Merry Christmas 2009

Christmas is here again... I can hear a combination Charlie Brown instrumental coming at one ear and Prince's, Another Lonely Christmas aimed at the other ear.. I love both those songs... though, I'm not really lonely as my everything continues to spoil me no matter what time of year it is. Because of her I feel beyond blessed. She is beyond amazing and just like the perfect puzzle, we fit. When I rest my head on her shoulder, the comfort is instant. When I wrap my arms around her, I become a part of her.. it's just right..

I miss my mom on this semi-cold night in LA. Her voice would always greet me on this night/day, "Merry Christmas, Anthony Rivers..." and if it was a phone call she'd punctuate that with "this is your mother speaking..." I miss that sound though I can hear it in my mind... I miss the card with some money in it, attached to a box with some t-shirts in it. The card would have a note attached telling me she wasn't sure what I wanted but figured I could get something with the money.. It didn't matter. What was most important was how she went out of her way to make sure there was an abundance of Christmas spirit surrounding me and not to mention the delicious pies and pineapple upside down cake or even the big strawberry cake she use to make... whew.. delicious! Recently, I've been receiving cards from people I dont really know but who knew and seemed to have cherished my mother. Each of them I've written back to let them know of my mother's passing. I hope those people say a prayer and simply think of the good times with my mom rather than allow the news to sadden them too much... I thank them sincerely for thinking of my mom..

Anyway, I cant say that I've put much effort in the Christmas spirit this year. I tried, I thought about it, planned to do something special with respect to decorations around the house but when all was said and done, I did nothing.. No tree, no decorations except for the wooden Santa Claus that I bought a few years ago in my favorite Louisiana town, Natchitoches. I wish I was there for Christmas. They always have a really big celebration with a fantastic light show along the Cane River. I took a picture of my mother in that town and it instantly became her favorite picture not so much because of the shot but because she fell in love with that town as well and felt really good sitting there in such a peaceful place. She was healthy and happy during that moment. That was a good time. Just before she passed she asked that that picture be placed on the front of her funeral program.

Now it's time to rest up for Christmas Day.. Hopefully it'll be a good time... I'm sure Love will make sure I'm alright and my mother looking down will watch over me closely... Merry Christmas to any and all passing by... WarmBlessings..

Dreamstyle Project: Volume One

Nation Of Forgetters- Tiger Woods

As Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon sings, "we're a nation of forgetters," the Tiger Woods saga instantly comes to mind. Folks will forget, especially once he gets on the golf field and starts to win, tournament after tournament. He'll probably see and receive a bunch of boos, angry letters, see some mean signs being held up and maybe a threat or two or three as well. He'll probably have to keep a big bodyguard or two handy nearby and all the other precautions necessary to protect when a so-called major personality/sports figure disappoints "the world." I feel more sorry for the kids and the wife than I do the world, for its them who will carry this for a long time and have to deal with some serious embarrassment. They'll also go through the torture of what's outside their window.... news media hounds trying to get the first scoop so they can sell their story to the world since everybody out there on radio and television pretty much report the same thing.. over and over and over again... How many times have I now heard Tiger's alleged voicemail message? Whew... way too many times!! Tiger doesn't seem to really be handling his situation right and perhaps feeding the flames of media curiosity more and more but then again, what is the right way to make up for your own very public indiscretion followed by your own moment of panic on such a wonderful day like Thanksgiving. Ha! The media thanks you for this story, Tiger. A sports hero-darling who seemingly could never do anything wrong though I'm old enough to remember when they thought the same thing of O.J. Simpson though he's in that category of stupidest person on the planet. Tiger's not there yet but he is where Kobe once was and just like Kobe, all he gotta do is win and win big on the field... people will forget.. Ultimately, it's really not the people who matter... it's family who is most important and perhaps the lesson learned, be it a positive lesson or just saying "I better not do voicemail, email, or text message any more..." *smile* Tiger is probably thinking, life was so much easier back in the days of pay phones and no round the clock internet/24 hour news channels... Life never gets a break now. It's broadcast every milli-second... My motto, if you will that I always like to say is that once you begin to feel invincible, that's usually when God steps in to remind you just how human you really are... Perhaps this is one of Tiger's moment to be reminded.

Hmmm...& why...

Why is it that habitual liars always repeat themselves?

Why is it that if you’re sitting alone in a room with 100 empty chairs, more than likely the next person entering the room will sit right next to you?

Why is it that we’re always trying to replace that which we love?

Why must someone who consistently makes efforts to do positive things, constantly fight an uphill battle against others who seemingly want the same thing?

Why do some say “huh?” before the first word rolls off your tongue?

Why do some assume they can call you something based upon the mere fact that your skin color, gender, height, weight, etc. might be different than theirs? (ie. what up! dude! Thanks boss! Hey bro! or the ‘over-indulgent handshake’)

RIP Tommy Jaquette

I wish I had known about this man before a call came out from a famous passerby to let everyone know about a celebration happening on November 28th, 2009 in Watts, California. The famous passerby was congress-woman Maxine Waters. I was stopped at a light, waiting for the commuter train to go by and she yelled out “here, take these and give them to friends and family!” They were flyers she wanted to hand to me but I couldn’t reach them. A man who was selling items near the little train station ran over, grabbed the flyers from her hand and gave them to me. Maybe he recognized her voice instantly just as I had. On the beautifully done flyers was Tommy Jacquette and when I saw the name, curiosity hit me hard. I really didn’t know who he was and from the dates listed on the flyers, I could see that he’d passed away recently. As soon as I got home and logged onto my computer, I looked him up. Ahh.. it was a cool discovery… This man is/was someone I should’ve know a great deal about and been inspired by. A great story. A man who definitely filled his life with purpose, sparked by an event that was/is historic. Thus, he made his life historic as well through struggle, hardwork, effort, believing, never giving up, and accomplishment. From what I could determine, he did what politicians only talk about and/or promise to do in an area where many forget exist. I hear more about cities, towns and places on the other side of the world than I do of the city of Watts. I often wonder about that but that’s how it is, unfortunately. Seems like Mr. Jacquette maintained his pride for Watts throughout his entire life and tried his hardest to reflect that in not only himself but all who were blessed to see and/or know him. I wish I had known of him before but I believe also that it’s never too late to learn, appreciate, respect, admire and say God Bless…. Rest in peace…