17/09/2019
Welcome to our inaugural Living for the Weekend with Valerie blog. For over 12 years Living for the Weekend was your social an informative connection to our community. We were zealous in covering the enormous social life in our national community. It brought us joy when we announced your birthdays, weddings, engagements, honeymoons, graduations, retirements, vacations, and your everyday celebrations. We wept with you at the death of a loved one and rejoiced at the birth of a newborn.
“Everything must change” George Benson and as someone recently said to me ‘the only thing that is certain is change’. I never phantomed that Living for the Weekend meant so much to so many people. The phone calls, texts, emails and letters were overwhelming and truly touched my heart. I was downtown and an elderly lady that I did not know approached me and said “I’m really going to miss your column in the AFRO”. My response was me too.
Later that evening I contacted my good friend Takiea Hinton and said “help me do a blog” and the rest as they say is history. The birth of Living for the Weekend began with a meeting with Jake Oliver, former CEO and Publisher at the AFRO after he received from his good friend Frank Coakley about my weekly emails I shared with friends. I met Jake on Tuesday March 17 and the conversation went like this “Frank sent me your work and I know you used to send Frankie Murphy tidbits to include in her column and I’ve read your emails about the events the Friday Night Bunch hosted”.
“I don’t know nothing bout birthin no baby” Butterfly McQueen, Gone with the Wind.
Then he said “I want you to do a weekly column and your deadline is this Thursday”. I was scared to death. I wasn’t a journalist or a writer just a sharer of information. If I knew it everyone should know it and this was the birth of Living for the Weekend. Special thanks to Jake, Frank, the late Frankie Murphy, Rosa Trusty, Takiea and YOU my friends who continue “Living for the Weekend”. A special shout to my friend Marsha Jews who consistently said “Valerie you need to start a blog”. Marsha this blog is dedicated to you. “I like everyday people” Sly and the Family Stone
People are my passion and sharing is my life. I hope you will continue Living for the Weekend and share with us what’s happening via www.livingfortheweekendwithvalerie.com.
I’ll be seeing YOU,
Valerie
