Diamond Mike Watson's Blog, page 5

We Must Always Be Thankful

Each of us has a book inside of us and a story to tell. If I ever say we should be thankful I don’t mean we should be thankful just because we were adopted, and we should not be thankful just because society expects us to feel that way.

The word “grateful” has become twisted over time and I do not to use that synonym anymore. I am sorry that I sparked negative feelings by using this word on an earlier post. But we should not allow our misfortunes to weaken us with anger.

The human spirit is incredible and adoptees accomplish amazing things in life. Maybe that is because we can gain strength from our suffering. It is normal to feel angry, but being positive is better.

Here are a few things I am thankful for:

I was divorced after five months- I then found my Guatemalan princess and have been married 30 years.
I got fired- I then opened my own store and have ran it since 1991.
I was adopted- I then learned the definition of mom, which is the person who cares for us and instructs our footsteps in life. Sometimes that person is our adoptive mom, our bio mom, or someone else.

The Empty House

The living room of my childhood home in New Albany, Indiana. 1725 Grantline Road.

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I always wanted to slide down the stairs but the post at the bottom would surely cause embarrassing injury. If one was obese it may have been difficult to squeeze through the narrow archway to the kitchen. The heating vents were cozy to stand on during cold winters before going to school. The ceiling fan was a fancy edition, along with air conditioning and a color tv. The house was always blended with the fragrance of mom’s green bean cooking in the kitchen and dad’s cigarette smoke in the living room.

Although every family has its own problems, I believe our appreciation for each other overcame all of life’s obstacles. and thick sunshine would always remind us of God’s love by beaming through wooden-framed windows.

The Drum and the Red Cap

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On January 19, 2019, a teenager named Nicolas Sandmann was attending a Right to Life march in Washington DC. Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap and a persistent smile by the Lincoln Memorial Sandmann faced a native Indian activist named Nathan Phillips who chanted and banged on a drum.

Did Sandmann block Phillips path?

Did he mock Phillips with a condescending glare?

Or did Sandmann just motionlessly and quietly try to diffuse a tense situation by allowing the activist to express himself?

Sandmann family sued the Washington Post, the newspaper that wrote a total of seven articles that leaned towards Sandman mocking an indigenous person. But it was too late, the video of the smirking kid with the MAGA hat had already gone viral. We heard a tearful reply from Phillips. There was no response from Sandmann until he later wrote an official statement of his side of the story

In part, Sandmann wrote,

“I never interacted with this protestor. I did not speak to him. I did not make any hand gestures or other aggressive moves. To be honest, I was startled and confused as to why he had approached me. We had already been yelled at by another group of protestors, and when the second group approached I was worried that a situation was getting out of control where adults were attempting to provoke teenagers.

I believed that by remaining motionless and calm, I was helping to diffuse the situation. I realized everyone had cameras and that perhaps a group of adults was trying to provoke a group of teenagers into a larger conflict.”

Part of Phillips interview with CNN on March 12, 2019.

“Yeah, I will pray for them. (Sandmann’s school group.) That’s what the whole part was was a prayer. The use of the drum, the song, that was a prayer. What I said to them at the end was, “Relatives!” and I got their attention and I said, “Make America great.” They said, “How?” What they were doing wasn’t making America great. … the whole idea, the spirit of America, that wasn’t it. That wasn’t American spirit there that they were putting out there.”

So what really happened? We see an indigenous person with a drum. We see a teenager wearing a hat that invokes pride in some and bigotry in others.

Do we see what we want to see?

Do we hear what we want to hear?

Look at the picture. What do you see?

To A Birthmother

In honor of all mothers. I wanted to show that many adoptees are willing to search their entire lives for the truth of their origins.

To a Birthmother

I lie in the silence

In blackness of night

Thick curtains are drawn

To shield beams of light

The moon tries to peek

Inside this dark tomb

Is this what it was

In my birthmother’s womb?

Life passed so fast

Back pressed to my bed

And now all my thoughts

Just dance in my head

I heard your sweet songs

Nine months in tender care

Then you gave me away

When you finished your prayer

I searched my whole life

How did I get here?

Oh, mystery woman

My mission so clear

Though I never found you

My quest has no end

In deaths lies sheer strength

A new journey will begin

If we never meet

I want you to know

I’m thankful you gave me

A safe home to grow

And in this last hour

Of memories so calm

I’m glad that you gave me

The one I called mom.

-Diamond Mike Watson

The Proud Black Lady

Edward Colston was an English sea merchant born in 1636. He traded in wine, fruits and textiles. By 1680, he became involved in a company which held a monopoly in the English trade of African slaves.

In 1895, 114 years after his death, a statue was erected in his name in the city of Bristol. In June of this year his statue was toppled.

The second statue shown was inspired by the likeness of Jen Reid, a woman known for nothing more than a Black Lives Matter protestor. It was created by Marc Quinn to portray the powerful moment of the citizens banning together and heaving the Colston statue into the nearby river.

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By the following day after the Black Lady was erected, by the mayor’s orders, she was also removed. At least the Black Lady stood proud for one full day in the English city.

Nazareth and Nadine

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Nazareth is the tree on the left. Nadine is standing by his side. Nazareth was planted 5 feet from the building. Nadine is further away. Neither tree is causing any harm and is beneficial to the parks ecology according to the tree assessment report.

Since I am a business owner of a condo in this building I was given a form by the management asking my permission to remove Nadine. WHY? What on God’s earth would justify removing a 30-year old healthy pine that gave thousands of pounds of oxygen and refuge to hummingbirds and squirrels? Did someone complain about a pine cone that fell on on the roof? Did a business owner request removal so a sign could be placed on the building? Did the management want to thin out the trees so drivers would notice the buildings from the 55 freeway?

I checked NO on the form and signed my name.

Nadine was spared and I speak to her every day on my stroll around the duck pond. But the management refused to hear my plea for the other trees. 29 majestic pines were chopped down including my friends Pax, Jasmine, Lydian. Dorian, Apollo, Zella, Astoria and Stacia.

Please sign our petition to stop the removal of these trees.

Thank you. Here is the link to Change. Org:

http://chng.it/v92sXMdM

Milo and Nasima

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Milo is the tree on the left. Nasima is standing by his side. Milo was planted 5 feet from the building. Nasima is further away. Neither tree is causing any harm and is beneficial to the parks ecology according to the tree assessment report.

Since I am a business owner of a condo in this building I was given a form by the management asking my permission to remove Nasima. WHY? What on God’s earth would justify removing a 30-year old healthy pine that gave thousands of pounds of oxygen and refuge to hummingbirds and squirrels? Did someone complain about a pine cone that fell on on the roof? Did a business owner request removal so a sign could be placed on the building? Did the management want to thin out the trees so drivers would notice the buildings from the 55 freeway?

I checked NO on the form and signed my name.

Nasima was spared and I speak to her every day on my stroll around the duck pond. But the management refused to hear my plea for the other trees. 29 majestic pines were chopped down including my friends Pax, Jasmine, Lydian. Dorian, Apollo, Zella, Astoria and Stacia.

Please sign our petition to stop the removal of these trees.

Thank you. Here is the link to Change. Org:

http://chng.it/v92sXMdM

Courage

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I loved my adoptive mother but I didn’t always agree with her. I’m glad she taught me to stand up to bullies and defend myself. But I remember her instructing me to stay away from the problems of others. Perhaps she thought if I shielded myself from conflict I would somehow be protecting myself.

Later I realized that to bring harmony to the world we must stand up for others also. Do you have to be a police officer to help an elderly person cross a street or a fireman to rescue a cat from a tree? Do you have to be a doctor to help someone who is hurt? Do you have to be a psychologist to listen to a friend?

Thank you mom for teaching courage. Perhaps I learned it too well, for bravery should be extended to the whole world.

Follow your heart. Stand up. Speak out. Life is too short. Don’t be afraid of what the neighbors might think or how many Facebook friends you may lose.

In memory of my adoptive mother, Martha Velia Watson. 1920 – 2006.

Infant is my name

I was born and adopted in Indiana. When I turned eighteen I considered myself an adult.

I could buy a pack of cigarettes.
I could vote for the President.
I could buy a gun.

When I turned twenty-one I could go to a bar.
I could order a drink.
I could get drunk.
But I was never allowed to inquire about my birth origins.

[image error]Original birth certificate.

During my quest to find my birthmother the State of Indiana refused to release any records. After twenty years of scraping information together I finally found my long lost brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and an 83-year old grandmother. Unfortunately my birthmother had already died thirteen years earlier.

Armed with new information, I contacted the State Board to obtain my original birth certificate. The one I had carried around my whole life was an amended one that was given to my adopted parents.
It said my mother’s name was Martha Watson.
My father’s name was Stoy Watson.
My name was Michael Crit Watson.

I had no purpose for my original birth certificate. I had always lived fine with the fake one but I had a right to the first one. I knew that little slip of paper was archived somewhere in a dark, musty file cabinet in an old Indiana building. I wondered what it said. I knew my birthmother’s name was Betty Price. No one knew who my father was. And I wondered what my birthmother named me.

As a final attempt I asked the State of Indiana to send me a copy of my birth certificate. If they could see me I could prove that I was a responsible adult. After all, I hung a flag in my yard on Independence Day and voted for all the past Presidents. I was thirty-six years old.

I would never give up. I would never forget the love and morals taught to me by my adoptive mother. Although a bottle of Jack Daniels was in the cupboard it would no longer eek from my breath. Cigarette smoke would no longer float motionless above a nasty ashtray as I arranged the puzzle pieces of my life across the kitchen table. A Colt revolver would never be folded in my grip. My name was Michael.

The State of Indiana finally relinquished my birth certificate but with a condition- I would first have to send them my birthmothers death certificate to prove she was dead.

I agreed to their demands in 1994 and my original birth certificate came in the mail one week later. It said-
Mothers Name: Betty Gertrude Price.
Fathers Name: Unknown.
Child’s Name: Infant.

2020 Why Mom Deserves a Diamond Award Ceremony

Gallery of Diamonds awarded two Orange County students with a quarter-carat diamond valued at $600 each to give to their mothers in the 28th annual Why Mom Deserves a Diamond® writing contest. Beginning in 1993 in honor of Diamond Mike Watson’s adoptive mother the birth mother he had never known, this year’s contest inspired 12,000 kids to write words of appreciation for their mothers. Diamond Teachers earned sterling silver garnet necklaces and Diamond Judges earned sterling silver amethyst necklaces.

Because of the pandemic the ceremony was conducted by the adjacent pond that is 20 steps north of the jewelry store. The winners recited their words to their mothers surrounded by squirrels, ducks, turtles and majestic canary island pine trees.

[image error]Brayden Nguyen, grade 8, presents his diamond to mom, Terre.



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2020 is the the beginning of a bright and uncharted future. Therefore, although a rose has been the traditional corsage for Diamond Moms, this year moms received corsages made with orchid symbidium, ming fern, eucalyptus, and purple statice.

Since everyone agreed that no misfortune would halt our legendary ceremony, we journeyed through treacherous terrain around the pond in the 4th annual Umbrella March.

[image error]On the count of three, everyone hold your breath, remove your mask, raise your umbrella and smile.

“Through any pandemic, protest, or misfortune that befalls us, our love and appreciation for one another must not perish.” Diamond Mike Watson.

[image error]Genevieve Raphael, grade 5, presents her diamond to mom, Gail.



[image error]The Fourth Annual Umbrella March.

For more information about the contest, call 714-549-2000 or go to www.WhyMomDeservesADiamond.com.