Nature Boy~In Charge of the World...

"There was a boy A very strange enchanted boy They say he wandered very far, very far Over land and sea A little shy and sad of eye But very wise was he...And then one day A magic day he passed my way And while we spoke of many things Fools and kings This he said to me the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return".~Nature Boy, Nat King Cole

From my book "Cover My Heart, So My Soul can Stay Warm"©10 . The poem is an original from a 9 year old.

This morning I stumbled upon a new fact about Z, I finally found out he had published a book!
My goodness Z is a published writer! What makes it more amzing is he is only 8 years old

I did not know.

As I read his book I was struck again in his clarity of his world written in the pureness & innocence of childhood... I excitedly said to his mom " Eureka! Now I get it! Z's poet, that is what is happening here. He's a writer!"

Now I know why I have felt the need to intervene when others push him around as he is a lot like me head in the clouds, sensitive and words bursting out all over the place. The difference between he & I s I have a 51 year advantage on him in living.

I want to add here that for most of his very young life, Z has been homeless from a time, a very rough and traumatic time & as miracles have it they are heading toward a clear & brighter life. But Z has an well meaning uncle who is very hard on him as he thinks Z is "soft" and needs to man up. Unfortunately as life goes his uncle does not get it that his actions are having the opposite effect on this young man. Mind you this uncle is by nature not a cruel man, he is behaving how HE was treated growing up and in some misguided way things that since he toughen up that it would work on Z. And his mother while doing all she can to advocate for him, clearly knows that since they are living with this uncle until she find housing, has tobe creative, finding ways to protect her son by keeping housing & keeping him safe.

But his poem is very telling. He has said in his own words what is in his heart which makes Z's poem even more poignant & shows a mature astuteness one should not have so young.

If I was in Charge of the World

By Z ©10

If I was in Charge of the World

I'd cancel brussel sprouts..

Listen to my uncle...

Cleanin the bathroom & also test...

If I was in charge of the world...

There would be cake for breakfast...

Food for my family...

And muffins...

And pizza for dinner

If I was in charge of the world...

A person couldn't yell at me...

All kids could play whenever they wanted...
And a person who fell

And scraped his hand
Would still be in charge of the world

All rights ReservedJHM©10

Don't Walk Away Rene'...RIP

I am sadden today with the sudden death of a friend of 20 years Rene' Fagans on Wed May 26th, 2010 at 6:00p PST in San Diego. They remove the life support yesterday evening. She was healthy as a horse on Sunday fell broke her ankle on Monday, was on life support by Tues and dead by Wed eve.

We were suppose to get together for lunch before my return from Cali. Rene' was in the middle of writing a children's book & was having a blast. Drs. said with or without life support she would have been in a vegetative state. Her Drs had changed her meds, she was experiencing dizzy spells on Monday, fell hitting her head rather hard, taken to ER, treated for the broken ankle & sent home... By Monday eve she was complaining of being cold, Tues morning her son could not understand a word she was saying. She had a massive hemorrhaging so badly her brain stem was badly damaged.

Rene's family was all with her when they removed life support...

She was a joy, never had a bad word for anyone, funny as all get out & loved life. We recently had spoken about her coming to New Orleans as she had not had the experience....

She is already missed...

One thing I am going to do in her memory is when the dust settles is to have her son to send me a copy of her unfinished children's book & finish it for her with the view to finish her dream of having it published. I was already going to create the art for its cover.

Rene' was such a joyful person & I could at least keep her joy going in this book...

And then I read this & thought it was appropo:

Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.
- Sally Koch

You can impact more people than you'll ever know

Too many people sit on the sidelines of life waiting for that one great opportunity or the chance of a lifetime. We seldom realize that while we are waiting, we are missing the small opportunities to make a difference that surround us in our everyday lives. For example, you could pick up the litter on a street that you travel often, help someone carry her groceries to her car, or offer to help a child read a book. Of course, this list could go on and on. Your small action could make all the difference in the world to someone and you may never know it. Don't sit around and wait for the BIG CHANCE because you never know...one of those small opportunities might turn into the next chance of a lifetime.

Taking Reaction To an Action! Way to go Tyler Perry

Please read his comments to the end. It is not a story on Michael Jackson. It is how one man, Mr Perry instead of simply venting did something. May we all find a way to take passion and power to do something righteous and good. I give him great respect in using his mean to do something right for those who may not have the means.

I would love to meet this man and create some art for him. Way to go!

JHM

http://www.tylerperry.com/

This made me so angry.

Since Michael Jackson died I have not watched the news. I have just been so disgusted at how the mainstream media has riddled this family with disrespect, and no matter what anyone, you or I included, might have thought of him, the truth of the matter is this - the man was still a human being and his kids and family deserve some privacy and space. And I know that I'm not the only one that feels this way, so I purposely kept the TV off.

Anyway, I was walking through the house, and I don't know how this TV was on, but I saw a little boy on the news crying his eyes out.So I turned it up. Here is this kid talking about being kicked out of theValley Swim Club outside Philadelphia because he was black.

Did you hear me? I said, "No way, this can't be! It's 2009. I don't believe this!" But,I know it happens even in this year of Obama.

As I listened to the story the anchorperson went on to talk about a woman named Althea Wright. This young lady started a non-profit called CreativeSteps to help inner-city children. And apparently she had booked the Valley Swim Club's pool and paid for it to be used by the children throughthe summer. As we all know, this is such a great thing. During the summerour kids can get into a lot of trouble if they don't have somethingcreative to do.

Anyway, as the story went on I was shocked to find out that it wasn't just him but 65 children in all, black and Hispanic kids,that were kicked out of the pool. You should Google this story and read it online for yourself. It's crazy! I went from being mad to being furious.

The news reporter went on to say that the president of the club and itsmembers said, and I quote, "We don't want to change the complexion of ourclub." The president refunded the money of the children and asked them notto come back. WHAT?! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I said Ihave to do something for these children. I can't let them think that theyare inferior because of the color of their skin.

Then that night I saw the president of the Valley Swim Club on the news again saying that he misspoke and that it was a safety issue and the club wasn't able to accommodate so many children. But the children themselves reportedly said that members were taking their kids out of the pool, and that they were saying things like, "Why are they here?" and "They're black", even insinuating that these kids would steal or maybe hurt their children.

Now get this. A few days later I catch the story again on CNN. This time the club was inviting the kids to come and swim. WHAT?! I'm confused. If you refunded the money because there was not enough room in the pool andit was a safety issue then why are you asking the same 65 kids to comeback?
This is awful, and for anyone that has grown up in the inner-city, youknow that one small act of kindness can change your life. These kids seethe images of President Obama on TV and then they see the drug dealers andthugs on the corner. Which do you think is more their reality?

One act of kindness, one person telling them that they are special, one moment of encouragement can make them move mountains. I know it to be true because Iwas one of them. They don't need to be called names and be told that they are less than, because of the color of their skin or because of where they come from.

I was told that one of these children, a seven year old, asked her mother if she was "to black to be in a pool." How do you answer that? How do you get a seven year old past that?

Again, it broke my heart and I wanted todo something, and I feel like you all would want to do something, too.That's why I'm telling you this. Since you all have put me in the position to be able to do something I feel like by me doing this we are all doing it together.

So what I did was on Aug 1st thru 3rd I'm sending these kidsto Disney World, and then to a Disney water park. I want them to know that for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them.

This is all about then kids. So, thank you for letting me do this. Thank you so much.

And do me a favor please. When you see these kids coming through the airport, (I'msure you won't be able to miss them. I imagine they are going to be superexcited) when you see them in the park and in the hotel, let's show them a whole lot of love and respect.

Show them that they are just as good asanyone else. And show them that they can do or be anything they want tobe no matter what any one says!

Thanks,
Tyler Perry

That's what I'm Talking About!

(L to R) Andrea, Kiki (Jacquelyne) and Trishaa.

This is my first grandchild graduating from highs school 6-12-08. She is off to college in the fall as a pre-law major. Her mom (to the left) will be graduating with her Masters in Education in July. She is a teacher in mathematics.

Her aunt to the left will be entering dental school in the fall..

Time to be a mom and crow for a moment, to see some of the fruition of the sacrifices one has made to see this happen. All my children and my grandchildren all have tremendous artistic sensibiities. And I am delighted as the "moonwalkers" move to a new stage of life.

Way to Grow Kiki!

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed."Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.The sand is everything else--the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. "

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first --the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."