MULTIPLE PERILS: COVID-19 AND INEVITABLE/HARMFUL EVICTIONS

A series of essays....

BEING EVICTED FROM YOUR HOME WILL
LEAVE LIFELONG SCARS ON YOUR MIND, HEART & SOUL!

Courtesy John Moore/Getty Images

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

During a conversation with one of Kalamazoo’s City Commissioners last Thursday, while discussing a grave problem that has plagued our vital, little neighborhood for months now and isn’t going away, soon...I was taken aback by a simple statement he made: “Our offices are going to become quite busy in the coming months as we address the real concerns of those who might (will) be evicted from their homes.”

Instantly, my breath was stifled under my black, triple-filtered mask...more so than usual. I realized that in my attempt to help correct one problem, I’d completely ignored another; a calamity brought about by the inevitable onslaught of a seemingly uncontrollable virus that has given birth to a domino effect that haunts each of us, one way or another.

This ‘Trump Show’ began in earnest back on January 20, 2017, when good men such as Congressman John Lewis understood and refused to personally advance it by calling Trump an “illegitimate president” and declined to attend his inauguration and, subsequently, his State of the Union Address.

PORTRAIT OF JOHN LEWIS AND BARACK OBAMA BY DAN LACEY

Trump, a vindictive and illiterate man, has lied his way into our lives. Unexpectedly finding himself in the White House, his priorities soon became clear: benefit himself financially by any means possible; lie, cheat, and cahoot with anyone, including foreign dictators, in order to serve his own cause; turn against and demean anybody who fails to agree with or challenges him privately or publicly; use his status to breakdown a democratic system that past presidents have rightfully preserved as the backbone of this great nation, and, finally, to quench his desire to totally discredit and wipe-out any good deed, law, or benefit to the people that was initiated or brought to fruition by our previous president, Barack Obama. 

Completely oblivious to any form of code of conduct and lacking a moral compass, this man blighted us with, not only, an apparent lack of education when it comes to basic, high school level, U.S. Government knowledge, but subsequently displayed his unwillingness to learn it as a sitting president. 

Due to this cavalier attitude, we the people have suffered enormous wrongs, which include: minimizing clean air and water quality; drilling for oil and gold and hunting wildlife within our National Parks; the discovery that Putin had placed bounties on the heads of American troops; the incarceration of children along our southern border; the denial of a worldwide deadly virus and failure to appropriately issue assistance via PPE, testing, and sound virus strategies as the virus spread from state to state, as well as the unconscionable price we have paid for his failures in the midst of this pandemic including the closure of small businesses, loss of jobs, the enabling of personal mental health instability, and the unnecessary loss of so many American lives.

And, this is strictly a ‘short list.’

Congress approved a bill to provide $600-per-week towards unemployment insurance for those losing their jobs due to the pandemic which has, ultimately, kept the economy stronger than anyone had the right to hope for. The unemployed have been able to pay their rent and/or house payment, purchase food for their family, and pay their bills.

And now, as this important ‘virus relief’ has officially expired and has not been renewed, the talks slog on with millions of people still out of work. Employment, especially minimum wage jobs, are unavailable due to the consequences of the pandemic and financial futures remain unprotected and frightening. 

HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH DURING A PANDEMIC?

Courtesy of FIT

Progress is slow as the urgency grows on virus relief talks. If the weak Republican proposal is signed and benefits are downgraded to $200-per-week, the compensation will not be enough to keep these families in good stead towards running even a minimal life style or provide protection from banks and landlords who hold jurisdiction over retaining a roof over their heads. 

We’ve been here before and not so very long ago. The extreme struggles many of us were made to endure in 2008 are now lurking around the corner, again. The psychological ramifications from having no control over your life is tantamount to having a battering ram threaten to smash in your skull every minute of the day. You can never stop thinking about it and it is certain to take its physical toll on you in due time.

So, when our friend from the City of Kalamazoo reminded us of the inevitable outcome initiated by the government dragging its feet and allowing for hardworking people to lose their homes, my heart skipped a beat. He explained how he, as a City Commissioner, will be one member of our local government who must appropriately handle the calls and text messages filled with emotional complaints and desperate pleas made by desperate citizens living in our area of the State of Michigan in the next few months. Tears fill my eyes as I can already hear these frantic voices cry out and employ any means possible in order to cling to their dreams; cling to the American Dream they have strived for, secured (for the most part) and now stand to lose.

I have labeled one consequence of this sad, repetitive situation as ‘inevitable evictions’ for a reason. The current administration has been notorious for breaking down the little guy, the middle class, the working poor, for nearly four years by way of taking away any means possible towards making life more viable, healthy, and profitable for them. For now, the pandemic has afforded this administration the means to justify their actions. 

The protection of fundamental human rights should be the primary objective for supporting democracy and its principles. As our government and all of its elected participants continue talks on virus relief this week, we can only hope that a timely and suitable outcome is achieved before people find themselves living out of their automobiles or stretching the fabric of health and wellbeing by having to move into a relative’s home. I do not see evictions as a feasible, emergency plan for riding out this financial storm during a deadly pandemic.

EVICTING FAMILIES FROM THEIR HOMES IN THE MIDDLE OF A
PANDEMIC IS CRUEL AND DANGEROUS.

Courtesy Getty Images

How does one conform to the plausible advice of our public health officials and governors who call for ‘staying home practices’ during this health crisis if people have no place to call home anymore?

We the people need to get a grip on how much we have lost and how much more we stand to lose. In a time when coronavirus heroes, nurses and all healthcare workers, are getting tossed from their homes by landlords who fear they may bring the coronavirus home with them, there is much to fear on both sides of our current situation. I pray we find some common ground when handling our lives and dealing with others from here on out by means of common sense and intelligence thinking, if nothing else.

Reality is that ‘The Heroes Act,’ proposed almost three months ago and immediately passed by the Congress, has waited all this time to gain a reaction from the Upper Chamber led by Mitch McConnell who continues to drag his feet and delay forward momentum. If this non-action continues, it will surely be considered a formula for further disaster.

IF YOU CAN’T PAY YOUR HOUSE PAYMENT OR RENT DURING THE
CORONAVIRUS CATASTROPHE, LET’S HOPE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
WILL HAVE YOUR BACK...

Courtesy Flickr

Stay safe. Stay healthy. If you are not already, please register to vote. VOTE IN NOVEMBER! OUR LIVES DEPEND ON IT!

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

          

DAZED AND CONFUSED - 2020 VERSION

A series of essays....

CUT-OUTS IN A CHILD’S GAME OF MAGNETIC PAPER DOLLS

           Courtesy of Agirlandagluegun.com



....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Looking out at, virtually, identical scenery each day is playing tricks with my mind. Indeed, the tall trees that separate our property from the golf course have sprouted green headdresses that dance in the breeze while their toes are being tickled by the spring flowers in shades of yellow, white, purple, and pink. But, within the ‘time lapse’ of isolation, it plays out like dressing-up my stationary outside world with cut-outs as in a child’s game of magnetic paper dolls.

Communication with the outside world plays out in a similar manner. With the snow finally taking a bow and exiting stage left, neighborhood joggers, dog walkers, and kids have stripped themselves of winter related paraphernalia preferring lightweight jackets, pure white running shoes, and short sleeved tops and shorts. The world is baring itself of the heaviness of the colder months and rejoicing in the warmth and vibrancy of a late spring.

OUR NEW KITCHEN ADDITION:
A ROOM WITH A VIEW

Also, under the guise of communication, we tune-in to our devices (tablets, iPads, Smartphones) even before our eyes are accustomed to the bathroom light. Bam!...the entire world is at our fingertips. And, by the time we make it into the kitchen to brew our morning coffee, we already know what Uncle John has been working on in his wood shop, who is celebrating their birthday that day, and what’s on the calendar for the week. Actually, I haven’t had to fill in the days of my calendar for quite..some..time! Oops! There goes another cut-out piece up on the old magnetic board.

I try desperately to keep some form of regimen alive and thriving by getting out of bed around the same time each morning, brushing my teeth, combing my unusually long hair, all before snuggling in for a morning of writing down my thoughts and ideas. I have been so proud of being a morning person, when all thoughts are fresh, new, and exciting to record. The world weighs heavy on me by the afternoon when thinking becomes sluggish, almost tedious to the point of distraction.

Sadly, I am losing it. I feel it in my bones. Quoting a friend, Matthew, who has summed up my deepest feelings quite succinctly when he wrote, ”... I’m not thinking suicidal thoughts. I’m frustrated, exhausted. I am over, so over the person who occupies the White House in D.C. I’m ready, willing, and able to hit the streets in support of a general strike; a revolution; whatever.” I feel it, too, brother. We all do.

Lately, my mornings have become less and less productive and the fine line between my A.M. mindset is blurring with my P.M. mindset often to the point of complete frustration. I have to chuckle about it, though, because I am constantly reminded of the 1993 teenage cult movie, Dazed and Confused, with its smoke-filled marijuana scenes and misunderstood hormonal highs and lows. Isolation is clouding my mind and turning me into a stranger in a strange land.

                                               Courtesy of Wallpaperflare.com

If someone is dazed, they are confused and most definitely unable to think clearly. It may be due to shock, a blow to the head, or by just being exhausted and drained of one’s mental resources due to highly unusual and abnormal circumstances. If I could, I would grab myself by the shoulders and give myself a hardy shake every now and then in an attempt to escape these isolation blues and be productive once again. 

Everything is telling me that this shocked, stunned, and confusing state of mind is disrupting the daily lives of many of us. Family and friends have claimed similar feelings while going about their quarantined routines even though we know we are doing it for all of the right reasons, trying to hang tough, and looking ahead to the future instead of remaining in the past.

I have sat and tried to figure out where raw, personal power comes from; at what depths inside my heart and soul I must dig down to before coming up for my next breath of air. Two words always come to mind as they are expressed in my poem entitled, Deep Within.

Deep Within

Each day

I listen for the sound

Of calmness, 

Words of wisdom,

Voice of reason.

And all I want to do

Is feel safe and secure

again, not wallow in self pity 

Or avoid the insect’s bite.

I appreciate that 

Its sting makes me feel alive

Reminding me of

The power I possess within

And how I must never

Underestimate my strengths

Even when the world 

Stops being kind and I 

Am made to solicit 

The reassuring beat

Of my own heart.

We all possess the power we need and gather it from deep inside of us. We don’t always tap into it when and as often as we should. It may take the ‘insect’s bite’ to snap us out of wallowing in self-pity and react to the miscarriages of justice, the misunderstanding of what should be the practice of basic common sense, and thinking that life owes us something instead of contributing to a better life for those around us through kindness, love, and the simple belief in the welfare of all mankind. 

The next time I stumble into the kitchen on a dreary, damp morning and peer out at the ancient trees, headpieces made of tender, new leaves, the effulgence of early morning burning off the fogginess and creating the luster of a new day, I will look at the world that surrounds me day after day with hope and personal expectations. I will consider myself the luckiest person in the world and, my inner strength will generously shroud my dazed and confused outlook and enhance my personal productivity throughout this period of self-isolation. Fingers crossed.

Stay healthy and happy. Don’t allow anyone or anything to bring you down. I keep learning something new each day, about myself, as well as about others. Love.

Words of wisdom:

“When times get tough, we don’t give up. We get up.” — Barack Obama

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

                                                    Courtesy of:  Chesnot—Getty Images

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

SEEING THE LIGHT: KEEPING A PROMISE TO MYSELF

A series of essays.....

LIGHT SHOT THROUGH CUT GLASS CRYSTAL
~MORNING LIGHT SHINES THROUGH OUR
WATERFORD VASE IN THE FOYER~

.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Just as light reflection shot through perfectly cut glass crystals bring out the best ‘sparkle’ and can be so luxuriously pleasing to the human eye, keeping promises made to yourself from the deepest depths of your being can make you shine like the brightest star in the heavens. 

I am shining on both the inside and outside these days because I have kept a promise to myself for over a year now and I will not waiver from it until the outcome I hope to see has been, undeniably, achieved.

Before I explain the promise I made to myself, please allow me to set the stage by taking a moment to run by only a few things that are happening in our world today:

The worst flu epidemic to happen in years.

The annihilation of the Republican Party by the most incompetent leader of the Free World.

Weather patterns above and beyond what has been considered ‘normal.’

The Women’s March growing by leaps and bounds after chalking-up its 2nd year!

Sadly, gun violence and mass shootings becoming the norm within our social make-up.

Many of us, for the second time, living through the threat and fear of a nuclear holocaust.

Puerto Rican school children cheering for ‘the light’ after four months of living in the darkness without power.

Acknowledging that equal rights for all has yet to be achieved. Will that day be in my lifetime?

The financial and social status of one percent of the population is actively attempting to obliterate the rest of our nation’s population including the elderly, the weak, the poor, as well as annihilate the structure of the middle class. Attempting to take away our Social Security Benefits, health insurance, our right to clean air and water, and ignoring scientific facts and findings regarding global warming.

The cruel and unnecessary plight of the Dreamers and DACA recipients. 

I could go on and on and on with this list. It drags me down to think that in 2018 our country is not progressing as it should, but instead we are retreating into the past; a past that this present administration considers to be Making America Great Again. With the power of a dictatorship such as the likes in Russia today, their dictator, Vladimir Putin, has been directing and controlling this current president like his own personal marionette in order to attempt to break apart what the United States has always stood for: Democracy! Freedom! Individual Rights! And, the right to speak openly and freely without fear or recrimination! All the while the words ringing in our ears straight from the poetic pen of Emma Lazarus: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Do you recall ever having read a novel that described the perpetrator getting away with what might be considered ‘the perfect crime?’ As you read along with the storyline you begin to realize that many factors are involved in the apparent success of this intricate plot to rob, murder, or discriminate against another human being or institution. The talented author expertly weaves the various contributing factors into the plot denoting apparent perfection by pointing out fastidious planning, behind the scenes backing (including Big Money), perfect timing, and hitting the mark when people and situations appear to be at their most vulnerable.

Certainly, timing was everything for this foreign dictator as he plotted and planned out one of the greatest takeovers of Democracy today, concentrating heavily within the United States but encompassing Western Europe, as well. 

He needed the perfect pawn available and found him in Trump. With Trump’s propensity for greed, the manipulation of others, and desire to be looked upon as powerful and brilliant....the task of buttering him up was minimal. Trump was ripe for the taking. The vendetta he holds against the goodness and intelligence shown by Barack Obama is obscenely apparent throughout his ‘Birther Movement,’ as well as the simple fact that Barack’s strengths and popularity have galled Trump for years. Having the opportunity to retaliate against the 44th President was the cheese set out as bait in the Putin rat trap. 

Dividing the main principals of the people of any country through the means of fear and hatred weakens its chances of being strong from within; making it highly vulnerable to any outside influence. The last few years of extreme police brutality and massive gun violence with obvious disrespect for human life, has been breaking down the existence of law and order and weakening the fine line between good cop/bad cop, right and wrong, and enhancing a ‘gestapo-like’ influence of free-for-all Wild West brutality. This, unfortunately, is evidenced in the increasing power and brutality used by ICE (U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement) officers, Border Patrol police, and White Supremacist groups that believe in a political, economic, and cultural system in which whites overwhelmingly control power.... 

And why not? They’ve been given a free, anything goes, pass by their great leader, Trump, who has displayed his indiscriminate tendencies of racial profiling and hatred for many years. 

THESE STATS ARE DATED AS OF YESTERDAY,
JANUARY 24, 2018, AND INCLUDES DEATH, INJURIES,
AND NUMBER OF INCIDENTS REPORTED AND
VERIFIED  ~ THIS NUMBER CHANGES
DRASTICALLY EACH DAY AND
DOES NOT INCLUDE SUICIDES!

Looking at the chart above, you have to realize that we are only in the third week of this brand new year. 

Couple this attitude with the powerful backing of the NRA (National Rifle Association) and you have a steaming shit cocktail that’s guaranteed to disrupt and change all previous rules of law, order, and civility. By circulating its power throughout the various organizations who are paid to protect us, not brutalize us, and giving the 'green light' to the hate mongers, monsters are created and existing miscreants thrive. Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, understood early on that following the ‘money trail’ would shed the most light on understanding the motives behind the Trump administration and its connection to Russia, Big Money, and Power!

What on earth sparked this colossal revelation of mine today in the first place, with this day being just one more in the continuing clown show we call our government?! It feels bazaar sitting here gazing up at the vertiginous sky, mind wandering around in circles like a child lost in the middle of Time Square. Honestly, it was the simple act of remembering why I have not changed my Facebook profile picture in slightly over a year.... And, firmly vowing not to do so as long as we have these selfish, demoralizing people in the White House. When he and all of the similar ilk around him are formally expelled for many or all of the reasons I spoke about above...It will be a pleasure and a blessing to remove this badge of courage and exchange it for one filled with beauty and love (pictures with my grandchildren); vendetta having been recognized and, ultimately, rectified.

Already we see an upsurge in the number of women running for elected office from city mayors to Congresspersons, Senators, and Governors of the states they live in and will be proud to represent in Washington, D.C.  And, as long as that glass ceiling remains, virtually, intact, the sky is the limit for each and every one of them. 

My heart swells with the knowledge that many men regard female strength with such openness and anticipation, as if they have known for years that the simple act of injecting fresh, new ideas into the positions formerly held by (old/white) men would spark a major effort towards change, fill the cracks with a bit of softness, and allocate plenty of determination and new vibrations throughout the land. Bless all of you fine gentlemen! Gratefully, I know quite a few of you.

In my firm belief that Women Can Stop Trump, this symbol will remain right where it is as my profile picture, proudly displaying my innermost feelings while representing my steadfast belief in the power of women all over the world! The day it is removed and changed will be a day of celebration acknowledging the calculated progress into the future of our Democracy!

Author’s Note: It is better to enjoy life than to let it eat you up. So, I will celebrate life by believing that the truth will overcome. In honor of life (and speaking the truth), we are off to see and listen to Vice President Joe Biden next Monday, January 29, at the Dr. Phillips Center For The Performing Arts in downtown Orlando! Embrace the moment! 

Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GLORIA!

A series of short stories....

Gloria Steinem (Courtesy of Google Image)

....through my eyes!

By:  Jacqueline E. Hughes


I enjoy hitting the '+' button on My Writing app and pulling-up a  brand new, pristine white page.  The thrill is knowing that within a few hours and an average of somewhere around 1,500 words and an unspecified amount of research later, those pages are filled, my random thoughts are recorded and, soon they will be sent out into Cyberspace for others to read.

Where do my ideas come from?  Well, everywhere!  It could be a thought that's been rolling around in my head for weeks, a certain place visited and loved, nature's beauty as displayed by a friend or, an event or person I've read about.  It's the process (steps) of creation that intrigues me the most.  Because once the creation is completed.....I switch gears and just hope that others like and appreciate the finished product.  By then, I've already pulled up another blank page and started filling it....one word at a time.

                                             Gloria Steinem Awarded Medal of Freedom
                                                                 By Barack Obama For Women's Movement

For example.....  The Sunday Review section of The New York Times this past weekend devoted its front page to Ms. Gloria Steinem on turning eighty with the heading: This Is What 80 Looks Like.  Truth be told, Ms. Steinem has been on my radar for months now, ever since Oprah's NEXT CHAPTER interview with her in April of 2012.  I have always had nothing but the utmost respect for this lovely lady, for many, many reasons.  The article, written by Gail Collins, respectfully points out how Ms. Steinem has been utilizing her birthdays "to make money for worthy causes" ever since her 50th.  This year she's heading to Botswana to celebrate but, not before co-hosting a benefit to raise money for the Shalom Center in Philadelphia.  

Gloria Steinem once said, "I expect my funeral to be a fund-raiser."  When asked what she really wanted to do on her birthday this year, she said, "First, get out of Dodge.  Second, ride elephants."


"Superwoman is the adversary of the Women's Movement.  The whole idea is that we don't have to do it all.  You can't do it all, no one can do it all, cook three meals, have perfect children and be multi-orgasmic 'till dawn....."  Gloria and Oprah had been speaking with and answering questions by a group of students from New York City's prestigious Barnard College.

I know this multi-faceted belief, proffered by one of the Women's Movement's most noted and respected members, was never fully understood or appreciated by those of us 'coming of age' in the '60's.  If we had truly absorbed her teachings, many of us would not have wasted so much of our time wallowing in personal guilt or ever bothered listening to the unconscionable demands presented to us by a society that remained rooted in archaic beliefs for all women.

Even the '60's climate of 'Free Love and Rock & Roll' only compounded our budding beliefs as young women attempting to find our role within a changing society.  The best way I know of explaining it was we were caught-up in a time-warp; floundering between the old world and ideas presented to us by our Mothers and the new world of independence that we hoped would complete us and serve up success on a platter.  Yes, we knew we could have, enjoy and do it all!!  We were young and we still believed....

The distortion of this maelstrom altered our speed of movement by pulling women down within its spiraling motion.....and, whether we wished to admit it or not, we had become our own worst enemy.  As a group, we tore each other apart, attacking from all sides like fools rather than implementing understanding and compromise.  In hind site, if women had bolstered the individual beliefs of every woman, (Stay-at-home Moms, career woman, marry or remain single), as much as we ripped each other apart, ALL of us could have 'had it all' without having to 'do it all.'  And, wearing a bra would have always remained an option.

I say this often and really do believe that life is all about extremes.  Energy flows from one extreme into the other until it eventually balances itself out and maintains a stable medium.  The application of this belief applies here.

This warm and inviting woman with a brilliant, fascinating sense of humor, soon became, intentionally or not, caught-up within the politics of the '60's, '70's and beyond.  I have always regarded Gloria Steinem as the female 'voice of reason.'  Many men disliked her beliefs not wishing to enhance the role of women in the workplace while hoping to squelch future equality between the sexes.  Some women disliked her beliefs because they were, simply put, afraid of change. 

I was putting myself through college at Michigan State University around this time and the Women's Liberation Movement was in full swing on and off campus.  No topic, whatsoever, was off-limits to full and complete discussion by students any time of the day or night.  Groups of us, males and females together, would gather in dorm lounges, dorm rooms and, occasionally, our professor's homes in order to speak openly about our ideas, as well as introduce new ones.  Wow!!  I can look back at us now with overflowing pride in my heart. 

Oh, but, eventually, the guilt did creep around the corner like a black mist among the shadows and penetrate even some of the most open-minded and brave-hearted of us all....  It blinded  and tormented us with its deep-seeded notions of failure even when our husbands, having lived through the Movement, too, and still fell in love with and married us for better or worse, had our backs!  That's how disillusioned some of us had become.  Usually, our disappointment was with ourselves.....we wanted to be Superwoman!  Nothing less.  We didn't perceive this depth of emotion as an adversary....not yet.  Even if Gloria Steinem were standing on a soap box, megaphone in hand, preaching the negatives of Superwoman status ten feet away, our guilt of inadequacy blinded our sense of reason.  We had to grow-up, mature, evolve....whichever label you prefer!

Even to this day, the pressure of being a young female in the late '60's and beyond can haunt me, especially when it comes to Family and living so far away.  I worry about watching and being near my grandchildren growing-up and if they will always remember me for who I am and how much I love them every day.  Guilt: A feeling of having done wrong or failed in an obligation.  Funny how guilt can grow on you like a second skin.

When discussing her accomplishments within her eighty years of living and if she felt completed by hers, Ms. Steinem replied, "The whole idea is not to figure out what you should do that will matter, but to make each thing you do reflect the values you want.....because we don't know what's going to matter in the future."  If that's the case, then it should no longer worry me about the physical distance between my children and me as long as my actions reflect the positive values I place on our relationships.  Thank you, Gloria.

"People think they should be successful by the time they are thirty!"  She goes on to explain that given enough years on this earth, "You can have many relationships....many different careers or professions and have them all be successful."  We worry way too much about time constraints and what other people think instead of just believing in ourselves.

My mantra today would definitely be: It didn't always go as planned, and that's okay.  Just think about what I have to look forward to!!  Remember, as long as YOU want it, the cup of life remains full.  Maintain your health, happiness and never forget to Love....

I'm certain if Ms. Steinem were commenting on my thoughts here today she would ask all of us to be Positive, be Patient and, always, be Persistent......

Happy Birthday, Gloria!


Is there anything in your past or present that makes you feel guilty with the idea that you would change it if you could? 

 

 

 

 

                                         Courtesy of the Gloria Steinem Web Site