Congratulations to the Washington Commanders for a job well done. As I sit to type this, I have no idea what the outcome of the Championship Game will be over the weekend. I just respect the grit, hard work, focus, dedication to the task at hand. One lesson learnt is that the talk shows and podcasts can talk all they want, but one cannot allow a third party to decide the outcome of your work. You put in the work and sweat – you reap the reward. Football is not played on podcasts or the airwaves of radio talk shows. Hopefully this is the start of something sustainable for The Washington Commanders.
It is no secret that I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan (since 1982). Win or lose, I support my team. Our time will come.
Snow in Dallas two weeks ago – it covered a basketball I keep in the back for my dog to play with when she is out there. That is how much snow we had. Houston had snow a few days ago. So did Louisiana and some parts of Florida. Even the Caribbean is cold. Something is definitely changing with the weather. I do not have the answers and cannot speculate. All I will advocate is for folk to be ready at all times. Invest in enough warm clothing, stock up on food items, get a small portable stove or grill – you can use it to warm up some food items in the event of extreme weather.
This talk about weather makes me reflect on hurricanes we used to have in the Caribbean. I moved to St. Kitts from Nigeria/New York in January 1995. My first hurricane experience was in 1995. We had two category one hurricanes – Luis and Marilyn. We were blessed to have them as a category one. There were two hurricanes in one week – dumped a lot of rain on us. These two hurricanes caused immense damage to the tourism industry on the nearby island of Dutch St. Marten. I think it hit them as category three. It was the howling wind that was scary at night, no power, not sure what to expect. Literally nowhere to run to --- one is on an island that is 64 square miles. Nothing topped Hurricane George in 1998 – category five that caused immense damage to the island. That one was straight out the scene from a survival movie. My cousin and I shared a three-bedroom house and he and I had to fight to keep the hurricane shutters from flapping open in the kitchen, bringing in a lot of rainwater and wind. There was pressure inside the house. Our ears felt like they wanted to pop. The noise from the wind sounded like a Boeing 747 was at rooftop level trying to land. One could see all sorts of objects flying in the wind – galvanized roof sheets, plants and more. By God’s grace we survived a very scary ordeal. This happened during the middle of the hurricane season that year. (Traditionally, hurricane season would run from June 1 to November and would peak in August).
So yes, the weather pattern has changed. We got to be prepared. Know your neighbors by name, check on them, make sure they are okay. If possible, have them move in with you temporarily for the duration of the storm (if you have advanced notice). We got to go back to the way things used to be where neighbors looked out for one another. One fun thing I did not mention was that after the hurricane had passed, there was always a community effort to cut up fallen trees and clear debris so life could go back to normal as soon as possible.
So, as you sit back, enjoy the hurricane of change that is now the Washington Commanders. They have set up high expectations for the next season. Happy Valentine’s Day next month. Maya Piata – she is an emerging soul musician out of Dallas. I am hoping that I can connect with her and feature a brief interview with her in my February column. Look her up on You Tube – Maya Piata “Sunny Days.”
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