Gal Pal Email 22nd edition

Gal Pal Email 22nd edition
Best Friends
Contents:
Quips and Quotes
Ebonics Lesson
On the Flip Side
Mama's Korner
Her Voice Speak
Announcements

Quips and Quotes:
I've dreamed of meeting her all my life...a bosom friend-an intimate friend, you know-a real kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul -Anne of Green Gables

Ebonics Lesson:"I lost my hand"You would use this statement when referring to a bad dish or you prepared a meal that did not come out right. Sort of like loosing your touch, but it is in regard to cooking.

On the Flip Side

I have a confession. At the risk of losing my Negro card, I love Anne of Green Gables. Thanks to Gal Pal Vanessa, I have seen these movies to many times. But I am also thankful for these great books and movies because they are that constant reminder to me that I have to strive to be a better gal pal. I think that there are some things that we could all learn and be refreshed time and time again. I find that during the holiday seasons there are lots of things to be thankful for, and one of those things is friendship. So here is the Diva Crash Course to up keeping friendship:
How to be a better gal pal

Dream dreams for your friend-sometimes she can't seem the back to the front and may get weighted down with the burdens that life has dished her. Remind her that its just a season (reference to gal pal 21st edition) and remind her of her vision. (Thank you Diane for always reminding me that I am a diva and a scholar.)

Listen-this is a practice that we forget. Sometimes we are so busy trying to solve someone's problems that it gets interpreted as not listening. Don't get some caught up in the hype that you are not tuning into your friends' struggles that show that you are listening. Then wait for them to solicit feedback. (Thank you Adina for always being a listener and waiting for me to solicit feedback.)

Admonish to stimulate growth-we are never to old for some of these parental skills. We often need to be admonished so we can realize that we are off the road that we need to be and need to stand corrected. And only a true friend can take you there and remind you with the sternness that you need that you need to come correct. (Thank you Rachel for making sure that I come correct.)

Hesed (Hebrew word for unfailing love)-sometimes you may just have this feeling that you need to call or send a card or email to one of your friends. There is just some way that you need to express your love to them. Operate that in the way that you know that your friend needs to feel it. (Thank you Traice for the ability you show that you care and I feel it even in the words of your emails. You are precious to me.)

Gratefulness- remember to over all be grateful and thankful for the friends that you have. I am thankful that you can have more than one kindred spirits. That you can develop a circle of female friends who admonish and teach you and vice versa. So as you think to be thankful for your biological family, remember in these times your urban family of sisters.

Mama's Korner

My Uncles Denny and Laeffy (Lafayette) both were in the Vietnam war. They were marines and were in the front lines. When they both finally came back, they were messed up and did not talk about it. Laeffy actually reenlisted to serve after he was done with his service. WHAT? When I found this out I was at arms. Then I did some investigating and found that poor Uncle Laeffy was 18 we he enlisted the first time, to follow his big brother who was there not by choice. He became a trained killing machine and was given the nickname monster. This was not just because he was a big man and a boxer, this was for how he killed people and the amount of people he killed. He seemed to do it just like a monster, with no feeling or remorse. Hand to hand combat this 18 year old boy/man would kill more people than most serial killer in American who get incarcerated. ( On one hand we train killers and the other hand we lock them up. I guess it depends on who they are killing.) The Monster was an asset to the marines but when it was time for him to come back and adjust, a child at 18 became a man at 25 who had to reenter society and he could not find peace. He had been living a life that seemed so right, because there were aspects of society (the military) that told him that this was the life he had to live. But there were two different stories here. When it was time for the Monster to be Lafayette Bronston, all he knew was the monster. Now sadly, Uncle Laeffy still has to deal with the monster. Quiet and to himself. He has slowly been able to talk about himself but he still is silent about the war and what it did to him. Many of us are glad that Saddam was caught and so am I. However I pray mercy for him because I have seen how war can scar and change a man. No one deserves to be called or live the life of a monster because that is what your country at one time expected for you to be, and when times have changed expect you to change over night. So now I pray for all the people in the military who were in combat and I pray that they find peace from their monsters.Her Voice SpeakCheck out this website to see how women all over the country are getting together to celebrate friendship and there own sisterhood.http://www.southernscribe.com/zine/film/ya-ya_sisterhood.htm

Announcements

Consider this read for friendships that last a lifetime, even when things are not perfect
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Thank you to everyone who loves me and my flaws. Learning to see not past them, but see them as part of me and that is okay. May everyone reading have a blessed and peaceful holiday season.