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 […]
Mar 01

LET’S CELEBRATE WOMEN

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
When I started thinking about celebrating Women’s History Month and how to write a little something-something, I went on the internet to good old Google. I used other sources like cable, the radio, Y-tube, LinkedIn and Pinterest too. I started saving articles from the magazines and newspapers I read. Then I sorted through my book collection looking for books about women. I guess I’m old school because I still read newspapers and magazines. My book selection includes both the hardcover and paperback versions. Before long, I had amassed a collection of information about women that any researcher worth her weight in gold would love. And that was my problem. Too much information. Great if I was writing a thesis but way too much for a one-page post. Like most writers I love words. Whether they are my words or somebody else’s, I love ‘em like I birthed them. So, it’s difficult for me eliminate them entirely as good editing requires. It wasn’t long before I realized writing this article was becoming a nightmare for me. Then I did what I usually do and waited for inspiration to help me. When that didn’t work, I did the other thing I usually […]
Feb 25

WHY I WROTE TRICK OR TREAT, WHO’S MY SWEET?

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
Long before Bruce Jenner became Kaitlin Jenner, I’d seen this reality show that tracked a woman’s sex change process and operation from female into male. I grew fascinated with the program and the ideas and theories behind it. I wondered why would a person do that kind of major life change? I tried to imagine what it must be like to feel uncomfortable in the gender you were born into or to hate your body. What if you felt you didn’t have a choice in the matter? Every time you looked at your naked reflection in the mirror, did you feel at odds with what you saw? Would you want to change your looks? Would you change your gender, too? After you went through the testing, monitoring, and the gender change process, how would you feel? Would you be happy or sad that you’d made the gender change? Who would you be attracted to with your gender changed? I started to research the topic of sex change operations and bumped into another topic that was somewhat related … cross dressing. Did you know that women have been dressing like men for centuries? I didn’t until I started researching the topic. […]
Feb 18

WHY ARE APOLOGIES SO DIFFICULT TO MAKE?

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
Years ago, I had friend I was always trying to impress. She was in school earning her masters when I first met her. After twenty years of dancing around the edges of higher education, I returned to school for my BA first and then my masters, inspired by her quest for higher education. We grew close. We shared our hopes and dreams of the future. She wanted to be a lawyer, then a civil court judge. I wanted to be school psychologist until I learned how long my journey would be. I calculated I’d be a year or so from retirement before I met my career goal. In a particularly revealing moment, she told me how guilty she felt when her kid sister died in a fire and she couldn’t rescue her. I told her about suffering spousal abuse literally at the hands of my former husband. My tale of woe would come back to haunt me. My friend began to tease me about my domestic abuse. She made offhand, mean jokes about getting hit. The first time she did it, I ignored it, which was my mistake. The next time she said something offhand about spousal abuse, I stopped […]
Feb 11

I HATE CELLPHONES. NOT MINE JUST EVERYBODY ELSE’S CELLPHONE.

by B.L. in Other 0 comments
The photo above is of my two favorite cellphones. The one on the left was my first ever cellphone. The one on the right, I still use. I placed tape over the brand names so nobody could accuse me of shilling for one company or another. I regard my cellphone as my emergency connection to folks I love. It’s my roadside connection when my car goes on the fritz. When I want to alert my son or my friends that I’m standing outside getting soaked by the rain, it’s my umbrella of sorts. I’ve used it during snowstorms too. Lately, I’ve been using my cellphone (one phone on the right) to take some interesting pictures whenever the urge hits me or I see something interesting in the park across the street from my building or when fierce storms rip and swirl across the Hudson River. If you’ve read my blogs or my FB business page, you’ve noticed that I’ve posted a couple of those photos. While I use the phone as my lifeline, very few people know I have one. When I apply for accounts online or in person, I never list my cellphone. I’ll list my email or my […]
Recent Posts
Most popular, Worth a look, Must read, Related posts, What the experts say, Q & A
Post Views