When the Script Has Been Flipped

Listen to this one.

My ex-husband divorced me. I left him with the house, everything in it. After a few years of trying to be civil, at least about raising the kids, I got tired of them playing us against each other and he wouldn't talk to me because his cover girl is so insecure. So I sent the kids to live with him. When I say "kids" I mean 21, 18 and 16 year olds. Hardly kids anymore. The foundation was set and I had to concentrate on me. He kicked me when I was down, just lost my mom very unexpectedly and he quickly proceeded to divorce me divorce while I was still not in my right mind. But I was cool with it. I didn't want anything except some peace of mind.

Well, now I am in court for child support. He's got lawyers and everything. And although I didn't have a job, his lawyer told that that I am capable of paying $469 per month, based on my PREVIOUS income. Even though I was receiving unemployment of $250 per week, they took half of that, but added the balance to arrears.

This man (and I use that term loosely) makes over $90,000 per year now. He brought fake paystubs to court saying he only makes $3,000 every two weeks and he really makes three times that amount.

They say there's no fury like that of a woman scorned. Well, I'm scorned but I am moving onward and upward. He's acting like a girl and I'm paying the price.

I will never hear brother talk about paying child support again without sympathizing with him.

Peace.

A Class Act

That's an accurate description of Sandra Dungee-Glenn. I listened to her radio broadcast today as she graciously accepted her replacement as Chair of the SRC.

Dr. Ackerman joined her, sharing plans for the future of the School District.

Sounds Good. I will have to do some research on Mr. Archie and his involvement with education. it all still sounds like political backlash to me.

In the meantime, I'll support their efforts.

Peace and Love.

WHAT THE HELL?!?!

What is your mayor thinking?!?!?!?!?! His latest thing is Ousting Sandra Dungee-Glenn?
It's not what you do, but how you do it.

He asked for no input or suggestions from parents, school district employees or the community at large. Once again, he has either had his puppet strings pulled or embarked on another power/ego trip. Either way, he has made two things perfectly clea:

1. Philadelphia residents have no say so in what goes on in our city. Period.
2. The children and youth are at the bottom of his priority list.

I am NOT opposed to change, sometimes change is a good thing. However, I am opposed to sudden and drastic change, dictatorship, cronyism and politics as usual, especially at the expense of our young people. I'm sick of it.

NONE OF THESE MEMBERS SHOULD APPOINTED BY POLITICIANS, THEY SHOULD BE ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CONCERNED AND IMPACTED.
_____________________________________________________

Follow the leader

I've heard it said that Obama is now the black people's leader. I beg to differ, even though this post isn't about that, I have to go there first.

In my opinion, President Obama is a different breed of brother. He shuns from any discussion on race and lacks the insight to honestly address the race issue in America. This weekend I watched a special presentation by Andrew Young called "How We Got Here." It was a historical look at racism during the civil rights movement. President Obama and I were both born during the height of that era, and I know that I don't have personal experiences of racism to that degree, but I had a black grandfather, grandmother, mother and father who on occasion shared their horror stories. They didn't harp on them because they felt that things had gotten better and that we were more privileged than they were. They shared just enough to remind us of that fact. And who can forget that big yellow "I Have A Dream" book about MLK.

Obama's was raised by his mother and paternal grandparents; all of whom were white! They didn't experience racism.

Now, I've experienced what I thought to be racism in high school, but when I came home to share my experience with my mom, she just blew it off. It was nothing to her because she had experienced "real racism." I didn't care what she said though, it was racism and I was furious!

President Obama has probably not experienced the racism of our forefathers and mothers, nor has he had any horror stories passed down to him. He can't possibly be the new leader for blacks in America - but he is the new leader for America as a whole and his skin is tinted with more melanin an pigmentation than any other President in America's history.

Now...

Everyone looks for a leader or mentor of some kind during their lifetime. Children often look to their parents, law students look to prominent lawyers, aspiring teachers look to seasoned teachers, etc. President Obama himself at one time looked to Reverend Jeremiah Wright as a mentor.

I've always been one to dance to my own beat. I was never really a follower, I always did my own thing but I always believed that i was guided by a higher power When I tried to follow someone's lead, it was fine, unless something just didn't sit right in my soul. Then I had to go my own way.

When I reached a point in life where I disconnected from my creator. The anger and hurt that I felt slowly destructed my spirituality. I kept going on a downward spiral, until finally, I didn't know which way to go and had no one on earth to turn to, I returned to my spiritual roots.

First, I had to learn to listen to his voice and drown out all other negative influences. Secondly, I had to learn that my ways are not his ways; my will not his will. I had to learn to let go and have the faith to let God do his thing. So now, I'm just following his lead and watching him work.

He is an AWESOME WONDER!!!

Diversity in Philadelphia's Construction Industry...UPDATED

Those of you who really know me know that this is a touchy subject for me. I've had firsthand experience with the lack of diversity and opportunities for women and minorities in Philadelphia's construction industry. So I was pleased when the mayor appointed members and established the Commission on Construction Industry Diversity. This historical commission has been a long time coming, especially since the failure and consequent demise of MBEC.

The commission recently released one of the most comprehensive and concise reports I've ever seen. It goes over the history of racial tension in the construction industry in Philadelphia up to the present day problems.

I shared the history portion of the report with some of the male students at Randolph and although they know alot about their school's namesake, they were proud to learn the role he played persuading President Roosevelt to sign an Executive Order, thus creatin the Fair Employment Practices Committee! They were so excited and proud. I didn't expect that response from them. Much to my surprise, they wanted to see the entire report.

Today, a group came to let me know that although their school's namesake was mentioned, their school WAS NOT among those listed in the Pre-apprentice and Building Trade schools in the Philadelphia Region! "Mercy and Swenson are listed, but Randolph and Dobbins are not!" I hadn't noticed the omission; I'd read through the report but got bored with the findings and conclusions, most of which I already was all too familiar with. For me, this nothing new and it began to frustrate me. I hadn't read far enough to get to that list, so I wasn't prepared to answer the students. I don't know if the omission of Randolph and Dobbins was just an oversight on the part of the Commission, but I seriously doubt that - not with all the professional power broker organizations and individuals involved. (Note: No one from the School District of Philadelphia was involved with the Commission) No, I don't think it was an oversight, but an intentional omission. Reasons for the omissions should be investigated.

When I started in December as the "Student Advisor", I was all excited about working at a technical trade school - even though Randolph WAS NOT my first pick. Since I only scored 14 out of 79, my first two picks were taken, so I selected Randolph, looking forward to being in the Cosmetology arena again - that would have been right up my alley. I was disappointed to find out that there is no cosmetology curriculum here anymore. Early on I learned that the seniors did not have internships, and although the school staffs two career and employment people and a counselor, they were told to find their own internships. So I asked one of my contractor friends if he would consider providing internships to some of the students at Randolph. His response was: I tried to hire those students a few years ago, but they are not equipped with the proper knowledge and skills".

Anyway, to make a long story short, I followed Dr. Ackerman's lead. She's now holding principal's accountable and principal's are beginning to hold teachers accountable. So, I turned the tables and am holding the students accountable. The seniors recently started their own weekly newsletter called The Randolph Rant. I gave them resources and information to use for a story on these issues in their school. I reminded them that their city council representative had visited their school and thay they could also call on him for support. They said they're working on they story for next week's edition...Stay tuned.

Peace and Love.

Remembering Donna

Girl, I still reach for the phone to call you...
then I remember, damn, she's gone too.
So much for us to discuss, time was much too short.

You tried to keep your suffering a secret from me,
and I allowed you to because of my own selfish reasons.
I couldn't bear to watch you die.

But everytime I called, your spirits were high,
and I could always make you laugh.

The last time we talked, you were weak and our conversation short.
When I mentioned that in a few weeks I would have been married for 18 years, March 18th
You reminded me that my marriage was dead.
Then you drove your point home when you died on March 18th.

I miss you - sharing your experiences and intuition
Giving clues of things you knew, but couldn't actually prove
Trying to tell me what I didn't want to know.
Now I know what you knew
And Yes, it's all true.

Girl, I miss you. I can't call nobody else when I wake up a 3am and can't go back to sleep.
Nobody else is gonna talk me back to sleep at that time of morning...Except maybe Big Steve. (Imagine that! LOL! He just a Big Ole Gentle Giant!)

I know you kept promising to go to church with me,
Going to church can't save you; like we always said,
more devils live in the church than saints
("You ain't never lied")

But your personal relationship with God was in tact
In the end, that's all that really matters.

I'm glad your suffering is over. I'm glad for having enjoyed the privilege of having you as a friend.

Alone Time Is Good...Sometimes

I want to be clear about this. I am enjoying this period in my life, but ladies and gentlemen, being alone is not always great. Most of my friends are married, and while I am grateful that my friends Reed and Marion invited me to hang out with them on Valentine's day, I realized that it might be time for me to get my own man.

I ask my male friends what's wrong with me - why can't I get (and keep) a man. The answers vary:

"You haven't met the right one."
"You're not ready."
"Cause you are mean."
"Cause you're crazy."
And my favorite:
"You don't need a man. Men like damsel's in distress, men need to be needed."

I don't know any damsel who has been more distressed than me!!! I just don't look or act like it I guess. I'm not supposed to.

I want a man like Neyo, one who is not intimidated by a women who "looks, walks and talks like the boss" There is nothing more valuable than a woman who knows that all of her needs will be supplied by her creator...Ok...including my man.

Peace and Love

Politics

I hate politics. I experienced the guts and gore of it up close and personal and I don't like politics, but I do follow the news.

So, I just have to say that I think Seth Williams shot himself in the foot when he went on a witch hunt for Curtis Jones. What was that about? I read in the Public Record that Local 332 and the West Oak Lane Political group are both endorsing Dan McCaffery. I don't even know who he is.

_____________________________________________________________________

Michael Nutter...I don't understand his methods.

Well...maybe he's just a politician. He is looking out for those who provided him with the most financial support.

That's all I'm gonna say about politics.

Peace and Love.

Run Rhianna Run!!!

I'm sure that this highly publicized display of domestic violence was not the first encounter for this young woman, and rest assured it will not be the last. Statistics show that once an abuser abuses you and you accept that behavior by allowing him (or her) back into your life, (and after only 3 weeks?!?!) he (or she)will abuse you again. I know. You can't help who you love. But can we, as women love ourselves first and foremost?

As the mother of two teenage daughters and one young adult daughter; a product of domestic violence myself, this is something that I must speak out about. The cycle of domestic violence in my family is broken; it ends with me. I understand what it means to love someone and to do everything in your power to make a relationship work, (especially if you have children, a house, a business, etc.) but after a while you wake and look at yourself and realize that you don't deserve to be treated that way. And what about your children? We don't realize that they are witnessing everything that's going on, and that it is very traumatizing to witness your mother being abused.

While I taught my daughters to love and respect their father, I have shown them that they DO NOT EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES have to put with any type of abuse. This is a global issue and too many females are accepting this behavior as if it is normal. IT IT NOT NORMAL OR ACCEPTABLE FOR SOMEONE TO BEAT YOU UP PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY OR EMOTIONALLY.