How do

You know, my Comcast service has been temporarily interrupted, which has had an ENORMOUS impact on my ability to research and write.  I can only connect in one particular corner of my kids' bedroom, and I don't really like to go there...I feel like a hapless schlep every time I do.

Between my connectivity issues, and the Gazette's continued tolerance of God-Hatin', Gay-Lovin' Mark Barna, I've had a diminished capacity and desire to turn its pages.

Oh, come on...who am I kidding; my love for the Gazette is like Heathcliff's love for Cathy.

(And if you don't get the joke, hie thee to your nearest library and/or bookstore and read "Wuthering Heights" already -- really, shame on you -- oh, come on...who am I kidding.  OK, Heathcliff is a *pimp* who loves Cathy...and Cathy loves him back...but she's wishy-washy and lets him down a lot, enraging him...regularly resulting in the wuthering of everything.)

Ennyhoo...I just happened to be schlepping haplessly, when I read the Gazette's "Our View"...the one where Wayne Laugesen takes James Tucker to task for certain utterances and actions.

Yes, I'll admit it...I HAVE been salivating for this opportunity to toss in my own two-cents here.

Early this summer -- I guess it was around June of 2010 -- I had an opportunity to purchase an Apple MacBook Pro for $250.  At the time, such a laptop was retailing anywhere between $1,200 and $1,500...so it was a *really* good deal.  I had already put down $100 on it...and was just trying to find someone to lend me the other $150.

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS AND NO CENTS.  I wondered, "Who can I turn to?"

Well, lessee...a local black writer needs some financial aid in obtaining an important tool of her trade; I made the laughable mistake of turning to some individuals and organizations who have made names for themselves purporting to help black folk in need...some of whom additionally claim to be journalists/writers.

• I asked James Tucker (African American Voice) first:  "No."
• I asked Rosemary Harris Lytle (NAACP) second:  "No."
• I asked Kathleen Foster (Black Chamber of Commerce):  "No."
• I asked Delia Armstrong Busby (former D11 Board Member)  "No."
• I asked a couple of others...the Urban League (no answer), and Rev. P.M. Wynn (out of town).

To help everyone save face, I've abbreviated the answers.  There were other black VIPs I considered calling upon...but didn't.  And to be fair, there were several conservative white VIPs I also called...and who also didn't help.

In the end, an old friend of mine, who is black and a taxi cab driver, loaned me the money...and I paid her back.  Several months later, when our family found itself in serious need of cash, I was able to sell the laptop for $700 -- a decision that helped out at the time, but that I will regret for many tomorrows.

James Tucker considers anyone who doesn't advertise in his African American Voice a racist.

My point?  Lessee...well...it would be wrong for me to accuse all of the above personages and organizations of being racists for their failure and/or outright refusal to help in the advancement of this colored person.

But to be perfectly honest, it's just how most black folk "do" -- how they do each other, and how they do themselves.  The more self-important they feel, the less important things they tend to do for others...and the colored person they're most likely to help advance is the one they see when they look in the mirror.

Yep, I said it...and I meant it.

So, sue me.