Endings and New Beginnings

Congrats to my baby girl who received her PhD last week from Michigan State University, is expecting her first child (her parents' first grandchild) and also got a J-O-B! There are (2) insights to be shared from our new experiences.


They are:

1. "When a gift is praised, it will beget another gift." Igbo Proverb

2. With every progression or change in the circumstances of life we leave some things behind but in order to be successful we also are required to bring with us the enlightenment by all that went before.

From Staci PC's blog:

Monday, May 17, 2010
Final Updates Before I Discontinue this Blog
l hadn't posted in a while because I wanted to wait for the entire process to play itself out. As many of you know, I was in the process of completing my dissertation and applying for jobs. Now that that process is complete, let me offer a final post briefly reflecting on the process:

* I defended my dissertation April 1, 2010 and passed with distinction. The revisions are complete, and I am now ready to deposit at the graduate school. The dissertation is DONE!

Read Full Post at Staci PC's Blog

THIS IS NOT A TIGER MOMENT!

My marriage is fine. Besides, I'm not a celeb or a playa. However, for the past month and a half (or longer),Civic and Parish duties have continued to consume more and more of what little available time I had. As usual, the tasks without deadlines get pushed into the 'low priority' bin.

So in this formal announcement of my furlough I am stating the obvious...but I SHALL RETURN!

The Approaching Dawn: OSF Songs that Inspire

When you listen to this 1975 hit by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes it appears that nothing has changed in 35 years. In many ways that is true as we look around and see all that is wrong in society.

However, there is also much work that is being done under the radar including a rising tide in advocacy and social change. Many of the participants include both male and female feminists, youth from the Joshua or Hip Hop generation, churches and non-religious community organizations.

Don't Sleep Through the Revolution!

Fruitful Despite Forbidden: OSF Sade

Despite a supreme court decision (Loving v. Virginia) in 1967 and a bi-racial President of the United States in 2009, only 77% of Americans approve of black/white interracial marriage even today. Blogs BlackgirlinMaine and Nordette grapple with this issue and the nonsense in Louisiana.

Lead singer Sade Adu, according to Wipikedia, was born to parents Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background, and Anne Hayes, an English nurse who met in London and moved to Nigeria.

After the marriage ran into difficulties, 4 month-old Sade along with her older brother Banji returned to England with their mother Anne Hayes to live with her parents. Growing up in England, Sade was influenced by soul artists like Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye.

Interracial relationships continue to produce superb fruit despite human interdiction and prohibition.

I'm Tired Now but Y'all Go 'Head On: OSF Songs I Detest but Know All the Words

Sometimes too much of a good thing either makes you sick to the stomach or just too tired to take it anymore. I ain't tryin' to slow anyone else's roll, but for my own sanity, these are a couple of songs that I initially enjoyed but really don't want to hear for a few more decades:

I Gotcha:



Don't Worry: