Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn, Illinois are two SW Chicago suburbs to be wary of when you're driving while black.

      Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn, Illinois are two Chicago suburbs that are located on the SW part of the city. When I was a kid growing up in Chicago, they were predominately areas populated with Caucasians.. These two suburbs have been notorious for stopping African Americans passing through or visiting the many places of interest in the areas. When I was a senior in high school in the 70's and 80's, my male friends would tell me stories about being stopped by police in both areas. They were sometimes stopped for traffic violations, but they were mostly stopped for other reasons.

   They told me that they were often questioned why were they there in the area. Their cars were searched for drugs and weapons. They were told that they were being watched and that they were not welcome. I listened to the stories, but couldn't relate to them because I wasn't driving at the time. My parents didn't go to those areas too often. I did notice that my father didn't venture too much to Evergreen Park He would go the Evergreen Plaza which was just a few block from the Chicago-Evergreen Park border.

   When he drove us to Oak Lawn, he would not go through Evergreen Park to get there. He would go around. I didn't have any idea how bad it was to drive in those areas until 1990. I was stopped on several occasions in Evergreen Park for various reasons. Mostly to see where was I going. In the process of being stopped, I was asked by policemen to produce my license, proof of insurance and registration. All of those items were usually up to date, so I was allowed to move on.

    Over the years, I began to see that driving in these areas were problematic. So, I would often take public transportation to Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn. African American men would talk about avoiding these areas when driving. They would say that Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn were some of the worst areas for black people to travel by car.

   I remember the time when a Oak Lawn detective ran my license plates while I was getting gas in a Oak Lawn gas station. I remember the time an Oak Lawn patrol car followed me and my family for four blocks. I realized that as an African American, I had to be on my p's and q's when driving in those areas. I am a forgiving person, so I hope that the law enforcement personnel and the administrators of Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn will lay off of African American drivers.

Some preachers are excellent motivational speakers - Are they called by god to be a blessing to people or are they slick oppurtunist?

 

 

 

 

   Joel Olsteen, T.D. Jakes, Bill Winston and the Preachers of LA are just some of the men that bring words of hope, peace and prosperity to many people all over the world. There is no question that these individuals have the gift of gab. The question is, whether these men are called by God or just  men who are opportunist. Now, when I say this, I am looking at this realistically.

 

   We live in a time where there are many people who claim to exist for the purpose of being a blessing to others. In reality, they are people who put up "fronts" for the purpose of benefiting themselves. American Greed is a program that highlights people who are con men and women. These people use the assets of others to live fabulous lifestyles.

 

   I was a musician for over 30 years. In that time, I spent much of it playing for many churches. I was around many preachers. All of them at one point in time or another asked for money. One pastor I had encountered not only asked members of the congregation for money, but their food stamps. The money and food stamps were to be used for the benefit of the church. I had no way of knowing if the money and food stamps were really used for that purpose. 

 

   In the case of the preachers I mentioned earlier, they ask for financial help from people all over the world. These preachers have huge churches, congregations, nice personal vehicles, clothes, homes and large bank accounts. If my memory and knowledge serve me correctly, Jesus went around the known world in secret preaching the Gospel. He didn't have fine clothes. He didn't travel in style. He certainly didn't posses vast sums of money.

 

   So, are these preachers with television programs and mega churches "for real"? Can they be trusted? Or are they just like the people featured on American Greed who prey on the weaknesses of others? I am a trusting person by nature, but I can't help but wonder about these so called" men of God". I probably would feel better if they didn't have so many assets.

 

   I will be examining each of the preachers I mentioned in this piece in later works. So, stay tuned.



 

Tammy (Love and Hip Hop Atlanta - Is she a loving and devoted wife or a woman with a mad master pan?

   Tammy the wife of rapper Waka Flocka is in the driver's seat. Waka Flocka has put a ring of it. She has even convinced him to seek help at a fertility clinic so the couple can have a baby together. At first, Waka was not receptive to the idea that he and Tammy would need the help of a fertility doctor. You can't blame him, I wouldn't be receptive to a quack administering test on me and telling me that I have a "man' problem either. It was determined that Waka did have a problem.
  
    Tammy seemed determined to rectify the problem Women are funny sometimes. They know that a man who is "sprung" on their goodies would do any thing the ask them to do. Tammy is a lovely lady and seems to be a nice person (the father of her first child was an idiot to let her go). Only time will tell if she is a loving and devoted wife or a woman with a mad master plan. One thing is for certain, Tammy is in control. A long as Waka likes it, I love it.

Class of the boss b _ _ _ _ _ s – Diamond and Nyemiah (Sisterhood of Hip Hop). ATL vs. NY.

 
                                                                                                                            

                  



                                                                                                     
   Some women know that don’t need to be in the same room. Nyemiah and Diamond from Sisterhood of Hip Hop just met and bumped heads. MC Siya introduced Diamond and Nyemiah in a studio while Nyemiah was working on a song. Diamond became upset after Nyemiah made a comment regarding her former group crime mob.  A performer must learn to take the bad with the good. Nyemiah is a New Yorker. New Yorkers are notorious for stating their opinion. Sometimes their opinions come off as demaning or arrogant.

     Diamond is going to have to realize that she is not in ATL, but the NY.  Crime mob is the past.  Nyemiah reached out to Diamond, but Diamond spit in her face. She stood Nyemiah up at Delmonico’s (maybe she should have asked Diamond to meet her at a rib shack) and didn’t call or text. Diamond was too busy getting drunk with Miami rapper Brianna Perry and her friend Ricky and talking bad about Mc Nyemiah. Clearly these two women are at odds over trivial matters. ATL vs. NY. I wonder who will win.

 

Blu (Jonica Booth – Bad Girls Club of Chicago,the philosophical leader of the house.

  

    Blu is the member of the Bad girls of Club that does a great Erykah Badu impression (the hair). She is also the house leader. I haven’t said much about Blu for the simple fact that there is not much to tell. She is not a Tiana or Valentina. In fact she is the opposite of those Bad Girls. Blu is not exciting. She does not have a fiery attitude. She does not fight.

    She is a philosopher. She is a lesbian. She is boring. I thought the show was called the Bad Girls Club not the Philosophers’ Club. I like to see lights, camera and action. The Bad Girls Club of Chicago in mostly talk, talk, talk. When I first saw Blu and heard her speak, I said to myself,” that girl must’ve studied psychology or sociology “. I looked  Blu up on the internet and found out that she has a degree in that field.

   There is nothing wrong with going to college and obtaining a degree. I guess Blu wanted to get nf the Bad Girls Club to" jump start" her career. Young people today want to follow the quickest route to success. Blu is not a bad girl. I want to see some more Valentina’s and Tiana’s entering the house with the pink heart and a devil’s tale.