"Hold On One Second Sweetie”

Apparently while on the campaign trail in Detroit yesterday, Barack Obama responded to a questioning reporter by saying, “Hold on one second, sweetie”. Oh no -- his bid for the Democratic nomination is over! According to some journalists, this may have been Obama’s “macaca moment.”

Are we really serious here? He apologized for this slip of the tongue and I’m sure it was just that. Can it really be compared to George Allen’s 2006 slip? I think reporters are so eager to uncover dirty laundry, discover a character flaw or otherwise report a bit of campaign-changing news that they are grasping at straws.

I’m not an Obama fan but the comparison is really ridiculous. With all that is going on in the world why do we even care about this? How about we just focus on the candidates’ positions on key issues?

The Colored Girl

Growing up, my grandmother always referred to Black folks as Colored. Even as a child I thought that was the cutest thing. She would say, “The Colored girl over there helped me.” I’m sure others were not as amused because at that time I think we were more popularly called Negroes. Or maybe we were transitioning into being called Afro-American. I could be wrong because I often get the chronological order of names Black folks prefer confused.

Whatever the case, my grandmother didn't care. She refused to play that name change game.

Now the politically correct refer to us as African-American. Some people actually get offended if called Black. But I have never been completely comfortable with being referred to as African American.

I am an American citizen -- period. To paraphrase a line from the character Prissy, in Gone with the Wind, “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no Africa.” I was born and raised here in America. My parents were born and raised in America and so were their parents. Sadly, my heritage can be much more easily tied to Ireland or the Choctaw Nation than to Africa.


I do not mean to disrespect Africa. I think Africa is a great continent with phenomenal history. If I could definitively trace my roots back to my specific relatives in Africa I might (that’s a big might) feel differently. However, the chances of being able to do an Alex Haley style genealogy are very slim. Therefore, just as I do not consider myself Irish-American nor Native American – I am not African-American.

I do understand the need to have some designation for a person’s ethnicity. For me, being called African-American is just not representative of who I am. With that said, I’m OK with being called Black. I’m OK with being called a Negro. Heck, in honor of my grandmother, you can even call me Colored.

Political Diversity

The chart below shows the voting breakdown for the 2006 elections – by ethnicity.




TOTAL__________________Democrat__________Republican

White (79%)________________47%_______________51%

African-American (10%)_____89%_______________10%

Latino (8%)________________69%_______________30%

Asian (2%)_________________62%_______________37%

Other (2%)_________________55%_______________42%




Are Black folks truly as one-dimensional a race of people as these numbers imply? I will never accept that.

If it is true (and I believe it is) that we are lagging far behind other races regarding education, finances, business, exposure to the arts, travel, planning for the future, etc. -- at least part of the reason may be found in these numbers.

If it is true (and I know it is) that our communities are plagued with high crime rates and way too many of our men are in prison -- maybe we should think about the significance of these numbers.

We are marching through the political process in one big, robotic clump. We are thinking, doing, saying and responding to our issues as if with simply one voice.

Perhaps if we (Black folks) allow a little political diversity within our race we could collectively come up with some solutions.

Paying For Gas

An article on CNN’s website earlier this month compared gas prices in the US with the price of gas in other countries. Of 155 countries on the list, the US ranked 111. That means that only 44 countries had cheaper gas than the US.

I think the purpose of the article was to make us feel a little better about the price that we are paying for gas. While I am very glad that we do not have to pay $18.42 per gallon like they do in Sierra Leone, $3.50 is still a blow to my budget.

In London gas is $8.32 per gallon. I hope our gas doesn’t reach that price any time soon. But a major difference between filling up here versus London is the size of the cars. In London you rarely see SUVs or larger cars. Most everyone there drives itsy-bitsy little cars. They have small cars over there that we’ve never even seen here in the US. I swear some of them have got to be half the size of a Mini-Cooper. Consequently, it takes less for them to fill up and they get more miles to the gallon.

Some say that gas prices should remain high and in fact rise even higher as a means of protecting the environment. Higher gas prices will force us, as a country, to stop making environmentally unfriendly vehicles and opt for smaller, fuel efficient cars instead.

Others say that prices should remain high to force us to look for fuel alternatives and lessen our reliance on foreign oil.

This outrageous spike in gas prices seems to have come out of nowhere and I was not prepared for it. Unfortunately, I’m not hearing that anything is likely to change any time soon and trading in my gas guzzler for a SMART Car tomorrow is just not practical.

We may just have to accept high gas prices as a way of life. So, what are SUV driving people like me supposed to do?

Here’s my budget adjustment pledge to myself:
1. I will become more strategic in my driving. I will make fewer unnecessary trips “around town”. I’ll patronize the businesses closest to home.
2. Because I am spending so much more for gas -- I will try to save money in other areas. I’ll cut out inessentials like daily stops to Starbucks.
3. I’ll significantly cut down on clothes shopping.
4. I’ll clean out my garage and closet and have a garage sale. Sure it’s only a one-time reward but I may earn enough to buy a tank of gas. Every little bit helps.
5. I’ll stop for fast food less often.
6. And finally, if I review my cell phone plan, cable package, Internet package, home phone plan and security monitoring service – I am certain that I can save enough money with each to at least partially cover the additional money that I am spending for gas.

OK, that’s the plan. I’ll keep you posted.

Mama

Mama was my grandmother. I remain convinced that she was the greatest grandmother the world has ever known. How fortunate I was to have had her as my own. Mama poured into my two sisters, two cousins and me in infinite ways.

Mama was always quoting Scripture but she was so wise in so many ways, that we didn’t realize until many years later that they were Bible verses and not just sage Mama-isms.

Mama was definitely a Proverbs 31 woman. She made sure that we always behaved in a prim and proper way, that we were exceptionally polite, that we memorized Bible verses, that we went to Sunday School each and every Sunday (and when she sent us off to Sunday School she made sure we put a quarter in our shoe for offering), that we learned to sew (by hand), and she made sure we were always dressed appropriately and modestly.

More than any of that, she made certain that we knew that we were loved. She signed all of our cards (and she gave them for every occasion -- birthday, Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s Day) “love always, your devoted grandmother.” She was indeed devoted to her grandchildren.

Aside from Scriptures, Mama had a phrase or quote for every occasion and every circumstance.

“It’s a poor dog who won’t wag his own tail” meant that it was ok to brag on yourself a little.

“Every shut eye ain’t sleep and every goodbye ain’t gone.” meant don’t think you can get away with something just because you don’t see somebody else around looking at you or because you think people are gone – they can come right back.

“Hit dog holler” meant you said something to someone and it hit a nerve.

It was important to Mama that she instilled in us a very strong sense of right and wrong. Without hesitation she would quickly correct us if we were wrong and she would make sure that we went back and “made it right”. Because of her acute desire to always do what was right, everybody loved the woman affectionately known to everyone else as “Mama Clark”.

Today I find that I use Mama’s scale to measure right and wrong. I find myself repeating her sayings. One thing that I say to my children all of the time is “you are supposed to do right even if no one else does.” That wasn’t one of Mama’s sayings but it is a direct result of her influence in my life.

As much as I loved and miss my mother, this Mother’s Day my mind goes back to the memories of Mama. She was a perfect example of a Godly woman and I can only hope and pray that I have been successful in imparting at least a little bit of Mama to my children.