Dr Maya Angelou – Miss Calypso

Debra LB.

11 years ago

What an Incredible and Phenomenal Woman

Rest In Peace, You will be Missed, but never forgotten!

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies.
I say, It’s in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman.

That’s me. – Maya Angelou

Dr Maya Angelou

I woke this morning like every other morning, I had a cup of coffee and then off to check emails, Facebook groups, news etc! Then I saw a headline on yahoo that stated.

Poet laureate Maya Angelou dead at 86, I ignored it and was reading something else, then it hit me, wait a minute that’s Dr Maya Angelou, I called out to the hubby that Maya Angelou had died. Then, I said Oh My God Oprah Winfrey! I started sobbing, yes real tears, I cried because the world had lost a GIANT. She has been a real inspiration to me. But i could not help but worry about Oprah Winfrey,although I have never met Oprah, I feel connected to her as well. I know how much she loved and admired Dr Angelou.

I first heard of Maya Angelou many, many years ago , I attended an event with a long time friend by the name of Charles-Pfizer, I believe it was in 1990 or so.

I heard words from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, I had never heard this before or knew anything about Maya Angelou, I asked who wrote that, everyone looked at me as if I was DUMB for not knowing who Maya Angelou was, but I really didn’t know, I came to the USA a few years prior to that, apparently her work wasn’t aired or I wasn’t aware of it in Trinidad at the time.

Anyway after that evening , I did a lot of research about Maya Angelou, I just couldn’t get enough of her writings. She has been an inspiration to me ever since.

Many times when the going got tough I will reach out to her in her writings and believe it or not, it give me what I needed at that time.

When some of my boys were little, I use to read them poems written by Maya Angelou, they all loved the poetry, especially Adrian, he always wanted me to keep reading, when the others will fall asleep he always wanted more, it’s as though this kid couldn’t get enough, although he was very young, he loved and appreciated Dr Angelou poems and her other writings.

I finally met Maya Angelou many years later, I was honored to be in her presence, I got a hand shake and a hug and she said to me , “I am honored to meet you” My God, I was honored to meet her . I told her I was from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, she said “we are all one family child, and I know where Trinidad is, and with a smile she went on to say that her mom taught her a lot about Trinidad culture and the food and one of her best friend was from the Caribbean.

Today, I feel so honored and blessed to have met her, even if it was only for a short ten minutes.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” #MayaAngelou

“My life has been long, and believing that life loves the liver of it, I have dared to try many things, sometimes trembling, but daring still.” – ‪#‎MayaAngelou

Maya Angelou won three Grammys, spoke six languages and was the second poet in history to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration, but what stands out with me is how she treated every human being she came into contact with, she truly was an exceptional and Phenomenal woman.

Let’s look back at this great woman

Her first and only album as a singer, Miss Calypso was released in 1957. Check her out on Oprah Super Soul Sunday

Check Out Dr Maya Angelou as she sings her Calypso – Stone Cold Dead in the Market