Holidays
All Knowing Mother
In honor of Mother’s Day, I reflected about the unsung contributions of Black women such as the generational and social network of wisdom. To represent the Black Woman Network, I used an African paper doll template, complete with a curly afro. Taking advantage of the gift of fabric given to me by a friend, each … Continue reading
MLK Day: Hug a Black Person
In observance of the holiday, I texted some people, “Happy MLK Day” and even advised one white friend to hug a back person, to which he replied, “haha,” but I was serious. I believe in the power of small actions leading to bigger things. As a matter of fact, when I rolled up into the … Continue reading
2017 NYE: Bikram Yoga
For the first time ever, ringing in the new year at a yoga class sounded like a good idea. Actually, I went out dancing on the eve of New Year’s Eve, which was fun until the next morning. If I were inclined to make new year’s resolutions, it may be to stop dancing salsa with … Continue reading
Bah Humbug!
Admittedly, I approached this past Christmas with a Scroogy attitude. The real gift was reconnecting with my family; so when the actual day arrived, it seemed less spectacular. One of my nephews was wrapped up in a blanket in the living room as if Santa had left him along with the other gifts. One of … Continue reading
Aunt Teresa’s Burlesque Dictionary
Last Christmas, when my immediate family got together, I had a few conversations with one of my nephews, who was 25 at the time. During our conversations, he asked me what certain words, like “ambiguous” and “prolonged,” meant since I’d peppered my conversations with such vocabulary. At one point, I told him that if he’d read more, he’d … Continue reading
Holiday Celebration 2017
Who would have thought that nearly a year ago at the holiday party sponsored by the company we all worked for, where we all shared the same round table, would turn out to be prophetic? During the course of 2017, we all grew tired of having our talent squandered, and being under paid and over … Continue reading
What Christmas Means to Me: The Scrooge Edition
One of my sisters wrote and directed a Christmas play, complete with carolers, a praise dancer, and a simple heart-felt narrative to be performed at her church. If it were a movie, it would air on the Hallmark channel, her favorite channel to watch back-to-back saccharine sweet Christmas movies, prompting me to tease her about … Continue reading
2017 Thanksgiving
On Thanksgiving Day, I attempted to make pao de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread). The first thing that threw me for a loop was the tapioca flour. My regular grocery store had about a dozen different flours, none were tapioca. I made a special trip to a high- end grocery store to get it. Next, I didn’t … Continue reading
Two Medusas
Halloween has been my favorite holiday since I was a child and continues into adulthood. Initially, I was in it for both the candy and costuming. Now, as the producer of my own monthly spoken word and storytelling show, I dress up for the show every month. A third of my closet is composed of … Continue reading
Juneteenth Celebration & Wonder Woman
For the fourth year, we three came out to read excerpts from a newly emancipated slave’s narrative. We took the usual group photo in our costumes and then… had the sheer delight of having our pictures taken by a professional! I didn’t have the bandwidth to memorize the few lines of Mattie Gilmore’s narrative, but … Continue reading