Diary of a Single Mom a web based original series that stars Monica Calhoun, Valery Ortiz, Janice Lynde, and features veteran actors Billy Dee Williams, Richard Roundtree, and Leon. Diary of a Single Mom chronicles the lives and challenges of three single mothers and their families trying to get ahead despite obstacles that all single mothers face, such as childcare, health, education and finances. The series is produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Robert Townsend and written by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Cheryl L. West.

I watched the first episode of Season One and the storyline is interesting. There is an effort here to introduce the story a bit at a time, and I think that is a disservice. The characters are revealed in this first episode, and you know that each has a back story, but there is little to no insight on what that back story is. The good news is there is enough here to at least get me to watch the next episode, in the hopes that I can get some of my questions answered.

Diary of a Single Mom: Season 1 debuted on PIC.tv in 2009.  The series is the winner of awards for Best Indie Soap and Best Guest Actor from the Indie Soap Awards 2009. Diary of a Single Mom: Season 2 debuted on PIC.tv on Monday, February 1, 2010 to kick off Black History Month.  The eight episodes in the season will air consecutively on Thursdays.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that I completely fell in love with. Most of the books I read are fiction, most leave me with a feeling of wanting more, even if the story and characters are strong. I’ve gotten to the point in my reading that if I am not captured within the first two or three pages, I put the book down, never to return again. There are a stack of books in the corner of my bedroom that fit in this category.

Sugar is not one of those books.

I took this beautiful book along with me on my trip to Atlanta, and from the moment I opened it up and read the first two paragraphs, I was hooked:

“Jude was dead.

On a day when the day held a promise of summer and people laughed aloud, putting aside for a brief moment their condition, color and where they ranked among humanity, Jude, dangling on the end of childhood and reaching out toward womanhood, should have been giggling with others her age among the sassafras or dipping her bare feet in Hodges Lake and shivering against the winter chill it still clutched. Instead she was dead.”¹

From there, you are introduced into the lives of Sugar, the mysterious new resident of Bigelow, Arkansas; Pearl, the neighbor who befriends her despite discovering her shady past; and Jude, the daughter that Pearl lost, and who serves as the glue that binds Pearl to Sugar. There are other characters of course, and they all play a well-read role in defining the story which holds both suspense and heart-wrenching truth.

Sugar is no saint; in fact, she is a gutbucket trollop who invades the town of Bigelow and makes it her business to lay on her back for every man in town. Her story is not that simple, though…there are peaks and valleys that Bernice McFadden guides you through almost effortlessly. I will concede that there were times when I wanted the words to be stop and the story to continue…it seemed that at times Ms. McFadden got a little carried away with prose and “filling in the blanks.” Usually, I’m bothered by someone needlessly trying to create a picture when I’ve got it; I didn’t mind it here. Perhaps it is because the story is so beautiful and captivating that it begged for a few extra words to get the point across. The best compliment I think you can give an author is to tell them that you want to know more about their characters and the story. I understand Sugar; I don’t judge her for what she is, but I want to know more about what made her that way.

Overall, this was a book that I dove into and couldn’t climb out of until I was at the last word. I was upset that the book cut off the way that it did, but now that I know there is a sequel (This Bitter Earth), I am off to seek it out. My expectations are high; I would bet money, however, that I won’t be disappointed.

Blessings…

¹Bernice McFadden, Sugar (New York: Penguin Group, 2000), 3.

Happy OSF, people!

There was only one person that popped up in my mind when I saw this OSF theme. Have you ever heard him talk? It is a lesson in listening…let your ears slip for one second and you are thrown off for the rest of the conversation.

But he’s the Godfather…respect is always due and given.

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on January 3, 2009 by Roooxi83

Last Sunday, one of my classmates from high school died. She was 38…only a few months older than me. She’s not the first of my fellow classmates to pass, but her death punched me in the gut.

I’ve attended two funerals within the past couple of months. Having to stare death in the face like that has me anxious; it’s too close to me, makes me uncomfortable. I spent the better part of the weekend thinking about my departed classmate and crying because I couldn’t bring myself to attend her funeral. It was for totally selfish reasons, but I have this tendency to not deal with things immediately that strike fear in my heart. And Jackie’s death scared me beyond measure.

Maybe it is because I know that I don’t take care of myself the way that I should. Maybe it is because I don’t live and for the past few months, I’ve allowed the world to exist without me taking an active part. I can’t even blame my situation; this is completely an internal thing about me that I must change immediately. It is a different thing to want to be something, and to give yourself the freedom to bloom. I am my own obstacle.

My friend Jackie was there for me when I needed her during high school. She was one of the sweetest persons to ever walk the earth. I have to live with the fact that I never said goodbye to her. The only way I can think of repaying that debt to her is to move myself out of my own way and live. Live as though my next day will be my last. Live as though I have nothing to lose.

In the grand scheme of things, that is the best thing I can do for her…and for me.

Blessings…

Well…well…well. What do we have here? An OSF post, perhaps?

The theme for this week is “Let’s Get It On”…so let’s just do that, shall we?

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on January 28, 2008 by darkdreamer1912

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on January 18, 2010 by bertmarx