Some of you are not fortunate enough to know what most
of this is...
AHHHHHHHHHH MEMORIES!!!
Close your eyes...And go back...
....Before the Internet or PC or the MAC......
....Before semi-automatics and crack....
....Before Playstation, SEGA, Super Nintendo,
even before Atari...
....Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail
and e-mail....
....way back....
....way.....way.....way back.....
I'm talkin' bout hide and seek at dusk
Red light, Green light
Red Rover....Red Rover.....
Playing kickball & dodgeball until the first...no...second... no...third streetlight came on
Ring around the Rosie
London Bridge
Hot potato
Hop Scotch
Jump rope
Duck....duck....GOOSE!!!
YOU'RE IT!!
Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home - no pagers or cell phones
Mother, may I?
Hula Hoops
Seeing shapes in the clouds
Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C)
with the windows open
The sound of crickets
Running through the sprinkler
Happy Meals
Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom
Cracker jacks with the same thing
Ice pops with 2 sticks you could break and share with a
friend
...but wait.....there's more....
Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons - Fat Albert, Road
Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man,
Schoolhouse Rock
Watchin' Sunday morning oldies (Abbott & Costello, Three Stooges)
Wonder Woman & Super Man Underoos
FONZIE.....AYYYYYYYY
Playing Dukes of Hazard
Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar
Christmas morning
Your first day of school
Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses
Climbing trees
Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky
Getting an Ice Cream off the Good Humor Truck
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
Jumpin' down the steps
Jumpin' on the bed
Pillow fights
Sleep-overs
A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were
RICH
Runnin' till you were out of breath
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
Being tired from PLAYING
WORK: meant taking out the garbage or doing the dishes
Your first crush
Your first kiss (I mean the one that you kept your mouth CLOSED and your eyes OPEN
Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or hangman" in the classroom, Remember that?
Oh, I'm not finished yet....
Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer
So was a swig from the hose
Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars
Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school
Class Field Trips with soggy sandwiches
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids
got there
When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance; and another quarter a MIRACLE
When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him,
or use him to carry groceries...And nobody, not even the
kid, thought a thing of it.
When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were COOL
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home. Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.
Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of em!
Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!"
Well, let's keep going!!
Let's go back to the time when...
Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"
"Race issues" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly"
Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
Being old, referred to anyone over 20. (CRAP! I'm officially old!)
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
Nobody was prettier than Mom
Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and
made better
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big
people" rides at the amusement park.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.
Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your
fiercest protector
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life......I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!!
Posted Mon., Mar. 5, 2007
| The following article appeared in the Washington Daily News |
|
| Tuesday, November 18, 2008 | |
| Local News | |
|
‘Little Eva’ gets a day in the spotlight Grave marker unveiled in ‘The Loco-Motion’ singer’s honor By GREG KATSKI Staff Writer BELHAVEN — Eva “Little Eva” Boyd took center stage one last time as a head stone was unveiled at her grave site in Black Bottom Cemetery on Saturday afternoon. The headstone, which includes the phrase “Singing with the Angels” and features an engraved train in honor of her number one hit, “The Loco-Motion,” was introduced to the public shortly after 1 p.m. The unveiling of the headstone was preceded by a few thoughtful comments from Belhaven Mayor Adam O’Neal and an uplifting prayer and speech by Boyd’s brother, pastor Jimmy Boyd. Situated at a lectern in front of Boyd’s grave, and the graves of other family members, Jimmy Boyd said the unveiling should serve as a “salute” to his sister. “What we are here for is remembrance,” said Jimmy Boyd. Jimmy Boyd said that his sister’s rise from small town girl to big city music star has often been misinterpreted by the media and public. “I am one of the persons who really knew her life,” he said. “I can give you the facts.” It was her brother, Jimmy Boyd, who “Little Eva” Boyd stayed with when she moved from Belhaven to the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, N.Y. “Little Eva” Boyd took a “sleep-in” job working as a maid and babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin, where she caught her big break. “Little Eva” Boyd told her brother Jimmy Boyd that she was walking around the house one day vacuuming the floor and singing when she caught King’s ear. King and Goffin wrote the song “The Loco-Motion” for her, and soon she was on her way to stardom. But Jimmy Boyd said his sister’s success would have never been possible without the support of their mother. “There is always someone in the background to say something positive,” he said. “Without my mother ... standing there to support her, a lot of things wouldn’t have happened.” With “Little Eva” Boyd’s daughters, sisters, brothers and family members looking on, Jimmy Boyd thanked the town for its effort in giving his sister a just grave site. “I salute our dear sister,” he added. Jimmy Boyd said it was God that ultimately saved his sister after years of hardships touring on the road. “Little Eva” Boyd eventually moved back to North Carolina from New York and settled down in the City of Kinston. “The Lord spoke and said, ‘Come off the road; trust God,’” said Jimmy Boyd “Little Eva” Boyd eventually became a bishop mother at Vision of Hope in Kinston, before succumbing to cervical cancer in 2003. Her youngest daughter, Josetta Hines, still resides in Kinston. She has bright memories of her famous mother. “I knew who she was, but she was still mom,” said Hines. She called her mother’s grave marker “lovely” and “beautiful.” Jimmy Boyd, who is a pastor at Deliverance Temple Church of God in Christ, said, “This is one of the greater things done for my sister. Something great can come of this.” |
|
|
|
||||||
| Obituaries | ||||||
|
Leon Purdith Williams
Mr. Leon Purdith Williams, 86, of 1603 Fayetteville St., Durham, died Sunday, March 15, 2009, at Durham Regional Hospital. His funeral service will be conducted Saturday, March 21, 2009, 12 o’clock at White Rock Baptist Church. The family will receive friends Saturday, from 11 a.m. until 12 o’clock, at White Rock Baptist Church, just prior to the service. The interment will follow in Beechwood Cemetery. There will be a public viewing at Burthey Funeral Chapel on Friday, March 20, from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. Mr. Williams is the son of the late Matthew D. and Addie H. Williams. He was born on September 2, 1922 in Whiteville, NC and relocated to Durham in 1933 with his family. The family joined White Rock Baptist Church which was then located at 600 Fayetteville St. A graduate of Hillside High School, Class of 1937, Leon received a Bachelor of Science degree; double major in Chemistry and Biology with a double minor in Mathematics and Physics from North Carolina College for Negroes (North Carolina Central University), Class of 1941. He continued his Post Graduate Studies at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, where he received a Masters Degree. He then began his teaching career as a science teacher at Little River High School. |
||||||
Obituary
Miss Arletha Winfield (Big Sis), lived a full and colorful life for 97 years. She was always on the go, making a difference in the lives of others. Thursday, June 18, 2009, Miss Winfield’s Lord and Savior Jesus Christ made a difference in her life by giving her a well deserved rest.
Miss Arletha was born on April, 18, 1912. She was the daughter of the late Edward and Effie Lacy Winfield. Her parents provided opportunities and encouragement which fostered a happy childhood coupled with a strong work ethics. She attended and graduated from the
Mother Winfield opened her home to many. She provided for several senior aged ladies in her home. She raised Eddie Winfield and his son, Eric; James (Cherry) Winfield, and Leon Miller plus many, many more.
She is survived by her two sisters, Mrs. Evelyn Gray and Mrs. Thelma Garnett of
She was proceeded in death by six sisters: Louise Burke, Lillian Roberson, Emma Winfield, Laura Winfield, Kate Winfield, Josephine Winfield; three brothers: James Winfield, Jessie Winfield, Burley Winfield.
Posted Sat., June 27, 2009
|
This site is about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. We are veterans of the Southern Freedom Movement, and this is where we can tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement, in our own words, as we lived it. Webspinner: webmaster@crmvet.org |
During the recent session of the North Carolina State Legislature, an old graduation requirement was dropped. Between 1981 and 2009, all high school students were required to pass a Computer Competency Test and a High School Competency Test. If a student did not pass one or both, he/she received a Certificate of Attendance and were given opportunities to retake the tests. If they subsequently passed the tests, a high school diploma was granted.
Due to legislative action, this is no longer true and if you and/or a family member received a Certificate of Attendance, you may petition for a diploma by completing a specific form.
After the form has been completed and submitted, your petition will be considered and your high school transcript reviewed. If you met all other requirements for graduation, a diploma will be issued.
You may pick up a form at any local high school but the form must be submitted along with person identification and social security number to the Beaufort County School System or the System from which you would have graduated. A copy of the form can be downloated from the Beaufort County School's website(www.beaufort.k12.nc.us) along with other contact information.
There is a deadline before this opportunity will expire.
Posted Thurs., Nov. 12, 2009
|
From the files of Joyce W. Moore
A keeper that may bring back memories or instruct. This is Black American History at its best!!! Please share…
This was forwarded to me and I knew I had to share. Check it out when you have time. This e-mail contains copies of the Jet Magazine going all the way back to 1950. Not only do you get the covers of all the issues of Jet Magazine, but you can actually read the issues. Good tool for your children and grandchildren. This is definitely a keeper! Enjoy!
Posted Fri., May 28, 2010 |
Compliments of Mrs. Christine Davis, retired principal, BES & NES
THE 1960s.
 |
| Belhaven native, and former East Carolina star, C.J. Wilson signed a four-year contract with the Green Bay Packers on Thursday. Wilson was selected in the seventh round by the Packers in this year’s NFL draft. (AP Photo) |
Posted Thurs., July 15, 2010
![[© Ken Thompson, Mass meeting, Savannah GA]](http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/massmtg2.jpg)
![[Civil Rights Movement buttons]](http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/pinsvert.jpg)
Thought this was worth sharing. Regardless of your political party affiliation, this
is worth reading and definitely worth serious consideration.
As observed by a Canadian journalist ...America - He's your President for Goodness Sake
By William Thomas
Posted: Friday, October 1st, 2010
There was a time not so long ago when Americans, regardless of their political stripes, rallied round their president. Once elected, the man who won the White House was no longer viewed as a Republican or Democrat, but the President of the United States. The oath of office was
taken, the wagons were circled around the country's borders and it was America versus the rest of the world with the president of all the people at the helm.
Suddenly President Barack Obama, with the potential to become an exceptional president has become the glaring exception to that unwritten, patriotic rule.
Four days before President Obama's inauguration, before he officially took charge of the American government, Rush Limbaugh boasted publicly that he hoped the president would fail. Of course, when the president fails the country flounders. Wishing harm upon your country in order to further your own narrow political views is selfish, sinister and a tad treasonous as well.
Subsequently, during his State of the Union address, which is pretty much a pep rally for America, an unknown congressional representative from South Carolina, later identified as Joe Wilson, stopped the show when he called the President of the United States a liar. The president
showed great restraint in ignoring this unprecedented insult and carried on with his speech. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was so stunned by the slur, she forgot to jump to her feet while clapping wildly, 30 or 40 times after that.
Last spring, President Obama took his wife Michelle to see a play in New York City and republicans attacked him over the cost of security for the excursion. The president can't take his wife out to dinner and a show without being scrutinized by the political opposition? As history
has proven, a president in a theatre without adequate security is a tragically bad idea.
Remember: "Apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"
At some point, the treatment of President Obama went from offensive to ugly and then to downright dangerous.
The health-care debate, which looked more like extreme fighting in a mud pit than a national dialogue, revealed a very vulgar side of America. President Obama's face appeared on protest signs white-faced and blood-mouthed in a satanic clown image. In other tasteless portrayals, people who disagreed with his position distorted his face to look like Hitler complete with mustache and swastika.
Odd, that burning the flag makes Americans crazy, but depicting the president as a clown and a maniacal fascist is accepted as part of the new rude America.
Maligning the image of the leader of the free world is one thing, putting the president's life in peril is quite another. More than once, men with guns were videotaped at the health-care rallies where the president spoke. Again, history shows that letting men with guns get within range of a president has not served America well in the past.
And still the 'birthers' are out there claiming Barack Obama was not born in the United States, although public documentation proves otherwise. Hawaii is definitely part of the United States, but the Panama Canal Zone where his electoral opponent Senator John McCain was born? Nobody's sure.
Last month, a 44-year-old woman in Buffalo was quite taken by President Obama when she met him in a chicken wing restaurant called Duff's. Did she say something about a pleasure and an honour to meet the man or utter encouraging words for the difficult job he is doing? No. Quote:
You're a hottie with a smokin' little body.ââ,¬Â?
Lady, that was the President of the United States you were addressing, not one of the Jonas Brothers! He's your president for goodness sakes, not the guy driving the Zamboni at "Monster Trucks On Ice." Maybe next it'll be, "Take Your President To A Topless Bar Day".
In President Barack Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good and honest heart. Unlike his predecessor, he's a very intelligent leader. And unlike that president's predecessor, he's a highly moral man.
In President Obama, Americans have the real deal, the whole package and a leader that citizens of almost every country around the world look to with great envy. Given the opportunity, Canadians would trade our leader, hell, most of our leaders for Obama in a heartbeat.
What America has in Obama is a head of state with vitality and insight and youth. Think about it, Barack Obama is a young Nelson Mandela. Mandela was the face of change and charity for all of Africa but he was too old to make it happen. The great things Obama might do for America and the world could go on for decades after he's out of office.
America, you know not what you have.
The man is being challenged unfairly, characterized with vulgarity and treated with the kind of deep disrespect to which no previous president was subjected. It's like the day after electing the first black man to be president, thereby electrifying the world with hope and joy, Americans sobered up and decided the bad old days were better.
President Obama may fail but it will not be a Richard Nixon default fraught with larceny and lies. President Obama, given a fair chance, will surely succeed but his triumph will never come with a Bill Clinton caveat "...if only he'd got control of that zipper."
Please. Give the man a fair, fighting chance. This incivility toward the leader who won over Americans and gave hope to billions of people around the world that their lives could be enhanced by his example, just naturally has to stop.
Believe me, when Americans drive by the White House and see a sign on the lawn that reads: "No shirt. No shoes. No service," l'll realize this new national rudeness has gone way, way too far.
OCTOBER 2010 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
Posted Tues., Dec. 7, 2010
From the files of Peggy Spencer
Fantastic toy!!!
Click on the link below.
It made me smile it might do the same for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIJINiK9azc
Posted Wed., Aug. 31, 2011
President Obama chatted and provided a photographic
opportunity for the granddaughters of alumna Bertha G.
Baker, BHS Class of 1955.
The President originally originally met the twins when
he delivered a speech at their high school two years ago.
Robyn(left) is a sophomore at NCSU where the president
spoke on yesterday.
Ashlyn(right) is a sophomore at the UNC-CH and was
able to procure VIP seating for she and her sister.
Posted Thurs., Sept. 15, 2011
UHS takes control of second hospital in Beaufort County
In a ceremony marking the occasion Friday morning, officials from University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina signed an agreement with Pungo District Hospital in Belhaven, making it the second hospital in Beaufort County to come under UHS control in the last month.
Also on Friday, hospital officials announced the retirement of Ken Ragland, Pungo District Hospital chief executive officer, and the appointment of Beaufort Hospital President Harvey Case as president of the renamed University Health Systems – Pungo Hospital. Case, the former head of Duplin General Hospital, was named to head Beaufort Hospital in Washington following the takeover of its management by UHS on Sept. 1.
The agreement was described by Jay D. “Rocky” Jacobs, president of the Pungo District Hospital Board of Trustees, as the “third milestone” in the history of the hospital, a critical-access facility for 49 beds that serves the people of eastern Beaufort County and the Hyde County mainland.
He said Friday’s agreement follows only the hospital membership incorporation in 1947 and its opening two years later in importance.
“The legacy those people created with the opening of the hospital 62 years ago was to provide appropriate medical care to the people of Belhaven, eastern Beaufort County and mainland Hyde County and that has been a legacy this hospital has tried to fulfill in the years since,” Jacobs told the Daily News. “This agreement assures the continuation of appropriate medical services for the community, for that community in the future.”
Jacobs also said the agreement will preserve jobs and ensure that area doctors have a facility where they can practice medicine and address the health-care needs of the community.
The agreement with the Belhaven hospital brings to nine the number of hospitals in eastern North Carolina that are under the UHS umbrella – either through majority membership interests or management agreements – and is the second one signed by UHS with a Beaufort County hospital in the last two months. A lease/purchase agreement that turned over management of the hospital in Washington was effective earlier this month.
In addition to Pungo, hospitals now affiliated with UHS include Albemarle Health, Beaufort Hospital, Bertie Memorial Hospital, Chowan Hospital, Duplin General Hospital, Heritage Hospital, Outer Banks Hospital, Roanoke-Chowan Hospital and UHS Medical Center, formerly Pitt County Memorial Hospital.
An Aug. 25 vote by members of the Pungo District Hospital Corp. amended the private membership corporation’s bylaws allowing the hospital’s board of trustees to negotiate with UHS, clearing the way for Friday’s action.
That vote by the Belhaven-based organization came the same night the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners and the boards that oversee the operations of Beaufort Regional Health System approved an affiliation between BRHS and UHS.
But unlike the discussions about the future of the Washington hospital, which were protracted and often contentious and pitted one group of suitors against another, the discussions over the future of the Belhaven hospital were reported to be amiable.
“This could not have happened without the support of the hospital staff, the medical staff and the community,” Jacobs said. “They have all worked together over the last few months to make this agreement possible.”
Some aspects of the agreement between the Belhaven hospital, renamed University Health Systems – Pungo Hospital, and UHS are similar to the agreement between UHS and its hospital in Washington.
As with the Washington hospital, the Belhaven hospital will be a subsidiary of East Carolina Health, which oversees the operations of UHS-affiliated hospitals. A directors council will advise East Carolina Health on the operations of the hospital.
Most of the members of the Pungo District Hospital Board of Trustees will continue as members of the new entity’s directors council, Jacobs said.
And as with the Washington hospital, all of the Belhaven hospital’s employees were given the chance to continue their employment with UHS, Jacobs said.
But differences exist between the two agreements.
Because Pungo District Hospital was a private corporation, a third group, Pantego Creek LLC, was created to protect the interests of the former membership corporation.
Posted Sat., Oct. 1, 2011
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg--or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.
What is a vet?
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She--or he--is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another--or didn't come back at all.
He is the Quantico drill instructor that has never seen combat--but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.
He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor die unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket--palsied now and aggravatingly slow--who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say, "Thank you." That's all most people need, and in most cases, it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.
Two little words that mean a lot: "THANK YOU."
It is the soldier,
not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier,
not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier,
not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.
Let's remember them on this Veteran's Day observance.
--Selected from Mikey's Funnies newsletter.
A Tribute to Veterans
Posted Sun., Nov. 6, 2011
If you are into researching your family history, the article below will be of help to you.
Belhaven is listed under the Pantego Township, ED(enumeration district) 15. I have scanned the listing and there are some familiar names.
cheath
Archives.com and U.S. National Archives make the 1940 census free to search.
Family history research is now easier than ever! Archives.com partnered with the U.S. National Archives to bring the 1940 census online today for the first time. Archives.com has built the website http://1940census.archives.gov allowing anyone to view and share 1940 census records for free!
This is the only website where the entire collection of 1940 census images will be available April 2nd. The pages of the census will provide a never-before-seen look into the lives of Americans, at this watershed moment in our history.
As the website that makes family history simple and affordable, Archives.com has built a unique set of tools to make finding your family in the census as simple as possible. Though the 1940 census is not yet searchable by-name, you can explore census maps, descriptions, and other finding-tools to help you locate your family.
To make the records even easier to search, Archives.com has partnered with the U.S. National Archives, FamilySearch, and findmypast, to sponsor the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project. We invite you to join this national service effort to create a free, by-name index for the 1940 census!
Once complete, you will be able to search the 1940 census by-name for free at Archives.com. Learn more at www.archives.com/1940census.
Don't wait to discover your family's history in the 1940 census!
- Today, start your 1940 census search on 1940census.archives.gov
- For real-time updates about the 1940 census check out @1940censusnews
- To volunteer with the U.S. Census Community Project go to the1940census.com
** Make sure to share your 1940 census discoveries with us. Post census images to www.facebook.com/archivescom and be eligible to win prizes all this week!
Enjoy the hunt!
The Archives.com Team
MountainWings A MountainWings Moment
#12170 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
-------------------------------------------------
A Man's Children
=================
A man's children and his garden
both reflect the amount of weeding done
during the growing season.
Happy Father's Day to all fathers whether by birth or by surrogate.
Posted Sun., June 17k, 2012
Questions about what the decision means for you? Check out an infographic showing how the Affordable Care Act benefits Americans
Today, the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act ensures hard-working, middle class families will get the security they deserve and protects every American from the worst insurance company abuses. The Court has issued a clear and final ruling on this law.
For a comprehensive overview of the Affordable Care Act, visit WhiteHouse.gov/HealthReform and HealthCare.gov.
Let’s take a look at what today’s ruling means for the middle class:
A major impact of the Court's decision is the 129 million people with pre-existing conditions and millions of middle class families who will have the security of affordable health coverage.
We should also remember that under today’s ruling, having health insurance is and will continue to be a choice. If you can’t afford insurance or you’re a small business that wants to provide affordable insurance to your employees, you’ll get tax credits that make coverage affordable. But if you can afford insurance and you choose not to purchase it, the taxpayers will no longer subsidize your care for free.
Given today’s ruling, it’s now time to focus on implementing this law in a smart and non-bureaucratic way that works for the middle class.
As we’ve said, the Court has issued a clear and final ruling on this law. The last thing Congress should do is refight old political battles and start over on health care by repealing basic protections that provide security for the middle class. The President refuses to go back to the way things were.
Right now, Congress needs to work together to focus on the economy and creating jobs. Right now in congress, what’s at stake is how--at this make or break moment for the middle class--we break through Washington gridlock to move our country forward. Right now in Congress, what’s at stake is our chance to seize this moment to build an economy not from the top-down, but one based on a strong and secure middle class. We need to create secure middle class jobs and an economy built to last where hard work and responsibility are rewarded, everybody gets a fair shot, pays their fair share, and plays by the same set of rules.
Right now, Congress should act on the President’s concrete plans to create an economy built to last by reducing the deficit in a balanced way and investing in education, clean energy, innovation, and infrastructure. It’s time for folks in Washington to work together on behalf of the American people.
Please check back periodically for additional information on today’s decision.
Read the President's full remarks here
President Barack Obama delivers remarks regarding the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” in the East Room of the White House, June 28, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Southerners know the movies that speak to their hearts: Posted Tues., July 2, 2012 Have a great Fourth of July! Stay cool! |
From the files of Carroll Worrell-Barnes
Text of ex-slave's letter to his former master - Yahoo! News
The famed letter written by an ex-slave in response to his former master's request that he return to the plantation, soon after the end of the Civil War. Different versions of the letter bear various spellings of the writer's name.
Posted Mon., July 16, 2012
From the files of Mrs. C. Davis
If you can put this puzzle together, say goodbye to Alzheimer's!-no prob...
|
The Dentist's Hymn....Crown Him With Many Crowns
The Weatherman's Hymn..........There Shall Be Showers of Blessing
The Contractor's Hymn..........The Church's One Foundation
The Tailor's Hymn..............Holy, Holy, Holy
The Golfer's Hymn..............There is A Green Hill Far Away
The Politician's Hymn..........Standing on the Promises
The Optometrist's Hymn.........Open My Eyes That I Might See
The IRS Agent's Hymn...........I Surrender All
The Gossip's Hymn..............Pass It On
The Electrician's Hymn.........Send the Light
The Shopper's Hymn.............Sweet By and By
The Realtor's Hymn.............I've Got A Mansion Just Over the Hilltop
The Pilot's Hymn...............I'll Fly Away
The Paramedic's Hymn...........Revive Us Again
The Judge's Hymn...............Almost Persuaded
The Psychiatrist's Hymn........Just a Little Talk With Jesus
The Architect's Hymn...........How Firm A Foundation
The Credit Card Telemarketer's Hymn.....A Charge To Keep I Have
The Zookeeper's Hymn...........All Creatures of Our God & King
The Postal Worker's Hymn.......So Send I You
The Waiter's Hymn..............Fill My Cup, Lord
The Gardener's Hymn............Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
The Lifeguard's Hymn...........Rescue the Perishing
The Criminal's Hymn............Search Me, O God
The Baker's Hymn...............When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder
The Shoe Repairer's Hymn.......It Is Well With My Soul
The Travel Agent's Hymn........Anywhere With Jesus
The Geologist's Hymn...........Rock of Ages
The Hematologist's Hymn........Are You Washed in the Blood?
The Mens' Wear Clerk's Hymn....Blest Be the Tie
The Umpire's Hymn..............I Need No Other Argument
The Librarian's Hymn...........Whispering Hope
Psalm 147:1: "Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
PRAYER: Eternal God, thanking you for giving us a new song of praise to sing unto you. We honor and worship you with the fruit of our lips which is our praise to you this day. Amen.
Selected from God@Work newsletter. God@Work is a ministry of St Mark's United Methodist Church, 8550 Pioneers Blvd., Lincoln Nebraska 68520 U.S.A.
Posted Sat., July 28, 2012
A Quiz for People Who Know Everything
1. There’s one sport in which neither the spectators nor the
participants know the score or the leader until the contest
ends. What is it?
2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving
backward?
3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their
own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must
be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial
vegetables?
4. At noon and midnight the hour and minute hands are
exactly coincident with each other. How many other times
between noon and midnight do the hour and minute hands
cross?
5. What is the only sport in which the ball is always in
the possession of the team on defense, and the offensive
team can score without touching the ball?
6. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?
7. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a
real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe,
and the bottle is genuine; it hasn’t been cut in any way.
How did the pear get inside the bottle?
8. Only three words in standard English begin with the
letters “dw.” They are all common. Name two of them.
9. There are fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar.
Can you name half of them?
10. Where are the lakes that are referred to in the “Los
Angeles Lakers?”
11. There are seven ways a baseball player can legally
reach first base without getting a hit. Taking a base on
balls — a walk — is one way. Name the other six.
12. It’s the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold
frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but
fresh. What is it?
13. How is it possible for a pitcher to make four or more
strikeouts in one inning?
14. Name six or more things that you can wear on your feet,
that begin with the letter “s.”
++++++++++++
** ANSWERS TO QUIZ **
1. Boxing.
2. Niagara Falls. The rim is worn down about 2 and a half
feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water
that rush over it every minute.
3. Asparagus and rhubarb.
4. Ten times (not eleven, as most people seem to think, if
you do not believe it, try it with your watch, it is only
10 times).
5. Baseball.
6. Strawberry.
7. The pear grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed
over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place
on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the whole
growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped
off at the stems.
8. Dwarf, dwell, and dwindle.
9. Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen,
apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation
marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.
10. In Minnesota. The team was originally known as the
Minneapolis Lakers, and kept the name when they moved
west.
11. Batter hit by a pitch; passed ball; catcher
interference; catcher drops third strike; fielder’s choice;
and being designated as a pinch runner.
12. Lettuce.
13. If the catcher drops a called third strike, and doesn’t
throw the batter out at first base, the runner is safe.
14. Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis,
snowshoes, stockings, and so on.
–Reprinted from Good, Clean Funnies List.
–Web site and email: Good, Clean Funnies List – Email: info@gcfl.net .
+ + + + + +
Posted Sat., July 28, 2012
Be sure to check this website from the files of Alex Dawson, BHS Class of 1961 -
www.blackhistoryalbum.com
Posted Thurs., August 16, 2012
DO YOU REMEMBER SOME OF THESE...
5 cents for a bottle of coke from the machine
$1.00 for the best 6 hamburgers
8 cents for a pound for butter
25 cents for a quart of strawberries
20 cents for a ham salad sandwich
6 cents for a pound of cabbage
15 cents for 5 pounds of onions
35 cents for a 10 lb bag of potatoes
4 cents for a can of carnation milk
10 cents for a loaf of bread
20 cents for 2 heads of lettuce
30 cents for a box of ritz crackers
10 cents for a can of tomato soup
45 cents for a pound of american cheese
30 cents for 2 pounds of apples
20 cents for 2 pounds of bananas
95 cents for a pound of porterhouse steak
40 cents for a pound of chicken breasts
50 cents for a pound of sirloin steak
30 cents for a pound of bacon
60 cents for a pound of T bone steak
35 cents for a pound of chuck roast
35 cents for 1 pound of coffee
30 cents for 3 cans of creamed corn
40 cents for a dozen of eggs
5 cents for a box of jiffy mix
15 cents for a box of shreaded wheat
25 cents for 3 cans of pork and beans
Just a pair of tire chains
would get you through the deep snow
12 cents for (1) gallon of gasoline
In 1950 a new house cost $8,450.00
In 1950 the average cost
of a new car was $1,510.00
If you remember some of these,
you know these were the good old days...
The 50's was the best years
and nothing tasted better than
Mom and Grandma's home cooking!
author unknown
Posted Thurs., August 16, 2012
Courtesy of Alex Dawson:
Mitt Romney could win. Don't believe it?
Well, you're not alone. Most people don't understand that the GOP has an incredibly upsetting plan in place to put Mitt Romney in the White House—a plan that, frankly, is working.
This video spells it out for you—a three pronged GOP strategy that includes a little-known, shocking, and racist strategy designed to help Romney win. Watching and sharing it might be the most important thing you do to defeat Romney in this election.
Please click here, watch "REVEALED: The GOP Strategy", and share this with your family and friends.
http://front.moveon.org/this-video-might-stop-romney-from-becoming-president/?rc=emailac
Posted Thurs., Aug. 23, 2012
Read, Act and Forward!
Imagine America's future if 100% of NAACP members vote in this election.
We want to share this vision of America with the country, but our graphic designers need your help. The graphic is just a blank computer screen until we hear from you on what issues matter most.
So whether it is health care, ending racial profiling, education, or the economy, think about what moves you to cast a ballot in this election and tell us now:
http://action.naacp.org/one-hundred-percent
When I vote, I'm thinking about an America with universal access to healthcare, without the practices of mass incarceration, and an end to racial profiling. I also want to see an increase in access to education so we can end economic disparity.
I'm sure you have your own reasons, and we'd love to hear them. After finding out what drives NAACP supporters to vote, we'll send you the graphic so you can share it with your family and friends.
I know an America with every NAACP supporter voting would be a wonderful place. Share your thoughts so we can complete our graphic today:
http://action.naacp.org/one-hundred-percent
Thank you,
Marvin Randolph
Senior Vice President for Campaigns
NAACP
P.S. Text "vote" to 62227 to stay up-to-date on our This is My Vote campaign.
Join the NAACP |Visit This is My Vote
Posted Fri., Aug. 31, 2012
Click the link below to see a cool re-election video...and please forward to ALL supporters.
Let's all DO something! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeGrgewqEXw Now pass it on!!!!
Posted Sat., Sept. 1, 2012
From The Files of Delores M. Flynn, BHS Class of 1968
WE MUST SHOW UP
If we ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote now. The right to vote is not just a constitutional matter but a right borne out of struggle, out of sacrifice and a gift from the God. 2600 years ago God had his prophet say to every nation you must do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before your God. 2000 years ago he had his Son say that the least of these must be at the center of public policy. Think for a moment where we are now here today...
236 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence,
176 years since Texas revolted because they wanted to keep their slaves,
163 years since Harriet Tubman escaped slavery,
149 years since the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation,
147 years since the end of the Civil war,
118 years since the riots of Wilmington North Carolina to stop black political power,
108 years since the riots in Springfield Illinois,
68 years since Smith v. Allwright opened up primaries for black people,
68 years since Primus King was denied the right to vote in Georgia in a primary,
46 years after Barbara Jordan was the first African American to sit in the Texas Senate,
48 years since Fannie Lou Hamer said there comes a time when you get sick and tired of being sick and tired.
51 years since Dr. King said to the AFL CIO that the only voting platform that could transform America would be for blacks, poor whites and Latinos to learn how to work together,
49 years since the murder of Medgar Evers,
49 years since the March on Washington,
49 years since the bombing of four girls in a Birmingham church,
48 years since the signing of the Civil Rights Act,
47 years since Bloody Sunday,
47 years since the Voting Rights act,
47 years since Malcolm X was killed,
44 years since students at South Carolina State were massacred,
44 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King,
44 years since the signing of the Fair Housing Act,
43 years since conservatives dismantled the Office of Economic Opportunity,
43 years since my parents fought to integrate public schools,
3 years since Barack whose name means Praise the Lord was sworn in to be President of these United States.
1 year since Troy Davis was murdered by the state,
4 months and 11 days since the shooting of Trayvon Martin,
4 months since the secret documents revealed by the National Organization on Marriage that they started the same sex marriage fight not for moral reasons but to split the black and LGBT community in order to defeat President Obama.
We have been through too much and seen too much and fought for too much. If we ever needed to vote.......we need to vote right now!
Not only have we been through too much, there's still too much to fight for...
27.4% of African Americans in poverty. 12 million children red, yellow, black and white in poverty
27 million Americans unemployed, 14% of African Americans unemployed. 49 million Americans uninsured. 1 out of every 5 African Americans uninsured. 1 million African Americans incarcerated.
Politicians can say "elect me and I'll take your healthcare"
"elect me and I'll take your voting rights"
"elect me and I'll take your social security"
"elect me and I'll re=segregate your public schools"
"elect me and I'll ignore your poverty" ….and still get votes!
Here we are 22 million African Americans eligible to vote and yet 8 million didn't vote
1% of the population controls 42% of the wealth. 10% of the population controls 93% of the wealth.
Banks get bailouts from loans with our money with no interest and the banks turn around and lend us our money back with interest. These are critical times and we need to vote now.
I don't know if Republicans are going to show up. I don't know if Democrats are going to show up but the sons and daughters of slaves we better “the hell” show up!
Our parents did more with less than we have today
with less they beat slavery
with less they beat Jim Crow
with less they beat lynching
with less they beat the KKK
with less, Harriet Tubman got 500 slaves out of slavery
she didn't have email
she didn't have text Facebook……..she didn't have [???]
We must do more with more so from now until November email everybody you know. Tell them to show up.
Text everybody, tell them to show up. MySpace everybody, tell them to show up. Tell your friends on Facebook to show up. Call everybody you know and tell them to show up.
When we do what we are supposed to do, God will show up. God will bless our efforts. He always has and He always will. When we work our faith, there are miracles and movements.
Faith without works is destitute and devoid, but faith with works is dynamic and can change a destiny.
Whenever we work our faith, God shows up.
When Moses stretched out his rod, God showed up, the wind came down and the Red Sea opened up
Pharaoh was brought down when they marched around Jericho, God showed up, walls fell down.
When David threw the rock, God showed up, Goliath came down.
When Daniel went in the lions' den, God showed up, the lions calmed down.
When Esther went to see the King, God showed up and evil plans were turned around.
When a woman touched the hem of his garment, God showed up blood disease slowed down.
When a boy gave the lord fish and five loaves of bread, God showed up and a buffet came down
When Jesus went to the cross God showed up, Satan's kingdom was torn down. Early Sunday morning resurrection happened and the angels had a holy ghost throw down.
When Thurgood Marshall went to the Supreme Court and America's segregation was brought down.
When Rosa Parks sat down, God showed up, Jim Crow had to step down.
If we vote the tea party will be voted down. Every time we put our faith and our works together evil is shut down and God shows up!
What's in your hands? Use what you got—God will give you what you need!
If we ever needed to vote we need to vote right now!"and God will show up!
We had an excellent voter turnout in November 2008, let's do it again!
Posted Mon., Sept. 3, 2012
But at 46, she sees a future full of high points.
With the help of Durham’s TROSA substance abuse program, Small has beaten addiction and plans to devote her life to helping others. Already, she has started working with women at TROSA and volunteering in prisons and with people who have HIV.
Later this month, Small will start as a full-time student at UNC-Chapel Hill with the help of a GlaxoSmithKline Opportunity Scholarship. She already earned her associate degree from Durham Technical Community College and plans to earn a master’s degree and work to help other drug addicts recover.
It’s an amazing transformation for the woman who radiated confidence from behind the podium at GlaxoSmithKline’s Research Triangle Park offices, where she received the award in July. Small stood tall and spoke eloquently about her hopes to inspire others with her story.
“My life is proof that your past doesn’t have to decide your future,” Small said at the ceremony for this year’s four scholarship recipients, who received up to $20,000 each. “I didn’t have a very good start in life, but I intend to blaze a trail on my road to glory.”
Sandra Alger, director of women’s programs at TROSA, remembers Smalls first days at the program, when she cried every day, but then went on to work her way up to head chef in the kitchen and earned mostly A’s in her college classes.
Alger says Small’s turnaround stands out in a 25-year career in which she’s witnessed many success stories.
“She is so single-minded,” says Alger, who counseled Small throughout her stay at TROSA and remains a friend. “She came in more broken than most; she had never had a life, really. But she wanted to get a life, and she never looked back.”
Traumatic early start
Small (whose first name is pronounced Pal-es-teen’) was born in Virginia and spent much of her youth in the North Carolina town of Belhaven, near the coast in Beaufort County. Her mother was a paranoid schizophrenic, and her father was an alcoholic long-distance truck driver who was often absent.
When authorities realized her mother was unable to care for her and her older sister, Small was placed in foster care, and her mother went to a mental institution. Eventually, the girls were adopted by their aunt, from whom they endured regular beatings and cruelty.
Small says her aunt would shoot and kill the birds in their yard as a warning, to show what might happen to the girls if they were to tell their social worker of the beatings. Once, Small says, her aunt forced her to dig a hole in the backyard that was to be her grave.
Small says her uncle started giving her capfuls of vodka when she was 9 to help her tolerate the beatings – the start of a long history of substance abuse.
When their aunt died, the girls were sent to live with their grandmother, who was 85 at the time. Small says her grandmother was a kinder caretaker. But she was also frustrated with her inability to control her granddaughters, who by then were defiant and unruly.
When Small was 14, her grandmother shot her in the buttocks after she attacked her sister with a cinder block during a fight over a portable stereo.
After that incident, Small was sent to live with her father, whom she didn’t recall ever meeting before then, even though he lived only a few miles away.
Small says his home was a haven of drugs and alcohol; she resumed drinking and experimented with drugs there. She didn’t go to school, and she was expected to take care of herself. Soon, her father sent her to live with a man he said was her brother, who sexually abused her.
She ran away and moved around Belhaven for years, staying with various friends and boyfriends and going through homeless spells.
At one point, Small says, she was raped, beaten on the head, and left outside her father’s home. He simply told her to take a bath and leave.
A few years later, after being held at gunpoint by a man whom she tried to rob, she resolved to change her life. It was 2001, and she was nearly 40, addicted to crack cocaine, and working as a prostitute.
Finding victory
Change didn’t come easily. Her first step was to look for a real job, but she was still struggling with her addictions – unable to pass drug tests even when she was capable of working – and she had little experience.
She heard about the free, live-in program offered by Durham’s TROSA (Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers) as she was discharged from another mental health facility, and she was accepted into the program.
“My drug dealer and my boyfriend told me I was joining a cult and that they might kill me,” she says of her decision to move to Durham to enter the program. “But I didn’t feel like I had a lot to lose.”
Small stayed at TROSA four years, nearly twice the normal stay, and credits the program’s staff members, many of whom are recovering addicts themselves, with helping her escape addiction and heal her mind and heart.
“They gave me time to stop and think,” she says, “to go back to that 9-year-old girl and deal with those emotions that I had never allowed myself to deal with.”
She worked at several jobs there and then entered the organization’s scholar program, earning her associate degree at Durham Tech, where she now works as a student counselor.
She started at UNC-CH in the summer and will attend classes full-time this fall. She’s living in an on-campus apartment in Chapel Hill.
“I wanted to have that whole college experience,” she says.
The Opportunity Scholarship is given to students who have overcome adversity to find success. Small has “faced experiences most of us cannot imagine,” says Nancy Pekarek, vice president for communications at GlaxoSmithKline. Yet she has also “discovered the powerful combination of inner strength, commitment and having a dream.”
Small hopes to earn a master’s degree in either public health or social work. She’s not sure exactly what path she’ll take, but she hopes to work on creating solutions that will help the many drug addicts who never see the success she found at TROSA.
“I want to take all of that pain and turn it into power for other people,” she says.
Posted Tues., Sept. 4, 2012
Raleigh, N.C. — Starting Monday, drivers on North Carolina roads must change lanes or slow down to avoid any roadside utility or maintenance crews bearing flashing amber lights, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Violators could face a fine of up to $250.
Under the state's newly expanded "move over" law, drivers must move over one lane when two or more lanes are available in each direction to make way for emergency responders, tow trucks, NCDOT incident management assistance patrols, and now, roadside work crews. On roads with only one traffic lane in each direction, drivers must slow down and be prepared to stop.
The General Assembly passed the initial move-over requirements in 2001 and voted in June to expand them to include any work crew with flashing amber lights.
Posted Mon., Oct. 1, 2012
Below is a transcription of President Barack Obama's speech in Chicago after his re-election Tuesday night, as transcribed by Roll Call.
"Thank you so much. Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward. It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people. Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come. I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. By the way, we have to fix that. Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone, whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference. I just spoke with Gov. Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign. We may have battled fiercely, but it's only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is the legacy that we honor and applaud tonight. In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Gov. Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward. I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America's happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden. And I wouldn't be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. Let me say this publicly: Michelle, I have never loved you more. I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you, too, as our nation's first lady. Sasha and Malia, before our very eyes you're growing up to become two strong, smart beautiful young women, just like your mom. And I'm so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now one dog's probably enough. To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics. The best. The best ever. Some of you were new this time around, and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning. But all of you are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together and you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way, through every hill, through every valley. You lifted me up the whole way and I will always be grateful for everything that you've done and all the incredible work that you put in. I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics that tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym, or saw folks working late in a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you'll discover something else. You'll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organizer who's working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. You'll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who's going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift. You'll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who's working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home. That's why we do this. That's what politics can be. That's why elections matter. It's not small, it's big. It's important. Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy.
That won't change after tonight, and it shouldn't. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today. But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America's future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers. A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation, with all the good jobs and new businesses that follow. We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened by inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. We want to pass on a country that's safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troops this -- this world has ever known. But also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war, to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being. We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrant's daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag. To the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner. To the furniture worker's child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president -- that's the future we hope for. That's the vision we share. That's where we need to go -- forward. That's where we need to go. Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts. It's not always a straight line. It's not always a smooth path. By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won't end all the gridlock or solve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward. But that common bond is where we must begin. Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over. And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you've made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead. Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. Reducing our deficit. Reforming our tax code. Fixing our immigration system. Freeing ourselves from foreign oil. We've got more work to do. But that doesn't mean your work is done. The role of citizen in our democracy does not end with your vote. America's never been about what can be done for us. It's about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating, but necessary work of self-government. That's the principle we were founded on. This country has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history, but that's not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth. The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. The freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights. And among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That's what makes America great. I am hopeful tonight because I've seen the spirit at work in America. I've seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbors, and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job. I've seen it in the soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb and in those SEALs who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back. I've seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York, where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm. And I saw just the other day, in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his 8-year-old daughter, whose long battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for health care reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care. I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father, but meet this incredible daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd listening to that father's story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes, because we knew that little girl could be our own. And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That's who we are. That's the country I'm so proud to lead as your president. And tonight, despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I've never been more hopeful about our future. I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope. I'm not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight. I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. America, I believe we can build on the progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you're willing to try. I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.
And together with your help and God's grace we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth. Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States." -- President Barack Obama
Posted Wed., Nov. 7, 2012
Check out this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz7TScL1DUs&feature=youtube_ gdata_player
Posted Sun., Nov. 26, 2012
Dear Friend,
Atlanta-based rapper Shawty Lo has 11 children by ten women, a girlfriend the same age as his oldest daughters, and — if Oxygen Media executives have their way — a provocative new reality show that they hope women of color will flock to this spring.
According to Oxygen's parent company NBC Universal, the show — tentatively titled All My Babies' Mamas — will chronicle Shawty Lo's attempts to "split his affection multiple ways while trying to create order" in navigating the "dysfunction" of his "drama-filled," "unique 'modern' family."1
Leaked online footage from the pilot showing Shawty Lo struggling to name his children — and one mother rebranding each woman with nicknames like "Fighter Baby Mama," "Shady Baby Mama," "Baby Mama from Hell" and "Wanna-Be-Bougie Baby Mama" — drew immediate criticism from Black people across the country.2 Despite the backlash, network executives remain intent on moving forward with the reality project.
Join ColorOfChange.org in calling on Oxygen Media and its advertisers to put an end to this dehumanizing reality show. Media corporations have built a profit model around pushing increasingly inflammatory images of Black folks, our families and communities.3 By taking action today, you can help us prevent All My Babies' Mamas from gaining traction before it even airs — and send a powerful message to the broader entertainment industry that we deserve better.
When Oprah Winfrey and former Nickelodeon executive Geraldine Laybourne launched the Oxygen cable network in 2000, "the company [aspired] to be a strong advocate for women."4 But since its purchase by NBC Universal in 2007, Oxygen has steadily increased its stable of cheaply-produced reality television programming that exploits women, children and now Shawty Lo's "unconventional" family.5,6
We already know that only a narrow range of Black characters or personalities ever makes it onto America's television screens. When combined with the overwhelmingly negative representations of Black Americans we see on the daily news, shows like All My Babies' Mamas reinforce ugly stereotypes about Black men and women — that we're hypersexual, combative and unfit to parent our children.7,8 In addition to reducing self-esteem, a number of studies confirm that these distorted portrayals can lead non-Black audiences to hold onto problematic perceptions of Black folks that have dangerous real-world consequences: Black people experience "less attention from doctors, harsher sentencing by judges, lower likelihood of being hired or admitted to school, lower odds of getting loans, and a higher likelihood of being shot by police."9
ColorOfChange has a long track record of holding corporations and media figures accountable for race-baiting speech and for trafficking in harmful racial stereotypes. Today it's critical that we begin a broader conversation about the demonstrated impact of dehumanizing media portrayals in our everyday lives. The creators of All My Babies' Mamas claim that their show is "daring." But Oxygen has shown that its decision to invest in and promote inaccurate and harmful perceptions of Black families is business as usual — and it has to stop.
Once outrageous reality shows like All My Babies' Mamas find a devoted audience, it can be difficult to demand better programming. Please take action today: join ColorOfChange.org in urging Oxygen and its advertisers to cancel All My Babies' Mamas.
|
Hey everybody -- This morning, President Obama talked about the tragedy in Newtown, which happened 104 days ago, and brought a room to silence with a simple point: "The entire country was shocked," he said. "And the entire country pledged we would do something about it and that this time would be different. Shame on us if we've forgotten. I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we've forgotten." He was in the East Room, standing with a group of mothers who have lost children to gun violence. He was pushing Congress to act on common-sense steps to help protect our kids by reducing that kind of violence. Measures like eliminating background check loopholes that an overwhelming majority of Americans support. "Right now, 90 percent of Americans -- 90 percent -- support background checks that will keep criminals and people who have been found to be a danger to themselves or others from buying a gun. More than 80 percent of Republicans agree. More than 80 percent of gun owners agree. Think about that. How often do 90 percent of Americans agree on anything?"
SHARE ON FACEBOOK | SHARE ON TWITTER http://www.whitehouse.gov/we- Thanks, David David Simas
Posted Thurs., March 28, 2013
|
From the files of Mrs. C. DavisRetired PrincipalBelhaven & Northeast Elementary SchoolsTHEN IT IS WINTER
I FIRST STARTED READING THIS EMAIL AND WAS READING FAST UNTIL I REACHED THE THIRD SENTENCE. I STOPPED AND STARTED OVER READING SLOWER AND THINKING ABOUT EVERY WORD. THIS EMAIL IS VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING. MAKES YOU STOP AND THINK.READ SLOWLY!
You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.
But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.
But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting grey...they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change...Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be. Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!
And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...it’s over. A new adventure will begin!
Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.LIVE IT WELL!
ENJOY TODAY!
DO SOMETHING FUN!
BE HAPPY!Remember "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
LIVE HAPPY IN 2013!LASTLY, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE SO - ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!Going out is good.. Coming home is better!You forget names.... But it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!!You realize you're never going to be really good at anything.... especially golf.The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore.You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It's called "pre-sleep".You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch..You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"... ???Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!!What used to be freckles are now liver spots.
Everybody whispers.You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.... 2 of which you will never wear.But Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!Stay well, "OLD FRIEND!" Send this on to other "Old Friends!" and let them laugh in AGREEMENT!!!It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived.Posted Tues., April 23, 2013
http://www.tatepublishing.com/
Posted Wed., May 22, 2013
 |
||
|
Eva Narcissus Boyd Harris — who?
But say Little Eva and many people, especially Baby Boomers, know exactly whom you are talking about.
Little Eva will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on Oct. 16 in the Gem Theater in Kannapolis. Eva Narcissus Boyd, born in Belhaven on June 29, 1943, is best known for her No. 1 pop hit “The Loco-Motion” in September 1962. She died in Kinston from complications related to cervical cancer on April 10, 2003.
She is buried in a cemetery in Belhaven.
At an early age, she moved to the Brighton Beach area of New York at an early age. She was a babysitter for hit songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin. They had a role in her recording “The Loco-Motion.”
The song has appeared in the American Top Five pop-hits chart three times, in 1963 by Little Eva, in 1974 by Grand Funk Railroad (No. 1) and in 1988 by Kylie Minogue (No. 3). The song is part of the dance-song genre, in which a song provides directions to do a dance specific to the song. Little Eva had some moderate success after “The Loco-Motion,” most notably with “Let’s Turkey Trot.”
In a 1987 interview with the Washington Daily News for an article concerning the 25th anniversary of “The Loco-Motion” rising to No. 1 on the pop charts, the Belhaven native said she did not “locomote anymore.” She was referring to her career decision to put aside pop music and focus on gospel music after her popularity waned.
After national publicity about her plight in the late 1980s — she was holding down a minimum-wage job as a waitress in Kinston and had received welfare while living in South Carolina before she moved to Kinston — she returned to performing for a brief time with some of her music peers on the oldies circuit. In her latter years, she was involved with a ministry.
On Nov. 8, 2008, Belhaven unveiled the new headstone marking her grave in Black Bottom Cemetery to kick off the effort to restore the historically black cemetery. Before then, her grave was marked with rusty tin marker. Quincy Edgerton made the new grave marker.
Posted Tues., March 4, 2014 - A photo of Little Eva's headstone appears elsewhere on this page.
The Ford Motor Company and the local Ford Freedom Unsung partner, NAACP ACT-SO, has expressed appreciation to Hattie for all that she has done for the Alaska community.
Ford Freedom Unsung salutes and honors those who have positively impacted communities and whose achievements serve to enlighten and inspire others. Awards are presented to individuals in the areas of community, education, military and youth. There is one award category for an outstanding organization.
Hattie was selected as an education honoree. Honorees in each category are selected based on outstanding accomplishment including unique and valiant acts that positively impact lives in their immediate or widespread community. Honoree’s actions affect many and impart triumphant outcomes.
Posted Sunday, May 13, 2014
From Sumrell Sugg Attorneys at Law on behalf of Pantego Creek LLC
June 16, 2014. After many months of discussion and debate, Pantego Creek, LLC has notified Vidant Health and the Town of Belhaven that Pantego Creek will not agree to amend the contract signed in February by Vidant and Pantego regarding the ownership of the Vidant Pungo Hospital campus. Pantego is the organization created in 2011 to oversee Vidant’s assumption of control of the hospital, which was previously independently operated by a local non-profit corporation.
In February of 2014, and in response to Vidant’s planned closure of the hospital, Pantego and Vidant agreed that upon the closure of the hospital, Vidant would transfer the hospital’s real estate to Pantego, in accordance with the original 2011 agreement giving Vidant control of the hospital. Pantego and Vidant also agreed that Vidant would construct and operate a new multi-specialty clinic serving the citizens of Belhaven, eastern Beaufort County and western Hyde County, in order to provide for the continuing provision of healthcare services to residents of these areas. These actions were taken by Pantego after an overwhelming vote of Pantego’s membership in favor of Vidant’s proposed new multi-specialty clinic and against reacquiring and operating the hospital.
Although Pantego had previously accepted a request by the Town to Vidant to postpone the closing of the hospital from April 1 to July 1 so that the Town could make arrangements to assume control of the hospital on July 1, Vidant has indicated that it would close the hospital effective July 1 if the Town is unable to assume the operation of the hospital on that date. Now, the proposed amendment to the February agreement represents a request for an additional six months, or until December 31, 2014, for the Town to make arrangements to reopen the hospital. In addition, the requested amendment would have potentially altered other very important terms of the agreement reached in February.
However, Pantego determined that amending the February agreement with Vidant in order to facilitate the transfer of the hospital’s control to the Town was not in the best interest of its members and the community at large as under certain circumstances the transfer could result in the termination of Vidant’s obligation to construct and operate the new clinic. Furthermore, Pantego continues to have strong doubts regarding the long-term viability of the hospital’s ability, as reorganized, to deliver healthcare services and to provide for the needs of local residents.
Posted Tues., June 17, 2014
Please remember Barbara Sims and her family in prayer. She and her family have suffered a tragic loss. See details at www.newsday.com/longisland/suffolk/monica-peterman
Posted Tues., June 17, 2014
Plans for Vidant Health to open a new $4-million dollar health clinic in Belhaven have stalled but the health care provider was hoping to get them rolling again.
Back in September, the town of Belhaven denied proposed building plans and revoked the building permit for the facility.
At a meeting Wednesday night, a lawyer from Vidant came to appeal the revocation of the building permit.
However, things never really got off the ground as the board of adjustment went back and forth with an the attorney for and decided to table the appeal for a later date.
There was some confusion on whether the board of adjustment was to hear an appeal from Vidant Health, or if the board was to decide to issue a special use permit.
Board of adjustment member Steve Carawan said, "The board of adjustment has been asked to do a specific job which is to look at and interpret a request for a rezoning. The representatives from Vidant have a different take on it."
The building permit was issued by the town's building inspector in August. It was revoked a month later after the town's planning board determined the property did not comply with zoning regulations.
According to the planning board, the land is zoned as residential-agricultural, which would prohibit the construction of a health clinic.
However, Vidant believes the kind of zoning required for what they say is a multispecialty facility is not regulated within the town's zoning code.
Vidant Health's attorney declined to be interviewed on camera, but a representative from the company said they're disappointed they could not move forward.
The board has agreed to meet with Vidant again at 7:00 p.m. on November 5th in the Belhaven Civic Center. That meeting is open to the public.
JESSE JAMES ROGERS
Feb. 19, 2015
Mr. Jesse James Rogers, 70, of 320 West Pantego Street, Belhaven, NC died February 19, 2015. Funeral service will be held on Saturday February 28, 2015 2pm at White Plains Church Ministries Inc in Belhaven, NC. Burial will follow in Northside Cemetery.
Mr. Rogers was in the New York District Council of Carpenters and was also in the Navy.
He is survived by his wife, Gloria S. Rogers of the home. His mother, Gracie Mae Battle of Belhaven, NC. Three sons, Mark Swindell Green (Gloria) of Oxhill, MD, Roger Gray of Beaufort, SC and Raymon Gray of New York. One daughter, Jessica Rogers of Belhaven, NC. Three brothers, Harold Toppin of Greenville, NC, Donald Frankie Rogers of MD, and Jerry Hairston of Baltimore, MD. Seven sisters, Elanora Stewart of Wayne, NJ, Norma Jeannie Singletary of NJ, Doreen Minor of Baltimore, MD, Mary Lee Singletary of Farmville, NC, Clara Mae Rogers of Norfolk, VA, Carolyn Jones of Belhaven, NC and Tracy Hick of High Point, NC. A host of grandchildren, other relatives and friends.
Viewing will be held Saturday February 28, 2015 from 12-2pm at the church.
Online condolences:www.donbrownfuneralhome.com.
Services for the former Stephanie Winfield will be held on Sunday, 1:00 PM, Wilkinson Center.
Posted Wed., Feb. 25, 2015
Check out this link and the picture below: https://www.facebook.com/bcemergencymanagement
Try this link - an aerial photo of Belhaven: https://www.facebook.com/EpicPaperProductions/videos/1620347264901375/?fref=nf
Good morning,
I hope your week is off to a good start despite having to move your clocks ahead during the past week-end.
I regret to inform you that time stopped suddenly for Dr. Charles Boyette on last night. Details are sketchy. If you have kept up with "What's happening around town", you easily recall that Dr. Boyette served as mayor of Belhaven for several decades and had lots of political connections that resulted in our Town receiving lots of grants and new programs as they became available. He was mayor during the onslaught of Hurricane Floyd and spearheaded the acquisition of grants from FEMA that resulted in the elevation of more than 400 houses and 20+ replacement homes for citizens.
Most recently, he has been working to reopen the hospital
Dr. Boyette was a very good patron of the Belhaven Alumni Club without solicitation. He contributed annually to the scholarship fund, allowed use of his antique fire engine as a parade entry and was always available to assist in any way that he could.
Please keep the family in prayer.
Plans are coming together nicely for homecoming though we had a late start in planning. We hope to see you May 6 -8 when all roads lead to Belhaven. Keep checking our website for updates - www.belhavenhighschoolalumni.com
Posted Mon., March 14, 2016
Today is Veterans Day and tomorrow our nation will observe Veterans Day. We want to share with you a special prayer we came across written by Debbie McDaniel on CrossWalk.
We encourage you to take a few minutes today to read this prayer aloud with your family as we remember and thank God for the incredible service and sacrifice of our veterans.
Dear God,
We thank you for the freedom you have given to us, and for the price that was paid by Christ so that we could live free. We remember today. The cost of it all. The great sacrifice for freedom.
We thank you for the brave who have fought, and continue to fight, so courageously for our nation. We ask for your covering and blessing over them and their families. We pray that you would be gracious and encircle them with your peace. We pray for your great favor and goodness to be evident in their lives.
Please be with the men and women in uniform, who serve our communities and nation every single day. We ask that you provide your protection, that you would be their guiding force who leads the way, and their rear guard who keeps them safe from behind. We ask that you would draw them to yourself amidst the dangers they face in a dark world, for you are the Truth, you are the Way, you are the Light.
When the voice of hate rises up against them, we ask that you would silence it. When the plans of the enemy rise up to cause them to stumble, we ask that you would thwart it. When the forces of evil rise up to strike them down, we ask that you would stop it. Lord, we know how powerful you are, all have heard of your Great Name, and we ask that you would indeed be the wind beneath their wings, the power behind their efforts, the heart behind their service, as they are on the front lines against evil in our world today.
Help them to walk wisely. To stay covered in your armor. Give them godly discernment. Make them constantly aware of what lurks close by. Help them to be men and women of prayer, realizing that this is where their greatest help comes from. Help them to stay united and strong, bold and resolute, determined and unwavering.
Lord bless all those who wear the uniform, who serve our cities, our nation, our people. Bless their families. Bless those they love. Give them your great favor, this day, and every day.
Thank you that in our nation today, we are free to worship. We are free to pray. We are free to read your Word. We are free to speak. We are free to share. For this, we are incredibly grateful. Yet, we understand how quickly these freedoms can be taken away. Give us an increased awareness of the spiritual battle we're in. Help us to stand strong in you and for your purposes.
Thank you that as believers, we can be assured, you never leave us, and you are with us always, in this life, and the next.
In the Powerful Name of Jesus,
Amen.
United. We Stand.
Jason Yates
CEO
Posted Sun., Nov. 11, 2018
