Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 5-29-18

Local
‘Sales Tax’ Holiday Set For 2018 Hurricane Season
Author Releases Book, Red Head Nappy Head Hussy
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Recently, Governor Rick Scott signed bills designating a 7-day period for Floridians to prepare for the hurricane season. Mete- orologists predicts an active season with 10 to 16 named storms.
Although the Atlantic Hurricane Season does not begin until June 1st, the first named storm, Alberto has formed. The Hurricane Sea- son does not end of Novem- ber 30, 2018.
This year, Governor Scott has designated a 7- day tax free holiday for res- idents to purchase items they will need to sustain them if a storm comes to their area of the state.
The Disaster Prepared- ness Sales Holiday begins at midnight on Friday, June 1st ends on Thursday, June 7th at midnight. Dur- ing this period, certain items purchased for the 2018 Hurricane Season will not be taxed.
The items include:
Portable self-powered light sources such as lanterns;
Portable self powered radios, two-way radios, or Weatherband radios;
Tarps or other flexible, waterproof sheeting;
A self-contained first-aid kit;
A ground anchor system or tie-down kit;
Non-electric food stor- age cooler;
A portable generator used to provide light or communications or pre- serve food in the event of a power outage selling for $750 or less;
Reusable ice selling for $10 or less; and A package of AA-Cell; C-Cell; D-Cell, 6-Vote, or 9-Volt batteries selling for $30 or less.
Batteries for automo- biles or boats are not in- cluded.
For a complete list of items visit the webpage at http://floridarevenue.com/ DisasterPrep/Pages/de- fault.aspx.
SHIRLEY EDWARDS
BY SYLVIA PRATHER As a little girl, Shirley
Edwards experienced a se- ries of tragic events, includ- ing the untimely death of her father and sexual mo- lestation by her uncle, both of which left an indelible mark on her psyche.
She describes these un- fortunate occurrences as being seared into her mem- ory like cattle being seared with the branding iron. Once she got over the fear and shame of what hap- pened, she was compelled to tell about her past in the book titled, Red Head Nappy Head Hussy, a name she answered to when growing up in rural Georgia during the 1950s. Edwards shared that in those years her hair was red, bushy and nappy.
“I always asked the ques- tion why did ‘it’ happen to me? And the Lord just let me know that ‘it’ happened to you so that you could help somebody else that it’s happened to. I just prayed and asked God to give me strength, and he told me what to say and how to say it,” said Edwards.
In talking with people since the book’s release she learned that others have gone through similar viola- tions and are still carrying the deep-seated weight.
Telling her story was more of a release that felt like a burden had been
lifted. She now has
a type of freedom
that she had never experienced be-
fore. She said, “as
long as you keep something on the
inside that’s heavy, it weighs you down. When I released it, I released a lot of pressure and a lot of hatred that I had for my uncle, so much so that I was able to stand by his death bed and pray for him.”
Before her father died, the family lived in mid Florida. Afterwards, her mother, sister and four brothers moved to Ty Ty, Georgia, where they lived in the home next door to her maternal grandparents.
Later, her mother re- married which caused a separation from the chil- dren while she and her new husband laid ground for the family to reunite and settle in Tampa. It was during this period that the molestation and other unpleasant events occurred.
According to Edwards, she can remember as far back as being less than two years old. “I didn’t remem- ber good stuff, but I remem- ber the bad stuff.” She further states she did not have a great childhood until she moved to Florida.
Edwards never told anyone about the molesta- tion although she suspected her grandmother knew something was not right.
She was afraid to tell be- cause her uncle did make threats and even bribed her with a bag of candy not to tell. “I think if she had ques- tioned me I would have told her the truth, but she never asked,” said Edwards.
Before she graduated from high school, she did reveal to her family what happened. “There was a si- lence in the room that you just can’t explain. Every- body was shocked,” said Edwards.
It was during a family re- union soon after that her mother confronted her brother, but he denied the allegations. “The only thing she had to go on was my word. And she believed me.”
Edwards further said, “It’s not something that my family talks about. That’s why I wrote the book. I want all the young girls and even the young boys in families to be protected. And, so that parents would pay more at- tention to watch and don’t put kids in a situation where they can be molested by family members or any- body.”
Red Head Nappy Head Hussy is available at Amazon.com or Barne- sandNoble.com.
PAGE 8 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2018