My two-cents worth and then some. An online journal by LP Brown.

Posts Written By L Parker Brown

Family Reunion Planner: When You are IT

by on ·Family, Lifestyle and Culture

“Consider the efforts of the planner.” That is a sincere request from my cousin, Velda Parker. Velda has been a planner and assistant planner for the Parker Family Reunion for years, and she wants every family member to heed those words each year when reunion time rolls around.

Family members usually look forward to the reunion as an opportunity to socialize with close kin and reconnect with distant relatives, but few have any idea how much work goes into pulling the event together. Nor do they understand the angst the planner experiences when she must constantly appeal to those planning to attend the function to send in their contribution before the deadline. Family reunions like most other worthwhile activities incur expenses and for the planner having the required funds and meeting deadlines is essential.

Anyone who has had the responsibility for organizing a family reunion or has simply lent a helping hand knows that it can be a headache. Like, Velda, I’ve worn both hats, and our hands-on experiences have given us an education for which some folks are willing to pay.

Family reunion planning is big business. So much so that numerous convention and visitors bureaus across the country hold annual family reunion planning seminars and workshops.

Orchestrating a family reunion isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be as daunting a task as some might think it is. Even a first-time planner, with organizational skills and (ideally) someone to share the load, can produce a function so enjoyable that your family will talk about it for years.

Here are some pointers for producing a memorable reunion.

  1. Don’t try to do it all by yourself, ask for help. Unless you choose to assume the responsibility of managing all aspects of the reunion, it is a good idea to form a committee (or committees) to assume some of the following tasks: locating a venue and negotiating accommodations; collecting contributions and maintaining a budget; assuming responsibility for meals, music, and entertainment at the banquet; making name tags, tee shirts, and shopping for raffle prizes and gift bag items. Another committee could be responsible for organizing entertainment, games or other activities.

Heads Up:  Forming committees is easier said than done. Usually, folks are eager to participate in the fun and activities at the reunion, but rarely volunteer to work toward making the event happen. So, don’t be surprised if you cannot get committee volunteers. Carry on.

  1. Decide on a reasonable amount to charge each participant. Ideally, the combined contributions of all family members will cover the down payment and other hotel costs. It will pay for postage stamps (to send information to those without email). Expenses for a DJ or other musical accommodations, including a podium, a microphone, and decorations in the banquet room, if desired, will all come from the combined fees paid by family members. Their contribution will also cover the cost of prizes, souvenirs, raffle tickets, and other unplanned incidentals.

Heads Up:  Be reasonable, but fair. People who live in proximity to the town or city where the reunion is held may bear less expense than those who must travel from distant cities. Some folks who will incur travel costs may balk at being asked to donate more than the cost of a jumbo pizza with a side order of buffalo wings, but you don’t want to have to spend a lot of your own money to cover additional expenses for the reunion. I don’t know a single reunion organizer, including Velda and myself, who has not had to spend a considerable amount of our own money to ensure a successful reunion. So unless you have Mark Zuckerberg deep pockets request a practical contribution (set fee) from family members. Folks who want to attend the event will find a way.

Send out the announcement letter at least a year in advance; this gives people time to set-aside funds for the reunion. Years ago, I used snail-mail to inform family members about the planned reunion. Today I would send out a contact group email and snail-mail only those who are unreachable online. When I snail-mailed the announcement, I enclosed in the envelope a preprinted postcard. The card gave information about the place where the planned reunion would be held and offered a choice of two-weekend dates for the event. Recipients were asked to indicate a first and second choice and then return the postcard to me by the deadline indicated on the card. Easy enough to drop the completed postcard in the mail. You’d think. Although most people returned the card promptly, some left me hanging for weeks or responded only after a second notice. After I received most of the cards, I planned the reunion for the date favored by the majority.

  1. Selecting a hotel. When scouting for a hotel, it is a good idea to check-out different ones in the area and determine who will give you the best group rate. Be sure to ask whether they offer a free breakfast; free parking accommodations; a hospitality suite; Wi-Fi; do they have a gym; and what other amenities are available. Much of that information is also (usually) available online.

If you can, set up a site visit to inspect the hotel, do so. Sometimes this isn’t practical especially if you live in a different city. So you will likely be making all negotiations and arrangements over the phone.

Once you make a decision, you’ll sign a contract finalizing the booking. Read the contract closely before signing it. Determine how many rooms you think you’ll need, but don’t block an excessive number of rooms, because you may be penalized with a hefty fee if a number of the rooms go unbooked by the deadline.

If you fill a certain number of rooms, some hotels will offer a complimentary room (that you can use a Hospitality Suite) at no additional cost. A Hospitality Suite is a private room that is used as a hangout space for the attendees of your family reunion. At our reunion in Burlington, I asked that a card table is set up in the Hospitality Suite and we used that table to play card games (like a favorite – bid whist). We even held a bid whisk tournament which, for the record, was won by my brother, Chico, and Uncle James.

  1. Plan accordingly for activities. Try to include something for all age groups. Consider that there will be seniors as well as youngsters attending the event. At one reunion, we played volleyball in the park on the Saturday early afternoon before the banquet.
  1. Try to avoid having the banquet dinner late in the evening. Many people may not want to be sitting down for dinner at 7 or 8 p.m. The hours between 4- 6 would allow folks time to enjoy the meal and any entertainment (like a talent show) and then, those who don’t want to dance the rest of the night away can return to their room.

And a few last tips:

As a courtesy, you may want to create a “Things to Do” sheet listing nearby parks, eateries, shopping malls, or other local attractions and sightseeing spots. Make sure to leave some copies in the Hospitality Suite.

For our family reunion in Burlington in 1995, I prepared a souvenir booklet. There was also a video made at the banquet. Such treasures enable guests to revisit the occasion through the years. However, since nearly every man, woman, and child now has a cell phone, many people will undoubtedly take their own photos and videos, so it would be unnecessary to incur an additional expense for a photographer or videographer.

If you have programming knowledge (or a relative who does) you can create a Family Reunion Website; your FRW would make information available online to family members in an efficient manner. Depending on the site design, your computer savvy family members can register and make their contribution, get updates on the reunion plans and see a list of who’s coming.  A Facebook page could also serve some of these purposes.

Finally, some hotels will include a welcome on the marquee sign at the entrance to the property for your family reunion. Ask if this free service would be available for your group. It won’t hurt to inquire about signage outside the Banquet Room and Hospitality Suite as well.

Now while you are digesting all of that, sit back and enjoy this video from the Reed & Puryear Family Reunion.

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Funeral Etiquette 101

by on ·General, Lifestyle and Culture, Opinion, The Way I See It

Coffin With Her Arms And Legs WalkingFor as long as I can remember, starting in my childhood, whenever a family friend or relative died my mom would send the family of the deceased a sympathy card. More often than not, it contained money. I never knew exactly how much she included with the card. I suspect it may have been a small amount, maybe 10 or 20 dollars. It might have been more; depending on what our family budget at the time would allow. Nonetheless, I recall that sometimes mom would write a brief message on a thoughtfully selected card and then set it aside without sealing it. When I would ask, “Aren’t you going to mail it?” she would usually say something like, “I can’t seal it yet. I’ve got to put some money in it.”

During my childhood, it was easy for me to understand why someone might include money with a birthday card. It’s a nice gift, especially for a youngster. Over the years, I received some such cards containing a few dollars from my parents, grandmother, a few favorite aunts, and uncles. I even recall occasionally getting a coin slot birthday card with dimes or other coins appropriately placed inside the card. (Are those still being manufactured?) Nevertheless, whenever I learned that someone we knew had died, my young mind went back to wondering why people include money with a sympathy card. And I would naively ask myself, “Is it to make the survivor feel better or the sender?”

When I became an adult, like numerous other benevolent deeds I learned from my mother; I followed the tradition of including money in a sympathy card for close friends and relatives. And although I have discovered that this is an ongoing custom observed by many people; the question of why do it has never left my mind.

As with other lessons learned while growing up, I came to understand that the planning, preparations, and costs for funeral services can be overwhelming; so including money with the sympathy card might help ease the financial burden on the bereaved, especially when there is no life insurance policy. But sometimes the devil’s advocate in me thinks that the practice is sacrilegious. And I realize that it sounds devilish to say what I am about to say (so I genuflect and cross myself before continuing), but — it’s like putting a value on the worth of the deceased.

The intent of some givers might be that their donation could help defray funeral expenses, buy flowers, or purchase food for the repass. I get it. As I said, I almost always include money with a condolence card out of habit, and each time I do it I ask myself the same question:  Why do we do this? This issue of whether it is proper to include money in a sympathy card has weighed on my mind for many years, so I decided to research the subject. What I discovered during my investigation and an unofficial survey, which included questioning some friends, is that as with most things, there are two schools of thought.

While many Protestants, Catholics and members of some other religions do it, the evidence is not conclusive. Opinions differ among people in various ethnic groups and communities.

Some people consider including money with a condolence card inappropriate or downright insulting. Instead, they donate to a charity in memory of the deceased, send flowers or simply send the family a card, sans a check or cash.

In a 1998 column in the Chicago Tribune, Ann Landers, (remember her) wrote that “Money or checks NEVER should be included in a card or letter of sympathy.”

To the contrary, in a 2007 NY Daily News Column, Harriette Cole, former creative director of Ebony magazine, lifestylist, author and branding coach of entertainers, entrepreneurs and business professionals wrote: “I think it’s perfectly fine to do so… If you are discreet.”

The jury is out on this one. As with every other issue, people have their own strong opinions. Some say it is inappropriate to send money. Others see nothing wrong with it. All-in-all, it is a personal decision. Whether or not to include a monetary gift with a sympathy card to help with funeral costs or simply as a kind gesture is up to the giver.

Trends change. People live and die. And life goes on.

 

 

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Activism is Nothing to Laugh About

by on ·Lifestyle and Culture

“A sense of humor helps us to get through the dull times, cope with the difficult times, enjoy the good times and manage the scary times.” Steve Goodier

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Most people enjoy a good laugh. Unfortunately, it gets more difficult every day to maintain a sense of humor when horrific events, like yesterday’s violence in Charlottesville, and regularly occurring acts of evil worldwide, lead us to think that there is nothing to laugh about. Nevertheless, we must laugh whenever it is practical to do so, because without laughter, love, empathy, and the belief that there is a Supreme Being maintaining a balance between good and evil we have nothing but an unending feeling of dread and hopelessness.

I strive to write blog posts that are lighthearted, but following the tragic and senseless death of one the counter-protesters in Charlottesville, I felt compelled to write this post, for people who wonder why activists do what they do.

As a full-time protester-at-heart and a parttime-activist in reality, I feel tremendous empathy for activists. I’ve participated in my share of rallies, protest marches, and other cause-related activities. Unlike my friend, Linda Leaks, whose years of social action and experience give her license to write an encyclopedia on activism, I would do well to put together a small handbook on the subject.

My most recent participation in a cause-related event was the Women’s March on Washington which occurred on January 21, 2017, and drew an estimated 500,000 participants. Of all the events that I’ve participated in the one that required me to conjure up the most courage was when I joined numerous counter-demonstrators protesting a march and rally by a faction of the KKK who traveled from North Carolina to rally in Washington, DC in October 1990. Thanks to the counter-protesters the march never took place. Instead, to keep the two groups apart, mid-route, law enforcement officers loaded the Klansmen onto a bus and drove them to the capitol grounds where their rally took place.

I was first bitten by the protest bug while in high school. One of my two best friends (her first name is also Loretta) and I were circulating a petition asking that students be allowed to wear sneakers to school. Back in those “prehistoric years” of the late 1960s although DC schools had a casual dress code including appropriate footwear, students were not allowed to wear what we called tennis shoes to school. I don’t recall how many student signatures Loretta and I had acquired before a voice came over the PA system ordering the two of us to come to the principal’s office. We were given an order by the assistant principal to cease-and-desist, thereby putting an early end to my initiation into the world of peaceful protest.

In the decades after that, I’ve circulated my share of petitions and taken part in various demonstrations, marches, walks, and rallies. A number of the protests were to end homelessness, including nearly a dozen years of walking in the annual Fannie Mae Hammer homeless walk, and at least one march with homeless activist, the late Mitch Snyder. I also occasionally helped serve meals to the homeless residents of CCNV. I have walked for the cause of Breast Cancer prevention, Autism, Osteoporosis and Justice for Trayvon Martin, and in the 50th Anniversary March on Washington.

I think the fact that I’ve lived all of my life in a city where politics is the center of activity and because I have several lack-minded friends it has played a part in my desire to “do something.”

I applaud the counter-protesters who stepped-up to the plate in Charlottesville, and I pray for those injured and Heather Heyer, the young woman who lost her life.

If you’d like to learn more about why people choose to become activists, check out an excellent article published in Psychology Today titled “What Makes An Activist.”

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Examining the Good, Bad and Ugly Side of Who You Know

by on ·General, Opinion, The Way I See It

UntitledIt’s not what you know; it’s who you know. Before I was old enough to hold a job or understand the meaning of that statement, I heard it lobbed around often enough to be a team sport. And the ball remains in play.

A frustrated acquaintance recently said to me, “Someone can be as dumb as a doornail and get placed into a prominent position, or as smart as Einstein and be unemployed because he or she lacks the connections that Doornail has.”

I know numerous people who will attest to the fact that when it comes to employment, you don’t necessarily need skill, talent or brains to land a good job; not if you have connections. This is not to imply that education, abilities, and knowledge are unimportant. In fact, those qualities are essential for people who don’t “know someone.” But this post is not about folks who get what they want by going through the standard process. It’s about the advantage of knowing someone with pull, someone who can open doors for you; someone who can help you skip the usual process and get what you want.

If there is any place in the world where the maxim holds true, it’s in the Nation’s Capital where power-players rule. Take a walk along K Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, or any place in the city’s business district and the smell of nepotism and cronyism is stronger than rotting fish. But the who-you-know principle is not only applicable to powerbrokers and political bigwigs; it can work for anyone who knows the right people.

When I was a child, on a few occasions my dad took me to see the Washington Senator’s baseball team play at Griffith Stadium. Back then, it was easier for a poor black person to score big in the illegal numbers racket than to get tickets to a sporting event at the stadium. Nevertheless, dad occasionally got tickets to the ballgames from his brother, Al, who received them from his then boss, who owned a string of parking lots in the city. Point – dad knew someone who knew someone.

Then there was the time, as a young adult, when I was hired to work as a secretary/receptionist, in a small office with one other woman. I will call her Angela. Perhaps because we were very close in age after she hired me, Angela and I became fast friends, and I soon became her confidant. She told me that she used to be the secretary for the man who was president of the organization where we were employed. Let’s call him Mr. Doe. When the company, headquartered in another city, opened a branch office in DC, Mr. Doe placed Angela in the position of vice president and office manager of the new office.

During the first several months that I worked there, I watched Angela struggling (some would call it  ‘fronting’) during meetings and fretting afterward.  She would (figuratively) cry on my shoulder and saying how inept she felt when interacting with the more knowledgeable executives from other firms. She may have also cried on the shoulder of her former boss because eventually, Mr. Doe hired another person (another vice president who I will call Julie). I think Mr. Doe’s plan and that of other officials at headquarters was that Julie would serve as a buffer for Angela while she learned the specifics of the industry.

It soon became evident that Julie knew her job very well, too well. Clients began praising Julie to Angela, Mr. Doe and others at the firm. Unbeknownst to Julie, the more accolades she received the more insecure it made Angela feel.

Angela’s obvious envy of Julie led her to begin concocting lies that resulted in Julie’s firing within the year. This is not hearsay, I watched the drama unfold and to this day regret that I did not speak up for Julie for fear of losing my job. That’s water under the bridge now; but being older and wiser today, if I saw Julie or anyone else getting thrown under the bus, I would speak up on their behalf.

Angela was hired for a job for which she had no qualifications by someone who pulled strings to get her in that spot. Had she been required to follow procedure and apply for the VP position like other applicants, most likely her lack of credentials and experience would have prevented her from jumping directly from a secretarial position to VP.

Knowing the right people can not only give you access to jobs, high-demand tickets to concerts and sporting events, it may also get you access to covetable social functions. Keep in mind, if you know the right people, and you lack the chutzpa of the Salahis (The husband and wife gatecrashed a White House dinner in 2009, despite not being on the official guest list.), with the right connections, you may get to socialize with high profile personalities at an event to which you weren’t officially invited.

One day, a few years after I had left the job mentioned above, an associate gave me a ticket to a $500 a plate fundraiser luncheon that was taking place at one of DC’s finest hotels. You read it right — $500 a plate. My benefactor, a lawyer, and smart businesswoman was married to a prominent man in local government. While offering me the ticket, she told me that she would not be able to attend the luncheon because an important meeting had been scheduled after she purchased the ticket, and she needed to be at that meeting. When she sensed my hesitancy to accept the gift, she said, “It’s an excellent networking opportunity for an upward mobile young woman.” I accepted the ticket and attended the luncheon.

Sometimes, I think that God assigned the Guardian Angel of Opportunity to look after me because throughout my lifetime I’ve been fortunate to meet many people –prominent and ordinary — with connections who have helped me along the way.

In an excellent article published in Psychology Today, Dr. Fredric Neuman wrote, “I like to think that competence is the most important determinant of professional success.” I agree with Dr. Neuman, but knowing people or knowing people who know people is an asset too.

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Contemplating Blogging?

by on ·Blogging, Social Media, Word Press

Blogging 101-1Anyone can start a blog. If you can write, you can blog. If you write well, you can have a loyal readership of your blog.

For you readers who are interested in starting a blog but don’t know where to begin, there are numerous bloggers that will give you detailed and lengthy instructions on creating a blog and possibly making lots of money with it. Google them. However, if you are pressed for time and prefer my two-minute pitch on getting started continue reading.

  1. The first thing you do is find a blogging platform. That’s a service that will publish your content on the Internet. There are several free blogging platforms out there including Blogger, Tumblr, Ghost, and one of the most popular — the one I use for each of my websites — WordPress.
  1. After you’ve decided on a platform, choose a domain name. Your domain name is your web or network address. Think of it as an on-line street address that will help people find you. Choosing a name that is short and memorable is the best way to go, and the name should be relevant to the content of your blog. If you need help selecting a domain name, there are sites like godaddy.com that will assist you for a cost.
  1. Once you’ve selected a domain name, you’ll pay a small charge to register it. You will also pay an annual renewal fee to keep your blog up and running. If you’ve gone that far, then you probably already know what content you want on your blog. So, now decide how you want your blog to look. If you are a new blogger, follow the KISS principle – Keep It Simple, Sugar. (I threw you a curve with that acronym, didn’t I?)
  1. Design your blog. You can design your own blog using the software associated with the platform you chose, or you can have someone design it for you. Depending on the purpose of your blog and how you want it to look, you could spend a few dollars to get a practical site up and running or hire a designer who will charge a few hundred dollars for a custom designed blog with impressive bells and whistles.

The amount you spend to set-up your blog depends on your objective. There are countless types of blogs. Do you want one that will promote your business, provide consumer information, inspiration, or guidance, or do you want a figurative soapbox on which to express your thoughts and personal opinions? A personal blogger, that’s me. Keep in mind if you choose the latter and are an opinionated person like yours truly, you may attract followers who enjoy reading your posts, but you will also attract people who disagree with you and won’t hesitate to say so in the comments section. (Virtual haters, begone!).

Remember – it’s YOUR blog. Your blog is your voice; meaning you can rave about things you like or bitch about things you dislike. Providing that you don’t write anything that will have you nervously twitching in court while facing a lawsuit, or land you in jail for a social media offense because you took the First Amendment literally, then you are good to go.

Through your blog, you’ll make contacts that you might not otherwise make. Over the years, I have connected with and become friends with a few good bloggers. I follow their blogs. They read mine. Next thing you know, as a result of our online interactions, we’re exchanging emails, discussing ideas, and even sharing funny stories or other tidbits about our families.

In my opinion, the hardest thing about blogging is coming up with interesting topics. Sometimes I write about current events, and my hot topic — politics. Other times I share more personal thoughts and feelings. Whatever your topic, you cannot be timid about taking a stance on what are sometimes contentious issues. You never know who is reading you.

Two cases in point:

  • In September of 2012, Dr. Sydney Ross Singer, medical anthropologist and author of several health books commented on a post I wrote about how women feel about wearing bras. He emphasized that “chronic constriction from bras is a leading cause of breast cancer.”
  • Last year, my post about not being a bandwagon person brought a tongue-lashing comment from one of my readers who implied that I was a bigot. (That shoe doesn’t fit.) The comment was longer than my post. So be it. I had expressed my opinion. The anonymous commenter expressed his or hers.

If you are determined to maintain your position even though it means going against the grain of prevalent opinion, don’t expect to win a popularity contest. And don’t worry about whether everyone will agree with what you write because not everyone will. Just like on Facebook, you’ll learn to accept flattery with humility and take criticism like a referee booed for making a bad call during a Superbowl game.

Blogging will give you plenty of writing practice. To date, I have posted over 400 blogs. You may also acquire new skills like understanding the difference between a theme, plugin, and widget.

My two minutes are up. If this post wets your appetite, then go ahead and blog. And while you are enjoying it, keep in mind the wisdom of a fellow blogger who wrote, “A blog can help you build a legacy that will outlive you.”

 

 

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