The Twelve Days Of Christmas

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to meee ...Angels in the guise of Mr. Miguel Hernandez transportation director for Park Central Hotel and the Hotel's director Mr. Denis. In the late summer I emailed Mr. Hernandez to ask the cost of being picked up from LaGuardia and hiring a car to get around during my stay. Miguel and I connected and when I explained to him it was my first trip to N.Y. and I saw how bad things happen to people in the episodes of CSI N.Y. he pledged to look out for me.

I told my husband Miguel said he would not fail to get us from the airport on time, he would come himself and would be holding a sign that read "Welcome to New York Mrs. Debra Johnson," and that he gave me his cell phone number. Rolling his eyes my husband asked did I give him our credit card number. Noooo (I rebuked his sarcasm) Miguel said whenever I needed a car he would come for me. I got one of those "Oh brother" looks for being so trustworthy.

As soon as we got to our bags there was Miguel just as he promised holding that sign. He and I hugged like old friends, husband just scratched his head in disbelief.

Miguel says he had a big surprise for me. As we were riding towards the hotel in a sleek black Escalade he hands me two envelopes. One had the keys to our room (upgraded to a suite) the other had vouchers for complimentary breakfast the entire stay.

Miguel spoke to the Park Central hotel director Mr. Denis and told him that I was a writer here for the first time and celebrating my 33rd anniversary from Texas and I got upgraded to a suite!!! When we got to the hotel Miguel says not to worry about the bags just go up to the room and relax. From my bed I could see Times Square, the people, the lights, and the ball that will be dropping in a few weeks to welcome in the New Year. From the bedroom double doors opened out unto a terrace with two chairs where I could sit on top of the world. My husband has not been the same man since. I'll admit I too was stunned. Later that day I met Mr. Denis and thanked him for such a lavish upgrade. From that point on whenever Mr. Denis saw me roaming around the lobby he would come out from his desk and make sure everything was fine.

*The moral is...there are still good honest people in this world and God is in control.....of not just the angels in heaven but the ones that are earning their wings down here.

My Christmas present to you is, if you are going toNew York call 212-707-5175 and ask for Mr. Denis. Tell him Debra Johnson from Texas recommended you and he will give you a super rate or who knows an upgrade. Email mhernandez@parkcentralny.com and mention me for a discounted limo ride from the airport or where ever else you need to go.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

The Twelve Days Of Christmas

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to meeeeee NEW YORK! She embraced me like I was a long lost sister that finally found her way home. NEW YORK loved me and I reciprocated.

From the moment I danced once around the revolving doors of the Park Central Hotel and came out on the street side and into the rhythm of thousands of bodies going about their daily lives I connected.

How could you not connect? New York after all is where the world meet. It is the sole experience of all things sensory. The convergence of sight, sounds, smells, and touch that rush into your body and jolt you awake from the ordinary complacency of a life you never knew you weren't living.

I learned that different experiences and interactions with diverse people is what enrich our lives the most. On this day I know I am such a tiny bit of matter and the world is so big but I believe that it is possible to travel and broaden your horizon if you really want to. And it should be important that you want to.

Each day from now until Christmas I will share with you something about New York and how it affected me. Blogging every day is a definite labor of love but a way of sharing my journey with you. Won't you join me? There will be shopping, celebrities, landmarks, and me in some less than flattering moments. Who knew? LOL

The Christmas Secret

Shhh ...I'm going to tell you a secret. We don't shop for Christmas. As a family we (ok I) decided to wean ourselves from the Christmas shopping ritual of adding stuff to a house running over with stuff three years ago. It was not an easy endeavor. The first year of telling our friends and family that we were not exchanging gifts was hard. Not as hard as realizing that we weren't getting anything from each other. Oh the anxiety of waking up to an empty Christmas tree was nerve wrecking. As soon as January came we ran out and bought everything we would have bought for Christmas only things were truly marked down and we could buy more of it (stuff).
The second year we decided to only purchase gifts that improve your mind, body or health. Hey not bad. Gift certificates for massages, pedicures, books, classes and reviving family board games during the holidays replaced buying stuff.
Last year we adopted a family for Christmas and sent cooked "Greenburg" turkeys to some stressed out friends. We longingly looked at the twinkling , almost bare bottom tree, sipping cider, talking about Christmases past and just enjoyed Christmas morning. It was peaceful. Perfect.
Patti LaBelle says it best. "It's not about the gifts you're giving. It's all about the life you're living. It's all about His love. Don't let the advertisements fool you, don't let the commercials over rule you. Jesus is the reason for the season."
How are you spending (literally) spending your Christmas? Do you wish Christmas could be celebrated in a more simple way without the emphasis on purchasing something? Do you feel there is only so much stuff you can buy in a lifetime until it all becomes just that...stuff?
OR do you think I am just a heartless old grinch?

The Susan Boyle Parable Worth Repeating

Fat, skinny, black, brown, poor, uneducated, republican, liberal, religious, wiccan, homosexual, christian, jewish,scholarly. These are just some of the labels that affect how we view each other. Fortunately we are NOT our labels. We are complicated and diverse human beings each with our own unique gifts. So is the case of Susan Boyle the singing sensation that everyone prejudged to be the butt of a joke. It makes me want to cry watching the audience and judges reaction to her before she sang. Susan Boyle indicated that since her instant fame maybe she wouldn't be "lonely" anymore. Obviously shunned her entire life for not fitting the stereotypical standards of model good looks, people ignored her, deemed her unworthy of friendship. An 11 year old boy hung himself in April of this year. He was gentle, passive, and peace loving which his peers equated with looking and acting gay. United Airlines is charging heavy people twice the fair of thin passengers. There is a parable in all this. When Jesus come again and He does not have blue eyes or blond hair... if Jesus is over weight....if His clothes are not the latest styles...if He acts lovingly and tenderly and is homeless....how will we treat Him?

What Makes You Happy?

In a previous post dated July 1, 2009 I proclaimed, "escapism is the new racism." I theorized that most people exhibiting prejudice behavior or racist acts try to escape from whatever is causing them unhappiness in their lives by transferring blame to someone else. The escapist rationalize that their being born to a specific race gives them superiority over another human being. This way of thinking and behaving momentarily makes them happy and feel satisfied.
This got me wondering why are so many people unhappy? Maybe it is because they don't know what makes them happy. Let's be real first. We are not happy 100% of the time. Everyone has moments of unhappiness. Bouts of sadness and feelings of despair happens. I believe it to be our nature not to be happy all the time. Happiness should always be a goal to reach, something to strive for. It does not come automatically. So we are back to where we started. What makes a person happy?
For me it all boils down to knowing my purpose in life. My passion. The thing that drives me. Yes all the obvious things make me happy like God, family, friends etc; My outward happiness starts first from the inner peace and satisfaction I feel from the very core of my existance. If this is true then when a person is unhappy on the inside that unhappiness radiates towards others on the outside as well. Thus my point about projecting your unhappiness unto others and using them as a scapegoat.
When I am writing or speaking I feel the communion of God, intellect, heart and spirituality springing forth from the depths of my soul. It gushes out of me like a well spring of life. It pleases me immensely, and I am filled with joy and happiness. I write and lecture for myself but humbly hope that someone will be moved and touched in a positive way from what I have said or written. I want to please and make others happy.
So I want you to ponder today your purpose driven life. Are you happy from the inside out and if not why? What makes YOU happy? A small hint: It has nothing to do with money or things. Can you see the connection between your happiness and making others happy? Do you understand how degrading other people is an indication that your life is not in balance and you are not happy? Can you find find happiness and change bad behavior? Yes you can!

Goodbye Summer Hello Fall

Thanks to my Victory Gardeners we reaped what we
sowed and had a really good time. We learned a lot

about planting, eating healthy and setting good

examples.

My neighbors and I have a wonderful end of summer tradition. We have a backyard goat bar-b-q and everyone brings an exotic side dish from their native land. From Ghana to Egypt, from the Phillipines to Texas and all points in between we are about as diverse as it gets.

We love sharing the fruits of our harvest and our uniqueness. I swear you feel the breath of God when we come together like this. It is how it was meant to be.

On my side bar to the right you will find a chart that list seasons veggies and fruits can grow in according to state. Just pull down Texas and take a look at things you can still plant. After all there is a Fall garden. So until next spring...why hate when you can celebrate!

GOD BLESS AMERICA

An Evangelist traveled to Russia with the intentions of giving out 500 bibles. The night before the event someone stole all the bibles. The preacher showed up the next morning with only his personal bible. People stood in line for hours anyway, just to touch the bible. For many it was their first time seeing a bible.

One gentleman went home and brought back his camera. He photographed as many pages of the bible that he could. I am ashamed to say I have taken the bible for granted. I pull it out to read a specific subject pertaining to a question I have then put it up. How could I have taken such a precious book for granted?

Starting in January this year I committed myself to reading the bible. I'm about halfway through. I read the Old and New Testament. What a wonderful country we live in. Freedom of religion is one of the most important rights we have. To be able to read His word and worship is an extraordinary gift.

God bless America, the troops that fight to keep us free, our leaders, and each other. Have a safe and joyful 4th of July!