Libra Girl! Born on October 21. I was born on a Sunday and I have been in love with my God ever since that day. I love life and all the beauty that surrounds it. I absolutely adore Autumn! I love all the colors of Autumn. And, I love the color green! Green signifies Life! To me, the color green signifies a lushful, prosperous life.

I love all things beautiful. My home! My car! My clothes! Everything!!! Libras love beauty! And, in the very midst of all the beautifulness, you will find my heart - my family - my beautiful husband, my beautiful children children, my beautiful grandchildren. My beautiful friends.

Yes, today is my day! The day I've been waiting all year for! Not for gifts. But to be able to look back and reflect on years gone by. To look back and reflect on how far I've come... how much I have grown as an individual. Birthdays are blessings not to be taken lightly. No one but God knows which birthday will be your last.

I share these thoughts hoping that someone will cherish birthdays as much as I do. Ravel in God's magnificent gift. When my girls were little I taught them how important birthdays are. I taught them to never let a birthday go by without blowing out a candle - eat a slice of birthday cake - even if you are alone. Count your blessing and always thank God - For as we all know...

Yesterday is the past - Tomorrow is the future - but Today is my Present! Today is my Birthday!

Little plastic bags shaped like cylinders
strewn about the halls

Strong orders wafting from the elevators

Needles laying blatantly about

I live here...

Graffiti on the walls

Bodegas on the corners

Ah man! They fightin' again!

I live here...

Winos staggering

Junkies nodding

I live here...

Y'all seen Billy?

Man, they found Billy dead in that empty building!

I live here...

A little girl's dreams -

Double Dutch and Bazooka!

Best "Crack Top" player in the neighborhood!

I live here...

*Hey! Wanna play crack top?

*Man! Shoot! I'll crack your top in half!

*OH SNAP!

I live here...

Water balloon fights and Mister Softee -

It didn't matter where you were or what you were doing at the time you hear that magical melody of the ice cream truck -

It was the "pied piper" of the neighborhood - a "cease and desist" of all current activity in order to fight your way to the front of the ice cream line. That is assuming you had your 25 cents!

When I indulge myself in childhood memories I take delight fire hydrant shootings and running for dear life to escape the repercussions for soaking adults and their jazzy convertibles! A simple can with both ends removed allowed you to move water in any direction while simultaneously controlling the pressure! Ingenious!

And, I would be remiss if not disrespectful for not giving mention to SCULLY! Yes! Second only to Crack Top! I swear my knees and elbows are black to this day from that game!

Yes! I live here!

And last - with honorable mention! Ghetto Acrobats!

Old discarded mattress piled as high as we could! Jumping and flipping as only little kids can.

I remember hearing my mother yell my name loud enough for the entire neighborhood -

Yeah, little did I know that several stories up she watched her little angel unlash the foulest mouth on the block!

As I exchanged profanities with whom I perceived to be a threat to my "street cred," I felt fully vindicated. No one is gonna get away with pushing me and taking my spot!

That was the day I had the cleanest mouth in the neighborhood!

Yep! I live here!

Public humiliation - my mother actually washed my mouth with a bar of soap and left the front door open as she did it!

We all come from different walks of life and I cherish my memories good and not so good. They keep me grounded -

And if by chance you are a "refugee," former hood rat or ghetto bunny, then you know that profanity is an art form cultivated by and reserved for hood life; so even as our zip codes change, most of us remain bi-lingual as we hold on to the little secret place the keeps it real.

Always remember where you came from...

Have you ever been asked this question? Have you ever really thought about it? How many of us go through life day to day just trying to make it through? How many of us paint a picture in our minds of an alternate world where everything is picture perfect, when in reality life IS that "box of chocolates"? That delightful little box that we know contains a few pieces that we are allergic to... or, that we just don't like.

If you know me then you know I am a chocoholic! I love good, rich, dark chocolate. Often times I will visit a "Godiva" store and custom choose each and every delectable little piece. Other times someone will "gift" me a box. And therein lays my dilemma.

Am I unappreciative for spitting out the chocolates that taste awful to me? Should I eat each and every piece because it was a gift? Should I just pass the entire box on... you know, regift? Just as in life, what would make me happy? What would I be comfortable with? Do I choose comfort over happy or happy over comfort?

Do we just "exist"? Simply going through the day to day motions. Or... Do we live! Knowing that in today's world any day can be our last day. I choose HAPPY! I choose to search for HAPPY... CHASE HAPPY... LOVE HAPPY. I choose to let it be known what makes me happy. And I choose to let it be known what makes me unhappy. Because only then will I be happy and not just "comfortable!"

"HAPPY" is as "HAPPY" does!