NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS

 

A series of essays and poetry,,,,

                 

RED ROSE: IT’S THE ROSE OF ROMANCE AND DEEP FEELINGS
BUT CAN RELAY DESIRE, BEAUTY, VICTORY, 
HARMONY, JOY, LUCK AND PRIDE

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Friendship can touch a multitude of lives in many different ways. It may have a slightly different meaning for each person involved, but, for the most part, being friendly towards one another, kind and loving, is the preferred attitude in life and so many people are newly discovering the innate beauty of this philosophy.

The poetry class I attend twice a month is entitled Voices on the Margin. May I say that this group of eight strong women, evolving from various educational backgrounds and careers, take extreme pride in revealing our own strengths and weaknesses, knowing that we will always be listened to by one another. 

We will not be belittled or bullied no matter what we have to contribute to the group. And, conveniently, we learn about other poets (women and men, past and present) their writing styles and content and attempt to emulate them via our own poetry as best we can. 

I find complete joy in reading our own poems out loud to the group and embracing the feedback conjured up by their fertile minds and taking away, if we desire it, their changes. We write, we learn, we respond, and we offer encouragement.

With our wedding anniversary coming up this Sunday, lifelong friendship has piqued my interest yet again in relating to decades of sharing big feelings together; appreciating individual opinions and the coziness of sharing them with one another along this amazing journey.

I dedicate this poem to my life partner and hope that others will realize that friendship can be the glue in a cohesive force that allows for controversial opinions, change, time, and understanding to shine through:

No Matter What Happens 💞

I respect that you’re going through difficult times. 

Not feeling yourself? Haven’t showered in a week? Don’t worry. 

You are appreciated for who you are. Come what may.

I want you to know that I am a safe place for you. 

So, laugh yourself silly, exaggerate the ugly cry and never

feel judged by me. I love you in every way. 

I accept and honor your controversial opinions. It doesn’t 

matter if we agree or not, I’m here for your unedited thoughts 

because we both will grow smarter, stronger. Come what may.

I understand when you let yourself be you. Be funny, be crazy, 

be loud, be obnoxious. I will love you more for the loudness 

and always cheer your enthusiasm for life. 

I want you to know that age is only a number. If we figure it out,

hold hands, walk down the same path with heads held high,

the future will be comforting. Come what may.

I keep trying to understand where you are coming from. It would be

a pleasure to have you skip, hop, and jump back into my life. Know

that I am your cheerleader—be brave. 

I want all of you to feel free to be yourselves around me. Do what you

do. Be funny, crazy, tired, loud, opinionated, talented. Luxuriate 

in all of your big feelings. Own them and never look back. 

Come what may.

Jacqueline E Hughes 9-09-24

Each stanza refers to one person or another who has entered my life, made it a little bit better, and has changed my perspective as to why I even exist. That’s definitely powerful. This poem reflects the years that flash by all of us and profusely change our lives in an instant. 

Not wanting to allow myself to change the flow of big feelings of anyone else, I insist that you, my friend, not change yourself for my sake. I encourage your boisterous laughter, opinions that don’t match my own, holding hands as we slowly walk into old age, exaggerate your ugly cry in dark times, and experience profound joy in good times.

To my dear husband of 51 years: through our many ups and downs, via joy and sadness, playfulness and laughter—please know that the bond we share together will always be strong no matter what happens, come what may.

Copyright © 2024 by Jacqueline E Hughes 

All rights reserved

HELLO BEAUTIFUL!

 

A series of essays….

‘JACKIE JASMINE’ WATCHED OVER BY AN ANGEL

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Once upon a time, a dear lady, fellow writer (she has published three books), and friend lived near us in a small subdivision  located a few miles southeast of downtown Orlando, Florida. Now, this person was and is very special, not only to me, but to everyone who knows her. She has a way of making you feel important and loved. Just ask the many students whom she has taught as first graders throughout her long history as educator, mentor, and friend within the Orlando Public School System.

It was our good fortune to have built a home directly across the street from Janice and her husband, Bill, at approximately the same time. Dan and I were slightly ahead of them (a matter of, maybe, four weeks) and the style of their home was the same as what we’d chosen out of the five or six models we had to pick from according to the builder’s architectural designs.

The year was 1999. We closed on our house in September of that year and Janice and Bill closed on theirs soon afterward. Christmas was exceptionally exciting for us because it meant that Dan and I could, finally, secure our stored possessions following two years of visitation rights within their climate controlled storage cubical located on Semoran Blvd..

Not long after the first of the year, 2000, most of our moving dust had settled and the world, as we knew it, failed to come to an end over the hyped-up fears of the Millennium Bug, Y2K, when all computers would be utilizing incorrect data and Armageddon seemed to be a foregone conclusion. How naive we were (are). Did we not understand that this was the beginning of the latest rash of conspiracy theories that would, eventually, consume all of us, one way or another, in the years to follow?

We survived. Life went on. One day, after emptying what I hoped would be the final moving box, I went out to the mailbox at the end of the drive and formally met Janice. Introductions behind us, we must have stood at the end of our driveways talking away under the Florida sun for, at least, an hour. I think we both understood by this time that our lives would be intertwined from that moment on.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL!
CERTAINLY GLAD TO KNOW YOU.

Janice is a feminist and published author who uses her writing forum to help inform women of the choices they have with regards to staying in or leaving unhealthy relationships.  Her two works of fiction are based upon a woman who did decide to leave an abusive relationship and spend a prodigious amount of time running from her abuser, as well as the truth about her marriage. So many women try to second guess their abuser’s motives and convince themselves of either their own guilt or that they misunderstood the abuser’s intentions altogether.

Several months after our friendship grew and we had a few luncheon outings under our belts, Janice and I sat in my family room sipping a cool drink and singing the praises of strong women. I think that’s when the uncomplicated salutation “Hey, Beautiful!” initially came into play. “After all,” she said, “as women, we are all Beautiful in our own right.” From that moment on it has always been “Hello, Beautiful,” or “Hey, Beautiful,” or “How are you, Beautiful?” followed by the warmest hug — the kind you never want to end because you know that your own strength is being charged by the strength found within one another.

One weekend, after a trip to our favorite nursery, Lucas Nursery in Oviedo, I brought home what I would lovingly call a jasmine twig right out of a Charley Brown made for television movie. I potted it, along with great hopes and aspirations of survival, in a French urn and placed it along the backyard fence. Every season (Yes, we have seasons in Florida!) my little jasmine hung in there, but often wore less leaves than she began with. One season she sprouted several inches and her coat of leaves multiplied. That’s when she was transferred to a large blue pot given to me for Mother’s Day. Suddenly, she was luxuriating in a new world of incredible space; she was very happy.

MY THRIVING JASMINE WAS HAPPY
LIVING IN THE BIG BLUE POT

She was Beautiful! My jasmine was sassy, strong, and thriving. Several times a year she would produce the sweetest testament to her glorious being by producing small, white blossoms that covered her in a sweet, gentle cape, comparable to the queen that she had become. She must have enjoyed her habitat alongside the pool enclosure, close to the house. That’s where she grew for over twelve years and became a proper jasmine tree.

I would often tease Janice when she’d stop over for a chat and say that my Beautiful tree was going to be hers one day after Dan and I move back to Michigan. She stubbornly refused to see any truth in that happening and always laughed the thought away. After nineteen years of neighborly love and support, Janice’s smile waned when she learned of our planned departure. Knowing that our five, Beautiful grandchildren resided at the other side of our journey, she knew it was a wise decision, but didn’t like losing us as neighbors after so many years. 

My conversation went something like this, “Hello, Beautiful! My tree needs a good home. I wouldn’t trust her with anyone else but you….” 

Through tears of sadness because of our move and tears of laughter watching Dan and Bill extract my glorious tree from her home in the large, blue pot and carry her across the street together, Janice and I watched as she made it to her new home. Bill had dug a large hole right smack in the middle of their backyard. The guys gently placed her down into its dark depths, filled in the space around her roots, and tamped down the soil around her base. She looked happy but I had no idea if she would continue to thrive after such a major change in her life.

The only thing I asked of Janice was if she would send me a picture of the Beautiful jasmine tree every now and then. She agreed. Last week my phone dinged indicating a new text message that read, “Hey Beautiful! Hope all is well, and it’s finally warm up there! 🤞🏾 Jackie Jasmine is in full bloom! 👏🏾🙂” 

Did I mention that she lovingly named the jasmine tree after me? Thank you, Beautiful, for letting her spread her wings and do what she has to do in order to survive and thrive.

Author’s Note: Janice Cummings is an inspirational author, has written poetry, songs, and short stories. Love on the Run and A Love Proclaimed are her first two novels from the acclaimed High-Top Sneaker Series. You can find Janice at

high-topsneakers.com.

Courtesy of Bill Crooms

Copyright © 2023 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

"BIRTH OF A NEW SPIRIT IN AMERICA"

A series of essays.....

RACHEL ROBINSON: ENORMOUS  COURAGE AND MORAL INTEGRITY

.....as seen through my eyes!





By: Jacqueline E. Hughes


This is a message for all of the strong women out there; past, present, and future. This is a message about repression and its flagrant use throughout the history of this great nation.

Last evening, after the Nightly News was watched, our daily events discussed, and dinner consumed, we decided to watch Part One of the Ken Burns' documentary entitled Jackie Robinson which we had recorded a few weeks ago.

As the credits rolled, we must have spent another hour, at least, discussing what had recently been unveiled before us. As the Brits might say......, we were gobsmacked by the revelations compiled and brought to the screen by this ingenious documentarist, with kudos reaching out to his daughter, Sarah, in the 'writing' category.

KEN BURNS

I must say that I am always deeply happy when my own research takes me far below the surface and into places that I'd previously only skimmed over, or remembered from college courses.

Last evening we were formally introduced to this truly amazing couple, Rachel and Jack Robinson, via the spirit, wisdom, and talent of Ken Burns. I know that Rachel and Jackie, both strong and caring individuals in their own right, would have marked great strides down their independent paths......however, together they were a powerful partnership that blossomed constantly within the goodness they created and the hate they were forced to endure.

The blatant hatred of the color of their skin.......a fact that often eclipsed the intelligence, sound judgment, and innate talent possessed by this team, should and will be a blight on our society, forever!

There had to be a good reason we waited until now to watch this documentary. Following this past week of violence by and directed towards our police, it was time to stimulate our sense of equilibrium with another solid dose of reality. Life has a way of taking things from one extreme to the other and, eventually, meeting in the middle, if we're lucky.

"Robinson couldn't have done it without his wife, Rachel," proclaims Burns in an interview with Newsweek. "Rachel was his confident, his rock, and his only refuge from the incessant abuse he endured."

Burns was able to highlight the strength behind the relationship of Jackie and Rachel, college sweethearts, in an interview with Barack and Michelle Obama. Their 'journey' has been similar to Jackie and Rachel's. "Jackie is the first to go through a door back then. The president is the first to go through a door, and he's saying (to paraphrase President Obama in the documentary), that when people are giving you shit for stuff that has to do with the color of your skin, it’s good to go home to where people love you and have your back."

RACHEL AND JACK ON THEIR FIRST DATE

Rachel would always have Jackie's back! "Home was our place away from the world, and it was central," said Rachel. "We made a point not to talk about every negative encounter that happened. That would have been too much. We treated our home like a haven and when you come into a haven you don't want to bring in painful things. You want to cherish it. You use the haven to get yourself ready for the next day."

Rachel graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in nursing and went on to obtain a master's degree in psychiatric nursing from New York University, according to Wikipedia. Last evening, we saw this beautiful lady, mother of three, constantly protect Jackie's back all through the time when Jackie was breaking baseball's color barrier in 1946 and 1947. Later, with Rachel by his side, Jackie went on to fight for Civil Rights in this country and assist in getting John F. Kennedy into the White House.

Number 42, first baseman and shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie faced adversity from birth: He was born a black man in a white man's world. One of the stipulations he had to comply with as a member of the Dodgers' team was to turn the other cheek when racial hatred came aiming its ugly fist at him. Rachel helped Jackie control his temper and realize exactly why his opportunity/venture into this elite side of baseball was so important to both black and white people alike.

When Number 42 became confronted by racial hatred and bigotry, he defined the moment as the "Birth of a new spirit in America!" He went on to explain that when a white team player defied convention, he was known to possess 'spirit.'  When he, a black player, defied convention, he was noted as 'an uppity n***** or ungrateful.'

Jackie's ability to live a good life with his strong wife and amazing family during this time is a testament to his true spirit. He was an honorable gentleman, family man, and leader who was given exceptional athletic abilities and was able to use them to everyone's advantage. His notoriety as Number 42 helped to launch his career as a Civil Rights advocate and to make his way through new doors as a Black Man who had experienced repression first-hand.

*Fear
*Hate
*Slavery
*Misinterpretation of Religion
*Bullying
*Lack of Education
*Need For Power
*Denial of "All People Created Equal" Under God

*Genuine Lack of Respect For Others
The above are all contributing factors in a world that chooses war over peace, hatred over love, and guns over verbal communication and understanding.

When you can look an adversary in the eyes and say, "I can't treat you right or with genuine respect if I look at you as being inferior to me," you have taken a giant leap in the right direction of understanding racism in America.

Yes, Black lives do matter and should matter to all of us who have never had the color of our skin be a threat to the quality of our life. If Jackie and Rachel Robinson were standing here today, I believe they would say this to all of us who, after so many years, continue to live through these difficult times: "We're all in this together, even if that's not easy."

Greatness, strength, and understanding are ultimately supported from the bottom....up, creating a strong foundation. Respect for others is a right given to all of us at birth. We must never allow others (parents, piers, friends, even high ranking leaders) to take this privilege of equality away from us. Let's teach our children that the color of their skin makes no difference and that we're all equal to one another in this world.

We are eager to absorb Part Two of Jackie Robinson tonight. I will listen, take more notes, and learn from the experience.


Author's Note: Rachel Robinson will turn 94 years young on July 19, 2016. Happy Birthday Beautiful Lady!


Copyright © 2016 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved