My hapless husband

Phone: Ring, ring,

Me: Hello

Voice: Is this Mrs. Jaime Mason?

Me: Yes

Voice: Mrs. Mason, your husband fell into a manhole and broke both his legs.

Me: Hmm. Is he unconscious?

Voice: No ma'am he's screaming & in a lot of pain.

Me: Of course he is. I'll be there as soon as I can.

I hope this scenario never happens but if it does, I wouldn't be surprised. Let me take you back to the beginning of our marriage:

'98: Acid Reflux. He lost threw up constantly & lost 20 lbs. before diagnosed.

'98: Really bad flu.

'98: Shingles.

'99: Battery acid in his eyes.

'00: Nearly set house on fire.

'02: Steps on a 2 1/2-3 inch rusty nail.

'02: Falls down stairs.

'02: Falls down stairs... again.

'02: Falls downstairs carrying Abbey.

'02: Falls downstairs & is no longer allowed to carry Abbey up or down the stairs.

'03: Falls in the shower.

'03: Homeless man sleeps in his car.

'04: Falls up the stairs...Yes, he fell up the stairs & hit his head on the top stair.

'05: Constantly trips over newly installed gates.

'06: Scrubbing a stain out of Abbey's carpet, he pops a ligament in his finger & has to wear a weird finger cast.

'06: Still tripping over the gates.

'07: Windshield wipers go out in a storm & he drives home w/ the drivers side window down, wiping the windshield manually. When he gets home his whole left side is soggy.

'07: Still can't quite get the hang of those gates.

'08: Brakes fail completely on the way home. Has to use emergency brake to stop at red lights. Since he uses his car as his office, everything flies forward upon stops.

'08: Getting a bike for Abbey, he pulls a bike down from above & nearly knocks himself unconscious.

'08: And last but not least, is arrested for a 5 year old warrant and manhandled by the police.

I love that man.

The America inside America.

There is a Black America & a White America. Yeah, I said it! Some people believe there's just one America, but they're wrong. The last time it was this obvious was when O.J. Simpson was declared not guilty in the trial. Y'all know as well as I do, that trial didn't have much to do w/ the murder itself. (That's a whole other topic though) Here it is, about 12 years later & a Black man could become President. People that don't consider themselves racist are making the election of this man about Jeremiah Wright & other Black associates that are leaders in their community. The real problem is WHITE PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO KNOW US & they're afraid if Obama becomes President, they'll some how instantly have to know Black people. Every time I meet a White person for the first time, I can almost see the "thought bubble" over their head trying to either figure out how to tell me they know a Black person, or going through their mental facebook to see if they know any Black people at all. You see, 60 years ago they had to know Black people because a lot of us worked in their homes. If they didn't have someone working in their homes, it was the "Colored man" who ran the elevator at their jobs or the Caddy at the golf course, etc. Still, to this day, the only Black people White people know, is the handful that work on their jobs & I bet a lot of them would be hard pressed to tell you what at least one of those person's name is. Black people have to know white people... they're everywhere. White people are the boss, the neighbor, the Teacher. They're in the next cubicle & on the treadmill you're waiting for. Black people can only talk about Black issues in front of other Black people or we're (get this) called racists. Your average White person doesn't want to know what's wrong, they just want to go on sticking their head in the sand. I have proof but if you want it email me privately. Black people, as a Nation inside another Nation have to walk in 2 worlds, using the language of White people & our own language. I've mastered it, like most other Blacks. My 6 year old daughter has too. She has already began straddling the fence of being "White" in front of White people & "Black" in front of Blacks. God forbid, a Black person airs our "dirty laundry" in front of White people. That person has just "called down the thunder." For example Bill Cosby. He didn't realize the White media was there. Black folks put him on a spit & spun him over hot coals. If Obama gets into the White House, I don't know if I'll be happy for him as a person or if I'll mourn for him.