Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King was a great man, a man of compassion and of God. During the years of the JFK Presidency there were many racial issues in the Country. The Black people were refused rights, especially to education. Many times President Kennedy stepped in to ensure the rights of the Blacks, even calling out the National Guard to protect Black students going to "white" schools. I could never understand how anyone could think the color of ones skin made them a lesser or a greater... That is a crazy, ego manic idea to say the least. Dr. King tried to tell this Country that the Blacks are equal in the eyes of God (we all are) and that what was being done to them in this Country was wrong and needed to be changed... My hat is of to him and all those who marched and protested for Civil Rights in the 60's.... If I were old enough and could I would have joined them... for such was and is honorable. To stand up for the rights of another is to stand up for the rights of us all as a society, as a civilization and as children of God... Once a society thinks they need not help each other or any ethic group, that is a society that will fall and destroy itself from within. Dr. King took this message to his death, a death by some sicko who thought he was better, in his doing so he showed us all how despicable we all are for our not standing up for personal freedoms and the dignity of all life no matter the color, religion, gender or circumstance... Where ever you are in heaven Dr. King, pray for me and for my family that they may have the heart you were given here on earth... to take a stand, to voice yourself for the ones whose voices were not being heard... Bravo... well done Dr. King When Dr. King was killed there were many riots throughout the Country. Although I do not believe in violence in any thing I can understand what happened on some level... It was an act of frustration, of hope being lost, a shinning star being snuffed out. I believe that human nature is such that we all would have reacted in this manner given the devastating blow the Black community was given the day Dr. King was killed.... So look down on this Nation now Dr. King and see the first Black President in office and see your work on earth was instrumental to have this happen.... We still have a ways to go sir, but a very important step was taken this past January 20, 2009..... It is not even a matter of politics or a politician's stance but a matter of elevated consciousness that allowed a Black man to become President... whether you are of his mind frame politically speaking or not.... be proud as an American that there in the Oval office sits a Black man.... Our "brother" in God.... in humanity itself... And always "keep hope alive".... For everyone has "dreams" as Dr. King did... a dream of a better place where we all can live in harmony...

Twiggy

Grandma did like clothing... still does but not to the extent like when she was young. So grandma would buy "fashion mags" and see all the cool things to wear... It was the age of "free love"...hippies... But for grandma hippies were dirty and did not have any fashion sense ... I liked "clean"... but there were times that Pink walked on the wild side with fashion as well as behavior... There were the "ra-ra" types back then they were the preppy types... knee socks, wool shirts or shorts, penny loafers maybe even saddle shoes, prep sweaters and Madras shirts, etc... And there was the the cross between the hood look and older look and of course the hippies (too dirty looking for me) The big fashion model then was Twiggy she was from England... super skinny, sick looking actually but her "look" caught on and she is the one who started the super skinny look for models. Twiggy also wore dark, black eye makeup... Thinking back on it now she was actually very scary looking but she was also a really big hit... everyone wanted to look like Twiggy... skin and bones, flat chested, black eyed Twiggy. Mini skirts were also in and "hot pants"... that was a very short pair of dress up shorts.. although it could be applied in another fashion since the "hippies" were into free love... Then there was the tent dress, that being an empire waist dress that made all the girls look like they were pregnant, here again looking back this was not a good look... Bell bottom pants, stove pipe pants in as well, in addition to platform shoes... Fish net socking in as well... yes grandma was a real fashion plate with many a day looking like a fashion mistake... Favorite fashion mags were, Seventeen, Vogue and Glamour although I read them all... Regards trying to look like Twiggy... never could... even if Pink spent 6 months in the grave she would still have more meat on her body then Twiggy ever did...

Twistng the night away

Twisting the night away... the music of the day was the twist... Chubby Checkers... yes I was in grade school and the twist was in... There was the "regular twist" this being such a big hit another came along called the "Peppermint Twist"... I also remember such dances as the "Pony", the "Swim", the "jerk"and the "Monster Mash"... I also remember some kids being a jerk as well as myself at times. There was a TV show called laugh in and there they would have girls dancing in "cages" yes girls dancing in cages was a big thing as were white go-go boots... for as the Nancy Sinatra song went boots are made for walking and for me dancing as well.. As a child, grandma did have aspirations of dancing in a cage someday... alias my dream never came true though but I did have the opportunity to dance on a few tables tops during my youth... this usually occurred after grandma had a drink or two... And here I would like to add a "warning" be careful when you drink you could find yourselves on a table top dancing one day. Back when grandma was young they did not have camera cell phones, so these events with me are lost to history with you my grandchildren there will always be someone in the crowd ready and willing to snap your photo. You do not want to wake up one day and see yourself on utube, or live streamed on some one's website..(When your moms were small I would always tell them be careful...water is ice)...with you grandchildren I tell you be careful... photos will be taken of you... Back to the music... I do not remember any of the pomp over Elvis he was before my time... Frank Sinatra as well... but I do remember the Beatles... yes I watched them preform on the Ed Sullivan show for the first time in the US... I was not impressed they seemed so "Old" to me..Yet after several months of mass media and mass hysteria in regards to them, they did become more attractive to me... Yes I fell victim to mob mentality... but soon recovered and favored the Dave Clark 5 instead... In high school there was also "Rolling Stones" to listen too... hey I still do that now... they are still preforming on stage as I write this to you (kind of creepy looking though) So go out there and have fun listen to the music of your time and dance... stay off tables and out of cages though...