
WRITER/MODEL AUTHOR
NIECY M.
WRITER/MODEL AUTHOR
NIECY M.

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My latest Blog The Realization of Social Media
My latest Blog The Realization of Social Media
09/2018
I offend wonder why so many people need validation from social media for their personal woes. Why do people reveal personal self ratifications about personal vendetta with friends? My question is what has social media become? Don’t misinterpret what I’m saying here. I’ve seen so many posts pertaining to a wide epidemic; of insecurity, loneliness, ignorance, belligerents and the lists goes on. But on the flip side of social media there’s a great array of positivities from Spiritual posts, invites, connecting with lost friends/family, or promoting products and again, the lists goes on. However, what baffles me the most are the posts on Facebook and Twitter, where individuals vent about; a personal issue, hatred, plotting to harm someone or something minor as rivalry or stealing boyfriends from a friend or a family member. I think these bias issues need to be dealt with behind closed doors and not made a spectacle on social media. I mean, why you want the world to help solve your insane problems or issues. Freedom of speech is what it’s called and you receive what you put out. The back lash is realistic because people response in how they feel or what the scenario of the post is all about. Sadly, many will find enjoyment from your troubles and lash out at you like you stole something from them personally which turns your post into a mockery of negativity but most times humorous comments. Then you have the audacity to become perturbed from the negativity of comments which are more than likely true responses from the world. It’s both sad and hilarious at the same time in how you lash out to strangers with threats in an erratic response from a post that you yourself posted. My suggestions are keep your business off of social media!
In the meantime, I’ve noticed the levels of vitriol have increased at an alarming number. So many people have transformed what so many would say is contentious thinking. These particular people enjoy receiving answers from strangers that perhaps they may already know themselves from the back of their minds. However, there’s so much entertainment on social media that it’s complicated to keep up. In another observation here’s a little knowledge that most are not aware of. Many who have hundreds of thousands of friends or followers have paid to have those high numbers. I know, I was just as shock as you in learning of this. There are hundreds of site who will boost your audience size into enormous numbers to make it seemed like you have hundreds of thousands of friends and followers. It amazes me what many people will do for a Click.

Bungee Jumping
Bungee Jumping
08/18
I have to admit that I love bungee jumping. I could never distinguish the correct spelling of the word because some people spell it bungee while others spell it as bungy. In any event, my most recent experience of this great outdoor activity was nearly two years ago. In planning our annual family vacation several months ago, my one request was for a place that caters and has this outdoor activity. However, any time I mentioned the; sky, leap, rush, or flying in the air members of my family are silent which cause me to laugh. I could never get any of them to tag along with me to experience this great joy they are either afraid of the height, or petrified to climb those thousands of stairs to reach the ledger. Realistically, I could see where their fear lies; I mean who would want to leap from a wooded ledger into thousands of feet into the air…Me! For peek sakes it’s an outdoor activity which is at your own discretion. However, I was always and I mean always geared up waiting in line or as the youngins would say pumped up with excitement.
My sisters thought I was nuts to want to experience such a thing as falling off a ledge whereas, I tried to explain to them that our safety is not compromised and besides during the flying moment it’s just a peaceful leap into air while reaching the bottom surface or at least that’s what I felt. So as always I take the lethal faith alone among strangers who are more pumped up than me. Meanwhile, I climb those stairs, but made a promise to myself that on the next bungee jumping experience that I would count the number of stairs as I walked them. Funny thought, I do remember climbing up the stairs when we were in Wisconsin Dells several years ago and I’m pretty sure that I walked through a white cloud. Maybe that’s why my sister simultaneously turned around and headed back down those stairs that day. That was hilarious!
I yelled down to her but it was too late her mind was made up not to jump. However, bungee jumping is a sport where you climb stairs to a wooded ledger, listen to a ten to twenty minute tutorial, snap on a harness, walk to the edge of the ledge, observe the cables and wires, look down, and dive into the air. You’re in the air flying downward with your arms held to your side welcoming Mother Nature to take over for that brief moment. The adrenaline is the best feeling while in the air. Once you reach the bottom ground you would want to repeat the process again!

Good Times in the 60's/70's era
Good Times in the 60's/70's era
08/18
While sitting with my niece the other day, our conversation shifted into what to watch on television. As she began flipping through cable channels we didn’t find anything interested so we decided to turn on the fire stick for something; new and scary. But in the interim of using the remote control to flip through many channels, I saw a character that looked vaguely familiar and took me back into my childhood. I had my niece to go back to that channel so that I could make sure I was seeing correctly. Hell, she was hitting that remote control button so hard and changing the channels so fast that my reflexes nearly snatched the remote control from her hands. But in any event, like I thought once she went back a couple of channels it was who I thought. It was Alfred Hitchcock I couldn’t believe it! It’s been ages since I last saw any of those classic movies. However, my niece was in disbelief that as a child my siblings and I had watched Hitchcock and many others black and white programs like Frankenstein. She was being judgmental which wasn’t much to my surprise considering how spoil she and her siblings are in having such a privileged lifestyle.
So me being me, I had to take little Ms. Missy back down memory lane from my neck of the woods. You see, I was born in the 60’s and proud to say that! However, not just this particular niece but all my nieces and nephews are fascinated when I bring up comparisons from then to now. Then our television programs were in black and white. We had minimum channels to choose from; 2, 5, 7, 9, 32, and 44. Our television often got bad reception leading us to use aluminum foil at the tip of the antenna to make the screen clearer. We had telephone booths with pay phones inside of them costing anywhere from five cents to twenty five cent to make a call. You had to insert the nickel into the nickel slot where it was labeled five cents. We had live operators who connected long distant calls unlike today. Most people used pay phones to prevent making long distance calls on their home phones. No one wanted those outrageous long distance charges to be added on to their phone bill. We didn’t have to use an area code to make a call then we just dial the seven digit phone number.
Moreover, growing up during the late 60’s and 70’s were truly golden years but then again it was pretty much still segregated in many cities and states. I didn’t elaborate on that topic because my niece was still laughing at me for wanting to watch Alfred Hitchcock. In the meantime, this little heifer was in awh and couldn’t get over some of the programs we watched such as; Rawhid, Lucy, Maude, Fish and so many other great classics. These kids today! Even though, I was on a ramp page I wasn’t finished and began to stare at her hair. She instantly laughed knowing I was about to speak on hair. I told her baby you know back then we didn’t have hair extensions, weaves, needles, threads, jell and all of those extra hair accessories that you are using or wearing. We wore our hair natural including wearing wigs using dipperdy doo gel for afros or for a press and curl.
I continued on and told her how CB’s radios were popular. My Father was a local truck driver back then and was quite fond of this little voice tool. In fact, many nights my Mother would go outside to get my Father from our car. He would be spread out laying across the front seat. Back then cars had no console in between the front seat having room for at least three to four people sitting in the front. Like I said, my Father would be laying across the front seat, with the CB radio in one hand while resting the other hand behind his neck with his feet planted on the ground speaking into the small hand microphone saying breaker, breaker one nine. Just then, another niece came into the room snapping her fingers to the sound of music from her iPhone on ITunes.
You know I couldn’t resist saying back in my days we didn’t have the popularized ITunes on a phone. Oh course, we had a radio and a small portable stereo component to carry from room to room. You know the kind with the leather exterior with a handle attached looking like a replica of a small luggage. When you opened the case you had; the record spinner, the needle and several 45’s tucked inside ready to get played. Then, our choices for music were the radio but most people purchased the latest; LP’s, 45’s, including cassette tapes. Meanwhile, cassette tapes were replicas of today’s video tapes. They were strictly used inside the cars. However, whenever, a LP or a 45 record was playing and got stuck on repeat we used a quarter or two pennies to place on top of the needle giving it a slit push with weight in hopes that the record would continue on playing where it left off. If that didn’t work we use rubbing alcohol to clean the record which was surely to work. Both nieces were fascinated as always! My younger generations didn’t have the opportunities nor the way of life that my siblings and I had. My parents taught us values and morals into being able to fend for ourselves. I teach my babies what life was like besides the fun and games. I want them all to know where we come from and to what degree we had to survive in order to make a difference not just in our lives but other people’s life. My parents were strict with rules. We had Saturday chores while watching American bandstand and Soul train in between cleaning. We had a curfew after school which was when the street lights came on. My siblings and I could never understand why we were always the first kids in the house while everyone else was still outside.
In conclusion, I don’t like saying that the younger generation missed out because none of them were born. I want my kids and family members to always remember the difference between each generational lifestyle. It wasn’t always easy for families but we improvised and made things work out for our best interest. We paved the way for them as our Parents paved the way for us and so on and so forth. Finally, I had settled down until another niece came in smacking on sunflower seeds. I couldn’t resist and said "do y'all know that then we soaked our sunflower seeds in pickle juice"!