Guest guest Posted October 28, 2002 Report Share Posted October 28, 2002 Note: forwarded message attached. ===== Mu'Min M. Bey Western and Vedic Astrologer mumin_bey AOL IM Screen Name: JediMu 2Way Pager: 1-877-345-6499/8773456499; Cell phone: 267-978-2812 Join the Pan Astrological Forum, Where Freedom in Astrological Thought Lives! Just send a blank email to panastroforum- Y! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your web site http://webhosting./ gjlist, vedic astrology, panastroforum Cc: morningteamwurd, zfeelings, rotanelee Mu'Min Bey mumin_bey Epilogue and Thank You’s Mon, 28 Oct 2002 09:35:20 -0800 (PST) Errors-blst-errors.1600015410.0.1608588941.006.15118.0 Epilogue and Thank You’s Sunday, October 27, 2002 All, As of this writing, it has been a week since my Mother has been interred. It still feels very strange her not being around, physically at least, anymore. I imagine it will take a long time before I ever get used to it. With the exception of a few small financial loose ends, everything has been taken care of, thanks to some very special people, many of whom I wish to acknowledge here. During the planning of my Mom’s funeral, several things occurred to me, that I want to share here. First off, I had no idea that my Mom had NO insurance; over the years, I have noticed this to be a very nasty trend among African Americans in particular. I have been to numerous funerals, where the families had to go around, hat-in-hand, trying to raise the money to have their departed loved one properly put away. Aside from it being embarrassing to the family, it also further burdens them by not only having to deal with the loss, but also having to contend with the pressure of putting the needed monies together. In my case, I was fortunate in that I and my siblings knew a good number of people who were most generous and helped us out; but I also know that all families are not so fortunate. I suppose the very first lesson I have learned from all of this, is to please get insured, if you haven’t already. Everyone in my family, my remaining siblings and my Grandfather, are all insured, except me – and I intend to do so next month. Dealing with issues of death gives one a key insight into one’s own mortality, and the last thing I want to do, is to burden my siblings with once again having to pass the hat around. There was another thing during my Mom’s funeral planning that really bothered me – my Mom had been a member of a certain church whose name I won’t mention – but because she hadn’t been in awhile, the heads of the church would not officiate the funeral! There was a whole lot of hemming and hawing, and finally one of my cousins, who is a Reverend, officiated. Just the whole idea of “members” when it comes to matters such as these, are sickening to my stomach, and it goes a long way towards one not wanting to join a church, etc. AT ALL. It’s BS like that that turns people off from Religion to begin with. It is an issue – one amongst many - that needs to be addressed, forthwith. I am so glad that so many people turned out; I have had the chance to meet many of my sibling’s friends, co-workers and the like, AND, I have met so many relatives I never knew I had! In fact, one of my colleagues down at Temple U., as it turns out, she is a cousin of mine! So, there is some good that has come out of this whole thing, one good thing among many. I hear that the next Family Reunion is going to be next year down in Washington, DC, The Chocolate City! How fitting – and while I have never been to a FR before, you can best believe I’ll make this one. Over the course of the past 5 years, I have delivered the eulogies of my Grandmother, ny Dad and my Mom; I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would live to see such times. In addition to all of this, over the past few weeks, I have had to contend with the passing of several other people that were close to me, to varying degrees. In fact, just the other day, Thursday, I had to attend the Memorial Service for a colleague, Prof. John Burton. Needless to say, I am thoroughly memorial, funeraled, and what-not out. I come from a very old church family line – I have so many uncles and the like that are Men of The Cloth, as well as relations that are major role players in the Church, Deacons and so forth. Many of them showed up at my Mom’s funeral last week. The Robinsons and Medleys are legion in number, mainly taking up a large sector of West Philly, for those that know the topography of Philly. In fact, there are over 400 Medleys alone in that area of the city, just to give you an idea. I guess it’s kind of strange that I would be seemingly the only one that would convert to Islam and kind of “stray from the pack” as it were. How ironic, huh? I guess I will spend at least a good part of the remaining year looking back on the times I had with my Mom, but I will also spend a good bit of time looking forward. Among the many things that I want to do, is I want to keep my Mom’s spirit and mission alive by doing something that she would take part in, if she were still here; and, I want to create and maintain a family record of sorts, including pictures, interviews, you name it. And of course, there are those time-honored family get-togethers that my Mom loved so much. I guess, now with my Mom gone, I am among the oldest living members of my family, and it falls to me to keep the traditions alive; and so, I am going to put in place at least one Family Sunday Dinner a month, from here on out. My Mom loved such events, and I am so thankful for the makers of that movie, “Soul Food”. It reminded me so much of my own Mama, and my own family. I would like to take this time out to thank everyone I could think of that in one way or another, assisted me and/or my family in our time of need. If your name was not mentioned, please attach it to my head, and not my heart. Thanks to: Leon Williams, Esq., Jerome Avery, Dr. Lucille Ijoy, Wayne Moore, Mr. & Mrs. Richard and Judy Whiten, the Rev. & Mrs. Joe Williams, WURD 900 AM and its entire staff, Kenneth E. Vinson and the Vinson Family, Bro. Rob Gray and The African American Freedom and Reconstruction League, Bro. Fred, Bro Joe, Sis. Tabiyah Ngozi-Bey, Mr. Jeff Hart, Dr. Yumy Odom and the entire Temple U. PASCEP staff, Mrs. Muriel “Mama” Feelings, Das Goravani, Ms. Jennifer Edmonds, Ms. Tia Sykes, Ms. Shakeesha Anderson, Ms. Kelli Sparrow, Bro. Hussein Bin Abdul-Alim, The Lindsey, Robinson, Burch, Medley, Schuler & Richardson Families; Ms. Cheryl Council and Ms. Hope Council, Abdullah Abu-Tarik, Ms. Vikki Leach, Mr. Arnold Foster, Mr. & Mrs. Dennis and May Witherspoon, Ms. Tamasha Roberts, Ms. Barbara Daniels-Cox, the Baker Funeral Home and Ms. Angie and Ms. Kim for hooking up some serious good eatin’ after the funeral. Special Thanks to: Zamani Feelings – you have been the true meaning of a Friend. You have shared my ups and downs and been there every step of the way. Where would I be without you? Mr. W. Cody Anderson, and his sons, Bill and Kyle Anderson – for me, you have refined and redefined what family means; it is not merely an issue of flesh-and-blood, of DNA strands and family trees, but rather, it is the recognition of familial minds, hearts, and spirits, all going in the same direction. You represent in a big way what my Mom was all about in Life, and I love you all for it. Mr. Anderson, make room for your 3rd “son”! The Rev. Joe Williams – all Clerics should be like you. You have assisted not only me, but many, many countless others, no matter what time of day or night. There has to be a special place in Heaven carved out for you. Thank you so much for helping with the Biblical research on my Mom’s Eulogy. May Allah be Pleased with you. The Owens Group – well friends, it seems that the circle is now complete. I look forward towards re-starting what has become a tradition. Let’s put our heads, hearts, spirits and wallets together, and do some good. Elder Wayne Moore – you have been an inspiration for me from Day One; your experience and scholarship are a true sight to behold. You are one of the few people for whom I have trouble putting into words how I feel. Your spot in Paradise has to be right next to Rev. Joe Williams! Mr. Victor Baker and The Baker Funeral Home – I want to thank you for doing such a fine job of giving my Mother such a fine send-off. I highly respect your mission, not only to provide good service, but to do so with an eye towards assisting the African American Community. In life, my Mother was always about utilizing Black Business when she could find it; her end should be no different. I think she have approved. Thank You. Mr. Richard Whiten – you are another one for whom words alone cannot do justice for how I feel about you. In many ways, you are the father that I never had. You and Ms. Judy are a cut above the rest. Thank You and I love you both. To the many well-wishers who contacted either me or my family via in-person visits to the family home, phonecalls or the email, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You all have been the absolute bedrock of assistance and stability for us all at this time. Well, now I have to go and clear some more decks before returning to life as usual again. But I just wanted to express the above words, thoughts, thanks and praise. Peace Be Unto Everyone. “Through The Force, things you will see, other places – the Future, the Past, Old Friends long gone”. -Master Yoda Salaam, Mu’Min Mustafa Qadir Ali Bey Philadelphia, PA October, 2002 ===== Mu'Min M. Bey Western and Vedic Astrologer mumin_bey AOL IM Screen Name: JediMu 2Way Pager: 1-877-345-6499/8773456499; Cell phone: 267-978-2812 Join the Pan Astrological Forum, Where Freedom in Astrological Thought Lives! Just send a blank email to panastroforum- Y! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your web site http://webhosting./ ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: mumin_bey EASY UNSUBSCRIBE http://topica.com/u/?bUrFgk.bU1DC5.bXVtaW5f Or send an email to: panastroforum- T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.