Month: March 2026

Airport Blessings

by ladypbwiggins

Airports are rarely where you expect to receive blessings. Tuesday I arrived at Hobby Airport in Houston expecting long lines and chaos. I was faced with minimal line lengths. There was only one person in front of me in the wheelchair registration.  But the real blessing came in the form of a young man whose job was to get me through the TSA madness and to my boarding gate. He was very personable. We laughed through the whole process. Blessing number one. 

It was early, so I wanted something to eat. We stopped at Starbucks: Lots of people. When it was my turn to order and pay, a young lady reached around me and paid for me. My look was surprised and asked the question, why? She simply said my mom’s name is Pat. Blessing number two.

My daughter and I had a conversation on the way to the airport about talkative seat mates. I hoped the person sitting next to me was nice and quiet. My whole row was nice and quiet.  Blessing number three.

When I arrived at LAX, I received another wheelchair attendant that took good care of me. She made sure I got my baggage quickly and safely. Blessing number 4.

Finally, an efficient and helpful flight crew. I especially enjoyed the landing. It was the softest landing I have ever experienced.  Blessing number five.

I know these are small things to many but to me they are blessings that made for a stress-free  flight. In this stress-filled environment in which we live they are huge.

My soil was greatly enriched.

Woke, Wisdom or Fear?

by ladypbwiggins

Just read an article that asked the question, When did woke become a four-letter word? I have that same question.  You see I was a child in the late 50’s and 60’s. I grew up in the Jim Crow south and the Civil Rights Movement. I remember that word being used and it was used to mean what it meant; be alert, aware

Considering I grew up in the town where KKK grand wizard lived it was imperative that every black person had to be woke, i.e. aware, alert. The training we children received about staying alert was necessary for survival but our parents had the wisdom to do it so we could enjoy our childhood. I learned how to observe my surroundings and know when I needed to prevent unintended offense to the white people and still be me.

We were very aware and alblacert when we were not in our own communities.  Neighborhoods were segregated then. Many of us are alive because we were woke. Yes, it was also used to reference awareness of social injustices and legal ramifications. But I never noticed people changing the word to be a negative thing like it has been in the last few years. In fact, I don’t remember that much attention being paid to the use of the word. More focus was on the actions in the Movement, Dr. King. More attention was paid to the word power. Power to the people.

The thought came to me why it was made to be a negative thing. When it was mainly used in the black community and as a slang, non-blacks didn’t really care. What we did and thought was dismissed. But now, our voices are heard and has weight .

The powers that be don’t want people to hear and understand.  So let’s make them fearful so they will think it means something more than being aware, alert. Basically, we don’t want you to pay attention to what I’m really doing. The weaponizing of the word did not deter us. We, most of us, became more aware , more alert. Standing over my stove I realized, therein lies the power they are afraid of. Our awareness is our power. Your awareness is your power. Every person who is paying attention and using their own mind to process what they see and here is the danger. Every thinking person holds the power. That’s the fear. Lets make woke mean something other than aware. Throw in fascism, Marxism, all of the trigger words that threaten democracy. Label those thinking people as anti-American if they are not extremely conservative. Label those thinking people anti-Christian because they dare to question actions that are not biblical, not really Christ-like. When you see, you see. That’s what they are afraid of. Loss of control and power because you see.

You are Woke.