keep Frances from robbing her blind? Will she accept Clementine’s help in protecting her? Can two women with completely dissimilar backgrounds allow their attraction for each other overcome many obstacles? Find out in Me and Mrs. Jones, a love story. Me and Mrs. Jones, a love story is available now on Kindle. Here are the links for: Me and Mrs. Jones, a love story Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PNVXCSN Kindle Print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/9781798762455 Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/928927 Book trailer: https://youtu.be/Hv8hKOl7zTU Ask David: http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/lesbian-romance/16955 […]
Mar 25

BLACK WOMEN AS KRYPTONITE OR ARE THEY CANARIES IN THE COAL MINE?

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
I keep thinking about a newscaster guest expert I watched. I believe it was on AM Joy’s show sometime in November of 2017, when MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson said Black women were kryptonite to the Trump administration. I think not. I believe Black women are “canaries in the coal mine.” Just as canaries warned coal miners when there were poisonous gases inside the mines by chirping until they died, Black women are issuing early warning signals that this country is in serious trouble. In April 2017, Mr. Johnson had written an article about Black women being natural enemies to the Republican party and to the Trump administration in particular. In the article, he mentioned how Susan Rice was used by the Republicans in the mini-unmasking scandal. Remember how Ms. Rice, as a part of her job as national security advisor, asked to unmask the names of Trump’s transition officials? She wanted the names revealed to find out who on Trump’s team was talking to Russian spies that were meddling in US elections. President Trump and his Republican allies tried to distract the public from the truth about Russian meddling in our elections. He replaced it with a trumped-up theory that […]
Mar 19

“UNBOSSED AND UNBOUGHT”

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
  In honor of Women’s History Month, once again I’m using some of that research I dug up and didn’t use for the first post. As I mentioned before, I wanted to introduce readers to women that might not be in the typical history books. This next woman was a series of firsts which she asked not to be remembered for when she died. I’m going to go down the list of her firsts anyway because knowledge is power. We should all know about her. Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman to run for congress and win. In 1968, she won a seat in congress representing the 12th District in Brooklyn. She represented her district from 1969 to 1983. She was also the first woman of Caribbean to win a seat in congress. Her mother was born in Barbados. Her father was from British Guiana. Four years later in 1972, she was the first person of African American descent to run for nomination in a major party for president of the United States. She was also the first woman to run for president of the United States from the Democratic party. She served as a role model for […]
Mar 13

AIN’T I A WOMAN?

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
In honor of Women’s History Month, I’m introducing readers to women not easily found in history books. I hope you find her words as inspiring as I did. Abolitionist, Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) was enslaved until she escaped in 1826. She devoted the rest of her life to speaking out against slavery and for equal rights for women. She helped free and formerly enslaved Blacks, relocate to western states. Here’s what she had to say in 1851, delivering a speech entitled “Ain’t I A Woman” in Akron Ohio at a Women’s Conference. “Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that ‘twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what’s all this here talking about? That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered […]
Mar 07

CONGRESSWOMAN

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
Here’s my second participant in honor of Women’s History Month. As I mentioned previously, I wanted to introduce readers to women that might not be in the typical history books. I always liked to hear this particular woman speak. Her voice was deep, throaty and soothing. I thought of her as a true orator. She held the country spellbound during the Nixon impeachment hearings when she reminded her fellow congress people why the president could and should be impeached for covering-up the infamous Watergate activities. Listening to her during the televised hearings, I wondered who was that woman? Why hadn’t I heard about her before? Like Congresswoman Chisholm, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan was a woman with a series of “firsts” in her background. I will briefly outline them here because we should all know about her. Knowledge is power. In 1972, along with Andrew Young, they were the first two African Americans to be elected to congress from the deep south since 1898. Prior to becoming a congressperson, she was the first African American woman to win a Texas State Senate seat in 1966, after losing twice in 1962 and 1964. She was the first African American to win a Texas […]
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