My friend

This weekend, yesterday to be exact, I lost my best friend to cancer; she was my dog, but my friend nonetheless. My dog’s name was Ikea and she was only ten years old…

I cannot write and say that I didn’t notice something was a little off with my companion. She was getting tired very quickly during our weekly Sunday walks, I could feel her spine, and there were even times when she lost her balance. However, she seemed perfectly fine, and was acting like herself.

The year prior Ikea (kea, I often called) had surgery, her breast had enlarged and needed to be cut off. The veterinarian told me that she had breast cancer and that they were ready to operate if I was ready, I said “I’m ready”. During this time I decided to let the veterinarian do the basic test that they either needed to do or suggested. After the surgery Kea seemed perfectly fine, a little drugged, but fine.

Yesterday as I prepared to take her for a walk she came out of her dog house slowly and it was then that I noticed the cancer had returned, perhaps it never really left. Kea had lost weight dramatically, so much in fact that her skull could be felt. She was unable to walk, trouble breathing, very thirsty, and a strange odor, some symptoms of dog cancer.

As my mom, myself, and everyone in my house scrambled to find a ride to get her to the hospital Kea rested her head beside me, sometimes resting it on the floor. Finally around 3 p.m. my mom found someone to take me and my sister’s father to the hospital on the way there I held Kea while telling her that I was not going to let anything happen to her, that I was right there with her.

We arrived at the hospital where my sister’s father hopped out and ran to get the veterinarians. I’m not sure what he told them specifically, but they already had the option of putting her to sleep open. I filled out the paper work, not knowing where my friend was, or how scared she must have been.

“Do you want to be present?” the receptionist asked.

“Yes” I replied.

I waited in a small room, boxes of tissues were already waiting, and Kea was pushed in too weak to really put up a fight with these unfamiliar hands touching her. The entire story was told to the doctor, who had already had the needles, and told me what it was he was going to do.

“First injection will put her to sleep; the second will stop her heart.”

I held Kea’s head and patted it repeatedly as I told her how sorry I was, how her pain was my fault, and how I should have paid more attention to her. How we had good times chasing the squirrels and cats and as I went on with these funny tales, the doctor uttered the words that I didn’t want to her…

“She’s gone.”

My house is quiet now, Ikea is gone, and it hurts so much.

Alex’s Lemonade

One of the things that make the summer season worthwhile for me, is having the chance to sell Alex’s Lemonade. A few years back I had the chance of meeting Alex’s father, Jay Scott, when dropping of a donation to the organization. He was so thankful that he gave me and those who had accompanied me some souvenirs, hats, keychains, and the story of Alex and her lemonade mission.

It felt great donating to such a worthy cause such as Alex’s, so much in fact that each summer season I have been selling Alex’s Lemonade, attempting to raise a good amount of money that can be donated like before. So far this summer, $176.00

Despsite these rough times, we can still help each other out and what’s the worst that can happen when we do, feel bad about doing something good?

BET’s tribute to the King

I rarely watch BET, and after last nights award tribute to The King Of Pop I’m glad that I don’t. When arriving home yesterday evening, Jamie Foxx was on the downstairs television dressed in a red jacket much like the one Micheal wore in  his “Thriller”  video.  Quickly I rushed upstais to my room to watch the rest of the show, where I was able to catch Jamie’s moonwalk and figuring that it would be an outstanding tribute…how naive of me.

Past award shows were always avoided by me  simply because there were times wheere one, such as myself,  would become lost because of the loud unncessary rap music filled with cursing.  In BET’s case this was saved… until the end, and after the final tribute to Micheal Jackson.

Now, not all of the events that had taken place was a complete wreak, there were segments that were actually good, but yesterday’s  awards was supposed to be a tribute to Michael Jackson, not an invitation for folks to act a fool at certain points, wear weird clothing, promote their upcoming tours and reality series, and then claim  the inspiration that The King Of Pop gave them. As a friend of mine mentioned earlier today on facebook, “I wish BET died and MJ did a tribute to them”.

Speaking of which, both Facebook and Twitter were hot last night with comments and updates regarding the supposed tribute , here’s a few:

The BET awards was some damn foolishness! Black celebrities that patronized this spectacle are an embarrassment and should never do tributes…ever

3-4 days even if you had 3-4 months this show would have looked like crap. EXCEPT KERI HILSON, TARAJI P. or TRAVIS BARKER!!!!

Is it just me…or is anyone else bothered or disturbed by Joe Jackson and Al Sharpton’s presence….

I wish I could say this show was great and all…but as my g’ma says: Give me my roses whilst I’m alive. MJ should have been given all this tribute a long time ago

thinks the best part of the BET awards, was when they actually did a tribute to Michael Jackson

BET’s president  stated that it took 3-4 days to prepare the tribute award show once they had learned about the death, though it was really hard to tell, maybe they should have done a seperate show. My high school teacher actually had an idea of how the show should have been presented, perhaps BET should have hired her, now as you read imagine the awards show if it were like this:

I think if you asked anyone to appear at the last minute to the BET awards to do a tribute to Michael Jackson–they would have. What I think is that BET wanted to be the black people last night and “claim” Michael Jackson as ours and hence hog the tribute glory. In my fantasy–the tribute would have gone something like this:

1. The show opens with Mary J. Blige singing “Man in the Mirror” backed up by full on gospel ensemble.

2. Towards the middle of the show, we have Ne-yo and the great black hope–known to many of us as Justin Timberlake–do a dance/sing-off of MJ’s greatest hits.

3. We close the show with all the musical guests singing “We are the world”

The best part of the show,  in my opinion,  was when they finally did a tribute to Michael. Near the end of the show Janet Jackson  came out onto the stage,  pausing for a moment before speaking, “…To you Michael is a icon, to us he is family” .

There are folks out there, most around my age I would think, who thought yesterdays tribute was spot on. Why the hell do they think that in order to show tribute to someone as great as Michael that you just smash acts together and add a little rap accompanied by loud cursing, I have no idea, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

After Janet left the stage, a tribute to Michael was finally given, though there were “supposed tributes” throughout the one at the end was the best. Maybe if BET wanted their tribute to Michael to be felt by their viewers, they should have calmed down a bit on the excessive rap performances that just seemed out of place.

Death of a King

It was in music class in elementary school where I first heard of Michael Jackson, and though I didn’t understand who the man was one thing was certain,  he could dance better than anyone I had ever seen. My favorite, the moonwalk. So much in fact, that I would try to mimick it myself.

Unlike most of the adults that I know who had the privaledge of growing up with Michael, some actually having the chance to see the star king of pop in concert, the only glimpse of him for folks around my age (I’m 19) was on the television about his weird ways. Sadly, that was the only thing the media was interested in and one would think what future generations would remember him by…one would think.

Larry King once said that the thing about death, is that it is so damn final. Michael’s death does not have to be, not if we remember him for what he was, a true entertainer. He will always live on in his music and his phenomenal dance moves that others will attempt to mimick. There are not many memories that I can say I have of Michael except for the one mentioned earlier and the not so forgotten images of him appearing in the media as “whacko jacko”,  so maybe having  one true  memory of Michael is an ok thing.