The Bluebird Diaries - Chapter 1

Mister Blue put some pine straw in the bungalow to show me how nicely it matched the interior decor. He left a little at the front door as a doormat. Works well, don't you think?


I decided that the condo he selected would indeed be acceptable, and I began to build the nest.

Not an easy task, let me tell you.

"Need any help?" Mister wanted to know. He is a thoughtful fellow.

"Oh no," I said, "thanks all the same." Men just don't know the intricacies of tucking in the bed sheet corners. They'd just stuff 'em under any old way. There is an art to it.


The neighborhood had an ample supply of pine needles, grass, and weeds. I had no trouble collecting all I needed.

Mister would check in on me from time to time, offering suggestions on where to position the furniture. I ususally just nodded my head politely, and put things where I originally intended.

By the end of the afternoon, I pretty much had things where I wanted them.


We had a well constructed nest with just the right amount of depth, width, and space from the front door. Mister and I both thought it would make a good place for our next brood.

Mister fairly twittered as he surveyed the yard, "Bonnie Blue, you've done it again. This is a fine nest indeed. As long as we can keep those pesky wrens and house sparrows away, we'll soon have another healthy lot of babies."


I reminded him that we still had a healthy lot of teenagers waiting back home at the other apartment. We needed to be getting back before they had time to invite all their friends over for a wild party.

Next: Mister Blue stands guard.

The Bluebird Diaries - Prologue

We looked for a suitable place for sometime. About three weeks ago, Mister Blue came to me and said, "Bonnie Blue, do you want the good news first or the bad news first?"

I said, "The good news." I am an optomist.

Mister told me he found the most delightful little bungalow with a great view over a yard chock full of bugs. There is water and food close by. The neighborhood was already full of kids, and many of the families live there year round because of the many restaurants available just around the corner.

Why, it did sound perfect! I usually worry about Mister being the one to scout out living quarters for us; he just has no sense of decorating, y'know. I, myself, like the rustic decor. All he likes is a roof that doesn't leak. But it did sound like he had done pretty well this time.

"So," I asked, "what's the bad news?"

"It was occupied."

Apparently, a pair of chickadees laid claim to the condo as soon as it went up, and they were right territorial about it. When Mister stopped by to check it out, they went into a tizzy, making all sorts of racket.

We were back to square one. Time was running short, too. As luck would have it -at least it was good luck for us- within a week, the condo became available again.

Sadly, the luck wasn't so good for the chickadees. Sometime overnight, something happened to the brood. One day, the babies were being noisy as babies will be. The next day, there was only silence. Only their dad remained nearby. One baby was found in the yard next door; two babies were still in the nest. All three had gone to the trees of the Great Phoenix in the sky. There was no sign of the mother.

Understandably, Mister and I were dubious about the neighborhood after that. We couldn't raise our children in an area that was unsafe. Who would've thought such dangers lurked in such a pleasant setting? Fortunately, the landlord realized this and took action.

The day after the unfortunate chickadee incident, we noticed a new addition to the little bungalow. A veranda! We've never had a porch on a condo before. This one was open-aired and allowed for one of us to perch on the roof and look behind, while the other perches on the veranda and surveys ahead. What a nice addition! It added more security to the inside of the place, too.

Not only that, a new deli opened up right next door. Its specialty was meal worms! We had indeed found the perfect place! At last we could get to work.






Next: Mister Blue and Bonnie Blue choose furniture.

Sweet Potato Queens

I know now what I want to be when I grow up.

A Sweet Potato Queen.

If you haven't read Jill Connor Browne's books, you are missing something. I suggest you begin at the beginning with "The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love." This will pretty much explain why I feel I would make a right good Tammy. Subsequent books are titled: "God Save the Sweet Potato Queens," "The Sweet Potato Queens' Big A-- Cookbook and Financial Planner," "The Sweet Potato Queens' Field Guide to Men," and the newest, "The Sweet Potato Queens Wedding Planner/Divorce Guide."

I have quite a few friends who would make good Tammys as well. But I think we'll be Trixies instead. Tammy is getting to be so overused.

Trixie Sue probably has the best Sweet Potato Queen attitude of us all. In fact she's the very one who got me started. She even talks like a Sweet Potato Queen, and Trixie Sue is quick on her feet. Let me tell you, she can spit out those one-liners faster than I can even think of a paragraph.

If you want someone who can tell a funny story with a straight face and have you holding your sides from laughing so hard, it would be Trixie Jo. Some people just have a knack for doing that, you know? They can take a simple, boring bunch of facts and spin it into something hilarious. Laughter is the balm of life. We always need someone around who can rub it on.

Once you read the book, you'll know how important it is for Sweet Potato Queens to enjoy dancing. A couple of my friends are very skilled at this. Trixie Jean has more rhythm in her little finger than most white folks have in their whole gene pool. She's bouncing as soon as the music starts - and we're talking any kind of music, here. I can't swear to it, but I'd wager Trixie Jean boogies down to elevator music when she's riding solo.

My friend, Trixie Lu, loves to dance, too. But then, she's Italian. We get invited to various family affairs at their house. It doesn't matter what might be happening at any given moment, but when the CD starts playing "That's Amore" everyone stops and joins in. It's great.

And my friend, Trixie Moe, has air guitar down to a tee. I even have videos to prove it!

Even though Trixie Jane moved to Texas, she would make a good member of our Sweet Potato Queen court. She can really throw a party! Once you get a few drinks in her, she could probably rival Trixie Jo with story-telling.

Trixie Ann already has big hair. Plus she has a new convertible that we could all ride in. I wish she'd bought a red one instead of a white one. It would make sitting on the back and doing the parade wave much more eye-catching. (Come to think of it, Trixie Sue has a convertible, too, albeit another white one. I have a pewter one, but it only seats two people.) We'd have to enlist a number of Official Consorts to the Queens (like the originals' Lance Romance) to drive these convertibles, so that all the Queens could sit on the back and wave.

Sweet Potato Queens are queens for life. They never have to give back the tiara, and they finally get those majorette boots that we all wanted when we were little. I don't mean to brag, but I actually DID get white majorette boots to go along with my majorette costume one Christmas. As a matter of fact, I also got a tiara one birthday. And I have photos to prove both these facts. Yet another reason why I think I would make such a great Sweet Potato Queen.

The Queens originated in Jackson, Mississippi. (My nephew once lived in Jackson, Mississippi !!). They get to ride on a float every year in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. I regret to say that I never got to ride on a float. I always wanted to, but I was never selected to ride on one. This has probably scarred me for life, but I try not to let it affect my personality.

In one chapter, Jill Connor Browne talks about the Neshoba County Fair which is held each year near Philadelphia, Mississippi. (My niece and her family go there, too!! I've heard her talk about how much fun it is!) It just confirms my destiny when I read about all the things I have in common with the original queens.

My family in Alabama are the closest things to Sweet Potato Queens that I've ever met personally. This is because they participate BIG TIME in Mardis Gras. I could add them to my Sweet Potato Queen court - they would make good Trixies with their attitudes, and they have plenty of experience riding on floats and wearing garish clothing. But is this fair? I mean - they get to ride on a float every year without even having to be a Sweet Potato Queen.

The Alabama Trixies do love to dance, and they are good at karaoke. (They would do these things even if they weren't any good at it - it's just the way they are.) They throw good parties, too. Even after a hurricane washes away the hot tub and landscaping, they'll just hose off the porch and put boards down so that guests don't have to traipse through the mud from their car to the house. Plus Trixie Win has a lot of potential Sweet Potato Queen friends, and Trixie May already has red hair. I guess we'll include them and Trixie Kay. I don't get to see her a lot, but I suspect there is some definite devilment in there.

Same goes for my friend, Trixie Ella. She, too, has a convertible, and hers is red! She, too, knows how to put on a spread. She could probably put together our corsages from what she grows in her greenhouse. She's very talented that way.

There are other Trixies who would definitely add to the spice of our Sweet Potato Queen Court. There are probably even a number of Wannabes. I suspect we could cause quite a stir if we tried just a little.

And that's what I, Trixie Dawn, want to be when I grow up.

The Immigration Debate

True story . . .

A young woman slips across the border between Mexico and the US, determined to earn money to send back to her family. Any wage in the US is better than what she would earn in her native country. While in the US, she bears two children - both of whom are now US citizens. One child is born with special needs. Without proper care and services, he will die, but he is eligible for Medicaid and similar services. His mother just needs to be very careful about not getting caught.

The woman has a job on an assembly line where she is treated cruelly by her boss. She drives a car without a license or insurance because she must get her children to daycare and treatments. The three of them sleep in one bed in a run-down apartment, yet she continues to send what money she can to her family in Mexico.

If she is discovered to be in the US illegally, she will be deported. Her children will not. If she desires to become legal, she would first have to return to Mexico, without her children, and try to enter the US through proper channels - something that might take as many as three years. Even if her children were allowed to return with her, her special needs child would die for lack of necessary services in Mexico.

I listened to Mike Gallagher and Ralph Bristol on Talk Radio yesterday. The topic was the proposed Immigration bill that was approved by the Senate sub-committee with four Republican Senators voting along with all the Democratic Senators. The bill would pave the way for people living in the US illegally to pay a fine and apply for US citizenship without first having to return to their native country and re-enter legally, a lengthy process. Republican listeners were outraged; they felt they had been sold out by their representatives.

"What is it about 'illegal' that these guys don't understand?"

"A bill to grant citizenship to the illegal aliens is a slap in the face to those who have gone through the proper channels to be in the US legally."

As a rule, I tend to agree with the stauch conservative talk radio hosts. In this case, however, I think there's more to consider than may meet the eye.

1. There are perhaps 11 million illegal immigrants in the US, with more arriving daily. We made a big mistake by allowing this many people to cross out borders illegally in the first place. But now they're here, and they're reproducing. We have to do something about it.

2. Think of the sheer cost of rounding up 11 million people, assuming you could find them all, and deporting them. Now consider the children born on US soil who are, by birthright, US citizens. We can deport the parents, but not the children. What happens to them if their parents are sent away? Our already overloaded foster-child programs would explode. Furthermore, would you not go deeper into hiding if threatened with having to leave your children behind?

3. Even the most menial job in the US is better than most of those in Mexico. Immigrants will gladly do the labor that some in the US consider beneath them. The question to ask is: why do we US citizens consider these jobs beneath us? Perhaps because it is more desirable, or profitable, to be on welfare than to get a job doing menial labor. We have created a society of entitlement.

4. Illegal immigrants are unaccounted for in our system. It is a threat to our domestic security to have millions of people living here anonymously. They pay no taxes; their employers are not required to meet standards on their behalf; they may not receive welfare or government services, yet they are still living among us quite easily. Could it not be as easy for a terrorist to do the same thing? We need to know who lives in the United States.

So this proposal would open the door for "guest workers" to acquire US citizenship and all the rights and services enjoyed therewith. Okay. That might work fairly well if the open window was temporary and, at the same time, we strictly enforced border control.

Allow the illegals to pay the fine (essentially, back taxes) in installments. Allow them to apply for citizenship over a two year period. Make it very unattractive for employers to hire anyone in this country who is here illegally. Make it equally unattractive for someone to live in this country illegally; furthermore, if they are caught, deport them with no way to ever enter legally. Deny citizenship to anyone who has been convicted of criminal activity in the US; in fact send those people back to their native country with no hope of ever being allowed to return.

I do have a problem with the gangs that immigrants are bringing with them. Anyone who is convicted of a crime, even after they have received citizenship, should be stripped of it and deported. What we don't have to tolerate is illegal activities committed by illegal or illegal-turned-legal immigrants against our society. This policy should have no exceptions.

Realistically, there is no way to deport 11 million people. It is in our best interest to account for all those living within our borders. It protects the legal immigrants as well as the US citizenry. We need to incorporate them into the system for tax purposes as well as for security reasons. Then deport those unwilling to come forward of their own accord, and afford them no chance of returning.

This unfortunate dilemma could have been avoided in the first place if we'd had more control over our borders. But, in fact, we did not. Now we have a problem, and we have to deal with it realistically. Forget the wage issue. Forget the partisan issue. There are 11 million people who are in our country illegally. This poses a threat to our society, economically and security-wise.

Lastly, though not leastly, politicians who enjoy the perks of being an elected official and who would like to stay in that positition, are no dummies. Think of the voting power of 11 million people who are given a chance at US citizenship because of your favorable vote on a proposed bill. US citizens are also US voters. Hmmm. Let's just hope these politicians cast their vote for the right reasons.

What Are We Thinking?

In Afghanistan, a former Muslim was arrested after his family accused him of converting to Christianity. The man confessed to converting 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an International Christian group. If convicted, he may face the death penalty. The judge in the case said that, while they are not against any particular religion of the world, this was against Afghanistan law and was considered an attack on Islam. The prosecutor offered to drop the charges if the man converted back to Islam. When the offer was refused, he said, "We are Muslims and becoming a Christian is against our laws. He must get the death penalty."

Be very grateful to the soldiers who are risking their lives so this sort of thing doesn't happen to us.

*****

I think those t-shirts with the warning "Don't Snitch" on it are sending a bad message to our kids. This sort of attitude is exactly why so much criminal activity goes unpunished. Who would want to encourage such a thing? unless it's the criminals.

*****

Where are the consciences of the creators of graphic, violent video games and movies? An entire generation is now desensitized to pain, suffering, and murder at the hands of thugs or so-called enemies. Who would want this to happen? Who would consider this entertainment? except the devil's operatives. In my opinion, anyone who would promote such violence has no consideration for the effects it has on society.

*****

Faith in God is becoming overshadowed by greed. Anyone with solid beliefs in their respective religions would not become involved in harmful pursuits such as those listed above. If more people stood by religious doctrines that do not encourage violence or criminal activity, it stands to reason that our world would be more tolerant and much safer. It would be so because people would be more concerned with the well-being of each other than in making a buck or maintaining power at any expense.

As I've said before, Satan is alive and thriving in our own back yards, and his army is growing exponentially by the lure of money and power. How else can we explain the infusion of drugs, gangs, violence, crime, and death that we are experiencing nowadays? Why try to do good works when it's so much more profitable to do otherwise?

I expect there is Standing Room Only in the canyons of hell. For me, I prefer to earn my spot on the back row next to the potted palm tree in the garden of heaven.