Today Is My Birthday and ...

During my 53 years…

Eleven Presidents have occupied the White House
The U. S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools
My Momma and I were put off a train and forced to walk in the dark back to the train station during segregation of public transportation
I drank from water fountains marked “Colored” and bought food out of the back kitchen door of White-owned restaurants
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated
2 men molested me when I was eleven
Malcolm X was assassinated
A war raged in Vietnam
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a Dream” speech
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated
The NC National Guard peppered Scott Hall with bullets during student unrest at NC A & T State University in Greensboro, NC
Rioting began between patrons and police at Stonewall Inn in NYC
I survived a lot of nasty tasting home remedies for colds, and anything else that ails ya
I was the first Black student from my hometown (and all Black high school) admitted to Duke University (it was a big deal back then)
I was first in my family to join a Black Fraternity
I was the first in my family to get a graduate degree
I have owned 17 cars and 2 motorcycles
Ken Reeves, the first openly gay African American City Council member, was elected mayor of Cambridge by his fellow City Councilors.
I began a weblog that discusses many issues including gay issues but mainly to begin a journey
I lost someone very close to me to AIDS
I have worked enough years that I can retire at any time from my job
I lost 62 lbs. in the last year through diet and exercise (and Hell no, I ain’t sick)
I have met many good bloggers online and/or in person – yo Rashid, no4real4real, jerzeefinest, chosen brotha, Torrid Wind, Keith Boykin, Tim’m West, and all the other great ones!

So since I was born 8/17/1952, that makes me…
35 years 9 months younger than Walter Cronkite, age 88
31 years 1 month younger than Nancy Reagan, age 84
28 years 2 months younger than George Herbert Bush, age 81
20 years 11 months younger than Barbara Walters, age 73
18 years 9 months younger than Larry King, age 71
12 years 6 months younger than Ted Koppel, age 65
9 years 1 month younger than Geraldo Rivera, age 6
26 years 1 month younger than George W. Bush, age 59
1 year 1 month younger than Jesse Ventura, age 54
3 years 2 months older than Bill Gates, age 49
8 years 0 months older than Cal Ripken Jr., age 44
13 years 10 months older than Mike Tyson, age 39
17 years 11 months older than Jennifer Lopez, age 35
23 years 4 months older than Tiger Woods, age 29
29 years 10 months older than Prince William, age 23

and I was:
49 years old at the time of the 9-11 attack on America
47 years old on the first day of Y2K
45 years old when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash
42 years old at the time of Oklahoma City bombing
41 years old when O. J. Simpson was charged with murder
40 years old at the time of the 93 bombing of the World Trade Center
38 years old when Operation Desert Storm began
37 years old during the fall of the Berlin Wall
33 years old when the space shuttle Challenger exploded
31 years old when Apple introduced the Macintosh
30 years old during Sally Ride's travel in space2
8 years old when Pres. Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.
27 years old at the time the Iran hostage crisis began2
3 years old on the U.S.'s bicentennial Fourth of July
21 years old when President Nixon left office
19 years old when Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot
16 years old at the time the first man stepped on the moon
15 years old when Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated
12 years old during the Watts riot
11 years old at the time President Kennedy was assassinated
7 years old when Hawaii was admitted as 50th of the United States
5 years old when the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 was launched
not yet 1 year old at the end of the Korean War

I am humbly grateful to all of you who read this blog and who take time to offer your take on my evolutionary journey. Shem hotep!