Paris, France, May 2024 As a black woman raised in the South in Tennessee, I thought that I was an ordinary person, nothing special about me. I was told that I would probably live my whole life in the South, never going beyond the boundary of my hometown. I was also someone who loved books... Continue Reading →
Thank Goodness Some Nicknames Don’t Stick!
As a little girl, my nickname was Baldy. It seems that as a toddler, I contracted some kind of head rash that meant cutting off all of my hair. So, Baldy became what people called me, from aunts and uncles to neighbors. I must have been in the third or fourth grade before I even... Continue Reading →
A Good Book Will Ruin a Good Night’s Sleep
Needless to say, I suffer many a night without ample sleep because I can't rest until I know the end of the story or the culprit. With bookshelves full of hardbacks and a Kindle with over a hundred books, I will be missing a lot of sleep. I have learned not to start a Daniel... Continue Reading →
Unsolicited Advice or Opinions Get My Goat
One thing that bothers me is unsolicited opinions on my behavior. Social media is packed with it, and the ability to remain anonymous has increased the rate of unsolicited opinions given in such hateful and unloving ways to people they don't even know. I don't like it when people think they have the right to... Continue Reading →
Mature Love Makes the Last Chapter So Much Sweeter
Porto, Portugal Love may not get better with age, but having someone love you despite the wrinkles and physical complaints is the greatest joy. We come into the world alone, but our most ardent wish is to share this life with someone before we leave this world alone. In the last chapter, we walk slower,... Continue Reading →
Finding Comfort Amidst Suffering Isn’t Easy, But I Try
Gibbs Gardens, Ballground, GA Dealing with the aftermath of a fall in your seventies is tough, as 70-something bodies don't recuperate as fast as 20-something bodies. Nearly two months after falling in Vienna, I am still suffering from trauma to my mouth, which leaves me frustrated and uncomfortable. But life is too short to allow... Continue Reading →
Krispy Kreme Donuts Should Come with a Health Warning on the Box!
Krispy Kreme should have a warning on the box, similar to those for gambling and cigarettes, that alerts consumers to the addictive nature of the food, especially when hot. I don't think anything has been more irresistible to me than those donuts. Once, I went to buy donuts for the whole family, which included nine... Continue Reading →
The Year as a Secret Crush Brought Me Joy and Connected Me with Humanity
His name was Lester, and he was a year ahead of me in school. I looked up his family's number in the White Pages (which tells you how long ago). I asked to speak to him, and when he answered, we talked for nearly an hour. Then he had to go to bed. He kept... Continue Reading →
This Travel-Loving Black Woman Swears She Has Some Viking Blood in Her Veins
Vienna, Austria, Boating down the Danube, May 2025 Daily writing promptWhat countries do you want to visit?View all responses I would love to see Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and/or Sweden, preferably in July or August. Although I did visit Geneva, Switzerland in December of 2000, and this Georgia woman loved seeing snow-covered mountains for as... Continue Reading →
I Nearly Lost My Favorite Thing about Me, My Smile, in a Fall in Europe
Daily writing promptWhat’s your favorite thing about yourself?View all responses Matosinhos Beach, Porto, Portugal, June 2025 In the first week of our vacation to Europe this year, I was at the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. I was taking photos of the greenhouse when I slipped and fell hard to the ground. I chipped a... Continue Reading →
