The latest music of one of my favorite artist and someone knew from my hometown is so awesome.

 I want everyone to be blessed with this music as I have been for most of my life. James Ingram and I grew up in the same neighborhood, in Akron, Ohio and his music is so familiar to me.

James has an extensive collection of music from Revelation Funk of the 1970’s to singing back up with Ray Charles and everyone remembers PYT “Pretty Young Thang” and “Secret Garden” just to mention a few of his talents.

I have listened to his parents sing in church, his brother play the organ in church and stood next to his sister in our high school  choir. Yes the entire family is talented and deeply Spiritual. This latest work brings back memories of that sleepy little industrial town where everyone worked at the rubber factory and went to church.

His latest work reminds me of high school football games, summer picnics at Turkeyfoot Lake and going to church. “Stand in the Light” is reminiscent of Sunday school followed by morning service and a dinner after church already prepared waiting to be reheated.

The testimony of a neighbor or someone “shouting” and being filled with the Spirit that morning in church inspired you to make a new commitment to yourself to be better because it could always be worse and that you could be in someone else’s shoes.

In Don’t Let Go he sings of what his father taught him about lessons learned and enduring life on life’s terms. His family was a strong presence in the church as I remember them.

Life in an industrial town was like living in a village and everyone knew everyone else, not matter what side of town you lived on. Most people went to church and believed tat the trials and tribulations of life will pass if we remember to “keep the faith”, hold on and don’t lean to your own understanding.Read more

Aging in the African American Community

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” My granddaughter sang this song to me to remind me to be present and available for my family to be thankful for my health and ability to maintain good health.

It is awesome that I can play games with her and prepare my own meals, bathe myself, dress myself and maintain my own daily survival. There are many of my peers in my age group that cannot take care of themselves.

Remember when grandma could watch the children and cook a big holiday meal, or granddad would repair our car and give us money when we needed it. When their health began declining and they needed us, we were not available.

No one wants to relinquish their independence and become reliant on others for their daily survival. Imagine an adult that has taken care of themselves and others for years unable to care for themselves in the most basic ways.

Many families must work all day and cannot to be available to provide the support needed or they don’t know how to set up a day time assistant for their aging parent to be able to stay at home.

We want to know that our loved ones are in a clean facility, that the food is good and that they are not being abused or their basic needs not being neglected. We become dependent upon a system that we are not familiar with, so we must step up and get involved.

It is detrimentally important to visit a love one admitted to the hospital or a long term care facility. Your presence lets the staff know that someone is checking on the level and quality of care. Everyone can take a day and visit, so the burden does not fall on one person.

Come on put aside your busy life, and your resentments for being required to have some responsibility for your aging parents and get involved.

Health disparities plague the black community and create a big responsibility for families raising children. Cancer, Stroke, Diabetes, Hypertension, Dialysis, Heart Disease, Respiratory problems and general aging are defined as areas in which the numbers are high and the quality of care received is unequal to the care received by other ethnic groups.

While disparities in “health care” and in “health” are related concepts, they are not one in the same. A health care disparity refers to differences in, for example, coverage, access, or quality of care that is not due to health needs. A health disparity refers to a higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality experienced by one population group in relation to another. Information provided by the Race/Ethnicity and Health Care Program

Would you want to spend your time alone in a hospital or convalescent care center with no one in your family coming to check on you?

If you can close you eyes for a moment and imagine yourself being confined to a bed all day a long, unable to bath yourself, dress yourself or go to the bathroom without some assistance. You wake up everyday and your family is not there to see about you. It begins to feel like they have given up on you.

We miss the adventures of letting our light shine when we don’t make time to care for our loved ones that need us the most. The term “sandwich generation” describes those who have an aging parent or relative and they are still raising children.

The age of baby boomers is upon us as the fastest growing segment of the population, lets all do our part to support each other so our love and care will help them to heal and stay healthy.  Our visits and our love can help the healing process go smoother.