Yes, I am talking about Twilight the movie. It opens in a theater near you on November 21st. I am going with some girl friends to see it on the 22nd. I cannot wait. I am excited and also a little sad. Why you ask? Well becasue I love this series–I know it’s for teens–and I read all four books in rapid succession and I know that the movies won’t be the same. I would love to be able to sit down and watch all four movies at once. I will miss Edward as I wait for the next movie. I have a huge crush on the vampire teen–it’s really not that bad he is like 100-years-old.
I am looking forward to getting to share the experience with other women and to have a girl’s night out–I know it seems as though I have had a lot of those lately. I can’t wait.
Who else out there plans to see it? Come on–who else is still nurturing their inner teenage girl?
EOR’s Art for Ethiopia event was a smashing success. We don’t have final numbers but people came out in droves. We sold nearly everything we had and hope to have raised about $10,000 for Children’s Heaven. Thanks for all who came. Thanks to the amazing women and Greg who made it all possible.
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On a funnier note. Six of us women got two hotel rooms after the event for a little after party. We drank and laughed and talked. We stayed up way too late and it was so nice. I am sad that these women all live so far away from me and that it will be another year until I see them again.
So, we were packing up this morning and one of the ladies picked up a pair of underwear off the bed and asked whose they were. We all said “Not mine.” So, yes we had a pair of used/dirty underwear in one of our beds that belonged to no one. A little gross. We complained and the front desk lady was like “I can give you $20 off your stay.” Really, not quite enough for finding soiled women’s underwear in your bed that isn’t yours. And we weren’t staying at some cheap hotel. It was nice–aside from the extra underwear.
So, what the weirdest thing you have found in a hotel room that doesn’t belong to you?
What it means to be Black in America has changed with the election of Barack Obama as 44th president of the United States. What it means to be Black in America has also reluctantly remained the same since Barack Obama was elected 44th president of the United States.
The fact that we have elected an African-American as president speaks to how the landscape of America’s ideals have changed. But we must look at the flip side of this. Millions of people came out and cast votes against a black man. I know this because I live in a state where sadly he has already be referred to as the N word. Racism is our country is not over and we cannot look at this election as a signally of the end of the systematic racism that run through our country. We still have few blacks in the senate or congress. Having a black man in the white house does not and cannot erase the blatant absence of them in other sectors of our society.
I am proud that the day has come and I think of my students past who never thought this day would com in their lifetime. I think of them and wish they would have believed. It would have given them hope that their voice matters and that they could/would be heard. I am happy that we have elected a president that will give hope to many who believed their voice was ignored. That there plight did not matter. Obama will serve as inspiration for generations of minorities to come and for that I am thankful.
This summer, CNN ran a special called Black in America. It was a startling look at the realities of what it means to be black in America. These are things that the election of Obama cannot erase and does not change.
There were many more startling stats present over the three episodes in this special. These are issues that have not changed. These are issues that still undermine the potential success of many African Americans. These are the issues that concern me as a white parent of brown skinned children. Children who will not only get to celebrate the election of a black president but who have to make sense of the hate and marginalization of people who have the same color skin.
I caution making too much of Obama’s election and infer that it means racism is coming to an end. On March 20, 1981 Michael Donald, a black man, was walking home in Alabama when he was grabbed, beaten and lynched. Yes, you read that right lynched. Only 27 years ago. I was 10. That isn’t that long ago. We cannot ignore the old sentiments that coarse through the veins of our past deep in the southern dirt.
The work is not done. With the election of Barack Obama, the work is only now beginning.
Today I leave for my weekend away. I will of course be “working” for Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc on this weekend as we are having our big Art For Ethiopia fundraiser in Denver. The event is a fundraiser for Children’s Heaven a place for orphaned teenage girls. It is a great organization and I am looking forward to this event. If you are reading this and are in the Denver area please come by. The event is free (donations are welcomed at the door) and runs on Saturday from 3-10pm.
Hope to see you there.
Embracing Imperfection 
