Re-Inventing the Wheel

Peace,

When I was a junior and senior in high school, I went to quite a few “Grown & Goodbye” parties. Maybe, like 4? And it wasn't like those people were related or knew each other. What that is, when a child turns 18, the parents have a party for them and all the while their bags are packed and waiting at the door. At the end of the evening, said child gives their house keys back to the parents and leave with the guests. They don’t live there anymore. The appropriate gift for this type of party is cash.

Now think about this…. Everyone on their 18th born days aren’t necessarily done with high school and or ready to be on their own. What if you turn 18 in March but don’t graduate until June? What are you supposed to do? I’ve been to parties like this for boys as well as girls. And… I’ve been told that I’m lucky that my bornday is late in the year (November). Lots of my friends ended up with shitty jobs, GED’s, prison records and babies that they would not have had if they were allowed to mature under the auspices of people who knew how to navigate life.

Y’all know I’m not scared to ask a question. And my question to their parents is “Why?” The answer is always the same. “I left home when I was – Insert some ridiculously young age—And I made my own way.” Really? So you want your kids to experience all the bullshit that you did? You do know if you tell them, rather than show them, they will still know… right?

I don’t get they “re-invent the Wheel” mentality. I know I don’t have children, but isn’t the goal for them to do better than you? Isn’t that progress? By having your children learn life’s lessons exactly how you learned them does not make them better off. That means they have to do what you already know.

On the flip, I know a woman who has 5 daughters. And in addition to buying them cars when they graduate high school, she and her husband put the girls into their own home upon graduating from college. Not pay entirely for a new house, but pay the down payment, all the closing costs and the mortgage for 6 months. That’s some good isht right there. They claimed their rationale was that their girls didn’t have to worry about those things and could focus on their careers and/or lives. The girls could choose the house they wanted. That is what I’m talking about right there.

My grandparents did not finish high school. Their parents didn’t even go to school. But they made sure my parents and ALL my aunts and uncles did. My parents were college graduates. They did that on their own. Mommie is smart and got scholarships. Daddy had the GI Bill and played football. When my brother and I got to that level, they paid for our 2ndary educations. They said that wasn’t something they wanted to have us worry about. My brother was good when he got out of school. My ambitious ass decided to keep going and get another degree. But that was on me and not them. I saw other grad students trying to pay old student loans with new student loan money. I didn’t have that worry because my parents improved on their destiny through me. As I see is the duty for each new generation to do this.

But they can’t if parents throw you to the wolves and laugh. Let them stay until they at least finish school. Jeesh….



Peace.

I Feel Some Kind of Way.....

Peace.


If you have any type of traffic issue in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, you are REQUIRED to go to court. Accident, break light, ticket, you name it. You have to show up and pay your court costs. Clearly this is some kind of income generating scheme. Which leaves me wondering why you have to generate income off the backs of folk? But that’s another build. I was involved in an auto accident. I didn’t cause it, but I did receive damage to my car. I was told by the police officer that if I didn’t show up and be a witness for the prosecution, I would be held in contempt of court and a warrant would be issued for my arrest. Also the case would be thrown out and my insurance would have to pay for my damages. So…. I showed up.

Why? First of all when I got there I found that was a lie. The other person was just entering a plea. It was not the full on trial. Police WILL lie. Law & Order got that part really accurate. I’ll only need to be there if she pleads not guilty. And then they will subpoena me. So I had to take a ½ of day off on some bullshit.

Secondly when I got in the court room, the police in there went out of his way to belittle the people in there. Calling folks criminals to their faces and saying that it’s our own faults for being in there. No talking, eating, drinking or chewing gum allowed in the courtroom. This woman put a cough drop in her mouth after hacking for 15 minutes and was thrown out for eating in the court room.

I was personally attacked. I crochet. I brought in a sweater I’m working on. Last time I was in a court room, I saw them take folks phones and kindles away…. Permanently. Because no electronic devices were allowed in court. Really? Them folks on the dais have computers and that’s okay, right? And I never heard a kindle ring. But I knew nothing was gonna be allowed in there so I took the sweater. Ever since the Brian Nicholas incident, security is off the chain. I wasn’t thinking my crochet hook would be considered a weapon. And it made it through security! I didn’t sneak it in. It, the yarn and the ½ a sweater was in an open bag and slid through security. The in court robo-cop grabbed it out of my hand and said that he should have me arrested for having a “weapon” in court. Really? There was no sign saying it was on the prohibited list. Oh, I sat there for 30 minutes crocheting before he noticed.

I was also attacked by the same… officer… for having a conversation with the prosecutor. The police officer walked out before I started speaking with the ADA, and when he came back in he ran over to me and grabbed me. Telling me I wasn’t allowed to speak in the court room. Did any fucking body in the court room say anything …. At all? Nope. I looked to the ADA who just stared with his mouth open. I called for the public defender who was the only one (including the other po po present) who came to my aid. He told the officer to leave me alone or he would pro bono represent me in the suit against the city.

The thing that pissed me off….. TRULY…. Was this asshole pulled my headwrap off my head because it wasn’t allowed in court. Really? I was completely nonplussed. He did this shit in public and there was a room of people there as witnesses but nobody said a word. Even other cops.

This is why folks don’t like cops. I personally hate them. I have never had a cop protect or serve me in ANY circumstance. I don’t believe it’s possible. I know cops. They always say that they should be respected because they run toward what everyone else runs away from. But that’s a personal choice they made. No one put a gun to their heads and said they had to do this job. And the US is not a country that assigns you a trade. So cops need to handle their business in a different way. Punk assed bitch boys…..

I feel some kind of way about being treated like that yesterday. Yeah…. I’m thinking the Police Athletic League needs to pass me by this year. If they call asking for a donation, I’m a have some choice words for them.


Peace

God for the Earth

Peace,

This is a quick build on Today’s Supreme Mathematics of “God.”

As a woman in Allah’s 5% Nation of Gods and Earths, I used to have difficulty making the numerical coordinate of “God” applicable to me. I mean that’s what we do. We draw up our degrees to make them useful within our own circumference. But since the Word “God” and in the Supreme Alphabet “Allah” as well did not describe me physically, I had issues making said words applicable to the Earth Serenity.

But why?

Let me make it clear to all the obtuse Gods out there… I am NOT aspiring to be “God” but… traits that the Gods are supposed to possess…. Why cannot I aspire to emulate?

True and living? Yes. Showing and Proving? Check. Keeping my word? Absolutely. Knowledging and living out 120? Done and still doing.

So that is how I apply Today’s Mathematics to my 196,940,000 square mileage.



Peace

Stay in Sequence

Peace,

I began my college education when I was 17. My born day is late in the year; I never got skipped or anything. I was a pre-med/zoology major with a minor is chemistry and math. I learned something during my orientation that has aided me ridiculously in life. Follow the sequence. You gotta grab these jewels when you can, but first you have to recognize a jewel when you come in contact with it.

I filed for graduation in the fall semester of my senior year (that’s 3.5 years instead of 4). You don’t file until you are eligible. I was eligible a semester early. I never took 1 summer class nor am I a super brain. This was done simply because I followed the sequence.

The science behind said build is that there are many paths to a goal. There are people who like to do their own thing and trail blaze their paths. But MANY paths are already trail blazed. What is wrong with following that path that has already been laid out? Following a well worn path means that the risk of injury is low.

I was given a black book with the order of classes that I should take, and the semesters I should take them. I still have it. A memento. As long as I took all the classes I was supposed to, I would graduate on time. OK. Sounds easy right? Mostly, but not all the time.

According to the book, the 2nd semester of my junior year is when I should take Physics II. The problem was that physics was taught in the spring by the department chairperson. He was a TERRIBLE teacher. And since he was also the department chair, there was no one to complain to. Now…. You could step out of sequence and take PII in the fall of your senior year…. He wasn’t teaching it then. (And you have to pass Physics I before you can take Physics II.) That’s what most people did. Only 1 fall class was offered and you ran the risk of missing it. There was a limit on how many people could take the class. If you failed it in a prior attempt (failed, not incomplete, "D" or withdrawn), you were guaranteed a spot in the fall. You could be confirmed for the class and get bumped by a flunker. It was 4 credits with a lab. So there was science behind why it was suggested for Y3S2. Then if you wanted to graduate on time, you had to take Dr. Terrible’s class right before graduation. If you failed it, you might not be eligible to graduate on time.

I took it Y3S2 like the sequence said. I passed it (by luck) because of an accident (ask and I will tell you about it). I took it without my classmates because they were trying to take it with the easy instructor. I passed the 1st time and some of them had to take it repeatedly. Most of them didn't even get in the fall class and ended up taking Dr. Terrible's class anyway. 2 of my classmates didn’t graduate on time because they stepped out of sequence.

I did step out of sequence… sort of. Instead of postponing classes, I increased the amount of credits I carried by taking on electives prematurely. There was a program for which the science department was applying. If the department qualified for the program they would admit junior students, pay their full tuition and fees, give them paid summer jobs, give them monthly stipends and send them to grad school…. All At No Charge! Even though the school had not been admitted in the program yet, should it, I realized I wouldn’t be eligible for participation until my senior year. So… I stepped out of sequence my sophomore year and took extra classes in addition to the ones the book said to take because the program required 12 hours of calculus. I carried 25 credits for 2 semesters. Be mindful most full time students carry 12-15. That was a year of hell, but I persevered because I had a determined idea. Unfortunately, the department didn’t get the program. But I got a minor in Mathematics.

I/we have a student now. (I’m her main instructor, but the God is teaching me how to teach this culture to other women. And it is his light that is being reflected) She is older like I was when I walked through 120. But she is bucking the system like crazy. The people in Allah’s Garden have this proclivity to want to do things their own way. I don’t have a problem with self styled wisdom, but tradition exists for a reason. Self style wisdom is full of kinks. Tradition has the kinks worked out already. My student (and I used that term loosely) doesn’t understand why we have requested her not to build with other Gods until she has 120. Why it’s important to be 3/4th all the time rather than just at nation events. Why we have asked her not to read certain texts until she has 120. And most specifically why she shouldn’t get into a relationship with another 7 until she has 120. If she leaves us, we will not welcome her back if it doesn’t work out. We have explained our reasons and she has explained hers. At the end of the day…. She has to either follow our rules or find another educator. And because of this policy, we are now considered ogres. Whatever.

I have repeatedly asked her to “stay in the sequence” to no avail. I am not completely new to adult instruction. I worked as an instructor in vocational schools for 5 years. I suppose the fact that those students were paying for their education made a difference.

I suppose staying in a sequence can hold you back. But more than likely it won’t . If you think you are being held back or have any problems…Ask yourself who designed the sequence? Have the designers been successful? Do the designers have working and contemporary experience? The college I attended was invested in seeing their students matriculate. I am invested in seeing my students get 120. There is no guile behind my motivation. I am a female in this nation and I already know where the pitfalls and landmines lay for women. ESPECIALLY older women. I would like to aid another in negotiating said obstacles, but I can’t and won’t force my will on anyone other than my babies. If a grown assed woman doesn’t want my aid, I don’t feel compelled to give it.

So I will leave you with a 2 jewels from the old folks…..

This old man I used to work for used to tell me, “You don’t have time to make ALL the mistakes in life. I have to learn from folks who have made them already.” One of my teachers use to say, “If you don’t have time to do things the right way the first time, when will you have time to do them over?”



Peace