I’m obsessed with elephants – well yes I am – the collection of elephants in my house should be a hint. After spending time at the Riddle’s Elephant Sanctuary in Arkansas in 2006, I realized up close and personal that there is absolutely no way to anthropomorphize an animal the size of a building. There is nothing cute and cuddly about a prickly skinned animal who could care less if your bones are crunchable. And…
“People don’t live in New Orleans because it is easy. They live here because they are incapable of living anywhere else in just the same way.” ~ Ian McNulty, A Season of Night: New Orleans Life After Katrina
I’ve been pretty upset about this Food Stamp debacle that Congress has presented to us. I can’t imagine what would go on in anyone’s head that would think at a time when this country cannot feed all of its children – 22% live below the poverty line – that it would even consider cutting $40 billion out of this program. I spent the morning sending a tweet to each of the 271 Republicans who voted…
Tonight Wonder Woman decided for the umpteenth time in months that she was not going out. Instead she stayed home and finished the last episode of Scandal that ended with a Darth Vader-esque moment. Then she picked up her book and read. I am not sure why I [read: Wonder Woman] have become so un-super-hero-like these days – it could have something to do with not drinking – I mean I was supposed to go…
There are many people on the relationship spectrum in my life these days. I spent Saturday with two couples who are lovely and loving. I’ve also spent an inordinate amount of time recently with couples where the men are unfaithful and the women deceived or disenchanted or both. I’ve spent hours and evenings with people longing to be in a relationship but caught in a trap of desire and revulsion. Across this spectrum I’ve seen…
Last night, a single winner won a $400 million Power Ball. They haven’t been identified yet, but imagine if you realized last night that you were the winner of $400 million. That would be a game changer. And how would it change your game? I already know that I would create a few foundations – one to address the education of history in this country so that white people would become more comfortable with teaching…
Now here’s a shout out to my bike – that I love. It fits me like a glove. And I haven’t been on it in a very long time – too long a time. Today we rode 10 miles to the end of the bayou bike path. Bike – I love you!
Hey Rachel, I want to give you a shout out for having a productive week. You have worked on your book project, dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s on your workshop plans, interviewed sources for your upcoming Media report, attended school meetings, done all the laundry, cleaned the house (except the tubs and toilets), finished one long ass book and started another, written in both blogs, checked in on Facebook, researched Media, Racism, and…
Yesterday, I spent the day in Baton Rouge in a meeting with the Secretary for the Louisiana Department of Family Welfare and several groups of foster to adoptive parent associations. I was making my case for training of industry professionals and prospective parents about race and parenting. It was a long day, it was a fulfilling day, and it was interesting and eye-opening from the get-go. I had poured myself a cup of tea and…
I titled this “Finding your life’s work worth” because that is exactly where I am at this point in life. Fifty four years of trying to figure it out through education, marriage(s), and wandering has brought me to this place. Where I have found, well let me not beat around the bush, nirvana. Nirvana is an ancient Sanskrit term used to describe the profound peace of mind that is acquired with liberation, and as Janis…