Special Events

As part of my MLK weekend celebration, I visited the Neill-Cochran House Museum. Here’s how I know I’m not a journalist: of all the pictures I took on the inside of this house museum, I took nary a picture of the outside of the museum. Throughout the museum, there were porcelain art pieces. Had I … Continue reading »

This is how I know I’m fostering my circle of friends well: one of them planned a Mad Hatter party for her 40th birthday. Not only did I dash into my closet, which is half costumes, to retrieve my Mad Hatter attire, but I rummaged through my boxes of creative fodder to Mad Hatterly wrap … Continue reading »

After 7 years of producing my monthly spoken word and storytelling show, The Austin Writers Roulette, I was ready to call it quits. Yet, Austin’s unofficial mayor of poetry sweet talked and flattered me into producing it for an 8th year. I split the difference and made this year bimonthly, thinking I may continue for … Continue reading »

When one of my friends confessed to having a gun phobia, other friends and I rallied to support her. Only one of us had actually grown up around guns since her stepfather had taught her how to hunt since age 8. The rest of us just believed, since we were all very cerebral academics, that … Continue reading »

I recycled my Princess Leia costume for the company White Out party that many people kept referring to as the “White Only” party. I didn’t bother correcting anyone or pointing out the double entendre since I’d driven nearly 4 hours and had a hot second to check into my room, shower and change into costume. … Continue reading »

I only send a group email itinerary to celebrate my birthday when my new age ends in a “0” or “5,” so turning 49 was a low-key celebration, where I texted a few friends for fish and chips at an English-styled restaurant. We enjoyed dinner so much, that we took no pictures. We managed to … Continue reading »

Months ago, a friend of mine invited me to participate in a literary event, which included submitting several pieces to a juried magazine. As usual, I’d been juggling a lot of other things at the time and looked for several reasons to decline since participation involved an overnight trip. After he sent me a copy … Continue reading »

Almost by fluke, I found out about the 7th Capital City Black Film Festival. First thought that crossed my mind, “Why haven’t I’ve heard about this before now?” The second thought was to find out whether I could volunteer for this. Yes and no, but ultimately yes. Once I checked out the website, I discovered … Continue reading »

Due to various circumstances in years past, I hadn’t attended the family reunion on my mother’s side in nearly ten years. This year, all the stars aligned and I made it–late, but better than never. Perhaps more accurate, “delayed.” Everything about this vacation back home had me wait past the time I expected something to … Continue reading »

For the 7th year in a row, I reprised my role as newly emancipated slave, Mattie Gilmore. Yet, this was the first time I was positioned near the front of the art exhibit part of the George Washington Carver Museum. I took advantage of my proximity to the Juneteenth blurb on the panel, which hung … Continue reading »