I don’t think I became aware of the dreaded ‘world’ until my teens. I knew that I couldn’t be hugged up in the corner with boys at blue light parties. I couldn’t sip out of the bottle they were passing. I couldn’t keep the ten dollar bill that I’d seen the old man drop even if my friends did think I was a fool to give it back. My mother hadn’t raised me like that and Sunday School had taught me that those things were wrong.

I remember Mother’s Day from wa-a-ay back in the day when all of the women in the church would dress up and then set it off in hats, fur stoles, and high heels. Their looks were mesmerizing and as eye-catching as any Hollywood movie star’s. Easter was for the children, but Mother’s Day was a woman’s day to shine. I remember the famous, frothy, ice cold frappes served at the Mother’s Day Teas and the Fashion Shows put on with clothes supplied by Evans and Fashion Plate clothiers.

Today, I see so many people I love in need, not of the basics, but of those extraneous things that we all crave. More love, money, friendship, a better lifestyle, and increased favor are things that most people could use. Blessedly, God has promised us all of those particular things if we have sown those particular seeds! You may have to go out of your way to be helpful and friendly to the boss or the co-worker that you secretly despise. You may have to make the effort to support a friend’s endeavor even if you’re too tired.

Hanging in my closets are precious and highly prized business suits, crisp blouses and shirts, high heels, and leather handbags. I keep waiting for the perfect person to give them to, and I can’t accept that nobody wants this junk. After I am gone, my daughters will have the daunting task of culling through this junk to either give it away or toss it out. I’ve had to do the same task a few times and I know where of I speak.

I am especially in love with this article I found on the Houzz website. The ideas I love most are: 1.) Give an old quilt a new purpose; 2.) Display fall gourds the elegant way; and 3.) Paint your front door. Ideas one and two (Houzz’s 1 and 4) are especially easy and inexpensive. We all have an ancient quilt languishing in the hall closet or the basement storage area. The gourds can be purchased from the produce department of the local grocery store. Okay, Boomacious fans, hop to it!

Yesterday’s passing of Heavy D made me ponder that question. I fell in love with hip-hop because it’s hard not to love an art form that literally saved thousands of children. My early career saw the beginning of teen on teen murders for starter jackets and gym shoes. My students were the first to be killed in senseless gang initiation murders. Consequently, even those students who would never make it out of the ghetto could sing along with an art form that resonated and told stories of their lives.

I conclude Black History Month with a salute to two women who have gone above and beyond their duty to help raise generations of girls through sports in the Chicagoland area. The first of these two women is Dorothy Dawson: former teacher, Dean and ssistant principal of Dunbar High School in Chicago. The second is Ms. Dorothy Gaters, Girls Basketball Coach at John Marshall High School, Chicago.