ELEGY FOR AN ISLAND. FOR FIDEL. FOR THE HISTORY WHICH WILL VINDICATE YOU. FAITHFUL SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE, WE MOURN FOR YOU…… Must you go into the breach again my brothers? Must you sail on such a ship that shudders, a ship that others deride. A ship that reeks of wine and debauchery? Once upon a time the sugarcane fields rustled with snakes like mice and men with guns and hungry bellies, crawled silently swallowed up under the canopy…
that though I speak from a place of reason – supposedly I pause to wonder about last night and all the anxieties of electing Donald J. Trump as the new American President. Fresh off the boat so to speak ,without a single political or military background, Mr. Trump is the new Commander-in-Chief for the United States of America. In my present view I see him as someone adept at board games with one idea and that is to win. After a win,…
When I contemplate the idea of wellness, a host of seemingly unrelated things come to mind. What has chicken farming to do with wellness, or buying a turkey breast, or drinking milk? Yet, those things flood my mind as I think about wellness. Wellness is a state of mind towards how we conduct our lives within our daily existence; our attitudes toward each other, our willingness to serve instead of expecting service. Wellness is for me a general approach…
My friend told me she mailed me a film called ‘What the Bleep.’ I thought she was being respectful and didn’t wish to curse in the email, but the real name of the film was “What the Fuck!!” The film she said I’d enjoy because it delved into my preferred topics Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Quarks the whole nine yards. I was so excited and couldn’t wait for the mail, that the next day I went to the bookstore and before…
Happily it wasn’t for me. I am grateful. We have come a long way from September 11th 2001, when the abyss of doom and despair opened and we looked in. This was a first for all of us except the men and women who had seen active duty on a battle front. The rest of us could only try to draw images in our minds. We never came close to the real thing. On that still and perfect morning,…
FOLLOWED BY THE RULES. I found out that I was really a woman at age thirteen and Lord knows I resented the fact. Being a woman took me into a realm of restrictions and rules I did not care to keep. Rule number one: You can’t play cricket with the boys anymore on certain days. Rule number two: Do not climb any trees unless you are wearing slacks. Rule number three: Do not climb trees anymore Rule number…
I wrote my first love letter when I was fourteen. It wasn’t to the object of my affection, I had none then, instead, I was writing a letter to another woman on behalf of my brother. My brother had fallen in love. His very first crush is what I called it. He said he was in love. Stabbed viciously by Cupid he came running into the house on a Saturday morning as I reluctantly did my chores and dragged me…
When I was a child between the ages of seven and twelve I had an Uncle who had a grocery store along Maxfield Avenue. He wasn’t exactly my blood uncle and I never did find out how he was related to me. His name was Mr. Harry Lue and he had two sons, Charlie and Henry Lue and a wife. Charlie was eighteen when I was ten or so but it did not prevent him from expressing the desire to…