IT WAS THE NEIGHBORLY THING TO DO

...SEE, THERE IS A REASON STROM THURMOND WAS A 'DIXIE-CRAT'

Growing up right across 8 Mile Road, I could feel the 'Reagan Democrat' vibe emanate from Oakland County. And in high school I had a lot of 'xplainin' to do' because of my socially conservative views (I know right, who'da thunk??).

The idea that because I am black that I should be a Democrat is one of the main reasons that I consider myself 'independent'. There are things on both sides that bother me, but today the focus is on the Democrats.

Politics is politics. In the South where it 'paid' to be racist, the Dems were just that. And this is what came to mind when Harry Reid's comment saw the light of day. But when a cooler head began to make its presence known, I looked at it thru a different prism.

It is annoying that he spoke a truth and was 'outted' for it. The GOP is trying to hold it up to that crap that Trent Lott said, but it is so way not the same. Harry simply said what many folks think... a lot of 'em are black, too. What is the word... 'electable'? White candidates, hispanic and Jindal-ese (as bad as Palin would be, I think Bobby Jindal brings a whole 'nother set of ignorance and it is strengthened with his Ivy League credentials) all have electability issues.

In fact, think of the sexist things that were said about Hilary Clinton and her candidacy... what did how she look have to do with her ability to govern? Anywho, the thing about Trent is he said it in front of people with whom he felt shared a certain ideology.

And that is what the people are losing in the rush to 'whatever', and why it doesn't rise to the level of outrage for me (not that much rises to that level for me anywho...). What folks think in their 'safe and stable homes' are thinking got said out loud. And for a lot of folks, it is simply the truth.

IRONY IS A FIVE LETTER WORD

Hopefully this will go quietly away. It isn't as 'non' an issue as that, but it is something that folks need to go home and discuss amongst themselves. Like most of the ugly and even horrible things about humanity, the kind of misrepresentation that leads to the kind of conclusions that ol' man Reid voiced, needs to be dealt with on a personal basis.

For instance we all need to be kind and willing to help out a neighbor, right? Early in the third quarter of what was going to be one of the most exciting halves of football this season, me and the SFC heard quite a ruckus going up the stairs outside of our apartment.

The folks who live on the second floor are some twenty-somethings who could stand to lose a pound or twenty. I mention their size because they tromp up the stairs like they were elephants. So at first blush, we simply thought the ruckus was the neighbors tromping around as usual.

Then it continued. She mentioned that it sounded like someone moving and she thought about looking out. Me, I was like no I will. My first thought was to remain uninvolved... but I knew once I got my shoes on, I would be helping whoever out.

A brother about Bucko's size, a Beth sized 'Army strong' female and young sixty something female were unloading a U Haul. Seems the female soldier was moving in and that her hubby was still in AIT, learning his MOS.

I didn't bother much with back story... I just got to totin' stuff. There was a couple of funny comments made by the brother, who I think is from the Indies. He asked if he could pay me and I was like 'no'. He said in that case, if he sees me in a fight in the parking lot, he will not hesitate to call the police!

That was funny, because I have often told folks that is doing me more help than them getting involved and the BOTH of us getting it handed to us on a platter. Later, the 'Army strong' female was pulling up a hand cart with a big ol' box on it. I took it from her and then told her not to help and that I got it.

Of course she tried, but I stopped and explained that it wasn't about chauvanism. Without the song and dance (which is what this entry has become!) I told her that if she kept knocking off my sense of balance, then we will fall down the stairs. That was to me, funny. A snapshot of my life, really. I have always had to compensate for one thing or another when dealing with people. So that I need to find a way to deal with life, period, in a new way is par for the course.

After we got the last box (and it was heavy, too!), I told them that if I didn't come out and helped them, then I wouldn't have been allowed back in! Trudging back home, the game had really started to pick up and my girl asked, "Did you save the world?"

Thinking about the stuff we toted to the third floor and the crew that was assigned to do it, I replied, "Yes, I think that I did."

"Good for you! I knew you could save the world!" And then we watched the rest of the game.