The Open Toed Shoe Pledge

A lovely young Jamaican sistren that lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA sent this to me via e-mail. I just wonder if I should take it as a compliment that she sees me as still eligible for membership in the Cute Girl Sisterhood or if she's telling me something in the kindest way she knows how.


As a member of the Cute Girl Sisterhood, I pledge to follow the Rules when wearing sandals and other open-toe shoes:

I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over and touch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides and tops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.

I will go polish-free or vow to keep the polish fresh, intact and chip-free. I will not cheat and just touch up my big toe.

I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow.

I will buff and moisturize my skin so my feet and soles are soft and silky.

I will shave the hairs off my big toe.

I won't wear pantyhose even if my misinformed girlfriend, coworker, mother, or sister tells me the toe seam really will stay under my toes if I tuck it there.

If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back into place hoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it.

I will not live in corn denial; rather I will lean on my good friend Dr. Scholl's if my feet need him.

I will resist the urge to buy jelly shoes. This is out of concern for my safety, and the safety of others. No one can walk properly when standing in a pool of sweat and I would hate to take someone down with me as I fall and break my ankle.

I will take my toe ring off toward the end of the day if my toes swell and begin to look like Vienna sausages.

I will be brutally honest with my girlfriend/sister/coworker when she asks me if her feet are too ugly to wear sandals. Someone has to tell her that her toes are as long as my fingers and no sandal makes creepy feet look good.

I will promise if I wear flip flops that I will ensure that they actually flip and flop, making the correct noise while walking and I will swear NOT to slide or drag my feet while wearing them.

I will promise to go to my local nail salon at least once per season and have a real pedicure (they are worth EVERY penny).

I will promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs of wear... nothing is tackier than dirty white sandals.

Don't keep this is to yourself - pass it on to other sisters.

If mi see unnu sport a look like dis yah fool-fool gal, mi gwine 'tep pon allah unno toes dem wit mi bruk-up foot! (If I see you looking like this, I will step on your toes with my broken foot!)

Wild Pigs

This was sent to me by a dynamic sistren whom I was privileged to meet during my previous corporate life.

A chemistry professor in a large college had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the professor noticed one young exchange student who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt. The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?' The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke.

'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.'

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America . The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc.. While we continually lose our freedoms -- just a little at a time.

One should always remember: There is no such thing as a free lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

'A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.' - Thomas Jefferson

This refers to the unfolding situation in America, but the freeness mentality that corrupts so many Jamaican minds leaves us vulnerable to the same encroachments.

Mi Cudda Nevah Nyam Dumplin From She Stovetop

(Translation: I could not eat dumplings she cooked.)

Poetry In Motion - Edutainment In Action

Jah has blessed me in so many ways that I feel somewhat ungrateful to tell you that I want more. I also want the gift of finding words that will reveal what is in my heart in such a way that will move others to action.

That said, the action I want to inspire right now is for each of you to mark your calendar to reserve the evening of Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 for the sixth annual staging of Poetry In Motion; or as Amina Blackwood Meeks named the date, February 22nd, 2K-MINE.

Poetry In Motion, hosted by Yasus Afari, the Honour Dread, is an annual celebration of music, dance, comedy, story telling, fashion and poetry. It is staged on the last Sunday in February at the Vineyard in Mandeville. We have been blessed to attend this uplifting event for the past four years. I missed the inaugural year because I took Mom to Florida. A scheduling error I won’t repeat!

I know my soul has been touched when, in just one evening, I am moved from bone-shaking, out-loud belly laughs to heartfelt tears. At the same time I am supporting a worthy cause. Each year a donation is made to an organization that benefits wi yutes (our youth). This is not just an empty pledge of a donation either. The cheque was actually presented to the Manchester Scouts Association during the intermission.

Amina Blackwood Meeks, storyteller extraordinaire, is a repeat performer at Poetry In Motion. This year as emcee she was a regal queen, reigning over her enthralled minions! Sistren Amina, don’t forget unnu did promise me one nice-nice piece of potato puddin fi mi dessert.

The positive memories that will stay with me from the fifth annual Poetry In Motion are the angelic sound of Karen Smith’s voice; the humour of Sistren Amina; the assurance of Ashley Little as she declared that she is fearfully and wonderfully made; Joan Andrea Hutchinson (dat bumpy head gal, who now flashes locks) admitting she gave her lover some “Bad Advice”; Mutabaruka’s comment on families who gather around to watch the tell-lie-vision while sitting on the sofa wi owe for; and Yasus proclaiming, “Mi nuh complain, mi complex. Who wan please, please. Who wan vex, vex!”.

Speaking of vex! My unhappiest memory will be of the intense dis-RAS-pect shown to Jimmy Riley. In the middle of his performance, the wait staff of the Vineyard began clearing off tables and stacking up chairs! Cho! Unnu too rude. Mek di man sing fi him songs and when him dun fi him wuk and lef di stage, den yu fi start di cleanup.

Please, Fadda Falloon, don’t ever let this happen to any other Poetry In Motion performer.

Order of Performances

Reggie’s African Fashion Link fashion show
Kimberly, a new PIM baby, sang
Germaine Nelson, a NCU student, rapped on the letter P
Livingston Brown recited a poem he learned 80 years ago.
Ras Padda Ishon chanted, “Tongue fi talk, talk it out.”
AnnMarie Wilmoth, teacher, read three poems
Ashley Little played keyboard and recited “I Am Fearfully & Wonderfully Made”
Osakwe recited “I Am Someone You Love To Love”
Nana Moses shared an “Ode to Ooman”
Professor Mervyn Morris read several of his pieces, including “Peel An Orange”
Kerry Ann Brown recited original works
Intermission:
Sponsor giveaways
Presentation of cheque to Manchester Scouts Assoc
Introduction of the Golden Tongue Award to promote social awareness
Presentation by Liz Millman on Learning Links International
Amina Blackwood Meeks revealed how Anancy finally got into a book
2nd segment of African fashion show
Professor Barry Chevannes played the guitar and sang
Oral Tracey read “The Ultimate Game”
Amina Blackwood Meeks sang “Keyman Lock Di Door & Gone”
Joan Andrea Hutchinson read original works
Yasus Afari chanted, chatted, enlightened and delighted
Karen Smith sang to a guitar accompaniment
Mutabaruka was fundamentally Muta
Jimmy Riley sang

(Please forgive the incorrect spelling of anyone’s name)

The Four Agreements

According to Don Miguel Ruiz, “Everything we do is based on agreements we have made - agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible.”

Don Miguel Ruiz, born in rural Mexico, was raised in the Toltec traditions. He pursued a conventional education, which allowed him to practice for several years as a surgeon. After an accident, Don Miguel returned to his family’s Toltec roots in the late 1970's, studying and learning the Toltec ways. During the 80's and 90’s, while healing, teaching, lecturing and writing, he wrote The Four Agreements, a code for life and a template for personal development.

This is how Don Miguel Ruiz summarises 'The Four Agreements':

agreement 1
Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

agreement 2
Don’t take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

agreement 3
Don’t make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

agreement 4
Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

Seems so simple on the surface, but what emotional maturity and courage it would take to actually live by The Four Agreements. Agreements 2 and 4 will be the hardest for me, but I know the effort will be worth it.

Which would be hardest for you?

From Jamaica to the Yukon

Devon Anderson is presently Jamaica's only musher. His incredible story begins with a job at Chukka Caribbean Adventure. Now he is preparing to compete in the 2009 Yukon Quest.

This is the kind of news our Jamaican children need to see. Help them to learn that their beginning does not have to preordain their end. Determination, enthusiasm, and the courage to move forward in the face of fear are traits that we need to nurture in our nation's future leaders.

A nation that produces the likes of Devon Anderson and Barrington Irving, Jr. can not be considered third world. "Wi likkle, but wi TALLAWAH!" (Translation: We may be a small nation, but we have world-wide impact.)

Big Up and Nuff Ras-pect to Yardies thru out the Diaspora who make us proud!

Mis-Educating Mi Gran-Pickney

Swallowing repeatedly, counting to ten, clenching/unclenching my fingers and taking deep cleansing breaths in an attempt to calm my warring emotions do not seem to be having the desired effect.

So, I am asking Father Jah to guide my tongue and help me speak only wisdom, truth and love; rebuking the anger that continues to rise in me.

The irrational, ungoverned, primal urge inna mi belly bottom wants to BLAZE FIRE ‘pon di rankin’ eeeediot dat mis-teaching mi gran-pickney ova foreign. (Translation for non-patois speakers: I am angry that uninformed minds are in a position of authority over my grandchild in America.)

The wise, mature, loving, grandmother-who-wants-to-set-a-good-example-for-her side of me needs to find a way to 1) correct the misinformation she was given 2) applaud her courage 3) help her learn kindness when dealing with mental midgets 4) minimize the effect that small minds can have on her development.

My granddaughter proudly wore one of my beaded bracelets to school.

It has the Jamaican flag on either side of her name.

Her teacher called her to his desk to tell her the bracelet promotes and advocates the smoking of marijuana! She is 12…soon to be 13 and a valiant warrioress-in-training. In what must have been an infuriating tone of voice she informed him that the bracelet was to show that she had lots of culture and since her GranMa made it, she would be wearing it.

Thanks, sweet girl, for standing up for GranMa. When we are faced with ignorance, we must meet it with the truth, with love and with a spirit that seeks only to increase understanding.

Any suggestions on how to handle this?