ZEST

Just when you think life couldn't get any better here comes Arlee with the Alphabet Challenge and BAM, a big heaping helping of ZEST added a different flavor to the mix.

My blog for certain will never be the same. I tried to rise to the occasion and blog my heart out. It was my hope to give you 26 really good rides in the blogosphere. I hope I did that.

I am grateful to my new friends and followers and I am looking forward to many visits back and forth.

SO THANK YOU ARLEE FOR THE ZEST...IT WAS JUST WHAT WE NEEDED! Mmmm Mmmm GOOD!

U Can Make A Difference

Do me a favor. I want you to think about the person or persons that influenced you.... to buy a house. Get an education. Be a productive person. Be responsible about having children. Get and keep a job. I always tell my daughter, "you are who you hang with". Do you believe that? Who did you hang around? Who made you the person that you are? I'll bet you right now your answer to the majority of these questions are.... a family member, a teacher, some neighbor or a pastor. What's my point?

If you don't have anyone that is a positive influence in your life, anyone to teach you how to become a productive, responsible person that respect life and property and value education then what happens? Lack of discernment happens. You lose the ability to recognize differences between right and wrong, what is appropriate and what is not, what is moral and what is immoral. If you look over your life I am willing to bet that someone taught you about discernment. Do you see what an affect not having the influences of both parents (our first teachers), clergy, neighbors, and school instructors have had on society.

How do we rebuild? Where do we start? Try mentoring someone. I have mentored in formal programs and just to whomever I feel could use my counsel. I teach my adult women friends about finances, talk to young couples about marriage, nag high school boys about keeping it in their pants and encourage college girls not to give it up so easy.

O.K. it is not a perfect plan but it is a start. What do you think? Who have you influenced? Who influenced you?

Exorcising

This is the time of year I allow myself the luxury of looking over my shoulder to see where I have been. Usually I am going full speed ahead to some place in the future and forget to check out that rear view mirror. You can not go forward with any certainty unless you know from whence you came.

Around this time last year I decided to concentrate on being of service to others. Initially the quest was "to sacrifice." It turned out not to be a sacrifice at all. Helping others is easy. Actually it became a gift that kept returning to me. The gift of growing. I grew as a person and as a writer. The more I became involved with others the more I learned about myself. That truth evolved into a bigger universal truth, that we are all connected and interdependent on one another and the earth.

Do you realize that some people spend their entire lives without making that one important connection? How about you? Have you connected the dots and came to know the universal truth?

In my past posts we saw how sharing our racial makeup lead to positive dialog. That results in respecting our differences and celebrating our commonalities. It felt right that we exorcised the demons that label us and prevent us from doing what God has commanded. Love One Another.

Exorcising is good for the soul.

Witches and Catholics

I met a bright woman that expressed strong views against racism along with a zeal for tolerance and I thought I would like to get to know her and maybe make a new friend. After a couple of exchanges I find out she is a practicing witch.

She was raised in a non-practicing Reformed Jewish household and is non Christian & says Jesus is not high on her list. Wiccans (I assume her witch community) views Jesus as a man God representative. Sort of like a stand in for God and is sacrificed.

Her views made my bottom lip quiver. "Mary worship" she says is an interesting cult! GULP! She is talking about me the devout Catholic. I tell her if she is a devil worshipper and wishes harm to others, game over, no friendship. Her response, "No self respecting neo-pagan or Wiccan would worship the devil. Satan is a Christian concept." Who knew or thought of it in those terms? "Wiccan code of ethics doesn't permit harming of others," she says. Peace loving witches, o.k. I'm being cautiously tolerant now.

I find out she did perform what is called an unbinding ritual on a friend that gave her permission to break lingering psychic ties to an ex-husband. She also did one on herself to break lingering psychic ties to an ex boy friend.

I can see that. Perfectly normal. I've had to unbind myself from a few ex friends myself basically by changing my telephone number and spamming their un-wanted emails. Unbinding is necessary some times. I'm catching on to the Wiccan way.

She believes in Karma (whatever you do will come back to you). I'm there on that point (you reap what you sow). "All Souls Day," is a big time for witches to commune with the dead. I celebrate this custom also and clean off graves of loved ones, say extra prayers and usually light candles in their honor. No conversations with the dead though, just remembering and honoring them. O.K. maybe this can work out.

She believes in absolute tolerance of others but despise people who use religion as an excuse to hate or discriminate against others. I guess there are bad witches and good witches just like there are bad people and good people. Who am I to judge or discriminate against someone because of their differences. After all isn't that what I preach and how I try to live my life.

Welcome Wiccans and neo-pagans to Debra's blog. All are welcome here in peace, harmony and love. A Witch and a Catholic who would have thought that would make a friendship. Do you have a friend whose beliefs are different from yours but you still manage to be friends? What's your tolerance level like?

VORTEX

A vortex is a transcendental space on earth that is conducive to the metaphysical. It is said if you stand in this space, pray and meditate, you can find peace. Some claim that the experience brings you slowly back to your core, your sense of purpose. All four vortex or "vortices" as some call them are located in Sedona Az. I visited two out the four. On the Sedona map there are four tornado like figures symbolizing where they are located. The drive up the mountain to get to the first vortex was steep. For sure I was at least 6,000 ft. above sea level. I walked past a lady high on a ledge in the mountains, arms outstretched to the sky and knew I was at the place. There are no signs or markers but there was a notation on a small information board asking you to be mindful of people praying and meditating. A person pointed to a spot on the mountain to a juniper bush. I was told it normally grew straight and tall but because it was in the vortex it was all twisted.

I climbed what seemed to the top of the world. Then I saw it, a few feet from the edge of the mountain. It was a stunning sight. There at a slope stood the Juniper bush caught in the Vortex. My first thought was that it looked like the "burning bush" Moses encountered. It was hard to get to because it was on a declining slope which led to the edge of the mountain. I didn't know what to expect or what to do. I pulled out my rosary and started to pray frantically. I had so many people to pray for. All of you reading this blog, my family, all families, especially our children. I prayed for the sick and the elderly for the hungry and for our president and his family. Then something took over my prayers. I began to relax and instead of me praying I heard my prayers my thoughts come from outside my conscious mind. I heard my prayers being recited to me.

I left this particular site feeling extremely blessed and at peace. My thoughts turned to Moses going up the mountain and returning with the Ten Commandments, and Jesus experience in the mountains and other biblical references that happened in the mountains. Is it a coincidence that all four Vortices are found in the mountains? Maybe the world is so busy and noisy that you have to climb above it to hear the voice of God. I know a new layer of spirituality exist now in me. It is the spirit of peace and tranquility but also one of confidence and astuteness in a world driven by chaos. Physically, there is a subtle streak of gray in my hair running down the center of all places that wasn't there before my Vortex visit. A reminder of things unseen and unexplainable. A testament to my faith. What do you think? Was it all in my mind..me wanting to believe? Have you ever visited any of the Vortices? The picture is me praying in the vortex among the juniper bushes.

U Turn

I have a confession, an embarrassment really. I am directionally impaired. That's right, I don't know North from South, East from West. I could stand outside my front door in the middle of the street and I couldn't tell you which way I was facing. I have tried to learn. My husband said, "Picture the map of the U.S. in your head with the compass pointing up for N and down for S." I just can't visualize it like that when I am in my living room. I'm not an idiot, I can read a map. I know East coast West coast etc; It's more complicated than that.

Yesterday a really nice young man came to measure my home for carpet. He asked me which direction was a certain window facing? "I'm not good with directions," I answered honestly. He fiddled around making guesses about the direction but in a nutshell he didn't know either. So I started thinking maybe there are other people that have this problem. Now I am hoping that just maybe someone out there could explain it to me.

If I were in slavery times and was trying to run away I would be running Southwest and the other slaves would be running North. What am I not getting? Is there anyone out there that can teach me? And yes I know the sun rise in the East and set in the West, but the sun moves during the day.

The Statue of Liberty

I took sneak peeks of her through the ferry window. I've always been resentful of her and what she symbolized to others. She held no promise for me or my ancestors so visiting her caused me anxiety but hey who goes to New York without seeing the statue, right.

For the majority of Americans the statue represents freedoms, rights and privileges. For me it left the taste of disenfranchisement in my mouth. Immigrants fled to this country from bondage to freedom. Africans came kidnapped from freedom forced into bondage. Immigrants waved and cheered their journey's end from the decks while my people were packed liked sardines in the belly of slave ships.

The ferry ride was gray and cold & the water rough. I faked a smile while my stomach churned and my imagination ran wild with snippets of scenes from the television drama "Roots" running through my mind. It was awful. I walked around her twice without really looking at her. Then I faced the statue. Head tilted back tears welling up. I was shocked by the emotions I felt.

Back home and less emotional I thought about my feelings and how selfish I was to disregard the statue and all the people that deserved to be in awe and pay homage to her. Many people have been in bondage. We blacks don't have the monopoly on that. Moses led his people from Egypt, Jews were enslaved by monsters, Native Americans were victimized in their own country. What right did I have to feel entitled to such self pity?

The one commonality that we all share is that we have had to fight for our freedom every day. September 11th taught me that. September 12th showed me our biggest commonality is that we are Americans and we are one no matter our petty daily problems amongst ourselves. So the Statue of Liberty is inclusive, a reminder of the price all of us must pay for freedom.

Blessings to all that have come, fought and won their freedom in this great land, America. I am and have always been proud to be an American. I now have pride in the Statue of Liberty and feel inclusive to her claims. God bless America! God bless each and every country on this planet!

Is there any person or people you resent? If so face it, give it to God, let it go, forgive yourself and others. Revel in the peace doing this one thing brings. On this day be healed and feel the pride of being not just an American but a citizen of the world.

Success

I have been trying to explain to my 23 year old what does being a success mean. I've assured her it has less to do with titles and money and more to do with the kind of person you are. If you want to succeed you have to first know yourself and define success accordingly. But you have to make your own self happy.

My Personal Recipe for Happiness

I add a class or two of whatever I am interested in at the time, flavor it with writing, squeeze in some new friends, stir in some thought to finances, pour in heaping servings of church, a dab of farming, a bit of public speaking, some volunteer work , lots of reading and travel. Mix well with patience and sacrifice and bake with the love and forgiveness of God. Sprinkle plenty of laughter often and freely.Ta da here's Debra, a happy woman!

What is your recipe for success? If you could, what would you change in your life's recipe?

RESPECT

As a rule there are three things you don't discuss, politics, religion and race. This blog has broken all three rules. I wish I could apologize for bringing up the taboo subjects but I can't. You see it was liberating to write about subjects that just may make someone think differently, become a tad bit more tolerant of others or agree to disagree without getting upset.I wanted you to read a different perspective whether you agreed with it or not.

Different is good. Sometimes you changed my way of thinking. That is what good conversations does...it's an exchange to get you thinking and learning. This would be a dull world if everyone looked and thought alike. Wouldn't it?

Yes, some of you were thirsty and drank from the refreshing well of intelligent conversation. More people chose to read but not comment and that's fine. Commenting exposes yourself for better or worse and I know that is intimidating. No one knows that better than me. After all I am a writer and whatever I write I reveal a little bit of myself to perfect strangers.

I loved it when Sen. McCain said to be respectful of his opponent the then Senator Obama in the 2008 race. It was the finest moment of the campaign. I wish to say the same to you all and hope you spread the word. Regardless of who wins, that person will be our leader. We need to respect them just for running. I know I couldn't do it. Could you?

We as Americans can not allow bad mouthing or racial/religious slurs about our President be he black or white or Mormon. It shows ignorance, bad sportsmanship, and its downright unpatriotic. Let us be respectful of our next President and the two competitors.

Now Get ready to VOTE!

This unpaid political moment was brought to you by PEACE. Try it!

Questions?

Movies such as "2012," "The Road," and "Legions" lead you to believe that maybe our time on earth is about to come to an end. It ponders the question," is art imitating life or life imitating art?"
With global warming and natural disasters such as hurricanes, earth quakes, tornadoes and tsunamis, one can certainly have reason to think that old mother earth has had enough of us.

What about societal problems? Obsessions with deviant sexual behavior like rape, women and children being sold into sex slavery, and the gigantic molestation cover up spanning decades and involving thousands of young boys by Catholic priest shows just how messed up we have become. Maybe we have finally angered God for the last time.

Let us not even delve into global turmoil involving wars and all that implies. It is true when the time comes and we all know that it will, there is nothing that can be done about it. But until that time comes.......

I strongly prescribe to the message that each one of us can do our part to relieve suffering in this world and be kinder to our environment. I will pick up litter just because I get tired of seeing it. No it won't get me the Nobel prize but suppose we all did it. Maybe if we would go a step further by teaching young people that littering is wrong we can make a difference.

Suppose we pressured governments across the globe to launch an all out war against pornography we can protect the innocence of our children and bring renewed respect for women. Wouldn't that be worth fighting for? I talk to young men about how the women in those smut shows are raped, drugged and sometimes tortured into a performance. I remind them that they are some one's child, sister, mother and or friend.

Maybe I have become foolish in my golden years to care so much about our world. Maybe I am afraid to die and leave my daughter in such a place. Maybe I am too sentimental to think others may be as fed up as I am and willing to do a small bit to change things.

Are you fed up with how things are going with our planet and its people? Do you have the courage to speak out against pornography, litter or anything that would hurt us as humans and care takers of this planet?

Question the wrongs you see. Send an email, write a letter, make a phone call, form a group, blog about it, start a petition. We still have the power to change things, one person at a time.

Peace Be With You

Why is peace so hard to obtain? What is it in our nature that predispose us to always be ready for confrontation or as the kids say drama?





Vampires and Werewolves are real creatures. They are inside of us. We can drain the life out of someone with our negativity. With sharpened fangs we can tear a person's life to shreds with gossip.





Want the antidote to what robs you from being at peace and becoming a person of peace?





Control your tongue!





It's a dangerous weapon. Your tongue should be heavy and slow to move until your words are chosen carefully.. You should listen twice as much as you speak. Don't speak ill of others are entertain ill thoughts. Even when you disagree, watch what you say. When someone says something ugly to me my answer is always..."I'm so sorry you feel that way." It disarms the negative person and lets them know how genuinely sorry I feel for them that they have to resort to negativity. And it lets them know that they are the one with the problem. Situation averted.





All wars are ultimately started with a tongue lashing. Family estrangements, divorces, broken friendships, yep, somebody said something that led to somebody doing something. I've looked in the mirror and bad mouthed my own reflection. How is that for tongue wagging.





To keep peace use that tongue to praise and forgive. Peace be with you!

Once Upon A Time

A very long time ago there was an imaginative little girl that dreamt of having many friends from different galaxies. She would wiggle her nose like "Samantha" the character on "Bewitched" and would travel through space and time to be with all her friends from other worlds.

A fairytale you're thinking! Not a chance. That little imaginative girl grew up to become me. My friends are not from outer space but cyberspace. Forget the nose wiggling, I just sign unto my blog and like magic I can visit my friends from all over the world. What a wonderful time we live in.

Aren't you glad you lived this long to enjoy all this new evolving technology? Is there someone deceased that you wish were here to enjoy it?

Non-Religion VS. Religion

The subject on a friend's blog is religion. I was taken back by how many people commented that they found their creative voices after they parted ways with structured religion. The opposite holds true for me. I find myself at a creative peak after mass.

I am devoutly Catholic and love the mystery of my faith. I find peace and solace when I attend mass. Mass serves to clear out all my brain chatter especially the negativity. Participating in the Eucharist affords me the opportunity to commune with Jesus without interruptions. That definitely helps me to clarify and separate that which is positive creative energy.

Having said that, I do not believe going to church is the sole gateway to our inner workings, spiritual or creatively. I believe other religions and non religions contain their own sacred mysteries and therefore should be treated with reverence. Faith and what drives us to use our gifts and talents should not be tied to a structure. Inspiration doesn't always come through religious affiliation.

Where does your inspiration come from? What gets your creative juices to flow? Does religion or spirituality help you in your writing?

Mother of Millions

I knew about the other woman in my dad's life as far back as elementary school. He was devoted to her. He visited with her every Tuesday evening and you could set your watch by the exact time he left home for the rendezvous.

All other evenings I would peek through the crack in his nearly closed bedroom door and here his whispering to her. I didn't understand their mysterious relationship back then. At father's funeral I spoke intimately of the long standing relationship between dad and the lady but I must admit I still didn't understand it.

Life comes at you fast and within a year of my father's death I found myself depressed and feeling alone. I missed him so it seems the world stopped for me and I wanted to get off.

This is how I came to fall in love with the woman my dad adored. She is known by many names but most know her as Mary, the mother of Jesus. I call her my" blessed mother" for whom I have learned will intercede for you in any cause. Her help is perpetual.

Through novenas and devotions to her, my life has been one of blessings and even miracles. In honor of her good works, I have her statue in front of my house, a picture of her exposed heart hang in my dining room and her "icon" watches over me as I sleep.

Have you ever noticed a statue of her in someones yard? Have you seen a picture of her or her and Jesus in a person's home? Maybe you have spied a someone with a string of beads mumbling prayers to themselves. They are saying the rosaries, a prayer of intense love and devotion to her.

Know that if you've ever witnessed the above, something miraculous has happened in someones life. Have you ever heard of these things and often wondered what was going on?

Loss of Faith

Had you ever had an MRI before? I found myself in a state of panic as I walked into the imaging room at a hospital standing face to face with that long, narrow, tight, MRI machine. It was too late to take sedation medicine, I would have needed thirty minutes before it kicked in and lost my place in line. My mind raced and heart beat 90 to nothing. Strapped down, the gurney began to move and I could feel a panic attack taking over as my body slowly disappeared inside the machine. I pumped that little bulb they gave me in case of an emergency like it was no tomorrow. The technician didn't move fast enough I started yelling for someone to get me out of there!



Oh ye of little faith. I felt like a fool sitting on the edge of the gurney hyperventilating my head off. The tech looked down at me and asked in a firm voice tinged with a little amusement, "You know it's a mind thing?" "What do you mean," I asked truly puzzled. "You can think that you are on vacation or you are being buried alive in that machine, it is what your mind say it is," she said matter of factly.



"You are only as weak or as strong as you think you are," I said. For a second I thought about the mind set of people that had survived horrific ordeals like slavery, the holocaust and p.o.w. situations. I'm going back in I told the tech, this time put a towel over my eyes. It seemed the machine totally and tightly wrapped around my body as I nervously prayed three Hail Mary's. Sweat trickled from my brow as my heart pounded and I labored to keep my breath steady in my tomb of technology.



Become what you fear a voice said from within. I fear suffocating I answered the voice. I thought about drowning and how much it scared me. I am under the water and there is no way out. I can't hold my breath any longer. I exhale and watch all the bubbles rush over my head. Then it happened. I inhaled. Air filled my nostrils. I am in control. What a surprise, I can control my thoughts. I am swimming under the ocean and it feels good. So good that I stretch out on the ocean floor and fall asleep. Soon I float to the surface of the water, squinting at the brightness of the sun as I reach the water's surface.

The test was over in a matter of minutes and the tech removed the towel from my eyes revealing the bright lights of the room. "Why are you getting me out so soon ," I asked? "It's over," she smiled at me. I had been in the machine and hour and fifteen minutes.

Have you ever lost faith in your ability to endure? How did you find it?

KINDRED SPIRITS

I've never believed in coincidence especially in reference to the people that move about in and out of my life. I know that there is an instant spark of recognition when I meet certain strangers for the the first time. It's supernatural when the stranger react with that same "knowing" towards me.

The connecting between temporal matter (the body) and the eternal spirit (the soul) is how I define kindred spirits.

Everyone has asked the question "don't I know you from somewhere" at one time or another when meeting a stranger that appear somewhat familiar. Chances are you have. Maybe not in the here and now but perhaps in a different place and time.


I met my friend Sue in 1990. It was though she was my sister and I had known her forever. She moved thousands of miles away within six months of our meeting. We've only been face to face twice since meeting but we have stayed devout friends and confidantes.

Some people I have encountered on just a chance meeting I have formed family ties with. Even with my blogging friends I feel a connection to most that find themselves on my blog. Lee http://tossingout.blogspot.com/ I felt a bond with right away. Old Kitty http://ten-lives-second-chances.blogspot.com/ I have a definite connection to. I don't want to leave out my friend Yvonne at http://welcometomyworldofpoetry.blogspot.com/ yes she is my kindred spirit also.

What about you do you believe in kindred spirits?

JUICY PLEASURES

I'm not talking sex here. I'm thinking pleasures of the senses that we all need to keep the blush on our cheeks. The glide in our stride. The twinkle in our eyes. Here are my favorite juicy pleasures no particular order.

1. Jacuzzi dipping topless with my oldest girlfriends. Hey we're allowed!
2. Lunch at Brennan's in Houston blending in with the monied class. I have no money but that's never stopped me.
3. Letting my husband shampoo my hair. Now that's sensual.
4. Staying in pajamas all day when its raining. Mmmmm nice.
5. Cutting off the heat on a cold night and wrapping up in my electric blanket. Ooooh toasty! Wearing nothing but a smile under that blanket. Toastier!!!
6. Nothing taste as good as getting a massage feel. Yes by a male, preferably hunky. I'm married not dead.
7. Staring at a fireplace for hours sipping tea and thinking. O.K. napping in front of a fireplace and dreaming.
8. Staring at an ocean for hours drinking martinis. Alright too many martinis, nodding off, ocean watching me for hours.
9. Watching cartoons on Saturday morning. Ssssh!
10. Caviar & Stilton cheese on thin wheat crackers washed down with Hawaiian Punch. Oh yeah.
Now what's your juicy little pleasures? C'mon I know you have them.

I Love New York

I know it's a cliche but I do love New York. The first time I exited the hotel through their revolving doors and found myself on the street side of New York I fell in step with the myriads of people and never felt more at home.

It's the perfect place for those of us that rely on keen senses and people watching to inspire our writing. The city is filled with drama, character, action, lights, plots and whatever your imagination conjures up. There is a story a minute in New York and I want to tell all of them.

As a writer what places would you like to visit or have visited that got your creative juices to flowing? Any trips led to publication? If you could have a writing studio anywhere in the world where would it be and why?

Health Care

There was a little girl whose parents could not always afford food. At night she had a hard time sleeping because she was hungry. Often she got out of bed and waked her mom in the middle of the night to say she was hungry. Her mom would get up, fix her a big glass of tap water with a little sugar stirred in and tell her if she drank it when she woke up in the morning she wouldn't be hungry. Hunger was their family secret. "If you tell anyone," her parents warned, "you will be taken from us and have to go live with strangers." It wasn't all the time that the month lasted longer than the food but to a child that experience lasts a lifetime. How do I know about this little girl and her horrible family secret?



I face her in the mirror every morning. Yes, the little girl was me and with the exception of this blog I've kept the secret.



Some may be surprised at how many people mask a lot of things. I'm talking about being judgemental about those that need health care. I'll bet people walk around sick and in pain and pretend that everything is fine because they are embarrassed that they have no insurance. Not being able to afford going to the doctor is no more a character flaw then not being able to afford to buy food. Greed and mistrust has eroded our humanity, stripped us of compassion. People that are suspicious of others taking advantage of the system most likely are guilty of doing so themselves.

Growing Pains

A friend of mine blogged that she no longer felt comfortable in her own skin. Her kids are grown and gone and the stay at home work she does no longer works.

It's called growing pains and it took me a while to wrap my mind around this concept.
Each time my life changed I had to grow and change with it. Actually our life's circumstance define who we are at that moment. If we aren't flexible enough to morph we become lost souls. I can't tell you how many times I have re invented myself.

I turned in my eighty's disco clothes for a breast pump. Discarded that then came the car pool, then there was Debra the volunteer, the socialite, community activist, on and on, now writer.

What I am saying is change is the one constant thing in your life. Roll with it. Don't know what is coming next? Neither do I, but I am open to any possibility.

I will share this with you. On mornings that I wake up and my mind draws a blank, I know something new is about to catch my fancy but don't know exactly what that might be. I lie face down on the carpet, hands stretched out and say (sometimes out loud, sometimes to myself) "here I am Lord, use me, let thy will be done". In a short time I am on a new adventure.

My husband doesn't look at this as growth, he says "You wake up in a new world everyday, how sad that you can't find one thing and stick with it." I say, "oh glorious me, look how I soar!"

How do you handle growth spurts?

FEAR...What's yours?

To a younger Debra, appearances were very important. My life centered around being accepted by people. Well we all know the truth to that way of thinking. You can never measure up to the scrutiny of others. With maturity I grew out of that fear. Eventually a different fear evolved. The fear of self judgement. I didn't measure up to my own expectations.

I feared I didn't turn out as well as I should. I feared that I wasn't the best mom. I feared getting older and losing my health and having to be dependent on someone. I feared I would outlive my money. I feared not being able to remember who I was. I feared losing my mate and my friends.

Fear could be a life changer. Actually it could paralyze and keep you from living your life. I have found the courage not to give in to fear. In doing so I've come to terms with some things I can do to minimize my fears. I eat healthy and exercise. My writing has become my mental stress buster and a way to keep my mind sharp. Getting older means facing age related problems but that doesn't mean becoming a victim to them.

Instead of entertaining my fears I entertain myself with the company of friends and the companionship of my loved ones. I've forgiven others for any trespasses against me and more importantly I've forgiven myself for past mistakes, transgressions and failures.

Peace has become my biggest ally against fear. What do you fear most? How do you conquer your fears?

Economic Slavery

Banks and colleges have teamed up to enslave college kids to debt. Students are enticed threatened and harassed to activate a credit card in the guise of a student I.D.





I know because I recently took college classes and to my amazement had to firmly choose "no" to many offers to activate the credit card portion of my I.D. card.





You will lose refunds if you don't activate your credit/debit card the prompts warned. It is easy and much faster if someone wants to send you money if you activate the credit card, you are told.





Finally after punching "no" several times, you are asked to give your name and address so the sponsoring bank can mail you a letter confirming you didn't want their credit card.





Can you imagine putting that kind of pressure and temptation on a kid fresh out of high school? Do you know what kind of debt students can acquire along with those student loans? What do you think will happen when all these college kids start defaulting on loans and massive credit card debts? And you know they will.





We are already a country in debt, our economy shattered, dollar devalued, gas prices climbing, and now banks are going after fresh meat. I think these higher learning institutions should be made to show common sense and responsibility. What can we do to stop greed? Let's all have that "financial responsibility" talk with a young person and help them to see there is a new form of slavery in America, and it's called "debt".

DEBRA

To All my hard working A-Z Challenge bloggers. I thought it was time to get to know the REAL
DEBRA. So click on my name in yellow below and have a laugh on me! You deserve it

Click on Debra

Creative Economics

Did you know it takes 500 miles, 400 gallons of gas and countless stops and lots of hands to get food from the farm to your table? It's no wonder people are sick and broke from high produce prices.
I am pretty proud to say my food comes from me. We grow our own veggies and have over a dozen fruit trees, and plenty of vines that grow watermelon, cantaloupe etc; I "can" my winter supply of fresh vegetables, then I use what is left to barter for what we don't grow.

We also trade produce for meat from rural neighbors that raise animals the old fashioned way, hormone free, grazing on grass and hay.

The secret I am sharing with you is this. We are in dire straights and if we don't get creative, things will not turn around. We can blame Obama, bailouts, or whatever but we can turn things around one person and one idea at a time. Having a job is great, a degree or two better, but recent turn of events prove if we are going to get financially stable we got to do things differently. I mean really differently.

You need to find a creative niche not only to feed yourself safe food but to add another source of income to your household. You don't need much to start your own little garden and it's a great family/ friend activity. Extra veggies can be gifted to the elderly neighbor down the street or your local food bank. Neighborhood veggie stands teach kids good nutrition as well as provide an excellent opportunity to get some exercise and family bonding time.

Start small, you can grow just about anything in a pot or an herb window sill garden. What do you think?

Black White Indian French

In a check out line at the grocery store I saw this amazingly beautiful young girl. The only word I could mentally think of to describe her was "exotic." When it came time for her to check me out I was compelled to ask her ethnicity. She looked up at me with these incredible doe eyes and quipped, "I'm the same as you." I didn't expect that answered and it showed. "I'm B.W.I.F she said nonchalantly, Black White Indian and French.....like you."

It was revolutionary for me to hear this young woman speak so boldly and honestly about my ancestry, our ancestry. She was spot on. We are people of color, all colors. It is freeing to not only recognize yourself in others but embrace it.

I have always seen myself in others. Not in denial of the history of America but as a silent observer of shames of the past. In the white woman at the hair salon with hair kinkier than mine, we steal quick glances at each other, an unspeakable knowing. I see myself when I look into a pair of blue eyes surrounded by blond hair and a face characterized by thick lips and an even wider nose.

If I don't say anything I blend in perfectly with my Native American friends. In New York on a subway I look like a myriad of folks from all over the world as well as all over America.

Yes my grandmother spoke creole french and broken English. Her hair sandy blonde, her eyes transparent green. A proud defiant black woman.

Just as I am reminded by a new generation of my place in America, just as I replaced the mindset of "thinking outside of the box," with "there is no box," I am fully aware that there are no black people or white people. There are only people.

Black history is really American history. Those boxes labeled black, white, Hispanic, and Asian are for people in denial. If we all delve deep enough into our hearts, found and accepted the truth, the only appropriate box to check would be human !

Amazing Grace and Arlee

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that brought together writers, authors, bloggers, poets, illustrators, storytellers, lovers of music, readers, geeks, the published, the unpublished, editors, mentors, advisers, philosophers, movie buffs, trivia fanatics, DREAMERS and everyone in between in one place at one time to;

Challenge one another, support, give awards, receive awards, hug, love, care, befriend, follow, cheer,
and be who you want to be through your blogs. A is for Arlee who started it all and prepared us to receive this Amazing Grace.

All are welcome here. Let the Challenge Begin!