Let me hold a 'Tub" Real Quick!

I can't wait for the glorious day when I'm able to ask my fellow man, "Aye, let me hold a Tub real quick!" Oh, what a glorious day it will be.....

Florida Evans never thought we’d see Good Times, but boy are times a changin’. A woman will be on the $20 bill, a Black woman to be exact! The mother of all Black women. The first Black woman in America to wish a ni**a would. The first Black woman in in the United States of America, bold enough to shoot anybody that posed a threat to or jeopardized her freedom, including another Black person. The first black woman in American written history to get us, us free like Simke’!

The ultimate Black woman: Miss Harriet Tubman. Miss Tubman changed many lives, including mine, and any person reading this blog. Her courage, resilience, and strength carried an entire race of people on her back all the way to freedomland. Harriet shows us she was free in her mind, long before she was free in the physical sense, and that mindset helped her to set the captives free and become our modern day Moses.

Harriet is a game changer and has been changing the game since the 1800’s, and beginning in the year 2020, she will forever change the game yet again as the first woman to grace American currency. I'm pretty sure when O.G. young Harriet was running barefoot through the woods and swamps, it never crossed her mind that she'd be the face of new money. Money wasn't the motive in this case, but freedom definitely was. If ya’ll thought Black History Month (BHM) 2016 was lit, just wait til BHM 2020 when we’re making it reign supreme with Tubman bills on deck!!! Aaaaayyyyeee!!!! 

NOAH FROM THE "UNDERGROUND" CAN GET IT!

Aldis Hodge aka Noah
That's Bae!
(Photo Credit: Ursula Givens via Instagram)

When I first laid eyes on Aldis Hodges’ onscreen character Noah on the hit television show, Underground, I knew after the first episode I would run barefoot on hot coals with this dude. I never in my life want to be a slave. I repeat NEVER! But Noah, got me wanting to turn back the hands of time and run to freedom, if I can do it alongside him.

Photo Credit: http://dudespaper.com/the-power-of-realistic-thinking.html/

Initially, I was apprehensive about watching Underground because I was like here we go with another “slave narrative” yet again. But I was captivated by the imagery, the music, the intense scenes and most importantly the storyline. Nothing about slavery was beautiful, at least for Black people it wasn’t. But when you see “Stine” well put together with her nice house dress and perfectly pulled back hair, you can’t help but notice what a looker she is and how relentless she is in protecting her offspring. When you see the love between Noah and Rosalee, played by Mrs. Jurnee Smollett-Bell, you can’t help, but hope for a love so strong and passionate. 

Photo Credit: http://images.spoilertv.com/Underground/Season

The crazy part is, they haven’t even made love yet, just hard stares, excessive sweat, and panting. Yet, you can feel and see the passion burning through the screen. Pearlie Mae, before her untimely death represented a Mother’s love, but post death you realize she is better off dead considering her living conditions and how I foresee things only getting worse. There are so many colorful characters, with their own unique backstory, but Aldis’s character Noah, gets me all in my feels.  

Photo : Courtesy of WGN America

I could weave together all kinds of beautiful words to let you know how great the television show Underground is, but the bottom line is: Noah, played by Alidis Hodge, can get it! He can get it with John Legend singing in the background, while we plan our escape following the drinking gourd and North Star. He can get it in the middle of the cotton fields at high noon when the temperature is 400 degrees hot.  He can have all of me because I definitely want all of him and if I have to travel back 400 years, then so be it. But thanks to a wonderful invention known as the T.V. I don’t have to time travel; I can tune in every Wednesday on WGN at 9pm to catch my boo on the small screen escape to freedom. 

My First Wrestlemania

Wrestlemania 32: Dallas, TX AT&T Stadium

I live for new experiences and this past weekend I was able to experience the awesomeness that is 

Wrestlemania! I was blessed to attend Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas, Texas with my family and it was off the chain! The high voltage energy of 100,000 + people filled the entire AT&T Stadium on Sunday, April 3, 2016 like a jolt of lightning and history was made!

I was able to be a kid all over again and so did everyone else. I dressed up as Miss Jacqueline aka Miss Jackie, who was the first African-American woman to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before. Talk about Black girl magic, this is definitely it!

Me dressed as Miss Jacqueline WWE Hall of Fame Inductee

But I wasn’t the only person dressed up; a good percentage of the attendees were reliving their childhoods and dressed as their favorite wrestlers ranging from Macho Man Randy Savage to my brother, who dressed as the Canadian Mountie. The crowd was so hype they started chanting “Black Mountie, Black Mountie!”

My brosky as The Canadian Mountie and sis as Jimmy Hart

It was incredible. People were taking on their favorite’s persona yelling out signature phrases like: “The Mountie always gets his man”, “Come see what the Rock is Cookin’”, “I’m John Cena, you can’t see me”, to the infamous “Whoooooooo!” that Rick flair made famous. I saw Dad’s with their son’s bridging the past, present, and future of wrestling fans. I saw them take in the moment in awe and sheer excitement. I saw people totally throw their inhibitions out the window all for the sake of wrestling and a good time. There was harmony and peace all in one venue and all I could think was, government should take a cue from the Vince McMahon and the WWE. 

Lastly, here are 3 things I learned from Wrestlemania 32:

Feast you eyes on Roman Reigns
Photo Credit: Instagram @unstableheel

1. MEN- Men from every walk of life attend Wrestlemania. Men of every hue, race, and creed. Good looking, well-endowed men attend Wrestlemania. Rich men, poor men, men with great senses of humor, short men, tall men, and rowdy men all attend Wrestlemania. Rappers and athletes attend Wrestlemania. The Rock, John Cena, and Triple H were at Wrestlemania. Enough said! For all you single gals, like myself, Wrestlemania is an oasis of men. It’s the perfect place to gaze upon the glorious species known as MEN!

Photo Credit: wwe.com
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Wrestlemania 32

2. COSTUMES- Costumes make an already spectacular event even more spectacular. You can dress as ridiculous as you want and no one judges you. In fact, the more ridiculous you are, the more people want to snap photos of you and with you.

3. DRAMA- The wrestling rivalries and drama that take place during Wrestlemania is better than any afternoon soap opera, guaranteed.

The rivalry between the Undertaker & Shane McMahon is EPIC
Photo Credit: WWE on Twitter

All, I can say is I wasn’t a huge fan of wrestling, but after attending Wrestlemania 32 I am a fan for life!!!! Money, money, money, money, money, money, money…