Eight (8) Is Enough

Greetings,

May this Labor Day bring you much rest from the summer grind. I trust that you were able to enjoy many of the season's bounty and a wonderful time with your friends and family. I sure did enjoy it, even though we didn't do as much traveling this year. Considering that for all of last summer I was on bed rest and Labor Day weekend I was in the ICU would say that I had an awesome one. So how will you end yours? For me I will be taking the well traveled road to the Big Apple for another celebration with my people with some foods from home. And if I have some energy after I will take in the fun and excitement of the New York West Indian Parade. And when I return I will continue to enjoy even more produce from my garden, ochro, boulanger, bora and other such vegetables.

Please tell me you saw history being made again this month. I am talking about the man who started from nothing and will soon hold the most powerful position in the US. If you missed it sorry, because there isn't much that I can say to relate the eloquence with which he delivered his speech last night. And did you saw Dr. MLKJ cheering, shouting and dancing up and down that stage, yep, I saw him beaming with excitement for that awesome gift his forty-five year got. For those who missed it hear he him, the man of the hour, Senator Barack Obama.

So go on have you a fabulous weekend and be good to yourself so in return you can be good to someone else. Take care and stay well. Del

Everywhere on Thursday

Greetings and how are you today?

I am wonderfully blessed, thankful, happy and loved. To my husband of nine years Happy Anniversary. "I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.”

Did you see history made last evening? If not I am sorry you missed it Jamaican Usain Bolt wins 200 meter sprint By the way Happy Birthday Usain. Even though I am not Jamaican I feel the pride for him and his people. Congratulations Jamaica! Never mind the snubbing by the media. While on things Jamaican, Happy belated birthday to my Little Jamaican/VI/USA Man- Zavy. Love you.

Sincere condolences to my Dear Friend whom I wrote about in this post Metro Customer Service. She has since lost the baby and was forced to deal with another grim realty in the effort to become a mother. Having walked in those shoes; I am thankful that I had the strength and courage to be there for her. So to my DF I say weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. So keep smiling my friend and take comfort in knowing that the Lord will restore the years the locust has stolen from you.

To the people who planned the Guyanese food celebration; shame on you. Shame on you for not making sure I would be in town before setting the date. It appears that there is conspiracy for me not to be able to show off our skills. But I relish the fact that our people were able to come and have so much fun, excitement and contentment in celebrating. Not just celebrating but celebrating our culture and most of all the foods. My friend at Taste Like Home would have truly enjoyed such an affair. The menu included many of the favorites from most of our six races. To feast your eyes on the feast they had please check Cynthia’s page and enjoy. To all the people who visited, it was my pleasure to be sharing in the fun and just plain catching up with you. Please be sure to check next time for my post about my trip to New Orleans.

Take care and stay well, Del.

WHAT WILL MATTER

WHAT WILL MATTER
by Michael Josephson

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built,
not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched,
empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew,
but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter is not your memories but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.

Metro Cutomer Service

On Friday I rode the trains with my pregnant friend; so I’m sharing our experience in customer service.

We arrived at the Medical Center Metro about 4:20 PM and she asked the manager to use the customer restroom. He said that the cleaner just went to the back and sure when she’s finish he’ll let her do so. Fifteen minutes into the wait the station manager went to check and came back out she asked him how much longer and he said he was not sure, but he told the cleaner that there was a woman waiting and when she's finish to let her know. Well that wait drag on to some thirty minutes at which time manager number two arrived on the scene and enter the area, when he came out my friend asked him if th restroom was ready he said no it had to dry. By that time her patience and emotions had worn thin and she blurted out to him with tears streaming down her face, "how much longer do I have to wait, I'm pregnant and have been here for more than thirty minutes." He said to her okay Ms. let me see," and went back to the area, he came back almost immediately and said to her go ahead and be sure to close the door behind her. When we got to the restroom area the floor was wet, but there was no one in sight, meaning the cleaner.

Upon leaving the restroom area both manger signaled for her to come to the booth. When we got there manager two said "Ms. I'm going to give you a free ride today." Her with her modest self said no it's ok, he insisted and proceed to write her a free pass for the day. He said "something like this should never happen, you should never have to wait 30minutes to use a restroom. That is unacceptable and the lady is just a custodian. But this will never happen again, I am not on duty yet, but even the other manager agrees that you have been here that long and it's unacceptable." That's why I Del, tell people all the time do not make it an issue about whether you like a job or not but one of character. Be and do the best you can despite the circumstances and even though people may not like you they will not be able to deny the quality of your work.

So kudos to the station manager at Medical Center Metro on Friday, August 1. To the custodian shame on you, you are the perfect example of how poor customer service has become. To my friend, thank for allowing me to be there for you and seeing your vulnerability, and that to me is the way friendship should be. Stay well, Del.