I want to take a moment here to let everyone know about my Mom.

Patricia Fleming Allen (1936 ~ 2010) died on Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

This past Tuesday, February 2, she took a very sudden and very fast downhill turn. On February 3, at about 4:15 pm, she passed away quietly in her sleep. Fortunately, I was able to be sitting with her and holding her hand when she died.

I am, at this moment, taking a short break from the insanity that always accompanies a death. I don't have a lot of time,… Continue

Has anyone noticed that racism against black women seems to be getting worse. Yes, black men are becoming more accepted and in a sense "have arrived" but for black women, we seem to have to fight more. Only now, the fight is not only against the majority but also against black men as well.

I went over to youtube searching for hair styling videos and when I typed in black women, I got all of these negative descriptors. A lot of the videos appeared to be performed, and published by American black… Continue

I already commented on this. But just in case someone stops by, they can see it. Enjoy!




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This past year ushered in a new Italian channel called Retro. As a result, I have been watching quite a bit of some of the old shows such as Eight is Enough, Different Strokes, Love Boat, TJ Hooker, and Chips. It's been a lot of fun, noticing some of the nuances, I missed as a kid.

As an adult looking at Eight is Enough, I have no idea what I felt about that show, but I really liked it. Perhaps my identification with the youngest, Nicholas being a small precocious kid. Yet, as a parent Tommy an… Continue

For quite a number of years, on a sort of on again, off again basis, I played bass guitar with a number of local bands. At one gig, a charity fund-raiser for a young girl with leukemia, I was asked to stand in as the bass player with a local group called the Sandra Wright Band. I had never heard of Sandra Wright before - at the time, she had been in Vermont for less than a year. When this woman stepped to the microphone and began to sing, I knew that I was a part of something that was pure music… Continue