MISTAKES

By Vernalee

The above quote probably spoke to you loud and clear as it did me. We all make mistakes. Admitting and learning from them leave a memorable dent in our character. Agreed?

Attending a HBCU, we often had inspiring celebrities to visit our campus. Our professors were indeed adamant to show us that greatness came in hues...and Black was one of them! One such person that I saw, heard, and remember to this day is Nicki Giovanni. Not only was her poetry "deep" and inspiring, her reading left you spellbound. I remember her words flowing with impeccable elegance as she charismatically spoke in a rhyming pattern. She was engaging to say the least! Her style made you remember her as much as her poetry. I heard her reading poetry in our chapel at Tougaloo College (MS). As I still remember her, needless to say, she made a memorable and lasting impression!

HOW BLACK IS YOUR FRIDAY?

By Vernalee

It’s Black Friday!

Will you be standing in the crowded lines and driving in congested traffic jams? Where are you going? Walmart, Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s...? Humorously, it's a misnomer. Black Friday should be called Green Friday. From the consumer’s hands, those green dollar bills start running like water. Kicking off the Christmas spending season, it is considered the biggest shopping day of the year.

Stores discount prices that they have escalated all year; people fight over big screen televisions because there are only a few in the store (wink, wink… those cheap advertised prices brought you through the doors). Some folks even camp outside stores for days to assure that they are the lucky ones to purchase those highly sought after cheap items. Fights and unruly violence have been known to occur. Yet year after year, folks go out in groves and stand in lines for hours as they cumulatively make Black Friday a $57 billion plus sales day.

This spending sounds very green to me!

Some personal bank accounts go from being in the “black” to ”red” because the overspending crushed their budgets! Today, this Black Friday, if I desire to shop, my fingers will go click, click on my iPad to pick up on-line specials. Otherwise, I will be relaxing in my Lazy-boy chair in the comforts of my home as I watch the massive crowds on the news! Photo credit: www.forcechange.com

BE ON GUARD

By Vernalee

I was always told that “The guard dog never attacks where the master doesn’t know.” Don’t be fooled! The guard dog in some settings is not a four legged animal. It may be a person with feet running to badness. It may also be someone who doesn’t like you and is determined to embarrass you. Motives are hard to define particularly when they are synthetic and insincere. Everyone is not your friend. People wear so many disguises – many of which are hard to detect; others of which are not visibly noticeable. I remember the old folks saying, “Everyone bears watching!” Stop categorizing people by saying what they will not do. Remember this. Although theoretically guard dogs, unlike watch dogs, are not trained to attack, they can! All dogs have teeth that bite. So keep your “guards up” around suspicious folks that you don’t trust. People are not always what we see or think. Can I get a witness? Follow your instincts! Your nose is usually not wrong! You may find that your dog is more protective and loyal than the person that you assumed occupied that role! There is such danger in assumption. Take notes; pay attention. Don’t be paranoid, but reasonably stay on alert. Stop learning the hard way! Truly, a dog may be your better choice. They’re cuddly, don’t talk back, and will love and protect you at all cost! They are loyal too! Photo credit: www.watchdogri.orgBE ON GUARD