Sistah Shoop needs a bit of an introduction, or better some back story, as it were.

Shoop showed up in my life one day with much insistence that I write. It became pretty obvious to see that she also only wanted me to write what she wanted me to write. Anything else that I might have had in mind was something just shy of taboo and would have to wait. Though I do manage upon occasion to get other things written. I guess we reached a truce on that or something, don’t know.

I’ve never really had a pushy muse before. Actually I don’t think I’ve had anyone in my life that has been as unrelenting and assertive as Sistah Shoop. Right down to the type and size of font I use. But she has, in time, managed to find her way into my heart and she has also managed to pull things out of me that I would not necessarily set to print on my own accord.

All this took a while to happen, months. I spent much time in edit mode until I got what she was telling me down onto paper as she wanted, but it wasn’t until I understood exactly what she was asking for that I started to write with ease. It wasn’t until I listened to what she was saying. It wasn’t until I saw that she was allowing me to see life through her eyes that I could saddle up to the PC and just type away for hours. I heard what she was saying, I could see what she saw and the words just came thoughtlessly…

These things, this prose are not stories, they’re just musings on a good day or rambling on a so-so day and even rants on those "hey! Why’d I get up this morning?" kind of days. Sometime they are just plain fantasy or better, nonsense. In my humble opinion, of course.

Now, I don’t always agree with Sistah Shoop, as I’m sure you won’t either. So it’s all right if you take what you take and leave behind what you don’t want. There are plenty of folks out there and I’m pretty sure, like Shoop that nothing will go to waste.

She makes me mad, she makes me smile, she makes me cry and she makes me laugh, not just at her, but also at myself and at life. She makes me think, she makes me question life and rules, she gives me courage and strength. Sistah Shoop reminds me daily to take a good hard look at my life to see what works and what doesn’t work. She’s become a friend.