Slowly... Surely....

Slowly... Surely ..... I am making my way back around the Blog-o-sphere. Good to be back "home". While the neighborhood may have changed - it's good to see some familiar faces & places. I'm enjoying some of the new faces & spots that have opened up, too.

While I'm out perusing the Blog-side & until I get my head fully into the writing/blogging game again I hope YOU will enjoy a tune from my Best-Friend-That-I've-NEVER-MET, 'round The Way Gurl: Jilly from Philly:

Resurrection & ReNewed Beginnings 2010

My elders have always said,
"Every shut eye ain't sleep & every Good-bye ain't gone."
Sometimes we have to lay low and get a new perspective on OUR Lives!


This Resurrection Sunday I wish you all Renewal, Peace & Blessings!

A lovely Day for a DRIVE!

This was originally posted on 3/31/07, but I felt the need to Resurrect & RePost it (in case U missed it THREE years ago:-)

I. love. to. DRIVE! I feel more alive when I drive. I watch other drivers as I drive and wonder why they don't seem to share my joy! I prefer driving manual shift, because it's so much fun and sporty! I prefer driving in cities proper or along country roads, preferably with curves and wonderful scenery of rolling hills, barnyard animals and such.

My daddy was a taxi driver who continues to do so at his leisure these days. Sounds like a fun way for him to keep a li'l income coming in without the urgency that dominated when we, his children, were young "birds with our mouths open" for whatever he brought back to the "nest". I always marveled at the fact that he drove all day; then would come home and take us all for a drive to our utter delight! One of my fondest childhood "road" memories:

A family cook out draws to an end, the fire in the grill is dying down, the music has been turned down to a soft background tune and many of us children who were running around had settled on someones lap or flopped in a nearby chair listening to the adults lowered voices. A topic such as, "What is ol' so & so doing down in Charlottesville?" came up and someone suggested, "Let's go down there and see." Mind you, it was wayyyyy after midnight. But it's the weekend, I guess, so the adults agree to it. I just recall being carried into the house and had my clothes changed as I dozed on and off. I was bundled snugly into the car with everyone else and dozed to the lulling sound of my father whistling softly as he drove us toward Charlottesville, VA. I awoke to the beautiful sunrise over the rolling hills of the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge Mountains. I stood up behind my father and watched the road through the windshield for awhile as we rode. We arrived at the home of aunts and uncles who came out in their robes with disheveled hair and sleepy eyes exclaiming, "Lawd, look who's heah! What 'chall chir'en doing down heah so early?" Cousins were roused, breakfast was made and the party was on ... again!

Yeah, you could say the love for long drives was instilled into me at birth. Our time on most of these drives were filled with discussions, sometimes heated, sometimes philosophical, sometimes moral lessons taught ... no topic seemed off limits. If we weren't talking the car was filled with singing, laughing, and munching on a variety of snacks and even meals that were combinations of store bought and homemade for a mobile picnic.

After my parents divorced, my dad would pick my sisters and me up and our time spent together would entail him driving fairly non-stop; sometimes into the night. That was for weeknight visitation. Then there were weekend visits where we would drive for hours into country sides, most of the time into Virginia, sometimes through Maryland, north to Baltimore. If we were going to stay for an overnight, we might venture as far as New York City.

Cars are wonderful places of respite for me, an oasis of sorts. I go for drives in cities to keep my alertness sharp. I feel the thrill that I imagine others feel when they play video games or some competitive sport that causes their hearts to race and spirits soar.

I have contemplated the various careers of drivers, but none of them appeal to me. I don't want to race endlessly around a track, no matter how many curves are set up. I don't want to be at the beck and call of passengers. I just want to get out there in the streets and maneuver, get around drivers engrossed in their own little worlds: "digging for gold", day dreaming, arguing, putting on makeup, shaving, and of course, on cell phones. I watch with amazement, the preoccupations behind the wheels of the cars around me. I am ever amazed at the miracle that we all actually get safely to our destinations as more and more gadgetry fills the car.

I go for drives in the country when I want my mind to meander and absorb the images of the day. I like sunny drives in the country and even drizzly drives where I'm "snug as a bug" in my ride and watching the scenery around me unfold as I pass through it. My "dream" drive is the legendary beautiful California Highway Rte. 1. I am determined to take a trip to the West coast to take that "mecca" of drives along the Pacific Ocean. But until that day, I will relish in the beauty along the East coast that I love!

Thankful Thursdays [lucky 13 of 50]: Birthday 2009 Edition

This was originally posted on January 22, 2009. I decided to repost it because I LIKE it (& since this is my blog, I CAN;-). I also have made the executive decision NOT to take UP nor reSUME the task of adding MORE things to this list of all I'm thankful for (at least not EVERY Thursday as I had intended when I began this mission - maybe if I feel the need:-). But, as I re-read this specific list (with links to the other posts:-) I am reminded ONCE again, of how AMAZINGLY BLESSED I AM!

Twenty-one of the 1000 Things I'm Thankful I've Experienced in My Lifetime:

241) Health!


242) That I learned the lessons taught by my elders!




243) Parents who love me - often - more than they've loved themselves! (& I spent time with them both this past weekend:-)


244) That I have beautiful nephews & a brother in law (& I saw them all this past weekend:-).

245) Siblings who protected me through-out childhood (& I saw them all this past weekend:-).

246) That I'm a published author & literary producer - thanx 2 Blog-Land!

247) Great friends (too many to include their photos here - but U all know who U are;-)

248) I was blessed to hear the melodic voice of Brother Welford Jackson of Aylett, Va. Although, he was memorialized this past Friday, January 10th he will always be in my heart. Please rest in peace because YOU "won't have to cry no more."

249) My parents & life has exposed me to a vast range of people, places and characters which has broadened my life view!

246) Inspirational, dedicated teachers!

250) Students who kept me honest (& kept me laughing;-)!

251) Colleagues & Peers who are sincere & love our calling (even if not all the time;-).

252) I have always been blessed with a place of my own.

253) The Creator blessed me with a great many talents & appreciation for the talents of others.

254) The fact that I have lived through & been strengthened by some very hard lessons.

255) That I love to laugh & make others laugh!

256) Internet access - has blessed me in a variety of ways:-)

257) Facebook - has reconnected me to so many!

258) That I am given new opportunities to be the best me possible!

259) I have been blessed with great genes!

260) That for my 44th B'earth Day - I got the 44th President who looks like shades of ME (swagga & all;-). It was a blessing to BE THERE to witness it LIVE!



The First Thankful Thursday [1-20].
Second Thankful Thursday [21-40].
Third Thankful Thursday [41-60].
Fourth Thankful Thursday [61-80].
Fifth Thankful Thursday [81-100].
Sixth Thankful Thursday [101-120]
Seventh Thankful Thursday [121- 140].
Eighth Thankful Thursday [141-160].
Ninth Thankful Thursday [161-180].
Tenth Thankful Thursday [181-200].
Eleventh Thankful Thursday [201-220].
Twelfth Thankful Thursday [221-240].