Writer’s Block: Tsion the Wordsmith~Miss Valentine

        Okay, so….this topic will NEVER get old to me. It is a topic that is close to my heart. And I can’t say much about it in this intro because it would spoil the read. So…..

        I called in a  favor to a real good friend of mine, Tsion the Wordsmith, and I asked him if he could send me a copy of this poem. Tsion and I slammed on the 2009 Busboys and Poets 11th Hour Slam Team together…and this would become one of my favorite poems. I mean, the way that he sets it up to the way that the story unfolds….beautiful. And of course I plan to tell him this one day… but I dont want his head to get bigger than what it already is. LMAO! But, I called him as soon as I sent out the question for my 200 Men because it was the FIRST thing that came to mind. I wanted local DC, Maryland, and Virginia talent to be showcased for this particular topic. Plus…. I get to expose you all to some of my amazing friends and their talents. I could talk about it for hours, but I would rather you read it first. Enjoy!

Miss Valentine by: Tsion the Wordsmith

It was a Thursday…
and I was on the corner of 14th and Lennox listening to a crackhead preach about how we was all sinners and needed Jesus
now I wasn’t paying him no mind, just indulging his conversation
growing impatient though cause I had my eye on this bar named “Susie’s”
owned by a Jamaican  whose name was…
well, I don’t think nobody really know what his name was
I finished up talking, walked across the street went into the bar
and heard a voice say, “you gonna have the paul mason straight?”
surprised me cause that’s the thing I would drink whenever I went into the place…
then from around the corner walked the prettiest face I had ever seen
if looks were skills then she would have been the captain of the dream team; and the first at that
plus she had a body to match
for real, this woman was a killer
if looks could kill she would be number one on America’s most wanted list
gliding and swaying across this plane; every now and then she would kiss it with her presence

so, she slid up in front of me and said, “I know I surprised you by knowing what you like to cop
but I know you also only come in here on Thursdays and you always sit in the same spot
easy, cause you been coming in here for about six months and two weeks
and I hope its not too conceited but I’m the best looking thing in here and you never once decided to speak
maybe you didn’t notice me cause I was in the antibody crowd and it’s kinda hard to notice anybody when antibodies are hanging
but if anti-bodies are hanging around anybody, it should let you know something is bound to go down
cause antibodies only hang around anybody when somethings going down”
….I didn’t understand one word said; but she told me that was alright cause i would before the night was over
told me her name was Susie and asked, “what’s yours young soldier?”
I told my name was Tsion and asked was she the Susie that ran the place
yeah was the reply and I found it funny cause I would never put that name to that face
she told me it was her daughter’s name and she did it in her memory
“no matter where I go or what I do, she will always be here with me”
so I asked her real name but she brushed me off cause she had other customers to attend to
figured I head through my Thursday ritual of four drinks and head back to the capitol
when I heard “that’s it young soldier, you just gonna speak?
you not gonna ask a pretty young lady out to eat?”
I had a couple dollars to spare so yeah, we could go out for a bite to eat
but before we go, she said she had a couple of her white blood cell buddies she needed to meet
I guess she did some time and her cellys were white
they must cut each other, bonded and became blood sisters for life
so we met up with them and I was still thinking what exactly, what is her name
I asked and with a wicked grin she said “Maylene”
but I figured that really wasn’t her name
but she said if a rose were called by anything else would it still not smell the same…
…true….true…

well, we made it back to my place and before I could the key in the door her lips were on mine
her arms were around my shoulders, and my hands on her behind
the whole time thinking exactly what is the name that her mother gave
I asked her again and she said “call me dominatrix for tonight you will be my slave”
slave to my motion, slave to my track, slave to rhyme, slave to my kat
and it ain’t bother me cause I figured it would be the best I ever had
so when she told me she would be with me for the rest of my life, all I could do is laugh
at my good fortune; saying if only I could believe everything you say as true
she said you can for what I’m about to give you, there is no cure
so jump aboard and ride this ride, but remember lil boy it’s best when you do it rawhide

so we started stroking…
and she wasn’t lying when she said she knew what she was doing
losing my on ecstasy street by the way she was moving
her kitty kat walls
it’s like they grew claws and pulled me in
had my back arching and bending in ways that I never knew it could bend
blending the lines between fantasy and reality until there was nothing left but she and I
and I was trying to maintain composure but it was like with each little stroke I would die
and go to heaven; never wanting to come back, wanting to stay embedded between her thighs
and I figured since I was a real man I had to give her at least 45 minutes of good loving
but after 12 she stroked me real hard and I cried out and filled her with my seed for a thousand tomorrows…

at that point, I was out of breath…
laid my head on the pillow, felt something moving, looked over, this woman was getting dress
so I jumped up, threw on my pants as she was running down my hall
called out real loud “can I have your name and possibly your number so I can give you a call?”
she laughed out loud the biggest laugh I had ever heard in my life and said “little boy, you ain’t been paying attention at all
you don’t need my name or number, imma be with you for the rest of your life; for tonight I made you one of my white blood cell buddies
but if you must know my name is Hazel Irene Valentine…
but you can call me H I V…

 

        So, what’d you think? I thought that this was a clever display of wordplay placed in a realistic setting and hidden behind an obvious epidemic. I think that as a society we have become complacent when it comes to the awareness of the preventable. And not just HIV/AIDS, but in life in general. I love how this was placed from a male’s point of view as seldom do we as a community get the opportunity to hear how men are exposed. This has become a woman’s disease, if you believed the media. They make women responsible for knowing their status. They blame DL brothers for keeping it going. So at what point do we blame everyone for their actions?

        Of course I had to do my own research, so I asked my 200 men what they thought about the topic. And you would die from shock based on what you read. So, come back tomorrow and read what they had to say in 200 Men Said….Get Tested.

Sincerely,

~*My Mother’s Daughter*~

CD Baby: The Diary of a Reluctant Poet

Reverbnation: Tsion the Wordsmith

C.I.A: Condom In Action

200 Men Said….#2

        Ladies, I know we have all been here, in the moment, heated, just wanting him to shut the hell up with all of his sweet talk and get straight to the reason why you are pinned up against a wall with your clothes wrapped around your body in weird geometric configurations. Yes, there. And sometimes, just sometimes…..all caution goes out the window and you get the party started quickly…but not right. How many of you have fallen for the “baby just let me stick the head in” routine? What has it cost you?

        I have to raise my hand here and confess… yes… I too have been here. I contemplated leaving my personal experience out of this one, but I figured it would hit harder if I put a face to this. Judge me if you want, you dont know my journey, and where I was in not where I am, nor are the decisions I have made in the past those that I will make in the future. Is this an every time I have sex thing? No, but have I had unprotected sex before? Yes. But he is just soooooo fine with his amazing body, his eyes, his voice, his hair, his….yeh..that too….lol! I digress…Even though it was unprotected intercourse with just 2 guys, ten years apart, it doesn’t make it right by any stretch of the imagination. I should have requested that he wrap up. If not for him…for me. I’ve had a guy who I was with have rumors come out that he was HIV positive years later.THANK THE LAWD I USED A CONDOM!!!!!!!!! I’ve had a guy I was dating have his wife hit me up asking why I was in pictures with her husband & the reason he lives in a different house is because she is trying to divorce him after finding letters and receiving calls from his gay lover. THANK THE LAWD I USED A CONDOM!!!!  Yes, no matter how monogamous you THINK you are, you may not be in one in actuality. So I get tested EVERY year whether I have had sex or not. I only have ONE sexual partner a year… if that….the great ones may be repeated the next year..TMI I know..but this is all about growth. And the lesson has been learned ( not saying how recently) that a condom must be used at ALL TIMES!!! Yes, I will fight the urge from here on out….as HARD as it may be, these mistakes can be costly. So, since I know this… I wanted to see what guys thought of a girl who wanted to have sex with them without a condom. I can hear the Bible thumpers now…. if I had just stayed a virgin until I was married…lol. But since I didn’t, these are the experiences that I have had.

        What would my actions in the past say about me? How has my not so smart judgment in the heat of the moment broadcasted about my self-worth, my overall intelligence, and my concern for my health and my partner? Since this is a lesson that I’ve learned, I can talk about it freely. I believe in sharing my journey so that others don’t have to take the same road to get to the same place. So I wanted to let the ladies know, if you are out there having unprotected sex….this is what the men are thinking of you.

200 men were asked:

Most men don’t like to wear condoms, so how safe do you feel with a woman who doesn’t make you wear one if you aren’t in a relationship? Have you ever NOT worn a condom? Why? WHat made it okay?

 

And even though I wish I could post all 200 of their comments, here is what 8% of them said:

1. Tony Raymond **Thank El Grego**: BOTH sexes don’t like to wear a condom due to the unnatural feel. It just says that she is open to diseases but it’s how easy to get her open that says I am not the only one in a week…No condom?Yes.Natural feel and extend relationship made it okay for me
2.  kingdomgate_ent:  They say condoms are to prevent disease but in all actuality its a form of birth control. I don’t just have casual sex. The only woman I plan on sleeping with is my wife. So this condom question doesn’t apply to me.
3. K-LUST THE WILDEST MOUTH!: I USE PROTECTION ! A LOT OF THINGS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT! IF YOU BOTH FEEL SAFE GO FOR IT ! IF ITS A SECOND THOUGHT USE PROTECTION! I HAVE HAD UNPROTECTED SEX NOT MANY TIMES BUT IT HAS HAPPENED. I AM THANKFUL TO BE HEALTHY AND SAFE.
4. Willie C: I always wear a condom. I have never not worn one, anytime I have had sex I have always put one on.
5.  Code Name Bigsexy: you gotta wear 1.a woman who doesn’t make you wear 1 probably doesn’t make other men wear 1. STRAPPPPPPPPP UP!!!!!!
7. James F: i don’t feel safe at all..and she’s not gonna make me do anything..I don’t want kids so i wear a condom..relationship or no relationship
8. Vincent: I don’t. I’m very cautious since I trusted a female when I was 15 and then she told me she was pregnant. The women I’ve been in relationships with normally get angry at me because they want me to take it off but it’s a trust thing.
9. Mr. Mayor**DARKSTARZ INC PREZ**: Not safe at all. I have not worn one. I was in a relationship…. but I still should have worn one. That didn’t make it ok
10. H. Xavier: I don’t feel safe ,back in the nineties i hated condoms ,but now they’re ur best friend,yes i have not worn a condom before ,with a friend who we were mutually not seein anyone else at the time,but it wasnt ok! u learn from ur mistakes !
11. Sybree B: Well i am one of those men that don’t like to wear condoms ,but I also don’t have sex with any woman,cause there’s to many diseases out here and i love myself too much to kill myself.
12.  big slim: I don’t feel safe when a woman wants too lay down with me without a condom. I just have to fall all the way back…
13. Black Kryptonite aka the KID: True, most men don’t prefer to wear condoms. However, I have worn a condom and still made a child. My stance is I wear them until we discuss not wearing them or we are in a monogamous relationship and decide not to wear them.
14. Jay: I love condoms like fat kids love cake. The only person I would ever have sex with without a condom would be my significant other. I never had sex with a woman that I didn’t know without wearing a condom. I love sex soooooooo much, but not that much.
15. James L: I prefer to be in a relationship before sex is involved. Therefore, condoms will not be necessary for us unless it has been agreed upon! No relationship, no sex, no condom!
16.  ……. :I can’t speak on everybody else,but i have to wear a condom.
17.  Bryan P: i don’t like wearin um who does….but [I] have to trust u in order not to wear it cuz i like my bestfriend… lol and don’t want it to have bumps on ’em… and yes ive [gone]raw … i knew the person
18.  IM ON MINE GROWN MAN!!!!!: Well I don’t like to use condoms cuz I can’t feel the wetness n the juicy
19. ”DUKE” BANNER: MOST PEOPLE THAT DONT WEAR THEM SAY THEY GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE EMOTION. I HAVE TO REMEMBER THE OLD SAYING, “BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY ” IF I DONT WEAR ONE WITH YOU I [DON’T] KNOW YOU BOTTOM LINE
20.  ! A WORK IN PROGRESS !: i always wear one. and if she doesn’t i getta steppin cause something is not rite
21. Lateef25: yeah when i had sex [w/o a condom] with her more than 8 times and I knew she wasnt having sex with anyone else but it was still unsafe
22.  Hossein M: Well I have to agree with you saying men don’t like condoms because I don’t, but I am better safe than sorry and I leave no room for discussion when it comes to unsafe sex outside a relationship.
23. Anthony W: I never had sex without a condom.
24.  Positiveibes: I’ve only gone w/o with women that i had long-term relationships even that made me nervous. it’s not even about H.I.V. for me i protect myself b/c I don’t want K.I.D. w/ someone that’s not my wife.

My favorite comment happened to have come from :

1.  Trayvon S {Men Of Respect}: that is correct, most men don’t like wearing condoms. But if you are with a woman who doesn’t make you or suggests that you wear one, dont do it. Yes, i have not worn a condom with a woman i just met but i made sure that she hadn’t slept around

 

        He said that he has slept with a woman who he just met and didn’t use a condom, but “he made sure she hadn’t slept around.” If I had enough time to ask I would wonder, how did he make sure she hadn’t slept around? It isn’t that easy to tell with women. WOmen can sleep with 5 guys in a day and no one will ever be the wiser but her. So how does one know for sure how many people their partner has slept with other than taking their word for it? And since guys don’t want to know how many men their girl has been with prior to them, this too can close down the streets of communication about sexual history and the practices of the person that you are trusting your body with. Trust me, I have gone and gotten tested with a guy just to find out months later that he slept with his ex-girl a week before we got tested and that made our test void because he was not out of his window period with her. Do you know how SCARY that is to know that you did everything YOU were suppose to do to only find out that the other person has lied to you and put you at risk?  These are the lessons that I have learned and thankfully have remained HIV NEGATIVE after all of this foolishness.  We’ve got to do better.  ALL OF US.

 

        So you see, the consensus is that you should ALWAYS wear a condom. Even those who said that they have to know you, and be in a long relationship with you….they should wear a condom too. You never know a person until you say “I DO” and even then there are some activities and reports of spouses catching diseases. SO just play it safe. Wrap it up at all times. And if this person happens to be the one you marry… have a free-ballin event! But I just wanted to bring this discussion to the fore front and get everyone talking about it. You can post a comment anonymously if you would like. Use the email 2deepuncensored@gmail.com and leave a comment. Make up a name and comment. We need to get this discussion going. So, lets wrap it up! or become celebate like me! Hell….its been so long… I’m afraid to cross my legs b/c I might spark a fire, but at least I know I am K.I.D free and H.I.V/AIDS free, ya dig!

 

Sincerely,

~*My Mother’s Daughter*~

Deep Kamasutra: “Orally Speaking”

Welcome to the new series called “Deep Kamasutra” featuring advice giving to you from myself, 2Deep, and my homeboy Kamasutra. I guarantee you that this will be blunt advice unlike anything that you have ever read before. He and I are two very blunt individuals…..so if you don’t want the truth DO NOT READ ANY BLOG ENTRIES FROM THIS SERIES!!! lol.  So…lets get this party started.

Our first question for the start-up of this series comes from a Twitter follower, who happens to be a black male, and he asks:

“Why is it that black women do not EASILY engage in oral sex, or engage in the act as much as other races?”

 

Kamasutra, what are your thoughts, sir?

        It’s Kamasutra on the ones and twos. I have had a lot of experience in the field of women. And I will tell you this, the freakiest woman in the world, at some point, will evolve into someone who cares about her image and doesn’t want her business put out there in the streets. Now with that said, I believe that the black race has been so mind fucked that the whole situation of black love and dating is fugazi (that’s military lingo for fucked up)! On to your question, from my experiences with various races of women, the stigma for giving “head,” sucking dick, giving brains, and ultimately fellatio all comes down to three things: desiring to please her man by any means necessary, the stigma in the community for what that actually involves, and the last one is just plain what her mother told her, bro.

         I’m not going to even try to make this eloquent or technical, I am just going to keep it real! Getting your dick sucked is arguably one of the best feelings in the world, so who wouldn’t want to experience that feeling? Black women don’t come up off the goods easily because their mothers tell them that its nasty and no self-respecting woman would take her mouth and open it up and allow a man to slide his dirty dick in between her lips. What she didn’t tell her daughter is that she was breaking daddy off with the bomb ass head last night and many of her former boyfriends before daddy was even in the picture! In our community, dick sucking is scandalous and derogatory and no woman wants to have that as her reputation. Honestly, black men talk too damn much and that is real, certified talk. They tell their friends and their friends tell their friends and then ultimately someone tries to get that “fire dome” from her and now the reputation precedes her. And oh man, don’t let her turn him down, he will shred her image to pieces trying to salvage what little manhood he has left from picking his face up off the ground—all because she said no. It’s a defense mechanism my dude! They give head but most of them enjoy the act, but they are not going to divulge that information to you!

          You ever heard the saying, “A woman will fake an orgasm to save a relationship, but a man will fake a relationship just to get an orgasm.” That’s real and women know it, so a woman isn’t going to give you something she feels like, for one, he isn’t even my man and, two, he is going to go runteldat! It’s all an image thing!

 ~Kamasutra

Wow! Okay. It’s always interesting to see what guys think about a subject. Now, ladies…. its my turn.For starters, I plead the 5th on my own personal experience….I am merely discussing the topic. Now that we’ve got that out of the way…lol .

        

         As I got older, I had an ex call me and ask for my permission to tell his current girlfriend that he and I had sex,and if I had disagreed I would have been omitted out of his confession…..that makes a woman feel safe, that makes a woman keep a man on her radar, that could make a woman drop to one or two knees to show you how much she appreciates you for your thoughtfulness. And now that my professional career has reached, and continues to reach, new heights I search for guys who like to keep their life just as private as I like to keep mine. Yes, I tell a lot about myself but there are things that will never be broadcasted, like if I have sex, when I have sex…and what is included in the sexual package.  And just because I have a tongue ring, doesn’t mean that I got it to play “head” games, or that you will ever get to experience it. The ones who get the most excited are the ones who wont get anything from a female. It is the laid back brothers ( or at least the ones who can fake until they make it) who make those females who engage in giving head feel like their secret is safe. So, trying to impress your boys could actually decrease the actions that you so desire.

        If it were up to my grandmother, all actions are a go! She was very open and honest with me about sex, so I never got the speech about how giving head could cause you cancer. lol. In my house, the only rule of thumb was don’t get pregnant. With all of the openness that surrounded me there wasnt much of a mystery surrounding sex that made me want to rush out and dabble in it, and that very openness kept me a virgin until I was twenty. In high school just about every guy in my school was trying to holler at me all because I was unobtainable, and I liked it that way. But the very same lure that they wanted me for was the very same lure that kept me a virgin; there were no rumors of a past triste floating around about what I had done. Yet, I am sure you will find a female out there who is less timid than myself. Like my high school best friend use to say, “Dick doesn’t have a face.” So why don’t you ask her to take my place…lol. Or this chick… she seems ready for the job:

        LMBO!!!! All jokes aside, my homegirl brings up an interesting point when she says, “If its clean, I suck. If he’s been tested, I swallow.” lmbo!  Blunt, yet so very honest. As a woman, you have to protect yourself from viruses, and going down on a guy puts us at risk. Point, blank, period. We hear, and experience, the actions of the Down Low brothers, and unless you stop complaining about receiving oral pleasure while wearing a condom….I guess you will have to wait til you are married. The very actions of guys actually scares women off from feeling comfortable. Because it doesn’t make me feel comfortable knowing that 30% of males don’t think that getting “head” is considered having sex. And 100% of that 30% do NOT use oral condoms when receiving “head” which means that the opportunity for viruses to be transmitted raises through each action….and then he expects me to turn around and follow suit? Ummm…come again?  So, no amount of social stigma can compete with the hard facts of a male’s sexual prowess and the risky activities that go along with those actions.

        As a female, I have to agree with Kamasutra on the topic of reputation and self-respect. Fellas, you all do talk far too much and end up setting fire to the very bridge that a girl may have crossed in order to give you such pleasure. No girl wants to be known as the local hoe. She wants to be considered as a lady at all times, no matter her actions, and you spreading the word actually kills that image. Also, having the pressure of a guy’s expectation actually kills the mood.Just like you don’t want a woman who you’ve been with for a month to expect you to marry her, I don’t want a guy who I have only been dating for a month to expect that he should get some head out of the deal. It can’t be a double standard. Besides, why would you want a woman to easily give you anything….she could just as easily pass you a disease. Now, as a respectable woman, if I ever decide to engage in such an intimate act with a man, you can be guaranteed that he got that act because my heart was into the action and not just because it is expected of me. I guess only doing this with your husband would solve this issue. So in conclusion, just like every female hasnt earned the right for him to “put a ring on it”, every male hasnt earned the right for me to put my lips on it. Same thang! End of story.

~2Deep

 

So, i guess it boils down to the standards of the people engaging in such actions. If a guy knew that for SOME woman it is a sign of affection and if they appreciated it by keeping their damn mouths shut…they just may get it more often. But on the flip side, if girls understood that guys don’t think like us and are more apt to spreading the news, they wouldn’t be so swift in engaging in an action that would ruin your reputation. I think that it would be safe to say that this one will be a stalemate. Fellas, I’m sure you will find a female who will help you out, and ladies….I think it is up to you as to whether you want to take that risk or not.

Verdict: Hung Jury

Sincerely,

~Deep & Kamasutra~

P.S. If you liked this series and wish to see it continue, leave questions below in the comment section and it could show up in the next blog.  Follow Kamasutra’s blog by CLICKING HERE!

Follow us on Twitter:

2Deep: @_2Deep_

Kamasutra: @Yo_STFU_ImTalkn

It Takes a Village to Protect Your @$$

A Village would have raised this baby right...lol

 

        I’ll never forget the day that I was watching Blue Print on BET, Nelly was on the couch looking as delicious as always, but it would be what he said next that would wake up my understanding of “it takes a village.” When asked how does Nelly feel about the backlash he receives from the Tip Drill video since he is supposed to be a role model, Nelly replied [paraphrased]:  

“My children have never seen, nor heard Tip Drill in my house, or at all…and I made the video/song. What that tells me is that you are unable to filter what your children watch and listen to and point the blame at me when they are subjected to such material. It starts at home first.”  

        Bam! There it was, a slap in the face to all parents for sucking at Millenium Parenting 101.  A celebrity basically told you that somewhere in his busy schedule of not always being in the same household, yet alone the same country, as his children he has managed to still find time to parent them “correctly”. So what is your excuse? So what if you have 3 jobs and sleep while your kids do homework. So what if you see your kids only on the weekend. So what if your baby’s daddy/mama is bugging this week. A celebrity is telling you that YOU were not the proper role model in your household so your children turned to him, and that is NOT his fault because the only children he is concerned about is his own when it comes to setting the proper example…well not exactly, but you catch my drift.  

        Picture this, teens and parents alike are idolizing the images that they see these celebrities, particularly rappers, portray on their televisions daily without ever taking into consideration that these are false replicas of their home lives. Snoop raps about sleeping with several women, crip walking, always high, etc. When in reality, his own kids are in extra curricular activities. He makes sure that they have positive outlets to keep them out of the same negative influences that he had growing up. OutKast makes jokes about getting married and remembering what “a pimp taught you”, while Big Boi has a lovely home life that he keeps very much to himself so that the outside world can’t taint it. David Banner has a DOCTORATE degree that will never find its way up into his music because it doesn’t sell records, and Diddy probably will never rap about how he keeps making millions without a single consecutive album on the charts. This is a clear disconnect in the village’s line of communication.  

        Let me use Nelly’s daughter as an example ( and I do so with the utmost respect and purely for demonstration purposes). Let’s say Nelly protects only his daughter from Tip Drill, but here is this other child at home watching Tip Drill because it was made available to him since his parents aren’t as strict as Nelly. As time passes, both children will grow up and , for the sake of this demonstration, will meet and fall in love. This young gentleman is a fan of Nelly’s and wishes to impress him whenever in his presence, but behind closed doors he believes in the Tip Drill theory and has enough influence over his daughter to make her the next Tip Drill Vixen, because Daddy isn’t her main focus any more. Can anyone say Montana Fishburne? Or what about the kids who were featured on T.I’s television show? He told these kids that he was a changed man, there was a better way of handling things…and then turns around and gets arrested on some drug charges (allegedly…*side eye*). To a kid who looks up to him that sends a mixed message, but should he look up to T.I.? Or should he look up to the single mother at home struggling to keep up with her other 3 children while this teen is refusing to follow house rules? This same teen could one day grow up to be the thug that he thinks T.I. to be ( since T.I. doesn’t always stick to his word…allegedly) and be the very thug that robs T.I.’s son of a chain, or start a fight in a club deja vu style….catch my drift?  

        The theory of “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” still stands true, but the meaning has somewhat gotten lost in its translation from an African Proverb to an Urban Legend. Parents, becoming an active part of the village shields your child in the future. You will have had a hand in raising the child next door, possibly preventing them from obtaining psycho killer habits because they knew that someone was there to care for them. Grandmothers down the street with readily available switches will remind them that their best behavior is to be expected at all times. Strangers pinching will be the extra pair of eyes in the back of your head for the mannish male attempting to sneak a peek or a feel at your daughter’s rear end. The theory is rather narcissistic, actually. It is all about gaining control of the elements around you to better protect you and your family. You can’t be in fighting stance and expect to win if you don’t know that your opponent is already suited up and standing outside your door. Now that I think about it…. it takes a Village to keep you from getting your ass whooped…lol. But I digress. Speaking up to tell the kids on metro platforms to behave, if only temporary, will indirectly cut down on the metro cops profiling you when having innocent fun with your friends after a night on the town. It is all rather cyclical…..  

        I’ve been and continue to be a spoke on this village’s wheel. In true Forrest Gump Fashion, ” if you lean on my back and I lean on your back, that way we wont have to sleep in the mud.” Drop your pride, MOTHERS, no one is saying that you are a bad mother and that you don’t know how to raise your kids….unless they truly are saying you’re a bad mother and don’t know how to raise your kids…lol. But accept the extra set of healthy eyes, the extra set of helping hands…..it will all work out fine in the morning. Maybe we can return to the days when we slept with doors unlocked because we know that out neighbors are watching out for us just as we are watching out for them. Maybe we will feel safer to send our children down the street because every door step will view and guide the path of our child while in our absence….maybe, just maybe…… a Villager can dream, cant I? 

Sincerely, 

~*My Mother’s Daughter*~

What Happens in this House….:A Molestation Survivor Speaks

WARNING: This is a very graphic and tough topic. Personal experiences and sexual references are made and PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

        Somewhere, in some part of the world, there is a little girl snuggled in her bed pressed against a wall, head under her pillow with just enough space to inhale for the breath holding ahead and to peek towards the door knob awaiting the return of her personal boogie man. Monsters Inc prepares children for the monsters who reside under your bed and in your closets, but what about the monsters who pin you down to the bed and force you and this secret into the closet….what then?

        I was one of those children, and I don’t know if I have ever stopped being one of those children. To this day, I sleep with my bedroom door locked, a privilege that was not granted to me living under his roof. I have escape routes out of windows in my house just in case an intruder were to ever invade my safe haven. Windows covered in complete darkness resemble the rooms I had growing up because our neighbor’s house was so close and he lived by the rule of thumb that “what happens in this house stays in this house.” Who was I to judge his authority?

(Screaming!) He molested me! *exhales* There, I said it…outloud. Who is this “he”, you ask?

        He was my father, Charles S Carter Jr, and he was the man who molested me from before I could remember until the courts took us away from him when I was 12 years old. People say that I look like him, but I still need a DNA test to even begin that process. He was an electrical engineer with several degrees who spoke several languages, and a normal relationship was as foreign to us as him speaking Korean to me in moments of battle. I was his daughter. His first-born, born from the love that he had once married to my mother, but I would come to learn that although I was not his favorite I would turn out to be Daddy’s Girl. Late night parent daughter talks, asthmatic lungs inhaling the stench of Newports from his chest as the weight of a grown man crushed my prepubescent body into a mattress for no other reason than I was female, easily accessible, and he had a disease that yearned to be fed. Daughter perched on daddy’s lap became a moment to talk about whatever popped up, as eyes were turned to the roaming hands of a step brother who idolized him and my flat chest at the same time. This is where I lived and died daily. I lived with a military man who swore to protect his country but protected the secret of his personal habit even harder. Just ask my crushed toes underneath the Army boots that were now stepping on my feet for not wearing socks or houseshoes…as if being his daughter wasnt punishment enough.

        I remember being punished just for breathing too loudly; popped in the mouth for the escape of a smack reaching his eardrum. A simple tug of his beard meant I was in trouble. One time, he hit me so hard in my tailbone that I lost control of my legs and urinated on myself all in one swift swoop, just to turn around and get a whooping for messing up the floor. A call from the teacher meant that I would have to strip in front of my father and walk the house butt naked and if he saw me ,and felt like it, then I would get a whooping right then and there. I became a master at silently turning door knobs better than he could and dodging in and out of bedrooms and hallway closets just to go to and from the bathroom in peace. Doing number two (pardon the graphics) was the only time I could be in the bathroom in peace without anyone entering.  Fingers entering openings to ensure “cleaning” because I was filthy, followed by my father laying me on the bed to towel dry me off and rub me from head to toe with baby oil. Slow grinding on me was common place. Adolescent hips popping out of socket under the weight of his grinding, hurting, caused me to try to push him off because talking would make him lose his concentration and bring whoopings. He never listened to my cries and held my hands down. There I was, learning the best lessons of male and female relationships from my father. How lucky was I to learn about the birds and bees from my own father? Every girl needs a father in the house, right?

        One day in church I just didn’t want to go back to his house. My aunt couldn’t make me if God told me to go back himself. I’d had enough. Sitting in the police station with male police officers giving me different toys to describe my fathers penis proved unfruitful; I didn’t trust males. They had no choice but to send me back. I got a whooping until I blacked out. My father took me to a therapist to save face…maybe she could figure out where I was “making these stories up”.

        Off of Carmichael Road in Montgomery, Alabama sat my therapist’s office. A soft-spoken caucasian woman who listened intently as my father sat on the other side of the door.  That is until the day she asked me to re-enact with Barbie and Ken what I told the police happened….so, I showed her. She opened the door and invited my father into the room so he could see too. I never spoke of anything again. And yes, you guessed it….I got a whooping until I had an asthma attack and he had to take me to Maxwell Air Force Base to the ER. This time my Aunt believed me and she fought for custody…but she still allowed him visitations until she passed away when I was 15. He came to her house for her funeral and sat in the kitchen and told ever male there not to be trusted around me because I would lie on them like I had lied on him. And he vanished into street legend. I never saw him, or the therapist ever again.

        My father followed me, in theory. I heard stories of him doing crack from friends in high school, but he had taught me the best lesson ever; Never let anyone make you feel like less of a person. I walked those halls of my high school as a virgin…because I was. Guys from all around wanted to be with the virgin and every single one failed. I wouldn’t willingly give myself to someone until I was in college. You see….I was molested, but he didn’t take my virginity.

        Every guy is not my father, nor am I searching for him in every guy that I date….but through all that I wrote above and more that I didn’t write….I was still a human. A demon like him couldn’t touch the best parts of me. He couldn’t reach them with all of his might because his intentions were wrong. My virginity had nothing to do with sex…my virginity was me, my mind, my free spirit, my determination to rise above where people keep putting me, and the favor that was placed over me even though I was entangled in a generational curse. He tried, but I walked out of his house and his presence with the hymen of my integrity and the mission over my life in tack.

        Today, he lives in Baltimore. He’s never been prosecuted, never been made to suffer for what he put me and others through. One day, and maybe soon… I will walk to where they say that he works and tell him that he couldn’t break me. He couldn’t make me feel less than a princess even though my father wasnt a king.

        This is a part of what I went through, but it is NOT who I am. It helped me make decisions about not showing my body to just any guy. You’ll never hear tales of me sleeping with different guys all in the name of love without being in love. You’ll never see pics of me plastered on the internet that show more of my assets than I am showing I am worth. And you will never hear that I’ve stopped breaking the silence. I was molested but I was never a victim. My virginity never has to be born again because it never died. I found strength through this. Dont get me wrong, I’d never go back a second time…. but I made it out, and THAT is something to be proud of. Where I came from does NOT determine where I will go.

       So, to anyone who has been through similar stories….today is not too late to realize that they had the problem and not you. We are of a sisterhood that many will never understand. I salute you and all of your wonderful glory. I stopped holding my father accountable for what he did to me and the effects it had on my life the day I last saw him….that is not my battle. It weighs you down, trust me. I try to find love as much as often in my daily activities…..today.. I love you. One day you will gain the strength to no longer be ashamed of your story…until then I will speak for you, I dont mind. What are sisters for, right?

        My prayer is that, just this once ,you listen to my father: What happened in your house, stays in your house…..including the pain and the shame. We’ve got other little girls to protect. No time for living in the past. Here, take my hand…..I’m with you as we walk out of our molester’s house. God bless!

Sincerely,

~*My Mother’s Daughter*~

This is the house where majority of it happened. On Pinebrook Dr in Montgomery,AL