My Open Letter to Paula Dean

Dear Paula Dean,

Your PR staff really botched your apology for your use of the n-word. Their advice that you back out of the interview with Matt Lauer and release those two, yes two, videos was PR 101-Damage Control at its worst. The videos were horrendous and because of the edits, you appeared insincere. As a seasoned PR vet, I am available to assist you as you attempt to rebuild your brand. However, it will not be easy and will take time and massive effort, but we are a society that is happy to forgive. 

I will be in Savannah in a few weeks, but that may be too late. My advice to you, get a crisis management PR specialist to handle your issue. Oh, and while I am in Savannah, I will probably drop by Lady and Sons for lunch or dinner because I recognize all those folks that work for you have families and probably need to keep their jobs. See, all of this is bigger than you and your empire and it has an economic impact outside of you and your family. 

As a side note, if you decide to take me up on my offer, my services will not come cheap, but I promise to do a better job than the team you are currently paying.

Respectfully,
Scheree Rawles

It’s FATHER’S Day, Let’s Celebrate THEM!

Let me go on and get this out of the way, some of you will not appreciate this post, others of you will, but we are going to celebrate Dads today!!

Today, I received a text message from someone, to remain nameless, that said, “Happy Father’s Day to the single mothers holding it down.”  I wanted to text back, “You are an effin (not my word of choice) idiot!!! However, I did not; I decided to write this blog instead. 

In my opinion, that text was one of the most disrespectful text a single mom could receive and participate in.  Yes, I am a single mother, but my parenting has always been co-parenting.  If I must say so myself, I am a great mom, but I am not nor will I ever be a DAD.  No matter how much love, guidance, time, and nurturing I give my children, I cannot replace their dad. 

Now, do not get me wrong, I recognize that there are times when I may want to discount/pay no attention to fathers that are not always there like I think they should be or not following through on what I deem to be their parental duties. (Notice the key word in that sentence is 'I'.)  However, it is not my role to disrespect or dishonor any father.  Therefore, I do not allow my children to disrespect or dishonor their father.  You will not fuss about him in front of me and you will not let just anything come out of your mouth about him.  I tell them that is your dad and you will respect him as such, or you will deal with me. 

Of course, there have been times when I have been angry, upset, and said some things that perhaps I should have left in my head rather than flowing out of my mouth.  Hey, I am human, if we were still married that would still happen, don’t play.  However, when I do, I gather my children and apologize for my temporary insanity.  I want my children to develop and form their own opinion of their dad, not one that is tainted by my emotions.  They love their dad and their dad loves them.

Therefore, on this beautiful Sunday morning, I sent a text to my children’s dad, “Hey!! Happy Father’s Day. Thanks for giving me 3 wonderful children!”  Despite how you feel about your child or children’s father, he still should be a part of their life/lives.  Perhaps some fathers would be better fathers if we stopped trying to lessen their role and showed some support on a day that is set aside for them.