Message From:

So check this out, whoever knows me, knows I’m from the bottom. But truth be told, I don’t know what it’s like to be black. But one thing I do know, is the difference between RIGHT and WRONG. Regardless of what anyone says the black folks in this country have been through hells that none of us will ever know.

If anyone believes that this government cares about anyone of color, you are WRONG! Regardless the party you chose to claim from a political stand point, this system was made for the rich to get richer and the poor to stay poor. We as a people need to change this! The system has always been broken, because it’s based on greed and truly doesn’t understand what a human is worth.

As a white kid from the hood, I apologize for any wrong doing that’s from the people that have the same complexion I have. As a man, I’m with anyone that is willing to stand up for what is right, and to demolish the wrongs that have been going on for far too long. Police reform along with Government reform are just the icing on the cake.

It’s the souls that need to be reformed! Realize! If one’s soul isn’t involved, that person doesn’t truly care. I don’t care what HOOD you are from or what you claim!!!

Written By: Ronald Breckenridge

Some of us have spent our shelter-in-place time in high anxiety.  Many felt lazy not being able to function the way they had been; especially if they had a busy schedule before.  The rat race has often been difficult to keep up in, with down time being a distant dream.  Instead, idle time made them nervous and uncomfortable.  One only had to get a peek of the outside world to see the results.  People are more aggressive and mean, and it shows in their behavior.

If we were lucky enough though, we learned to add some quality Chill time that may have been missing or minimal before.  We found the time to simply conversate with each other, whether in person, FaceTime, Zoom,  or a phone call.  It was quality time and attention.  That is something we have gained through this.

There are even those who started researching ways to improve their health just in case they got hit with the virus.  Improving your health is always a good thing.  Many have gone online looking to learn new things with free webinars and courses or careers they now had the time to pursue.  It’s a time we can use to pause and reflect on our true goals and dreams.

One of the best parts of this time is learning how to enjoy just chillin with favorite music putting your feet up feeling simply you!  If you have experienced any of this, I urge you to hold on to whatever parts you valued, and make room for that when you resume what’s now being called “a normal life”.

Feed your soul

“Forgive them for they know not what they do”  The same people that are stating they believe this is all overblown may end up being some of the very ones that have to watch someone they care about struggle to gasp for a breath.  They are not going to be immune to feeling the anguish of realizing they could have been the carrier that gave it to them in the first place.  This virus isn’t affected by what you believe.  That friend that you’ve been with that was sick with what you brush off as a nuisance flu, may have turned YOU into the carrier  that brought it home to your wife.

This pandemic IS a big deal, just ask the medical profession.  They are risking their own exposure to treat patients without having the necessary protective gear.  They have gotten to the point of desperation that has made them take to social media begging the public for masks, gloves and sanitizers, on top of begging the government for more test kits.

Kudos to those having the patience and the strength while sick to go through the hoops it takes to even get tested.  They wait on hold for an hour, days to be told where to go, and then finding their way to the place that lead you to the testing site while handling you like you have the plague (they don’t want to spread it either).  After all that, they go home and wait day after day suffering and waiting for test results, consumed with thoughts of who they might have given it to and whether they will even survive.  Even those that were otherwise healthy (think of your worst case of the flu) may have to fight hard.  Yes most will recover, but they are not running out of beds and respirators because they are coddling patients.  It’s a question of survival.  Many will recover but some may go through a time they aren’t sure of whether they will.

All of us are potential carriers right now walking around others not knowing who we see that we might pass it to. That hard working Mother of four that has to put that item back you handled but changed your mind about and just put down in a different isle.  It could be the cashier that has to scan your cold sweating bottle of soda after you coughed in your hand (not being dramatic, after all, you have allergies so that must be all it is) and then handled it.  Are you okay with being the link that causes her to lose her asthmatic mother that takes care of her children while she works?  Just because you will never know doesn’t make it any less of a possibility.  Your belief in it being overblown will not save anyone.

You don’t need to shop for home decor right now and some stores won’t close unless it becomes mandatory or unless their customers take this seriously and STAY HOME!  This isn’t about politics or your beliefs, it’s about saving lives and assisting the medical profession in keeping up with those that are sick so we don’t lose more people than we have to.

BE RESPONSIBLE!   Stay home if you can, in defense of others!

At this point most people already know (and some accept) that food dyes are bad for us.  Some countries have even banned them from the foods they eat (although not us) and many choose their food after checking labels to avoid them.  Manufacturers use them anyway because it makes the food look more appetizing, cereals and boxed macaroni and cheese are perfect examples.  It makes sense that looking appetizing leads to sales and despite health risks, the bottom line is the profit.  Healthier natural options for color are more costly and that cuts into that profit.  Brands that do make that change use the “no food dyes” as a selling point.

What makes a lot less sense is how the consumer of pet food would ever decide they wanted to eat a food because of the added colors!  Wouldn’t “No added food dyes” make  the pet owners be more apt to purchase it the way parents choose the macaroni and cheese?

Your cat or dog doesn’t decide they like a food based on whether it contains red food dye number 40 or yellow number 5 but you as a parent knows it could lead to health issues that are costly both emotionally and financially.  So maybe not choosing the ones that contain them can send a message.  It is after all, the bottom line.

By now, most people have heard the meaning of hashtag “Me Too” and most women and some men have lived the experience of being harassed in the workplace by those in authority.  Just belonging to the movement has given strength and empowerment rather than the meaning of victimized.  The awareness may lead to less situations of it happening or being tolerated by our society as a whole.

There is another movement that needs the same attention and needs its own hashtag; the experience of being bullied and the best way to respond to it.  We need a hashtag that can project strength for those experiencing it in the moment, for the instant recognition of just what it is.  If you are being singled out and bullied, what word or phrase would empower you?  I look back at the times it happened to me and my response was to lower my eyes and silently cry.  The wound to my soul was great with lasting scars.

The wounds are personal and they are deep and they hurt the character of both the giver as well as the receiver.  If I could have lifted my eyes and reflected my feelings with strength, maybe the situation would have changed for us both.  We need a word or phrase that can instantly call out the action for what it is.

Perhaps “#StompOut”

If you feel it, say it and feel the empowerment of it.  The more of it that happens, the louder you should be until it can no longer be ignored.  If you are the one they say it to, stop and think about what you just said and maybe you will understand the impact of the words you project.  You need to change that or bully will define your character.

Let’s make this a movement that can “Stomp Out” the harmful effects of bullying.

 

Written with the help of my granddaughter Natalie Small

At one point, students bringing cell phones to school was a concern in the forefront.  How innocent a problem it was.  It is no longer a distraction but an essential safety tool.  The stress level of students, faculty, and parents is at an inexcusable high.  School shootings are no longer a rare event and school safety is a top concern.

Parents with varying aged children who attend more than one school building feel the need to arm each of them with a working cell phone with that emergency in mind.  One school sends home a letter stating an empty .22 caliber firearm clip was found in the glove compartment of a school bus, while another has a student who has threatened to bring in a gun sits quietly dressed all in black through the school day and turned out his father’s gun was missing.

How do we get to focus on our own work as parents and how can we expect our students and teachers to concentrate on multiplication and adverbs when that fear crosses their minds?!

In the minds of those who’ve done the deed, there’s an anger there that has exploded and we need to understand the whys.  It’s the only way to stop it or at the very least slow the rate of it happening down.  The weapon, the access, and the full history including medications need to be examined.  It’s not a one answer problem.  Mental health and gun control are only parts of the puzzle.  Other factors do exist.  We need to see them in order to change things.

Make no mistake, this is the biggest on-soil terrorist threat we face at the present time.  For those who do the deed, there should be no privacy.  It should be lost with the horrific act.  Phone, patient and other history needs to be examined.  We may end up finding surprising common factors.

We need answers in order to go back to focusing on the task at hand instead of horrible possibilities.  Until that time comes, parents will arm their children with working cell phones regardless of whether they can afford it or not.

Today is the Super Bowl.  If you’re workplace is like most, you hear the excitement from co-workers whether or not you are a fan.  For those that are not, you are missing out on more than just a sport.  Team pride or team opposition can be a source of unity.  Those willing to be a fan of an opposing team find a source of strength to stand out tend to wear the team’s memorabilia with a smile regardless of the of the fallout.  That gives us all a chance to teach the next generation the true meaning of good sportsmanship and the ability to choose freely who you want to call your favorite team.

If you’re lucky enough to choose the team that crosses the victory line, cinching it in the last quarter and often in the last five minutes of the game, well there is nothing like it!  When you are, even moving across the country doesn’t change your loyalties.  You are a fan for life and now you are proud to be the opposition!   If time finds you later in life becoming a fan, you will look back at the thrill you missed in those workplaces with regret, I promise you.

Many people choose to broaden their horizons by checking out the opera or ballet, just to have the experience and to see if they might like it.   There is another option.  Check out the thrill of a sport.  You might surprise yourself.  Maybe you’ll even end up wearing a jersey of your own for the next Super Bowl.

Not only are we connected world wide through the internet, but so are our businesses both with what we use and what we eat.  Many we take for granted, since they are available almost anywhere such as the toilet paper we use to the cereal and pizza that we eat.  We choose a brand by what we like and not necessarily by how it’s made.  Most of the time we don’t even know.

If we are a loyal customer we assume the company has us valued as much as their profits since without us, they would cease to exist.  Even our regulations such as FDA rules are suppose to be about keeping us safe.  So why is it that some countries ban things that others do not?  Many of us roll our eyes at the phrase “junk food” because most have indulged at one time or another.  But what about things we consume regularly that are labeled dangerous in one place or another?

Parents, you pour your children that bowl of cereal, and even when you choose lower sugar cereals (yay to you), there may be ingredients that are actually banned in other countries for their harmful effects on the body.  BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) and BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) which are commonly added to preserve freshness can cause cancer, kidney and liver damage, hair loss, behavioral issues and disrupt appetite and sleep.  They are just two examples of ingredients that are allowed in this country, but banned in most others.  Companies that do business in both, such as Quaker, Ritz, and Pizza Hut, to name a few, have products that are reformulated elsewhere.

Knowing an ingredient in their product is banned in one place, such as lead in paint in the United States, consumers should be able to believe their favorite paint brand would be sure to make it safe for everyone.  After all, the devastating effects of lead paint on children is common knowledge.  However, those same companies still add lead to the paint used in countries that have yet to ban it!  If you are a landlord and use paint on a regular basis, do you know the common practices of your favorite brand?  If you knew they added lead to the paint in different countries just because they could, would you still be loyal to them?  You should look before you ask yourself that question.

Where and how is your favorite toilet paper made?  Is it made by a company with horrible environmental practices and employing people with poverty level pay?  It’s time we actually looked as consumers and demanded companies actually made products based on the good of everyone involved.  We do have that power if we choose to use it.  When people realized food dyes were damaging (even though the FDA doesn’t deem it so), Kraft took food dyes out of our Macaroni and Cheese and proudly stated so in their advertisements.  We have the power.  The more we use it, the better and safer the world will be.