fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station
My earliest Beatles memory: Mom dancing in the kitchen and singing along with “Hello Goodbye.” I peered at her through the bars of my crib. I was probably 3 or 4 years old. My parents, my three older brothers, and I (no sister, yet) still lived at my maternal grandmother’s house. Having been born a…
A megathrust earthquake struck on June 22, 1996. Mom died. So powerful an event, I knew it had happened without solid confirmation. The nurses kindly said that there had been no change in my mother’s condition, though the pauses in their speech told me what they did not want to say. Later that morning, I…
The other day, I listened to Kate Bush in the car on my commute to and from work, specifically tracks from The Whole Story. This album has a special place in my heart and history. I first heard it, and listened to it obsessively, when I came out 28 years ago. So I will forever…
{Editor’s note: This piece in celebration of music was conceived and written before the horrific events of Saturday night, June 11, in Orlando, Florida. the gar spot conveys condolences to everyone affected by this unspeakable tragedy.} I have a cold. I hate getting late spring/early summer colds. The weather invites outdoor explorations, but the body’s…
A dog whistle silently signals to its target audience that the speaker will work to prevent “those people” from interfering with your life without mentioning “those people” by race, color, or creed. In the context of Ian Haney López’s book, Dog Whistle Politics — How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism & Wrecked the Middle…
I’m a long-time reader of the comic strip pages in newspapers. Peanuts and Doonesbury were favorites growing up. Nowadays I like Luann and Pearls Before Swine. And of course I’m thrilled that Berke Breathed has revived Bloom County. Even back in the day, I tried reading myself into some of the characters. I wasn’t so much looking for black characters,…
When I was 15, I got up early Saturday mornings. After something simple and easy for breakfast, I went out to the garage and got my bike. I rode west, past Denker, past Western, past Arlington. In the gloomy, grey skies of an LA spring, I kept peddling until I got to Crenshaw, then I…
I haven’t written much about the 2016 presidential election. One could cite the usual fatigue felt even by those like me who like to keep up with politics. The cable news channels, the networks, and social media have done a splendid job of overanalyzing everything to death. No word, no thought, no belch, no fart from the…
I love house concerts. Listening to music in so intimate a setting places the music front and center, where it belongs. The audiences tend to be connoisseurs that have a strong bond with the performers and the music. The setting is warm. I remember going to an Indian music house recital in Los Angeles many years ago that featured…
For the past few presidential election years, while driving around town, I have conducted the least scientific poll imaginable. I call it my “bumper sticker” poll. Keeping in mind that I’m in the bubble of the Bay Area, I still find that this “poll” can provide an interesting read on the state of things in presidential elections. And…
