The other night as I passed my computer, I heard a wistful voice.
“What have I done wrong?” my blog called out. “Where have you been for the past week?”
In a rush to go to bed, I ignored you, beloved blog. But I’m back. And I have some random thoughts to share.
Last night I met a woman well north of 50 who works three part-time jobs, none with benefits. She calls her way of making ends meet “gigonomics,” a word she believed was added to the dictionary last year. She has been looking for a job for two years. What struck me was her smile and sunny disposition as she shared her story at St. Michael’s Church, where its Jobs Assistance Ministry (JAM) helps the unemployed network, polish resumes and get career advice.
What I also noticed was that only a handful of the 200 or so people present were under 40. It is an outrage what is happening to older workers although I don’t hear much outrage.
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I started reading an advance copy of The Savage City: Race, Murder, and A Generation On The Edge. It’s a fascinating, fast, reader-friendly book by T.J. English about New York City during a ten-year period of racial violence triggered by poverty, racism, police brutality/corruption and the emerging black power movement. I recommend it highly and predict it will be a best-seller.
The final version may differ from the advance copy but I hope the opening sentence remains: When Martin Luther King Jr. visited the great city of New York, he was greeted with a silver letter opener plunged swiftly and unceremoniously into his chest.
The author had me right there.
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Sunday I rediscovered on Youtube two of my favorite songs: “Groovin’ On A Sunday Afternoon” by The Rascals and “Dancin In The Moonlight” By King Harvest. I played each song at full volume about 16 times and will play them again until my groove is gone and my dance shoes are worn.
“Ah-ha-ha, ah-ha-ha, ah-ha-haaaaaa
We’ll keep on spending sunny days this way
We’re gonna talk and laugh our time away
I feel it comin’ closer day by day
Life would be ecstasy, you and me endlessly…Groovin’…on a Sunday afternoon.”
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A tele-seminar with author and attorney Pamela Samuels Young deepened my faith in the kindness and power of women helping each other. She freely shared her resources to aspiring authors eager to self-publish. Not many authors are so giving of their connections. She rocks in all kinds of inspiring ways. I am eager to read her legal thrillers. Pamela published her first stand-alone novel, Buying Time, in November 2009. The Black Caucus of the American Library Association honored it with its 2010 Fiction Award.
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So beloved Blog, a snapshot of my recent days. As you can see there is no theme, no story, no epiphanies. I continue exploring life and connecting with amazing life forces. I realize doing so is a privilege, a real blessing. I promise to share more of it with you.
Kisses.
