Believe it or, not, long before Oprah Winfrey met and became friends with Ms. Maya Angelou, I had adopted her as my mentor! Only, this Woman/ Writer/ Poet, Scholar, Educator and Renaissiance force of nature never knew I existed...

I was just out of high school and striking out on my own in the big city, which for a stranger in unknown territory can become very lonely, not knowing where to turn for forging new friendships...Thank God for libraries. an insatiable reader, I found solace in books, thus my encounter with Maya Angelou... It was "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"...I was hooked. I wanted to know this woman. Meet her. Applaud her strength and endurance.

Can you imagine the horror a child of seven must endure after being violated in the worst possible way, only to feel guilt from a certain knowing that the abuser was silenced by members of your own family and to think that you was the cause? To decide never to speak again because you think that it was your voice/words that caused a death?

Sorry, but, when it comes to Ms. Angelou... I get carried away. Anyway, the reason for this post is to wish Maya Angelou a happy 80th Birthday and let the world know that long before Oprah Winfrey would declare Ms. Angelou, her mentor, I claimed her first! only, she never knew it...