Vocal Expressions

Gary Coleman of Different Strokes and Dennis Hopper of Easy Rider, etc. They'll both be missed!

Monday, May 24, 2010 marked the official ending of 24, a heart thumping series on Fox which premiered in November 2001 starring Kiefer Sutherland as Federal Agent/CTU Jack Bauer. I've been a fan since day 1 and have truly enjoyed each and every season. So needless to say I was totally glued to my TV to watch the last two hours as the lights went out on my favorite show. I wasn't disappointed and was glad that Jack survived although the Russians and the US will be after him for his crimes. While the series finale was bitter sweet, I can't wait to see Jack yet again in action on the big screen!

Last night a friend and I hung out at Houlihan's for dinner and drinks. The place was hopping with folks laughing, eating and having a great time. Our waitress was a pleasant 17 yr old who was very attentive in taking our order. While we were waiting we observed a young couple at the end of their meal, drinking champagne and laughing. A few minutes later, the woman got up and left. Her date looked around and then followed her out the door. Within minutes their waitress (the same one handling our table) picked up the tab and realized that the couple skipped out on paying her. She frantically ran out the door but this couple disappeared. My friend looked at me and then remarked, "Who does that? If you can't afford to dine out, don't go and then skip out on paying the bill." The waitress was completely frazzled and ran to get the manager to discuss what just happened. When the waitress came back to our table we learned that the couple racked up a bill of $75.00 befor...

A friend of mine sent me this link which paid tribute to the late and great Lena Horne. I'd just like to share it with you. Visit her Tribute Site http://www.lena-horne.com/

I'm not an avid watcher of the Oprah Winfrey Show but when I saw the show on May 6, 2010 - "Surviving The Unthinkable," my heart broke. This show was about the horrific tale of four brothers who were adopted and starved by their foster parents. On October 19, 2003, a man called 911 at 2:30 a.m. to report a small child was digging through the trash in search of food . "He had to be under 10," the man said in the 911 call. "He's very little, a very young kid." That child was actually 19-year-old Bruce Jackson. Bruce and his three younger brothers were nearly being starved to death by their adoptive parents, Raymond and Vanessa Jackson. At 19, Bruce weighed only 45 pounds. Fourteen-year-old TreShawn weighed 40 pounds—a typical 14-year-old weighs 115 pounds. Ten-year-old Terrell weighed 28 pounds, when he should have weighed 70 pounds. Nine-year-old Michael weighed 23 pounds instead of the 60 pounds an average child his age should weigh. At the average...

Today, I was a co-facilitator for an "Etiquette" seminar for the mentoring program. It was a joint session for both the boys and girls. It was very interesting when we gave them an Etiquette quiz to see how they would answer certain questions regarding how the sexes would act in certain situations. One question that was not on the list which was asked by a male mentor was "How do you feel about a guy opening the door for you?" Personally, I think it's a great gesture because it shows that the guy has respect for women. However, some of the female mentees stated that it didn't really matter because they could open the door themselves. Another male mentee in the background kept saying that it's 2010 and I guess that means chivalry is dead and women should just do whatever they feel like. At the end of the seminar we were able to show them that there are certain things that are deemed appropriate for both males and females and that etiquette and having soci...