Bronx

Ode to Michael Jackson

If you read my 7 Meme blog, you might remember that I grew up in the South Bronx. What I did not reveal in the blog was that my family was only one of two Hispanic families living in the building where I lived. All of the other families were African American. Therefore, I grew up listening to Motown music and knew who the Jackson 5 were by the time I was 8 years old and in 4th grade.

During that time, the Jackson 5 were the most talked about and admired music group in my elementary school and in the neighborhood where I lived. All of the kids in my class and I knew the names of all the boys in the group by heart. Everyone would bring magazines that were popular at the time to school so they could share articles of the amazing Jackson 5. All of the boys in my school wanted to dress like the Jackson 5 and all of the children wanted to dance like them.

Informal street dances were very common in my neighborhood at the time and the Jackson 5 music would be played frequently. To the kids in my neighborhood, the Jackson 5 were our heroes and there was nothing that would make us happier then dancing to one of their songs.

I was on a European vacation when I heard the breaking news of Michael Jackson’s death. I turned on my cruise ship room TV and there on CNN was the headline informing everyone of his death. I read the headline aloud. My 2 sons and husband were shocked. The first thing my oldest son said was, ” I wish I could post on my forums right now”. I responded, “I wish I was able to Tweet right now”.

I guess our reaction was typical since I read on Google news later that the Internet was overwhelmed with people online trying to get information about his death and communicating with others about it: http://tinyurl.com/lqgfsc I also read, that Google thought they were being attacked by all the searches for Michael Jackson: http://tinyurl.com/mmmvlo

Well, we were not able to go online along with the rest of the world because we had pre-paid for an expensive all day excursion which was non refundable so we proceeded with our original plans for the day.

Since then, the news of his recent death has profoundly effected me in many ways. I have found myself crying on and off and talking about him to anyone that will listen. I have been listening to his music on YouTube, downloading many of his music videos from itunes for my iPod touch and reading everything I can about his life and death.

I was just telling my family at dinner time tonight that many people all over the world are grieving for him right now. These are people of all different colors, nationalities, and religions. That it was amazing and rare for one person to cause so much international grief and manage to break down so many barriers that keep people who are different from communicating with each other. I also mentioned to them that I wished I lived closer to LA than I do as I would love to attend the public memorial that is being planned for him some time next week : http://tinyurl.com/muygjm

As I was talking to my family, I realized that there is magic and power in music.  That beautiful music has the ability to make people happier when they are already feeling good and lift people’s spirits who are feeling down. Hence, moments listening to and or dancing to great music, create powerful memories in people’s lives and a connection with the person who wrote and or sang the songs.  So I guess that music is really an extraordinary universal language.

So Michael, if you can read this from the beyond, I want you to know that you will live in my heart forever. I will never forget you or your music. Thanks for lifting my spirits on days when I did not think I could make it through. Thanks for making me feel happier when I was already feeling good. Also, regardless of what people may say about you, I have always felt you were 100% innocent of any wrong doing and had such a pure heart and great spirit. As far as I am concerned, you have always radiated both inner and outer beauty.  I hope that you rest in peace and perhaps someday, I will meet you on the other side.

Here is a picture of Michael Jackson taken by Time’s Magazine in May of 1986 and provided free to the public for non commercial use. He is attending an awards ceremony where he got a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records for being the person that has given the most money to children charities:

Michael_Jackson

Seven Things Meme

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I have not been tagged by anyone however, I noticed that many people are writing similar blogs. So, here are 7 facts you never knew about me:

1. I attended a NYC Junior High school which was secured by armed guards at the main entrance. It was a three story school and all other entrances and exits were chained locked during the school day. I am just grateful that the school never caught on fire while I was a student there.

2. During one of my childhood Halloween days, a teenager put a knief on my throat and demanded my Halloween goodies. I screamed and she took off running.

3. I used to get into trouble for daydreaming in class during my elementary school days.

4. When I was little, I enjoyed jumping out of second story windows, climbing tall fences and jumping from the roof-top of one brownstone building on to another one. My mother would have had a heart attack if she had seen me.

5. During the summer months of my childhood, I enjoyed:

a. Being out doors from sunup until midnight. I only went home for meals and to use the restroom.
b. Getting wet whenever someone illegally activated the local fire hydrants.
c. Informally dancing at street parties in NYC.

6. I grew up in the South Bronx, the arson capital of the world. Therefore, I have seen more fires then most firefighters.

7. Like Jennifer Lopez, I used to ride the number 6 train to my high school in another part of the Bronx. Unlike Jennifer Lopez, I am really from the block. She also grew up in the Bronx but attended private schools in Manhattan. Therefore, as far as I am concerned, she is not really from the block as her music album claims.

I now wish to tag my Twitter friends Pamela Gill and Eduardo Marcelo Peirano to write a similar blog.

Reunion with Long Lost Friend

Original date published: Monday, April 02, 2007

During the 1967/68 school year, I was a sixth grader at a school located in the Bronx borough of NYC. My best friend at the time was a girl named Sandra. We would always be at each other homes after school and have sleepovers.

This was the year Maxi Coats were in vogue. I remember that Sandra and I both wore Navy Blue Maxi coats. I also remember we each had a pair of black Baby-doll shoes, white lace up Go-Go boots and wore chain belts with our mini skirts, dresses and pants. Sandra and I always loved to wear the latest fashions. I felt like a fashion diva during that time. Well, the school year ended and sadly we both went to different Junior High Schools. I ran into her a few more times but we quickly lost touch.

As an adult, I have thought about Sandra for years and always wondered whatever became of her. I have used Google and other search engines many times since 1994 hoping to find her someday. Last month, I just happened to find a free web site that helps people find long lost friends and relatives.I created an account and posted a plea hoping to find Sandra and wrote as many details that I could about her.

I was so shocked to find a response in my personal mailbox the very next day from a total stranger who thought he knew where my friend was. He gave me the name of her husbands website. Her husband is a Pathologist here in Florida. He warned me that he may be wrong and it may be someone else with the same name. Also, he wrote that he found the information on a public database and he had no idea whether this couple was still married. He wrote that he was not a detective but just loved to use his cyber-sleuth skills to help people. I was so excited because if he was right, she only lived a three-hour drive away from my home.

I quickly went to the website which has a contact me link. I wrote a note to the doctor and waited anxiously for a response. I was really praying that this was the right person and that he was married to my friend. I wrote my contact information in the message. Well, on Saturday morning, my cell phone rang. It was my friend Sandra. We talked non-stop for a few hours and promised to keep in touch. Her mom was visiting her from NYC on the day she called and after her company left; she wanted to get together with me.

Her mom finally left about two weeks later and we made plans to get together the last week of March that was my paid Spring Break from my job as a college professor. So last Thursday, I finally got together with my best friend from the sixth grade. We had the most amazing time. I could hardly believe it had been 39 years since we last saw each other.

I found out that we still have a lot in common. Both of our favorite ice cream flavors are pineapple/coconut and we both use Stevia as a sweetener. She is also into big time bodybuilding. She is also in the education field. Even though at the moment, she is not working anywhere, she used to be a teacher for special need kids and then a Principal of the same school. We also showed up wearing similar outfits.

We compared notes on our husbands, and we both married men who have similar traits. Both of our husbands are in the health field. Both of our husbands are serious most of the time and a little introverted.

Here are some pictures:

So, in closing, I am so glad I took a chance and posted my message on the www.peoplesite.com website. The site was totally free and I never imagined I would get results as fast as I did. So, if you guys are looking for any long lost friends, I highly recommend this site. After all, you have nothing to lose and you may be the next person writing a blog similar to mine.