When I tell you that I broke my neck to get to my laptop to blog this evening that’s what I mean. I was not going to let 2010 end without saying something to you wonderful folks that stop by and read whatever I’m rambling about at that moment. First, I want to thank you for your love, support and all that good mushy stuff. It’s comforting to know that someone cares and gives a damn. So many folks don’t have anyone to offer a kind word let alone read a paragraph or two of what they are going through. You are amazing and you are loved. Never mind, if I’ve never laid eyes on you or met you before. Love knows no boundaries.

My last entry was in October and many occurrences have absolutely bananas since then. Life was definitely testing me but since I know who has my back, I didn’t panic but I rode the wave. Like Stephanie Mills learned to respect the power of love, I’ve learned to respect the power of the universe. I don’t have to get ugly with people when things don’t go as I planned. I just needed to watch it all be worked out in my favor.

Something that did work out is Mickey’s Motown Makeover. Long story short, she was the Lupus Alliance member who was going to be evicted from her home if she didn’t replace the roof. Mickey has lupus and only has $300 left after she paid her bills from her disability check. The story is so touching as to how it unfolded and how average, everyday people with can-do attitudes pulled this off. All of the local television stations covered the event and it was also in community newspapers. Shame on the two major papers in the area. No coverage at all but I bet if someone was shot, the Lois Lane’s would have been all up and through Makeover. Here is a link to Frito Lay and the Lupus Alliance getting it done: http://bit.ly/h5JvOO To top things off, me, my mom, aunt and college buddy, Deanna, took in a Detroit Piston game courtside. Oh yes, we were fancy that night.

September’s 16th Annual Lupus Walk was great. Team Cakesy was in full effect with the awesome leadership of the BFF Cherish and April. Summer made the trip up from Houston to hang out and support. In typical fashion, my girls got it done. My chicks are bad.

I can’t remember how much TEAM Cakesy raised but I know it was more than $3,000 but the Walk in its entirety raised close to $60,000. That’s a pretty good haul for us. So many of my people stepped up. I really haven’t had the time process everything and I don’t think that I really need to. All I need to know and say is that I am loved. My friend from my flight attendant days, Melanie Thomas, and her group FocusOne, provided the entertainment and sang such great such as R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” and Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb”. My high school classmate, Randall, was the event’s DJ. He did an awesome job. My BFF’s mom, Terri, not only raised money for the walk but she also put me in touch with Sammy Rock of CyberJamz Internet radio and he sponsored my team’s Walk t-shirts. It should be noted as to how kindness rules: I’ve never met Sammy in my life and he offered to do what he did and in addition, he broadcasted an interview about lupus and the organization quite a few times over the Internet. The universe has a way of repaying you for your kindness when you least expect it.

Nate Moore, the CEO of the Detroit Relief Project, sponsored a party on behalf of the Alliance the evening of the Walk. Me and the girls went and had a ball and no I will not post any of the pictures. ;P It was a great way to cap off the day. I hope they got the couch reupholstered that we danced on alllll night. In addition to the party, Nate interviewed me and the interview was broadcast locally. See it here: http://bit.ly/hazp2K

Just from those couple nuggets, 2010 was a great success and please know I didn’t see most of it coming. Supernatural things start to happen when you get out of God’s way and let him ‘werk’. We don’t control any of this. My BFF Rosie asked me recently did I imagine this for myself 10 years ago. Ummmm, no, haha! I never woke up and said “ew wee, sweet Jesus, give me lupus.” That wasn’t quite my prayer. But honey when God is in the midst of something, you just stay ready so that you don’t have to get ready. He will equip you to do His business. Speaking of His business, my boss did my math recently and he called me his “million dollar baby”. According to him, I have garnered more than $1 million dollars in sponsorships, pledges, donations and in-kind donations. Gee Whiz! All this from the girl in the cute brown hat who just came to the Alliance office a year and a half ago to purchase a $5 t-shirt. Don’t tell me what my God can not do.

2011, ya’ll. It’s going to get better and better and better and…

As the country folks say, I haven’t blogged in “a month of Sundays”. A month of Sundays equates to a very long time. So much has happened. So many awesome things have happened. I’ll address the Lupus Alliance of America Michigan Indiana Affiliate’s 16th Annual Lupus Walk later. I want to talk about Mickey today. Today is going to be Mickey’s day. Says me…

Mickey is a Lupus Survivor. She is on disability and once she pays rent each month, she is left with less than $300 to cover her necessities and not to mention incidentals. Earlier this summer, the city of St Clair Shores threatened to take her home if she didn't have her roof replaced. Needless to say, Mickey couldn’t afford it. When she would come to the Alliance office, I could see how much the city's threat weighed on her. It was written all over her face. She entered a contest that ran throughout August where she was up against two other area families for a new roof. Each family had to solicit votes online and on Sept. 3 the winner would be announced.

Mickey circulated flyers asking folks to vote for her. I posted the voting information on the Alliance's webpage, on its Facebook and Twitter accounts. I even posted the voting information on my own personal Twitter and Facebook accounts but by the time voting closed, Mickey came in second.

I saw her when the results were announced and she did not look well. I know the stress of the city taking her house weighed heavily on her. Being a Lupus Survivor myself, I know that stress is never good. I had just received 10 Detroit Tigers tickets that I was planning to distribute. I felt so dumb and stupid giving Mickey some of the tickets. This lady needed a roof and I’m trying to take her out to the ballgame. She took the tickets gratefully and left.

It pained me to see her going through this because she is such a wonderful person. She has raised more than $20,000 for the Lupus Alliance and yet, the organization was not able to provide her with a new roof. One year, she even shaved her head after her local Eagles Club met a $1,000 fundraising goal. The shaved hair was then donated to a cancer organization. She is just an incredible woman!

My college friend, D, (we are both PROUD graduates of Florida A and M University) works at Frito-Lay begin talking about Mickey to her colleagues in Michigan. The colleagues asked D if she had ever met Mickey and she said “no but Mickey knows Sherri and that makes it official (or something like that the story goes).” Well seems, Frito Lay made it even more official when that offered to install a new roof for Mickey!! When D called me to relay the news, I screamed and cried like I was getting a new roof. However, the good tidings don't end there. She is also getting-hold on to your seats-a new driveway, a first floor laundry, new carpeting throughout the house, new windows, a burglar alarm, free meds for a year, free groceries for a year, a new (used) car, etc but I'm sure you get the picture. Goodness, I'm getting overwhelmed all over again.

This story makes me so warm because it’s one of ordinary folks making things happen for someone else. The folks at Frito-Lay saw a need and are filling it. They are the poster children for everyone can do something. We have to be open to having an open hand. We have to be willing to put our neck on the line for someone else from time to time. We have to be the vessels so that someone else can get their blessing. If I wouldn’t have put Mickey’s plight on my Facebook page, D wouldn’t have ever know Mickey’s need. If D wouldn’t have ever shared Mickey’s plight with her Michigan colleagues, Mickey probably wouldn’t have gotten a new roof and I’d still be looking crazy offering up Tigers tickets.

The feat is being billed the Motown Makeover and will happen on the 22nd. There will be a lot of tears and hallelujahs that day. It's going to be awesome and I'm just so thankful that I was smiled upon to be part of it. I know that we are all in need of something. Whether it be love, money, security, a shoulder to lean on or even a meal, we are all in need. I have found that sometimes we have to stop opening our hands to seek and rather start opening our hands to soothe.

I got a call at the Lupus Alliance office from a guy in Royal Oak Township who was concerned about the growing number of lupus diagnosis and lupus deaths in the Township's 0.7 mile area. His concern was valid. People, mainly Black women, were passing away from lupus complications and no one seemed to be doing anything about it. Just recently his best friend’s wife had succumbed to the disease and being fed up, he wanted to be proactive rather than reactive.

As I sat at my desk listening to his concerns, I was trying to place on my Michigan mitten map the area that he was referring to. “I’m familiar with Royal Oak,” I said. He got quiet and then the muteness turned to a borderline belligerence. “No it’s NOT Royal Oak. It’s Royal Oak Township,” he shot back. It was the end of my work day. Well, actually it was after my work hours and I was I no mood to argue about Michigan geography. I just said sweetly back to him, “Sir, I am familiar with Royal Oak Township. My church is there.” The belligerence immediately subsided and we began to talk as two folks that want to Lick Lupus. Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

Royal Oak Township, Michigan is a predominately African American area of Oakland County but the actual city for United States Post Office purposes is Ferndale, Michigan. Me myself, I really don’t understand all of it but I’ll go with it. Like I said, I’m not one for geography. The caller, Wendell McCree, was concerned that there was an environmental aspect to lupus. He suspected that something in the area, perhaps soil, was making residents deathly ill, literally. Mack-Rowe Park sits across the street from my church, Second New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. Wendell said that decades ago, the park was dug up, something or somethings were deposited, and then dirt was replaced and everyone went on their merry way. As everyone went on their merry way, the Township folks started to get sick. Never one to get all political and righteous, let me point out some facts. There is no known cause of lupus but there are educated speculations. It is said that a person can contract it from a) a genetic disposition, b) other medications that may cause a lupus flare but once the drug is reduced/and or stopped, the flare will subside, c) environment or d) a combination of the above (or what I like to call, the Perfect Storm).

Granted I was not around to witness any of this. That’s why it’s a great thing to stop and talk to the village elders (Sorry Wendell but you are a village elder but you don’t look a day over 25 ;) I’m sure all over the United States where mostly Black folks reside there are many park stories like the one in Royal Oak Township. I’m sure if we all took a moment to talk to village elders, they would all have a park story.

Before the stampede starts to turn up their noses, Wendell’s concern should not be immediately written off. Dig this…According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services Black women are three times more likely to get lupus than White women and we develop more severe symptoms at a younger age. I am not saying that other races are not exposed to lupus, I’m just saying lupus occurs more in areas that aren’t so…privileged. Yeah, that’s the word that I’m after.

So Wendell met with the Lupus Alliance regarding his concerns in June and we had a Lupus Awareness Rally in Royal Oak Township yesterday. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Everyone was great spirits, ready to walk, rally and get the word out about lupus. Me being me, I’m busy from the time I find a parking spot for my Heavy Chevy to the rally’s end. Wendell was making a motivational speech when it hit me. God had hit me and I didn’t even know that I had been hit.

Follow me here as I explain how things came full circle for me in that moment: I have lupus. I was still at work at 7pm (the office closes at 4:30pm) when Wendell called with his concern. Out of all of the 0.7 miles in the world, I knew exactly where that area of land was in Royal Oak Township. He said he wanted the Lupus Alliance along with his Ferndale Class of 1978 classmates to sponsor a rally/fundraiser to help with soil testing for the Mack-Rowe Park. The Rally started at my church. The same church whose pews I sat in praying and crying, crying and praying when lupus was ravishing my body. The same church that Pastor Gabriel Lewis prayed over me and when he left for Orlando, Pastor Eric Burr continued to pray for me without ceasing. The same church where I can always go to get a Word for whatever curve ball that life throws. In those moments as Wendell was speaking to the crowd of 100+ that gathered, it hit me. This lupus thing had come full circle for me…and yes, I LOVE it when a plan comes together.

We rallied yesterday and under God’s watchful eyes, the only folks that saw it were the folks that happened to see us as we walked and chanted “Hey Ho, Hey Ho, Lupus Has To Go!” There were no news cameras, no newspaper reporters to catch this historic moment. Channel 2, 4 and 7, the Detroit News and Free Press can’t tell me that ALL of the staff was busy that day. They just can’t. Now if we were robbing, shooting and killing, microphones and reporters would have been like a SWAT team swarming us. We pressed on despite the media diss. We did what we came to do with the first step towards Lupus Awareness in the area.

Wendell McCree is a prototype for a grassroots movement for Lupus Awareness. He had a vision, went to God with it and saw how God connected the dots. Out of all of the churches in the world for me to attend, I go to one of the six in Royal Oak Township which happens to be where the Rally began and who eagarly agreed to co-sponsor the Rally as well. That’s not coincidence. That’s God.

Join the Lupus Alliance of America Michigan Indiana Affiliate’s movement at our annual Walk. It is our largest fundraiser of the year. It’s happening on Saturday, September 25 at Metro Beach in Harrison Township, Michigan. Registration begins at 10:30. We’ll have face painting, games for the kids, raffle prizes and we even fed you. Remember that this is a fundraiser. A portion of the proceeds does go to research, maintaining support groups, assisting with medical supplies, etc. necessary to a lupus warrior’s day to day survival. This is the same organization that was resourceful enough to provide me with chemo treatments when lupus was kicking my behind. Now I’m kicking lupus’ behind. Additionally, the majority of the pledges do not go to staff paychecks. Honestly, with my Broadcast Journalism degree, I know I can get paid more somewhere else (ahem, White Castle) but the love for what I do keeps me at the Alliance. Love is a powerful thang, ain’t it?

Please pledge my team, TEAM Cakesy. If all you have to give is $5, then give that $5 like it’s a million. Every cent helps. For Lupus Walk information, please visit www.milupus.org. For TEAM Cakesy history and information, please visit http://teamcakesylupuswalk.blogspot.com. Special embrace to my BFF for over 25 years, (how can that be when I'm only 21 ) Cherish, for maintaining the TEAM Cakesy blog and holding down the Cakesy fort. She is the brains behind the operations. Trust. Please forward to everyone that you can think that may want to help and contribute. You all are the best.
Thank you and Godspeed...See you at the finish line.

My mom always says to me, “you always have a story.” I’ve always disregarded her statement until I really sat down and let her words marinate. I had to beg her pardon when I thought about it because every time I go into the world and come back home, I "always have a story".

For instance my cousins still laugh at me because of my numerous encounters with my Chinese dry cleaner. Cody, the dog that I have been dogsitting since August, decided to urinate on my bed comforter. I had an absolute fit and I took the comforter to the Cleaners. Once I’m there, I’m trying to think of a delicate way of saying that my dog pee pee’ed on my comforter. There were a couple of people behind me when I approached the counter and put my urine soaked comforter in the laundry chute below the counter. I didn’t want him to find out about Cody’s mishap by mistake and so I got real close to the speaker and told him it was dog urine. He held up the comforter and said, “urine? You mean Dog pee-pee?” I cleared my throat and said, “yes”. A couple of customers behind me started snickering but I was borderline mortified. Then he said, “ew wee, strong dog pee pee. You must feed he lot a vegetables.” Once again the folks behind me snickered. I managed a wry smile and nodded. He wrote out my ticket and in big bold letter he wrote “Gold Comforter (Dog P.P.) $20”. I took that ticket and got out of there so fast. Dog P.P. As if...

So color me surprised, when on a recent Tuesday the Lupus Alliance’s phones gegan to ring off the hook. Calls were coming from Oklahoma City, Tampa and even Jamaica. I didn’t pay it any mind because, me being me, I was pre-occupied with selecting Pizza Hut or Papa Joe’s for lunch. We had volunteers in the office helping us get out a large mailing and I was more interested in whether we were getting pepperoni or ground beef rather than who was calling from where. Still when our wonderful Social Worker playfully says, “thanks to Sherri, all of these calls are coming in from everywhere,” I reply with, “so that means you do or you don’t want mushrooms?!?”

Totally oblivious to folks calling the Lupus Alliance because Black Voices has published a story about Snoop Dogg and has included my 10 minute PBS segment. And here it is, all this time, I thought that me and Snoop had very little in common. Come to find out that his now 11 year old daughter, Cori, was diagnosed with lupus when she was 6 years old. Lupus is the tie binds us.

We were so busy at the Alliance office that day that I didn’t have a moment to think about what was going on around me. Out of all of the lupus videos on youtube, the writer of the Black Voices article used my video. Within 24 hours, the video had more than 32,000 hits. So many folks had watched it that youtube challenged the producers of my PBS segment. I had to write a letter stating that I gave the PBS show ‘A Wider World’ permission to use my pictures and interviews for the segment. Wow. Now remember that I was the chick just running around only concerned about pizza toppings. The video currently has more than 35,000 views and counting.

Viola, here is the story containing the video (you might have to cut and paste): http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/07/20/snoop-dogg-says-daughters-battle-against-lupus-made-his-family/?icid=main

Snoop, his wife Shante and Cori were on The View this past Friday. At one point, Shante got choked up as she spoke about her daughter‘s lupus struggle. She reminded me so much of my mother as she spoke. Both mothers. Both just wanting to get their daughters’ some relief. Then that little Cori opened her mouth and was just so sincere in wanting to let the world know about lupus. Wanting to let folks know that they can be anything and do anything they want to do even though they have this incurable disease. I sat on my little stool, looking up at her on the television screen. Her words transformed her into someone so much stronger, taller and wiser than an 11 year old. Those big inquisitive eyes had me in a trance as she spoke life into millions of situations. She wasn’t on television entertaining but educating. At 11 years old. A little later in the day, I watched the episode again and I began to cry. It hurt me so badly that she experienced things as a small child that I experienced as an adult. The weight loss. The never ending doctor’s appointments. The hair loss. The aches and pains. The parents wringing their hands because they don’t know how to ease the pain.

Then her dad, Snoop, piped up. He said that Cori would be alright because love was all Cori needed. Love (along with Benlysta, a lupus medication that has yet to be approved by the FDA) was what got Cori back to feeling like herself. I agree with Snoop. I know that it is because of the love of my family and friends that I am surviving and thriving. God will never let me and Cori be tested with anything that will consume us. He promised us (and you) that in His word.

It was a Friday and I was fit to be tired. I got home from a day at work and my mother is going on and on about a vegetable lasagna recipe that she printed out online. She was so excited for me to help her cook it. Pump your brakes, Ma. HELP you cook it. Give me that recipe. Let me see if my help was one of the ingredients. She didn’t understand that lasagna’s preparation was more of a challenge than actually cooking it.

I asked her what size lasagna she was making and she said “a small one” and then proceeded to pull out a pan that could hold a 10 pound child. Looking from the pan to the ingredients that she had purchased, she didn’t have the right quantities of anything. One (small) can of crushed tomatoes, one (itty bitty) can of diced tomatoes, one container of ricotta cheese. Now I know that Jesus fed the multitudes with 4 goldfish and a loaf of Wonder bread but Mom was just being a bit too ambitious with these skant ingredients. So I volunteered to go to the supermarket to get additional items that were needed. That made her happy.

I quickly got everything at the supermarket and checked out. I’m taking supermodel strides trying to get out of the grocery store. It’s hot and the market is filling up with the after work crowd. A kid stops me in my supermodel tracks and asks me if I could spare some seventy five cents. In a milli-second, I’m thinking what the heck can seventy five cents buy nowadays? So me being me, I ask him. He says, “ma’am, I’m just trying to get something to eat.” What the hell is he going to eat that costs seventy five cents? Blow pops? The red Swedish Fish candies? I’m sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself. Those are things that I would buy if I had seventy five cents. Silly me.

He had a plastic bag tied tightly but I could see about three pop cans (soda cans for you Southerners ;) inside of it. “Meet me at Subway,” I told him. “Subway?” he repeated. “Yes, do you know where that is?” He pointed across the parking lot and I nodded. He headed in the restaurant’s direction. I headed to my car. Even though the walk to the Subway had a covered walkway, I had to drive the 6 seconds that it took to get there. It was hot outside and besides I didn’t want my mom’s lasagna ingredients to melt. I mean who wants melted mozzarella cheese?

When I park my car and meet him inside, I gave him a once over. We were third in line and so I had time. He had on shorts to his knees and an olive colored t-shirt and gym shoes that were tattered and worn. He had a couple scratches lighter than his complexion above his right eyebrow. One of his top front teeth appeared not to have grown in all the way. I wanted to know more about why he was panhandling for seventy five cents and so I asked where his parents were. “My daddy in the grave. My mama strung out. I live with my uncle.” He had just finished up his 10th grade year at a local high school and “finished with a 2.5. I think that’s pretty good.” I agreed with him. I played up that 2.5 grade point average like he told me he had a 4.5 g.p.a. Hell, some kids with stable households bring home 1.7’s so his 2.5 was gold to me.

He was so excited because after next school year, he was going to enroll in Job Corps. He kept mentioning “free”. “I’m going to have free food, a free place to live, free education…” His excitement overflowed so much that the lady in front of him turned around and smiled. Not to be Debbie Downer but I cautioned him that everything that is free may not necessarily be good for him. Just a lesson as he goes about his life. He went on to say that his trustee takes all of his money and doesn’t give him any. He said the trustee was someone other than his uncle. I asked him why he doesn’t get a job for the summer. He has a job interview this weekend at Wildwood Flower Shop. He was so happy.

He got a number 7 footlong. Bacon and all those extra meats. He got a bag of chips and a fruit punch with no ice. The total was $6.36. He said, “see there. That’s why I don’t come here that often. It’s too expensive.” He told me thank you. I wished him many successes and to always be encouraged. I also reminded him that when he gets into a position to help somebody, help somebody. We walked outside Subway, me first and him behind me. Then the oddest thing happened. I started towards my car and when I looked back over my shoulder he was gone. I looked over my other shoulder but still didn’t see him. Now that I think about it, I’m glad I didn’t see him. I would have tried to get his contact information so I could go after this trustee who is taking all of his money. I can hear my aunt Deb now. “Sherri, you can’t help everybody.” I know, I know. And I’m going to kill myself trying. Help me, Jesus.

Over the next couple of days, I began to think more about those 20 minutes worth of events and I got angry. Not even two weeks ago, Lebron James had an hour long press conference just to announce that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to make goo-goobs of money in Miami. An hour long press conference. Boy. Boy. Boy. Once again the powers that be are entertaining our asses to death once again. How about the powers that be give the Subway kid an hour long press conference addressing everything he has been through. I’m sure his story can help some other kid in his situation and spur some kind of effort to make sure that what is happening to him doesn’t happen to anyone else. No, we can’t stop his parent from dying or maybe not even his mom from being strung out but we can definitely do something about the aftermath. We can do something about him being taking advantage of by his trustee. We can do something about him not having the basic necessities such as soap. I draw this conclusion from his nails appearing that he had been potting plants all day. Something can be done about him thinking that Subway is “too expensive”. A $6 sandwich meal?!?! If someone takes him to the Olive Garden, he might fall out. Call the ‘medics.

It just gets me all worked up because the United States of America is supposed to be wealthiest nation but we have our 10th graders walking around here elated about going to Job Corps so they can get some relief from the hell that is home because the court system has obviously failed them. Now when they hear the words “free meals”, “free housing”, it gets them excited leading me to believe this Subway kid never had a childhood. He’s been too busy trying to figure out where his next meal was going to come from.

In an attempt to look at the bright side of things, I also observed that he had the sweetest demeanor. He was very kind and forthcoming. During our conversation he pointed out that “people always think that I’m trying to get money to buy drugs but ma’am, I’m just trying to eat.” Wow. I appreciated that he still had his child-look zeal for life. He was so excited about the prospect of his pending job interview and his Job Corps initiation. He spoke about the upcoming events with so much enthusiasm and it made me so happy that he was about to get some sunshine in his life.

I just felt the need to share this story because I still come across so many ungrateful people and I can’t handle it. Somebody somewhere will love to have your worst day and you are still complaining. I also felt the need to share because I’m just afraid that too many folks are getting caught up in the entertainment aspect of life. That’s what the enemy specializes in. He will attempt to take your mind of what is important and try to focus it on multi million dollar athlete’s press conferences while the city, the school systems or even your household become undone. Don’t be entertained. Be empowered.

A favorite of mine, Lamar, shared this video with me. It’s a segment from Oprah’s Legends Ball and it features the great Bishop Walter Hawkins singers (Hawkins recently was welcomed into heaven) , Yolanda Adams, Patti LaBelle and BeBe Winans among others. Valerie Simpson of Ashford and Simpson fame took to the mic and sang “we gone walk taller, we gone think higher, we gone be better.” Yes, I am. What about you?