MORNING MENTAL STREAM INSIDE A LUCID DREAM

I am the bride/groom, as walk up to Mr. /Ms. Employer? Yes, likewise I am full of anxious hope & ambition; ready for a new start a bright future. With you I say I do. Even though I know I am on the auction block. You outsourced me! Still, I am the humble servant who opens one's lips to tell my truth, hopes, vision, and needs. I am selling myself. I've told you over and over. Like a nomad I've been here and there searching for a place to be. It's so simple. I need money – got to have some kind of job. We're the outsiders in this so-called land of promise. Jobless or Just Over Broke.... when they rape your paycheck each day feels like exile; castaways in the land of milk & honey.  I stand here before you Mr. /Ms. You Can Hire Me if You Really Wanted to Give Me a Chance. Today, my skeletons arrived at your desk. It made me feel bare & naked as you stare at me skeptically & self-satisfied-like. They look over your life and you feel the scrutiny. My credit is crooked (it's not straight yet) and I got kicked out that time cause... but they don't want to know. My insides tremble, my palms sweat, my mind pregnant with the possibilities. Mr. /Ms. You'd Hire Me Only if You Understood, how much I need this job, how I have changed. It's not the same! The demon on you left shoulder knowing it's a game of politics, really wants to say, "What the fuck, I've done everything you asked from fax this thing, email this or that, call this person, run & take this test & that test, I smiled even when I felt like dropping to my knees and asking please. I have seeds to feed and...I played the waiting game on pins and needles and now you tell me this?!"


The scrutiny is enough to endure but those judging eyes burn into hopes. Mr./Ms. You Don't Fit Into Our Company's Structure, You Are Overqualified, Sorry But, but, but... and your butt is out the door.. Why do you reject me still? Why do you make it hard for you to stand then kick you when you are down? Never more, never more, never more! My ravens, we shall haunt the windowsills of Washington until the curse breaks. Mr. /Ms. Congress stop shutting down everything our President proposes; stop trying to emasculate his power! We voted for CHANGE so let it be so. There are dark forces who don't want to give change an unbiased chance.  No to the New World Order!!!  What is becoming of our society?

Good morning, Vietnam!

SUZE TALKS ABOUT SALLIE...

 Thank you, Suze! Middle-class citizens are perpetually wading in the water trying to stay afloat in uncertain economic times.  It goes without saying that this situation will hit middle-America the hardest; who utilize the education system as their buoy to a better life.  Not long ago, I sat thru a documentary discussing the predatory lending practices of student loan institutions on & off college campuses across America [ "NOW on PBS" by David Brancaccio click link to view transcript].  It pinpointed the tactics of the nation's largest student loan company, Sallie Mae.  Sallie Mae, "said it will stop offering federal consolidation loans and cease paying loan-origination fees on Stafford loans.  As a result, borrowers will have to pay the price. Former students who want to consolidate their loans can now only turn to the government and a small pool of lenders."  [Read more: Sallie Mae Halts Student-Loan Consolidation at SmartMoney.com] My student loan interest rate has also ballooned and took off like Falcon Heene!  However, Sallie Mae is also feeling heat.  Reportedly, the company's shares (once known as SLM Corp.) fell this past Friday to 6.7 percent after receiving a poor rating from Ladenburg Thalman analyst Brad Ball on their financial standing.  Meanwhile, their employees are fearful of losing their jobs since President Obama announced his plans to cut out the middle man -- private lenders such as themselves.  Yesterday, in his first State of the Union address President Obama conveyed his intention to place education reform amongst his top priorities & asked the U.S. Senate to join the House in an effort to reform the student loan system.  The plan proposes a $10K tax credit to families, including debt forgiveness to folks who've been paying on their student loan(s) for at least 20 years.    Basically, the idea is to eliminate the "middle management" of banks & other private lenders and the government itself will delegate funds for student loans directly. In my opinion, the audacity of these student loan institutions to set higher interest rates than credit card companies is appauling. Obviously, government intervention is necessary. Furthermore, I'm sure President Obama's intentions are well and if passed such implementations will work in the short term. However, many like myself are hopeful but skeptical. Sterotypically, government bureaucracy is known to misuse such policies. So, whether or not allowing government to "take over from here" will provide a long term remedy this looming ecomomic crisis is yet to be seen. Tell your story...
 What is your take on student loan debt & how are you handling it? How has your experiences been with student loan companies such as Sallie Mae?  What is your take on the Obama administration's plan for education reform?

REMEMBERING THE KING

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps on the back of the wind
and floats downstream till the current ends
and dips his wing in the orange suns rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage
can seldom see through his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

THE ROAD

Is a hornet darting to either side, in & out of every corner.  Sometimes honeycombs hang cater-corner inside a doorway beckons the bittersweet concept of strange neighbors.

They weave outside of every tree line or skyline -it's black and yellow streets buzzing with rainbows of people who do oodles of things for oodles of reasons. 

I eat minute meat to save time but want to wear skinny leg jeans, you party on Memorial Day, we decorate pine trees in the name of Jesus, curse congressmen, pamper pooches, and hang grumpy ol' men. 

The American flag waves tall in Anytown, USA; else the spirit of one Robert E. Lee dances with the wind and haunts the yard on yonder left.  Next door sits another strange neighbor.  He likes the Washington Redskins... can't reckon whether one's heart is not too far removed till the Revolution.  

I left & met two Lithuanian women.  One drunk & jovial as the other sat Indian-style on a wooden block like a doll; dressed in exotic cloth, hugging her accordion singing tantric tunes. Her talent started at three bucks. Nibbling Wisconsin cheese, stale crackers, and sipping cheap red wine I imagined what drift brought her to that side of the road. 

Blocks down I found the Motherland and Mama Musa  was in every sense of the term, cooking up down home meals.  I smelled the salt of the earth and it was hmm, hmm good.   It's all relative.  All living and dying to set afoot the road less traveled.  'Til then I'll see you around.

-Cheryl Williams      

NEW YEARS in BLACK HISTORY

"WATCH NIGHT SERVICE"

Many of you who live or grew up in Black communities in the United States have probably heard of "Watch Night Services," the gathering of the faithful in church on New Year's Eve.

The service usually begins anywhere from 7 p.m. To 10 p.m. And ends at midnight with the entrance of the New Year.

Some folks come to church first, before going out to celebrate. For others, church is the only New Year's Eve event.

Like many others, I always assumed that Watch Night was a fairly standard Christian religious service -- made a bit more Afro centric because that's what happens when elements of Christianity become linked with the Black Church.

Still, it seemed that predominately White Christian churches did not include Watch Night services on their calendars, but focused instead on Christmas Eve programs.

In fact, there were instances where clergy in mainline denominations wondered aloud about the propriety of linking religious services with a secular holiday like New Year's Eve.

However, there is a reason for the importance of New Year's Eve services in African American congregations.

The Watch Night Services in Black communities that we celebrate today can be traced back to gatherings on December 31, 1862, also known as "Freedom's Eve."

On that night, Blacks came together in churches and private homes all across the nation, anxiously awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation actually had become law.

Then, at the stroke of midnight, it was January 1, 1863, and all slaves in the Confederate States were declared legally free.

When the news was received, there were prayers, shouts and songs of joy as people fell to their knees and thanked God.

Black folks have gathered in churches annually on New Year's Eve ever since, praising God for bringing us safely through another year.

It's been 145 years since that first Freedom's Eve and many of us were never taught the African American history of Watch Night, but tradition still brings us together at this time every year to celebrate "how we got over."

PS.  Pass this information on so we can educate more of our Family and Friends about our History!

*Unknown Source/Email