SURPRISES AMONG THE RUINS

Do you know what I find most surprising about Rome? Roman ruins -- like the Colosseum (Number 69 on my Bucket List) -- are smack dab in the middle of the city! They sit among modern buildings, like high-rise condos and Blockbuster Video stores. Yes, Virginia, there's a Blockbuster in Rome. Odd, I know.
Do you know what's even odder than that? The fact that no one is desecrating these international monuments. There is a quiet respect and dignity afforded these historical landmarks where no one dares mark it up with graffiti, or fly an airplane into it. I think that's because Roman history is really mankind's history. If you trace modern civilization back to its roots, you will find that all roads really do lead to Rome.

Do you know what else I find surprising? The Colosseum's exterior is made of travertine! Who knew? I thought travertine was a relatively new-fangled, very expensive kind of stone tile. I think it was expensive back in 80 A.D., too, because there were stonerobbers who would steal big chunks of it off of the amphitheater. But how did they do it, roll rocks of travertine down the street jagged end over jagged end? And where were the polizia when all this thievery was going on?

Not to worry, though. They didn't completely ruin the place. There is still plenty to see, and it is open to the public every day (unlike our White House where you might get in and you might not, depending on the Terror Alert of the day.)

I'm just glad I got to marvel at, see and touch something that is thousands of years old.

OPRAH's OWN Network

Well, add "Executive Producer" as number 92 on my Bucket List.

Oprah Winfrey is holding auditions for her new network, Oprah Winfrey Network. She has a whole channel now and is looking for shows to fill up a gazillion time slots. So of course I thought of my friend, The Diva of All That's Red and Good. I said, "You need your OWN TV show, gurlfriend," and she said, "Only if you're the executive producer!"

SO.........check out the link HERE and see our tape. BE SURE TO VOTE FOR IT!

OWN it!!!

L.A. Clippers Road Trip

I was tickled tangerine to be able to go on an overnight road trip with the Los Angeles Clippers, but if I tell you how I managed to get this privilege, I'd have to kill you. I will tell you, however, the four things I learned on this NBA Road Trip, Number 83 on my Bucket List.

Let me preface it by saying the Lakers aren't the only team in town. Plus, they probably wouldn't have allowed me to tag along, even though it was my BIRTHDAY!

It all began one fall night after the Clippers had lost a home game to the Orlando Magic. (I know . . . nothing new there.) We leave the Staples Center on a bus (I already had my bag packed) and head to a private runway behind LAX where there were no lines, no security screening, and every seat on the plane is First Class (somehow I just think that needs to be capitalized). They even have a buffet on board laid out with any food you could want at 11 p.m. at night. And then they serve you a full meal later on!

We arrive in rainy Portland at 2 a.m. where another bus takes the entire team (and me and Sarge) to the Fifth Avenue Suites where -- you guessed it -- every room is a suite. Sweet! We walk into the hotel, and there is no check-in required. All the keys are laid out in envelopes near the front desk. It was already about five hours past my bedtime, so we grab the envelope that has our name and head straight to bed.

Seems like I had just fallen asleep when I had to get up again. The game was at 2 p.m., and we had to eat breakfast and be at the arena for shoot-around by 11 a.m. It's a good thing these players are young, because the aged (like Sarge... okay, and me...) could never keep up this pace for an 82-game season.

This was the only photo I had time to take.

I was so exhausted by the time we lost to the Trailblazers and flew back home, that I vowed never to go on another NBA road trip again. (Plus no one is going to allow me.)

The four things I learned from this adventure are:

1. Your airplane seat does not have to be in a locked and upright position for take-off or landing. Half of the Clippers and staff reclined the entire flight. The other half yacked on their cellphones. Which brings me to number . . .

2. Cellphones can be used during a flight, and the plane won't crash. When I first saw everyone texting and talking, I was like, "This plane is gonna blooooowwww!!!" But then Sarge had something to calm me down, which brings me to number . . .

3. You don't have to finish your drink before landing.

4. Your seat cushion will probably never be used as a floatation device. This is just my opinion.

Since I was able to fulfill Number 83 on my Bucket List, suffice it to say, the Clippers are now my favorite team.

OBAMA MONDAY

Seeing President Barack Obama in person is a new addition to my Bucket List. I never thought I'd have that chance, but when the opportunity popped up, my friends and I jumped on it. It was a bright and sunny Monday, and Me, Jj and The Diva were ladies on the loose and looking fabulously harmless, but really quite dangerous if we could get close enough for a photo op with POTUS.

It was a fundraiser for Barbara Boxer under the guise of You scratch my back (contribute to my campaign), and I'll get you in to see the President of These United States (up close and personal). So we pay our monies and trek over to the California Science Center. We know we are in the right place as we walk up, because who is in line right in front of us? Tate Donovan of the TV show Damages. Bonus! (And we don't even work on Wall Street!)
We get in, and of course, first things first, we head straight to the host bar. We get our drinks, and try to catch the servers as they circulate with miniature hors d'oeuvres too tiny even for a munchkin. India.Arie performs, Boxer speaks, and then there Obama is, looking so smart and handsome. Right away, he starts his speech by thanking Big Name Attendees, but he seemed to have forgotten to thank The Diva. No worries; she helps him out by yelling out her own name. Check it out at the 35-second mark in the video below.

His speech was inspiring, the crowd was awestruck, and I was three feet away from the President of the United States! It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and worth every cent, but let me tell you something: I would have paid double the fee to see Michelle. Yes, we're on a first name basis, she just doesn't know it yet.

And while I didn't get to shake Obama's hand myself, I was able to play the paparazzi and snap The Diva slipping the surly bonds of the rope line and touching the hand of our Commander in Chief. Look closely in the video below, and don't blink or you'll miss her long gray-sleeved arm reaching out to touch him.


Cross Number 91 off my Bucket List.

Ducks on a Bucket List

Just about every 20 years, ducks land in our swimming pool and spend the day. We don't know for sure why they do that, but here's my thinking: Maybe ducks have a Bucket List, too.

SIBLING SOJOURN

Isn't it funny how in large families, older siblings tend to adopt or form a bond with one of the younger ones? Well, that's how it is for my and my oldest brother. Though we were born fifteen years apart, we are the closest. He's the one that nicknamed me Lil Olde Baby Sis, and I am proud that he did.

This is us....................
After the death of our mother, I, as the Baby Sis, was feeling nostalgic and wanted to see my mom's only surviving siblings, four sisters who still lived in Oklahoma. I had only met them once when I was a baby because, well, I am black. My mother is a Native American who married a black man, and her sisters were all passing for white. Even their husbands didn't know their true heritage. But the coast was clear for my visit, because they'd outlived each of their husbands.

This is a picture of my mom and some of her sisters. Mama is the cute on standing on the far left.


My Big Brother agreed to accompany me on this journey, and before we knew it other brothers and sisters were on board. It had become The Sibling Sojourn, Number 80 on my Bucket List.

We visited one 92-year old aunt in an nursing home, and two others in failing health, ages 75 and 80, and one was as spry as a spring roll, though she was 85. The all lived within a few blocks of each other. Ahhh, don't you miss the old days when families lived in the same neighborhood their whole life?

The highlight of our trip was visiting the Negro cemetery where some of our father's ancestors were purportedly buried. I should not have been surprised by the unkempt nature of the graveyard, but I was. Some of the graves were marked with a mere stick, others with just a rock, no name visible anymore. Oklahoma is still the south.

We spent the better part of a week with the aunts, and it was a good thing because that was the last time any of us saw them alive. I am glad that I took the time to go on The Sibling Sojourn.

I LOVE L.A.

One must stay grounded to one's roots, and so even though my Bucket List has me venturing all over the world, I can still find a thrill in my own hometown.

When I heard that Sweet Honey in the Rock (an all-woman, all African-American, all a cappella group) was coming to town, my sister Denise and I beat a path to the door of Disney Hall. Neither of us had ever been.
Disney Hall is one of the gems of our city. It's a masterpeice by architect Frank Gehry (as pictured below), in collaboration with master acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota. I know...I had to look it up, too. An acoustician is really a scientist of sound, and let me tell you, Yas (as I refer to him because I feel like we're friends now) makes this Hall state of the art; plus, the walls and ceiling are finished with Douglas fir and oak. That's gotta help! What ambience it has, and good champagne, too.

In the beginning, some of the neighbors in surrounding high-rise condos complained that the glare from the reflective exterior caused their air-conditioning bills to skyrocket. Can't have that; this is a recession! No worries, though. The powers that be sanded the offending mirror-like panels, and all was right again in the world.

Thank you Lillian Disney for this magnificent gift to Los Angeles. We love it!
Cross Number 90 off the Bucket List.