Credit Must be given where it is due









This is a young man from Africa with a tumor growing out of the front of his face. Below is a picture of the same young man after his surgery. Now I have seen even more hideous tumors such as one the size of a basketball growing out of an old mans face and neck, or a tumor that was growing out of a mans eye that hung down to his stomach and to tell the truth some of the deformities these and other poverty stricken folks have to deal with is something that bothers me and causes me question the fairness of a god that would allow such awful things to happen( especially to children). However because of the work of Mercy Ships a Charitable Christian missionary organization thousands of people ( Africans) have been saved from slow and painful deaths. This young man for example was on his way to being either suffocated or starved to death all because of a mutant tumor that was removed by Christians on board of a Mercy Ship.








Although I do not endorse religion of any sect these guys from Mercy Ships, http://mercyglobal.com/harris.htm) are putting in serious, profound and revolutionary work on behalf of humanity and for the Christian god they represent. For that I must show them love. Mercy Ships were formed back in 1978, they are a Christian Charitable organization, they operate a fleet of ships that travel all around the African coast providing free health care as well as other types of humanitarian aide. They have performed thousands of surgeries to correct life threatening deformities resulting from tumors, disease and not having access to even basic health care. These conditions are made worse for many people by not having access to clean water and sanitary living conditions. Add to that the lack of education and the damage to these places from war and unstable governments and you have a situation where the sick have very few places to turn to for care.


These Mercy Field workers often travel long distances to pick up patients in remote villages then drive them back to the Mercy Ships for Medical treatment. They also make these trips to find people in need of the services provided by Mercy, all of these services are free. When the Mercy Field workers find people with debilitating conditions and deformities they show those people the pictures of past surgeries of others with similar conditions who were helped by Mercy, then they try to convince them to travel to the ship to be screened and possibly treated. They also provide services such as teaching rural villagers new farming techniques, road building and repair in order to provide access for additional aide and commerce and well digging so that people can have access to clean drinking water. Over the years they have earned their credentials as warriors in the cause of making a positive difference in the world, when it comes to this they are innovate, relentless and effective. All of the Medical care and job skills training Mercy provides is free and most of the workers including the Doctors are volunteers who charge no money for their services. www.mvanastasis.com


For some people Mercy is a Miracle straight from heaven one which they have prayed for all of their lives. Because of the grotesque nature of some of these ailments, some people had been been ostracised by their communities and families, because it was thought that their deformities were caused by witchcraft. Some people had been ridiculed and abandoned by their own family members because of their conditions. Some people had exhausted all of their savings and traveled hundreds of miles over dangerous roads and territories to seek treatment in what few hospitals their are in those countries. Only to be told things such as the surgery would cost too much or that their ( African Hospitals) were not equipped to perform the surgeries. One boy did receive treatment for a giant tumor growing out of the front of his mouth www.mercyglobal.com/alfred/alfred1.htm, however the treatment he received was an intravenous drip which the tumor greedily drank and grew even bigger from. Some people helped by Mercy have even converted to Christianity and started working in the name of god to bring. Some people who received care from Mercy said that the kindness and love showed to them by the mercy staff had reaffirmed their faith in god and given them hope in humanity.


Now don't get me wrong I am resolute in my dislike of all religions and I will never let an opportunity to bash and/or to discredit any religion get away from me. However the truth must be told and broadcast to the world 24x7 no matter what the truth is because generally speaking I believe that the truth is the best policy. The Mercy staff are truly warriors and although I ain't feeling the Christianity part of their mission I do appreciate and respect the service they provide. I respect the Mercy folks for bringing love and hope were their was once despair and for relieving thousands of people of painful ailments and deformities. The Mercy folks are warriors in the struggle to improve the human condition and I would go into battle with them on behalf of that cause any day of the week. Credit most be given were credit is due. Major Kudos to Mercy ships and their staff they are truly a righteous christian organization.

IDEAS ON HOW BLACK PEOPLE CAN FUND A CURE AIDS
By Mark Bey


I believe that we black folk can fund a cure for aids. I have no idea how long it will take. But imagine this, what if some progressive group of black folks as well as our social organizations got together to educate black people totally and thoroughly about aids. How is it contracted and how to protect ourselves from it? For those already infected where to get treatment and medication at. Such an initiative, I hope would fall under a larger promotion or effort to improve the quality of health and life for African Americans.

As a way of raising money I’m thinking we could hold a telethon to raise money for this initiative. I’m thinking something along the lines of those “United Negro College Fund“
Telethons that Lou Rawls use to host. www.uncf.org/webfeature/Lou_Rawls_Eulogy.asp However this telethon would be aimed at raising money to find a cure for aids, getting those already infected treated as well as bringing an overwhelming focus on this disease with the goal of ending its reign of terror over the world. The black church would have a huge role to play in an effort such as this one. It will be necessary to create and develop partnerships and cooperation with churches and our other social organizations who are already working on this issue in an aggressive way. .

Now to get this ball rolling it would take a serious amount of teamwork and discipline amongst hundreds, possibly thousands of people and organizations. It will take all of these people working together to create a program that focuses on

1) Killing the stigma attached to aids and taking the shame out so that everyone will get tested and treated if treatment is needed.
2) Aggressively educating the public on how aids is contracted, who‘s at risk and how to protect ourselves. .
3) Additional ways that generate income to expedite the massive amount of research necessary to find a cure for aids.
In a perfect or even ideal world Magic Johnson would host the telethon and we would have a lineup of twelve or so prominent artist and entertainers such as.
L.L Cool J
Erica Badu
Jill Scott
Lauryn Hill
Common
Mos Def
Jay Z
Nas
Stevie Wonder
OutKast
Alisha Keys
Prince


The celebrities would perform and then say something inspirational, then Magic and the artist could explain to the audience the purpose and goals of the telethon then ask everyone to please pledge as much money as they could spare because the money would be used to search for a cure for aids 24×7. I think it would be wise to have an independent organization investigate all of our transactions and then make that investigation public in the spirit of transparency, that way everyone will know that we are sincere and forthright in how we use the funds we raise. Institutions such as Bill Clintons www.clintonfoundation.org/index.htm and the Gates foundation www.gatesfoundation.org/default.htm could advise us on which studies and projects to fund using the money we have raised.

Last idea on this matter we could manufacture and sell very simple but perpetually needed products like tissue, napkins, soap deodorant, ect as a further effort to raise even more money for this project. For instance if every black person were to buy tissue or soap from a corporation that then donated all of the profits from this initiative to find a cure for aids imagine how much money could be generated. I’m thinking billions of dollars a year could be raised by simply rerouted the buying habits of black people and that income could then be used to help fund the cure for this murderous disease and I’m talking about an all encompassing effort, something along the lines of the what it took to build the first Nuclear bomb ( Manhattan Project www.eh.doe.gov/ohre/roadmap/achre/intro_3.html ) or some of that John F Kennedy America will put a man on the moon in ten years juice along with the work to back it up.

This aids project would be black folks own version of those mandates except we would be taking responsibility on our own and we don’t need a penny from anyone or group to do this. We could get this ball rolling in the next 2 years with the right amount of community support in my opinion. Perhaps if we are good enough at raising and promoting the right climate for something like this, we could get everyone in America, who needs it on treatment thus keeping millions of Americans alive until a cure is finally discovered and made available through science.


There is nothing we can do to change the past but we can protect ourselves and our kid’s futures by using all precautions to prevent any more HIV spread or infections in our communities. I think we should engage in a mass treatment and training program targeted at the black community, organized and conducted by the churches, the NAACP, ECT. I think if we focus more of our collective energy into such ideas we could move the process of finding a cure for aids along a lot faster than it is currently moving. If black folk decide to do something collectively about this issue I believe we can when this battle the same way we won the Montgomery bus boycott during the 1950’s.

VOLTRON......... THOSE WERE THE GOOD OLE DAYS






If you are between the ages of 36 -29 you will probably remember the cartoon Voltron. As for me Voltron has got to be one of my 5 best all time cartoons. If you once enjoyed Voltron (or still do thru cable) as a kid then check this link(http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=79377825960546335&q=voltron ) out and let me know what you think.

WHAT IF THE WORLD RETURNED TO THE WAY IT WAS 2000 YEARS AGO

For a while now I have been wondering what would happen to human beings if we were stripped of all technology and the world returned to the way it was 2000 years ago. Here’s the scenario we would exist under. The population would be decreased to lets say 100 million people, thier are no books, or any other human inventions we take for granted nowadays.

We are in North America, there is an equal amount of people from all races here and although thier are no inventions, we (man) have retained all of the knowledge we have aquired up until 2006 it just isnt written down which means a lot of knowledge would be lost. We would know how to set up a democratic goverment, have the knowledge to smelt metal, we would know how to build houses from grasses (Also from wood if we could cut it), we would know that mosquitoes cause many ailments and would have enough sense not to build our homes near river, lakes or streams.


Now here are some of the problems I see, America 2000 years ago was full of dangerous critters such grizzlies and black bears, wolves and panthers as well as crocodiles and alligators if your living down the south. We would have all of these things to contend with, plus no weapons or shelter to protect ourselves from the elements. So now you have the scenario that we would be living under. What do you think are the first and most important things we would have to do to survive and how long would it take for man to get back to anything approaching the modern world we live in today.

By the way we are all transported to this imaginary world with nothing but a T-Shirt and shorts on no shoes and it is mid –September.

Start a Job program in Africa

Thier are many things that the continent of Africa needs that its Human Capitol can provide. Africa has great mineral, animal as well many other types of resources. The resources can be used to manufacturer products, that the people on the continent need. The labor, time, investment and effort put into producing some of the products ( things such as Corn, Oats, Oil ect) would create jobs needed to in their production. And hopefully those jobs will stimulate related economies related and attached to thier social business/plan/philosophy.


Africans should produce the products that they need and create the jobs to produce those products. Once again I’m talking about the corn , oats, oil or whatever it may be that Africans need or even desire. Different enhancing and supporting services, goods and businesses could be created by Africans to go along with those needed products . Africans could be trained at academic academies to serve specific government and social functions all throughout the continent. The Africans could be trained to form and create their own think tanks on how to practically govern and create a prosperous, friendly and strong continents especially in the economic and social realms. This will generate a fair share of wealth for the governments in the form of taxes.


For instance Africa could and should supply all of her own needs for oil. Whether that be exploration, refinement or creation of products directly associated with oil. The Revenue generated can provide income and financing for other investment in Africa’s great supply of Natural resources. In oil rich places like Nigeria and Angola I believe that the oil companies making huge profits should be forced or politically influenced to set up training, mentorship and education programs. This will result in a process that allows Africans to develop their own companies and gain more control over their own resources. The profits from all of these activities should be used to enhance Africa’s social and economic infrastructure. Once Africa develops and can process its own wealth it can then develop an economic and social structure that promotes justice, equality of all ethnicities, democracy , and complete transparency within government.This intellectual and educational community would also have to have a strong human, civil and woman’s rights and component. Full equality of African women is vital to Africas development. Africa must promote laws, rules, customs that encourage respect and honor of woman and children. Women must have access to all levels of power in government, the community and home if Africa wants to compete in the comming years global economy.

Africa must use the gifts and potential of its human capitol including its women and children if she wants to become a 1st or even a second world nation. Also safe sex must be encourage on an epic scale to slow the spread of aids. Think about this Africa is going to need a lot of aids caregivers in the seeable future, this is where our beautiful African sisters could and would shine. Development of all of Africa's human capitol is vital for the success of Africa.

One prime example of what I’m talking about would be for the Africans to produce a simple product like oodles and noodles ( or any other cheap and convient product you can think of). Oodles and Noodles can be used to feed billions of people cheap and economically Africans could grow and produce the materials used in making the noodles, they could own and drive the cars that be ship the product and stored very easily. The product also has a very long shelf life. Now the product we produce don’t just have to be Noodles they anything from solar panels used in the god awful hot Sudan to generate electric, to wind mills or any other lucrative business venture.

I believe Africans have the resources to create themselves without any outside assistance.

1) Bikes you need Rubber, metal, to produce bikes. African should become a bike and Scooter society.

2) Transportation society including an Airline that was ran, managed and overseen by a neutral service outside of the continents.

3) A continental sports and entertainment consortiums that . These consortiums would be used to figure our where to put soccer, and other sport franchises that were economically viable across Africa. Africans can make music and art as good as everyone else. Africans can play soccer at least as good as everyone else. So why shouldn’t they finance their own teams* With econonimies around, supporting or related to the sports teams.* Media Jobs would be created by the sports and entrainment franchise.* This media consortium would also but TV shoes and advertising agencies. With a think tank and investment corporation to go along with it.

4) Intellectual academies composed of very smart youth from all over Africa, to be keepted in low or no frills boarding house schools, fed all they want and earn their keep by learning english, math etc, while be trained to be leaders. These schools would function like this, we take young boys and girls from war torn and poverty stricken regions who are known to be good in math or show lots of potential in other relevant areas. We build a community for the youth, much like college cities, supplied goods and services (laundry, snacks, delivery, ect). We create these intellectual communities, we give the youth English lessons first and strenuously, we give them heavy doses of math, business, science, HIV prevention and good and clean government lesson training. This intellectual community would be composed of the boys and girls who would be students and Teachers who would be comprised of ( In theory at least) world class professors who donate their time to teach their on their vacations, teachers as part of missionary and other social programs, students majoring in community service and education who need internships to graduate. The schools and the educational community would be monitored by the most balanced and accurate education accreditation body.

With innovatation, agency, self reliance, thrift and good TRANSPARENT GOVERMENT we Africans can do this. MUCH LOVE TO AFRICA. IN FACT IF YOUR BLACK AND YOU DONT LOVE AFRICA F#CK YOU.

THESE GUYS OFFEND ME ON GENERAL PRINCIPLE
Although I know they serve a purpose (Shiver)





Im not talking about the fish Im talking about that god awlful worm in his mouth. To be precise its scientific name is Cymothoa exigua and it is an Isopod an undersea crustacean closely related to wood lice ( Potato Bugs) . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlouse This particular parasite is the only known parasite that eats and then replaces a body part or organ of its host. This animal crawls into fish through thier gill slots, attaches itself to the toungue of its victim and feeds on the tongues blood supply. Once the tongue shrivels up the Louse takes the place of the tongue, processing the fishes food and feeding itself in the process.








I know your saying enough with the parasite articles but I just had to express exactly how I feel about this critter. So I promise this last post about parasites. http://progressatallcost.blogspot.com/2006/08/why-i-dont-believe-god-as-presented- However in defense of myself just let me say that the louse is abusing that poor fish, and said fish (snapper) bieng my favorite I just couldnt let this ride. Im so offended by these guys that if I had access to gods control room or one of his magic wands I would get rid of these guy's once and for all. I would show them zero mercy.

WHY I DONT BELIEVE GOD AS PRESENTED BY CHRISTIANITY/ISLAM/JUDISISM
Count your blessing every single day.


When I was a kid I use to lay awake at night wondering why some people didn’t have enough food to eat. I use to wonder why some kids weren’t loved by parents, who were there to guide and protect them. I’m talking about Parents who take thier kids to movies and museums every so often provide them with decent clothes and at least show up at some of their football/basketball/soccer practices or games. As a child I considered myself lucky to have a safe home, enough food to eat and my own good common sense. I was never expecting god to bless all people equally but I have always wondered why some people have so much and others can barely get by and to be honest some people don’t get by at all. Some folks don’t even have the opportunity to improve the quality of life for either themselves or their families. Like the 2 men pictured in this article from India and Africa who will always be severely disabled and greatly pained by their conditions, these 2 men are just 1 of over 1 hundred million at risk of this hideous affliction. These conditions which I consider to be way out of the Karmic bounds of fair play, do not allow afflicted people to enjoy any kind of balanced or prosperous existence whatsover.

The pictures in this article are of two men infected by elephantitis ( Lymphatic filariasis) which is named after the so called" elephant man" a gentlemen named John Merrick (1862-1890) who lived in England during the 1900 century. The pathogen that causes Elephantitis is a round worm infestation spread by mosquitoes the worms attacks the Lymph Nodes in the joints and in the case of males, sometimes the scrotum.http://www.videovat.com/videos/308/balls.aspx, Elephantiasis of the scrotum their are cases of men afflicted whose scrotums have grown to over 50 pounds making it impossible to move even short distances without assistance from people in their community. The worms cause, swelling and pus accumulation which leads to huge cyst like growths that sometimes break the skin and become infected. Much like John Merrick these Human beings are often shunned and made fun of by many people in the villages and communities they live in. In one African village a women was introduced to her potential husband in an arranged marriage but he refused to marry her when he saw her ladies deformed limbs.

All my life I have heard people say things such as "God blessed me with a good life" wife or husband. I have heard people say things like pray and everything will be alright. Ive seen opposing sides of championship teams praying to god for victory. I have even heard professional athletes such as Reggie White and Charles Barkley claim that god told them their teams would achieve victory in a championship game. I have seen people pray for the Redskins to beat the Hated Dallas Cowboys in a regular season game, I have heard people say things such as god blessed them with a bike, TV, fresh gear or various other sorts of material items. Now, what I can’t understand is this, if god is in the business of answering prayers and wishes then how come he doesn’t relieve folk’s likes the ones pictured in this article of their suffering. I can understand people going through, pain, I can understand someone loosing all of their money, I can even understand a good man or women never being able to find a husband or wife or two people who once loved each other ending up in a painful divorce. I’m not asking for a perfect world or for happy endings all of the time. I’m pretty sure that the people afflicted by these terrible deformities have prayed for relief from their suffering. In fact I am sure that many family members have prayed and prayed and prayed as hard as they possibly could for relief from this abominable affliction but yet over 26 million people have this affliction and 1 hundred million people world wide are in constant danger of catching this affliction including children. From the way I look at things it doesn’t make sense for a merciful god to bless people with frivolous things they don’t need but then allow people who are suffering from painful, disabling and disfiguring diseases such as lymphatic filariasis . This disease by definition robs its victim of their dignity, freedom and many times their lives. It is my opinion that no just god who is in the business of listening to and answering peoples prayers would ever allow this to happen to any of his children especially if he loved them.

Lawd Have Mercy It Be Hot PT III

One night in early August of the lords year 2000 and 6, for the 3rd time in a month the good people who live on 16th and C streets N.E Washington DC lost their power once again(including yours truly). The only difference between this time and the other 2 times was the heat. Although it was hot on the prior 2 occasions this time the power went out on the hottest day of the year, were talking about 96% plus at 11:00 pm at night. So once again when it first happened I went outside on the porch and saw people on their front porches as well.

My neighbor who was very annoyed sat on her front porch next to mine, stating that she was tired of this. Fortunately for her and the rest of her family they had family in Maryland they could go stay with until the power came back on which they had done the last time the power went off.I however had no relatives in Maryland I could stay with, so having to go to work the next day I went back upstairs and tried to get some sleep.

Immediately upon laying down in my stifling apartment, I once again began to understand what the poor crab cooking in a pot must feel like. I tried not to think about how hot it was but no amount of imagination could change the boiling hot reality that it was indeed stifling and I was going to suffer until the power came back on. Fortunately this night the power didn’t stay off for longer than an hour, bringing relief to all of the people of 16th N.E Washington DC. I think its safe to say that everyone one on 16th were much happier campers when the power came back on. Hopefully this type of pestilence will never swoop down on the good folks of N.E Washington ever again, and for the rest of the nights of our existence we will sleep happily and peacefully ever after.


The End……….Hopefully

I'm Back

Hello Blog Friends and family I am sorry that I have not posted anything lately, but I have been suffering from bloggers block. Yeah I know it’s a sad thing to admit with all of the juicy tidbits of interesting news going on all over the globe, but it’s the truth. Well to be honest its at least part of the truth, the other part is that I have been intellectually lazy and uncommitted to blogging. I apologize for not leaving any red meat out for any of the intellectual Carnivores but I will soon remedy that. I have been reading and posting at other blogs, just not posting on my own, so now in the words of the greatest basketball player ever to play the game “I’m Back". Let the rants, diatribes, name calling, legitimate exchange of ideas and debates resume. Special thanks to my man Ugz for stopping by and dropping knowledge while I was out of the game.

WHEN THE LITTLE PEOPLE STRIKE BACK
(sometimes the wretched do get satisfaction)

I have always had soft spot in my heart for the little guy. It has always felt good to me when I believe that justice has been served. We as a race (human) and people (African Americans) know what its like to understand the good, bad and all things in between. So it is in this spirit that I document a few instances of such occurrences.Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland in the early part of the 19th century. As a young teen she was struck in the head by her overseer for refusing to help him tie and beat a slave who'd tried to escape. For the rest of her life she would suffer dizzy spells and memory lost. Mrs. Tubman would later escape north but would make 19 trips down south and eventually lead 300 slaves to freedom. But I would imagine the especially sweet moments had to be freeing her family including her 70 year old parents shed left in bondage . That had to be a really special feeling to actually have successfully led her mother and father to the promise land and after a particularly difficult trip. The Little people striking back indeed!

In Virginia during the civil war an ex-slave turned Union soldier saw his master a confederate POW being lead away in chains and remarked “bottom Rail on top now Massa, bottom rail on top", in april of 1880’s, a black Cadet named Johnson Whittaker enrolled at the United States Military Academy (West Point), was attacked early one morning, beaten unconscious and tied to the his bed then left their bound and gagged, when he was discovered the next morning he , he was questioned by a doctor, who assumed he had tied himself up and bruised his body. Johnson Whittaker was then detained, charged and convicted for tying himself up, and injuring himself to get out of having to take a test (from a class he was passing at that). Of course the military commission that tried him was nothing more than a Kangaroo court designed to swiftly convict and get rid of the “Nigger” Cadet. After being convicted and sentenced to a military prison, West point was purged of that years only black cadet. Because of his bogus conviction his prison sentenced would later be commuted and he was dishonorably discharged. Whittaker would go on to a glorious career educating the freed peoples and their children. He would live to see his son’s and grandson serve as officers in the United States army, I can imagine that looking back on all of his life he must have felt great pride in his accomplishments (and his sons accomplishments). I imagine Mr. Whittaker as an old man sitting around the house with his grand kids and great grand kids and feeling great pride at having overcome racism of the most virulent form to extract some well earned satisfaction at the progress of his family. I can also imagine the pleasure that slave in Virginia, got when seeing his master and informing him of switch in circumstances. Just another glorious example of little people striking back.

Now for my last example of the little people receiving their due and attaining satisfaction. Somewhere in Atchison Kansas where the winters are very cold and the summers are very hot a woman named Ruth Ann Jackson and a man Joseph H Williams would come together in marriage to produce 10 kids. After 6 or so kids Joseph and Ruth split, only getting together to produce a kid every couple of years or so. Why they chose to continue having kids while not together I have no idea but anyway, it was during this period when Joseph began to claim that youngest of Ruth’s kids were not his.Everyone knew this was foolishness but that didn’t stop Joseph from telling any friend or family member those kids weren’t his. Anyway after one particular offensive instance of Joseph claiming not to be the father of Ruth's youngest kids. Their 12 year old daughter (Carmelia) brought one of the babies (Bess Jackson) that ole Joey claimed wasn’t his, home for his entire homestead and extended family to see. Lo and behold wouldn’t you know it the baby as well as all of the other kids (ole joey claimed wasn’t his) looked just like Joseph. In fact one of those kids would have a son (Joseph’s grandson) who would look just like Joseph. Legend has it that ole joey was cured of saying those kids weren’t his for all times after that. Major kudos to young Carmelia Jackson for her bold and daring move. I can imagine that Carmelia had had enough of ole Joey's Bull Shit and had decided to re-educate him as to the error of his (lying) ways. And what better way to do so other than using his own (child) handy work. So in solidarity with the eternal and universal struggle of all little people who have ever lived Carmelia struck a mighty blow and manage to change ole Joey's tune. By the way Carmelia just happens to be my aunt and Ole Joey my grandfather who I just happen to resemble more than I resemble my sister. Pretty strange for a grandkid not related to old Joey. Hmmmm.

SO IN CONCLUSION GOD BLESS ALL OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE WHO MANAGE TO RE-EDUCATE THE A##WHOLES OF THE WORLD ABOUT EQUALITY AND GAIN A LITTLE SATISFACTION FOR US THE WRETCHED WHO ARE FORCED ON A DAILY BASIS TO ENDURE THIER BULLSHIT. MARK BEY

JULY 12 POWER GOES OUT AGAIN
LAWD HAVE MERCY IT BE HOT PT II



On the night of July 12, somewhere in N.E Washington DC, shortly pass 2am the power went out for the second time in 8 days. As I and others peacefully slept, bothering no one and quite contented the entire block on 16th street lost power.


I was not happy, In fact I think its safe to say that no one my street was in good spirits. This time there was no cold beer, in fact I had no cold anything everthing in my home quickly became hot. So, having to go work the next day I closed my eyes and tried to go back to swelter.........Oh Im sorry I meant to say sleep. Once again I tried to pretend that it wasnt that bad, but to be honest I wasnt fooling anybody it was hot.


So thier I lay fully understanding what the poor crab who has been placed in water to boiled for human consumption goes thru. Just my luck after 2 years of not loosing power I loose it twice it twice in 8 days. But fortunately for me and everyone else on 16th st the power only stayed off for about an hour. When I heard the radio click back on and the Air Conditioner cough then sputter back to life I knew thier was a god. I knew someone or something was looking out for a brother. Peace. Mark Bey

THE HISTORY DETECTIVES WHAT A GREAT SHOW





One of my favorite shows over the last 2 years is a show called The History Detectives which is a show produced by PBS. I have a deep and fundemental love for history (especially black history). I am very happy there is an African American male on the show, his name is Tukufu Zuberi. This brother is a very smooth , intelligent and articulate dude who represents himself well and deffinately adds to the show. The fact that he works in a scholastic field is something that black folks (youth) can be proud of because there are not enough black men or women who get such oppurtunities. Whenever I see a black man doing his thing in academia it makes me happy because thier are not enough. Keep representive for the rest of us Tukufu.





Now what makes the show good is that its supensful and informative all at the same time . Each show is split up into 3 or 4 segments, each segment starts with a guest who wants to know the story behind an artifact they collected, bought or inherited. One of the History Detectives meets with the guest, gets some initial info on the artifact and thus begans each episode. Sometimes stories have been passed down to the guest thru family members and others. The artifacts could be anything
from very old books- 18th century dolls, ect. In an effort to identity the items the detectives will search, through archives, libraries, newspapers, talk to historians as well as visit different places all over the country. They could be researching a doll allegedly given to a slave by Confederate General Robert E. Lee, or whether or not a famous Indian chief gave a former Union Army General a Tomahaw. It could be anything old artific one could think of.










This show is one that I always try to watch and Tukufu is my favorite history dectective In fact it was from Tukufu that I learned that Robert E Lee once ordered a slave who had run away to be whipped. I have used this juicy little tibit of information in my quest to re-educate lost cost Civil War bloggers who try to pretend that the Confederacy was not fighting for thier slave property. Also the children of the Confederate Clowns of America........oh Im sorry I meant to say Confederate States of America are going around trying to say that thier Wascaly little rebellion was about honor and principle. They even have the nerve to call it the war of Northern Agreession even though they fired the first shot. These Clowns seemed not to ever have come across the South Carolina Articles of Session where it clearly states the Confederate Clowns Of America were fighting because they feared loss of thier slaves. Now in Oxon Hill we have always refered to this behavior as white "Cooning". Anyway I have digressed let us return to the history detectives. After thorough research the detectives return to the guest house or sometimes they bring the guest to the field of study, sometimes they tell the guest things such as We cant confirm that the Lee family gave the doll to the slave, but thier are accounts of the Lees giving dolls as gifts much like the doll the guest owns. Sometimes it is discovered that the person the guest thought was associated with the with the artifact actually was. All in all I consider the History Detectives a very good show. I recomend it for anyone with a love of American history. Mark Bey

Plan for getting kids reading and writing on their correct grade level

I believe that if a woman signs up for Welfare, her kids should have to pass a reading, writing , ect test. If the mother cant read well enough to assist her children, there should be tutoring lessons available. These lessons would be given by tutors , volunteers, interns and staff. I would love to make this a military run or assisted group of programs. This is how it could work, when a woman signs up for welfare, she signs a contract stating that she will keep her children’s grades on average grade level for their age. This means she will enforce their homework policy, make sure they study, find and create study groups for her kids . They will be regularly tested to ensure that they are functioning on grade level. There are already programs of this sort being run by the government, schools, churches, recreation centers. Ect. So some of these programs could be melded, recreated, expanded ect. A woman who signs up for welfare would have a bonus taxed on her check that is collected into a bonus to equal $ 1000 dollars.


Job Training/Entrepreneurial program

Once youth are in high school maybe we could set up youth core programs that would train youth on the skills and acceptable ways to conduct oneself at work. We could also teach them Entrepreneurial skills. For example DC has a large tourism population. Why not set up youth run jobs such as tours of dc historic neighborhoods, youth ran lawn care services and clean services for the city. Especially the rivers and wild areas. We could also set up arts programs for musically and dance talented youth , the youth could stage shows and performances , sell tickets and learn business skills.


Manhattan Project type effort to find a cure for aids.

Their have been several times when the nation has pulled together in a group effort for the common good and interest of the nation. The nation should do this and find a cure for aids. In the early 1940’s the US government created the Manhattan project to develop a nuclear bomb for the nation. It had been widely understood that Nuclear Energy could be used to create the most power weapon in the history of the world. So with that in mind the US government brought together the best scientific minds in the field, in and effort to beat the Germans. After bombing Germany’s heavy water and Nuclear bomb plant the Americans finally succeeded in creating the bomb, in time enough to use . After dropping bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Japanese surrendered thus ending WW2. Also in the early 1960’s President Kennedy proclaimed that America should make it a priority to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade and the American space program made it happen. I say we can same do the thing, when it comes to finding a cure for aids. We get together the best thinkers and scientist in the Field. Have them meditate (think tank) on it, create a program and then get to work finding a cure. We set up massive concerts such as freedom fest and Live Aid (especially featuring the black celebrities we have) to raise money for a Manhattan type of program to discover a cure for aids. Also people with aids should be able to have up to $500.00 dollars of their taxes differed to this effort. This project should make it a goal to find a cure within the next 10 years. We could try to get Bill Gates to add his muscle to this program.


I look forward to any comments or ideas anyone may have. Mark Bey

JUST A COUPLE OF IDEAS

I’ve got some thoughts , I’m thinking that if a women has kids and she signs up for welfare. She should also sign something saying her kids will be reading and writing on their correct grade level. Look I’m not knocking welfare or people who need help. But their are a whole lot of people getting over on the welfare system. Not everyone but too many people for my taste and working people who pay taxes have a right that those dollars be used efficiently.


Anyway this is what I think we should do and some ideas on how to implement it. If a woman signs up for welfare shouldn’t her kids be at least functioning at the normal grade school level. If the mother cant read we can get her tutoring lessons. I believe that this can be done relatively cheap as both college and high school students need volunteer hours to graduate. The students could tutor the parents in reading first. Then they could move on to basic math science whatever basic courses elementary school kids have. After passing these classes , the parents would get a financial bonus.

When the kids become old enough to began the process of learning to read. We could have free tutoring daycare for the kids ages 3 - 18. All of these services would be performed by volunteers, interns and students. Every year you have basic skills and function test. The purpose of these test would be to make sure that every child is reading and writing at the proper grade level. Students could train the parents to began to teach their kids how to read and write at grade level. We could have public after school programs ran by the parents, students, and professionals (some volunteers). We should also create after games and other interactive activities using rap to teach, reading writing and arithmetic. These programs could be conducted well by the mothers (primarily ones who are smart and have their shit somewhat together), College students in school for education, as well as high school students who need volunteer hours to graduate.


Along the way (from ages 14 -21) you could have the mothers in this program retrained as mothers, leaders and educators to their children. We could set up test for parents and their kids that make sure that they functioning on their correct educational level. . If anyone has any objections to test we can try to do something else that tells how well mothers and kids are doing. I figure it this way, if were going to foot the bill in order to provide welfare to needy women. I got no problem with that , but at least the parents could put in a serious effort to make sure their kids are getting education, reading and writing skills they will need to survive. This also goes for men with kids who sign up for welfare. Mark Bye

Happy 500th hit to Progress

Hey folks I just reached my 500th hit here at Progress. I have only been in the blogging game since April, and already Ive joined the 500 club. Anyway I would like to thank all my fellow bloggers for their love and support. Thanks for rolling with a brother. Peace. Mark Bey

Fourth of July Power Outage

(LAWD HAVE MERCY IT BE HOT)

Hello fellow bloggers. I was on the Net blogging early Fourth of July morning when I decided to make a pilgrimage to 7/11 to cop goodies. So after accomplishing my mission (unlike G Bush), I hopped back on my bike and I’m back on my street in about 10 minutes. When I pulled up to my house I noticed that the street lights were out on my block. Also there are people outside sitting on the porch. At that point I’m thinking man, this aint looking good. But I’m hopping against hope because it is hot even at 2:00 in the morning and the weather man has already said that it would be a scorcher on the fourth.



You see it is 4th of July 2006 in Washington DC. Folks are already lighting fireworks (as they have been for the last ten days). As one can imagine it is pretty hot in DC right now, so when I saw those people on the porch at 2:00 in the morning that was not a good sign. I was beginning to realize I was in for some serious sweltering/sweating. I open the front door, and don’t here my TV, this is not good because I know I left the TV on before I left. I get upstairs and everything soon became official the power was indeed off, and it was roasting. Their was no was air condition, no radio or TV, personally I can deal with the TV and Radio being out of action, but not having the Air conditioner and the computer will be tough deal with. I grab the OJ and a chair then go outside and sit on my front porch to cool off. I grab my headphones set the dial to NPR and listen to the radio while drinking OJ. By this time a few kids along with their parents have come outside to escape the heat. I’m sitting on the porch trying to avoid the miniature vampires (mosquitoes) and watching a few kids run around playing. After about 15 minutes I head upstairs to try in get some swelter..... Oh I’m sorry I mean sleep. Already I have decided that if the power is not back on in the morning that Ill go to Borders book store as soon as it opens in order to find relief/refuge from the heat.



So I lay down and after about 40 minutes of boiling, I eventually fall asleep, it was a decent sleep I mean I didn’t wake up and I don’t remember what I dreamed about so it must have been a decent sleep. When I finally wake up the sun is shining brightly, which is a good. It is also roasting which is not a good thing. What I’m hoping for is that it is 10:00 am for that is the time that Borders opens up. I slip on the headphones and wait for NPR to announce the time because I don’t have a watch. I listen to NPR and after about ten minutes NPR graciously announces it is ten O’Clock. Good, so I take a shower then head out to Borders which is about 20 minutes away by bike (13 minutes by car). Ill admit it was a nice hot bike ride, but it was a lot better than roasting in my apartment, finally I reach the promise land (borders).

After locking up my bike I walk into the coolness and tranquility of the book store. First thing I do is go to the Cafe and order a small Latte with a double shot of expresso. Having secured the Latte I walk over to the section where they display the new Biographies, and to my pleasant surprise their is a new book about U.S Grant, the Union civil war General that is largely credited with winning the civil war. This is a good thing as I am a huge Grant fan and ravid civil war enthusiast (ever since I saw Glory). So I grab the book about Grant find one of the nice comfortable black leather chairs and spend the next 4 hours in the pleasant environment of Borders. So after 4 hours of reading I leave Borders and head home, I’m hoping that the power will be back on when I arrive.When I arrive in my neighborhood I’m seeing signs that the power is still on. Mainly several people with several bags of Ice are coming out of the corner (Mom and Pop) store. I’m hopping against hope that the Ice is for coolers to chill drinks at barbeques as people are celebrating Independence day and not because the power is still off. I go into the store buy some more juice, ice for my cooler just in case and a 24 once MGD (Miller Genuine Draft). After paying for my juice and beer I hop on my bike and head home, about a minute later I arrive at my front door.


Down the street I see a power company truck and a work crew, this brings me some hope that the power may be back on yet. As I’m locking my bike up on my front porch I see the power truck coming up the street, hopefully this means the power's back on, I’m still hoping when I see one of my neighbors motion to the power truck and raise his arms and yell, "Yall aint got the power on yet’. Hearing this dashes all of my hopes for a comfortable rest of the day. Anyway I walk up stairs and it is hot so I put the drinks in the cooler, after I sit down I pour myself a cup of cold beer, grab a book, put on my headphones and try to pretend that it is not that hot. One problem though, it is too hot to even pretend that its not that hot, unfortunately their is nothing I can do except drink cold beer (which I’m thankful for) and wait out the heat (which Im not thankful for).

As the hours go by It finally dawns on me what a poor crab must go through, when the water theyve been placed in (for cooking), is just beginning to get really, really warm, those poor crabs must be in agony feeling the temperature get warmer and warmer with no way of cooling off. I unlike those crabs I had the option of opening the cooler and splashing my face arms and legs with ice cold water, their is no such reprieve for the crab ( or Lobster for that matter), but I digress, let me get on with the story. As the day goes (broils on) I’m drinking cold beer and listening to an Npr story featuring Helen Thomas about checks and balances set up by the founding fathers to minimize corruption and other abuses of power by government. After a few hours of broiling, drinking beer and listening to Npr I noticed that clouds began to form in the sky.




Finally it rained (thunder stormed) briefly, which lowered the Temperature from 93 down to a comfortable 70 degrees. Two hours after the Storm the power came back on and I imagine their were a lot of happy people on my street including yours truly. So in conclusion I would like to say to all of my fellow bloggers whether or not you ever get caught without power if you insist on eating Crab or Lobster please make sure the water or stove is boiling hot before you put em in. It is this bloggers opinion that there is no need to make the poor crab (soon to be dinner) suffer any more than needs be. Also there is a part of me that wants to believe the storm ( and the cooler temperatures that came with it) was The big G (god) having mercy on my poor (overly heated ) soul. Although I can’t prove it was The big G (god), the lower temperatures were right on time, so that’s the story I’ll stick to. Mark Bey

Kings Legacy for Sale $$$$$

A couple of weeks ago while listening to Npr I heard a story of how Dr. Kings children were planning on auctioning his papers. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5511144, These papers included handwritten drafts of his I have a Dream Speech, A letter from the Birmingham jail and his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, along with hundreds of other documents detailing. Dr. Kings thoughts and actions during the civil rights movement.


These documents date from 1946-1968. The documents were to be auctioned by the world famous auction house Sotheby's http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5498444,.

The collection was expected to be sold for between 15 million and 30 million dollars. The King children insisted that the collection be sold in one lot and preferably to a university or museum that would allow the documents to be viewed by the public and for study by scholars, students ect. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and former Mayor Andrew Young put together a group of civic and business leaders who were able to come up with the enough money to but the whole archive.

Although the amount agreed upon by the Kings and the purchasing group is unknow, it is known that Southeby's were going to auction them for the amount of $15 to $30 million dollars. This is a blessing for Kings home town of Atlanta, Georgia because the Smithsonian Institute and Duke University were interested in purchasing Kings papers. fortunately the papers will go to Kings Alma mater More house. For this I am truly relieved. But my question is am I the only one who believes that it was wrong of Kings Children to sell the papers and that they should have been donated? I find this whole escapade to be a little disgusting. I wonder anyone else feels the way I do. other . Mark Bey

Bad Negroes

I have always been inspired by black men and women of past times who stood up and risked life and limb to protect themselves, their children and property. As you may or may not know the criminal justice system was rigged in an obvious and most offensive way against black folk.
Their have been numerous accounts of whites walking into town and murdering black folk in broad daylight never to be charged with a crime.

If their was a trial an all white Jury would usually rule that their wasn’t enough evidence to convict the accused white man or it was self defense, or in the case of lynching it would be ruled, " died at the hands of persons unknown". In fact black people were not even allowed to testify against whites in their own or family members defense.In spite of hundreds of accounts of extra legal killings and murders of black Americans no white person was convicted of murdering blacks until the 1940’s.

During this time millions of blacks migrated to northern areas because of job opportunities and less harsh racial oppression . The situation in the south was no less than state and federally allowed terrorism against black american citizens. James Weldon Johnson was almost lynched by the Florida State Militia for walking in public with a light complexioned African American woman, who the white folks thought was white. Into to this mix steps the bad Negro/ Negress or BN's . These folks male and female deserve major kudos for the shining example of race pride and courage they displayed in the face of the most offensive assualts against their humanity.

A nice percentage of these BN’s ended up swinging from a rope, in jail, whipped, maimed, and or ran off of their land. These BN’s came in the form of slaves and escaped slaves, as well as free people of color. With names such as Frederick Douglass, Robert Smalls (captain smalls)http://www.robertsmalls.org/, Hariett Tubman (black Moses) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html , whom the great John brown referred to as General Tubman. and Ida B Wells who carried a pistol on her persons and promising to take a few of the lynch mob with her. Over the years their have been thousands of BN’s such as Nat Turner, Dangerfield Newby, Jack Johnson (first black heavy weight), Emitt Till ( Ill be blogging about him in minute), Ned Cobb (All gods Dangers) and a whole lot of others. http://www.nathanielturner.com/allgodsdangersnateshaw3.html .These BN’s existed everywhere across the country and they should all be given respect and love from the entire black community. At a latter date I will be blogging about these and other BN’s .

P.S I consider John Brown a BN, as far as Im concerned his strike against Harpers Ferry, West VA more than qualifies him. Stay tuned I will be blogging more about BN's in the near future. Peace Mark Bey

Juntheenth




On June 19 1865 General Grangrer (http://ngeorgia.com/history/granger.html) read General Order No. 3 announcing the abolishment of slavery for all times in the United States of America. Although some slaves had been freed earlier in the war, in that part of Texas slavery was still the way of the world for African Americans.

President Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation shortly after the battle of Antietem,http://www.civilwar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1727&Itemid=39 however with no Union Army around to enforce the Proclamation slavery continued until General Granger rode into Galveston Texas and told the slaves and their owners that slavery was forever abolished.
General Granger also told the slaves they were free to stay and work out terms with their master, or they could leave and go wherever they wanted. Some freed people stayed some left. Their have been lots of accounts of freed people being murdered on for leaving their former masters. Hundreds of freed people caught in between returning Confederate Veterans and Union Army protected Zones were slaughtered by the returning Confederates.It has been said Lincoln wanted to issue the proclamation sooner but didn’t feel like he had the political capital because of the defeats the Union army was suffering. After the Union victory at Antitiem

Lincoln issued the proclamation and 2 and half years later General Granger announced the total and forever abolition of slavery.So Juneteenth is the celebration of when the last slaves where freed in America. Celebrated on June 1865 to combat the day General Granger and his soldiers delivered the news of General Lees surrender, the end of the war and freedom to those still in bondage.Juneteenth has been celebrated by some African Americans since the end of the civil war especially in the south. Originally Juneteenth was a day of remembrance and celebration with some slaves making a pilgrimage to Galveston, Texas. As African Americans were able to save enough money to purchase property, they were able to host Juneteenth celebrations on land that they owned and paid for. These celebrations featured food and drinks, dancing, reminiscing and prayer.

Their are accounts of white landowners trying to break up Juneteenth celebrations because they didn’t want to give African Americans laborers the day off, however most Landowners allowed their laborers to have the day off some even donated food or money. During one of the early celebrations of Juneteenth the Rev. Jack Yates held a fund raiser that yielded $1000.00 along with enough money to purchase Emancipation park in Houston , Texas.

Juneteenth continued to be celebrated by the African American community throughout the south until the crippling economic realities of the great depression laid waste to millions of peoples fortunes, life savings, ect. African Americans who were already suffering from crippling poverty as well as blatant racial intimidation, where left without any extra money to celebrate Umpteenth or most other holidays. So having more urgent and pressing needs Junteeth was not widely celebrated and was somewhat forgotten in the African American community until the civil rights movement of the 60's and 70‘s.


In 1980 the Texas legislator passed a law making Juneteenth (http://www.elecvillage.com/juneteen.htm) an official holiday. The passing of this legislation was made possible due to the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American state legislator from Texas. Nationally known museums such as the Smithsonian, the Henry Ford Museum have both started sponsoring Juneteenth-centered events. No doubt as African Americans work their way up the social and economic latter more of us will celebrate and honor June 19 or Juneteenth as a day of reflection that all Americans not just African Americans can be proud of. Major Kudos to the Freed people for making Juneteenth a day that all of the world will come to know, love and respect. Mark Bey

SMOKING WEED IN FRONT OF KIDS MUST BE ALRIGHT WITH BLACK (SOME FOLK)

I have a question. I live in N.E Washington DC. Over the last 4 years I have been noticing that people mainly youth are smoking weed right in public. Now I don’t want to argue over the morality of smoking weed right now, however it is illegal and young black people are breaking that law every single day. In Washington DC this is something that I see just about everyday. Every single day hundreds (if not thousands) of black kids are breaking the law. Everyone in the black community knows that this shit is going on. In fact I think it would be impossible for black people to know that black teens are smoking weed in front of kids.

Let me tell you about my typical day. On my way home (I bike), I easily pass several black teens and adults smoking weed right in plain view of kids playing. In a typical day I must see at least 50 kids all of this smoking weed. All of these in my 1 hour ride home. The last time I checked smoking weed was against the law ESPECIALLY IN PUBLIC. Now if I see fifty kids on my way home from work how many kids do all other black dc residents see smoking weed. I would think thousands.

So why do we allow these kids to smoke weed in front of the entire community. Why do we allow these kids to smoke weed instead of looking for jobs, reading and writing. Or learning how to create their own business.

Does anyone really believe that we can compete with the rest of the world under such circumstances. This is the bottom line I am not a nosy person, I mind my business, I really do not know what’s going on in everyday community life. So, If I am noticing these kids smoking weed in front of everyone. Then our entire community most being noticing it as well.
If we notice it but don’t stop it. Aren’t we giving it sanction, aren’t we saying by default this is something we will allow to happen in our communities.

Under those circumstance why don’t we just create a manifesto that says it is ok for , anyone to smoke weed in our communities and neighborhoods, in front of toddlers and great grandmothers. It should also say, Hey World Us black people think that it is alright to smoke weed in front of kids. Hey World Us Black people don’t mind if thousands of black kids break the law every single day all of this happens in front of thousands adults. . But hell we cant do that, that would be to much truth for most of us I think.


If we are going to allow this to happen in front of kids why should anyone on the planet respect us. After all it says to me that we have very little respect for ourselves. Why shouldn’t the rest of the world follow the same status quo that black folk are setting.? Mark Bey

Mrs. Linda

(The tale of how a pushy woman can drive a brotha into the arms of golf)

When I was a kid, my parents would sometimes send us to Ms. Linda's when they went to Mississippi. Mrs. Linda and my parents went way back and knew each other from Natchez, Mississippi. You see I was raised in Oxon Hill Maryland. My parents are from Mississippi and so are Mrs. Linda and Mr. Bob. When my parents went on vacation or had pressing business that called for them to travel home sometimes we would be dropped at Mrs. Linda's. Being from the burbs it was a welcome change of scenery. Spending 2 or so weeks in DC with more freedom than we had at home was something that we cherished every year. At Mrs. Linda’s we got to stay out later, stay up later and live a life of freedom we normally didn’t live at home. Anyway Mrs. Linda was pretty much like our parents, liked to laugh, smoke, drink, play spades, basically had that authentic southern down home realness, brutal honesty and openness to friends and neighbors.

One thing that I vividly remember about Mrs. Linda is that she and her oldest son Craig had an antagonistic love hate relationship going on. They were constantly at each other’s throats. Not a day went by when she didn’t yell at him. She yelled at everybody to tell you the truth. Including yours truly. She also whupped asses. Including yours truly. She even yelled at her very mild mannered husband (Mr. Bob) whom everyone liked, Ill speak more about him later. When it was time to come in and eat, she yelled, when someone had finished taking their bath, she might yell for you to come wash your ass, when you had done something she didn’t like of course she might yell. But at the same time one always felt loved by Mrs. Linda she was a wonderful cook, a very loving person, very maternal, but even by liberal standards she would be considered just a tad bit too pushy.

Sometimes shed even cut on you (in a loving but stinging way). And Lawd have mercy! how Mrs. Linda could cut one to pieces if she caught you slipping. Mrs Linda could also light that ass up as well and I can never forget that belt she used when talking or yelling didnt get her point across. That was one scary looking belt, if there was a Hall of fame for sinister looking belts the belt she used on our hindparts would have a strong chance of being inducted. Anyway Mrs. Linda could bring the heat by, sparing the rod, yelling or cutting you to pieces. The whole family (ceptin for Mr. Bob) had a fondness for cutting each other as well as others. Mrs. Linda had passed her skillz at cutting folks down to the entire family.

The undisputed champion of cutting was her son Craig, who was also a smart mouth. Her son was her most avid and talented pupil indeed. Craig was one of the funniest people I’ve known in my life. Anyway not a day went be when I didn’t hear Mrs. Linda screaming at somebody for something. But the odd thing is Mrs. Linda who was overweight, had high blood pressure and was on medication for it still did more yelling than anybody in the house. She was constantly saying things such as " yall aint gone run my pressure up I works to damm hard", while screaming it at the top of her lungs.I would often watch as Mrs Linda brought Mr. Bob his steaming plate of food at dinner time. Mr. Bob usually sat at the couch watching TV while he ate.

During these times it would not be unnormal to hear Mrs. Linda yelling at Mr. Bob. She might yell at him if he opened the hot sauce wrong, or if he couldn’t get the salt or pepper shaker to work (in which case she might walk over and open it for him), or it could be for something like not mixing his potatoes properly. I mean all of those things literally by the way. It was more than obvious even to even to a young kid such as me, that Mr. Bob was Mrs. Linda's favorite target. But to be truthful everyone in the house hold was a potential target to Mrs.

Anyway one morning we were eating breakfast. It was me, my little brother, Craig and Mrs. Linda. Mrs. Linda was giving it to my little brother, I think it was because of how he was eating, she was questioning him on why he was eating a certain way, I don’t remember if was eating too fast, slow or was putting to much food in his mouth at one time. However this was in keeping with Mrs. Linda's normal behavior. In the middle of her grilling my little brother, her son Craig announced for everyone present to hear that one time the babysitter had tried to tell him how to eat and he’d just turned around and stole her. Everyone in the room started laughing, I mean it was one of those times where you try not to laugh out of respect for an adult but no one could hold their laughter in, the more we tried the funnier it got. So not being able to hold it in everyone present just went ahead and laughed freely (everyone except Mrs. Linda).

As for Mr. Bob this guy was one of the most mild manner and humble people I’ve ever known. I never knew Mr. Bob to bother or get mad anybody.In fact, I dont ever remeber him raising his voice. I never knew anyone other than his wife to be upset with him. His mild and quite manner was the exact opposite of his wife and made for an interesting and striking contrast. Their was one thing about Mr. Bob I did not understand. That was his love of golf, Mr. Bob really, really loved golf. Other than his family golf was the only thing Id ever known him to be committed to and this was long before Tiger came along and made golf sexy, while opening up a can of whup ass on the entire P.G.A. He had clubs and often he play even if it rained. In fact it was from him that I first learned about golfers being struck by lightning while playing golf. He even had the audacity to watch it on TV sometimes (and my how we suffered). Since it was the only TV in the house if Mr. Bob watched golf it meant that everyone watched golf. At times like these I usually sat quietly playing in the corner.

From what I could see Mr. Bob and Mrs. Linda had an agreement, she would cook, clean and deal with the kids for the most part. He would work and provide for his family. She would yell at him, whenever and for whatever she wanted to. He didn’t have to left a finger, fold any clothes and dinner was always brought to him. Now of course their was a line that Mrs. Linda never crossed with Mr. Bob and that was established and understood by both of them, probably before they left Mississippi in the sixties. Although I have no idea of what type of agreement they had between them, it probably went something like this. Mrs. Linda got to say whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted and how loud she wanted to. She was allowed to have her unquestioned way around the house, as well as hold and wear the balls that god intended for Mr. Bob. What he got in return was to be taken care of and to play golf anytime he wanted to. Now that I think about it, Mr. Bob's love of golf makes perfect sense. Being out on the golf course was probably the only time Mr. Bob didn’t have, anyone yelling at him, for absolutely no reason. The poor man probably just wanted some piece and quite. The green quite, expanse of the golf course probably represented the one place he was truly free and would not be overwhelmed with any foolishness from his pushy wife. . Almost twenty years removed from those scenes, I can now say I understand where Mr. Bob was coming from. Mark Bey

P.S All names have been changed to protect the privacy of the people featured. Otherwise it is a true and accurate picture of the author’s life in the early 80's and late 70's. At the time I didn’t think anything was special about those summers at Mrs. Linda's however now I think back on those days with fondness and appreciation. But I can’t help wondering if their others who have had similar experiences.

DINOSAURS, AND SABER TOOTHS AND WOOLLY MAMONTHS OH MY



When I was a kid I use to have a major fascination with dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. I remember checking out every book in the school library on dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. This world consisted of ancient lizard, snakes, turtles, bears, horses as well as hundreds of other now extinct animals. Over the years I have even spent my own money buying books about prehistoric animals. I would later learn more about prehistoric animals through shows like Nova and the Discovery channel. I was the only person I knew who had such a fascination with dinosaurs. Which didn’t bother me , I was happy in my own world of exotic animal, plants and landscapes. I learned that the first fossils http://english.people.com.cn/english/199911/26/eng19991126R101.html appeared roughly 500 million years ago. Although that has probably been adjusted somewhat as I am not up to speed on current prehistory research. I also had a strong love and curiosity about science, religion, literature, history, ect. It is this curiosity which compels me to seek knowledge and understanding especially for the subjects I am interested in.

I remember reading a story from one book about prehistoric animals in which a Clam and a
Starfish fought a duel for survival with the clam losing and the starfish http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/press_release/2000/news00.11.html ending up with a belly full of fresh clam. Paleontologist know from ancient rock samples that the ancient seas were full of fish, sharks, and dolphin like reptiles, shellfish ( clams) and starfish. For a curios kid like myself anything relating to science, history and dinosaur ‘s was eagerly sought after and voraciously consumed. The way I imagined Saber took tigers attacked and devoured their prey.

During my studies of paleontology I read a story about a Russians who had found Woolly Mammoth Remains in the Frozen tundra. After studying it the dogs were allowed to eat the carcass. I tried to imagine this in my mind. I imagined a hairy elephant, surrounded by guys in fur skin coats. The dogs were German Sheppard‘s ( the only dogs I was familiar with) and happily devouring the carcass as they snarled at each other. I desperately wanted to see a picture of the whole scene. But the book had no pictures. Anyway growing up science, history, and books in general created alternate and rich world for me to grow and develop in. Back in 1997 a Woolly Mammoth Carcass was located in the frozen tundra by its tusk that had been exposed above the service

A few years later their was a show about an international paleontology team’s efforts to dig up what they thought was the well preserved remains of a woolly mammoth. The animal which they later discovered was around forty seven years of age had gotten stuck in an ancient creek. and had been frozen. It was during this show that I finally got to see a picture of a preserved woolly mammoth. It was a baby, it was hairless and it looked like it had been flattened. But one could clearly see that it was something that looked like a baby elephant. Which is what a baby mammoth would have more or less looked like. This pictures were used during the program about digging up the mammoth to show the history of frozen mammoths being excavated. Seeing the picture of that ancient mammoth took me back to my childhood days when I first read about those fascinating creatures, finally I had got to see what one actually looked. The satisfaction I felt can be extracted from many such experiences , anyone who has wanted something or wanted to know something for a period of time. When I saw that show about the Jarkov mammoth, http://www.explorenorth.com/library/weekly/aa032400a.htm it was one of those moments where one gets to realize the answer to a long held question they were extremely curious about. The problems is I have always been of the mind, that every answer only reveals more questions. So now I look forward to a time (hopefully in the near future) when they actually make public their attempts to clone a Woolly Mammoth using a female elephant as a surrogate mother. To be honest I just wanted to express reason number infinity times a million why I feel pleased that good has spared me all this time. Most folks on the planet do not have TV’s much less cable. I just would like to thank god for all of the blessing that have been handed to me over the years. Including health, sight, hearing, having enough food to eat ect. Some folks have nothing I was blessed enough to have everything I’ve always needed. Kudos’ to The big G (God) for all of the blessing I have received. Peace. Mark

OPEN MIND

No group, person or religion has a monopoly on the truth, righteousness, intelligence, nobility or morality. No man or women is inherently more value than any other man or woman. We are all unfinished works or works in progress as I’ve heard some say. I believe that growth stagnates when folks just assume they know everything, or they know best all the time. Same goes for religion, when one religion is intolerant to other religions or scientific truths being discovered every day.


Tell me who was given wisdom enough to decide which religion will be the official language of the country. Who's to decide what religion should be expressed in government schools and offices instead of some other religion. There have been times in my life when I just knew I was right about something but turns out I was wrong or their was another viable answer. There are answers to the world's problems that have yet to be discovered. If we (man) will not listen to one another, learn and respect each other, then it is my belief that all of the benefits that come with those things will be delayed indefinitely. I’m talking about new technology, cures for incurable disease anything that can be imagined.Their is a whole universe of knowledge out their waiting to be explored.If folks would understand that its not about me or you but about human life and progress. Life would flow so much smoother. Life would also flow smoother if everyone was willing to listen and allow themselves to walk in the next persons shoes before coming to any conclusions . Though it can become hard not to judge especially when one passionate about something.


Keeping an open mind can be challenging when one has invested a lot of time and emotional energy into a way of thinking or doing something. I believe that everyone should search for the truth enearstly and honestly regardless of where that truth may lead. To seek out the truth no matter how painful it is, is noble act indeed. In my opinion an open mind is the prelude to, superior reasoning skills and a willingness to conduct all of ones business on the up and up or fairly. This makes life much better and easier. In fact I don’t think it would be a bad idea if all people conducted their daily business with a general attitude of tolerance and open mindedness. We could truly do great things immediately underneath this type of back drop. Mark Bey