Riveroflifelisajoy’s Weblog
Just another WordPress.com weblogArchive for Black Children
A MOMENT OF JUST PLAIN PICTURES….JUST TAKE A BREAK FOR A MINUTE….WHY NOT?
https://soundcloud.com/joshua-michael-howard/mad
Thanks to the Legend of Bagger Vance….My son played with “POOL PUTTING GAME” from Marshalls!
https://soundcloud.com/joshua-michael-howard/victory
We saw the movie “Legend of Bagger Vance.” I had purchased a “pool” putter game about a month ago for my son. But he did not touch it.
I tried to play it the other day…but I was ill. But atleast I tried. But after he saw the movie, he changed. Will Smith has a uncanny soft voice that paired with the beautiful cinematography…cast a lovely spell on me, my mother and my son.
The end of the movie moved me to tears…to believe for the impossible and hope to see those lost redeemed.
Excellent movie indeed! Thanks Will Smith, it made my day. Especially when my son went into the back yard early in the morning on Saturday and began teaching himself how to get the golf ball into the 6 putter plates for an hour.
He had hit the ball too much and the ball would jump OVER the putter plates. Then he began to sense the “field” and the flow of the earth and feel his own heart beat in time and then he got his swing!!!!
He actually began to hit the ball into the putter plate with the proper angle, speed, and force.
The ball actually stayed inside and did not jump up and out like before. I remembered Will Smith (as Bagger Vance) talking gently to Matt Damon as Juna..explaining how to find himself in the “field.” It was wonderful…beautiful, and made me feel like I had been wanting to speak to my son about his goals and dreams for his life.
So I remembering the way Will’s voice soothingly, yet firmly directed him toward his winning shots in the game.
So either my son ignored me, or he felt that he could relate to that movie. Wonderful, thanks Will Smith for your great acting style.
And thanks Robert Redford for picking a movie to highlight the beauty of golf and the quiet spirit of each of its’ players!
post script….I only paid $5.00 dollars for the “pool putter game”—golf balls and all.–It was originally $16.00! WOW!
Till Next Blog….
FOREOROROROROROROROROE!!!!!!
riveroflifelisajoy`~~
HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD BECOME A SUCCESS!
Some people like to tell me to stop focusing on my kid so much. But you know what? If I do not help him now…he may not be able to support himself or his future wife and kids. So what is wrong with being there now?
Oh, some people have told me…you need to keep yourself happy. Look, when I am past the age of 48 that I am now….I would hate to have to look back and see that I did not do all I could to help my child acheive.
Hey, everybody has a diferent reason for what they do in life.
I am sitting here blogging….so am I totally consumed with my son 24 hours a day????? OF COURSE NOT! My son plays tennis with other people. I do not actually play the game.
I am there to help him to stay focused on the actual training.
How do you think Tiger Woods and Venus and Serena made it to the top of their sports and careers?
The parents helped those kids stay focused and become the men and women that they are today.
Last week ( at the Kids Day in Queens of the USOPEN) Serena won $15,000.00 for a charity that she began her own name…to give back to the community.
So all of the effort that the father of Venus and Serena Williams (Tennis Champions) placed and focused on helping the two young ladies paid off and it now helps others!
—– So when my son gets up to play…I am about 200 to 300 feet away from him. I also am either shopping, or checking in on my mother…reading a newspaper, or talking to other parents.
My son has to come to his own conclusions about his goals and dreams.
I AM ONLY A FACILITATOR!!!!!
I drive my son to the golf course in Dyker Brooklyn to the children’s golf course. I take him to the SPORTS AUTHORITY look at tennis rackets, tennis clothing, golf clubs, etc. I take him to Barns and Nobles for books for school, and reading material. I drive him to competitions, and to coaching lessons. But the rest is up to him.
So is that wrong? Hey, look, my child did not ask to be born. My child was a WANTED CHILD!~ I was legally married to my husband for 5 years before I finally got pregnant.
I have not had any other pregnancies, or any other husbands. Soooo for me to sacrifice….is absolutely nothing. My child could not raise himself.
When you have a child you have to consider atleast….20 years or so to help him or her get educated, have food, shelter, training how to live in this life, and be able to get a job or career.
So for me it will not be the EMPTY NEST SYNDROME….it will be happiness that I gave as much as I could to help someone to accomplish his goals.
If he turns around and changes his mind about his goals, and throws it all away…he cannot blame me.—for I have given all of myself to him to become a man… of stature and respect.
If he turns his back on whatever ideals and concepts that have been carefully taught to him….I will bare no shame in this….it will be his choice as a man.
But if I turn away now…as he just enters his 10th grade in highschool and is finishing his 15th year of life…then I will be to blame.
My selfishness will begin later. So right now…I enjoy blogging! Is there anything wrong with that? I am on vacation…when I express my views here with you.
So that is why I challenge all of us parents…focus on HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD BECOME A SUCCESS…YOU WILL NOT REGRET HONEST HARD WORK….AND PURE LOVE GIVEN TO YOUR CHILDREN.
Remember..even Vice President hopeful Elect Palin has 5 children and her oldest daughter who is 17 is pregnant according to the news reports on 1010 Wins and AOL NEWS MEDIA, she fully supports them in all that they do. She supports her 17 year old daughter in her goals for herself and soon to be new family.
The most important thing is keeping an OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR CHILDREN. NO MATTER WHAT!
That will mean your children should come to you with whatever the condition is.
It is not easy to do that. I know. I am a single parent.
I want the best for my son…but I also know that no one’s kid is an angel. So pray with your kids, and love them…just as the Lord above loves you and forgives you of all your mistakes daily….correct?
Remember no one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes.
Love your kids….love yourself and don’t be too hard on your kids or yourself.
You and your family will live happier, and longer lives. TOGETHER!!!
till next blog….
RIVEROFLIFELISAJOY!~
SHOW WHAT YOU CAN DO!
WORK YOURSELF UP
TO A POINT
TO WHERE PEOPLE WILL
SEE YOU
AND SEE HOW MUCH ENERGY YOU ARE
PUTTING INTO WHAT
EVER YOU DO.
SOMEONE MAY TAKE
NOTICE, MY SON…
CONTINUE FORWARD
AND DO NOT HESITATE
IN BUILDING A GOOD
REPUTATION FOR YOURSELF
ACHIEVEMENT CANNOT BE DONE
WITHOUT WORKING HARD
YOU CANNOT SIT BACK ON YOUR
BEHIND AND EXPECT TO
ACCOMPLISH ANY GOALS
GET UP, GET MOTIVATED…AND
TRY, TRY, TRY!
MY MOTHER ALWAYS PREACHES THAT TO ME
AND I WILL PREACH AND TEACH IT TO YOU
MY SON….
REMEMBER, I AM WITH YOU
TO BACK YOU IN WHATEVER
WORTHWHILE GOALS YOU HAVE
PEOPLE WILL SEE THE DRIVE IN YOU…
AND MAYBE THEY WILL HELP YOU..
IF YOU ACT DEDICATED, SOMETIMES IT MAY TAKE YEARS
SOMETIMES PEOPLE WILL SEE THE GO GETTERS…
PULLING THEMSELVES UP BY THE BOOTSTRAPS
IF YOU DO NOT KID AROUND, AND BE
HONEST AND STRAIGHT FORWARD
MAYBE SOMEONE WILL SEE SOMETHING IN
YOU AND BE WILLING TO HELP YOU…
SO WATCH HOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ACHIEVED
DIFFERENT THINGS MY SON….
WATCH AND LEARN FROM THOSE AROUND YOU
AND REMEMBER I WILL BE THERE TO HELP
AS MUCH AS I CAN….
I WISH AND PRAY FOR YOU
THE BLESSINGS FROM THE LORD
ABOVE…
‘FINI~~((((((( THIS POEM IS DEDICATED TO MY SON….JAY JEWELS..aka)
riveroflifelisajoy~
A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING….7TH INSTALLMENT….CONCERN ABOUT THE FUTURE OF EVERYTHING…
At this time…it is about 4am, or 5 am. I was awakened by this stabbing pain in my back. As usual I am blog stat obsessed. So I came down stairs to take my meds..for this “shingles” and I came to the computer to start checking my blog stats.
Low, for the entire summer, except when I wrote about Bernie Mack passing away. I got 519 that day. I would have perferred a different number. But I did love Bernie Mack a lot.
However, I do not believe that I paid the homage to him that he deserved. Anyway, I digress.
I have this stabbing pain from shingles… It feels as sharp as it did 5 days ago…before I knew it was shingles…Ugh…Oh, Lord…what do I do?
I have this ridiculous rash on my stomach and pain. It comes and goes. I do not take pain killers.
I am not one for pain killers. Pain killers can destroy the stomach lining, or cause high blood pressure or worse.
So I avoid pain killers at this time. I am willing to cope …so I just blog…until I get too pain ridden, or tired or both.
I will stop by the emergency room, or go back to the doctor….before Tuesday…(back to work day) to decide what is the next step with this annoying back pain…from shingles. UGH….Lord have Mercy!
NEXT TOPIC-
Alaska has more to offer than just “Northern lights”, polar bears, ice, and wild life….According to John McCain…there is a Vice President up there.
I do not know what to think of this. It is quite smart…but long term committment….long term history or knowlege of government on the part of the recent governor of a “Bible Belt” gun toting state….hard to figure…”just fasten your seat belts…it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!!!”
NEXT TOPIC:
REVISITING HURRICANE KATRINA….
I do not understand the so called NO PLAN OF ACTION PLAN…EXCEPT TO EVACUATE EVERYBODY….NO PLAN OF ACTION PLAN OF NOT TO PREPARE A HOLD OVER SITE INCASE THEY CANNOT GET EVERYBODY OUT PLAN????
Do they always get it wrong I wonder? I hope this is not playing out like some kind of C-list movie…where the main characters…the victims suffer again…like last time.
I remember watching the news on my friends cable TV Weather Channel, and CNN and how those people were stranded on the roofs of buildings and screaming for just some water!
Lord…I hope these elected and state officials,, and city officials have their finger on the pulse of this new hurricane Gustav!
NEW TOPIC:
SCHOOL SUPPLIES…..WHO PAYS FOR SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR MY KID?
Yesterday I was sitting in the park…watching my son play tennis. I was relating my son’s lovely tennis camp experience…and golf experience of the summer to another mother.
She changed the subject to school supplies. She is NOT a single parent like me. So she does not get the point of how hard it is to buy anything after the rent is paid.
She started telling me to go to Jamaica Avenue, Staples, and Office Max to buy school supplies. I told her that I have no money at all.
She started telling me that pencils and things were 20 cents etc. I explained that I was literally sitting there with$5.00 (five dollars in my pocket).
I explained that I pay $1600.00 per month for rent….I am a single parent…(which she knows)
She is not. She and her husband are home owners and have two kids.
I have one child…but I care for my mother and son. I do not receive child support. So you know what happens to me?
I feel like back to school is just like CHRISTMAS TIME IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER! Whether a box of crayons or pencils or pens is cheap means nothing.
I am on a limited income…so it is not PART OF MY BUDGET….I do not have a budget….My income is shot!
Once I pay the rent….I have barely enough money to buy food. I have a nearly 6 foot tall size twelve foot….15 yearold eating maching in the house.
My loving oversize child…needs to eat alot of carbs…or he can get literally SICK….(READ MY OTHER BLOGS…)
So….basically We as a family of three…. live PAY CHECK TO PAY CHECK.
(READ MY OTHER BLOGS ON INCOME DISPARITY….THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND MY POINT HERE.—ALSO PROBABLY THE REASON FOR THIS STUPID SHINGLES PROBLEM (STRESS RELATED ILLNESS).
—Thus, my annoyance…when this “woman” who is not struggeling on her own like I am…started pressuring me to get up out of the park and run down to Jamacia Avenue….and get these great sales..
I just started spewing my SAD STORY ABOUT MY LACK OF MONEY….but I did inform her that I would go get my son’s school supplies when I get paid this week.
How could she be so unaware that other people do not have the same set of financial circumstances that she has?
My family tree does not have any uncles, aunts, cousins, husband (due to catastrophic disease ), inlaws( due to total disfunction of my estranged husband’s family)—-Myself, my mother and my son do not possess any family that step in and give any financial assistance what so ever!
When my son graduated eigth grade going into highschool …I was the only person from our family at his graduation! My mother could not attend because the church building has not been made wheel chair friendly.
So…if I do not have the cash on hand…or even a credit card(due to financial ruin from my banckruptcy from my estranged husband)—–WHO PAYS FOR SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR MY SON??????????????????
——-NOT THE PRESIDENT, NOT THE GOVERNOR, NOT THE MAYOR, –=—ONLY MY PAYCHECK…THAT COMES NEXT WEEK.
MY RENT IS PAID ON THE 16TH OF THE MONTH
…SO do the math….life is hard.
Yeah, I can sit here and blog…but guess what…?
I have dial up aol system…$9.00 per month.
School supplies, new shoes, and clothes cost a whole lot more than that!
So as always…this woman turns her back, runs to her family because she owns a home across the street from the tennis courts where her child and my child play tennis, and she continued on her merry way of getting great bargins for ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’ for her kids.
GOOD FOR HER!!! But she needs to mind her business when it comes to me….ya know?
NEXT TOPIC:
UNDERSTANDING LIMITATIONS…..You must wonder what my financial problems do to my son?
He is not spoiled…that is for sure! He is not a couch potatoe either!
WE DO NOT HAVE CABLE EITHER
….BUT MY SON DOES HAVE A TENNIS RACKET.
My son is learning that his possible route out of the financial troubles of his mother….may teach him to develop a skill that is both employable…and scholarship worthy!
My son is hearing how tennis coaches make money….”sometimes too much money”
====he is learning the game of golf….too!((((NYC HAS A FREE PROGRAM OF GOLF FOR KIDS IN DYKER STREET….EXIT #4 OFF THE BELT PARKWAY))))
So, money problems…may teach my kid…how to survive with learned skills, and a good education.
So is it all bad?
Sometimes the best life lessons are hard lessons.
I wish it did not have to be the case…for my child.
But I pray for his strength…and my strength too.
till next blog…
river!
ps….the shingles pain is less and I think I can go back to bed now.
QUALIES!!!! QUALIES!!!! US OPEN! QUEENS NEWYORK….15 YEAR OLD AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUNG LADY ON 8/19/08! GREAT! –A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING 6TH INSTALLMENT!
I heard that Angela had been to a tennis camp/highschool in Florida. She played with the intensity of a pro!
The young lady and her opponent played a very strong 6 matches or so. It was great to watch….except for the grunts and squeals and “COME ON(S)!!!!!” the youngs ladies would yell during extremely intense moments of their game together!
My son who is working on his skills was so excited from watching the game played the ‘right’ way…could not wait to go get a hold of his tennis racket.
My son has a JAPANESE MADE YONEX! (15 year old Angela played her game with a BABALOT TENNIS RACKET!)
My son…. Jay wants a lighter racket now. He says the Yonex is heavier than most!
My son was inspired to see a young African American the same age as himself playing in the QUALIES….Now my kid has stronger aspirations. Where will his goals take him? To College….to the Pros—who knows.?!!!!
Take out the time and run over to see the US OPEN! TENNIS IS A PROGRAM THAT THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN GET INVOLVED IN AND IT IS A BEAUTIFUL AREA IN WHICH TO HELP BUILD TEENAGE SELFESTEEM!
IF YOU ARE A PARENT…IT IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL THING…TO SEE YOUR CHILD HAPPY IN AN ACTIVITY THAT BUILDS HIS/OR HER MOTIVATION AND GOALS.
I MUST HONESTLY TELL YOU THAT MY FAITH IN THE ONE ABOVE HAS INCREASED WHEN I SEE THE WORLD THROUGH THE EYES OF THE CHILD I BROUGHT INTO THIS WORLD. I SEE THAT AS THE SAY….PLANT THE SEEDS, WATER THEM AND WATCH THEM GROW!
GO OUT TODAY AND GATHER YOUR FAMILY AROUND YOU AND SEE THE MIRACLES TAKE PLACE!—-
AND DON’T FORGET……..
US OPEN IS HISTORY IN THE MAKING!!!!
Till next
BLOG-
RIVER!!!
NEW AGE RELIGION AND OPRAH! HAS OPRAH CHANGED HER WORLD VIEW AND RELIGIOUS VIEW???
It really is quite simple. Oprah has come to the top…sort of like Martin Luther King….She has been to the mountain top…and she has seen things most of us only dream about. So what do we hold on to? We hold on to our faith. We will fight for our faith. Some people die for their faith. What happened to Oprah you ask??? HAS OPRAH BACK SLID???
Oprah has been through a lot of negative experiences in life. Her past sexual abuse experiences have helped to shape her views of the world.
I believe that her heart is in the right place. However, strick Christians would not agree. However, is Oprah obligated to “preach” the gospel that she does not completely agree with? Does Oprah call her self BORN -AGAIN? I do not believe that I have ever heard Oprah refer to herself as being, “SAVED” have you???
So why do we as minority folk, African Americans…believe that Oprah is leading people astray? You have to be a Pastor, or atleast claim yourself to be a Evangelist atleast…inorder to lead people.
Oprah Winfrey is a television talk show host. She just happens to be African American, she just happens to have come from a “Christian Background..” But the last time I checked…most African American Denominations that are Baptist, or other wise…believe that a SINNER must confess his sins to the Lord Jesus in order to be saved. You should not term yourself a Baptist…if you have not confessed your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Has Oprah ever discussed that on Television? I do not believe I heard a show about her “confession of her sins and receiving the “SHED BLOOD OF JESUS” upon her life and soul for the REDEMPTION OF SINS…HAVE YOU?
So before you can call Oprah a LEADER IN THE CHURCH…you must examin her life as what we are so LOOSELY terming CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE….
What makes a person a spokes person of Christain Ethics….what makes a person a spokes person in the Christian Church….There are many who would argue that Gay people cannot be considered Christian. So let us not banter the term of Christian around so quickly….
I believe that you cannot call Oprah anything until you have examined who she really believes her life to be patterned after.
Since Oprah does not have a congregation of followers…per se’ than let us assume that she is no different than the people that we have conversations with around the “water cooler” or “water bottle” at work.
Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion.
Can you ram your religion down someones throat????
You must LOVE PEOPLE INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN….YOU CAN NOT CHASE THEM DOWN THE STREET AND SCREAM AT THEM.
Look at the Old Testament….the Prophets were always the first to get killed? Why? Because they told people things that they did not LIKE OR WANT TO HEAR!!!!
Some prophets were stoned to death.
Lets say Oprah started telling people to stop wearing body tatooes. How well would that go over?
How long would Oprahs talk show last if she told people that they BETTER STOP HAVING SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE…OR SEX OUT OF MARRIAGE, OR CHILDREN WITHOUT BEING MARRIED?
Oprah is trying to make a dollar…which is a freedom that we enjoy in this country!
Do you think she is trying to offend her audience and then loose her ratings and her beautiful homes etc., etc.,
Of course she is not going to say that.—So Oprah Winfrey is a DIPLOMAT….OPrah is a diplomat.
She will not change her views or discuss her personal relationship with God on major television networks…therefore she will only say things that will not offend …but bring people together. Especially people who would not believe in God or even try to change their life style at all.
So in essence…CAN YOU CATCH MORE FLIES WITH HONEY…THAN WITH VINEGAR????
Of course you can!
So, am I stating that Oprah is trying to EVEN CATCH ANYBODY AT ALL?
no, i DO NOT BELIEVE SHE IS ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE THE WORLD THROUGH RELIGIOUS THOUGHTS…but she is trying to bridge the gap between good and evil deeds, and helping the global commmunity.
I think she has a right to her PRIVATE THOUGHTS on this issue. Does she have to confess her SALVATION in front of an entire nation?
Has every Christian reading this blog…OPENLY CONFESSED YOUR SALVATION TO YOUR PLACE OF BUSINESS OR WORK LATELY? HOW MUCH DISCUSSION ARE YOU ALLOWED TO ENGAGE IN BEFORE SOMEONE FILES A COMPLAINT TO EEO ABOUT INAPPROPRIATE RELIGIOUS TALK AT THE WORK PLACE?
I believe that we can look up to Oprah as a role model for young African American girls and boys to follow down the road to success through hard work. However, I would not try to fit Oprah into the role of the CHURCH EVANGELIST at this time.
What do you think????