fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station
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…
As a reaction to the horrible mass shooting in San Bernardino, the New York Times published its first front page editorial in 95 years. Titled “End the Gun Epidemic in America,” it is yet another plea for common sense to prevail and for politicians, particularly the US Congress, to pass common sense laws to curb the…
We are all friends here. Or should be; for the laughter of Mordor will be our only reward, if we quarrel. -Gandalf, from “The Two Towers” by JRR Tolkien Chortles undoubtedly rose high in Fairfax, Virginia, along with slapping hands and champaign glasses, after a Republican-led filibuster blocked the much negotiated gun reform bill from…
Oakland, California, a city of about 396,000 residents, saw 131 homicides in 2012. This is the highest homicide rate for Oakland since 2006, when 145 people lost their lives. I actually have a deep distrust and loathing for firearms and could never see myself owning one. OK, I do have a friend who once…
I don’t remember Roots too well. I was fairly young when it came out and, truth be told, at that time I was not yet ready to process the painful history that forms the backbone of the African American experience. But I remember one scene very well. Emancipation had occurred and one slave turned the…
