We lost one of the most phenomenal R&B sensations to ever grace the stage - Mr. Gerald Levert.
Gerald was one of the greatest voices of my generation. His untimely passing broke a lot of hearts & opened plenty of eyes.
Now I know why my mama was crying when Marvin Gaye died.
Rest in peace sweetheart. You are surely loved & are sorely missed.
| Start: | Nov 22, '07 08:00a |
| End: | Nov 22, '07 08:00a |
Now tell me what you like/love about your job.
and then he died!
Catchy title, huh? I think it makes for an interesting discussion.
Hypothetically speaking, let's say you are/were a secret (or maybe not so secret) lover of a married person & this person dies. For the sake of this discussion, let's also say this person maintained a home elsewhere & at the time of passing, the two of you were not cohabitating aka shacking up.
As the outside lover, do you feel you have the right to attend and/or mourn at the wake/funeral/memorial/burial service? What if you had children with the deceased?
I would hope to not put myself in that situation, but stranger things have happened. If I was the secret lover, I would keep my distance. If I was truly in love with the man, I would avoid the funeral. I know I wouldn't be able to contain my emotions. As for any children, they unfortunately have to suffer for the choices we made. I would probably grieve with them at the burial site....way after the fact. I would try not to cross paths with the family...at all cost.
On the flip side, if you are the widow/widower, how do you think you'd react if a secret (or maybe not so secret) lover (and possible children) came to pay their respects to your dearly departed spouse?
As long as I didn't know who she was, I can't really say. She could slip in & out and no one is none the wiser. If I did know who she was, I would hope she wouldn't invade my family's space & grieving process. If she did, I couldn't guarantee her safety. If there were minor children involved & I knew of them I would ask for the strength to extend the olive branch, for the sake of the youngsters. If the children are older, I don't think I'd have a problem with their presence as long as they acted accordingly.
Before you say, "Well I would never....", keep in mind people lie all the time & sometimes innocents get caught up unintentionally.
Even if you haven't been in such a situation, I still want to hear from you.
A huge pet peeve of mine is when family & friends assume what's mine is theirs. Mind you, these are the very ones who never, ever have anything to offer anyone else, because they're always in dire straits, usually the result of foolish choices.
This shit burns me up!
Just because I keep my lil Chevy running, am I suppose to chauffeur you everywhere you need/want go? Hell no! When I didn't own a car, public transportation was good enough for me so it's damn sure good enough for you!
Just because I have some extra space in my basement, am I suppose to allow you to store your shit here indefinitely, so you can run in & out at the most inopportune times, inconveniencing me just because you need or that? Hell no! That's what public storage is for!
Just because I make more than minimum wage & manage to keep a few $$ in my pocket, am I suppose to loan you money every time I get paid because you chose to get your hair/nails done over paying your electric bill? Hell no! Get a job...or 2 if necessary! Better yet, that $10 you asked me for, just take it out of that $20 I never got back.
Just because you can't maintain a cell phone contract, am I suppose to add you to my plan? Hell no! Pay as you go, dawg! Pay as you muthafuckin' go!
Just because I don't have small children, does that mean I wanna babysit your kids on my days off? Hell no! Everyone is entitled to one oops. Any who come after that, you wanted, so deal with it! I choose not to be bothered. The last time I checked that was my prerogative.
I swear to you, I really do love my family & friends, I just don't like them very much at times.
Am I selfish? Maybe I am. I've been sharing all my life & sometimes I just don't want to!
