Just Hot Milkshakes

I went to check out Sapphire last night at UMSL. It was dark when I hit the campus and the signage sucked. I went inside of the athletic center to ask for directions. See, I'm obsessed with athleticism even when I don't intend to exercise.

I found a building that looked like a student center and as soon as I started walking, this guy starting blowing his horn at me.

The Guy: I'm looking for an artist, um, Sparrow.

Me: Sapphire. I think this building is the Millennium Student Center.

And I was hoping that it was the MSC because there was still no signage.

After Sapphire's reading, I waded through the crowd to say hello since I met her years ago when I was coordinating a series featuring writers. I wrote in a previous post how Push resonated with me.

I remember having coffee with Sapphire and getting my favorite drink back then, a cafe mocha. That mocha was in a rather tall glass too. When I think about the junk that I consumed and how often I indulged, I just shake my head. As Dr. Phil says, I don't care what you call them -- frappuccino, mappuccino -- they're all just hot milkshakes.

When Sapphire saw me she said:

You still look the same.

Then she scanned me.

You've toned up?

Remembering my hot milkshake made me think of Gabourey Sidibe who plays Precious in the movie based on Push. Sidibe says that she is content with her weight. Others are taking polls to, no pun intended, weigh in on her weight.

No one can force or shame another person to lose weight. I've had people try many angles -- from name calling to bringing up my maternal grandmother's heart attack and neither one of those tactics worked.

People have to be ready to embark on their own fitness journey and no amount of polls or insults will change that reality.

Here's Sidibe on Oprah talking about learning to love herself.