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  My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| The media frequently refers to it as "Black History Month", and some may prefer that. However, when Gerald Ford declared February to be set aside for this purpose, it was officially referred to as African American History, and it has not been changed. Some people argue that black history should not be set aside as a separate subject. Morgan Freeman is one famous opposing spokesperson who claims "Black history is American history". Others feel that it has to be addressed on its own to maintain tradition and a sense of continuance. The example is that the American Indian had no written history, only oral tradition, and has almost been eradicated. By contrast the Jews had a well documented history, and now, though much persecuted and dispersed around the world, there is a keen sense of identity and continuity. The special observance first began in 1926 as a week called "Negro History Week" to encourage inclusion in public schools. The second week of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas. In 1970 it became a month. In 1976, the year of our Bicentennial, it was renamed and drew a new wave of attention. It is good for us to remind ourselves of many aspects of our history, including all races and genders. Dr. Jim Denison writes "African American inventors gave us America’s first clock, automatic elevator doors, the clothes dryer, the electric lamp, the gas heating furnace, traffic lights, fiber optic cable, the touch-tone telephone, the home thermostat and temperature control, the pacemaker, and a host of other discoveries." A different type of inventor, Dr. Charles Drew taught us more about plasma and made blood transfusions possible. (I learned this on an episode of M*A*S*H*.) George Washington Carver was a scientist and inventor who helped revolutionize American agriculture, mostly through his work in soil conservation. He also made advances in cotton and found many new uses of the peanut. Booker T. Washington was a great educator, writer, and orator who was a primary black leader at the turn of the last century and a big influence for about 25 years. I thought his book was inspiring and helpful for people of all races. Catherine Johnson was an outstanding mathematician who aided the space program. African Americans have been innovative and pioneering in the fields of education, science, technology, banking, medicine, engineering, and all other areas of our daily lives. Although originally intended for schools, African American History Month is a good encouragement for all of us to learn something more. We need to appreciate all of American history. Most adults have a very poor understanding of history to start. A little learning won't hurt us. We may learn to appreciate our heritage and have a little more sensitivity to others. |
| There's all kinds of waiting. Waiting for school to start, for the phone to ring, to find a job. Waiting for a baby to be born or the bride to walk down the aisle, Waiting for Mr. or Ms. Right. Waiting for retirement. Then there's waiting to die. My younger brother has cancer. We've known sometime, but kept hoping for a miracle. He's been well for a while. Then Stage Four was diagnosed in September. Clinical trials were started. He even drove himself out of town for it once. After the first set, he went in for a check up. Tumors were discovered in his arm, and X-ray therapy began. He was too sick to go back for the immuno-therapy, so he started Chemo. It was just too late. A few rounds of that and he quit. We don't know for sure if it was the Chemo or the cancer that wore him down. He's been in steady decline since Thanksgiving. He drove himself to my house for Christmas, but couldn't walk to the dining room table. We fed him from the coffee table in the living room. Today, he is a skeleton with skin tightly stretched over it. He can hardly speak and uses his hands to signal us. His mind is still working. He still listens and worries about his lawn mower. He was still attempting conversation just a week ago, but not today. He has no appetite. He is slowly starving. He wanted no heroic attempts to save his life. He can't be force fed. He was in the hospital for ten days, where they gave him platelets to stop the incessant nose bleeds. They also took care of the fluid problem that kept him from breathing. But you can't stay forever in that final stage. In our whole area, there was no available bed in hospice. So he was sent home. It is quieter there, but lonely. His friends and family are watching this fiercely independent man, who was self-reliant and never took help from anyone become totally dependent on someone else to go to the bathroom or drink water. Beyond the crying stage, we watch with heavy hearts as he teeters between life and death. We have learned there are no grudges worth holding, nothing that can't be forgiven or overlooked. There is a bond between family members that nothing in this life can break, not even death. So we wait, as long as it takes. We take turns staying with him. We feed him, pray with him, take care of his home, his vehicles, his outdoor equipment. One daughter cleaned out his refrigerator. Both daughters do laundry and dress him while tending to their own small children. Our father, who is 90, sits by his bedside as often as possible. His grandchildren have their home life and routines disrupted by the absence of their mothers. I've had children staying with me, one at a time. An uncle has pitched in with some out of town vacations for two of the little boys. One friend has driven from 70 miles away at least 3 times a week to stay almost all day. Four generations of our family are involved in this arduous waiting. Waiting is not easy, especially when you don't want the ending. But death is inevitable. We don't all have time to prepare ourselves and to say our good-byes the way my brother did. It's a prolonged sadness. We will stand by him. We will wait. |
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