Sunday with Granny

My friend, Leslie, called me this morning and invited me to attend church with her at MCC of Winston-Salem, since it was Pastor Mark's last Sunday with us before moving to New Jersey to live with his partner. I'd attended the evening service at ths church, but never the morning service and I was in for a treat! The church was alive with the Spirit! Gospel music filled the church through the sound system and folks were milling about, chatting and hugging and breaking into an occasional dance or hand-clapping fit. This is what I so enjoyed about my days at the now-defunct Saint Mary's MCC in Greensboro -- the family atmosphere and sheer exhuberance!

Shirley, a hip, grand-motherly sort who'd greeted me on my previous visits came right over to hug me and we exchanged a few greetings. I asked her to introduce me to two other congregants (whom I'll call Jane and Belinda) whom I knew regularly attended the morning service. She ushered me right over and introduced me. I explained to Jane and Belinda that I lived in the house that they used to own and that they vacated about five years ago. They were ecstatic! "Oh, we miss that house so!" "We had to stop driving by because the womon to whom we sold it just let it go." "I love that house; my heart is in it!" Hearing this and putting two and two together, Shirley interjected that she lives in an apartment just around the corner from me. I promised to have Jane and Belinda to dinner one evening and extended to Shirley an open invitation to drop by.

Leslie and I sat just behind Jane and Belinda and we exchanged friendly remarks throughout the service, which was very emotional. At open prayer time, many offered praises for success on the job, relationship happiness, and financial break-throughs. One womon gave thanks for having lost over 100 pounds in the past year! Still others shared the heartache of lost employment and loved ones who are lost or ill. I was one who had heartache to share, involving my paternal grandmother's failing health and my plans to visit her this afternoon. Several folks, including Pastor Mark, mentioned that their thoughts would go with me and my family.

My paternal grandmother, Granny, has been in failing health for the past several years, but things have really slid downhill this year. A tumor is growing in her chest and pressing on her trachea such that it will eventually suffocate her. Surgery, chemotheraphy, and radiotherapy are impractical options in a womon of 95 years. I shared this with the congregation and added that I was going to visit Granny this afternoon to take advantage of the few fleeting opportunities that remain for me to do so.

When informed of her situation and asked how she wanted to make use of the time that she had remaining, Granny replied that God had answered all of her prayers and that she had gotten out of life all that she could want; she just wanted to spend time with and enjoy her sizable family (4 children and their significant others; 6 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; a smattering of siblings and in-laws; and the proverbial host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family; as well as her church family).

Granny has had to move from her assisted-living facility into an acute-care nusring home and the lack of oxygen in her system quite often leaves her confused and foggy. She might not remember when anyone last visited her, but she recognizes every face that enters her room! And you'd better believe that she'll have a sassy remark for you! Granny actually looked quite good and was in good spirits, despite the rough week that she'd had, having had to use an oxygen mask for several days.

I thank God for all of my family and friends and treasure each one of them as a pearl on a fine string of them. Each is unique and, by nature, imperfect. They certainly have their rough spots, but that's what makes them genuine and, indeed, precious. :J

Granny celebrates her 95th birthday in February 2006 with some of her grandchildren: Lori, Billy, Justin (moi), and Jenny.

Granny celebrates her 94th birthday in February 2005 with her oldest daughter, my aunt Anne, and Anne's husband; their children, Lori and Billy, and their spouses; and three of her four great-grandchildren.

While Strolling through the 'Hood One Day

My normal lunch-time routine during the work-week includes a half-hour walk through the neighborhood next to campus, Greensboro's College Hill, so named because it's sandwiched between Greensboro College and UNC Greensboro. On one such walk recently, I noticed a few things that stood out to me for one reason or another.

First, I saw a big, white van parked in front of one of the grander houses in the neighborhood. The van bore the name and phone number of a local paint company and there several guys in white jump-suits perched on ladders all around the house, all dilligently stroking their paint-brushes left and right over the clapboard siding. Affixed non-chalantly to the rear bumper of the van was a permanent handicapped license plate! WTF?

Second, I was walking down the main thoroughfare through campus, on which the City has just installed a new bicycle lane. A campus bicycle cop was pedalling along in the freshly-painted lane and it occurred to me how pleased I was that the City and the University had worked together to take steps to encourage people travel to campus via means other than their cars. (The several colleges and universities in town cooperated with the Greensboro Transit Authority and just initiated HEAT, a new bus service that connects all of the campuses in town.) So, the bicycle cop was pedalling along and approaching a traffic light that had turned red. And he kept going! Hello, copper!? Do I need to remind you that bicycles have to obey traffic laws, too? I chose not to do so in that case.

Finally, I saw a cool W oval. You know those annoying W '04 ovals that Bushie boosters stick on their autos (quite often, gas-guzzling, Osama-orgasming SUVs) to let the rest of us know that they stand with George Jr. Well, this was the parody sort of W sticker. Quite clever some of them are! The one that I saw on this day read "Woe", but I've also seen "WTF?" and, of course, the classic "Wrong!"

So, my lunch-time walk provides me with fresh air, exercise, and fodder for thought! Go walkabout sometime, yourself! :J

Gentrify my Neighborhood... Please!

I read today a great article in The Onion with which I very much identified. Sometimes I Feel Like I'm The Only One Trying To Gentrify This Neighborhood, done in classic Onion style, nearly could've been written about my neighborhood, the West Salem area of Winston-Salem NC. We already have a dog run and a community garden, but there are large swaths quite near to me that you could pick out from their seeming description in this article!

While you're at it, have a look at my favorite Onion article of all time, Rules Grammar Change: English Traditional Replaced To Be New Syntax With from 12 March 1997, which strongly appeals to the linguist in me. A friend also pointed out the me the frighteningly prophetic Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over' from 17 January 2001. Yikes!

Enjoy! :J

Investing in the Future

I've been a fan of investing for a few years now and have a few alms stashed here and there in several of the common acronym accounts (IRA, 401-K, SEP, 403-B, CD, etc). However, you won't find any information in this entry about dividend reinvestment, mutual funds, ETFs, or short selling. (I will, however, recommend that you read Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.) The topic here is a different kind of investment.

Over the past few weeks, I've invested a few hundred dollars in my career future, registering for the LSAT (the Law School Admissions Test) and an LSAT preparation class. A variety of events, both at work and at home, have led me to examine my goals and the direction of my life and career. I considered a few different career-change options, including technical writing and project management, but a serendipitous conversation with my attorney during a meeting to revise my estate plans led me to consider a career in the law. Trusts, estate, and tax law seem to be a good match for my talents, skills, and abilities, so I decided to apply to law school. I've talked to several friends who are attorneys, read several books on law school and careers in the law, and have set the process in motion for anticipated enrollment in Fall 2007.

Just today, I invested a considerable sum in a different type of vehicle -- an airplane, or, part of one. This is not a business investment, but rather a personal investment. Specifically, I bought a ticket to Manila, where my boyfriend, Chris, is temporarily assigned for work. Our relationship had blossomed and been growing for about five months when he left for Manila on 15 July for what was originally a two-month assignment, but which has extended to a four-month assignment. Being apart has been more difficult than either of us imagined, so given the positive direction in which we were and still are headed, I've determined that this investment vehicle is likely to yield increasing dividends for many years to come.

My divorce late last year and uncertainties at work earlier this year have put me at the crossroads of a challenge and an opportunity. I don't remember where, but I read earlier today a "quote" attributed to the infamous Yogi Berra -- "When you come to a fork in the road, take it!" :J