Some three months after Hurricane Katrina tore through Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Alabama, I finally visited my family in Mississippi. The visit was bittersweet. The landscape has changed much. Blue traps and piles of timber debris are everywhere still. But my trip was sad for another reason, which I will explain on the flip.
I thought I was going to Mississippi to spend more than a week with my family just overeating and relaxing. Instead, I buried a 19-year-old girl who is like a niece to me. This is one of the most horrific things I've done in a year that seems to have careened downhill since June.
The irony is that the week before, my mother and I talked at length via telephone about this young lady. I wanted to counsel her when I came up to visit. She definitely was on my agenda.
She had a rough childhood, but made the best of her circumstances. She was destined for greatness: smart, beautiful, ambitious and full of energy. She worked fulltime, while attending college fulltime as well. This fall she represented her school's homecoming court as freshman maid.
She died Nov. 18 in an automobile accident. She'd just dropped off a friend at work and was headed home. The girl didn't have a car, but my niece did. She always wanted to help others. She was interested in my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. I would have loved to welcome her into the sorority one day. That won't happen now.
Please say a prayer or send out a kind thought for Ms. Nakisha Noelle Johnson. You really would have loved her. Everyone who met her did. She was just that kinda person.
After barely getting through Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma, I thought things were looking up. We were knocked back a bit because this is more than rough. It is comforting, however, to know that this angel got her wings. I remind myself that she is okay. God gave her a better offer and we have to accept that.
Namaste.