E. Writer Huge part of my childhood and American history. He lived in my neighborhood in Chicago. I've met him face to face multiple times in my life in informal situations, always briefly. The first time was as a kid. I was 10 years old coming out of Independence Foods, a black-owned supermarket in Chicago. I suddenly see this tall man walking towards me and my sister. He was coming from Seaway National Bank, the first black-owned bank in the United States. I laughed at him and mockingly said, "Ha! That man looks like Jesse Jackson!" He stopped, smiled, and greeted us warmly. My entire face shifted because he was the real Jesse Jackson, not some doppelganger. It was the civil-rights icon and hero, who at the time, was unmarked by any scandals. A man who had marched with Martin Luther King and had even been standing beside him when he was assassinated. Jesse Jackson at that time was a civil-rights hero who was famous for his defining inspirational speech, "I Am Somebody!" I remember my reaction in that moment was one of a child's pure joy, awe, and surprise. His picture hung on our classroom wall with other Black historical and civil rights leaders and suddenly he was walking towards us. Unable to speak, I was looking into the twinkling gaze of a national hero (to our community in the 1980s.) He seemed taller than life. All I could do was wave, even though I wanted him to sign something, for me to keep as a memento. Back then, civil-rights heros were respected, because freedom and equality was not something we took for granted. As an adult, (and most of my childhood) I lived in the same South Shore neighborhood as Jesse Jackson where we ran into each other multiple times. Each time, he was always the first, without hesitation, to say hello just as he did when I was a little girl. The last time I saw him was in 1999.
Jesse Jackson deserved more respect and acknowledgement than he received in his later years. This was a person who genuinely cared about the people. Rest in Power.
#JesseJackson

E. Writer WOW

SJ Blues https://www.reddit.com/r/MyBoyfriendIsAI/

E. Writer Wow these people really believe that they were in a relationship with AI. The girl followed up and it apologized but also doubled down lol https://www.reddit.com/r/MyBoyfriendIsAI/comments/1qeqqu1/decided_to_give_52_another_try/

E. Writer They're cute until they mature. Very weird animals but yes, adorable. I used to like watching videos about them.