Live like there is no tomorrow

Is it [bad] luck or destiny. Are some folks luckier than others? The two recent airplane incidents would have you think so. In one, every passenger walked away unharmed and in the second, everyone perished as well as one person on the ground. Is it possible that GOD was calling all of the 50 victims of flight 3407 back at once and when Scully landed his large plane on the Hudson not one person's ticket was up. Was it that folks on 3407 would reach and teach more folks with their dying and, that the Hudson passengers still have a mark to make or someone to reach and need more time.
If nothing else it crystallizes for us the fact that nothing is promised. And therefore we should treat each moment, each interaction, each day, each person as if it is the last thing that we will do. Don't assume that you can apologize tomorrow for the argument today or, that you will have another day to right your wrong. That you will tell your loved ones that you love them the next time you see them. Leave with them what you want them to hold as a memory of you.
There will never be a "right" time to take that risk or make that change that you have been mulling over in your mind. Don't leave your legacy in the "planned" column. I planned to start a business, I planned to get married, I planned to have children, I planned to give back to the community. Start today replacing the planning with action. And the actions don't have to be grand, life changing actions. It can be as simple as telling your partner that you love them, hugging your kids, letting someone know their mistake will not bring life as we know it to a halt.
As my daughter says "funny thing about life, no one gets out alive" just make sure that when you "get out" that you have left a good mark and even better memories.

Say it loud....

Have we diluted our kid's understanding of their heritage to the point that they no longer know their black or, more specifically, they no longer like being black? Is being black not mystical enough. Why if you have hair that is not kinky or, you have eyes that are a color other than brown, if your nose is straight and narrow or your eyes have a little upward slant the first thing people ask you is "what are you "mixed" with"? Why can't we just be black. What is the novelty of being "mixed", is it because our president is "mixed". If your momma's black, you're black. If your papa's black you're black. What happened to our battle cry of the 60's and the 70's, say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud. We had finally gotten over trying to connect with that great great grandmother that was a quarter part Cherokee Indian and claimed our black heritage.
What do today's kids say.... Say it loud I'm mixed and I'm proud - more like I'm all mixed up. Remember when we all wanted to be Nubian Queens, we wore the little gold charm around our necks. And, we all bought that high back wicker chair that sat in front of our black light posters. We wore our hair natural, no weaves just our natural hair. We tried our darnedest to connect with our roots... yeah remember Roots with Kizzie and Kunta Kinte.We couldn't get enough of being black. And then, somewhere along the way we swerved. Our girls started up talking - like ya know OMG, Valley Girls... boys started skateboarding and everyone became - dude. And somehow our kids started identifying more with genX instead of being black.
At this point in time when we have seen something that some of us never thought we would see in our lifetime, a black president, nobody wants to be black, or at least 100% black.
Well try this, take a pallet of water colors and mix all the colors together, know what you end up with.... black.

So guess what ya'll, no matter what you want to be, bottom line is ... you're black. So.... say it loud
I AM BLACK AND I AM PROUD.

Embrace your race, touch your roots, and like what you are....

Peace,
One Proud Black Sister...