Ow! Ow! Ouch!!

I hurt the tendon on my left foot, how, I ‘m not really sure, meaning, not sure what I did or didn’t do to accomplish that. I was going on an errand, running late and I remember trying to exit the house at a faster pace than I normally would and I felt myself slipping and in trying to avoid that, I ended up damaging my tendon. Funny thing is I knew I felt something there, but it wasn’t that painful and I could still walk without hopping like a rabbit so I thought I was fine…….well!
Got up the next day to get my son ready for school and could not get my left foot on the floor, it was swollen and painful!!! Oh my Lord, I was in agony! So I looked and saw this swollen tender spot at the area of my heel, somewhere below the ankle and it wasn’t pretty. I was now walking and hopping like brer rabbit and ouching every step of the way. I absolutely have no tolerance for pain and so you know the Advil (painkiller) wasn’t too far away

Good thing I don’t have a job right now, (victim of recession and down-sizing) because, seriously, I would not be able stand or walk around and my past job required a lot of that.
For someone who’s so afraid of pain and has no tolerance at all for it, you’d think I’d be more careful. Outdoors is messy, there’s snow on the ground, and there are hard to see icy patches, which would have been the ideal place for it to have happened, but not me, oh no, it happened in my own apartment in which the floors were not even wet! Who am I going to sue, me? All I would get is practice!

I went and spoke to the pharmacist who told me that I had somehow hurt it by trying to avoid falling, slipping or any other simple scenario. He suggested I use some painkillers like Advil or Motrin because they specifically targets inflammation, use a warm or was it hot, whatever…compress and elevate the foot to keep the swelling down. All sound advice except I am not able to sit around and elevate because when you have a child, there’s stuff to be done, like cooking, and cleaning, running more errands before he returns from school with a whole lot of homework to practically take over your entire evening, so I have to use the time wisely while he’s not here to get in my way. Meaning I’m still up and running. I don’t take the pain-killers unless I really need to, most times I sit, and moan and curse like a sailor or ignore it until it becomes unbearable, ten minutes tops!
I’ve said this before, and I will again, thank God for men and modern medicine!
Until then, this is hop-along saying...Lata!

President – Elect Barack Obama!


America may have her faults, but this is one of the greatest countries in the world and though other countries may not agree for whatever reasons, this is one amazing and (can’t even find the right words to describe her here) great country to be in, live in, and to experience democracy at its best, bar none! We are experiencing difficult times but this is an exciting and extraordinary day! Election Day!

Democracy! What a sweet word to have in our country, lives and world (at least some part of it) November fourth was a historical day in America. The impossible became possible and a Black man with a funny sounding name, whom, about five years ago no one knew of, became the First Black President of the United States of America!! The rookie Senator from Chicago Illinois, who saw neither black nor white but one united country, has achieved the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and has reached the ‘Promised Land’. We, as a nation is proud of him as a man who has accomplished so much in such a short period of time, we as black people are very proud and happy and nervous for him in the task that lies ahead and the insurmountable financial debt we find ourselves in, compliments in part, of the Wall Street greed.

I witness people standing in line for hours being patient ,willing and happy to have the opportunity to be there, in that historical moment in time to cast their vote. It was a beautiful sight to see so many people, young and old took their civic duty very seriously and embraced the democratic values in this country, and why not, America was built on that very same value that the government would be ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people’.

The man was unflappable, he was poised, thoughtful, articulate, confident, well-versed on the issues, never strayed from his message of unity and the economy, he was awesome, in other words, very Presidential! He won the debates without “hitting below the belt”, didn’t need to go there, always try and take the high road and as a result gained more respect. He really listens and he really understands what’s at stake, and even in his victory speech where he was humble, he understood that, ‘yes, I won, but the job starts now!’ He even reached out to those who didn’t vote for him and included them as well as asked for their help in running this country. This man is a one man unifying force!

People celebrated and packed Harlem, Times Square, New York City as if it was New Year’s Eve! People packed Grant’s Park in Chicago, churches across the nation, barber-shops, homes, and world-wide in Lebanon, France, China, Japan, Nigeria, United Kingdom, Canada, even in Kenya where today is a holiday because one of their ‘son


did the impossible! There were people of all shades and nationality present and celebrating, even foreigners from abroad. Absolutely amazing!

I can’t wait to see that beautiful family occupy the White House, I can’t wait to see Michelle Obama’s personal stamp in there. I can’t wait to see those two beautiful little black girls running in the halls and hearing the pitter-patter of their little feet making their marks, representing all little black girls everywhere, especially those that were bombed in that church in the deep South in the turbulent sixties.

I know the slaves who toiled in the hot sun in days gone by will feel vindicated now that one of our own will be on those steps (they built) at Lincoln Memorial being sworn in as President of the United States. I know they couldn’t have imagined this day, but their work was not in vain. Their cries that no-one heard, was not in vain, their plaintive songs that kept their spirits up when their ways were dark and seemed endless, were not in vain. They are vindicated!

I cried, not the racking sobs of boo-hoo-hoo, but silent tears that streamed down unabashed and I am still hoarse and I kept my son up to witness this extraordinary event that was unfolding so he knew what he was witnessing. He was excited. His school had a mock election and Obama had won, so he was very much in the moment. He went and got his American flag and waved it and sang the National Anthem, until I sent him to bed because he had school the following day.

John McCain is to be commended also for a battle well fought. It wasn’t easy and for his age, he showed true grit and strength. That same strength he portrayed when he was a prisoner of war. He has lots of experience, he loves this country and is dedicated to it and would’ve made a decent President if he didn’t have the present President hanging around his neck like an albatross with the effect of his presidency. We thank him and his family for their love of country and their dedication. He was very gracious and true in his concession speech and portrayed himself a true gentleman. May God bless him and his family.

President Bush gave a welcoming speech to the soon-incoming President Barack Obama and on behalf of him and his family warmly welcomes him to the White House which I think was very gracious and kind and that’s what makes America great, the civility, the fact that we can disagree, yet, still be respectful and gracious. The soon-to-be outgoing President graciously bowing out with grace, warmth and intelligence and making space for the soon-to-be incoming President Obama. No ego trips.

Gotta love this country and if not, gotta love the democratic process, it’s the best; it makes us all better people!
Later!
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This was supposed to be posted immediately after the election, but had computer problems and was off-line for two months, hopefully better late than never!

Passion!

Are you living your life with passion? Or do you merely exist from one day to the next? This came to me recently while I was doing something quite mundane, washing dishes by the sink in the kitchen. I don’t know why these profound questions always come to me when I’m in water, whether washing dishes, showering or even scouring the bathroom, I tend to think of things in a whole different way, or maybe it was just the coffee…either way I’ve been pondering this for awhile.

I asked myself, what is my passion, not the romantic version, the real one that makes a difference in your life, touches your soul, causes one to pass their comfort zone and stretch themselves a bit more than usual but simultaneously giving you joy and inspiration amidst the hard work in accomplishing it, whatever it is.

I know my passion is the written word, whether writing or reading it. I find comfort in reading. I read a bit of everything good, bad, trash, classics, everything I could get my hands on. When I was home I had a favourite east Indian mango tree I used to climb, it had the perfect seat and I used to sit in there for hours just reading while my sister, cousins and friends played childhood games. I never grew tired of reading.

I recalled once when we were called to dinner by my aunt, I took my dinner and went into our bedroom behind the bed to eat because I knew I couldn’t go to the table with the book. The bed was set up in such a way that the head of the bed spanned the corner where the walls met and so a triangular space was created with this set-up. I sat back there with my plate of fish and yellow yam, dumplings, gravy and a delicious smell emanating from the plate. I put the plate down, opened up the book and started reading. I was aware when our house cat ‘snooky’ came and sat there but I ignored him and kept on reading.

Next thing I knew, I looked down and my fish was completely gone and now my food had cat saliva all over it and I started to cry and went back to my aunt who was shocked and yelled at me for being so foolish (rightly so). She asked where was I, what was I doing and didn’t I see the cat eating my food? Questions coming at me fast and I just wanted to disappear. I was simply reading and everything else was blacked out, just like that.
Now was that passion or stupidity? I choose to believe it was my passion with the written word in its budding stages.

When I started this blog I barely knew anything about computers and I’m still a student in training but I knew I needed to stretch myself a bit and leave my comfort zone, so to speak and started writing (publicly), I knew I needed to do something. So I timidly began my journey and I’m still here learning and enjoying the process as I go along.
My cousin asked me sometime ago after I started blogging, if I remembered what I said I wanted to do when I grew up, I told her I didn’t recall at all. “Well, she said, we were playing under the bed and I asked you what you wanted to do when you got big, you told me you wanted to write a book”. “Really, I said, imagine that”. While I’m no where near the beginning of my book, I’ve started my journey and that my friends is the first step.

Find your passion and live it, life is so much more profoundly interesting and enjoyable and you’ll feel better for it, I promise. Even with the growing pains you’ll experience while doing it, it will be well worth it!!

I do hope for the new year you’ll find your passion and if you’re having trouble figuring out what it is, let’s just say in my experience, it’s something that you can’t help doing and feeling very happy and fulfilled while pursuing it, but of course it has to be moral, decent, kind, uplifting and inspiring. That should give you a clue.