"We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey." - John Hope Franklin
"Last Friday, we all spent the day painting the walls of the building I work in. Today we are rearranging the cubicles and there is much crashing, pounding and bashing going on. Everyone was dreading this day because of the interruption it would cause to their work and because they were afraid they would lose precious space. Turns out, they are gaining space and some privacy so the overall atmosphere in here today is cheery!
I've told you before that I work for a small not for profit social service agency. We are a rag tag bunch to be sure. At first sight, we don't look like your average social work types and, more often than not, people mistake that for a lack of professionalism. The bottom line is that here at KHDS we believe, first and foremost, in the people we serve. We work with alcoholics, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, drug addicted, homeless, unemployed, uninsured people. They don't always look clean or smell good or speak clearly and, sometimes, they are beliggerant and ornery. They hang out outside our building, come in and mess up our rest rooms and, once in a while, walk out with someone's purse or jacket. Other agencies put limits on the amount of time their clients can be in their buildings or when they can show up at all. Other agencies have nice carpeting and furniture and real plants in their lobbies bathed in track lighting. We have a fake ficus on a used end table. We believe that any funds we recieve is best used in programs that help those we serve and not in the interior design of our building. We also believe that if you are wearing a suit it's likely you haven't done much hands on social work in a while.
That's why this recent coat of paint and the moving about of some cublicle walls has been so invigorating. The physical participation in doing it has brought us closer together as a team and the actual visualization of our handy work made us proud.
At the end of the day, we may not look like much but we'll charm you with our personable natures and wow you with our skill. We're here to help and that's not just a saying. We really do. So don't mind that there is a tear in the seat of the chair you may sit on...it doesn't matter. What matters are the people who come through our door each day who leave just a little healthier, a little calmer, a little less lonely and a whole lot more confident that they really do have a purpose."
Clean skin. A winning smile. That unforgettable Southern drawl.
Southern women know their manners: "Yes, ma'am." "Yes, sir." "Why, no, Billy!"
Southern women have a distinct way with fond expressions : "Y'all come back!" "Well, bless your heart." "Drop by when you can." "How's your Momma?"
Southern women know their summer weather report: Humidity Humidity Humidity
Southern women know their vacation spots: The beach The rivuh The crick
Southern women know the joys of June, July, and August: Colorful hi-heel sandals Strapless sun dresses Iced sweet tea with mint
Southern women know everybody's first name: Honey Darlin' Shugah
Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts: Fried Green Tomatoes Driving Miss Daisy Steel Magnolias ! Gone With The Wind
Southern women know their religions: Baptist Methodist Football
Southern women know their country breakfasts: Red-eye gravy Grits Eggs Country ham Mouth-watering homemade biscuits with momma's homemade jelly
Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm: Chawlston S'vanah Foat Wuth N'awlins Addlanna
Southern women know their elegant gentlemen: Men in uniform. Men in tuxedos Rhett Butler
Southern girls know their prime real estate: The Mall The Country Club The Beauty Salon
Southern girls know the three deadly sins: Having bad Hair and nails Having bad manners Cooking bad food
Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit , and that you don't "HAVE" them, you "PITCH" them. _____
Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess." _____
Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder." _____
Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is, . as in: "Going to town, be back directly." _____
Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table. _____
All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well. _____
Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad.. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin! _____
Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and "a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can be 1 mile or 20. _____
Only a Southerner, both knows and understands, the difference between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash. _____
No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn. _____
A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb , or an adverb. _____
Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, ... and when we're "in line," we talk to everybody! _____
Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage. _____
In the South, y'all is singular, all y'all is plural. _____
Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them. _____
Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food. _____
When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner! _____
Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk. _____
And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say ,"Bless her heart" ... and go your own way. _____
To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart! _____
And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff, ... bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin' to have classes on Southernness as a second language! _____
And for those that are not from the South but have lived here for a long time, all y'all need a sign to hang on y'alls front porch that reads "I ain't from the South, but I got here as fast as I could."
Now...... Shugah, send this to someone! who was raised in the South or wish they had been! If you're a Northern transplant, Bless your little heart, fake it. We know you got here as fast as you could
I bet you forgot about me, didn't you? You thought I fell off the edge of the world or something, didn't you? Nope, just basically slackin'. Sometimes you just need to do that to regenerate.
The move, while as traumatic as any move after 11 years, went about as smooth as a move can go. We are in our new "entire" house. Except for the few years we had grandma's house, this is the first time we have had something other than an apartment complex type apartment or a duplex. We took pictures and as soon as we get them developed I'll post them. There are three bedrooms, so we each have one and there is one left for an office, yay! For the first time in 11 years I have bookshelves! Granted, they are boards and blocks, but I kind of like the way they turned out. The best thing about them is that there are no more floor to ceiling boxes with books all over the place. It sure doesn't look like I have that many, but then I did donate about half of them. For the first time the walls are not all stark white, in fact I don't think there is one white wall in the entire place. There are actually a few that are pale yellow, which I love! Remember I told you about our galley kitchen in the old house? The one that only one person could be in at a time. Our new kitchen is HUGE! It even has a bar in the middle of it! When I first saw the house all I could see was "potential" and that's the best part. The owner also said when we get ready he would sell it to us for just what he has in it. Awesome! k, that's enough about us. On to the email I got this morning that spurred me to write.
It has been so long since I lived in an all white community I sometimes forget that they still exist. I know they do, but I just prefer not to dwell on it or venture into them. I got this from The Color of Change this morning and for once it didn't happen in the south, hallelujah!
"Two weeks ago outside Philadelphia, 65 children from a summer camp tried to go swimming at a club that their camp had a contract to use. Apparently, the people at the club didn't know that the group of kids was predominantly Black.
When the campers entered the pool, White parents allegedly took their kids out of the water, and the swimming club's staff asked the campers to leave. The next day, the club told the summer camp that their membership would be canceled and that their payment would be refunded. When asked why, the club's manager said that a lot of kids "would change the complexion ... and the atmosphere of the club."1
A "Whites only" pool in 2009 should not be tolerated. The club's actions appear to be a violation of section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act.2 Whether or not any laws were violated, a "Whites only" pool should be something every American condemns.
Please join us in doing exactly that, and please email your friends and family and invite them to do the same. Your signature will also be used to call on the Department of Justice to evaluate suing the facility under federal law. It takes just a moment to do both, here:
Obama is President but that doesn't mean that suddenly all is fine when it comes to race in America. This is a vivid reminder of what we know still lies beneath the surface.
We all know stories like this one -- similar incidents play out quietly every day in different communities across the country. The difference in this case is that folks got caught and there was a contract in place that makes for a potentially illegal act.
Standing up now isn't just about making things right for these kids in Philadelphia or bringing consequences to this swim club (called the Valley Swim Club). It's about creating a climate of accountability everywhere. If we can publicly shame the Valley Swim Club and hold them accountable for this incident, it will make others think twice before engaging in what appears to be blatant discrimination.
Please join us in condemning the Valley Swim Club's behavior and calling on the Justice Department to investigate whether they violated civil rights laws. And please ask your friends and family to do the same.
-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team July 10th, 2009"
Thank God for Girard College who stepped in and offered them the use of their pool.
""We had to help," said Girard College director of Admissions Tamara Leclair. "Every child deserves an incredible summer camp experience."
The school already serves 500 campers of its own, but felt they could squeeze in 65 more -- especially since the pool is vacant on the day the Creative Steps had originally planned to swim at Valley Swim Club."
Oh, and here's Valley Swim Clubs CYA statement:
"The club issued this statement late Thursday, responding to the allegations of racism:
The Valley Club is deeply troubled by the recent allegations of racism, which are completely untrue.
We had originally agreed to invite the camps to use our facility, knowing full well that the children from the camps were from multi-ethnic backgrounds. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that we underestimated the capacity of our facilities and realized that we could not accommodate the number of children from these camps. All funds were returned to the camps and we will re-evaluate the issue at a later date to determine whether it can be feasible in the future.
Our Valley Club deplores discrimination in any form, as is evidenced by our multi-ethnic and diverse membership. Whatever comments may or may not have been made by an individual member is an opinion not shared by The Valley Club Board.
Daniel Veres, a 16-year old Hispanic teen who is also a member, says the entire situation is just a misunderstanding. "We're not judgmental, we're just friendly," Veres said of the mostly white club."
I'll let you chew on that for a bit while I move on to other things...
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has a new report out. "The report describes the unique and crucial role played by defense attorneys in juvenile court proceedings in providing comprehensive legal representation to children charged with offenses." You can access the full report here It's well worth the read.
If you want a great lesson on just how this health-care reform is going to work, read this. Don't just skim it, if you want the lesson :)
Get your free clean energy sticker here from MoveOn.org, the one's that brought you the great Obama sticker last year.
And lastly, for now, you know you need a good belly laugh. Mudflats blog is always good for that. I suggest you put them in your reader, especially now that Palin has resigned. Here's just one recent post:
First Term Quitters Hall of Fame from The Mudflats by akmuckraker
A number crunching Mudflatter sent the following:
On a hunch, I reviewed online lists of all the men and women who’ve been elected governor of their state since the year 1900. Pored over them for a few hours. Over 1200 politicians have taken that first-term oath of office. Some soon died in office. Many resigned to accept other positions in government, including Spiro Agnew who was “tapped” by Nixon after being the Governor of Maryland for about five minutes. On a handful of occasions, a first-termer was dragged off to the slammer or impeached. One was incapacitated by a nervous breakdown and one left just as impeachment came knocking on his door. So—how many out of over 1200 just up and quit before the end of their term?
Three: Jim McGreevy, Eliot Spitzer and Sarah Palin.
Finally something to get me off Facebook :) I thought you might not know much about President Obama's newest Supreme Court nominee, so I thought I would enlighten you with the emails I received overnight.
From MoveOn:
"Ten Things About Judge Sonia Sotomayor
1. Judge Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the bench than any Supreme Court justice in 100 years. Over her three-decade career, she has served in a wide variety of legal roles, including as a prosecutor, litigator, and judge.
2. Judge Sotomayor is a trailblazer. She was the first Latina to serve on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and was the youngest member of the court when appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of New York. If confirmed, she will be the first Hispanic to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.
3. While on the bench, Judge Sotomayor has consistently protected the rights of working Americans, ruling in favor of health benefits and fair wages for workers in several cases.
4. Judge Sotomayor has shown strong support for First Amendment rights, including in cases of religious expression and the rights to assembly and free speech.
5. Judge Sotomayor has a strong record on civil rights cases, ruling for plaintiffs who had been discriminated against based on disability, sex and race.
6. Judge Sotomayor embodies the American dream. Born to Puerto Rican parents, she grew up in a South Bronx housing project and was raised from age nine by a single mother, excelling in school and working her way to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton University and to become an editor of the Law Journal at Yale Law School.
7. In 1995, Judge Sotomayor "saved baseball" when she stopped the owners from illegally changing their bargaining agreement with the players, thereby ending the longest professional sports walk-out in history.
8. Judge Sotomayor ruled in favor of the environment in a case of protecting aquatic life in the vicinity of power plants in 2007, a decision that was overturned by the Roberts Supreme Court.
9. In 1992, Judge Sotomayor was confirmed by the Senate without opposition after being appointed to the bench by George H.W. Bush.
10. Judge Sotomayor is a widely respected legal figure, having been described as "...an outstanding colleague with a keen legal mind," "highly qualified for any position in which wisdom, intelligence, collegiality and good character would be assets," and "a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity."
Judge Sotomayor is an historic, uniquely qualified nominee to the Supreme Court. Let's get the word out and make sure we get a prompt, fair confirmation on her nomination."
"Not only did President Obama nominate a candidate with more federal judicial experience than any Supreme Court justice in 100 years, but he also chose a nominee with an astute understanding of the law's effects on Americans' lives. Judge Sotomayor was raised by her mother in housing projects of the Bronx; her American story and extensive legal career make her an exceptional candidate for the top court. She graduated summa cum laude from Princeton and was editor of the Yale Law Review. In 1997, Judge Sotomayor was nominated by President Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where she currently serves.
Her compelling story and unique perspective will help ensure that women's rights are protected and that women's experiences are brought to bear in the highest court in the land. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Sotomayor would make history as the first Hispanic, as well as the third woman, ever to sit on the court."
See a video of the White House press briefing from CNN here
For a comprehensive biography from the Associated Press go here
I found this over on Markham's Behavioral Health this morning. I have tears streaming down my face as I type this. It reminds me so much of the time the boy was about that age and we had been out all morning trying to get some assistance for the rent or something. We had gotten on the bus before breakfast so we could make the appointment on time and it was about noon. As we were leaving the place, having been turned down for assistance, we happened to pass a store that had sodas prominently displayed and the boy decided he had to have one. I thought I had enough money to get us back home because the boy was at the age where some bus drivers would still let him ride free and some made me pay for him, so I really didn't know. We were in "Buckhead" the pissy part of Atlanta and he was throwing an ungodly three year old fit, bucking, screaming, running back towards the store, crying for that damn soda. There were two "Buckhead" pissy women watching us...not offering to help, just watching and judging. So, naturally I couldn't knock the hell out of him :) and drag him off kicking and screaming to the bus. So I did the next best thing...I walked away from him, not far enough that he couldn't see me or I couldn't see him, just far enough so I could regain my composure and could not reach him to knock the hell out of him. What does he do when I let go of him? Naturally, he makes a beeline back to the store. By that time I had decided the bus driver was just going to have to understand because I knew the boy was really hungry and that's what was making him act that way, so I bought him the soda and we went on our merry way. The boy was happy and calm and I was rational once again. By the time we got to the bus stop we were our normal selves and were laughing and having a grand ole time while we waited for the bus, the incident all but forgotten. The boy had completely converted from the devil's spawn in action to the complete angel that he normally was. The story doesn't end there. I noticed about that time a cop pulled up behind us and just sat there with his window rolled down. It never occurred to me that he was there...for...me. I guess, given the situation and where it took place it should have but, I learned a long time ago that it is best to just ignore cops, unless you need one. I clearly didn't, by then :) After a couple of minutes of observing and listening the cop said "Could I speak with you?" Oh, Lord, my...heart...sank. I just knew I was going to jail for child abuse or something. He turned out to be the nicest cop I have ever met. He explained to me what I had been accused of and I told him our entire story...all of it :) He ended up giving me $20 and his personal phone number and telling me that he could tell just by observing that I was a good mother having a bad day and that if I ever needed his help to call him. I still have his number to this day. He even gave us a ride home. While I was relieved I didn't go to jail, the boy had to understand on that day, the consequences of his actions and what could have happened because of his fit. I called his Uncle Joe (6'4, ominous and a teacher to boot) and told him what had happened and he came over after work, had a serious talk with him and gave him a few good hard whacks on the behind. The boy never again threw a fit like that in public...during adolescence he threw plenty inside the house, but that's another story, so I guess it all worked out. I don't know what it is about 2, 3 and 4 year old fits that makes parents lose all reasoning, training, control and parenting abilities but they sure do, so I can completely empathize with this guy...and yes, giggle, um, laugh out loud too...
Some of you know we lost our mayor this past week. He was the best mayor this town has ever had. He was a man of dignity, ethical principle and genuinely wanted the best for our town. I wish I could find the link to the program WLBT did on him last night. It was awesome. It was said in that program that Frank was really a social worker in disguise as a politician. I remember thinking that very same thing not long ago. I've included a video of him in order that you might share in his awesomeness. I can't get but one video to post so click the title link for a list of all the available videos.
"Tolerance is giving to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself." - Robert Green Ingersoll
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