4 The Hampton Roads Messenger Editorial How to Raise an Angel


of 65 and one of them is 101 years old. Our friend Mrs. Ida Jenkins, who is 101 years old, is now living in an assisted living facility and my daughter spends hours at a time there interacting with her and other residents.


In addition to caring for children


and the elderly, my daughter loves animals. Although I am a vegetarian, I have always let her know that the choice was hers to make if she ever decided she wanted to eat meat. I believe it is because of her love for animals that she has chosen to be a lifelong vegetarian.


Although my daughter loves BY ANGELA JONES I feel as though I could write a


book on how to raise an angel because I have a daughter who is as perfect as an angel. My daughter will be eighteen years old this month. Just admitting that is such an accomplishment for me because I am so protective of anyone knowing my age that I refused to tell anyone her age, for a long time. Today, my pride will not allow me to think about such trivialities. I can only focus on the grand accomplishment of raising a child to adulthood who has exceeded all of my expectations and, I must confess, my expectations were grandiose.


Before I get into describing how


I raised an angel, let me first tell you why I believe my daughter is an angel. She loves helping people. At an early age, when she interacted with other children, she would gravitate to the child that seemed to be a “misfit” for whatever reason. Sometimes it was because the child did not speak English and another time it was because the child was being taunted by other children. She actually won awards in different programs, in which she participated, because of her ability to make other children feel at ease. When she was four years old, I remember her receiving an award for helping a child in her preschool program, who could only speak French. Somehow she was able to communicate with this little boy from an entirely different culture and make him feel more comfortable.


Not only does my daughter like to


help children, she loves spending time with elderly people. I believe two of her three best friends are over the age


animals, she initially made a conscious decision not to have another pet because of the academic rigors of preparing for college; however, when she was recently introduced to a puppy in need of a home, she could not say no. She gladly accepted the responsibility and is successfully managing her school work, the college application process and taking care of Pumpkin, her new pet. She has been able to maintain a 4.0 grade-point-average and her SAT scores revealed that she is among the top four percent of students, who took the test, in writing and in the top nine percent in reading.


My daughter has also shown a


commitment to help people living in underserved communities in the United States and around the world. Several years ago she started an online initiative to help feed families with very little resources through the United Nations World Food Programme. Today, her initiative has recruited over 850 volunteers to help support her efforts in feeding those who are without food throughout the world.


My daughter co-founded an


organization to help people in underserved communities when they have been struck by natural disasters such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, and the Tsunami in Indonesia. The organization is gearing up to include support for those who cannot afford legal representation as well.


Now that I have explained some of


Established 2006 Angela Jones, Publisher Chris Parks, Editor


Rae Willis, Graphic Designer Ida Davis, Contributing Writer


PO Box 10414 ● Norfolk, VA 23513


Sales and Information 757-575-1863 info@hamptonroadsmessenger.com Copyright pertaining to contents of this edition. All rights reserved.


the reasons why I believe my daughter is an angel, I will tell you some of the factors in her upbringing that I believe may have contributed to her angelic disposition. Her experiences as a child were not typical of the way most children are raised today. I decided when she was born that I would make her my number one priority, which I admit would have been more difficult if I had other children. I applaud parents who are able to raise more than one child at a time; my grandmother had twelve children.


In order to be able


to focus on raising my daughter, I chose my career path very carefully. I stayed at home with her until she was two and I believe that gave her a great foundation and sense of security. I know that it is not practical for every parent to be with their child all day, every day. While this may


Volume 7 Number 4


sound extreme, I believe I was only apart from her for no more than a few hours during her first two years of life, excluding my attempt to return to my engineering career when she was two months old; that notion lasted less than two weeks.


When I did return to work on a


more permanent basis, I only accepted jobs that allowed me to bring her to work with me. When my daughter turned four, I finally began to spend time away from her but she was never more than a couple of miles from where I was and I still had the flexibility, at the company where I was employed, to work from home or bring her to work with me. I remember my daughter expressing to me how secure she felt during a vacation trip to Hawaii. While we were on the beach, she stated “I feel good because I always know you are watching me.” I could tell she felt more secure than most children because when I left her in the church nursery, even before she was two years old, she never cried although many of the other children did.


I was fortunate to be able to


become an entrepreneur, which afforded me the ultimate in flexible work schedules. I have been able to homeschool my daughter since the first grade, allowing me to be the person shaping her personality rather than teachers at school, babysitters or her peers. Although she has been involved in extracurricular activities like art,


December 2012


drama and sports, ninety percent of her time is spent with me.


Another “Angel wrecker” is the


television. My daughter watches very little television other than shows like Jeopardy and Nova on PBS. I believe the shows that are on television today are teaching children to be disrespectful to their parents and other adults. A lot of the television shows, that are written for children, on Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel have absentee parents. Either the parents work all of the time or they are on extended trips. Some of these programs never even acknowledge that the children have parents, which gives our children the impression that parents are not a necessity. I would not want my child to emulate the behavior of the children on these television shows.


I am not saying that I am an expert


on child rearing, by any means, but my daughter certainly makes me feel like one. I have thanked her for giving me the extraordinary pleasure of being her mother. When we are in public, I am often complimented on her behavior and intellect. I am so proud of the young lady she has become. I believe any parent can raise an angel with a foundation of love, support and attention. Soon, my angel will be leaving for college and testing her angel wings as she flies off to experience life as an adult. Of course, where ever she decides to go to college, I plan to enroll as well.


SBA Still Helping Businesses, Homeowners and Renters Recover from Sandy


BY JAMES RIVERA Many business owners,


homeowners, and renters along the East Coast are coming back to find physical damage to their buildings and property as a result of Hurricane Sandy. In addition, thousands of businesses are dealing with the economic blow caused by power outages, damaged inventory, and lost profits from being closed down.


The Small Business


Administration stands ready to help. How does SBA help businesses,


homeowners and renters recover? Three main ways:


1. Businesses and nonprofit


organizations of any size can apply for a low-interest disaster loan of up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged real estate or inventory.


2. Small businesses and nonprofit


organizations of any size can apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, also up to $2 million. With all of the power outages and evacuations, we know that many small businesses made it through the storm, but they’ve lost significant amounts of business. In many cases, these businesses will be eligible for EIDL loans to help cover their working capital needs, regardless of whether the business suffered property damage.


3. Finally, homeowners can apply


for loans of up to $200,000 to repair damaged real estate. Homeowners and renters can also apply to borrow up to $40,000 to repair or replace personal property damaged by the storm. In addition, we can sometimes increase a loan by up to 20 percent to make structural improvements that lessen the risk of property damage by future disasters of the same kind.


Once the disaster declaration is


made for your area, there are several ways to apply:


Apply online at www.disasterloan.


sba.gov Visit a Disaster Recovery Center


in your area: www.fema.gov/disaster- recovery-centers


For information about the disaster


loan process, or to have an application mailed to you, you can either email di- sastercustomerservice@sba.gov or call 1-800-659-2955. Those who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired can call 1-800-877-8339.


To download an application, go


here: www.sba.gov/disaster As of last night, more than


292,607 disaster survivors from Connecticut, New York and New Jersey have applied for federal disaster assistance, and more than $277 million in Individual Assistance has been approved.


If you are a survivor, it’s


important to take that the first step is to register with FEMA, by calling 1-800-621-FEMA or going online to www.disasterassistance.gov on your computer or mobile device.


Already, we have disaster


recovery personnel conducting damage assessments and many more disaster reservists ready to mobilize. In addition, business owners can get free help completing applications and creating plans to rebuild at our local Small Business Development Centers. To find the location nearest you, visit www.sba.gov/local-assistance.


Our commitment at SBA and


throughout the Administration is that we will be there until we get the job done – and we will get it done right. For more about the government-wide response to Sandy, visit www.usa.gov/ sandy.


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