Today, October 30, 2018 is my baby chile - Adiya Soignee Idane's - Birthday!!!
Adiya
This is a milestone Birthday for Adiya - a/k/a Ms. Thing.
She
is the youngest of my three - She was the TMK - "Tailor Made Kid" because her dad wanted a daughter - there were five boys in his family, and he had always wanted a sister, or better yet, a daughter. Not only did I deliver, but she has her dad's eyes, dimples (who knew he had dimples under that beard??), and she was literally a belated birthday gift - born 5 days after Lou's birthdate of October 25, on October 30 - making them both Scorpios!! Talk about delivering the goods!
She and Kira represent the "bookends" of the October family birthdays - Kira on October 7, and Adiya on October 30 - with 15 other family birthdays in between!
But truth be told, she did get a
fair amount of pampering - especially from her big sister, Kira, and a lot of protection from her big brother Rais. Despite all of this, she is totally her own person - and a force of nature.
Adiya
was awake, aware, and alert from the day she was born. Out of the
three, she was the most determined to know what was going on - her
curiosity knew no bounds. She was the kid you couldn't hide anything
from. If
there was something that caught her eye that we deemed might be harmful
to her as a baby, we'd put it in a high cabinet or shelf, out of her
reach -but she'd find a way to get to it anyway!! There was a point where we thought that she could literally climb walls.
But she is also the kid that, if she didn't want you to know what was going on, you'd never find out. Typical Scorpio, she could keep a secret to the inth degree. Your secrets as well as her own are totally safe with her.
That said, she always amazes me with her insight, and ability to read between the lines. Like her dad, she can see through - or empathize with. She has the most beautiful, tender heart. Again, much like her dad. Her sense of humor and love for the humorous and comical is legendary. She gets the punch line almost before the joke is completed. A trait I think she also got from Lou, the Clown Prince of the family.
She has grown up to be an elegant, graceful, beautiful woman - and I am so proud of her and all of her accomplishments. A true Lincoln Lionness like her Mom (yours truly) she took her natural love of education and people and has distinguished herself in working with children.
She loves working with children, and it appears they love her back.
She
has that ready smile that just brightens up a room and the atmosphere,
no matter where she is or what's going on. She's creative and talented - designs fashions (got that from me); cook unusual dishes - also
from me - and unusual hair styles - now that she learned to do on her
own.
Having
a family where three of the major family members all have their
birthdays in October is both interesting and challenging - Kira is
October 7; Lou would have been October 25; and Adiya's is today, October
30 - I had to do my homework on Librans and Scorpios - and believe me,
theres a lot to learn. I call Kira and Adiya the Book-Ends, with Lou
in the middle of the October Birthdays, and Kira and Adiya being the
beginning and the end. Of course, the two fire signs - myself and Aries, and her brother, the Leo, keep things in check as much as possible - LOL
Me with my "Book Ends" - Kira and Adiya
(By
the way - there is a total of 17 family members born in the month of
October when you combine my and Lou's family - that's almost a birthday
every other day - except for the fact that the only Scorpios were Lou
and Adiya).
Being
a fellow Scorpion made her the apple of her Dad's eye. They were so
alike in so many ways - they had their own mutual admiration society.
She inherited his dimples, which were hidden securely under his beard,
and his sense of humor -though she can't tell jokes the way he did, she
has a serious funny bone!! She loved helping her dad select his stage wardrobe for Mandrill concerts, and keeping track of his music. Adiya was a lot better at keeping secrets than Lou - they had their
secret codes - at the end of the day, he would have spilled the beans to me about whatever it was they were collaborating on. LOL
I've always teased her about being the custom made kid
- she has evolved into the Scorpio woman from the highest, most positive
aspects - Scorpio is the only sign that has 3 levels of evolution -
Scorpion, Snake and Eagle - Adiya
represents the Eagle = She soars above issues, problems, challenges -
she's ethical, insightful, principled, and fun loving. The total
package. As a
bragging parent, of course, I reserve the right to extol the virtues of
my kids - whether they like it or not - and I often do. Now that
they're adults, of course, and living their own lives, I'm even more
pleased with how they turned out. Ms. Thing, as we call her, has morphed into this absolutely poised, self assured, elegant and genteel beauty. She walks like she's walking on diamonds, with a glow that follows her into any room she enters. I am so proud to be her mom. So please join me in wishing her the happiest of birthdays - Happy Birthday Adiya Luv4U Muchly Momi Stay Blessed
My birthday was last Tuesday, March 21, 2017. I always brag as a Aries that I start the Zodiac and I start the sign - since Aries is the first sign in the Zodiac and March 21 is he First day of Aries. When I was a kid I used to also have the bragging rights to it being the First Day of Spring, which it was until someone decided to move the Vernal Equinox to the 20th of March - still not accepting that one though.
MY Family (L-R) Adiya, Me, Jaden, Rais, Kira, Hugh
Since it was a Tuesday, hadn't really planned anything major in the way of a celebration. The last two milestone birthday bashes ended in disaster, with downpours of rain so bad you would have thought a monsoon had hit New York City. So, when First daughter, Kira asked said she and handsome Jaden were coming up on Saturday for my birthday, I was totally happy to let her take charge. Then when my Baby Chile Adiya called to ask me what my favorite foods were - I thought, wow, don't tell me she's forgotten - surely it can't have been that long since we'd eaten out together - but I said to her, "King Crab Legs, or Thai Food - or both. " "I knew that,"she responded.
So I thought, great, we'll have a girl's day out. I rather assumed that Handsome Jaden, whose birthday was the day following mine, March 22, was now officially 15, was probably going to hang in Virginia, with some of his peers.
When Saturday, March 25, rolled around, Kira, her Hubby, Handsome Hugh, and to my delight, Handsome Jaden all drove up together - I knew it was going to be a great day.
By the way: If by now you haven't noticed, all the men in our families are "Handsome" - it's a practice I started when my son, Rais was born - based on a sociological study that said that meanstream media had more derogatory words and descriptions of Black men than any other group on the planet - but I digress.
Jaden has gotten so tall - his aspiration is to either be a football or a basketball jock, and he's excellent in both fields. I asked him how he liked being 15 - he said, "It's all right. " I have the feeling he's waiting for sixteen when there are some special privileges that 15 doesn't carry - like driver's licenses and things of that nature.
We went to a great Thai Restaurant on Walnut Ave., called XIANDU THAI (Shandoo thai) - which was absolutely lovely - with a bar, sidewalk and upper restaurant section. They had some wonderful elephant carvings and statues , and a great atmosphere (1119 Walnut Ave - check them out - they even have happy hour on Saturdays) - I call it casual elegance.
Our waiter/server, Brian, must be a stand up comedian on the side because he kept us in stitches laughing at his made up jokes the entire time we were there.
BRIAN OUR COMEDIC SERVER HAD US LAUGHING ALL THE WAY
BRIAN, OUR COMEDIC SERVER TELLING US ANOTHER JOKE
The food was excellent, and we were already having a great deal of fun - when my son, Handsome Wilson showed up with this huge gift bag and said under no circumstances was I to touch it. It was fairly heavy, so I of course immediately got excited - and of course it didn't help that he put it right on the seat next to me. When Adiya arrived the party was complete - and we spent the afternoon laughing, looking at her wonderful photos from China (she had just returned), and hearing about how shocked many people from china were to see Black people - some had even tried to rub her skin to see of the color would come off.
My handsome son-in-law told of how some had actually thought folks in his entourage - years ago had tried to lick one of his associates because they thought she was chocolate. LOL - we do have to travel more so the rest of the world can become accustomed to seeing us.
The food was fantastic - I had the Seafood Delight - with brown rice. Which I could not finish because they seriously give you ample servings there. But when they brought out the green tea ice cream and my mocha chocolate cake with the candle, the big moment for the unveiling of my gift had arrived.
Rais handed me this gigantic bag and pulled a rather large box out of - making sure to support it while I unwrapped it. I kept wondering what it was that made it so heavy. When the wrapping was finally off, a white box was revealed that said "album" on the front. So I assumed that it was a photo album to help me organize the zillions of photos I have taken over the years.
RAIS CAREFULLY TAKING GIFT OUT OF THE BAG - KIRA WITH CAMERA EXTREME RIGHT
So when I opened the box, I got the surprise/shock of my life!! All the photos that I had not seen in 30 years - from when we lived in California - kids baby pictures, first steps, early Mandrill Pictures, friends from California, that I hadn't seen in eons. I was totally blown away. In addition to the box of photos, they pulled out an old photo album from my days in Oklahoma - including pictures of me as an adolescent in OKC, and all my Science Fair awards - as well as clipping from early Mandrill performances.
I was so totally blown away, I started bawling - I thought I'd never see those pictures again in life. They were treasures from when my now very grown up kids were still in pampers; learning first steps; dance recitals; when I used to model (back when I was 99 lbs.) - wow! It was so hard to take it all in!! It was like they had handed me back the best days of my life! Believe me, no amount of money, or jewelry could have been more precious to me than those wonderful pictures and that album.
When I got back home, I just sat and went through each and every picture - there has to be about 500 or more of them - some of them are blurry because Black in the day you mainly used Instamatics or Polaroids. But some of them are real treasures. Actually, all of them are real treasures.
So I just wanted my wonderful kids to know how much I love them, and how beautiful this Birthday celebration was. For me it was the BEST BIRTHAY CELEBRATION EVER!!
My Baby Chile, Adiya, with my Handsome Son-in-Law, Hugh IV
(L-R) Hugh IV, Kira, Rais
(L-R) Jaden, Rais clowning around, Kira and Adiya
Adiya
(L-R) Hugh IV, Kira and Rais
Birthday Boy, Jaden, taking photo of Kira
(L-R) Jaden, Rais, Kira & Adiya
(L-R) Jaden cracking up at his uncle's antics, Rais, Kira, Adiya
Rais and Adiya
Adiya listening to Hugh tell about people in China thinking brown skin was chocolate
Hugh IV, Adiya and Kira
So I just want to thank my three beautiful kids my handsome son in law and my handsome grandson for the BEST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION - EVER!!!
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH STAY BLESSED & ECLECTICALLY BLACK MOMI
Today, October 30, is my baby chile - Adiya - Birthday!!!
Adiya
She is the youngest of my three - which she says is no honor because she had to work as hard as everybody else. But truth be told, she did get a fair amount of pampering - especially from her big sister, Kira.
Adiya was awake, aware, and alert from the day she was born. Out of the three, she was the most determined to know what was going on - her curiosity knew no bounds. She was the kid you couldn't hide anything from.
If there was something that caught her eye that we deemed might be harmful to her as a baby, we'd put it in a high cabinet or shelf, out of her reach -but she'd find a way to get to it anyway!!
There was a point where we thought that she could literally climb walls.
She has grown up to be an elegant, graceful, beautiful woman - and I am so proud of her and all of her accomplishments.
She has that ready smile that just brightens up a room and the atmosphere, no matter where she is or what's going on. She's creative and talented - loves to design clothes - got that from me; cook unusual dishes - also from me - and unusual hair styles - now that she learned to do on her own.
She loves working with children, and it appears they love her back.
Having a family where three of the major family members all have their birthdays in October is both interesting and challenging - Kira is October 7; Lou would have been October 25; and Adiya's is today, October 30 - I had to do my homework on Librans and Scorpios - and believe me, theres a lot to learn. I call Kira and Adiya the Book-Ends, with Lou in the middle of the October Birthdays, and Kira and Adiya being the beginning and the end.
Me with my "Book Ends" - Kira and Adiya
(By the way - there is a total of 17 family members born in the month of October when you combine my and Lou's family - that's almost a birthday every other day - except for the fact that the only Scorpios were Lou and Adiya).
Being a fellow Scorpion made her the apple of her Dad's eye. They were so alike in so many ways - they had their own mutual admiration society. She inherited his dimples, which were hidden securely under his beard, and his sense of humor -though she can't tell jokes the way he did, she has a serious funny bone!! Although Adiya was a lot better at keeping secrets than her dad - they had their secret codes. I've always teased her that she was the custom made kid - but she exemplifies the Scorpio woman from the highest, most positive aspects - Scorpio is the only sign that has 3 levels of evolution - Scorpion, Snake and Eagle - Adiya represents the Eagle = She soars above issues, problems, challenges - she's ethical, insightful, principled, and fun loving. The total package. As a bragging parent, of course, I reserve the right to extol the virtues of my kids, whether they like it or not - and I often do. Now that they're adults, of course, and living their own lives, I'm even more pleased with how they turned out. Ms. Thing, as we call her, has morphed into this absolute beauty, poised, self assured, elegant and genteel. So please join me in wishing her the happiest of birthdays - Happy Birthday Adiya LuvU Muchly Momi Stay Blessed
Well, this is October 25, 2016 - and Lou Wilson, the love of my life, would have celebrated his 75th Birthday! I kind of procrastinated writing this - but it's been on my mind for the last few weeks actually. It's because we had made so many plans about where we would be and what we would be doing at this point in our lives. We fully intended to be sitting on our front porch, either in our swing (oh yes, we planned on having a porch swing!) or the cliche` rocking chairs, watching our grandkids do their thing. Lou wanted to be a professor in ethnomusicology - perhaps at Lincoln U - but definitely involved in imparting his knowledge and love for music to the future generation of avant grade musicians and vocalists. He loved to teach and was a stickler for getting a good educational background.
I know that right about now, our kids - Ki, Ra, Di and Vic - are remembering their Dad fondly. Each of them has inherited a bit of his talent, personality and wisdom. And his brothers, Ric, Carlos and Wolf are taking a moment to pause and treasure the times they spent together from boyhood to manhood to one of the most magnificent music group on the planet - MANDRILL! As for our grandkids - the sadness is they missed getting to know him as he had wished they would. He took such great pride in each of them - and if they get one-quarter of the talent he passed on through his DNA, they are going to be awesome!!! Actually, they already are. Thank goodness there is so much of his music to listen to and share and enjoy. He left a monumental body of work - because he exuded music from his pores.
At times, I am more at peace with his having joined the Ancestor/Angels. I can now at least listen to his music without falling to pieces. I am sharing with you the homage I paid to Lou last year - for his 74th Birthday - Not because I have nothing new to say, but because he always liked to keep things short and sweet - and because it is as true now as it was last year.
Whenever you listen to any music by Mandrill, just remember the lyrics and the music were written, composed, arranged by this iconic musical genius. Each one a masterpiece - whether it made the charts or not. He was as much an ethnomusicologist as he was an artist. He loved music from all cultures. We had a musical house, and anything and everything could be transformed into a musical instrument once it found its way into his hands. Our handsome son, Rais, channels a lot of his dad's talents in so many wonderful ways - is breaking new ground, stepping outside the proverbial box. So do our wonderful grandchildren - so in many ways - Lou may not be here among us on this plane of action, but he is being reborn daily through all of them - we have 5 - our eldest just started college this year - he would be so proud. Every time you listen to his music, he's being reborn. Listen to his lyrics and you get the full measure of who Lou Wilson was/is. His deep, philosophical underpinnings are in the lyrics of the songs he wrote. His love of people was expressed through is lyrics. Even during the period of our separation, I always loved his music - MANDRILL will always be the tops for me in original composition and quality. Each one of those Wilson brothers was a master musician in their own right - Ric, Carlos, Wolf - and most of all Lou - who was the inspiration and founder of the group with his very talented brothers 46 years ago. Also remember that he loved children and always sought to educate them - teach them something new and watch the look of wonderment in their eyes as they began to grasp it. He was always teaching. He did it with our children, the neighbors' children, and any little person who came into his environment. He loved knowledge. He/we also loved good, clean comedy - especially Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby and Carol Burnette. Being a class clown himself, we could sit and watch comedy shows for hours on end - there is a genius behind being able to tell a joke and get a laugh - and he seemed to have mastered that craft - and passed it on to our son, as well. Since I'm keeping this salute brief, I will close with something we used to sing to each other at the end of each phone conversation - it was originally by Carol Burnette, one of our favorite comediennes: "I'm so glad we had this time together..." Happy Birthday Lou - we love and miss you very much! Give my greetings to Mom and Dad Wilson; my parents, Ruby and Warner Dulan, and to Gil Scott Heron ( I know you two are collaborating on something great), Prince, Alonzo, JiTu Weusi, and all our wonderful friends. And yes, I still love cooking! lol Stay Blessed & ECLECTICALLY BLACK Much Love from GLO
Well, it's official - this is Adiya's day of days - October 30 - just one day shy of Halloween - and I did it on purpose, so that she would not have to grow up being a 'halloween' baby.
Adiya is the youngest of my three children - and, being the "baby," got the benefit of the wisdom and pampering from her older sibs, as well as being appropriately spoiled by her doting Dad, Lou. From birth she was/is "special, precious and smart."
The fact that she and Lou were both Scorpios - with birthdays five days apart, may have had something to do with the special bond these two shared. She had him awestruck from the day she emerged and wrapped those tiny little fingers around his.
Our favorite nickname for her is "Ms. Thing" and she's been that since birth - long before it came into popular use - because she did everything her way. She talked early - could say her own name at the age of 6 months; walked early - by 9 months; could snap her fingers when she was just barely a year old. And has always been a bright, fun loving, adventuresome kid.
Adiya has now evolved into an even more fun loving, people loving young woman. She inherited the wit, wisdom and humor of her dad (and the charm of her Mom - ahem!) Her insight was/is way beyond her age. And like most Scorpios, she doesn't quit until she gets what she wants done - whether it's a design concept; a trip or journey; or learning something new. She's in it to make it happen.
When Mandrill was on tour, or had shows on the East Coast, Adiya would drop everything to tour with Lou and help him out backstage with wardrobe selections, or whatever else he needed done - she has a flair for style and staging (got it from yours truly, of course). And of course, during their performances, she was on the sidelines videotaping the shows for him, or just keeping rhythm to the music.
Like her Dad, she has the kind of face breaking smile and presence that lights up a room when and where she enters. She's the one who inherited his dimples - which no one knew even existed because of his beard. And like her Dad, she has the capacity to size things up pretty quickly without saying a word - Scorpions are like that you know - laid back on the surface, but keenly aware of what's happening underneath.
One of the guys in her class described her as the girl with the "Asian" eyes who steps like she's walking on diamonds. (I've always remembered that and thought it high praise coming from a college student - I also silently thanked the six years of ballet lessons she took for helping her maintain her queenly poise and posture).
Me, Ki, and Di!
She loves education and educating - and loves children, and has been working as a child development specialist for the past three years. Her rationale is that it's to make up for all the hard times she gave her teachers when she was growing up. I think it's also because my side of the family are primarily educators, professors, principals and it runs in the blood. Lou and I both instilled the love of learning in our kids - and they, in turn, pass it on - naturally. She's a designer; and is musically and artistically talented. She loves her culture and is a beautiful, proud, Black woman of the world!
Out of our three, Adiya is the only one who attended and graduated from my Alma Mater, Lincoln University - class of 2003, where she, like me, has made some wonderful lifelong friends.
She's also a very private person - again like most Scorps -- they want to know all your secrets, but don't try to get any of theirs - fuhgeddaboudit!! They're masters at keeping secrets. But, if they love you, they're loyal for life - no matter what!
Like her Mom (uh, that's me) she can be the Maverick of the family - a bit on the persnickety side (as my Mom would say); not willing to settle for less than what she wants, no matter how long it takes! Of course, with time, we all find that flexibility is better than rigidity - and that perfection is not only over rated, it's kind of boring! (took me a while, too)
What stands out more than anything about Adiya is her sweetness and her empathy for others. She literally senses when something is not going right with a friend, and is ready to come to the rescue - whether it's first aid, commiseration, a kind word of encouragement; or some sisterly hand holding through rough times.
You can't pressure her, but if she makes a promise - like her Dad and her Granddads, she is true to her word. I'm so proud of my "Baby Chile" and so proud to be her mom - as you have already surmised from the previous posts for my other two wonderful offspring (Kira and Rais), I am the ultimate bragging parent - and with good reason. I'm three for three in producing wonderful kids; I've made my contribution to society by bringing these awesome beings into the world.
MY THREE: L-R RAIS, KIRA and ADIYA
In our family, birthdays are very special events. It's the day you finally emerged into the realm that will in turn be your sphere of influence for the next few decades - and your soul force goes forth ahead of you to attract all those people, things, events to you to bless you and make the path for your life. You are in turn a sphere of influence for others. And such is Adiya - "Ms. Thing" S.I. Wilson.
So, I celebrate my dear, darling daughter - on this her Birthday - Today, October 30th - with so many more wonderful blessings and adventures in store now and moving forward into the future - as I always say: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADIYA! I LOVE YOU TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!
It
is with a great deal of sadness that I announce the transition of my
mother, Ruby Love Dulan, from this plane of action to that of
Ancestor/Angel - as of today, April 14, 2014. I just received the call
from my brother Syl, that she passed on peacefully, thank God, after
some difficulty breathing.
Mom Ruby Love Dulan at age 90 (Feb. 22, 2013)
To say that I'm not taking this well
at all is an understatement and a half - I'm not taking it well at all -
with all my metaphysical studies, you are still never, ever prepared
for the final exit.
Birthday Cake from Mom Ruby Love's 90th Birthday Blowout February 22, 2013
And since she made it to age 91, I realize
that if Mother left, it was because she was definitely ready to go. She
had faced death twice - dealing with ignorant doctors, but she managed
to have a good life despite diabetes and dialysis. She laughed, joked,
went out to brunch, with my brothers and her friends; kept up with all
of us kids regardless of where we were in the world or what we were
doing. She made sure we all went to college, and had what we needed
beyond that as well.
Mom and My Daughter Kira - Her First Granddaughter
Rais E. Wilson - Her First Grandson
Right to left: Seated My Sister, Brenda Dulan-Moore and Mother, Ruby Love Dulan (2nd frm Rt) and
Two Oklahoma Neighbors; Standing Right to Left: My Daughters, Adiya S.I. Wilson & Kira Harrell;
Me - Gloria Dulan-Wilson; and Nieces Sherrie Moore and Shalayne Dulan at Nephews Wedding 2012.
She loved all her grandchildren and never
forgot anybody's birthday - regardless of when they came on scene. She
always made sure she sent a card and/or a gift. Something thoughtful
and cheery - Mom had excellent taste.
Her favorite things in the world were the TV Show:
"Keeping Up Appearances" (PBS) and "Tom and Jerry" and "Heckle and
Jeckle" cartoons; her favorite artists were Michael Jackson, Billy
Eckstine, Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole; pecans, popcorn and peanut butter (so now everyone knows where I got that habit from) among others. She was also clairvoyant - something that used to keep us kids on our toes - you just couldn't fool Mom. She truly had intuition - I literally had to ask her to not tel me about dreams she had about me unless it was seeing me with millions of dollars - because they used to be eerily accurate. There are times when I think I've inherited that gift from her as well.
Mother
was my rock. I was so blessed and fortunate to have been raised by a
woman who did not know the meaning of "no" or "quit" or "can't." They
were not part of her or our vocabulary. Mother was one of the first Black women to work at the Federal Post Office in Oklahoma City - which didn't come about until the 60's. When they wouldn't teach her how to throw the mail to pass the test as mail sorter, she made her own mock up and practiced tossing the mail until she could do it in her sleep - then went in and proceeded to ace the test and be one of the first hired in the position where she remained for 37 years. It taught us kids, who watched her while she practiced and prepared for that test, to never say "never."
My Mom, Ruby Love, who
was of African and Cherokee heritage, was one of the most beautiful,
graceful, fashionable and accomplished women in the world - all the way
through her senior years. From her I learned to cook, sew, design, keep
house (make home) - unfortunately, the Aries side of me never learned
how to keep quiet - something she was always trying to instill in me -
up to the last. Even when she was p.o'd , about something she was cool
as a cucumber (which was the Pisces' way). It took me a while to learn how to do that one.
Funny, on Friday, April 11th, I was covering President Obama at the plenary session of the National Action Network, and had actually thought about calling my Mom from there to tell her that I was in the same room with President Obama. I knew she would be so proud because she really loved the President and First Lady. I had saved my press permit from the White House to send to her as a souvenir - the same way I had brought stuff home for her when I covered the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008. She kept most of the stuff I sent her no matter how banal - from the photo of me interviewing Stevie Wonder to an old clipping of a promo I did in the LA Times. Now I wish I had followed that impulse.
Our last conversation a
week ago was in reference to the progress in healing my knees - which
was a big concern for her. We joked about my dancing and the fact that
that would be the first thing I would do once they were healed - dance
myself silly. Mother loved to dance as well and it was passed on to me.
Mom was the youngest and the last of her family line of six girls and
one son born of Enoch and Cornelia (Hornbeak) Gaines. She is likely
reunited with them now. At least I'd like to think so.
My
sister, Brenda in Chicago, as well as my Brothers, Warner, Jr., and
Sylvester, both of whom are in Oklahoma City, all have large chunks of
her personality and DNA, which complement the wonderful genes we
received from our dad, Warner Sr., - who made his transition in 1987.
She's finally reunited with her fine Black man and the love of
her life at last. They can resume their 47 year love affair once again
- they met and married on the same day they met - and raised us four
wild and crazy kids - with love, discipline, creativity, and inspiration
- and a great deal of patience (and I daresay a great deal of amusement
as well - we were definitely a handful).
They were certainly a
beautiful couple - loving and loyal to each other all their lives. They
made love, marriage and happiness look easy. They had each other's
back no matter what - even through the lean years when things were tight
for a family of six - Mom and Dad maintained that solid love that
people often romance about, but can't seem to actualize. There was a
fineness about it that we all hoped we would one day experience in our
own lives. We loved watching our parents interact with each other.
And it's wonderful to know that Ruby and Warner Dulan will once again be
reunited for eternity - and this time not even death can keep them
apart.
I will definitely miss my Mom Ruby Love - my mom had tiny
feet, but left big footprints to follow. I've still got a lot of growing
to do to fill them. I am definitely working on being worthy.
Love you Mom - Say "Hello" to Daddy and everybody else and let them know how much I love and remember them all. Enjoy a beautiful eternity of love, happiness, peace, and joy.
by Gloria Dulan-Wilson HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANDSOME SON!!!
Rais & Big Sister Kira
You know I had to do this - this is a milestone birthday, and I just couldn't let it pass without paying homage to my handsome son, Rais Enaharo Wilson (his name is both East and West African). Based on the fact that he's a Leo, Rais means Ruler; Enaharo means Like the Sun (since Leo is a Sun King). He later amended it to a stage name of his chosing: The One Sun Lion RA. Spoken word artist, musician in his own right, and the pride and joy of his late father, Lou Wilson (Mandrill), Rais has stepped out in his own right and begun blazing his own trail in the world of entertainment. As a kid, sandwiched in between two sisters, Kira and Adiya, Ra made it plain that he was definitely the "boss" in the family - that is until his big sister shut him down, or his little sister put on a pouty face. There was the usual amount of sibling rivalry, but for the most part, these three were each other's support system, and continue to be so to this day. A lot of love in our family for each other. I am so proud of that fact. Now that they are all grown up, mature adults, and RA is the father of three beautiful chocolate drops of his own, it's a pleasure to see him with his kids, telling them the exact thing I told him when he was little: "Don't sit with your mouth open;" " say please," "say thank you," "say excuse me," "take your elbows off the table," "don't talk with your mouth full" "Black is Beautiful and so are you," "I love you." A consummate musician, writer, poet, and artist, Rais often appeared with his dad's group, Mandrill, on tour, performing some of his own original work. He's also appeared with Roy Ayers in the past. As a child it was easy to see he had a lot of talent, because he drove his teachers crazy. As a result of being frequently called to the school because he was always cracking jokes or imitating (perfectly) characters he had seen on TV or his teachers; I finally told him the only way he could do that and it not be a problem, was if he was getting paid. So I made it mandatory for him to audition for plays and roles, got him an agent, Sassie Gehrhardt, who got him on two Cosby Shows, and nearly landed him a role as Vanessa's love interest. In addition, he performed in two plays at the Harlem School of the Arts, one in which Susan Taylor's daughter, Shauna (?) danced (Wings Over Harlem, and We Don't Mean Chicken Honey). My Handsome Son - I do love saying that - is his own person, but he shares so many traits from both the Dulan and Wilson family lines. I've taken to calling my children Jamaica/Baja/Manian/Indians - because of their family lineages of Jamaica, Barbados, Panama and Cherokee nations. It's beautiful to see the blends in his talent, temperament, expression, and genetic code. As an artist, his work has been displayed at Yale University, Danny Simmons Studio, and in Paris. Being multitalented has its blessings, and its frustrations; but the dedication with which he's followed his dream is beginning to bear fruit.
RA Black in the Day at North Carolina A&T
And on this milestone of Birthdays, August 5, 2013, I am speaking power over my son and his life, and declaring that he will have many more wonderful days ahead of him. He is blessed and highly favored. And very much loved by us all.
