BLABBERMOUT’ BABSIE: Tryin’ some changes for L- E- N-T (let’s eliminate negative thoughts)

Dear Nesta,
FORTY DAYS AN’ FORTY NIGHTS!
Writin’ de date today, mek muh realize de monf  almos’ finish, an’ in fack, ef it wasn’ fuh de extra day we get dis year, we woulda been startin’ March tomorrow. Up to a couple weeks ago, I din even remember 2012 was a leap year! I been tryin’ to fin’ out, fuh God know how long, wuh de reason is fuh de extra day, but I still in de dark.  
Well, muh girl, las’ Wensdy was “Ash Wednesday”, de beginnin’ o’ Lent, leadin’ up to Easter!  How time flyin’! I imagine, like mos’ ethuh good Christians, yuh went to church fuh yuh “ashes” to start off de Lenten Season – de period fuh fastin’ from bad habits!    
A very long time ago, we us-ed to tek Lent so serious dat even de airwaves c’n play certain types o’ music ’til de season was over. Evuhting
is now sech a “free fuh all”, dat it got me wonderin’ whethuh many people even t’ink ’bout wuh Lent mean, an’ try to focus ’pon any bad habit duh want to gi’e up! Smokin’ was one habit nuff people would drop, but I never could see de sense o’ dat, ef it was back to de cig’rets when Lent done.
As far as I concern, ef yuh could stop fuh 40 days, yuh could stop fuh good!   
Las’ week, I receive a leaflet dealin’ wid Lent dat mek a lot o’ sense to me, an’ I t’ought I would share it wid yuh! De title alone – “Let’s Eliminate Negative Thinking” (L-E-N-T) – ketch muh int’res’ so I had to read on, to see how de writer describe “negative t’inking”. She start out by sayin’ dat ’stead o’ fastin’ from certain food an’ drink, we should fas’ an’ free we min’s from error t’oughts – gossip, hatred, jealousy, onfuhgiveness – an’ try to keep watch ovuh all we t’ink, say an’ do. Durin’ dis period, we should feas’ ’pon a positive course o’ action, an’ try an’ keep close as possible to God by prayer an’ meditation!
Now, I en know ‘bout you, but keepin’ watch ovuh all I t’ink, say an’ do, won’ be de easies’, ’cause I far from perfeck, an’ sure to slip sometimes, but I like de idea an’ I gine try!   
It would help keep dem error t’oughts at bay, ’cause havin’ to stop an’ t’ink evuh time befo’ I speak, mus’ mek muh words come out diff’rent!   It mean I gotta “look befo’ I leap”! I believe dis exercise fuh 40 days should bear sufficient fruit to encourage muh to keep goin’!
I show de leaflet to my nighber an’ Philomena to get duh reaction. Rightaway, Philomena laff an’ axe hummuch people I t’ink would show any inter’es’ in fastin’ in dah way fuh 40 days! Forty hours would be difficult, as it is!
But she promise to try, ’specially in de area o’ jealousy, ’cause she is one woman dat cyahn bear to see she frien’s happy togedduh –  she believe dat after a while, she would get leff out in de cole!
She en too fuhgivin’ neiduh! I keep tellin’ she dat it don’ pay to be so.  While she eatin’ up sheself inside wid rage, de ethuh person dat do de hurtin’, gone ’long enjoyin’ life, an’ she would be de one to en’ up wid a healf problem.  
My nighber like dis new way o’ fastin’, but she gine fin’ it hard to stop de gossipin’! Tell dat woman “A” ’bout anyt’ing an’ in two twos, she rattle off de whole alphabet! But she, too, gine try!  
Ness, join we t’ree in dis new fastin’ exercise, an’ encourage ethuhs to do it as well! I sure we gine all be much better off fuh doin’ it!
Tek care o’ yuhself!
Yuh frien’, Babsie