Time Person of the Year 2017

You know, for a minute, I thought Time was going to name our beloved President "Time's Person of the Year". When I heard that, my eyes rolled so hard that they 'bout rolled out of my head.

You know he would not be gracious. Who wants to hear him gloat and gloat and gloat? Continuously tweeting about it?

Man oh man.

No ma'am. No sir. Stop it.

NO!

I don't know about you, but I am emotionally drained enough. Enough, I said.

But I think the right "person" got the person of the year honor: The #MeToo Movement.

"The Silence Breakers"

That may be too small to see. You can look it up online for yourself. Click here for the link to the article.

This is the movement that has highlighted and steamrolled how serious sexual harassment is. I mean folks are losing their WHOLE  entire livelihood. Losing everything, no matter how set they think they are in life.

I remember thinking a couple of weeks ago that we are seeing a HUGE cultural shift. HUGE.

And this whole movement caught steam only a couple of months ago. And you know what that shows me?

It shows me that life itself can shift... in an instant.

Really. 

So bravo ladies for being brave enough to tell your stories.

Why?  Because I don't know one woman, including myself, who does not have a #metoo story.

Some of us have several. And finally, we have justice.

How great is that?

And even though not much can be done for ladies who have suffered in the past, this changes matter for the future. For our young girls and teen girls, they may not have to go through what so many women who have suffered in the past. Sexual harassment may be a thing of the past.

Now that would be truly great!!

That Flag...

They've been talking about a woman going on the next $10 bill. Here you go:

Did you see this Bree Newsome climb that poll and take that flag down?

She was like that girl Mulan...

She worked that all the way out.

A modern day Wonder Woman.

Yeah, she broke the law. So what?

Heck, I was watching all this and wondering why no one had climbed up there and snatched it down or burnt it. I live in the south, and we down here ALL know what that's about.

I myself have had vile things yelled at me and things thrown at me by folks with that emblem somewhere on the pickup truck. Shoot, I was just trying to walk home from school!

To each his own. Not sure why the flag of a rebel nation flies in the south, but the massacre brought it all to light. And rightfully so.

Once she snatched it down, they put it right back up. Sigh.

One day hopefully, it will come down again... legally.

Cliff Avoided

So, we didn't fall off the cliff.

Just like I thought. I swear, these attention grabbing antics of Congress, man. I tell you, they do this everytime.

I must admit that I don't understand much of what is going on about this. So I know I must go do some reading. But, the can was kicked on down the road.

And I must admit that I was just watching it all to see how much money I would lose out of my paycheck. After watching them crunch the numbers, I almost wanted to send a certified letter to the IRS stating "Ya'll bustas just need to go head on and put me on a one year payment plan because ya'll done lost ya'lls cotton pickin' minds if ya'll think that I'm writing a tax check THAT big to you!"

LOL.

It's the truth. It was at that moment that I thought that now, if I'm thinking that, they REALLY about to have a ton of problems out of people. I can afford to pay my stuff. Some folks can't.

I already got my pay stub for Friday's paycheck. Already smaller. Yep, the 2% SSI increase has kicked in.

Hope the government does something good with it. They took enough out for me to pay a bill with. Humph.

But we avoided the cliff. And that's a good thing.  Or at least I hope it is.

Food-for-Thought: Thoughts on the Tragedy

You know, there are days in your life where you remember where you were when something horrendous happens.

And I think Friday was one of those days for everyone in this country.

I myself had just finished a pretty happy blog post and posted it, then went to Huffi.ngton Post to see what the major headlines were. 

And I saw how 20 children had been murdered at an elementary school.

Just when I thought I'd seen some craziness when it comes to folks running up in somewhere and shooting, THIS happens.

I was shocked and horrified. It took me to go home at the end of the day and watch the actual news to actually believe what was going on had actually happened. Just horrifying.

How can one not be horrified such madness?

And madness it what it indeed is.

So here we go... and here we are. Everyone is trying to figure out what would make someone do such a thing. What was going on in the mind of the killer?

I don't think we will ever know.

My thing is this: I don't think no one even really cared what was going on with people prior to them doing unspeakable things. Did they? Frankly, it's too late to be asking such questions, but it is the right thing to do. It is the only thing, this explanation of what happened, that will give those most affected by it closure.

The most affected...

You know, all the cameras will probably be gone from that area in another week or so, especially after all the funerals have taken place and people get back to their work and are finding some semblance of normalcy again.

But things will never be normal again for those who lost children and family in this tragedy.

And it points back to a Food-for-thought that I posted here a couple of times. It still, unfortunately, rings true.

Not only is the tragedy immediately devastating, but the long term residual effects of it are devastating, even much so.

I tend to look at things spiritually. That's all I draw on, especially when it comes to this. And I won't get into my thoughts and beliefs on that. Lord knows I don't wanna ever be caught up in any debates.

But things like this are an attack on the very core or who we are and our mentality. The battlefield is the mind. Indeed.

You have a strange brew of issues here: mental illness, assault weapons, and an increasingly desensitized and violent society.

Tragedy comes out of such a concoction.

This has folks questioning their very faith and fears like never before.

And that was the point, wasn't it? Yes.

The tragedy is immediately devastating.  It affects the emotions like one can never imagine. We all have gone through something, some like this, some not as devestating. But we've had our personal tragedies.

And the tragedy is like a gaping wound.

The residual effects are like dealing with a gaping wound that is open to infection. And salt and alcohol is being poured into it. Constantly. Over long periods of time.

If that isn't pain and anguish, I don't know what is.

I can say this from experience. I was terribly bothered by this tragedy because I was a victim of attempted murder at the very same age as these kids are. 6 years old.

The ones that were killed, that is horrific. But the ones who actually saw what happened? And those in general who are pupils at the school? The residual affects on their little developing minds is something that can't be described.

And I tell you, a six-year-old mind is not able to take this type of thing. I know I wasn't.

And get this: no one even bothered to get me help for what I saw and went through. Life just picked up and went on like... nothing ever happened.

And to make things really O_o, a couple of years later, I was right in that age group that was a part of the ATL missing and murdered children. We were ALL worried about getting snatched. Walking around with special whistles and looking over our shoulders for the "man". Shoot!

And I had problems behind all of that. But I kept my feelings to myself. Because I thought no one even cared.

I am fully supportive of all I see right now in the aftermath, where the stress is on getting the children some counseling and help. FULLY support that and agree with it 100%. Because if they don't, that's a problem.

I am 42 years old now. Some 36 years after my tragic incident, I still have issues, and I still think about it. I am far past nightmares or anything like that. My stab wounds disappeared by the time I was out of my teen years. The man that hurt us said that he had mental issues. His daddy use to throw knives at him as a child. Not sure how that makes him see it as okay to stab people up, but whatever. I don't own any huge butcher knives, and can't stand it when people bring them out. And I don't deal with men who had similar mental issues as children. You wanna get rid of me quick, tell me something like that. I am ghost. I don't watch movies where folks are getting stabbed. No way.

I also don't go around domestically violent situations. You know what I'm talking about: folks looking like it's the happy family, but some mess is going on when no one is looking. People have the most INTERESTING secret lives (food for thought post coming up on that later this week. Sigh). And I don't do well AT ALL with people who expose their young kids to tomfoolery. AT ALL. They are children. They didn't ask to be born, and they didn't ask to be in the middle of your issues. Angers me something awful.

I am always aware of my surroundings, and I tend to sit near doors or where I can see doors or escape routes... just in case something suddenly happens. You would never know that unless you watch my behavior very closely.

And I think about it when I see my mother whose scars didn't heal- The large 4 inch keloid gash on her right jaw, and the long keloid on her abdomen.  The collar bone that juts out too far, resulting from being ran over twice by her own car. I remember all of that happening.

These are minor problems, I suppose, these memories and coping actions of mine. I am a successful, functioning human being in society. I wouldn't dream of hurting anyone emotionally, lett alone anyone physically. But when tragedies like this happens, it takes me back to my 6-year-old frightened and confused self. I remember laying in bed at that age thinking that no one cared, and that I MUST do better about being aware of who is around and what is going on around me. That is a must. Because if I didn't, I could easily be dead.

And a 6-year-old mind shouldn't be filled with such thoughts.

I can only imagine what's going on in the heads of the kids who didn't get hurt.

At least this is an affluent area. They WILL get their kids the crucial help they need. Believe that.

And that's a good thing.

I can't say much for the inner city kids, though. Chicago is approaching 500 murders this year. My city of ATL is approaching 100. I can remember incidences here, even near my home, where small children were murdered.

And I heard yesterday on the news that this tragedy is the 13th mass shooting of the year.

13th.

I am ashamed to say that I don't remember the other 12. Maybe the recent ones. But I don't remember any of the names and faces.

You see the IMMEDIATE attention the gun laws are given now. Why, someone is even introducing legislature during the next session of congress.  I'd like to see the NRA argue that down in light of 20 little innocent kids being murdered with military style weaponry. (And you know they are going to try to do it).

I wish some laws could be enacted concerning mental illness.  Because everything begins in the mind.

I hope and pray the families involved are healing... and those who need the mental help they need to heal are getting the help that they need.  Especially the children.

Food-for-Thought: The One Wrong Thing You Do...

Man...

What in the world?

I tell you... I turn on the television in the mornings all weekend and even today, just trying my best to watch the news and learn what the weather will be like, and I have to see the journalists' breathing all hard about a juicy new scandal.

Just when I thought things would calm down after the election...

Just when I hoped everything would return back to normal, I have to see this...

Really?

Sex, lies, and email. An earlier headline simply read "A MESS".

And it is indeed a mess. My ears have been scorched enough, thank you very much.

And it is all quite salacious. I never knew email could be so scandalous. Threats from anonymous accounts, the FBI combing through emails and what-not.

There's just a lot going on.

And I have sat through some of it because, you know, I just want them to move on to more things that affect the quality of my life... like the weather. I need to know if I need my umbrella or not.

I can't say I care too much about what is going on. Some folks got caught. And they got caught bad.

I can't judge. I myself have fooled around with a married man in the past. I can't say that I've sat down and sent anonymous emails. Email wasn't in existence during that odd time of my life. I'm not sure I would've even had the gall to write an anonymous letter. That's like, some dramatic tomfoolery there. I figure once you hit your 30s, we have matured past that point.

There are 3 important things that resonate with me... 3 important mini food-for-thoughts.

1. Things are not always what to seem.  To look at these people, one would think that they have the perfect lives. I mean, everyone is married. Everyone has lovely families. And yet, there is some point of dissatisfaction with "the perfect life" that always seems to take place. (And it has to be a satisfaction thing, right? Afterall, you have what everyone wants out of life!) And things go astray. That is what we have here. Life took a detour down the wrong alley. Just my opinion.

2. You can do whatever it is you want, even if it's really bad... as long as it doesn't affect anyone else's life in a negative way..  My grandfather gave me that important advice many years ago. We were discussing having a crack habit. It was alright to smoke crack... as long as you weren't affecting the lives of others.  And we know that's not the way it's going down. A crackhead tares up his own life, and the lives of others. Easily.

Hmm... this important truth is easily extrapolated to a plethora of other life issues. In the case of this elicit Petraeus scandal, lives are affected. There are kids and spouses involved. You know the kids of this chick who pretty much started all this mess are catching HELL at school. Kids are cruel. And the spouses... I am sure they can see the looks in the eyes of people they work with.

Your spouses have you looking crazy, and everything is on the news. Mom and Dad have been caught up in some straight ratchetness. And EVERYBODY knows the sordid details.

That is what I call affecting someone's life.

3. You will be remembered for one of two things:  The problems you solve OR the problems you caused.

This is where things get interesting. If you have read my blog for anytime, you will know that I'm not only perturbed by the mere actions that have taken place, I am also concerned with the residual effects of the actions that have taken place.

You know, the residue. Residue takes awhile to rub off.

And we can stretch this out to something else I heard years ago, that's related in general...

You can do many great things during your lifetime...

Reach the highest pinnacles of achievement. Solve world problems. Discover the cures to all things.

But you do ONE wrong thing, and it will all come crashing down.

One detail of your secret life can be exposed, and all those achievements will mean nothing at all.

You will be forever remembered by that one wrong thing you did.

I went and read up on some of General Petraeus' achievements,,, and they are MANY. Honestly, I didn't know much about him. It was an interesting read. This man has been successful in every area of his military life.

But let's face it: come 5 or 10 years from now, will we be discussing Petraeus' accomplishments?

Or will be talking about the man who got caught in an affair, and had to resign as the director of the CIA... all because of his mistress trying to push up on some other woman (who wasn't his wife) that she considered a threat.

Yeah, you know which one we'll be discussing.

You surely do.

He'll be remembered for the problems he caused... not for the problems he solved.

And that is sad, because it's reality.

It's everyone's reality.

So when I see these types of things, I am saddened. I don't point my fingers and laugh and whisper about it. This is everyone's reality. My messes have never been in the spotlight because I am one of the common folks. But it does make me... pause. And think of my own life, the darker more private areas of it in particular.

Let's just hope there is not more coming out about all this.

I don't think I could take it. 

I just want to know what the weather is going to be like... day after day.

More violence... Sigh

The madness continues...turbulence over in the Middle East to the 10th degree. And our own were murdered in Libya. Sigh.

And they are saying that there's some movie at the center of this.

So... here's the film trailer at the center of attention.



Really?

Worse piece of film making ever. PURE garbage. No other words to describe it. GARBAGE.

So I don't think that was it. This was garbage. I think those attacks were planned far in advance.

To make matters worse, I'm not sure why I turned on the television to see presidential CANDIDATE Romney on my screen giving a press conference about it all. Your own party is seeing *crickets* when it comes to you, sir. So I don't care too much to hear what you say, unless it is you laying out your plan to the future which you are curiously tight-lipped on. I am an independent, and you're not swinging my vote your way at all.  Stand down. Go have a seat.

At a time like this, I want to hear from our PRESIDENT. Period. The man in charge.

I am sorry for the loss of our foreign service people, whether military, ambassador, or diplomatic. That is terrible.  These dangerous jobs and assignments protect our freedom, whether directly or indirectly. It is terrible when someone loses their lives in the process.

The war on terrorism continues. I don't know when it will ever be over.  Who would've imagined so much going on, over a decade after this war began?

Not me. Sigh.

A Happy Couple... First and Foremost

I've been watching the news shows this morning...

And it amazes me at what is the "top news" some mornings.

England's Prince William's engagement is the top news.

Uh. Okay.

I guess I have to be British to understand all of this.

All I know, if you're gonna wait 8 years on a man... this is how you do it. You better wait on a Prince... not these jokers who are tripping. LOL

We in America don't have a royal family. I think our royal family is the Kennedys.

Hmm.

Anyway, this is the top story. All spotlights on them. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

I remember, when I was 10 years old, watching the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. This was a BIG event at our house. And I guess that I was at the age where I was heavy into my Barbie dolls, etc... I was to get a chance to see a real life Princess.

This Princess didn't look like me, of course.

And I watched this wedding, thinking, even at the age of 10, that Diana was the luckiest woman in the world. She would never have to work. She was pretty. Her life was set.

Then, years later, I completely understood what the word DYSFUNCTIONAL meant.

When it came out how she was all suicidal and bulimic... how the Prince was cheating on her, and how miserable she was... I was like, WOW.

Even though the Royal Family is considered the epitome of perfection... It simply isn't true. They have to be the most dysfunctional folks I've ever seen.

Of course dysfunction is magnified by media attention. But I wouldn't call depression, bulimia, infedelity, emotional abuse, and suicidal tendencies light issues. Shocked me that a Princess was going through this.

And let's not even talk about the Kennedys, America's royal family of sorts. YIKES!

I have reconciled that fortune and fame don't cancel out dysfunction. Really, it doesn't.

This is what I think about when I watch all the oohing and ahhing and excitement over this impending wedding of the millinieum.

I hope this couple is a happy couple FIRST. Not a royal couple. Not a couple put on the highest of pedastals.

(And I hope they keep the Queen out of their business. Shoot!!)

A happy and whole couple first and foremost. A peaceful couple.

I think that's what we all want for them, and our own lives...

Isn't it.

Good Ol' Charlie

So, the Charlie Rangel story is all over the news...



He's up on ethics charges... He walked out of his hearing yesterday because he didn't have adequate representation.

Man, Charlie Rangel is 80 years old, and a 20 term congressman. And they're trying to get him on some ethics charges...

Leave him alone. He's 80 years old. That man is OLD. Leave him alone.

You cannot tell me that other congressman don't have just as much craziness going on. I think he had just a bit too much power and got targeted..

I have no idea how he got caught, but uh... I bet he knows about what some other congressmen are doing. If it was me, I'll be threatening to blow the whistle on some folk! Bet that'll shut folks up...

This is politics as usual...

Sigh.

GO Vote!

Be like your friendly neighborhood Oldgirl, and go out and VOTE today!



Lawd knows I don't care for the whole process leading up to election day.... The constant negative campaign ads, the debates...

Candidates saying what you want to hear... kinda like that quote I posted a few posts back, about how it's feeling like a late night booty call. LOL

But, we have a right to vote. If you are black, somebody died and marched so you could vote. If you are a woman, someone fought for your right to vote.




We are all intelligent folk. You be sure to go vote, and make the best decision for you and yours...

All and all... GO VOTE!!!

LadyLee's Rules for the Cheating Politician

Here we go again...

Another politician caught cheating.

Hmmm...

You know the story. It's been the top story in the news.

This time, it's the good Govenor of South Carolina.

Same news conference, same groveling...

And I suppose I'm suppose to feel sorry for you.

"Woo, woo, woo!

"That's all you get for me.

Plus my rules for bypassing getting caught in the first place.

These rules are not only for the good Governor, but for other politicians who've had to stand at the same podium, in the past... and in the future.



LadyLee's Rules for the Cheating Politician

(In no particular order of importance)

1. When you step to the microphone to confess what you have done, don't bring your wife and family. We all know she cussed you out. She probably picked up the closest thing and tried to knock the ish out of you.We know she's not the supportive wife. You made her come out there with you. You're not fooling anyone.

2. Have a rendezvous with a chick who's at least 35 years or older. Young chicks tend to run their mouths.

3. You'll get more respect from the public if you just say "I got caught! My bad!", instead of invoking God and saying you have sinned. Go somewhere and straigthen that out between you and God and your fam in private. Even though you may be sincere, the real deal is you got caught and wouldn't be up groveling and crying if you didn't get CAUGHT.

4. Do not cry when you step to the microphone. I do not feel sorry for you because you got caught and just ruined your career. Man up, and stop being a punk.

5. Be sure to thank your wife for not getting on camera and saying what she really thinks of your cheating behind. Because let's face it: she knew what was going on long before us common folks knew. She could REALLY mess you up if she wanted to. She probably won't, because she's taking you to the cleaners in divorce court.

6. Don't have a baby with your mistress. If you do, pay her off real good so she won't rat you out.
7. Tell one of your homies what you are doing. And there are always a bunch of brownnosing staffers looking to get in good with you. Use them too to lie for you. Maybe they can run interference for you.

8. Be careful what you say about your mistress. You were whispering in her ear how much you love her in the late midnight hour. Don't act like she was just a ho to you, or a "dear friend". She might show up and rat you out. Be careful how you speak of her.

9. Do not use government property (cars, planes, credit cards) to do your dirt. I as a taxpayer don't appreciate paying for your twerking on the side.

10. Don't do the honorable thing and resign from your position. Do it only if you are forced by some judge's order. Let's face it, you're going to lose the next election anyway. Might as well stay in that position while you can.

11. If other politicians try to talk trash about what you did, throw out as many subtle hints as possible involving knowing that they too are a bunch of cheaters. (Or just be like me... be brash with it and say "Keep hatin' and I'm droppin' a dime on some of ya'll). That would shut everybody up real quick.

12. Technology has come a long way. This means no romantic emails, phone calls, tweets, or facebook. As you can see, that stuff can be pulled up. I don't like seeing your romantic correspondence splayed across my television screen. Do yourself a favor and buy some throw-a-way phones or learn some morse code.

13. You make enough money to fly your mistress to town and put her up in a nice hotel on the outskirts of town. This is much easier than flying to another country.

There are many more rules, I suppose. But that's the gist of it.

You know, I ain't gonna too much judge the man. We all do dirt. Thank goodness I am an everyday citizen and haven't had to worry about my dirty laundry being put out there for the world to see.

My thing is: Don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining.

If you got caught, man up, and say you got caught. Stop with all the excuses and trying to make us feel sorry for you.

You ruined your family and political career over a piece of a**.

(Excuse my language).

And that's your fault. Not mine.

Hopefully I won't have to see any more perfect politicians step to the mike and confess...

(And we know that's just a pipe dream, right?)

Date Night!!!

So...

My president, President Obama, took First Lady Michelle out on a date.

He promised her, after the election was over, that he would take her to a Broadway show.

They had dinner and attended a show in New York City this weekend.

And the Republicans are having a conniption fit over this.

Republicans... Ya'll some BUSTERS!

Look, you mean to tell me that ya'll getting all pissed over a trip that cost an estimated $75,000.00?

Are you serious???

Ya'll wasn't all mad when Bush spent a third of his presidency on vacation. Ya'll wasn't all pissed about that.

Let's not talk about this war ya'll cooked up. I would like to see how much Haliburton and whatever ghost companies have profited off of this war.
I could go on and on.

(I'm a bit hot over how ya'll put that token Michael Steele in charge of the RNC as some type of a carrot-on-a-stick to draw the black vote. Negroes ain't stupid enough to fall for that. Plus, ya'll treat the man like dirt.)

Ya'll tripping! Just mad! Got the *gas face*

HA!

President Obama: Take your woman out to dinner and a show. I ain't mad at you for keeping your promise. I'm glad to see a black man love on his black woman. It crushes these stupid stereotypes out there about the black race.

First Lady Michelle... You're the first black woman to LEGALLY sleep in the White House.

You're doing this for Sally Henning. Thomas Jefferson should've been taking Sally Henning out on a few dates. Quite a few.

And I am sure your slave ancestors, who built this country, didn't get their 40 acres and a mule...

The cost of this "Date night" don't even begin to cover due reparations.... for 400 years of slavery.

Really.

Take her out, Mr. President.


Again if you want to.

Got Gas??

For the past couple of weeks, the conversations around my way, in my beloved ATL, have changed dramatically. They have gone from

How you doing today?
How are things going?
How's the family?
Whatchu know good?

to

Whassup with the gas!!?

and

Ya'll know where I can find some gas?!

and various curse-ladened versions thereof. We won't go into all that.

We have a gas shortage in Georgia. I hear it is going on in the Carolinas also. Folks down here are fighting, cussing each other out, pulling guns, all KINDS of craziness all over...

GAS

Or should I say... the FEAR of the probability of not being able to get gas. The fear of straight up running out of gas and NEVER finding gas, every again.

Because that's what it is really about. Right? Right?

I must admit that I buy into it. Let's just say, if I see a gas station open, you best believe I stop and "top off" my ish. And that's coming from someone who MIGHT run through a quarter tank a week or a third of a tank on a crazy week.

Let's just say, I fillup once a month, so it's not affecting me too much. I don't know WHAT would be going through my mind if I had a real commute.

The thing is, one can find gas, but there is a long line. And we live in a fast paced society these days. NOBODY has the patience for that. And I don't want to get caught up in no lines. People are impatient, and that's a recipe for trouble.

My coworker Ol Mean Ass Cynthia was riding on fumes the other day. I told her EXACTLY where to go. There's a particularly scuzzy looking gas station about a mile from my house.

"Girl, go up there on the corner of Pryor and Abernathy. I don't ever go in there! EVER! It looks scary! I know if I'm scared to run up in there, you know the white peoples is. Go there!"

LOL!!

She ended up going to a gas station up the road from there, near the freeway. And she came back all wide-eyed, talking about long lines and arguments and stuff...

(Hard-headed broad. I told that chick where to go. HUMPH).

This worked for a couple of days last week... I could roll up in there and "top off", with no lines, no waiting, nothing.

Why is it that, on Friday, everybody and there Mama was up there? The line was LONG as all get out. And now, that station is out of gas.

Yep, it's become a straight up scavenger hunt for gas. I would've never thought that I would see something like this. I'd heard of the gas lines in the 70's. I remember my Mama and nem talking about it, but of course that wasn't important to me back then. I was more concerned about what time Scooby-Doo and the Flintstones was coming on, you see.

And this craziness is suppose to go on for another month. YIKES.

THIS Oldgirl has developed a strategy. And it seems to be working.

LadyLee's Bootleg "Get Your Dayum Gas" Tips:
(for ATLiens, that is)

1. Best place to find gas: THE HOOD. We figured out that it's harder to find gas way out in the suburbs. It's there, but no one wants to deal with a line. Another coworker, Detroit Meek-Meek, lives way the hell out in a suburb on the west side. She'd somehow got caught up driving through the hood and noticed all the available gas.

"The white people ain't found them yet," I yelled. "That's the place to go!"

2. Don't take the freeway to get where you need to go. Take the street way. I had a finance meeting yesterday out in East Point. I passed 10 gas stations on the drive back home. 3 had gas. There were long lines at two stations, and a short line at one. I am down to 2/3rds of a tank, and I didn't bother to stop. I am only down that far because I ran out to the southside twice (had to, for a funeral, and if it wasn't for that, well...), and I should be straight for a minute since I am doing minimum driving.


3. Start looking for gas when you are a quarter of a tank low, at least. These folks are running out of gas left and right. Start riding around BEFORE your needle hits "E".

4. "Top off" whenever you can. I think THIS is the reason for the long lines. People have gas. We're just topping it off here and there. It's a shame, but you gotta do what you gotta do. We dealing with all this fear of running out of gas.

5. Go out early on a Saturday or Sunday morning to get gas. This is my sister Kentucky's strategy. She's gotten up on Sunday mornings around 7:00 a.m. and has made gas runs to closeby stations with no problem. I just figured out that was what she was doing, because that girl sleep HARD if she don't have anything to do. (I shoulda made her butt take my car to whereever she went to top my ish off).

Anyway, I'm not in a panic. I live about 5 minutes from my job. I don't drive much. I'm cool.

I do feel for folks like my boss, who has a 70 mile round trip to deal with.

(No, on second thoughts, I don't feel sorry for management. HUMPH).

This whole situation reminds me of a book I read many years ago: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. The problem wasn't gas, as folks couldn't afford cars anymore and everybody seem to be walking or riding a bike to get to where ever they need to go. The issue was WATER, which, if I'm remembering correctly, was in rare supply and cost some 7 dollars a gallon. It was only available at "Water stations".

If you were able to get water, you'd better hide it. If not, you would get robbed or killed over it. People were standing around waiting for a sucka to slip up.

Now...

Knowing this, this "gas shortage" is not that bad. As a matter of fact, they said it will be over in 2 weeks to a month.

Things could be worse. Much worse.

But they are not.

We will all be alright.

Really, we will...

Those Crazy COUGARS: "Whistle on the Play!!"

(Okay, this may look like some ol' gossipy stuff here, but ya'll know me. *Lee gives the sideways peace sign* I'm your friendly neighborhood Oldgirl! So work with me here, okay? Just read. Stick with me 'til the end.)

Hand me that sm-, sm-, smoking platinum encrusted diamond microphone, Microphone Queen Sharon!

No...

This is NOT an episode of Animal Planet.

I am not blogging about our beautiful American cougars.

They are loving though, frolicking through the snow, searching for sustenance.

No, I'm talking about COUGARS!!!!

Older women who seek out the companionship of young virile men!

Well, lately there's been a particular story about a particular COUGAR in the media. If you haven't heard, read, or seen anything about this, you must be taking residence up under a big rock on some undiscovered planet somewhere.

A-Rod and that COUGAR Madonna.

That COUGAR Madonna is at the center of some mess.



Goodness. It hasn't all sunk in. Too many reports. And I have a tendency to turn the channel to Law and Order, the Lifetime channel, or... white noise. Anything to get away from it.

They say ARod been leaving her apartment at 2 in the morning. He's texting her back and forth, calling her his "Soul mate". She has introduced him to the Ka.bala faith. She's showing up at games and what-not.

And they are both hollering "We're just friends!!"

Yeah. A male "friend" leaves my house at 2 in the morning, there's a bit more than friendship going on. Matter of fact, I'm standing at the door, hair dishelved, in a silk robe making sure to lock the deadbolt as said "friend" scurries out the door.

LOL!!!!!!

Now there's a big mess. All I know, A-Rod's wife is raising a slight raucus, but she ain't a sista. A sista would be putting the verbal foot stomp on dude's head in the media right now.

A sista would be holding a pot of HOT grits while talking trash right about now.

I couldn't be married to a STAR who has the nerve to run around on me. WOW. I would line up all ten of our kids (yeah, I plan for some bull... I would've popped out a baby every 8.5 months, and a set a triplets somewhere due to all those fertility drugs I'd been wolfing down on the low-low) right in front of their rich and famous father...

"Come on, little children, line up now, from oldest to youngest."

*Children scurry to line up. Even the baby, baby Ladylee crawls into position*
*LadyLee waves hand in the air over her beautiful smiling children*


"Count em off, children!"

10 million.
20 million.
30 million.
40 million.
80 million.

*LadyLee frowns. Little 8 year old Ray-ray can't count well. That's alright because that just means more money for them all when they break camp and get the "bleep" out of dodge .*

The count goes on. My non-counting kids get up to 200 million.

"Yes dear," I say lovingly to my rich and famous husband. . .

"That's how much I'm sticking you up for for messing with that COUGAR."

Man...

A-Rod's wife is gonna CLEAN UP!!! And she just has 2 childrens!!

Dude got the nerve to be messing with Madonna.

I like Madonna. Especially that early stuff, from 25 years ago. I remember LadyTee and myself running around the house singing "Borderline", "Papa don't Preach", all those songs! Her Erotica CD is one of my all time favorite CDs. Madonna is the Man!!!

However, Madonna has been around the block ya'll! You hear me? She's slept with mens, womens, and even. . .

If I were A-rod's wife, I would really be talking trash. I would be talking so much trash that spit would be flying out of my mouth.

As That Original Oldgirl LBeezy would say:

*Whistle on the Play!*

*Lee blowing on silver whistle so hard that she pops a blood vessel.*

A blood vessel would bust in my eye. That's just how pissed I would be the moment I think-

"That broad slept with Dennis Rodm.an!!!"

Someone would have to give me an STD test REAL QUICK if I found out MY man had been sleeping with Madonna. REAL QUICK. I mean, I want the FULL battery of tests available.

And Guy Richie is looking like a straight up sucka right about now.

I wonder what's running through his mind? He sure did hop on a plane from England and get over to New York real fast, didn't he?

Hmmm...

What was THAT all about?

Man, I could not be all in the media. My bizness out in the street, all THIS type of mess. My life is pretty quiet and straight-laced these days (to some degree), but just thinking about the suckas I slept with in the past...

Let's just say...I could not run for the office of President of these United States of America. No. Sir.

*sigh*

I don't know what to make of it. I know what's central here is that I've been watching too much bubble gum media lately. Thank goodness my vacation is over. I can get back to my 10-12 hour workdays. (Never thought I'd hear myself say THAT)

It all made me think. Madonna is worth an estimated 600 million. A-Rod has signed the most lucrative contracts in baseball, some 150 million dollars worth, I think. I'm not sure what their respective spouses are worth, but we are talking at least 750 million dollars in cold hard cash. Pure wealth. Enough money to have or buy absolutely anything your mind could think up.

Just goes to show you:

All the money in the world can't buy you happiness or those intangible things which you so earnestly desire in your heart of hearts.

Good.

Ness.

Despite incredible riches and wealth, people are out there:

Seeking...
Needing...
Yearning...
Aching...
Crying...
Feening...
Wanting...
Wanting for something that they
Just.
Can't.
Buy.

**We pause here for a moment of silence so you can let that marinate**

(A little "Food for thought", Original Oldgirl style, slipped in there for you. Chew your "food" real good so you won't. . .choke.)

But all of this has me pontificating further. . .

I was watching something on television, and they said that a woman isn't considered a COUGAR until she's hit her late 30's, early 40s.

And I'm at the young COUGAR age. I'm 38ish...

Prime cougar age, ya'll.

And I seem to be displaying a few symptoms that would make me a...

COUGAR

To be continued...

(Shoot man. Ya'll know how I do. Amen, Holler, Goodnight.)

Gettin' High

It's getting high, ya'll.



Real high...

That is the price of gas in midtown ATL. This is a gas station I stop at only if I'm running on fumes and I absolutely need some gas. I usually get enough gas, a gallon or so, to get me to my hood 5 miles south so I can save 10 cents a gallon.

This gas station has had the gas at that price for the past month. And it had to be one of them thangs where the owners got tired of changing the sign and decided to set it up high. (I don't blame them, especially since it has been HOT in the ATL lately).

They say that the average price of gas has risen 37 cents in the past month of so. That is some craziness.
But it ain't all that bad, ya'll.
Really.
Highest gas price right now:
The Netherlands- $9.73/gallon.
Norway- $10.00/gallon.
Sierra Leonee -$18.50/gallon.

Shoot.

What would you do if gas got THAT high over here in the good ol' USA? What if gas cost as much as $18 dollars a gallon!?
Let's just say that people are already stealing gas down here as it is.
My best friend LadyTee remembers back to days of old.
"Lee, I remember being mad as hell when gas was $1.24 a gallon!!!"
$1.24 a gallon. . .
Who woulda ever thought that those were the Glory Days?
The lowest gas prices right now.
Venezuela - $0.19/gallon.
And this is because that country has it's own resources.
Now uh, why couldn't we have done this in our own country? I think we have some pretty smart people here. Heck with enough research, we could've had cars that run off of AIR by now...
But we don't.
So it's going to keep on getting higher.
And we have no choice but to pay the price...
~sigh~

Lo and Behold! **TORNADOES**

One thing I know...

I have NEVER heard of a Tornado hitting downtown Atlanta.

So, when I was laying in bed on Friday night, I was perplexed by the weather alerts that kept scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Then the wide-eyed weatherman issued a tornado warning.

I live in P-Town, about a mile and a half from downtown Atlanta. As a matter of fact, if I walk a block up the street, I can see the Atlanta skyline.

I kept thinking it was a joke. Tornadoes don't hit metropolitan areas. They tare up trailer parks.

I live nowhere near a trailer park.

Now, I happened to be yacking on the phone with LadyTee, and I mentioned it to her.

"You gonna be alright, Lee?" she asked.
"Girl, ain't nothing gonna happen. Downtown is on a hill. Not gonna happen."
"Well they said blah, blah, blah," she whined.

I looked over at my cat Oscar-Tyrone. He was laying at the bottom of the bed on his blanket. He was sleeping pretty hard.

"Yeah, I'm straight. I'm going to bed."
"Girl you better be careful."
"Listen, Tee. Oscar-Tyrone is sleep. As long as this doggone cat relaxing, and not acting silly, I'm gonna chill. If Oscar sit up and start acting crazy, I'm outta here. I'm grabbing my keys, and I'm coming straight down to Union City in my draws and tank top, with no shoes."

Yeah, we laughed about that for a minute. Actually, if Oscar started acting strange, I wouldn't leave, just head to the central part of the house away from windows.

I hung up the phone and went to sleep.

Woke up the next morning, turned on the news, and saw this:

That is a loft community out in Cabbagetown, known as the stacks. I drive by that place from time to time. And I live about 2 miles from Cabbagetown.

Like I said, I watched the cat just to see how he acts when the weather is bad. Why? Because they have acted CRAZY in the past, just prior to some mess going down.

I remember, about 10 years ago, I lived out in Smyrna, a suburb on the west side of metro Atlanta, and I was in bed with my man, and the doggone cats, Oscar and Jeremy, jumped on the bed. They were both wide-eyed like their eyes had been dialated. Every hair on their body was standing on end. They would not move if shushed away, just standing their petrified.

There was a tornado warning, and the city sirens were sounding. Then the power went dead.

"Stupid cats," I remember saying. We didn't care about the power going out. We were going to sleep anyway.

Woke up the next morning, and a tornado had struck... a half-mile from our apartment. And it tore up, completely destroyed everything at a major intersection: A gas station, a strip mall, a furniture store, and a car dealership.

We were like "No wonder the cats were acting crazy."

Another time, a few years ago, when I was living in Collie Park, my alarm clock sounded. I got up to get ready for work. One of the cats jumped on the bed. Jeremy was wide-eyed, looking crazy. I stared at him for a moment. I listened for rain, thundering, lightning, and didn't hear anything. And besides, the weatherman had said it would be sunny that day. Again, I shushed him away, but he wouldn't move. I mean, this cat was looking terrified as all get out.

Moments later, the apartment shook real hard. It was like a really hard vibration, for about 3 seconds. I thought to myself that the dude next door had through his girlfriend into the wall. (I had heard them arguing the day before. I muttered to myself about how stupid he was, and how he shouldn't be jumping on that chick.

Well, I turned on the news, as I do every morning while I'm getting ready for work.

Turns out that it was an earthquake, the center of which was in Alabama. And it was the first time that an earthquake had hit Atlanta. My goodness.

I looked at Jeremy. "So you knew some mess was about to go down, didn't you boy?"

Hmm. Let's just say that the Oldgirl is superstitious and observes the kitties behavior.

My sister said she got calls at midnight on Friday. My room is downstairs, and she is upstairs. She came downstairs to check on me during that time.

"You were knocked out, Lisa," she said.
"Hell yeah. Oscar was sleep, so I went to sleep. Where was Kramer [Hen-Dog's cat, and our permanent house guest]?"
"He was laying in front of my door sleep," she said.
"Well, you should've turned around and went back to sleep."
"Why?"
"Because cats know everything."

She laughed. But I'm just superstitious like that.

I had a book club meeting in Midtown on Saturday, and I drove through downtown to get home. Man, it was wild. Fallen trees and light poles. Traffic lights bent up and twisted around, all messed up. 2 of the major skyscrapers were looking crazy. I was telling a friend that it looked like Godzilla had ran through.

There were conventions and sporting events going on in downtown ATL. There were A LOT of people downtown that night. It is amazing that there were no fatalities.

I drove through Cabbagetown, and it looked a mess. There were blue tarps on roofs left and right. I have a homegirl who lives down there. I did a drive-by early Sunday morning on my way to the store, and her street was just fine. Looks like everything happened a block or so away from her.

One person I do respect is my mayor Shirley Franklin. She was on the case, had news conferences and explained what the city plans were. The clean-up effort was in full effect early Saturday morning.

Shirley Franklin for president! Yeah!

She always handles business when some crises ish goes down. Always.

Anyway, my hood, P-town, was all good. Rained alot, that's all. There is a stupid tree that drops a huge branch everytime the weather is bad. That tree didn't even lose any of it's limbs that night.

This was the first time in history that downtown ATL was hit by a tornado. A first.

I'd never heard of a tornado hitting downtown.

Guess I can't say that anymore.

What's really going on? Part II

Someone sent this picture via email to me. It is a picture of Fa.lcons quarterback Mi.chael Vi.ck dodging an angry pi.t bull.dog, with a caption stating "You are wrong for that."

Yeah, whoever photoshopped that up... they were wrong for that.

But that is probably how Mich.ael V.ick is feeling right about now.

And this is another story that has been on the news something fierce, especially here in the ATL. All the Falcons fans are down in the dumps over it. There are crazy protests, from fans and animal rights activists alike.

The newscasts spend the first few minutes of the show on this, and then they're like..."Well, anyway, in other news, two children were killed in a house fire today..."

Then they run right on back over to the Mi.chael Vi.ck story.

Really disturbs me. We can tell what's really important, can't we????

It's looking really bad for Vi.ck.

You know, I wonder what thoughts run through his mind concerning this matter, when he is all alone and the full entourage of friends are not around.

Is it "Dang, they caught me!" or is it... "How could my friends do that to me?"

Because, you know, it would be pretty jacked up if he knew nothing about what was going on. And for him to let his friends stay at the house.... I mean, his Virginia mansion was nice, and to think his friends were there running a kennel and do.g fighti.ng enterprise.

What kind of friends of those?

Again, with friends like those, who needs enemies?

They say innocent until proven guilty, but if Mi.cha.el V.ick didn't didn't have anything to do with it, then he knows a little something about what was going on. It's not the being involved that is crazy, but being associated with shady associates that can really have him looking crazy.

This is a lot worse than his "Ron Me.xico" problems. You remember that... when some chickenhead said that he gave her Herpes. She put alllll his bizness out in the street. She tried to sue him. She was paid off, and she kept it moving.

This do.g fighting thing is a lot worse than the embarrassment of everyone knowing that you got a little her.pes.

I was telling some coworkers that Mic.hael Vi.ck would have gotten over a lot better if he had some little kids from the projects out in a cage fighting and placing bets on them rather than some damn d.ogs fighting.

Ain't nothing worse than pissing off a bunch of an.imal rights activists... THAT'S what's gonna get him in trouble.

Because you know how much they love their do.gs, c.ats, wh.ales... and ET!

You know they've been staying up late at night making up their picket signs. And they came to the Virginia court house in big numbers, screaming hard and loud.

Vic.k, you're out on bail. I suggest you come down to the hood and do your shopping. No one will bother you down here. Because if you do your thing in your northside ritzy area, you're going hear a whole bunch of mouth in the checkout line. I wouldn't suprised if you got attacked. You know how peeps get emotional over their ani.mals!

Make sure to take some friends with you, too. You need some protection just in case some mess jump off.

Just not those friends that you got all caught up with surrounding this problem. Find some new friends.

What's Really Going On?... Part I

Uh... this is the first of two rant posts.

What's up with Lind.sey Lo.han and her whole crew (Brit.ne.y Sp.ea.rs, Pa.ri.s Hil.ton.?)

I know I shouldn't really give a flip... and I really don't.

But it's just the principle of the matter that disturbs me.

Why is it that everytime I turn on the news, or one of these entertainment shows, that I gotta see one of the young "starlets" out drinking and driving and getting arrested? No, I don't knock the partying, because we all partied at that age. But the drinking and driving... the drugging...

What's up with that?

And if I'm not mistaken, the behavior is being... glamorized.

They have alllll the resources in the world to get whatever help they need for their problems. There are people out here who WISH they could afford to get rehab at one of the ritzy centers. And they are just wasting it all away.

Maybe it's just me. I am not as popular as Par.is Hil.ton, Bri.tney Spears, or Lind.sey Lo.han. I don't have the huge entourages that these chicks have. But you best believe that if I was out somewhere drunk as hell, I could call up one of my friends, and they will come get me and make sure I got home safe (especially LadyTee, without a doubt).

So you mean to tell me that these chicks don't have people around them who will do the same?

Humph. They need to check out who they have around them then...

With friends like that, you DEFINITELY don't need enemies.

You know when it's going to become a real problem? When one of these girls are out drunk driving and they kill a carload of people. THEN it will be a problem. Right now, everyone is patting them on the heads, going "woo, woo, woo!"

With that said, I'd like to give a shout out to Raven Simone. You don't get all the publicity that these confused chicks do, but that's alright. Thank you for not getting out here driving drunk and showing your ass out in the street. The only thing they say about you, Raven, is that you've gained some weight. Don't pay the haters any attention. That's better than you being out driving drunk, snorting coke, and acting a fool.

Now you KNOW if SHE was out acting like she'd lost her doggone mind...

It would all of a sudden be a problem.

I'm sure you have had your isshas, Raven, but thanks for not embarrasing us...

Really though...

$10,000-15,000????!!

There was a highly interesting prostitution bust here in my beloved ATL this week...

Click here and read this story.

In a nutshell, authorities arrested two women for running what is considered a high-priced call girl/prostitution operation. The DA said that the prices for services ranged anywhere from $500.00 to $10,000 or as high as $15,000 dollars. Much of the arrangements were made via an internet website ran by one on the women. The women used a complicated internet verification process and john referrals to screen their clients.

Interesting, interesting, interesting. I was thinking to myself, "My goodness, $15,000.00! That is some major cash! I was expecting to see broads that were some Hollywood star look-a-alikes for that amount of cash...

I called up LadyTee and asked her if she saw the news about the prostitutes up in Sugarloaf. She said no. I called her back when the 11 o'clock news came on. She was thinking the same as me, thinking that these ladies were some super star look-a-alikes, where they could charge upwards of $15,000.

Then we saw these ladies. Both LadyTee and I were thinking the same thing.

LadyTee: "Shoot Lee, they ain't no stunners. And that chick on the right look hard as hell!"
LadyLee: "Tee, maybe it's because they have no makeup on."
LadyTee: "Yeah, maybe, because that blonde, you can tell she had it going on back in the day, but that other chick, I don't know."
LadyLee: "And the brunette is only 30 years old."
LadyTee: "WHAT??? Aww man, you can tell she's been twerking day and night!!"
LadyLee: "Really though."

But the more pertinent question that lurked in both of our minds was?

Exactly what kinds of services would cost $10000 to $15000 dollars? Exactly what type of twerking must one do to be paid that amount of money?

LadyLee: "Tee, that's like some type of businessman special, where they charging a group price for doing a bunch of businessmen or something."
LadyTee: "NO! Whips and chains, chains and whips, shawty!"
LadyLee: "Naw, not for 15,000 dollars. That's a group rate or something."
LadyTee: "Yeah right! That's some S&M right there babes, all the way!"

We discussed this a little longer (yeah, strange stuff like that amazes us) and moved on to other things.

Well this morning when I got to work, a fellow chemist, Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia, one of my bootleg "Work-for-free" manuscript editors ran over to my cubicle yelling to myself and my cubicle mate:

"Can somebody tell me what those women did to be making $15,000.00?"

I already knew what she was talking about. Cowgirl Cre did not, so we pulled up the news stories. We discussed ideas. (Yeah, we should have been working.) I stuck with my businessman special idea. We discussed the whips and chains theory.

The Infamous Hen-Dog happened to be walking by.

"Come here, boy!" I yelled.
He walked over to my area. He is a big muscle bound shorty, so he walks over in a muscle man way. Heck, I look around, thinking that a DJ is about to cue up some Hen-Dog theme music.
"What's up?" he asked.
Ol' mean ass Cynthia posed the hot question: "What would a woman have to do in order for you to pay her $15,000.00 for her services?"

We all lean in to hear the answer. He's a man, and we were eager to know a man's poing of view. But Hen-Dog is quite frugal, and it showed in his answer.

"Man, I would have that chick for five years, and I would put her to work. She gotta paint the house, keep my car clean, be like Karate kid with the 'wax on, wax off'. I would work that chick!"

Not the answer we were expecting. And since he was the only man around, that was about as good an answer as we would ever get.

This stayed at the forefront of our minds for at least a good hour.

LadyLee: "I'm sure that house is paid off. You realize, you really only need to have a good $15,000 session only once a month."

Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia: "Girl, I don't even need that much. Just a couple of sessions a quarter, just a little something to supplement my income!"

LadyLee: *working out the numbers in her mind*. "I still can't figure out what them chicks did for $15,000.00. Man, whatever it is, it had to be alot!"
Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia: "Well, all I know, I've done a lot more for a lot less!"

We hollered when she said that. I'm suprised my boss didn't pop from around the corner to scold ME (emphasis on ME) when we get a bit too rowdy.

The house that they ran the call girl business from was located in one of the most affluent gated communties in Atlanta, The SugarLoaf golf club community. (A representative house from that hood is shown to the left. The chick's house was MUCH bigger!) A lot of rappers, athletes, and businessman live there. The blonde chick's house was assessed at more than a million dollars. Neighbors complained about the high amount of traffic at all times of the day, and lewd behavior. I think that's what got them in trouble, along with the website the ladies used to sell their services.

My boss and I talked about this. One thing I do believe, even though your neighborhood is all ritzy and nice, with the perfectly manicured lawns and such, YOU NEVER KNOW what's going on inside that house or inside the hearts of people.

But what's REALLY going on behind closed doors?? Bet those neighbors are wondering that right now. Who would have thought a high class call girl service existed in their upperclass gated community?
Yeah, things may look dandy from the outside. You know how we have perfected phoniness in our society. We are PROS at faking the funk.

Just a thought.

Because you never know!

Really though.