I have had a very pivotal year this year. Not that major life changing events have happened in my life, but I have seen things happen around me. A number of folks I know have had babies in the past couple years but a few months ago, I learned that my best friend is pregnant. We have been friends for 22 years now. As an only child I have the gift to be able to choose the people I get to think of as sisters, and she is about the closest thing to a sister I will have. So, in spring next year, I will become an aunt!
On an opposite note however, I have seen the family of some good friends struck with some unbelievable tragedy. A friend of mine from graduate school was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 29, a few months after we graduated and a week after she married another classmate of ours. In May, 3 years after a great 35th birthday celebration at her parent's home in NC, five and a half years after she was diagnosed, she lost her fight with this disease. I have been meeting to write about her, her wonderful spirit, and the joy with which she embraced life for months now. And I will do so soon.
But tonight I wanted to write about another friend of mine, who I mentioned in an earlier post. Ryan was living his dream, getting the recognition he deserved and being able to earn a living pursuing his passion --- opera singing. Ryan attended Morehouse University as a voice major and was a proud member of the Morehouse Glee Club. After graduation he went on to pursue a masters degree at Ohio University. But after school he struggled to earn a living singing. He secured a few regular paying gigs, including parts with the Atlanta Opera and as a featured tenor with a church in the area. But after numerous rejections, he started to give up on his dream. In a last attempt, he decided to audition for the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artist competition, a yearly competition that whittles down approximately 11,000 applicants into the 6 most promising young singers in the industry. The cut off age for the competition is 30 and this was Ryan's last year of eligibility. And in 2007, at age 30, Ryan became one of the winners of this pretigious competition. As a winner, he finally started getting recognition for he talent. He performed in a couple Met performances. He won an internship to the Summer Opera program in Sante Fe, New Mexico, something analygous to Summer Stock for opera singers. Agents were starting to take notice of him. He won a position this year as an ensemble member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and started in the cast in April of this year. As an ensemble member with a regular salary, he was finally able to make a living solely from pursuing his passion and also given regular opportunity to audition for larger roles in Opera performances.
Unfortunately, Ryan was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late March of this year and started going through treatment while in Chicago. Initial accounts were encouraging. Burkitt's Lymphona is considered one of the more treatable forms of cancer and he was expected to recover quickly and be back to singing at the Opera. He went through 2 rounds of chemo and was back at home recuperating and started attending rehearsals again. Then, he got an infection and had to return to the hospital since his immune system was so compromised from the chemo. He did not end up leaving.... At first, I would talk to him pretty regularly on the phone. And then, the calls became less frequent. Me and his best friend discussed going to visit him. We were not able to go the same week, so he and some other friends went up one weekend and I went up the next. I am not really sure what I expected when I got there but I have to say that I was startled when I first saw him in the hospital.
Honestly, I could have walked by him 5 times and not known it was him if he hadn't opened his mouth! Ryan had been working out and losing weight before he went off to Chicago but he had probable lost another 50 pounds since then. Also, apparently, an affect of chemotherapy can be the darkening of skin because he was probably 4 shades darker than he used to be. Also, the shape of his face and facial features had totally changed. He had very little soft tissue on his face so his nose was even shaped differently. His teeth had an orangish hue from the medecine he had been taking. It was startling. But he was the same Ryan. I sat there with him and his family all day. He dosed in and out and we watched the documentary from his MET competition. To see and hear him perform was amazing! It was just beautiful! Such a gift! And to be watching it in him hotel room was particularly poignant. We all teared up..... It was hard to know what to do other than just be there. His parents were upset by the latest discussions with the doctors which seemed to not give them much hope. They had started trying to sneak herbal therapies into his room. A friend from NY had sent a reiki therapist over to do a treatment on him. I came back to see him the next morning on my way to the airport.
Three days later, on my birthday, I heard that the doctors had reported that his tumor has shrunk 40% so they were encouraged and were going to try to boost up his immune system for another round of chemo. It never happened. Ryan died a few weeks later. It was awful...... so much promise unrealized..... so young, only 32......
With all these tragedies happening amongst my peers, it has really gotten me thinking about my age. For me, there is not really anyone around generationally older than my parents. Death is a much closer reality for me now after this year. I reflect on what I have accomplished in my life and I don't really have regrets. I have had some great experiences, wonderful friends and learned a lot from the challenges I have worked through. I have not yet found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with and have children with but I understand that this is something that cannot be rushed. I don't particularly feel anxious about it personally. But what I am starting to comtemplate is that I really want to give my parents the experience of seeing me married and meeting their first grandchild. I know two friends whose mothers died right before they gave birth to their first child. So it is not for me that I feel anxious, but for my parents. However, my parents are not the kind to pressure me about these types of things and I know that they would not want me to rush into something that was not fulfilling for them. So, I will just concentrate in enjoying all my moments, my experiences with the people I love, searching for other fulfilling connections with new people and not taking any of it for granted!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Today's hip hop
There are very few instances these days that I am impressed by the lyrics in today's popular music. There are very few poets, especially in hip hop music, and very few fully crafted thoughts and images that get portrayed lyrically with any type of skill.
So eventhough, he doesn't make the "h" silent when he says it, I would like to pay homage to T.I.'s lyrics in the song, Live Your Life. Now, he is not talking about curing world hunger or anything, but I applaud his word play!
Here is one of my favorite parts....
" I got love for the game but ay I’m not in love with all of it.
Could do without the fame and the rappers nowadays are comedy.
The hootin’ and the hollerin’, back and forth with the arguing.
Where you from, who you know, what you make and what kind of car you in.
Seems as though you lost sight of whats important when depositin
them checks into your bank account, and you’re up out poverty.
Your values is a disarray, prioritizing horribly.
Unhappy with the riches cause you piss-poor morally.
Ignoring all prior advice and fore warning.
And we mighty full of ourselves all of a sudden aren’t we?"
So eventhough, he doesn't make the "h" silent when he says it, I would like to pay homage to T.I.'s lyrics in the song, Live Your Life. Now, he is not talking about curing world hunger or anything, but I applaud his word play!
Here is one of my favorite parts....
" I got love for the game but ay I’m not in love with all of it.
Could do without the fame and the rappers nowadays are comedy.
The hootin’ and the hollerin’, back and forth with the arguing.
Where you from, who you know, what you make and what kind of car you in.
Seems as though you lost sight of whats important when depositin
them checks into your bank account, and you’re up out poverty.
Your values is a disarray, prioritizing horribly.
Unhappy with the riches cause you piss-poor morally.
Ignoring all prior advice and fore warning.
And we mighty full of ourselves all of a sudden aren’t we?"
On my daily commute this morning.....
People are a trip....
This morning, while I was driving to work this woman honked at me because I didn't let her in front on me when and where she wanted to be let in! Mind you, we were on a street where there was no one in front of her, no one behind me, and she was at least 2000 ft from the place where she was going to turn right.
Where does this sense of entitlement come from?? These people need to be put on the streets in a real city. Then they would learn to drive!
This morning, while I was driving to work this woman honked at me because I didn't let her in front on me when and where she wanted to be let in! Mind you, we were on a street where there was no one in front of her, no one behind me, and she was at least 2000 ft from the place where she was going to turn right.
Where does this sense of entitlement come from?? These people need to be put on the streets in a real city. Then they would learn to drive!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
My friend Ryan......
Here is the obituary of my friend..... (I am really too young to be saying something like that!)
*****************************************
Ryan Smith, 31, sang with Morehouse, Met
By KIRSTEN TAGAMI
Saturday, November 15, 2008
After years of setbacks and struggles, Ryan Smith fulfilled a dream this past spring. He sang on stage at the Metropolitan Opera, playing the minor role of Don Ricardo in the rarely performed Verdi opera “Ernani.”
Not long ago, Mr. Smith, formerly of Decatur, was working in a Lithonia video game store and had given up his unlikely goal of becoming an opera singer.
Friends prodded him to get back to singing and auditioning. He did, and was a national winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera Auditions — leading to stage roles, interest from talent agents, and a prominent part in an upcoming documentary about the Met auditions.
Mr. Smith, 31, died Wednesday of lymphoma at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where he was a first-year ensemble member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s prestigious artist development program. His family plans a private funeral in Los Angeles, where he grew up. There also will be a memorial service at 3 p.m. November 30 at First Presbyterian Church.
In the opera world, Mr. Smith was an up-and-coming talent to watch, said Dennis Hanthorn, general director of the Atlanta Opera, where Mr. Smith portrayed Camp Williams in “Cold Sassy Tree,” last February.
“He would have been one of the leading lyric tenors in the next five years,” Mr. Hanthorn predicted. “He would have been performing all over North America and Europe.”
Mr. Smith was from South-Central Los Angeles and sang in his church and school. A career in the opera never occurred to him until he won a scholarship to the Aspen Music Festival at age 17.
There, he was moved to tears by a performance of “Che Galida Manina,” a famous romantic aria from “La Boheme.” Mr. Smith went on to study music at Morehouse College and was featured in performances by the famous Morehouse Glee Club. He earned a master’s in music at Ohio University.
Mr. Smith returned to Atlanta but was stymied on the audition circuit. After being told at one tryout that he was “too fat,” he vowed to give up singing. He took the video store job and spent the next three years in a funk, he told the AJC.
It wasn’t until friends pressured him to return to singing that he began to practice for the Met auditions — opera’s version of “American Idol.” He made it to the regional finals in 2006 and won the nationals in 2007.
Chosen as an understudy for the Met’s production of “Ernani,” he won the role when the singer had to drop out. “It was great. It came out of the blue,” he told the AJC. “I started break dancing.”
Shortly before his Met debut in March, Mr. Smith began feeling extremely tired, said his father Paul Smith of Los Angeles. “He would perform and then go back to his apartment and sleep all day,” he said.
Doctors later confirmed the diagnosis of lymphoma, said his father, who described seeing his son on stage at the Met as one of the most rewarding moments of his life.
“Many opera singers can be heard to say, ‘My dream is to sing at the Metropolitan Opera.’ Ryan accomplished that goal in a very short time — through disappointment and joy, through hard work, and belief in his gifts,” said Walter Huff, chorus master for the Atlanta Opera and a voice coach to Mr. Smith.
“But just as important were his personal gifts of humility, kindness and a down-to-earth genuineness that made you root for him on stage, even before he began to sing,” he said.
Other survivors are his mother Renee Smith and sister Nya Assis, both of Los Angeles.
*******************************************
Ryan is featured in a documentary that was produced chronicling the 2007 Metropolitan Opera Auditions called "The Audition" by Susan Froemke, which premiered at the Tokyo Film Festival in October. The film is planned to be shown stateside in spring of 2009. Check out a link to a clip on the Met website.
Also see the press release issued by the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
*****************************************
Ryan Smith, 31, sang with Morehouse, Met
By KIRSTEN TAGAMI
Saturday, November 15, 2008
After years of setbacks and struggles, Ryan Smith fulfilled a dream this past spring. He sang on stage at the Metropolitan Opera, playing the minor role of Don Ricardo in the rarely performed Verdi opera “Ernani.”
Not long ago, Mr. Smith, formerly of Decatur, was working in a Lithonia video game store and had given up his unlikely goal of becoming an opera singer.
Friends prodded him to get back to singing and auditioning. He did, and was a national winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera Auditions — leading to stage roles, interest from talent agents, and a prominent part in an upcoming documentary about the Met auditions.
Mr. Smith, 31, died Wednesday of lymphoma at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where he was a first-year ensemble member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s prestigious artist development program. His family plans a private funeral in Los Angeles, where he grew up. There also will be a memorial service at 3 p.m. November 30 at First Presbyterian Church.
In the opera world, Mr. Smith was an up-and-coming talent to watch, said Dennis Hanthorn, general director of the Atlanta Opera, where Mr. Smith portrayed Camp Williams in “Cold Sassy Tree,” last February.
“He would have been one of the leading lyric tenors in the next five years,” Mr. Hanthorn predicted. “He would have been performing all over North America and Europe.”
Mr. Smith was from South-Central Los Angeles and sang in his church and school. A career in the opera never occurred to him until he won a scholarship to the Aspen Music Festival at age 17.
There, he was moved to tears by a performance of “Che Galida Manina,” a famous romantic aria from “La Boheme.” Mr. Smith went on to study music at Morehouse College and was featured in performances by the famous Morehouse Glee Club. He earned a master’s in music at Ohio University.
Mr. Smith returned to Atlanta but was stymied on the audition circuit. After being told at one tryout that he was “too fat,” he vowed to give up singing. He took the video store job and spent the next three years in a funk, he told the AJC.
It wasn’t until friends pressured him to return to singing that he began to practice for the Met auditions — opera’s version of “American Idol.” He made it to the regional finals in 2006 and won the nationals in 2007.
Chosen as an understudy for the Met’s production of “Ernani,” he won the role when the singer had to drop out. “It was great. It came out of the blue,” he told the AJC. “I started break dancing.”
Shortly before his Met debut in March, Mr. Smith began feeling extremely tired, said his father Paul Smith of Los Angeles. “He would perform and then go back to his apartment and sleep all day,” he said.
Doctors later confirmed the diagnosis of lymphoma, said his father, who described seeing his son on stage at the Met as one of the most rewarding moments of his life.
“Many opera singers can be heard to say, ‘My dream is to sing at the Metropolitan Opera.’ Ryan accomplished that goal in a very short time — through disappointment and joy, through hard work, and belief in his gifts,” said Walter Huff, chorus master for the Atlanta Opera and a voice coach to Mr. Smith.
“But just as important were his personal gifts of humility, kindness and a down-to-earth genuineness that made you root for him on stage, even before he began to sing,” he said.
Other survivors are his mother Renee Smith and sister Nya Assis, both of Los Angeles.
*******************************************
Ryan is featured in a documentary that was produced chronicling the 2007 Metropolitan Opera Auditions called "The Audition" by Susan Froemke, which premiered at the Tokyo Film Festival in October. The film is planned to be shown stateside in spring of 2009. Check out a link to a clip on the Met website.
Also see the press release issued by the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Haters....
Well, you knew there would be haters......
Here are some folks already creating Impeach Obama paraphenalia.
And here is a summary of racially motivated incidents that have been occuring since the election....
There is still a lot of work to do....
Here are some folks already creating Impeach Obama paraphenalia.
And here is a summary of racially motivated incidents that have been occuring since the election....
There is still a lot of work to do....
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
A new day has come!
So..... When I was riding into work today, already ecstatic from last night's events, the radio station played the song that Will.I.Am put together after Obama's inspiring speech in New Hampshire, and like it did, when I first heard/saw it, it made me cry. I posted the video up here back in February when I first saw it and I credit that video with turning the tide for me on my choice for which Democratic candidate I wanted to back for president.
So I was looking online for the video or song "Yes We Can" this morning (I mentioned it in a previous post as something that helped influence my decision to support Barack Obama in the primary) and I found this article on Huffington Post written by Will.I.Am about why he was inspired to create something that inspired so many others....
Will.i.am
Posted February 3, 2008 | 12:11 PM (EST)
Why I Recorded Yes We Can
I was sitting in my recording studio watching the debates...
Torn between the candidates
I was never really big on politics...
and actually I'm still not big on politics...
The outcome of the last 2 elections has saddened me...
on how unfair, backwards, upside down, unbalanced, untruthful,
corrupt, and just simply, how wrong the world and "politics" are...
So this year i wanted to get involved and do all i could early...
And i found myself torn...
because this time it's not that simple...
our choices aren't as clear as the last elections ...
last time it was so obvious...
Bush and war
vs
no Bush and no war...
But this time it's not that simple...
and there are a lot of people that are torn just like i am...
So for awhile I put it off and i was going to wait until it was decided for me...
And then came New Hampshire...
And i was captivated...
Inspired...
I reflected on my life...
and the blessings I have...
and the people who fought for me to have these rights and blessings...
and I'm not talking about a "black thing"
I'm talking about a "human thing" me as a "person"
an American...
That speech made me think of Martin Luther King...
Kennedy...
and Lincoln...
and all the others that have fought for what we have today...
what America is "supposed" to be...
freedom...
equality...
and truth...
and thats not what we have today...
we think we are free...
but in reality terror and fear controls our decisions...
this is not the America that our pioneers and leaders fought and
died for...
and then there was New Hampshire
it was that speech...
like many great speeches...
that one moved me...
because words and ideas are powerful...
It made me think...
and realize that today we have "very few" leaders...
maybe none...
but that speech...
it inspired me...
it inspired me to look inside myself and outwards towards the world...
it inspired me to want to change myself to better the world...
and take a "leap" towards change...
and hope that others become inspired to do the same...
change themselves..
change their greed...
change their fears...
and if we "change that"
"then hey"..
we got something right...???...
1 week later after the speech settled in me...
I began making this song...
I came up with the idea to turn his speech into a song...
because that speech affected and touched my inner core like nothing in a very long time...
it spoke to me...
because words and ideas are powerful...
I just wanted to add a melody to those words...
I wanted the inspiration that was bubbling inside me to take over...
so i let it..
I wasn't afraid to stand for something...
to stand for "change"...
I wasn't afraid of "fear"...
it was pure inspiration...
so I called my friends...
and they called their friends...
in a matter of 2 days...
We made the song and video...
Usually this process would take months...
a bunch of record company people figuring out strategies and release dates...
interviews...
all that stuff...
but this time i took it in my own hands...
so i called my friends Sarah Pantera, Mike Jurkovac, Fred Goldring, and Jesse Dylan to help make it happen...
and they called their friends..
and we did it together in 48 hours...
and instead of putting it in the hands of profit we put it in the hands of inspiration...
then we put it on the net for the world to feel...
When you are truly inspired..
magic happens...
incredible things happen...
love happens..
(and with that combination)
"love, and inspiration"
change happens...
"change for the better"
Inspiration breeds change...
"Positive change"...
no one on this planet is truly experienced to handle the obstacles we face today...
Terror, fear, lies, agendas, politics, money, all the above...
It's all scary...
Martin Luther King didn't have experience to lead...
Kennedy didn't have experience to lead...
Susan B. Anthony...
Nelson Mandela...
Rosa Parks...
Gandhi...
Anne Frank...
and everyone else who has had a hand in molding the freedoms we have and take for granted today...
no one truly has experience to deal with the world today...
they just need "desire, strength, courage ability, and passion" to change...
and to stand for something even when people say it's not possible...
America would not be here "today" if we didn't stand and fight for
change "yesterday"...
Everything we have as a "people" is because of the "people" who fought for
change...
and whoever is the President has to realize we have a lot of changing to do
I'm not trying to convince people to see things how i do...
I produced this song to share my new found inspiration and how I've been moved...
I hope this song will make you feel...
love...
and think...
and be inspired just like the speech inspired me...
that's all...
Let's all come together like America is supposed to...
Like Japan did after Hiroshima...
that was less than 65 years ago...
and look at Japan now...
they did it together...
they did it...
"We can't?...
Are you serious..?..
WE CAN!!!
Yes we can...
A United "America"
Democrats, Republicans and Independents together...
Building a new America
We can do it...
"TOGETHER"
Thank you for reading and listening...
will.i.am
So I was looking online for the video or song "Yes We Can" this morning (I mentioned it in a previous post as something that helped influence my decision to support Barack Obama in the primary) and I found this article on Huffington Post written by Will.I.Am about why he was inspired to create something that inspired so many others....
Will.i.am
Posted February 3, 2008 | 12:11 PM (EST)
Why I Recorded Yes We Can
I was sitting in my recording studio watching the debates...
Torn between the candidates
I was never really big on politics...
and actually I'm still not big on politics...
The outcome of the last 2 elections has saddened me...
on how unfair, backwards, upside down, unbalanced, untruthful,
corrupt, and just simply, how wrong the world and "politics" are...
So this year i wanted to get involved and do all i could early...
And i found myself torn...
because this time it's not that simple...
our choices aren't as clear as the last elections ...
last time it was so obvious...
Bush and war
vs
no Bush and no war...
But this time it's not that simple...
and there are a lot of people that are torn just like i am...
So for awhile I put it off and i was going to wait until it was decided for me...
And then came New Hampshire...
And i was captivated...
Inspired...
I reflected on my life...
and the blessings I have...
and the people who fought for me to have these rights and blessings...
and I'm not talking about a "black thing"
I'm talking about a "human thing" me as a "person"
an American...
That speech made me think of Martin Luther King...
Kennedy...
and Lincoln...
and all the others that have fought for what we have today...
what America is "supposed" to be...
freedom...
equality...
and truth...
and thats not what we have today...
we think we are free...
but in reality terror and fear controls our decisions...
this is not the America that our pioneers and leaders fought and
died for...
and then there was New Hampshire
it was that speech...
like many great speeches...
that one moved me...
because words and ideas are powerful...
It made me think...
and realize that today we have "very few" leaders...
maybe none...
but that speech...
it inspired me...
it inspired me to look inside myself and outwards towards the world...
it inspired me to want to change myself to better the world...
and take a "leap" towards change...
and hope that others become inspired to do the same...
change themselves..
change their greed...
change their fears...
and if we "change that"
"then hey"..
we got something right...???...
1 week later after the speech settled in me...
I began making this song...
I came up with the idea to turn his speech into a song...
because that speech affected and touched my inner core like nothing in a very long time...
it spoke to me...
because words and ideas are powerful...
I just wanted to add a melody to those words...
I wanted the inspiration that was bubbling inside me to take over...
so i let it..
I wasn't afraid to stand for something...
to stand for "change"...
I wasn't afraid of "fear"...
it was pure inspiration...
so I called my friends...
and they called their friends...
in a matter of 2 days...
We made the song and video...
Usually this process would take months...
a bunch of record company people figuring out strategies and release dates...
interviews...
all that stuff...
but this time i took it in my own hands...
so i called my friends Sarah Pantera, Mike Jurkovac, Fred Goldring, and Jesse Dylan to help make it happen...
and they called their friends..
and we did it together in 48 hours...
and instead of putting it in the hands of profit we put it in the hands of inspiration...
then we put it on the net for the world to feel...
When you are truly inspired..
magic happens...
incredible things happen...
love happens..
(and with that combination)
"love, and inspiration"
change happens...
"change for the better"
Inspiration breeds change...
"Positive change"...
no one on this planet is truly experienced to handle the obstacles we face today...
Terror, fear, lies, agendas, politics, money, all the above...
It's all scary...
Martin Luther King didn't have experience to lead...
Kennedy didn't have experience to lead...
Susan B. Anthony...
Nelson Mandela...
Rosa Parks...
Gandhi...
Anne Frank...
and everyone else who has had a hand in molding the freedoms we have and take for granted today...
no one truly has experience to deal with the world today...
they just need "desire, strength, courage ability, and passion" to change...
and to stand for something even when people say it's not possible...
America would not be here "today" if we didn't stand and fight for
change "yesterday"...
Everything we have as a "people" is because of the "people" who fought for
change...
and whoever is the President has to realize we have a lot of changing to do
I'm not trying to convince people to see things how i do...
I produced this song to share my new found inspiration and how I've been moved...
I hope this song will make you feel...
love...
and think...
and be inspired just like the speech inspired me...
that's all...
Let's all come together like America is supposed to...
Like Japan did after Hiroshima...
that was less than 65 years ago...
and look at Japan now...
they did it together...
they did it...
"We can't?...
Are you serious..?..
WE CAN!!!
Yes we can...
A United "America"
Democrats, Republicans and Independents together...
Building a new America
We can do it...
"TOGETHER"
Thank you for reading and listening...
will.i.am
As it unfolded....
I get daily email alerts from the Wall Street Journal and they have been coming out one after the other as the election results are being announced. When I got this one from this now more conservative periodical a couple minutes before CNN projected the winner, I knew it was done!
date Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 10:50 PM
subject WSJ NEWS ALERT: Obama on Verge of Historic Victory
_________________________________
NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 4, 2008
Barack Obama appeared set to become the nation's first African-American president, after beating John McCain in key battleground states.
Obama won Pennsylvania and Ohio earlier in the night, and was projected to win Colorado and Virginia as well.
California releases results at 11 p.m. ET.
And then these came.....
date Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 11:35 PM
subject WSJ NEWS ALERT: McCain Concedes Race, Saying Americans 'Have Spoken'
__________________________________
NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 4, 2008
Sen. John McCain conceded the presidential race to Sen. Barack Obama, telling his supporters in Arizona that the "American people have spoken, and spoken clearly." He congratulated Obama in a phone call shortly after 11 p.m. EST, Obama's spokesman said. Obama thanked McCain for his graciousness, accepted his concession and asked his rival for help in leading the country.
date Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 12:20 AM
subject WSJ NEWS ALERT: Obama Tells Supporters 'Change Has Come to America'
__________________________________
NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 5, 2008
Barack Obama claimed victory at a speech in Chicago, telling thousands of cheering supporters: "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."
He applauded John McCain's hard-fought campaign and his long record of service to the country.
Obama said: "It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day ... change has come to America."
Wow!..... Yeah! That is what I'm talkin about!!
date Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 10:50 PM
subject WSJ NEWS ALERT: Obama on Verge of Historic Victory
_________________________________
NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 4, 2008
Barack Obama appeared set to become the nation's first African-American president, after beating John McCain in key battleground states.
Obama won Pennsylvania and Ohio earlier in the night, and was projected to win Colorado and Virginia as well.
California releases results at 11 p.m. ET.
And then these came.....
date Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 11:35 PM
subject WSJ NEWS ALERT: McCain Concedes Race, Saying Americans 'Have Spoken'
__________________________________
NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 4, 2008
Sen. John McCain conceded the presidential race to Sen. Barack Obama, telling his supporters in Arizona that the "American people have spoken, and spoken clearly." He congratulated Obama in a phone call shortly after 11 p.m. EST, Obama's spokesman said. Obama thanked McCain for his graciousness, accepted his concession and asked his rival for help in leading the country.
date Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 12:20 AM
subject WSJ NEWS ALERT: Obama Tells Supporters 'Change Has Come to America'
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NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 5, 2008
Barack Obama claimed victory at a speech in Chicago, telling thousands of cheering supporters: "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."
He applauded John McCain's hard-fought campaign and his long record of service to the country.
Obama said: "It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day ... change has come to America."
Wow!..... Yeah! That is what I'm talkin about!!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Today is the day!!
The thing that is so amazing to me about this whole presidential campaign is how Obama has given dis-enfranchised some hope, belief in the possibility that they can actually affect a change in their lives by voting! And they are waiting in lines, sometimes 2, 3, 5, 8 hours long to exercise their right to that change!
It is really something......
And in that spirit..... a musical contribution produced by Babyface featuring many artists you should recognize.
Get out and VOTE, people!
It is really something......
And in that spirit..... a musical contribution produced by Babyface featuring many artists you should recognize.
Get out and VOTE, people!
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