Celebrating Our Differences
Loved Ones, I was visiting my hometown, Chicago. I had a visit from old friends, Sheila & Arnett Smiley and Sheila’s brother, Donald, (Donnie to me). However, this visit was unique; I was finally meeting Sheila’s son, GS Contributor, Marlon Hayes. While my oldest friends and close cousins…
Happy Anniversary to us!! Another year of the vital existence of this messenger. This celebrates five years of core and guest Contributions, avid fans, and abundant blessings – all defining Garden Spices Magazine. We have found our shelter in contributing to this mission and covered many folks with…
Culture! We live it, breathe it, and have the opportunity to be open and receptive to learn about folks outside of our familial tribe. A few years ago, in our first issue, I invited ya’ll to “Jump” into the venture of exploring different cultures. This issue opens your…
How do we show that we care about something built in the past? Sometimes we preserve it, making sure it remains as authentic to its original form as possible. Sometimes we replicate it, so the original intent is passed on in more than one form. Most importantly,…
“Riddle me this: What did the Hood (Black Community) smell like on Easter Eve when we were growing up? Jeopardy Music…Time! Burning Hair.” The RevDr I wrote down many ideas, behaviors, and things that were expected of me as I was growing up. Those expectations were generated through…
Let us not die before we live. Let us not fear pain that sometimes bridles passion. The girths of our hearts are emblazoned with scars that will never heal but grow us. We are tenacious in our weakness in a world that has loved us little and yet…
Sawasdee krab/ka! Hello! I went to Bangkok!!! I was in sensory overdrive with the beauty and splendor of the temples, food, markets, and the people. I’ll share some of the wonder of my experience in Scanning Bangkok, but I am ashamed to describe what I felt about my…
Susan D. Peters and I go way back. We share Old School Chicago and the years as teens when we rocked our way through social clubs, Ivy League clothing, and boys who could dance. It was not until Facebook that Susan and I reconnected as adults, and I…
Don’t sing a familiar song around me; I have to try to harmonize with you. Not always pleasing to the ear, my voice sometimes belies my intention to make beautiful music. However, it is the intention that counts. Although our music may be off-key, we are challenged this…
Celebrate! Here we are, two days before the election of a lifetime. On November 6th, whether we are “blue” or “red” in the United States, the universal paradigm shift will still be in operation. We are forever evolving. So, we might as well celebrate each moment “with our…
