My Proudest Moment in Journalism

I was a reporting intern at the Philadelphia Inquirer in June 1992, when a police shooting came over the police band radio one night. An officer had been shot in the West Philly. I grabbed the cell phone (remember the huge ones they had back then?), and a notepad, jumped into a company car, and drove straight over to the scene. When I got on the block I found the area around a private home in the middle of the block cordoned off, and police swarming all over. There was a bus parked just a few feet away from the house.

When I finally got to speak to a police spokesperson, I was told that two police officers were responding to a call, and knocked on the door of the now cordoned-off house. An unidentified man came to the door with a gun and shot one of the officers. The fallen officer’s partner managed to pull him away from the house and called for backup.

Duck Dynasty . . . Yeah, Canning is the Right Thing to Do!

I think A&E is right to can Robertson, the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan.

But then again, I'm one of the people who think if people make derogatory racial comments they should be canned. 

Yes, these people have protection under the First Amendment, but the issue here is that people who have national media exposure -- like a TV show -- have a social responsibility; because, rightly or wrongly, they become role models. 

Just like children are swayed toward toys based on whether they like the commercials promoting them, people are often swayed when forming opinions based on television shows they watch.

Here's The Real Deal . . .

You might not want to hear it, but here's the real deal . . . If you don't like men who physically abuse women, stop telling your son it's okay to hit a little girl if she's bothering him.

Choosing To Be Happy!

I was halfway to New York City when I found out my book meeting had been canceled due to a scheduling conflict. I admit, I was a little bit more than slightly upset because I had already been on the road for one hour, and it would take me another hour to get back home … But after returning home, I decided THIS will be my disposition for the rest of the day! 

 Isn't it cool that you can sometimes actually pick out your disposition? <smile>

 Heck, life is not just good . . . it's fun!

Here's The Real Deal . . .

How can you think it's cool when he calls you his bitch, but then get upset when he treats you like a dog?

The Freedom Riders of the 1960s - Do You Know Who They Are?

The bravest group of people in the 20th century were the Freedom Riders. These young people -- black and white -- risked their life and freedom when they decided to board buses from the North to help end segregation in the South.

Many wound up in prison. Quite a number of them were physically attacked.  A few of them were killed.


And they knew before they boarded those buses the possible fates they lay ahead.

And still they boarded.

I'm so happy!!! And I want to share!!!!
So, y'all know I've been dealing with multiple sclerosis, right? There's even been times I've had to use a wheelchair.
But I've been feeling so great lately that I've decided to start working out again!!!!
I'm renewing my gym membership next week!!!!!

Here's The Real Deal . . .

Official notice: If you keep pissing me off, I am putting your ass in my next book. And let's just say it will not be a flattering portrayal!

Twelve Years A Slave -- One More Reason To Watch The Movie or Read The Book!

Earlier today an author friend of mine -- Mister Mann Frisby -- made a posting on his FB page responding to people who have been saying they are sick and tired of books and movies about slaver narratives and slavery. 
In his response Mister said, something to the effect, that those people ran the risk of their children not learning their history. 

I thought about that post when I saw the photo below that a young woman posted on her FB page.

 


 She obviously thought it was funny . . . but it made me wonder if her parents took the time to make sure she knew her history? I doubt it, because I don't think any young African-American woman -- who knew the history of Blacks in the United States -- would think it was funny to pose for a picture showing a noose being placed over her head by young white people. 

So Glad I Can Cook!!!!!!!!

Spareribs, collard greens and potato salad… If I had went out and bought a dinner of this size it would have cost me about $12. Because I made it myself… the cost was about $4.50. 

 

God, I so love the fact that I know how to cook!

So Glad I Can Cook!

Dinner! I am so glad I know how to cook! 

 













Oxtails, yellow rice, and black beans!

Diversity and Tears

I hate that I'm so damn sensitive. 
I'm sitting here actually crying because a nationally known writer's conference, which I have always respected, seems intent on putting on a white face. In the press releases that they put out -- year after year -- mentioning their past speakers, they're all white.
ALL WHITE.
No African-Americans, no Latinos, no Asians.
And the things is they HAVE had a few well-known African-Americans, a some more well-known then the ones they mention in the press releases.
And then I started thinking about the African-Americans, Asians, and Latino authors who live in the area this conference supposedly represents, who have never been approached about being a speaker. And I'm getting ill about it!!!!
Diversity is so important, and something -- that as a writer -- I've always tried to promote. I really believe as writers, we can help promote diversity amongst others. We do have the power to influence through the use of our pen. But we've got to get it together amongst ourselves!!!!
Please, understand, I'm not crying because I want to be a speaker at the conference . . . I was actually a speaker a few years back . . . I'm crying because there is a writers organization I respected that I now suspect may not deserve that respect.
And I'm so upset I'm crying.

Reason #2,487,897 that I love my brother, Joe Quinones

My husband and I divorced when my daughter, Camille R. Quinones Miller, was only 4 months old, and her father -- by his own choice -- had little to do with her growing up. 

 

However, my brother stepped in and was like a father to her. 

Recently my daughter shared with me that she would have dropped out of college if it wasn't for my brother. 

"Mom," she explained, "I knew I'd be able to handle you, but I just didn't want to disappoint Uncle Joe."
And THAT is the difference having a strong male role model can make in a little girl's life.

 

 

Here's The Real Deal . . .

It's okay to offer criticism if your intention is to be helpful. But if you only criticize when there is an audience to applaud and snicker...For shame!!

Texted or Texted . . . how should the word be pronounced?

Texted or Texted . . . that is the question. 
Whether tis Nobler to the ear to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of insecure people
Or to take courage and correctly pronounce the word with two syllables.
 Text - ted. Not Texttttttt. 

Look.  I grew up in the sixties and seventies, and back then "text" was a noun, and never a verb. Like "desk," "text" was always a thing, never an action.

It was only in the late 90's that all of a sudden text went from words on a document to something people do on a cell phone.

As a noun, we never had to worry about past tense. What is the past tense of "desk," after all? But since "text" is now not only a noun, but also a verb, the pronunciation of the past tense "texted" suddenly became an issue.

For years I avoided speaking outloud the past tense of the verb so that I wouldn't have to publicly face the dilemma. Every part of my being wanted to use the two-syllable pronunciation, but the first time I said it out loud a family member looked at me and said, "That sounds so ignorant. If you know better than to say 'like-ted,' why would you think it's okay to 'text-ted,' Karen?"

That did serve to give me pause. For quite a while I mentally rephrased my statements before speaking aloud so as not to commit a grammatical faux pas. If I wanted to say "I texted my daughter and asked her to stop by," I would instead say "I just shot my daughter a quick text and asked her to stop by." 

I didn't want people to think that if I thought "texted" was pronounced "text-ted" I also thought that "liked" was pronounced "like-ted."

But the more I thought about it, the more I rejected the "like-ted/text-ted" argument. And I wanna kick myself for ever having accepted it in the first place.

The reason it's wrong to pronounced liked "like-ted" or looked "look-ted" is because it's simply the wrong pronunciation! The past tense for words that end in the "k" sound is to add a "t" sound to the end of the word. Hiked is pronounced "hikedt" not "hike-ted" just like booked is pronounced "bookt" and not "book-ted." Following that rule, liked and looked would have a one-syllable pronounciation, also. To pronounce any other way is incorrect.

On the other hand, words that end with a "st" sound or made past tense by adding a "ted" to the end of the word. Rested is pronounced "rest-ted" not "restt," and nested is pronounced "nest-ted" not "nestt," bested is pronounced "best-ted."

In fact, MANY (not all, but many) words that end with "t" need to have "ted" tacked on to make the change to past tense. Bat becomes "bat-ted," chat becomes "chat-ted," and part becomes "part-ted." But again, ALL words that end with a "st" sound need that second syllable to become past tense.

"Text" ends with a "kst" sound. I offer that AT BEST the pronunciation is up for grabs, but I believe the correct pronunciation is "text-ted" -- following the "st" rule rather than the "k" rule.

So I finally took a deep breath and announced -- in a room full of people -- that "I just 'text-ted' my nephew and told him to pick up some ice cream to go with the cake." I gave a furtive glance over the crowd to see if anyone had that "I thought she was more intelligent," expression on their face. No one did.

BUT! BUT! BUT . . . someone did say, I've always wondered what the correct pronunciation should be. Text or texted.

I gladly spelled out my reasoning, and almost everyone in the room agreed with me upon hearing it. Many even seem relieved to have the, largely unspoken, argument settled once and for all.

However, one person piped up, "I'm sorry. If we all know it's ignorant for people say 'look-ted' it's ignorant to say 'text-ted.'"

I didn't bother to point out again that 'look-ted' is incorrect, but to say 'text-ted' is no more ignorant than it would be say 'rest-ted.' I just gave her an up and down look, then smiled and plastered a "I thought she was more intelligent that," expression on my face and changed the subject.

I can't wait for technology to come up with a way to make "next" a verb!


(okay . . . I just found out that howjsay.com, which is a free online talking dictionary of English pronunciation, says it with two syllables. You can go to www.howjsay.com to see yourself!)