about our weekly soap opera As The Down Low Brother Turns!  It updates every Thursday right here on Sheletta.com and has more twists and turns than big momma's Sunday stockings!  So check out all the action of Richard Clarkson in his quest to lead a double lifestyle by clicking here or go to the left hand side of the page and scroll down to the "Down Low Brother Soap Opera" tagline.

This blog entry was written last year, on the day of the I-35 Bridge collapse:

Life is so precious y'all. When I leave this television station I'm going to go home and hug my baby boy and make passionate love to my husband.

I've never had anything like this to happen to me--so close to my home--right in my back  yard.

Shawn and I were sitting in the living room--I could tell he was stressed out from work and being married to me is enough to drive any man crazy--so he was really on edge.  I told him "Baby, we've had dinner--go on down to your office in the basement--take a beer--get you I-pod--kick back and just take your mind off the world.  Shoots, pull up some porn if you have to."

I was rocking Andrew to sleep--he had a trying day as well--we're going from baby food to solids and then we're trying to make sure he goes back into his bed--cause we've been on vacation damn near the whole month of July--so he's been sleeping in the bed with us--and we're having the hardest time getting him to sleep in his own bed--so he ain't slept much--which means we ain't slept much either!

So Shawn is operating off about 30 minutes of sleep--I'm worn out--Andrew is sleeping and hungry--and all we got is Brisco, Green and Fontana on Law and Order to keep us entertained.  We don't do much television at my crib--but we were so tired--we let the lul of the courtroom drama rock us to sleep.

When Shawn headed down to the basement to escape life--Andrew and I just sat in the family room--everybody chillin'--the house quiet--mentally--we were preparing for bed.

THEN....

Shawn came running up the stairs and said "Put it on CNN--the bridge collapsed."

When I turned the channel to CNN--my mouth flew open in horror.  I-35--a major interstate in Saint Paul--less than a mile from our home--had collapsed over the Mississippi River. 

We travel that route all the time--going to the Mall of America for shopping (back when we had money).  We were just on I-35 Monday afternoon 'round 4 p.m.--we went to Raising Cane's--our favorite hot-wing spot for dinner.

The devastation--the turmoil--the horror.  People were strapped in their cars--submerged under water.  A school bus teetering in the river--half on the freeway--half in the Mississippi... cars crushed--slabs of concrete floating on the water.  Blood--chaos--mayhem!  Right in my back yard.  My heart fell.

My husband--as tired as he was sacrificed his sleep and er'rething--he went and got my shoes and a bottle of water and said "Baby--go to work--they need you at the television station."

I hauled ass y'all.  I got here and it was worse than I thought.  60 people injured--7 folks dead and the toll keeps climbing... chil'len and old folks--teenagers--people just trying to drive home form work--DEAD!  Freeway collapsed!  How could htis happen?  I mean--hell, it's concrete--slabs--slabs of cement just on the ground--rubble.

People running around frantically trying to find missing loved ones--disaster at the highest level--lives lost--people hurt--injuries--blood--just--I can't even describe.

On the way to work--I thought about how thankful I was--how thankful I am now--sitting here typing this--that my husband made it home from work an hour before it all happened!

All I could say was "Thank you Lawd!  For being so good to us--for sparing my husband--for your protection--your hedge of protection."

Before my husband leaves out to go to work every day--I always pray with him and for him--we do it as a family.  I kiss his face and tell him I love him--sometimes it gets redundant--and he tries to run out on me with an old "Baby I gotta go--I'll pray on my way to work." 

But I don't care if he's late for a meeting or he misses a conference call completely--he ain't leaving out of that house without being covered with the blood of Jesus--it's that blood that takes him to work safely and brings him back home.  It's that blood that covers him from disaster--and saves him from being hurt or harmed in any way.

That could have been him y'all--that could have been me and Andrew going to run errands--I'm thankful that my family is still in tact...

But I'm prayerful and sad for the folks who have lost loved ones.  Even sadder--the folks who are "missing" people in their families--I'm at the television station right now--and people can't find their sister--or their brother is missing and they ain't heard from 'em--they got a hot-line set up to try and identify folks--it's just sad.

I'm taking calls at the newsroom desk--and mothers are calling from out of town--trying to see if their daughters are safe--

My father called frantically trying to locate me--and Shawn--to make sure we were alright.

It's just amazing--how in one instance--without having done anything to cause it--your life--your loved ones live can be taken away.  A bridge collapse... rubble--people submerged in the water...

We need to find the jokers who constructed this damn bridge.  I'm sure it's the same guy who built the levees in the 9th ward in New Orleans!

So much for Ludacris having a shot to become Barack Obama's running mate. The rapper's latest attempt to boost Obama's candidacy has been ripped by the campaign itself. The rapper's verse is being described as "outrageously offensive" to Obama's former rival Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and his current rival for the White House, Senator John McCain. The song, "Politics As Usual," claims Obama's becoming president is destiny. It uses the b-word to describe Clinton and says that McCain doesn't belong in "any chair unless he's paralyzed." The song also goes after the current occupant of the White House, saying George Bush is "mentally handicapped." The statement from Obama's campaign says while Ludacris "is a talented individual," the rapper "should be ashamed of these lyrics."

It's a legal battle between the "king of bling" and Wyclef Jean. The company founded by "Jacob the Jeweler" is going after the former Fugees star in court, claiming the hip-hop star owes him money for watches and jewelry he bought.  Jacob and Company Incorporated claims Jean got a bunch of bling for $765,100 -- and that he still owes a little less than half on the purchase. The suit says there have been "repeated demands for payment," but to no avail. Reps for Wyclef didn't respond to e-mails requesting comment. The company's founder, Jacob Arabov, has had his share of legal issues lately. He was sentenced in June to 2½ years in federal prison for lying to investigators of a multistate drug ring. The jeweler's other customers have included Kanye West, Madonna and Elton John.

Halle Berry may be getting some backup in her battle against the paparazzi. Some Los Angeles are leaders are trying to come up with tougher rules to keep at bay those who have the job of snapping photos of the stars. Officials from jurisdictions like Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Malibu and Calabasas are meeting today to discuss ways to fight back against the paparazzi. Among the ideas being floated about are to create a "safety zone" around celebrities or requiring paparazzi to carry credentials and laying down rules for their behavior. Last  week, Berry said she's seeking criminal charges against photographers who came up with photos of her and her four-month-old daughter. She claims the paparazzi trespassed in her backyard to get the shots.