I Was a Victim of Pornography Spam

Imagine my surprise when I went to my mailbox the other day and got more than my eyes had bargained for! Here's a short video clip of that tells my story:

Has Tiger Woods Messed Things Up for ALL Men

Yesterday I found myself threatening to check my husband's cell phone for any suspicious numbers all because of Tiger Woods. Now, don't get me wrong. I have absolutely NO reason to mistrust my husband but I did become somewhat concerned after calling him several times, leaving messages and getting no response for a few hours. Certainly, many women can attest to the fact that a few hours can seem like an eternity if suspicion and doubt start creeping into your mind.

When he finally called me back, he told me he had left his phone in the car and didn't feel like going back to get it once he got into the office. I told him I would be checking his phone when he got home to see if there were some strange numbers in it (like Tiger's wife did). He said, "Tiger has messed things up for ALL men!" We got a chuckle out of that--but to be honest, when a scandal like that breaks--all of a sudden many husbands become a suspect. And maybe, righfully so--according to Donny Deutsch (from the Big Idea of MSNBC). The other night on Larry King, Deutsch said the scandal will only make Woods seem more human and thus even more desirable as an endorser. He also said Tiger hasn't done anything that at least 50 percent of men have done.

Really?

Maybe there is some truth to that. Remember Presidential Candidate John Edwards, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, President John F. Kennedy and yes, even my first husband is in that group. But unlike the others, my ex didn't have enough money to make me want to stay.

The History of Black Friday

For the past couple of weeks, the media and retailers have been promoting "Black Friday." This is the day after Thanksgiving when stores supposedly slash their prices to give customers great deals leading into Christmas.

What I find interesting is that the word "black" is used. Now I understand black is used to indicate financial profits while red reflects financial losses but how many people know that "Black Friday" started out as a negative?

Originally, September 24, 1869 was deemed Black Friday; a day of stock market catastrophe. In the 1960's, the Philadelphia Police Dept. used the term "Black Friday" to refer to the massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores were mobbed from opening to closing. Police officers were not happy about the fact that they would have to "protect and serve" these shopaholics.

Many merchants objected to the use of a negative term to refer to one of the most important shopping days in the year so they came up with an alternative theory---which the media bought into. The perception would be that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their profit during the holiday season, beginning on the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday, under this theory, is the beginning of the period where retailers would no longer have losses (the red) and instead take in the year's profits (the black).

Isn't it amazing how we can be brainwashed into believing a theory? If they can do that with "Black Friday" certainly "black" can be reflected as a positive in other ways don't you think?

School Fundraising Project Comes Under Fire

It was supposed to be a fundraiser to help the school generate some much needed money for supplies:

Rosewood Middle School price list

♦A $20 donation buys 10-point credits to be used on two tests of the student's choice.

♦A $30 donation buys the test points and admission to a 5th-period dance.

♦A $60 donation buys students test points, the dance invitation, and a "special 30-minute lunch period with pizza, drink and the choice to invite one friend to join them."

♦Photo ops with Rosewood principal Susie Shepherd, the vice principal, and a home room teacher go for $75. The photos will be posted on a school bulletin board and on the school's Web site.

The Principal thought it was a good idea when it was recommended to her by the parent advisory council but District School Administrators had the last say and nixed the idea. Some said exchanging grades for money teaches children the wrong lessons. It is also a bad testing practice and is unfair to students whose parents can't pay.

But some parents were willing to pay to help the school raise some much needed funds because last year's fundraising efforts of selling chocolates didn't raise one dime.

So what do you think? Would you pay to help your child earn extra credit in school--especially if they really needed it?

Sad Ending to the Shaniya Davis Story

I, like many others in North Carolina, am shocked, saddened and even outraged over the death of little Shaniya Davis. This is the five-year-old who was being used as a sex slave by her mother, 25-year-old Antoinette Davis. Shaniya's body was discovered Monday in a rural area---several days after her mother reported her missing from their mobile home.

Here's the timeline according to Fayetteville Police:

Davis called police at 6:53 a.m. one week ago today to report that her daughter was missing.

Davis told police the last time she saw the child was at 5:30 a.m. inside their mobile home.

At 6:11 a.m. that day, a surveillance camera at a Sanford hotel recorded Shaniya in the arms of a man identified as Mario Andrette McNeill, 29, of Fayetteville.

On Monday, police said McNeill left the hotel with Shaniya at 7:30 a.m.

In a news release issued today, Fayetteville Police say Shaniya was alive when she left a Sanford motel. What happened between then and yesterday's discovery is still a mystery.

Meanwhile, Anotinette Davis sits in jail charged with human trafficking and felony child abuse. Her mother is maintaining her innocence, saying her daughter would never do anything to hurt her child. Let me say this, never say what your children won't do because they will make a liar out of you. Just ask me. I could've sworn my teenage daughter wasn't having sex but now I have a grandson.

One more sick piece of this horrific story is the fact that this human trafficking, child abusing mother is PREGNANT AGAIN!

Your First Job

Viewers of WFAA-TV in Dallas got a real treat today when they got to see the Queen of Daytime TV on their TV screen. Oprah co-anchored the 5pm news. This was all a part of her "Celebrities Go Back to their First Jobs" segment.

Actually, being a TV anchor wasn't Oprah's first job. According to her website,her first job was really in Nashville where she worked at the corner grocery store next to her father's barber shop. I guess the grocery store isn't there anymore.

It got me to thinking about my very first job. It was for a marketing company who sent out advertising mailers to residents. I was hired to "stuff" envelopes. I think I made about $3.00 an hour--which was a pretty big deal for a high school students in 1974.

My first job out of college was at WCIR Radio in Beckley, West VA. It was also my first experience with racism. To make a long story short, the sheriff at the time refused to give me information on a story I was covering and told me, quote, "I don't have to tell you nothin' little Missy. I think you might be in the wrong job. Your kind don't belong here."

I complained to my boss about the sheriff's behavior and the next thing I knew I was fired. I did have the last word in the matter. I sued the station for discrimination through the EEOC (which was actually effective back then) and WON! I got a decent little settlement and moved on.

So what was your first job?

The Road Map of Life for College Students

Ever since my daughter was little, I always wanted her to see the best that America has to offer. That's why we traveled a lot. As a baby boomer mom and journalist who's been there and done that, I figured if she is going to be one of the future leaders of our great nation, it would be in her best interest to learn more than what she reads in a text book.

Even now that she's in college I tell her not keep herself couped up in her dorm room--get out and explore the new town she's living in. It's not only an adventure, but you never know when you just might have an emergency that will call for you to respond and react in a hurry.

Case in point: A few weeks back when my college daughter called me, it was obvious she wasn't feeling well. Her voice was raspy and she was extremely congested. She went on to tell me she felt so bad one night, she couldn't even sleep. I told her she probably needed to see someone--like a doctor. She told me she didn't trust going to the campus clinic. I then suggested she go to the local hospital's ER--to which she replied, "I don't know where it is." Then she went on to explain how she called several of her NC A&T Aggie friends during the wee hours of the morning to see if they knew where the local ER was and none of them knew either.

I could see it if she had an excuse--like NO CAR---but she has a vehicle and certainly drives it to get to the Mall, to get her nails and eyebrows done, so why is it she doesn't know where the hospital is.

So I had to think...where did I fail as a baby boomer parent that would cause my daughter to lie in bed and suffer as opposed to taking initiative and finding it on her own.

Of course, she continues to prove she is my daughter and would have the last word in this story: "If you had just bought me a GPS Navigator, I wouldn't have had this problem."

My thought: Choose better friends who know WHERE they're going in life! Or maybe she should've gone to Ohio University!