National Women History Month

Hello everyone,

Evelyn here,

March is Women History month and below is a link to some 300 encreible women in history.  Enjoy!

http://www.britannica.com/women

Evelyn out.

 

A Little Nickel Bag

Hello everyone,

Evelyn here,

I am distressed of late by a problem that has affected my neighborhood, as I am sure it is a problem in several other neighborhoods in this city. I am particularly distressed and concerned about its rapid growth on street up and on the corner from me. This problem is the use and sell of illegal drugs such as marijuana.

The sell and abuse of this drug is not an unreported occurrence, but its sell has been very hard to rid of, and each time I see the young men on the streets along side cars and smell of it on the street, I am reminded of what such habit cost someone I once knew.

The following narrative is based on a true event that happened more than thirty years ago and will take up a few entries over the next week or two. I have changed the names of those once involved and those still living. However, I feel strongly that this is a story that must be told because those who are selling illegal drugs today are no different from those who sold it thirty years ago. They neither care about the people they sell the drugs to, nor of the many lives that are either damaged or lost for their illicit profit. In addition, many are made victims of their illegal trafficking of these drugs and those who tried to rid of the drugs from the streets are victimized, but I am tired of being a victim. So, I write this in the hope that someone will help clear our streets outlawed business.

 As a former psychiatric nurse, I hope that after  read this narrative in its entirety that it is of help some readers to think twice before taken the illegal drug.  Just follow the entries below.

A Little Nickel Bag

A Little Nickel Bag

by

Evelyn F. Altheimer-Fain

 

That is how it started, just a little nickel bag of marijuana. She did not want to die. I do not believe that anyone who cannot kick the illegal drug habit ever wants to die of an overdose, but unfortunately it happen to her. She was barely twenty. All of us were very young back then, but she was always different. We (the ones she left behind) believed it was because she loved the wrong man. That is not news, and regrettably, what she did to keep his love cost her everything, including her life.

 

Out of respect for her families still living, I will name her Doris. She was a beautiful dark skinned Africa-American woman, barely in her twenties as were most of us. We loved her because she appeared to have it all together.

 

I cannot say that we were the best of friends because there was that bit of envy and rivalry that two women sometimes carry toward each other when both are young and attractive. We got alone simply because we did not let those emotions overwhelm us. Still, we were not the type of friends who went shopping together each week or sat watching the soaps. 

A Little Nickel Bag

A Little Nickel Bag entry 2

 

The drug abuse was not something that was immediate in her relationship with Carl (not his real name). The drugs in her life were something she got into because he was doing it, and since she loved him, she did as he did, and followed his into Hell.

 

Back then, illegal drug uses was not a new phenomenon, but it was not an open topic at the table. Fortunately, I was among one of the first groups of teens in my high school the get a formal anti-drug education that was thorough enough to open the eyes of any high school student of the late 60’s. 

 

When Doris came into my life, the drug scene was full with young people using, losing, and dying for it. There were various kinds of drugs with various names such as cocaine, heroin, Mescaline, crack , uppers, downers and  other acids, which I had heard about but do not remember their names. Nevertheless, it is thought that those who became addicted to harsher drugs started by smoking the subtle little plant marijuana.

 

To continue …

 

Evelyn out.

What A Week!

Hello Everyone,

Evelyn here,

and what a week, in deed.  I do not want anyone to think that once the JMT's concert at our parish was over that I stop my activities in any way. In truth, I have been very busy. The "Rite of Election" mass was held this past Sunday, which was the first Sunday of Lent and prior to it, I went the rehearsals for it.

We sang at 2 PM and 4 PM for all the new elects, and I want you to know that I was extremely excited and overjoyed about the hold thing because it was my first time singing at the St Jude, our cathethdel. One of our members recorded us and we sound like angels or at least I felt that we were the quality of professional singers that day.

Beginning March 19, 2006, we start again with rehearsal for the Chrism Mass, and I still sing the Contemporary choir and the Traditional choir at Blessed Trinity. So, for me it is rehearsal, rehearsal and more rehearsal without a complaint from me.

Although I am still dealing with some matters less than tasteful to my thinking, such as someone stopping into the far left lane on 34th street South after blindly pulling out in front of me, seeking the reimbursement for the overdraft from Enterprise, and keep less than stable persons out of my email, I am holding my own, and I believe God will see me through these trouble times. 

 

Lunch Break

Hello everyone, Evelyn here,

Yes, I here in the middle of the day.  Actually it's my lunch break and I drove home to check on the delivery of a package I have been expecting for a week now.  Not here but I expect it soon. 

I really want to say something about Spammers.  I have no idea how these guys get email addresses, but I was amazed that someone who I suspect was a spammers emailed mailed me about a propose deal, he claimed to be from Africa. However, I do not know or care if it was true. I spammed the email without reading any further.  I told some co-workers about the email and low and behold I hear on 90.5 Spirit FM radio news that someone claiming the be form South Africa was spamming and had spammed someone in California.

Though I did not read the entire email, felt fortunate to have spammed it.  nevertheless, now I have a someone sending me email that is dirt.  I spammed it also.

Be careful out there.

Evelyn out!

More on Domestic Violence's Ugly Face

Hello everyone,

Evelyn here,

Below is another letter to Dear Abby on the subject of domestic violence.   The letter points out that domestic violence is horrendous and demeaning act forced upon another person, and that thousands lose loved ones to this detestable act each year. The letter also subjects that domestic violence can be stopped by teens, but as it stand now, many teens are victims of physically, sexually or verbally abused and many know their abusers who sometimes gain the confidences of troubled teens by appears as a friend. 

To learn more about this horrendous act and how to end this ugly circle read the article below.

__________________________________________________________________

Breaking Cycle of Abuse Must Start with Our Youth

By Abigail Van Buren

 

Sun Feb 26, 8:17 PM ET

 

DEAR ABBY: Your recent letters regarding domestic violence bring important attention to the dangers of this problem. Unfortunately, every year thousands of Americans lose loved ones to this terrible epidemic, and most are left wondering what they could have done to prevent it.

 

Too often we assume that violence happens only to other people -- people of a different race or culture, people who live in a different community, or people in a different type of relationship. But domestic violence does not discriminate. It can touch everyone -- through friends, co-workers and family members who are suffering silently without our even knowing it. Many of us also know abusers -- people who may seem charming and likable on the surface but cause fear, self-doubt, pain, even death, to those they claim to love.

 

Recent studies show that as many as one-third of teens experience abuse in a dating relationship. And, more than half of teens say they know friends who have been physically,sexually or verbally abused. The need for early intervention to change these shocking statistics is clear.

 

We must reach out to youth and talk openly and often about these issues so we can help them to avoid the terrible sorrow felt by families and others who are victims of abuse. Each of us has the right to a safe and healthy relationship free from violence, coercion and fear. -- JESSICA ARONOFF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BREAK THE CYCLE

 

DEAR JESSICA: Thank you for an important letter. I hope it grabs the attention it deserves from teens and their parents. Your statement that as many as one-third of teenagers experience abuse in a dating relationship, and more than half of them have friends who have been physically, sexually or emotionally abused, will shock many people, I am sure.

 

Readers, Break the Cycle provides domestic violence education, information and help to students ages 12 to 24 throughout the country. It teaches what healthy relationships are and helps them to recognize the warning signs of abuse. Break the Cycle lets them know that help is available if they are suffering or in danger, and shows them that they deserve safe, supportive, non-violent relationships.

 

There are opportunities for interested people to help in this endeavor. To find out more about this worthwhile program, log onto www.breakthecycle.org, or call toll-free at 1-888-988-8336 (TEEN). I have supported Break the Cycle in the past, and continue to do so, because the earlier young people learn to differentiate between healthy relationships and obsessive, destructive ones, the healthier our society will be.

__________________________________________________________________

The link to this article can be found on today's Yahoo.com's Entertainment page.  Why place it on the entertainment page, I have no idea. However, domestic violence is in no way entertaining. 

What is the meaning of abuse?

Abuse means to inflict upon another an injury by the use of unreasonable confinement, intimidation, and/or cruel punishment, which often times result in physical harm and mental anguish. 

Furthermore, keep in mind that domestic violence is not limited to one adult upon another or an adult upon a child.  Because there is also a real life abuse called, Elderly Abuse, which is not always committed by a child upon his/her parent but by a care-giver, a family friend, a neighbor or a neighbor child.  This type of abuse often goes unnoticed and the victims' stories are usually discredited as being unbelievable because of the victims advance age to that of the abusers, and/or because of the victim supposed mental state, such as saying he/she is "senile".  However, many abused elderly suffer from the same feeling of shame and helplessness as the younger victims from the same degrading act of physically, sexually and/or verbally abused. 

Abuse of the elderly when reported must be taken as seriously as reports of child abuse.

Evelyn out.