An Interesting Question #2

 I was driving to work one day last week and an interesting question was posed on the morning show I was listening to. The question was: what shocking thing did you find out about someone after they died?

That's an easy one for me. But I'll give you a little backstory first.

When my mother was in the hospital, there were all kinds of hoops you had to jump through to get certain programs / insurance to pay for her stay(s). I had to contact everybody and their brother to get information. I had to get so much documentation and verification, on top of my usual life stuff. It was exhausting. However, doing my searches, etc., I found out more than I ever wanted to know.

It turns out that Marie was my father's 3rd wife. 😮 Forget about mind blown: this was a mind eff. How had this never been disclosed before?

I needed a copy of my father's service record. After much digging and some help from a hospital administrator, we were able to obtain a copy of it. I looked at it, but something wasn't quite right. It was the name of the spouse. It said "Lucille". I was like, "Did Marie go by a different name when she and dad met?" But then I saw the year: 1942. That couldn't be right. Marie would have only been 12 in 1942. Then it hit me: it wasn't Marie! That was punch number one.

I decided to do a little investigative work, with the help of Snoopy Brie. And she was good at it! However, we didn't find any information on a Lucille Debnam from the forties. Brie kept digging, since she had some free time at work, and lo and behold: when she clicked on another woman named Debnam, she had my father listed as her husband! There was a picture of her cemetery plot, her obituary which listed him as her husband as of 1975 (the year she died), and a link to his cemetery plot. WTF??? Punch number two...

So that made Marie spouse number three. At one point I did get around to asking her if she knew he'd had two other wives, but she said no I must be mistaken. Trust me: I'm not mistaken.

There you have it: the shocking thing I discovered about my father years after he died. We tried to get in touch with a member of Vinnie's family (that was #2's name) but they never responded. And unfortunately, there is only one person left on my father's side that might have been able to provide answers, but let's just say she isn't a reliable source. 

So I'm thinking that perhaps this is God's way of telling me that some doors are best left closed. Especially if there could be more information that would hurt me more than I've already been hurt in the past.

Do you have any shocking things that you've discovered? 

Not #1 in My Book

 Hard to believe that the Grammys were only last Sunday. I'm not even going to try to get into all the controversy and conspiracy theories surrounding that event. However, I did love the salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop. Too bad it wasn't longer with more of the pioneers there, like the SugarHill Gang (remember Rapper's Delight?) and Grandmaster Flash, the OGs of hip hop.

Anyhoo, Brie found a list of the 50 greatest rappers of all time. I said, "Good grief, who came up with this list and put Jay-Z as number 1? Nope: not in my book. He'd be lucky to be in the top 20. Or 30.

But that got me thinking: who would be in my list of top 10 rappers of all time? I mean we all know I'm the Queen of rap music 😆 So here, in no particular order except for #1, are my top 10 rap artists of all time.

• Busta Rhymes - Woo Hah, Got You All in Check was his breakout hit with the syncopated beat. And if you're a true fan, you know his rapid fire delivery of the verse in Chris Brown's song 'Look at Me Now', which he performed at the Grammys. And yes: those are real words he is saying: amazing! 
• Remy Ma - Home girl was good before her jail sentence, but came back stronger afterwards. Fat Joe really put her on the map! 
• Queen Latifah - She was one of the earliest female rappers in hip hop. She was part of the Native Tongues crew, which consisted of the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul (R.I.P Trugoy alias Plug Two) and a Tribe Called Quest. They were known for their social consciousness when it came to rap.
• Missy Elliott - need I say more?
• Eve - The first lady of the Ruff Ryders, she held her own amongst rappers such as DMX. And that wasn't easy!
• DMX - Which actually stands for Dark Man X (how many of you knew that?) was the first artist to debut an album at number 1 five times in a row. He is known for his trademark growl when he raps, and was the reigning King of hardcore hip-hop.
• Ice Cube - Once a part of NWA, when he embarked on his solo career the hits kept on coming. With that angry face and matching delivery, you knew when Cube was on the mic.
• Dr. Dre - One of the founders of NWA. Who knew that he would go from songs like "F--k the Police" to receiving the First ever Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the Grammys? And they used to say rap would get you nowhere...he knew exactly what he was doing every step of the way. 
• Tupac - He was definitely one of the most influential rappers of all time prior to his "death"; selling more than 75 million records. Rolling Stone ranks him among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2017. He was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2002.  His posthumous Greatest Hits album (1998)was one of only nine hip hop albums to be certified Diamond in the U.S. Yet his life was cut short at the age of 25 (was it??). However, his music and legend live on. 
• Eminem - Without a doubt, this former angry young man is, in my book, the best rapper of all time. His lyrics, his delivery and his performances combine in a talent that pretty much defies description. We can thank Dr. Dre for this one!

So there you have it. Honorable mention has to go to Snoop Dog. But I think he'll forgive me. And sorry, not sorry Jay-Z. To me, you just don't hold up to my top 10. And everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Oh I Dreamed Last Night...

 It seems like such a long time since I posted. This is mostly because I had a bit of a health crisis a few weeks ago, so I didn't have the energy to post after I got out of the hospital. But baby: I'm back!!

A few nights ago I had a very interesting dream. I was doing a little shopping at an old-school store, like Ames or Zayre. I was pushing a stroller that apparently had my beautiful, sleeping 10-month-old baby in it, and I had my cell phone resting on my baby's stomach. I paused to look at something on a rack, and when I resumed pushing the stroller I noticed my cell phone was gone! Someone had the audacity to take it from on top of my baby! Another customer noticed my chagrin and told me I should go to customer service, as maybe someone had turned it in there. I guessed that made sense. So I went to customer service to check; and thankfully they did have my cell phone! Turning back to the stroller, I now saw that my baby was gone! Horrified, I looked everywhere for my baby but with no luck.

The next thing I knew I was home, and trying to decide how I could find my baby. I was getting ready to call the police when all of a sudden: my good friend Dave Thomas was there! (Dave actually died a few years ago, but I digress...) I said, "Dave! What are you doing here?" He answered, "I have something for you." Then he lightly throat-punched me, which kind of hurt and made me cough but I followed him into the next room. And there was my baby! Crying, I picked him up and held him. I went to thank Dave but he was gone. My baby had a scar by his chin and I thought someone had hurt him, but then I remembered it was an old scar.

I woke up. What the heck was that about? But as I laid there it hit me: it was January. Many years ago, when Brie was just a year old, I lost a baby that I was still mourning all these years later. Maybe God got tired of this every year. So...is it possible that He sent me this dream to show me that baby? The pregnancy had not made it to term, hence the missing baby in the stroller. Then my good friend who is deceased came to me (not really him, I'm sure, but probably an angel representing him) to finally show me the baby. All this time, since I have 2 daughters, I assumed it was a girl. But lo and behold: it was a beautiful boy! And since I got to see him: I'm sure he is being taken very good care of in Heaven, waiting until we really can meet.

You may not believe what I believe, but this certainly did bring me comfort. I fully believe the Bible when it says that we will know our loved ones in Heaven. So that means I will recognize that little boy when I see him. By the way: that baby boy's name is Rafael, nicknamed Rafi. 💓