Wednesday, May 27, 2015

A Miracle of 45th Street


A'TOla's Restaurant at 4505 Baltimore Avenue is a raw food restaurant that also serves other great foods such as cooked salmon wraps; veggie salads; no-egg, no milk chocolate cake; spicy pop-corn; big healthy oatmeal cookies; great healthy water and healthy drinks; greens; black-bean soup; and other favorite menu items.  It is a real treat when I have the time and finances to get there. I hope you will enjoy a visit there soon.  Tell them Brother Tracy Gibson sent you. Yu can always expect a conversation about food, nutrition and positive community-based politics and or the future of Africa and / or the future of Black People.  Recently there was art work to purchase and or Tee-Shirts to purchase and a kind gentleman is almost always there selling His hand made jewelry. I even watched a movie there one day and stayed around for an insightful conversation about the film ``Fruitvale Station,'' I noticed things about the film this time that I didn't notice the first time. Thank you T'Ola for your generosity and motherliness ...........................................................................................................................................................................
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Thankful For SEPTA!!!

A Big SEPTA FAN!!!!!


By Anonymous




I Am a BIG SEPTA FAN!! In more Ways than one. I am a big guy and I almost never have trouble getting onto and out of SEPTA Transit. I am very appreciative to have the SEPTA System so I can get down town to work at the Main Library and home or to the Library in West Philadelphia I go to at 52nd and Sansom Street. I have a suggestion. I think income-challenged People like myself who have to finds creative ways to make it on about $1,300. Plus dollars a month, should be able to buy a SEPTA BUS AND Trollie pass that is good from the First of the month into the first three days of the next month.  This Way, when I go to the other neighborhoods to spend my hard-earned money or to work, I don't have to walk all the way down town or to other neighborhoods because I usually don't have ANY money the first two or three days of the month because I don't get disability Social Security until the Third of the month.  If a pass is good from the third of the month to the third of the next month, this problem would be illuminated.  If you are income-challenged like I am this makes a BIG DIFFERENCE!! To us income-challenged and home-challenged People. I hope you can allow this option for home-challenged and income-challenged People like me.  It seems like a small thing to do, but you are the ones who know about SEPTA and How it has to run. I have very little knowledge of it, except that I think the bus drivers are very kind --male and female-- and today I saw a very heavy and overweight man in a wheelchair pass up a bus ride because He saw other elderly and disabled People would have to move & make space for Him because they were already on the bus. I thought to myself  ``That gentleman is going to be especially Blessed by GOD Herself or Himself!!! For His kindness and consideration.  If we would have had to wait, the day for me would have dragged because although I only had one stop to go we would have been delayed for abut seven minutes waiting for People to move about and for the disabled Brother to get on and seated. I Am Still in the Jesus and the GOD believing Business and the Yall Way business -- Black & Income-Challenged People get things Their Way (Yall Way) because it is in the Bible that the Meek Shall inherit..... That disabled gentleman was the BEST!! I will never forget Him for that simple kind and generous thing He did.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

A Positive Letter to My Dad Before Father's Day!!!!!!!.......

April 20th, 2014 Sunday... Updated on May 19th, 2015

Dear Dad:

I never understood what was the importance of the Way you taught me and Claudia --my Beloved Sister-- about Real Estate. I Am beginning to understand. I have the hunger in my belly to be successful in Real Estate. In my case, however, that hunger for Real Estate and profits from Real Estate is tempered with an enormous concern for the poor and especially the Black & Poor [or Black income-challenged]. That concern is making it impossible to just crush and forget the interests of BLack and poor [read income-challenged], People and be just a profiteer. I have one gift from GOD and Fate that you didn't have, that is a deep & compelling faith in Black People and a deep & compelling LOVe of Black People. It is funny to hear myself write this. When I Really Really am honest about All this, I have to admit you did always allow Africans to stay at your buildings. Africans who may well have not had much of a chance to find an apartment any other Way, were actually generating, I Am sure, ``positive reputation [s]'' for you as a Real Estate holder among African People coming over to the United States of Native America from Africa.

At the same time, and this is unfortunate, many Africans who lived in your buildings were very abusive and usury of you as a property owner, property manager & Landlord. You far to often, as far as I'm concerned, allowed them to not pay rent and were too lenient about it. I never thought about it before, but maybe in your mind, they were viewed as having suffered enough and needed a break.!!.................  The same Way your Father may have needed a break when He came to the United States from the Barbados Islands. I didn't take this compassion into consideration when and as I viewed you as a Father. Now that you are gone, I feel a bit guilty about this. I wasn't really looking at the whole picture--the glass as half full-- and viewing you according to fair doctrine and with objectiveity. As I get older, I'm now 58, I have the power and ability to view you and Mom more fairly. I thank our Black Ancient Ancestor, Jesus and all the other positive Black Ancients , more recent and present-day African ancestors for this.   I'm thankful to GOD that I had you as a DAD and Mom as my Mother. I will write other letters to you as soon as I can and I walk a path each day of thanks and appreciationthat you helped carve for me.  GOD Bless you Forever and never forget How much I LOVe you and Will never forget the years of hard work and dedication you showed us as you provided a home, food, good educations and as much LOVe as could be expected in the difficult circumstances We were raised under. How you held down a job full time and then went out and worked in those apartment houses, I Will never know...!!! I Am now a workaholic like you are. I Am thankful for the work ethic.  It is a lot better than having one of the more traditional addictions. I Am a Thankful MAN!!!!!!!.......


LOVe, Peace & Blessings,

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

A NICE COOL SUMMER Recommended Book for the Legal Problems of Youth... Other Suggestions...

``Your Legal Rights as a Juvenile Tried as an Adult,''  By Cristen Nagle.

From page 5 and 6: ``What John didn't realize is that the officer violated his constitutional rights by searching his bag on no more than a hunch. The officer's search was not allowed by the Constitution.''

This applies to car searches when you are in your car and stopped by the police. They have to have ``probable cause'' for the search.  Attorney / Activist Michale Coard is a expert on legal matters as they relate to criminal matters especially. You can listen to the Radio Courtroom on Wednesdays at 12 noon {Please check the time by calling WURD Radio at 1 (215) 425 - 7875. His show is also on Saturday at 12 noon. Please double check by calling the station. } You can also log onto www.AmericanCivilLibertiesUnion.org and get legal advice about possible interactions with police and  How to avoid conflicts and possible verbal and physical exchanges between police and our youth. It is also a GOOD idea for Black parents with teenagers to join the American Civil Liberties Union as soon as possible. Another thing that will help us all survive this summer and thrive into June, July, August, September, October & November is to attend more community meetings dealing with police abuse, the schools, community relations & keeping our Black youth employed, happy and safe over the summer of 2015.  Attending meetings with your local NAACP or more grass-roots organizations like The National Action Network is highly recommended. There are other local grass-roots organizations that may be just as or more viable and important in your local  area. [Call us at 1 (215) 921-2065 and we will be able to help you find these organizations.] It is a good thing to have good communications with your young children and ask them who they are hanging around.  They can easily get caught up into something negative by just being in a car that is suspected to be stolen or involved in a crime just because they know the perpetrators and are in the car with them.  These problems can be avoided.  As parents you should want to spend quality time with your young ones and go do experience quality events and programs such as the African American Cultural Museum; The Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Polish Museum; the out-door Irish Museum; The Liberty Bell; and the out-door exhibit and monument to George Washington's slaves at 5th and Market Street in Philadelphia.