Moving Right Along...

I may not have a lot of money. I may not be the picture of perfect health. I may not be exactly where I want to be in life. But you know what? i am HAPPY. For the first time in my life I can say I an truly happy even through all lifes trials and trips.

I think it has a lot to do with me going back to church. My grandmother begged me for years to get back active in church and I resisted her at every turn. In a nutshell I thought church was for losers. Yes I loved The Lord and considered myself to be a God fearing individual. But sit up in a holier than thou sweaty hot church all day on a Sunday when I could be napping, eating out, on the beach, or just staring at the four corners of my living room? No thanks.

I found myself walking through the open door at Church of the Open Door on First Sunday, March 1, 2009. I admit I was skeptical. I thought I'd find myself in the midst of naive old ladies pouring their life savings into some charlatans fat daddy pockets. Said fat daddy would be pushing a benz through the streets of Miami while the little old ladies tinkered around in 1987 Dodge Darts. Suffice to say I was VERY pleasantly surprised to be greeted with warm embraces, open hearts and kind words. I truly feel that my church- yes, MY church because I took my new member vows on Sunday May 2, 2009- accepted my girls and I as part of the family and I have never felt so tranquil. So at ease. So lovED and lovING. People warn me not to spread myself too thin in working for the church but I love servicing and doing the work of The Lord. As I pinned pink flower after pink flower, made pink bow after pink bow and toiled away to awash The Lyric Theater in pink my mind was in a calm state of nirvana. I was humming. ME, humming!

I could go on and on and on, but I think it's obvious that I an passionate about my faith and my church. I can't wait until tomorrow! We kick off our 41st Annual Pink Tea and paint the city of Miami PINK! I got the cutest matching outfits for the girls. One is almost 18 and the other is 15- far too old for dressing alike but the outfits were so hot that I had to get them for the girls. I will put up pictures of the event sometime next week.

In the meantime here is a picture of our wedding cake tasting that took place today.

We decided on a 5 tier buttercreme cake with 3 layers in vanilla rum, the other 2 in amaretto. The picture to the left is what it will look like except with the extra 5th tier. The flowers on top will be baby pink and white. It's going to be soooo beautiful! The closer I get to our wedding day and the more we confirm details the more excited I become. I'm practically bouncing off the walls at 1 in the morning!

Miami Herald Spotlight: Pink Tea at Lyric Theater honors heritage

Posted on Friday, 05.08.09

BLACK IN TIME | BY DOROTHY JENKINS FIELDS

Pink Tea at Lyric Theater honors heritage

BY DOROTHY JENKINS FIELDS

Special to The Miami Herald

History will be made when the historic Lyric Theater in Miami's Overtown hosts an inaugural performing arts series in the setting of ``the Pink Tea.''

The occasion is the Church of the Open Door's 41st anniversary Pink Tea and a celebration of the performing arts from 4 to 6 p.m. May 17.

Church history states ``the Pink Tea originated many years ago by the Church of the Good Shepherd in Chicago, Il. Other churches adopted the idea and held World Mission Pink Teas where ladies dressed in costumes of other countries.''

In Miami, the Pink Tea idea was introduced at the Church of the Open Door by Pastor Emeritus, Reverend Harold D. Long.

From the outset, the Pink Tea at the Church of Open Door featured outstanding concert artists and local talent. It began as an annual fundraiser and continued on the church's campus in Liberty City. Kervin Clenance, chair of the Pink Tea and the Men's Fellowship Summer Music Series said ``the decision was made this year to combine the annual Pink Tea with a performing arts series in Overtown at the historic Lyric Theater connecting us to our heritage and community's roots.''

The 2009 Pink Tea performers, Samuel Eudovique, tenor, and Marshall Davis Jr., tap dancer, will salute Sammy Davis Jr. Eudovique and Davis will bring back the genius of Sammy Davis Jr., who during racial segregation was equally at home on Miami Beach and Overtown in the 1950s and 1960s.

The great grandson of Overtown pioneer Bishop Randolph Williams, of the Church of God in Prophecy, Marshall Davis Jr. began tap dancing in Liberty City at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center. His honors include the coveted 1991 Star Search Teen Dance Champion.

Samuel Eudovique was born in Barbados and was exposed to classical music at an early age by his grandmother. He has performed with the Coral Gables Symphony, the Miami Lyric Opera and the Opera Company of Brooklyn.

The Pink Tea will follow immediately after this performance. The ladies of Circles I, II, III; the Men's Fellowship; the Youth Group and Young Adults will host their respective tables competing for the title of ''Winner'' of the annual competition. Each table will contain pink pastries, tea sandwiches and the traditional pink punch.

According to longtime decorating committee member Shirley Archie ``both the outside and inside of the Lyric Theater and Welcome Center Lobby will be decorated in pink. Everyone is encouraged to wear something pink.''

The Men's Fellowship Summer Music Series is comprised of the John Hobbs concert on June 21 and the Nicole Henry Concert on July 26. Born in Miami, Hobbs grew up with his grandparents in Augusta, Ga. A self-contained performer, he plays guitar and piano; sings gospel, jazz, pop, and adult contemporary music -- from traditional to classical.

The performance series ends with internationally renowned jazz artist Nicole Henry. Born in Philadelphia and raised with a mom who played classical music, Henry is a singer/songwriter with a voice that combines jazz with pop to produce soulful music. She performs regularly around Miami.

Beginning at 4 p.m., each performance promises an afternoon of music, culture and fun. For ticket information, call 305-759-0373.

Dorothy Jenkins Fields, PhD, is a historian and founder of the Black Archives, History and Research Foundation of South Florida Inc. Send feedback, questions or news to djf@bellsouth.net.

Full Day

Yesterday started out at snails pace. I took a Zyrtec pill at around 630am and I was super drowsy at work. I found myself passing out at my desk several times. I don't know how I made it but even with one of my feet in dreamland, the other in reality I managed to accomplish so much yesterday. I was so proud of myself I bragged to my brother, sister and fiancée about what a busy bee I was! I completed:

1) The first pre-martial counseling session with my pastor and my fiancée. It went very well and I was so happy that my man opened up to someone who, in essence, is a complete stranger to him. I see these next 4 meetings being very productive and I can't wait until next month to tackle more marital solutions. We also put the official date on the pastors calendar, and booked the church for the actual ceremony.

2) I was on the fence about which bakery I was going to choose to do our cake. In the end, the lack of a selection from Bakery A made me go with Bakery B, which is Cake Designs by Edda. I made an appointment for us to have a tasting next Saturday and let them know which cake I was leaning towards so that they would definitely have that sample available.

3) I took a power nap on my fiancée's lap. It felt sooo good! I don't require a lot of sleep to survive but I was crashing yesterday. I woke up charged and ready to go after 9pm last night and this is when I accomplished most of my tasks.

4) I FINALLY completed our first wedding guest list. There are 180+ people on the list. I pray that 80 people decline though so I can get the number right at 100. LOL! No seriously I wish we had room for every family member and every friend that we both have but we are paying per plate and as anyone who has ever had a big wedding knows - it can be very expensive. Most of the people we invited have to come from out of state to attend so there may be a lot of declines from NY, Jamaica, NC etc. But everyone in Florida will most likely make it so I know that a wonderful time will be had by all.

5) I sent out requests for physical addresses for all invited guests. They have started filtering in as of this morning. It seems like maintaing this will be a lot of work so I will probably ask my matron or maid of honor to keep the list updated for me.

6) Finally got my brother to take the HUGE bag of clothes out of my living room to be donated. The bag was heavier than a dead body and packed with brand new and gently used teenage clothes. I tried to donate them to my church by they keep their pantry small so it wasn't an option. My brother knows of a place that gives away donations to domestic abuse victims and of course I was happy to oblige. It felt good knowing that someone else can benefit from us.

7) Began working on a grass roots publicity campaign for our 41st Annual Pink Tea. You can click the link for details.

I think there is more, but that should be enough for now. I do know that I have made a comittment not to take on any more projects. So...

My wedding
Helping my grandmother get her fiances back in order
Preparing my 15 year old for her boyfriends senior prom
Readying myself for a prospect I have been working on for years
The 41st Annual Pink Tea.
Weight Watchers

Are on the front burner right now. Everything else will have to wait until after the wedding. My plate runneth over!

Reason #4080 To Eat Home Cooked Meals...

Those who know me IRL (in real life) know that I recently joined Weight Watchers to shed these unwanted pounds. Now make no mistake, your girl is fly even though there's more of her to love than there was back in the day. But I definitely need to lose a lot of weight to be healthy and have more energy. The pictures below affirm what I already know- eating out isn't always the healthiest choice, and, can at times be straight up FILTHY, NASTY, AND DOWNRIGHT UNSANITARY!!! The pictures below are from New China Restaurant on 1805 Montana Avenue in our nations capitol, Washington DC!!! This is how they "prep" their fish for those fish and chip platters people eat up every day and probably scrape the plate afterwards. GROSS!

Catharsis

It's been more than a minute. I said that I would update this blog regularly but did not keep my word. Sometimes we let life get in the way of living. As it were, I had two deaths in my family within a two week period that rocked the very core of my existence.

As some of you may know, both my parents have passed on. My dad died a violent death on July 4, 1995 in a Brooklyn basement. No one will ever know the truth about what happened in that dank and decrepit place where my father spent his last moments on earth. I obssessed about it for years until my mother died suddenly on November 12, 2001. She died in her sleep after having a grand mal seizure. And with that I felt a page turn in my life. Unless you've lost a parent, I cannot describe to you what it feels like. And we all know that it's natural for us to outlive our parents. But when you lose both of them by the time you hit 25... that's... devastating to say the least.

My paternal grandfather died in 2007. We lived right around the corner from each other and never saw one another. There's baggage there. Unresolved now, because the opportunity to work things out and forge a relationship has come and gone.

Then on March 30, 2009 my maternal grandfather died in his sleep from complications from colon cancer. My grandfather was the father I had when my biological didn't bother to quote Shaq. He was also a man of few words so I'll be concise here. He was a wonderful family man, a WWII vet who came home in one piece with honors. A retiree from UPS who raised 3 kids and had a hand in raising 8 grandkids. I am so happy he lived to see Obama in office. As an educated man, a Mason, a member of the Kiwanis club and a trained tailor my grandfather was the epitome of strong black man. Women today could only wish to get a scintilla of the man that he was and they would still have a mighty mighty good man on their arms. RIP Daddy!

My grandmother then lost her brother 2 weeks later. He too was such a solid man. They just don't make them like they used to. He was a Korea vet, a retired Federal government employee, a father to 3 children, a loving husband... I can go on and on. But I'd rather just celebrate their lives.

Because even in death, there can be a rebirth for those who are still among the living. If the passing of a friend or relative doesn't make you stand up and take notice... smell the roses... feel that ocean breeze kiss your chocolate cheek- then you, my friend aren't really living. And the only difference between you and those who have passed on are motor functions. So stop what you are doing. Close the laptop. Turn off the television. Go outside, whether it's day or night and gaze up at the sky. Marvel in the beautiful day or night that God has made and allowed you to see for a least one more day. You only have one life to live so live it to the absolute fullest.

The 41st Annual Pink Tea & The Men's Fellowship Summer Music Series

The Church of the Open Door is presenting its 41st Annual Pink Tea and the Men's Fellowship Summer Music Series starting May 17, ending on July 26 at the historic Lyric Theater in Overtown.

The first show will be a tribute to entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., with vocals by tenor Samuel Eudovique and tap dancing by Marshall Davis Jr on May 17.

The second event features John Hobbs, Preacher and Vocalist on June 21.

The third and final event showcases the beautiful sounds of Nicole Henry, Jazz and Gospel Artist on July 26.

Tickets are $45 for each individual event, $80 for a package of two events, and $99 for a package of all three events. Refreshments will be served!

All three events begin at 4 p.m. at the Lyric Theater, 819 NW Second Ave. For more information call the church at 305-759-0373 or Kervin Clenance at 954-559-0927. Or send an e-mail to pinkteatattler@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MEDIA CONTACT: Richard Clarke Tel. 305.594.7615 ext 274 rclarke@SouthFloridaWorkforce.com

South Florida Workforce Launches Youth Employment Program MIAMI-DADE

COUNTY, Fla.) – In an attempt to mitigate the impact of youth unemployment in South Florida, the South Florida Workforce Investment Board (SFWIB) recently launched its Summer Youth Employment Program to assist young people between the ages of 14-24 gain an understanding about careers, the workplace and appropriate employment skills by linking students to employers for work experience and career exploration.

The program is a public/private partnership between the South Florida Workforce Investment Board, the businesses community, and the public sector. The initiative is being supported pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The program’s concept is simple: local employers (both public and private) are being encouraged to provide career exploration opportunities to young people within their organizations during the summer months and the SFWIB will cover the youth participant’s wages for the hours worked.

According to Rick Beasley, Executive Director of South Florida Workforce, “the Summer Youth Employment Program is a great opportunity for local employers to make a contribution to their community and help create a simulative economic impact on the local economy; at the same time providing career exposure to our future workforce. I encourage anyone who is in a position to provide a placement opportunity to contact us for information about the program. It’s a great investment in our youth.”

For more information about the SFWIB’s Summer Employment Program, visit the agency’s website at: www.southfloridaworkforce.com.

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