I Remember...

In Memory of "9-11"

Everyone remembers exactly where they were on that tragic day...

I was on travel at the time, and stuck in Denver (click here for post).

I think what stuns me about tragedy is this...

A horrible tragedy occurs... and that is bad enough.

What gets me, and what runs much deeper, is the residual effects resulting from such a tragedy.

This thing here that happened on 9-11 some six years ago? It's still affecting those directly and indirectly connected to the tragedy. Husbands, wives, children, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, friends and neighbors were lost in the blink of an eye....

Fear was instilled in the hearts of people. Now that's a serious residual effect right there, the residue of which will be with us for years to come...

So I remember... and I say a prayer of those who were affected in any way by the events of 9-11.

In other words...

I say a prayer for us ALL.

Speechless

I'm going to do something unprecedented this week:

I am going to post something every single day.

Yeah, that is weird for me.

Which means, uh... you gonna see some SUPER SHORT posts!

Ya'll know how long winded I am, so that is a super crazy stretch...

And no pics... just ish on my mind... Can I do that?

I don't know!

We'll see...


Anyway... things heavy on my mind and have me tripping out lately:

So you know, my personal DJ, THE DJ DIVA, lives in the same city as me now. I am ecstatic about this. I mean, she lives less than 20 minutes away! I would love to be allllll up in her face, but I am busy as hell these days. We seem to talk on the phone twice a week, and usually she calls me up - which makes me feel like ROYALTY. (I am very strange in that I don't like calling people AT ALL). I've only seen her twice, and man, I tell you, this is one person that feels like family, i.e., I ain't all super quiet and nervous around her. I am free to be me. And it is a good thang when you meet people who you click with like that, you know??

We were on our usual email thread a couple of weeks ago, and someone asked the DJ DIVA what was the most fun thing that she's done since being in Atlanta.

She said, "The funnest thing we've done so far is see LEE!!!!! And that was fun!"

*crickets*

That left me speechless.

I sat there thinking... you have GOT to be kidding me.

I sent out quite a few emails saying simply "dayum".

It was quickly followed up with "Nucca pluease~ U know you funny as hell!!!!"

I didn't know what to say.

Why?

Because I am about as much fun as a root canal.

And for someone to say that about me?

Leaves me speechless.

I don't do things that are considered fun. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't hit the clubs. That stuff is soooo twenty-something to me... Been there and have done MUCH of all that.

I am extremely solitary. I like quiet VERY quiet activities. Noise and crowds unnerves me something terrible. I like to read a book. I like to sit down and write. I like to crochet and work word puzzles. Anything that is quiet and therapeutic at the same time gets the thumbs up from me.

(I am such a nerd.)

It's always a shocking yet pleasant surprise when someone says something nice like that.

LadyTee said something one day, a few weeks before Memorial day, that left me speechless. I'd had a long day at worked (working on a Saturday! UGGH!), and was bone tired and I must say, just a little depressed. I picked her up after work, because we were going to do some running around for meat for our Memorial day barbecue. She wanted to hang out at my house with me, which I didn't understand really, because I just wanted to sit my ass down somewhere and be quiet.

Well, I pretty much left her to herself that evening. I believe she was over for about 6 hours or so. I think I kind of shuffled around the house that day, sitting in my favorite chair and working on a story for a few hours... and getting lost back in my bedroom looking at my own TV while leaving her out in the living room. I fried up some fish for dinner, and did a little housecleaning. I may have spent an hour with her at the most, but I was just pretty much wiped out that day and wanted to be alone... I mean, I think I even took a 2 hour nap or something.

I apologized to her the next day.

"I'm sorry, Shorty... I was just tired and a bit to myself yesterday. Sorry I wasn't that much fun."

She said "Lee, you know I don't care. I enjoyed myself so much. Just to be in the same house with my best friend. Nothing like it, girl. I was just so happy to see you and to be with you."

Shoot, man... That ish had me all teared up.

Left me... speechless.

I think about intangible things like that when I am not feeling all up to par or a little out of it...

Things that leave me speechless always lift my spirits.

A LadyLee Holiday, Part II: "The Country"

For part I, see A LadyLee Labor Day.

So I went down to the country with my homegirl Cowgirl Cre...

Now, Cowgirl Cre got a BUNCH of kin folk. I've known her for well over a decade, and have hung around her Mama and dem house a lot, especially since Daddy Cre has been my auto mechanic for years and years.

When I attended her wedding several years ago, one of her uncles swore that I was related to them.

"You sure you ain't some kin to us? You look like us."

I couldn't convince Uncle Cre that I wasn't. I still don't think he believes me when I say "No" to this very day.

So they know who I am.

But I had a plan, just in case I was asked who I was or was told to leave... This get-together in "the country" was Cowgirl's Cre's Daddy side of the family. I thought about telling them that I am Mama Cre's niece. If that didn't work, I was gonna say that Daddy Cre was my auto mechanic and that makes me family.

But I had a better idea... Cowgirl Cre's husband is Timmy-Tim, and he's a white boy.

I'll just tell these folks that I am Timmy-Tim's cousin.

LOL!!! That would surely raise a few eyebrows.

I told Timmy-Tim to go along with it. We've been buddies since I was a teenager and he in his very early 20's, so it might as well be true.

The drive to "the country" wasn't that long. I wanted to memorize the way there, but as with every trip to "the country", once you get off the interstate and go down a gazillion roads, well... no need to keep track of where we are.

I took a crochet project with me, and before I knew it, we were there. (Who would have known that "the country" could be an hour and a half away from Atlanta?) When we got there, we were accosted by several of her relatives. Cowgirl Cre has a BUNCH of uncles, and I was somewhat able to remember most of their nicknames. They all found that amusing.

There were a load of kids down there. One asked me who I was.

"I'm Timmy-Tim's cousin."

One of them gave me the "whatchutalkinboutWillis" look.

"Are you Timmy-Tim's 4th or 5th cousin?" one inquisitive child asked.

"I'm his first cousin."

**Inquisitive child gives LadyLee the hard eye squint**

She went on to point out to me that Timmy-Tim and I aren't the same color. She had a good point, so I told her it was a joke. I didn't want to scar the poor child for life!

Enough of me trying to trick people... Didn't want to get escorted from the premises.

One thing I know for sure... There was a load of food. A LOAD!!

I didn't take many pics of the food. I knew that people would think I was crazy as hell for snapping pics. (Cowgirl Cre, don't bring that gal back down here with you no more!!)

One of the Uncles was in charge of all the food. I didn't get a pic of the load of ribs he grilled because they had finished grilling for the day by the time we got there. But he was kind enough to allow me to snap a photo of him standing next to his prized grill...

I only had a couple of ribs... but damn, they were GOOD!!

Let's just say the Oldgirl had a serious case of the "itis" after eating a couple of ribs and all the fixings. I was in serious need of a cot and a pillow, that's for sure.

A bunch of people yelled that they were going to Wal-Mart. Even though I had the "itis", I really wanted to go. Wal-marts in "the country" have the best selection of yarn. But Cowgirl Cre and her cousin Chris shook their heads vigorously.

"Don't go with them, LadyLee!!!"

I was saddened by that. I needed more yarn. However I was glad I didn't go. Those negroes didn't come back until four hours later. (Is it actually possible to stay in a Wal-Mart that long!?)

After we had sat around and talked for awhile, and everyone was good and full, someone broke out a deck of cards...

You know... I really like cards. But I prefer poker, thump, gin, Uno, and Old Maid. I so much wanted to play with them. I even expressed such sentiments to Cowgirl Cre.

*Cowgirl Cre stares at LadyLee. Cowgirl Cre frowns hard and gives LadyLee the gas face*

"Uh, na'll Ladylee... You don't want to fool with them."

I didn't understand why Cowgirl Cre would say such a thing. It was a lovely family gathering... Her peoples were so nice.

Surely they could teach an Oldgirl how to play some Bidwhist, right?
*Cowgirl Cre gives LadyLee another HARD frown*

Let's just say... I understood what she meant after uh, watching the game unfold for awhile. I ain't NEVER heard so much trash-talking in my entire life. Negroes were cussing HARD over that game. I understood VERY quickly that I would've caught a MAJOR beatdown if I'd tried to walk into one of their Bidwhist games without FULLY understanding the fundamental concepts...

They were smoking cigarettes, and Cowgirl Cre's Cousin V broke out the vodka and champagne.

Heck I don't drink, but I even had a little of the champagne. I had to have some... The bottle was so very pretty. (Never fear... the Oldgirl only had a tablespoon.)

Cousin V told us not to fret over the champagne, because she had a whole case in her car. She even sent Cowgirl Cre to retrieve a fresh new bottle, which was placed in ice cooler with the sodas.
Cowgirl Cre! You cheesing a bit too hard while holding that bottle of champagne! Wassup with that!!?

Yeah, between the vodka and champagne, they were most definitely getting their drink on! LOL!

Now, they did something I have never seen done before:

They barbequed during the day... Then they had a fish fry that night.

How the hell do you have a barbeque and a fish fry in the same day???

I don't know... But this is something Cowgirl Cre's fam does. She has told me they do this in the past, but I thought she was just playing. While the card game was still in high gear, Uncle Cre came over to our tent and said...

"Look here now, I need ya'll to go inside and bring out more ribs and get that fish ready to be fried."

The guys got up and brought out a whole truckload of frozen ribs to be defrosted (Yeah, they were going to barbeque AGAIN the next day).

After a bit more cussing at the card table (The card game abruptly ended when Cousin V shouted VERY LOUDLY to another cousin "Get your narrow ass up so we can go get the fish together." Uh, this scared me. I backed up from the table after that altercation), they actually broke out a witch's kettle of grease and about 40 pounds of Tilapia and commenced to frying...

Of course, Uncle Cre was in charge of the fish fry.

Uncle Cre was frying up the fish, ya'll...

And he just kept on frying and frying and frying....

There was fish everywhere... I didn't know that there was that much doggone fish in the ocean...
(Don't ask me where that Turkey leg came from... It appeared out of nowhere. And I didn't ask any questions.)

We ate fish, sat around and talked a bit longer and left. (It took a good hour just to say goodbye to everybody!). We arrived back in the city around one in the morning.

All in all, I had a nice time. There were tents set up outside. I can't stand the heat, but luckily, it was an overcast day and very cool. Someone even set up a tent that they use for the graveside services at funerals (*crickets*). It was enough to protect us from the drizzle, so that's cool.

And what's even more amazing is that they do this for FOUR days straight. So Uncle Cre went to sleep that night and got up and barbequed chicken and ribs and fried up much an ocean full of tilapia allllll over again...

Glory!!!!!

So hanging with one of my best friend's family was most definitely the highlight of my Labor Day weekend...

And you KNOW...

I gotta get back down to "country" real soon!!

A LadyLee Labor Day...

I don't know what's going on with me...

But, back in the day, I use to like to cook for the holidays.

Or at least go over to Grandma's house and do the darn thing. For the past few years, I've been going over to Auntie Joyce's house and chilling out with her. But lately, I have gone into hermit mode on holidays, especially this year. I sure miss the days when I was younger, and our family was close-knit. I've spent the past few holidays alone or with friends who bumrush me, LOL!

Plus, since the Opressor is working me like a Hebrew Slave, ANY little time that I DO get off, I like to sit on my tail alllllll day and relax. These days, that means putting a dent in some serious writing, sitting on the sofa working on various crochet projects, catching up on some reading and of course...

Taking in a LAW AND ORDER marathon...


*LadyLee cheesing real hard like Celie*

Yeaaaaah, baby. Law and Order is like crack, man. Can't get enough of it. It got so bad around my house on Monday that both me and my sister were looking at it and discussing some of the episodes in depth.

We are such nerds.

But alas... that is my idea of fun. At least I ain't out smoking, stealing, or shooting up folks...

Really though.

Anyway, I laid up on the couch and watched that most of the day. Took a quick trip to the Farmer's market for my fruits and veggies for the week, came back home and WATCHED MORE LAW AND ORDER!!

I didn't cook. Had some leftovers.



Yeah, I had stir fry... and it was leftover from last week. A little shrimp stir-fry goes a very long way.

I was almost tempted to cook, though. But the temptation left very fast. That blur of thought occurred when my personal DJ, THE DJ DIVA, who lives in the ATL now, called me up last week.

"Hey girl, why don't you cook for the holiday?"
**Lee laying back on the bed staring at the ceiling fan, contemplating cooking with the DJ.** "No."
"Come on Leezie... cook for me and the twins!"
"No."
"Cook, Lee! We can cook and play cards and-"
"DJ, do you realize that I hardly get any time off? I'm gonna sit in my house and stare at the wall."

She didn't bug me about it after that. Yo chick, we gonna get up soon...

Just not on my day off.

But never fear, we will do the darn thing... someday...

Believe that.

But while at work that Friday morning before Labor day, my friend and cubicle mate, the Cowgirl Cre, asked me if I wanted to go down to "the country" with her and her hubby Timmy-Tim.

Now, those of you who are NOT from the south may not know what "the country" is. This is what we city folks refer to as traveling far out of the city, usually to a relative's house. One will usually see open fields and cows and ish like that as one travels. One must also take some insanely long backroad to whereever one is going. One will eat a lot of food down in"the country".
And when gets dark out, it's pitch black dark because there are no street lights.

That is my best explanation of "the country".

"Come on Lee. Come to the country with us"
LadyLee looks at her suspiciously. Don't she know LadyLee needs her day off to herself??
"I'll think about it."

She almost got the "my only day off" spiel. We discussed this in depth for a good hour or so.

Well, I decided to go because they were leaving around 1 in the afternoon on Saturday, and coming back around midnight. That was cool with me. That still gave me some time off.

Because ya'll know how I feel about my time off.

So I went to "the country" with the Cowgirl Cre...

To be continued...

GRILL TIME!!

Look what's going down on the GRILL!!

Uh... you might be assuming that I grilled for Labor Day...

Nope!

Those are pics from a get together of my street gang, the Financial Freedom Fighters (Triple F Possee) at my house on August 11th... Our leader Erica became debt free the day before, and I thought I would grill a piece of meat to celebrate!

I don't particularly care to grill again for the rest of the year... Although I do cohost the next Journal writing meeting (give me a call Viv, so we can discuss the menu!)

Anyway, I thought I would post those! I know how that Original Oldgirl Chele loves some Food porn every now and then!! Ain't that right, Chele? LOL!

Naw, I didn't grill out on Labor Day. I warmed up some left over stir fry, and made some butter beans, did a lot of crocheting, wrote for a few hours, yacked on the phone, then went to bed...

That's it.

But I did go to a cookout over the labor day weekend...

To be continued..