You’ve all heard me talk plenty about otherness and onlyness. I’ve spent most of my 53 years othered and onlyed. My self-esteem was ravaged in my youth, and it's a little tattered well into my adulthood too. I’m not sure where any of my confidence comes from. Out of necessity, I … [Read more...] about Brown Girl in a White World…No More
childhood
Looks Like We Made It
I've seen Barry Manilow in concert three times and I'm not ashamed to admit it. His songs are the tunes of my youth that take me back to when my parents had parties in our wood paneled basement with the pleather recliner and vinyl topped bar. The kids played outside, having been … [Read more...] about Looks Like We Made It
Me, Trombone Shorty
Before you read any further, watch that clip up there. You'll thank me later. It was some time in the late 70s or early 80s. I was about four feet tall and meek as hell. I had just joined the band in middle school, not because I had musical talent or aspirations, but because … [Read more...] about Me, Trombone Shorty
Oh Captain, My Captain…RIP Robin Williams
To never see his smirk again... Or be jolted by his laugh. In a cruel twist of irony, the man who made us convulse in fits of hilarity is gone too soon due to profound depression. Perhaps as he lifted us he consumed all he had, leaving nothing for his own nourishment. I don't … [Read more...] about Oh Captain, My Captain…RIP Robin Williams
Books Were My World, and Still Are
When I was a kid I spent most of my time doing things alone. There weren't many kids around who were my age. My parents both worked. "Playdate" had not made its way into any parent's vernacular. I hand sewed dresses for my dolls with fabric scraps. I painstakingly made paper … [Read more...] about Books Were My World, and Still Are