I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

For any who want more, complete list of all posts by month since 2011
  • Elana Meyers Taylor: Historic Win in Women’s Monobob

    Elana Meyers Taylor: Historic Win in Women’s Monobob


    sons Nico and Noah run to Mom to help her celebrate her victory

    Meyers Taylor, 41, is the most decorated Black Winter Olympian

    three silver medals and two bronze medals in four previous Olympics

    Siobhan McGirl quotes Meyers Taylor in an article published yesterday in nbcphiladelphia.com

    “I really want a gold medal. I haven’t gotten it yet, so I feel like that is the one thing that I am missing from my resume, but besides that it is doing it for myself and doing it for my kids,” said Meyers Taylor. “To show them that I can chase my dreams and I can overcome obstacles and just continue to persevere through any obstacles that come my way and actually achieve my dreams.”

    Both Meyers Taylor’s sons, Nico and Noah, are deaf. Nico also has down syndrome.

    “I really want to show them that despite what people tell you… that you can go for it regardless,” said Meyers Taylor. “I also want to show them that it’s okay- you are going to falter at times, but you can learn a lot and you can continue to grow and you can fight through those hard times.”

    Congratulations to a black woman who endured obstacles, persevered through pain, defied the odds to represent not only her family but also her country.

    I don’t know nuthin’ about Women’s Monobob, but I was intrigued when I randomly watched awesome women flying around at warp speed in a tiny tube shaped like a hot dog bun this afternoon as part of the NBC coverage of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. I quickly learned speed was the goal, but the driver’s skills were critical to the win. These women meant business.

    Only one could win the gold, however, and I was thrilled for this wise woman who understood the importance of staying the course.

    Elana Meyers Taylor made history during Black History Month – perfect timing.

    *******************

    (the images belong to NBC – courtesy of my Smart TV)

  • Two Women from Arizona: Unsolved Mysteries of Their Disappearance

    Two Women from Arizona: Unsolved Mysteries of Their Disappearance


    Full disclosure: I am a card carrying member of FOSG (Fans of Savannah Guthrie) and joined the millions of Savannah’s admirers who have watched the painful unfolding of events in the abduction of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on January 31, 2026. Updates on her disappearance are closely watched at our house.

    I visited the FBI Kidnappings and Missing Persons website Thursday morning and took a screenshot of an FBI poster for Guthrie posted that day:

    DETAILS

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Phoenix Field Office and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona are investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, last seen at her residence in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, on the evening of January 31, 2026. She is considered to be a vulnerable adult who has difficulty walking, has a pacemaker, and needs daily medication for a heart condition.

    ************************

    Bill Chappell at NPR interviewed experts for his article on the Guthrie case published February 13, 2026:

    More than 500,000 people were reported missing in the U.S. last year, according to the Justice Department. But Tara Kennedy, media representative for the Doe Network, a volunteer group working to identify missing and unidentified persons, says high-profile kidnappings are rare.

    “I can’t remember the last time I heard about a ransom case besides Guthrie,” says Kennedy, who has worked with the Doe Network since 2014. “I always associate them with different periods in American history, like the Lindbergh kidnapping, not someone’s mother from the Today show.”

    ***********************

    Black faces. Brown faces. Little girls. Little boys. Teenagers. Stats, stats, stats. White women. Brown women. Black women. The FBI Kidnappings and Missing Persons website was like a patchwork quilt of the American experience. One woman’s picture caught my attention especially – a Native woman, Ella Mae Begay, from Sweetwater, Arizona. How far was Sweetwater from Tucson, I wondered? 131 miles as the crow flies according to a map. How far was Begay from Guthrie? Much closer.

    This is a screenshot of the Begay poster from the Kidnappings and Missing Persons FBI website – she was 61 years old when she was reported missing:

    DETAILS

    On June 15, 2021, Ella Mae Begay was reported missing from her residence near Sweetwater, Arizona, by family members. Early that morning, her vehicle, a Ford F-150, was seen leaving the residence. It was believed that the truck may have been driven toward Thoreau, New Mexico, and may have proceeded in the
    direction of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ella Mae’s vehicle was described as a 2005 Ford F-150, gray or silver in color, with a broken tailgate that would not close with Arizona license plate AFE7101.

    *********************

    Be still, and the earth will speak to you. (Navajo quote)


  • Finding Inspiration Through Friends in Blogging

    Finding Inspiration Through Friends in Blogging


    For the past seventeen years, I’ve enjoyed the company of a special group of friends that have made my blogging experience both fun and challenging. Brian Lageose is one of this group of select cyberspace blogging buddies whose clever posts run the gamut from hysterically funny to sobering insights on the human condition – he’s one of my friends that I look to whenever I need inspiration.

    We exchange comments in addition to reading each other’s posts regularly. Recently I cried on his shoulders about the state of the world in general, and Minnesota killings in particular. He raised me up – I felt compelled to share (with his permission).

    I hear you, Brian. We aren’t done. No retreat. No surrender. America is the land that I love, and I cannot give up on her promises.

  • Caring for Feral Cats and Their Friends

    Caring for Feral Cats and Their Friends


    these two male feral cats always travel together

    they are the legacy of Carport Kitty

    They seem happy to share the warmth of the heating pad on our carport every year but then disappear in the spring. Always together, just the two of them…until the winter of 2026.

    uh, oh, two’s company, but three’s a crowd

    excuse me, said Tuxedo Cat, can you not see the problem here?

    Indeed I can, Tux, but Pretty cannot. In matters of the heart, I have learned over the past twenty-five years to trust Pretty’s instincts. When Pretty says possums get hungry, too, what can I say?

    I’ll get another bowl.

    Stay tuned.

  • Frosty the Snowman – Southern Style

    Frosty the Snowman – Southern Style


    Ella and Molly’s Snowman – first weekend of February, 2026

    Snow fell over South Carolina this past weekend, and our granddaughters enjoyed 3-4 inches of the fluffy ice crystals for two days before that lucky old Sun which usually rolls around heaven all day(according to the song) jumped out from behind the clouds to begin the thawing !

    Three-year-old cousin Caleb came over to play with six-year-old Ella and four-year-old Molly in the unusually chilly cold that marked the beginning of the second month of 2026.

    Although their snowman wasn’t the largest in size compared to other areas of the country, it was “enough big” to inspire the children’s laughter, happiness and making memories.

    The End

    *********************

    For the children of Minneapolis who have an abundant amount of snow available to make gigantic snowmen but are afraid to go outside and play… we stand with you.