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When my mother was dying in East Jefferson Hospital in November of 2009, I didn’t know my son had already been born. I had braided her once thick hair into tiny braids on each side of her face, which gave her a youthful appearance. She had entered the hospital on Bastille day, having called me late in the evening saying something’s wrong. I was walking home to the LaLa from Swirl with Tatjana, who was…
A group of German journalists came to the Hall for the Cedric Burnside show on Mother’s Day. Cedric played one of my favorite songs of his, We Made It, and introduced it by calling me up to dance. For a person who loves to dance, what is better than owning a dance hall? Not much, I can assure you. One of my favorite videos was the small after party some of us had after cleaning…
I’m good enough. Swimming through the myriad thoughts I am having are: When people ask me these days, how are you? My response is always good enough. And it is true. My years ahead are far fewer than those behind me. I have friends who are dear to me. My health is relatively good – some stiffness, some reduced capacity, still enjoy riding my bike, looking forward to swimming again, plus I have newfound clarity…
My friend, Kat, introduced me to an album that is on repeat in my head, in my car, on my phone – Cleo Sol’s Gold album. Let me break this down for you: The first song on the album is There Will Be No Crying. Here is some of the lyrics from this song: The light, it covers me‘Cause I just wanna be somebodyDarling, we‘Cause sometimes you need, someoneI just wanna feel something real I…
My friend, Tommy Crane, bought a house on Main Street in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. I came to visit him a few times, and then I came without him, and then came with Tin, and once with my writing group. I would turn off the I-10 onto Highway 90 from Exit 2 (there is no Exit 1 as you come over the hill and into Mississippi), and the atmospheric energy would fall and keep falling…
In a group meeting the other day, we were speaking about a time when you learned a behavior as a child as a coping mechanism, and how you brought it into your adulthood, and why it no longer serves you. My father loved to play backgammon, and he had friends over playing in the living room. I had come into the room and he said something to me, and I said something back, and for…
On April 14, 2023, I was on the phone with my friend, Brian, who lives in New York. I call him Possum. He said he needed an accountability partner, someone to help him straighten up his eating and drinking habits. He asked me to be that person. At that moment in time, I was not a model of nutritional, healthy living. When I was running around during an event and not having time to eat,…
I began writing my blog in 2004, because my work as an investigative journalist on Wall Street had consumed me. I was desperate for a creative outlet. I was writing elsewhere – morning journaling, a couple of essays on Medium: ode to my truck, the challenge of parenting my son. But it just seemed each time I would come back to my blog. Entries in a blog have a feeling of smoke and mirrors to…
Yesterday, was a day for the books. More was revealed about the person who had made me sad, and a few conversations led to a deeper connection, more unearthing of our truth. A conversation with Tin helped me understand how he is where he needs to be most and ended with I love you’s that he initiated. Lunch with a dear friend and dinner with two others and once again, I claimed my stake in…
In my past facilitation work we always used ice breakers. Some of my favorite ones were everyone telling the group where their name comes from. Naming is a laden task not only for babies, but for pets, and perhaps houses and camps, and maybe even cars. Naming the feelings that come up with names is also a thing. Another ice breaker – and this one I saved for seasoned groups who knew how to check…