Long, long ago, some friends and I ran a half marathon.
Well. I didn’t really RUN, it was more of a walk/run with a lot of walking because it was HOT AF in Pasadena and my knee was being weird and…you know what?
Let’s go with I *FINISHED* a half marathon.

Anyways.
When I was training, there was this girl Crystal who apparently saw me as her competition.
Honestly. I have no idea why. I’m not very fast (unless something/somebody is actually chasing me), and I DIDN’T. EVEN. KNOW. HER.
But when we’d train, she’d pace me and then right before the end she would sprint past me EVERY SINGLE RUN.
I mean. I guess if that’s how you motivate yourself, you should do you. But it wasn’t like she was gonna win a prize for beating me specifically.

The day of the run, we get in the pack of people to start, blah blah blah, AAAAND we’re all off!
I’m starting off fine and maybe a mile or so into the run, who sprints past me, smirking and waving? CRYSTAL!
In my head, I’m like REALLY? REALLY THO?
But whatever. I have miles and MILES to go (13.1 to be exact) and I didn’t care enough* to make this a competition against me and her.
Also, I’m running with a friend, so I’m chilling.

BUT THEN, my friend, started having some issues said she was gonna walk

SO. I did. Popped in my headphones and put a little more pep in my step.
When I (eventually) got to the finish line, I waited for her.
She was a lot further back than I thought. But then. THERE SHE GO!
SHE’S ALMOST TO THE FINISH LINE, GUYS. AND WE’RE CHEERING.
And then we realize it’s NOT HER. It’s CRYSTAL.
And Crystal was VERY disappointed to realize that *EYE* crossed the finish line first.
WOMP. WOMP.

And so today’s BHFOTD is about being second.
Yes. TECHNICALLY yesterday’s story was ALSO about being the second to do something, BUT.
Montana wasn’t even a state when the first black person did it, FFS!

Anyways. Let’s talk about Kellee Edwards!

Kellee Edwards is a pilot, scuba diver and adrenaline junkie who loves to explore by land, air and sea. Her level of enthusiasm for wanting to explore the world, her daredevil (yet stylish) Instagram posts, and desire to try just about anything that thrills her, landed her her own show earlier this year on the Travel Channel. Her show Mysterious Islands, which debuted on the network October 10th, takes viewers on the hunt to find the best bargains, private beaches and magical experiences on the planet’s lesser-known islands. Kellee is the only Black woman featured right now on the television network (and the second in history. Queen Latifah was the first!)

“It’s also no secret that the travel media has been dominated by older white males for so long. It’s not a space that they should own and solely represent any longer. I’ve been well received and welcomed by some of your favorite TV hosts and they make it known that they are rooting for me. Being a black woman in the adventure travel space is even more isolated and I’m glad I’ve been given a platform and opportunity to show that I can do it just as well.”

You never know. Maybe one day they’ll have third black person with their own show. And then maybe one day WE WON’T HAVE TO COUNT THEM BECAUSE WE’LL BE PROPERLY REPRESENTED. (*cough*)

So that’s today’s fact! Sometimes being first means you can help somebody else be second. And sometimes being second just means you’re the first loser. I’ll leave you to figure out which statement goes with which story! Happy Friday, kids. Go out and be great!

*I really didn’t. But I’m not going to lie and tell you that I didn’t get an IMMENSE amount of pleasure watching her face fall on the ground when she saw me already at the finish line, eating a banana and drinking some chocolate milk. You know why? Because I’m petty. I’m also not sorry.

You guys, my anniversary is coming up. Next weekend I will have been married for 22 (!) years. I think. I’m pretty sure it’s 22.
I’m also fairly certain it’s next weekend… I’ll be honest: I have a horrible memory. But I’m absolutely certain of two things: We got married. AND it was a LONG ASS TIME AGO.

YES. I GOT MARRIED REALLY YOUNG. (see also: 24 year old son. Hi, Adam!) I did a LOT of things really young. Heh.

ANYWAYS. Not the point. The point is that I never know what to do about our anniversary. I looked up wedding anniversaries; apparently this is the year I’m supposed to gift copper.
A copper WHAT, though? Really, it doesn’t matter because when you’ve been married as long as we have, I feel like you pretty much have all the things you could ever really want.
EXCEPT JEWELRY, YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH JEWELRY. So I guess I’ll just sit tight until my 25th anniversary: Sterling Silver. Tiffany’s here I come!

And while I was looking up anniversary stuff, do you know what ELSE happened on my anniversary?

Houston Riot of 1917 (also called the Camp Logan Riot)!
So what had happened was… two Houston police officers busted in this (black) lady’s house(they were “looking for a suspect in the neighborhood”). They assaulted her and then dragged her into the street.
A soldier from the 24th Infantry was like, Well WTF IS HAPPENING HERE?
And the police officers were like, you can get some of this too.
The official reports and later news reports stated the soldier was charged with interfering with the arrest of a publicly drunk female.
Later on, Corporal Charles Baltimore went to the Houston police station to investigate the arrest, as well as beating of another black soldier, and attempted to gain the release of the soldier.
An argument began which led to violence, and Corporal Baltimore was beaten, shot at, and himself arrested by the police.
Once he was set free and sent back to camp all beaten up, the infantry became angry and decided extract revenge.

The riot began the evening of August 23, when 156 angry soldiers stole weapons from the camp depot and marched on the city of Houston.
They were met outside the city by the police and a crowd of armed citizens, frightened by the reports of a mutiny.
A virtual race riot began, which left 20 people dead – four soldiers, four policemen, and 12 civilians.
Order was restored the next day, and the War Department disarmed the soldiers.

There you have it folks! Your unnecessarily long, but still informative BHFOTD!

But I don’t want y’all thinking I’m trying to insinuate some sort of correlation between police officers from 1917 to the present day are out here causing riots because they don’t know how to treat black people. So, may I share one more anniversary with y’all?

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the movie, Do the Right Thing.

SMIRK
#jerks4life