Open Letter to Dr. M. L. King

Dear Dr. King,
I am writing this letter to wish you a Happy Birthday.  I am honored and privileged to be able to be here to celebrate what would have been your 83rd birthday, and to thank God that you were born.  For surely, He sent you here to teach and lead us to our higher selves.

Sometimes I wonder what kind of leader you would have become if you had not been gunned down forty-four years ago at the young age of 39 on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis.  What words of love, hope and encouragement would you offer to the millions of poor and disenfranchised among us -- to the middle class who have become disillusioned with the American Dream?  What counsel and advice would you give to President Barack H. Obama, our first African American President?  What advice would you offer to help our Commander in Chief to steer this giant ship of America back on a course of equal opportunity and justice for all?  To a time when everyone can sit at America's bountiful table.  Would you have reminded us that the fight for human rights is not over -- but in many ways has just begun?

Since you are not here physically to be our moral compass, perhaps the best gift we can offer you on your birthday is a commitment to keep your Dream alive, to continue to be drum majors for a more peaceful world.

Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude for all that you gave.  Despite your critics, the world is a better place because you lived, and we still have hope for a better future.

RespectfullyYours,

Miss Hazel

Fela -- The Show of a Life Time

If you want to see a performance that will transport you to another dimension, make you get up out of your seat and move to a pulsating beat, go see Fela!.  Produced by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith and directed by Bill T. Jones, Fela tells the story of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, one of the hottest musicians borne from African soil. 

During the Sixties and Seventies while Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Angela Davis, and Stokely Carmichael and other activists were railing against American racial and social injustices, Fela was creating his own brand of music called Afrobeat, a mix of rhythms from around the globe.  He used his music as a weapon to raise consciousness and attack a corrupt Nigerian dictatorship and the giant oil companies that placed them in power.

Tony Award nominee Sahr Ngaujah and NEA and Bessie Award recipient, Adeosola Osakalumi do an amazing job of invoking Fela's indomitable spirit on stage.  Conducted by Aaron Johnson, the band rocks the house.  Not to mention the cast of singers and dancers whose acrobatic, gyrating movements take the story to another level.

A must see show, Fela not only tells the story of an incredible human being, but will also thoroughly entertain you and make you hunger for more. 

Fela! is playing at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles through Feb. 22.  For more information, visit felaonbroadway.com

Is the World Coming to an End This Year?

Several weeks ago I found my twelve year old grandson lying in bed sobbing his poor heart out.  "What's wrong?" I asked.  "The world is coming to an end next year and I'm worried about it," he said.

I did my best to reassure him that there was no truth to that vicious rumor, but quite honestly I didn't have any facts to back up my viewpoint.  I'd heard the 2012 Doomsday predictions, but had been too busy to pay much attention to them.

As New Years approached, rumors flew across the Internet faster than a nest of mad hornets, so I figured I'd better educate myself on the subject.  I got hundreds of hits when I googled 2012 Predictions, but I figured that information on NASA's website would be the most reliable. From NASA, I learned that the dire predictions are based on a number of widespread beliefs.

1. Nibiru (Planet X) is supposedly headed on a collision course with Earth on December of 2012. 
2. In December there is supposed to be an alignment of the Sun, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
3. A cycle of the Mayan calendar ends on the winter solstice, December 21, 2012.

My blood pressure lowered as I continued to read and discovered that when the Mayan calendar ends in December 2012, it will be no different than when our Gregorian calendar ends on December 31 and resumes on January 1. I was also relieved to learn that Nibiru and other wayward planets are an Internet hoax.  In a related link, E.C. Krupp, Director of the Griffith Observatory, stated that he expects no planetary alignment to occur on the winter solstice. 

An article in the Jan. 1, 2012 edition of the L.A. Times reported that according to NASA, solar storms do occur every 11 years, and the next cycle is expected to occur around 2012-2013.  However, effects of solar storms have been exaggerated.

I have to admit that I was one of those who ran around like Chicken Little crying "The sky is falling" during the Y2K scare of 1999.  After the hurricane force winds that tore through my neighborhood in early December of 2011, I plan to be better prepared for natural disasters, but I am determined not to panic.

After all with our economy still in a disaster and a Presidential Election on the horizon, I have enough to worry about.