Black History 2017... The Last Day.

'Tis the last day of Black History Month, and I have seen a plethora of pictures this month on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

None captured my interest more than the one below.

When they say a picture is worth a thousand words, well, that one tells a story indeed.

I will never go out and march and protest. I know because of the color of my skin, there will be police dressed in riot gear, with heavy artillery ready to go, and well, I don't need to be there. Besides, my ex-husband was a vice cop at one time, and he put the fear of God in me concerning police. After he explained things to me, I make sure to talk real slow and  be as nice as possible when I come into contact with them. I have good experiences, and bad. I am still here.  That is all.

But I am thankful for those who have marched in the past, and stood up for their rights.

Like this woman above. She's defiant. And while she's standing there, she's gonna keep her pocketbook close..

...And smoke her cigarette. 

Someday I will look up the story behind that picture.

For now, I can imagine her sitting at a table playing a rousing game of bid whist, and retelling the story to her friends...

"Girl, I wasn't scared of those police. Better not touch me. I stood there and smoked my cigarette while they talked all that trash. I wasn't scared of them."

The story probably went on all night long.


And rightfully so.

In Bloom (Too Early)

So...

I was backing out of the driveway this morning, and I saw this.

These are the stairs to my front porch, and the plants on the side.

Those shoots came up in one week, and they are in full bloom.

How beautiful.

And it is only February. 

These usually bloom in mid-March.

I wonder what's up with that?

I think it is because of our unusual weather patterns as of late. We've had a couple of 75-80 degree weather, and I think that was just enough time to cause the early bloom.

This climate change is a trip.

Oh... I forgot. According to some folks, there's no such thing as climate change. 

I beg to differ... 

The flowers in my yard tell a different story...

Good Monday Morning: A LadyLee Oscars Wrap-Up.

So I watched last night's Oscars... All (close to) 4 hours of it.

I was interested this year because I'd seen a few of the movies.  I'd seen Hidden Figures, Fences, Moonlight, Hell or High Water, Arrival, Suicide Squad, and probably a few others.

No I did not see La La Land.  It's always confusing to me when a film comes out on Christmas and NO ONE has heard of it until a month before Oscar time. Uh nope. I have a rule to not see some doggone movie they are just trying to hype up.

You should've put it out in the summer, buddy. Humph.

I like documentaries, though. And I saw The 13th, OJ Made in America, and I am Not Your Negro.

Now, The 13th was the best documentary I'd ever seen. EVER. That was put out on Netflix. If you haven't seen that, get busy seeing it.

OJ: Made in America was equally good. The problem is that it has to be close to 8 hours long. You have to watch it in pieces. But it is excellent. OJ better be glad that didn't come out when he was on trial for those murders. That is all I got to say about that.

I am Not Your Negro was okay. Worth a watch, as it is an introduction to Baldwin. I will definitely be reading some of James Baldwin's work soon. Yes. 

For me, it was between OJ and 13th. There were two other documentaries up besides the three mentioned here, but I couldn't tell you what they are. I tapped out when they talked about them.

And OJ: Made in America won.

Yay!! Well deserved.

Best Supporting Actress was another category that I was waiting for.

And Viola Davis won! Yaaay.

I am not sure why she was in that category, but I don't think she would've won best actress.

I LOVE Viola Davis. LOVE HER. I go see whatever movie she is in. Yes I do. She is one of my favorite actresses. (Alfre Woodard is my top favorite actress, though).

Now I remember watching Luke Cage on Netflix this past summer. I liked the series. But I was blown away for Mahershala Ali, who played the villian Cottomouth in the series. I thought to myself.

That dude. Whatever he's in, I'm going to see it. 

So I saw Moonlight. It wasn't anything I cared to see, but he was in it.  He was in Moonlight, but not for very long. But he did a great job as drug dealer Juan.

And he won the Oscar for best Supporting Actor. 

That dude right there.... like I said, when I see he's going to be in something, I'm running to see it.

He was in Hidden Figures, and he was good in that.

Then there was Best picture.

And the winner is.  La La Land!!

Now when I heard that, I just tapped out.

It was after midnight. I'd been sitting in my big easy chair crocheting a baby blanket for a coworker's forthcoming baby.  I was watching the Oscars and listening to my music on my headphones at the same time. Meaning, when they were lollygagging on the Oscars, I was listening to music.

So when they announced La La Land as the winner, I immediately put my headphones in and folded my crochet up and placed it in a box. I was thirsty, so I went in the kitchen to get some water.

When I returned to the living room to turn off the lamp light, music still bumping hard in my ears, I saw a bunch of BLACK PEOPLE on stage.

I thought... Them the little black boys from Moonlight. Why are they up on stage???

What the world?

And you know what... It took me a few minutes to understand (I had to get on twitter to ask the question)

But Moonlight was the winner!

How crazy was that? Has a mistake like that ever happened in Oscar history?

NOPE!

Good for them, though!

I saw Moonlight. It was alright. I was pulling for Hidden Figures. It was simply a matter of what I could relate to.

Moonlight was an LGBT movie.  I can't relate to that. The movie was good, writing was good. I could appreciate it as a story different from my own, and most importantly that it was someone's story, and someone saw themselves in that story.

I saw myself in Hidden Figures. I saw black women scientists on screen, and they were the heroes. I don't know if I have seen that, or if I would ever see myself represented on screen again. For one of the rare few times, I was proud to be a female scientist. Proud.

Likewise, I am sure black LGBT people have not seen themselves on screen in such a major motion picture. So I can imagine how they feel, and I can respect the story.

But that mistake in the announcement. HILARIOUS!!!!

Good for them, though.

It was a decent Oscars show. TOO LONG.

I didn't watch last year. Didn't see any of the movies. No need to watch. Glad there was more inclusion this year.

There are more movies I want to see from this year's batch, like Lion, and I will be checking those out. . 

Semi-Wordless Wednesday: I Wish I was There

Here's a photo of two great writers, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker.

From the look of those clothes and hairdos, I would think that photo was taken back in the mid- to late 70s.

I would have loved to be in on that discussion. WOW.

I can see myself now saying:

"Do ya'll want something to drink? Some Co-cola or water?"

"You want some coffee? You want cream or sugar with that?"

That is as much as I would say.

I'd rather just lean back against the counter with my own Co-Cola and soak up all that wisdom.

Two Tuesday Ruffled Feathers Food-for-Thoughts

Bet you can't say that title real fast 3 times in a row.

(I know I couldn't).

Two Tuesday thoughts for you... things that have ruffled my feathers


1. Trash Day. I was so glad to be off yesterday. The problem with that is that my trash pick-up day is on Tuesdays.  Since this is my first day back to work after a long weekend, I thought today was Monday. Imagine my surprise when I was leaving for work and I heard the familiar whine of a garbage truck. I thought I would just skip a week, but I waved at them and they waited for me to pull my trash to the curb.

I don't generate much trash. I can get away with taking my trash to the curb every two weeks.

I have pulled my trash up to the curb and it wasn't picked up. That ruffled my feathers.

This has happened twice...

...in the 11.5 years I have resided in my home.

Therefore, I classify this, my forgetting to pull my trash to the curb on trash day or the garbage men forgetting my trash as...

High class problems.

These are problems that are not worth getting in a huff over. There are people out here who don't have jobs and don't know where there next meal is coming from. There are people who are homeless and living under a bridge.

2. Time to Pray. I have probably mentioned this before, but I bristle a bit when people ask me to pray for them. Why? Because it feels all rushed. And my question is always...

Haven't you been praying for yourself?

I don't say that out loud, but the question blows through my mind like a strong gust of wind. And I would never say that to them. But I look at a person's life and I think... gee, your life looks perfect. All this great stuff going on and this temporary thing is getting you down? Do you see all the great things that God is doing in your life? Does it even matter to you?

And I have to check myself because I am being judgmental, if only for a moment. I go on and pray for folks. But you know what the answer to these prayers have been as of late?

There's a LOT going on with people that you just don't know about.

A LOT.

Folks don't tell it all. I don't ask questions.  The italicized statement alone says much. Sometimes you just gotta keep things to yourself.

Let's face it. We only tell half the story. I know this to be true because I do when I am going through something dire or heart-wrenching. Nothing wrong with that. This is why you should be praying for yourself. You are the establishing witness.. Everybody's prayers are added to yours, so your prayer better be biblical and in the right direction.

I don't know if that makes sense. But it has changed my prayer life for people... and for myself.

Some of us don't know the root of some of our issues. I don't know the root of some of mine. And that changes things. I spend a WHOLE lot of time with that, just trying to understand the "why" behind what is going on.

My feathers don't get all ruffled now. I eagerly pray for a good outcome. And I pray from a positive attitude.

Those are my 2 Tuesday Thoughts.

My feathers are smoothing down. And it must mean that I am maturing. And that's a great thing.