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I was scantily clad, wearing a sleeveless top and shorts and sneakers. When i recounted my close call to my family members they all thought it was funny. Everybody had a suggestion as to what I SHOULD"VE DONE. Thinkin' about disinheriting them.

Well, you can go back even further and ask why Africans allowed Europeans to invade and colonize their countries and strip their continent of all its resources. It's not all about black males being chicken but about their being faced with and discouraged by superior firepower and overwhelming odds. All of which led to their adopting different ways of coping with adverse conditions; which sometimes included using their guile to go-one-on-one with their oppressors and outsmarting them . Being fool hardy shouldn't be confused with being admirable. "Pride goeth before a fall".

This is truth!!! @Troy This!!! When black women can stop marching in the streets begging white society to stop gunning down black men , that's when I'll take "black man bravado" seriously.

@Pioneer1, I can see where your comments might sound like they might make sense as they conform to the current gender stereotypes. As a man, it would sound appealing because it make us sound strong and powerful. If what you say is true, how do you explain Black men, many straight from the African continent, allowing themselves to be enslaved for hundreds of years in this country? Why didn't we just put our foot in massa's ass back then? Perhaps the reason we did not do it back then explains why we don't do it today...

I would like to share an experience, something that happened to me yesterday during a beautiful summer day, just the kind i love to walk about and revel in, which was what i did, After ending a stroll around my block , i decided i would go sit on the back patio of where i live and contemplate life. I passed my grandson's car parked in the drive way on my way there . After settling into a chair, i sat there, basking in what might be my last summer on this earth because at my age tomorrow is not promised. Gradually, i became immersed in deep thought about life and its meaning and my entrenched resistance to religion. Slowly emerging from my pondering, i casually gazed around and noticed that my grandson's car was gone from the driveway and i hadn't even heard him leave because i was so deep in thought. Since i was getting hot and thirsty i decided i was ready to retreat into the cooler confines of my bed room. Knowing the back door to the house was always kept locked, i went round to the front, it never occurring to me that when my grandson left, he would lock the door. But, "lo and behold", that's what he had done, apparently thinking i was inside the house , chilling in my bedroom. So, there i stood baking in the heat, locked out; no phone with me, not to mention there was no one immediately available for me to call. I have never had anything but a nodding acquaintance with my white neighbors and at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, all the adults and able-bodied ones were probably at work. I took myself back to the patio and, after checking, sure enough the back door was locked. I took a seat, convinced because i was totally deserted, that i was in a dire predicament dangerous to my health , having nothing to anticipate but drying out in the sun until my daughter came home from work 5 hours later. My grandson was also gone for the day. What to do ? What to do? Time for more contemplating. i thought how i was the star of a scenario where i needed some help from the lord so many of my folks call upon in a time of need. Finally bestirring myself, i got to my feet and started investigating the house windows accessible from the patio,. But much to my distress, they were all sealed, the storm ones having never been removed - except for the last one that looked into my daughter's bedroom. It had no storm window and was open just a couple of inches. After much exertion i managed to raise it. The screen was my next obstacle. Wrestling with it, i eventually managed to get it out of the way and all that was left was for me to drag a wrought iron chair over for me to stand on and try and wriggle through the small window. i was out-of-breath, dehydrated and over-heated, but i pressed on with all the strength that was left in my 83-year-old tired body. Struggling and twisting, after squirming side-ways, i managed to halfway way get through the widow. More scuffling followed until i finally got inside, falling to the floor, knocking over a table and a lamp. My mental state was slightly confused, and all i could think of was to pick myself up, go unlock and open the front door, - as if this was some kind of reassurance . When i did this, coming up the front walk was a huge, roly-poly, bald-headed black man, bringing to mind a genie from a bottle. I stood there staring at him and he smiled as if to reassure that i had no reason to be alarmed. At closer scrutiny i saw that he was wearing a uniform, and parked in front of the house was a big fork-lift truck. He informed me he was from the village and was there in the neighborhood to inspect the dead limbs they would be removing from trees the next morning and to tell residents to park off the streets. i nodded dumbly and he was on his way, as i thought how he could've probably helped me had he appeared a half hour early. Anyway, after a matter of minutes I was ensconced in my bedroom, relaxing on my recliner, imbibing a refreshing Gatorade, as the overhead ceiling fan circulated cool air. Within the space of an hour my desperate situation had totally reversed itself, prompting me to again engage in contemplation. Had help come from above in the form of a village worker who could've rescued me, a hero i had no need for because, calling upon my inner strength, i had done for myself, what no one else was there to do? I don't know. What i do know is that I've never had a problem with the idea that god helps those who help themselves. Praying for help in this situation was not something i had enough faith to settle for.

@Pioneer1Too bad it's necessary to have to consider either your option or The NAACP's suggestion in this country where you assert that black people are not even respected by immigrants. A compelling portrait of the country you love and claim as your own. And you really think that if black folks descended upon Missouri with the intent to reform, that this would produce better results than Colin Kaepernick's kneeling. Get Real. If what you suggest erupts in violence, the governor of Missouri would call out the National Guard with Trump's full approval, and there would be mass bloodshed in a futile effort. The black folks in Missouri apparently have figured out how to navigate through this horrible situation in their state and are managing to cope on an individual basis, and probably aren't interested in interlopers from other states descending on Missouri, starting something they can't finish. Missouri isn't even a southern state and what's happening there is an omen of things to come. This country is regressing, reverting back to what Trump and his rabid followers think will make America great again. Black folks are suffering from the hangover of slavery. That's why they can't rally and unite. Slavery broke their spirit, and they would rather chase the almighty dollar and embrace materialism to assuage their ineffectiveness and impotency. The System is hard to beat because when all is said done white people of all persuasions are not willing to relinquish the upper hand and they got the wherewithal to enforce their superior position. The NAACP is outing Missouri, exposing it for what its; a microcosm of this bull shit country that grows more disgraceful by the day. Your beloved America.

Wow. I can image a number of alternative outcomes for that story. The Skip Gates scenario comes to mind. Your mug shot would have been a nice image for you to test your new image uploading functionality If an 80 year old woman can break into your house, sounds like you can use a security system or simply don't bother locking your doors. Seriously hide a spare key under a rock in your back yard. Speaking of not locking doors, Cynique, in your neck of the woods ,when did people actually start locking doors?

I guess for me it is acknowledging the totality of the people I love. Without attaching a value to a judgement so it becomes an observation.For instance my ex wife and I have extreme difficulty having a normal conversation, due to our personalities and emotional history. Yet I offered to help her move. Because she can use the help. It's propapbly the best conversation we have had in years. Because I was ale to see her an her situation. And not make it about my disappointments. Even while I was there and made it a point to be of assistance. And she appreciated that because she knows that I think strategically and despite it all she knows that I am going to to try and be helpful without Ego.

OK, I'm sure you are right Mel. I'm been in overthinking mode lately, maybe I need to chill out

Well one person's constructive criticism is another one's hyper-criticism. You have a right to freedom of speech but you don't have an inalienable right to think a woman's gives a damn about adhering to your personal standards. Black women have earned their independence and it their inalienable right to dismiss the opinion of men if they so choose. And you do have to earn the right to marry a woman. It's not a given. Don't couple wedding a woman with protecting one. BTW, there a word for what you describe your self as being. it's called a "bachelor."

I remember seeing the my children's mother 7 years before we met. Why I remembered someone I didn't talk to is a bit of a mystery. Funny, since my current partner and I seem to have some past life connections. Pioneer you are mistaken your life for Life. Which puts all of your statements in perspective.