Dinner With the Sistas

Work started off slow...that always worries me. I was coming out of the kitchen when a woman in  the lobby  threw up her arm and waved at me. I didn't have a pair of binoculars on me so I simply smiled and waved to some random out of focus woman. When I got to the lobby I was delighted to see it was one of The Lennon Sisters...aka The Taylor Sisters. I grew up with  this woman and her three sisters in East Point Christian Church. Every one of them is a song bird. I spent many a weekend at their house, all of us in their basement with one sister banging away on  the piano and all of us singing our hearts out.

Did you ever see  The Andy Griffith episode when Barney was the worst singer in the church choir? Well that was me, but they let me sing with them and even taught me how to sing the Alto parts. (I was DEFINITELY not a soprano)

Their mother had been best friends with my own momma when they were young women and lived together with my grand mother near Grant Park in Atlanta. My grand mother (who we called Mema) loved their mother just like a daughter. She even had this portrait of their mother on her dining room wall.

The photo below is their mom in my own momma's wedding. She is the one with her hand on my momma's arm.

Her portrait hung right beside this portrait of my own momma...

 They were 1940's "BFFL's"

It's crazy, all four sisters look like carbon copies of their mother. The sista closest to my age even went on vacation with us when we were teens.

We had to seat them in a back room of the restaurant because I know how they get when they are all together and "I" am their server....it's a "Loud Fest." They are still close to each other and the memories we recall could literally take months.

They left me my best tip of the night...financially, mentally and emotionally! We laughed, we gossiped (my bad) and we "Remember the time when..."

Make new friends but keep  the old. One is silver and the other is gold.

What makes that even more true is all of us are approaching our golden years. To me golden years aren't my nineties when (if I make it that far)  will be most probably be a burden to my kids. My golden years are NOW.

I have married. I have three kids and all survived having me as a momma. We hit a bad patch but by  The Grace of God and many others we survived.

I'd say on a scale of one to ten, we're back up to a seven (and that's no easy feat in this economy).

These girls read my blog. These girls know what I have been through. These girls may not agree with all my opinions but these girls love me...and I love them right back! The thing we DO agree on is the most important: "We are friends and love each other."

My grandmother and momma used to say "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar."

Love is an awesome thing to experience. Hate never has a happy ending.

You  can disagree with someone but not hate them. You can be different and that's okay too.

What's truly important to me is the worth of the life YOU are living. It may be a poor life, it may be a modest one or it may be a fabulous one.

Are you loving people every day? Are you judging people every day or accepting to the fact they may think and feel differently but still are wonderful human beings worthy of your love and support?

I love democrats, I love republicans. I love Americans and I love foreigners. I love Christians and I love Muslims.

Let me rephrase and condense:  "I love people. Some more than others. If you are a good person, I don't care what your affiliations or views are. If you  are a good person, you live your life right and don't shovel out hate at others...ANY others."

Life is short...way too short for all this hate. Way too short for peeps to be gunning down complete strangers in a theatre or Sikh Temple or even on a battlefield.

I think The Youngbloods said it almost perfect decades ago...

"Fear's the way we die
You can make the mountains ring
Or make the angels cry
Though the bird is on the wing
And you may not know why
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
Some may come and some may go
We shall surely pass
When the one that left us here
Returns for us at last
We are but a moment's sunlight
Fading in the grass
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
If you hear the song I sing
You will understand (listen!)
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It's there at you command
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now."

I thought about leaving out the oft repeated refrain...but you can't skip over the most important part. They are repeating it for a reason.

Nuff said...COTTON