The Baddest, She Is

www.barnesandnoble.com

For as long as I can remember, reading has been my ultimate pastime.  Give me a good book and that's it.  I remember being a little girl wanting to read all the time. Once my mom allowed me to go to the library by myself, that's where you would always find me.  During those days, Judy Blume and Beverly Clearly ruled the literary world for children I don't really remember any African American authors for children I just remember that there weren't any that were writing books at all, like there is today.   Back then there was RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) where you earned the chance to get a free book every Thursday, I believe.  I remember always looking forward to Thursdays.  I have to be honest I like, street novels, they are actually my favorite and I always feel like the story lines are relatable to my childhood in some kind of way.  Nisa Santiago, is the business.  I don't know where she came from, but she is pentastic. She is an incredible writer and I always look forward to reading her latest work.  I just finished Face-Of, part four to Bad Apple and I could not put it down. She never disappoints.  I hope one day I get a chance and write the story that I want to.

The Friendship That Ended

www.inntrending.com

About a year or so ago, my mother had called me to say that she was re-establishing her credit, after declaring bankruptcy some years ago.  I remember telling her that was good, but to not overdue it.  Don't tell anyone that you have credit cards, don't tell anyone about the loan she had gotten and damn sure don't let anyone use your credit cards.  I remember damn near begging her not to reveal her new found "credit status or luck" that had fallen into her lap. I had also warned her that she was retired and that she needed to be mindful of her spending habits because she was now living on a fixed income.  She kept telling me that everything was under control, that her and her friend that she had known over 40 years was being careful.  Why don't parents listen to their children, its beyond me, because everything I told her about what her friend would do, her friend of 40 years did to her.  I was so pissed off with her because not only did she not listen, she got mad when I told her of the errors she made.  Money is definitely the root of all evil and anytime a grown woman has grown children living with her, that's who she should be going to when she needs something, not your friend who is retired living on a fixed income who just re-establish her credit.  Of course that same friend don't want to pay, and now she is stuck.  Parents just because you are older, sometimes you have to listen to your children.  Now I must find a way to help her with her finances some kind of way, I know she better not ever be friends with that Kitty lady again.  I really hope Kitty is an old memory and I hope she never speaks her name again. I really dislike people who are users and tend to take advantage of people.

What's Going On?

The brutal attack by a mob of high school girls on a single yet small-framed girl was uncalled for. The car driving in the urban area of Fort Greene trying to lure young girls is troubling.  As a mother it hurt me to my core to watch them brutally assault that lone student, but I was more flabbergasted to watch as the mob was cheered on by other peers. To see adults in the crowd just watching and no staff of McDonalds' stepping in to intervene was mind-boggling.   To read that a car was trying to lure children in the area that I grew up in was crazy. A lot of my childhood friends still live there with their children and grandchildren.  This never use to happen there. What is going on today with our young people and what's wrong with people still trying to lure other people's  children in their cars?
 Its not easy on the mind.  Just to know that after I separate from my son in the morning to get on the train , he could be attacked by a mob of children and no one would do anything to help him, they would just take out their camera phones and turn the other cheek.   I watched that video several times, not for pleasure but to show my son what could be waiting for him, if he doesn't follow my directions.  I used to be skeptical about allowing him to leave home because of all the sexual predators and other troubles that may be lurking.  This is a double shot, you have to be skeptical for the perverts and the mob of bullies.