Ugh. The Humanity. A young man laying in the street on New Montgomery and Market huddled in a green sleeping bag. Cars going around him when necessary. People looking at him with concern but moving on. I stopped and asked him several times to move and explaining why. He didn’t feel good and maybe he…
Years back, I held a team meeting that fell on the Lunar New Year; my PowerPoint started with Happy New Year; Welcome the Year of the Ox. A member of the team pulled me aside during the break, “This makes me uncomfortable, I don’t believe in this.” Rut roo, what do I do? Do I explain…
We’re the same people, doing the same thing. Last year was my best Christmas ever, so I was afraid to make the family holiday this year. I admitted it to my brother back in August when he was setting up this year. He said, “we’re the same people, doing the same thing.” A simple statement with…
I changed a flat tire Friday and posted a photo on Instagram. There were a couple of comments along the theme of more women should be able to change a tire, a woman can change a tire, wow, etc. I chuckled because it’s not just women who can’t change tire. I know men who have…
Enough is enough. Irregardless is not a word. It’s not, stop using it. It’s got memes, punchlines and the eye rolling. Regardless of how much it is misused, it’s not made its way into the dictionary or the statutes of acceptability. What about Grandfathered? That seemingly innocuous term to indicate a provision in which an…
This is the story, screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard spent 26 years bringing the Harriet Tubman story to the big screen. Howard said. “I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, ‘This script is fantastic. Let’s get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.’” Howard said when someone suggested Roberts could not play the role, the…
More first responders die by suicide than in the line of duty each year. In 2018, more police died by suicide than by on the job fatalities. Firefighters have a higher suicide rate than police. It’s alarming, especially considering suicide among among first responders is typically under reported by as much as 60%. “You will…
Three years ago, a third of the homeless population were over 50. Today it is half. Half. Half of the homeless are over 50. An alarming 44% became homeless after 50. Fifty is typically celebrated as that milestone birthday, it’s over the hill. Now? That hill is a slippery slope into an uncertain future. There was…
There is a Zombie Apocalypse. You can become a zombie, you can fight the zombies or you can flee. What do you do? Pause for a moment and consider. What’s your response? Now, think about your actions over the last two weeks. When do you acquiesce, when do you fight and when do you flee?…
“Are you sure?” You know you’re in trouble when your blood pressure aps questions your entry of 167/90¹. I’m a little over 5’6”, I weigh 118 pounds, I walk over 20 miles a week and spend about 6 hours in that same week doing yoga. Why so high? I’ve been black most of my life.…
Because she is the most decorated gymnast in World Championship history. Because she made history by being the first woman to land a triple double. Because she sought therapy after suffering abuse from Dr Larry Nasser. Because she spoke with eloquence of USA gymnastic “….they couldn’t do one damn job. You had one job. You literally…
I am bouncing around like a lunatic. I mean, even for me, it’s a lot; I got full moon fever. My mind is racing, I can’t settle on a blog topic – the diminishing impact of I never heard of that, rosemary lemonade and the anomaly or the quest for design thinking: please Apple,forget the…
It’s Labor day, so let’s talk about jobs. Switchboard operator, hot metal typesetter from the early 80s are jobs that do not exist today. Video rental stores are no longer viable businesses. Today we have instagram influencers who make between $30,000 – $60,000 a year, Social media strategist who makes upwards of $80,000 a year.…
How many times did you go through a yellow light last week? Did the light turn red before you cleared the intersection? Stop it. Yellow means slow down and stop if possible, the light is going to turn red. Seriously, stop it. Walking to dinner a few weeks ago, a friend of mine snatched me…
Two stories dominated the headlines this week, the aftermath mass shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton and the alleged suicide of sex offender Jeffry Epstein while awaiting trial. The “headline” making new news leaves little room for problematic reports like “Wealthy San Francisco Suburb Agrees to Desegregate School” or “Rape survivor fighting rapist for…
We’ve had two deadly mass shootings within 24 hours. Like it or not, this is who we are. As a nation, we vilified, killed and drove off the Native Americas, kidnapped and enslaved Africans, blocked immigrants from China with the exclusion act of 1882 and interned Americans of Japanese descent into concentration camps in 1942.…
To shoot yourself in the heart with a rifle is difficult. The average length of a man’s arm is 25 inches. from the base of the neck to the wrist. The distance from the butt of a rifle to the trigger is about 17 inches. You’d have to position the butt of the rifle over…
You are polluting just by getting dressed and you can’t go naked. Look at your clothes. You are most wearing some combination of natural and synthetic fibers. For the synthetic fibers, with every washing, those polyester, plastic like fibers break down go into waste water that makes it way to the ocean and ends up…
“Based on a true story.” That is code for a condensed version of the story, trimmed down to be told in a short period of time and carefully edited to create a compelling story of near mythical proportion. Coming this fourth of July, amidst the parades, barbecues and fireworks, are you celebrating a holiday “based…
Relationships, dating, marriage, my mind tries to reconcile rules and logic for what works and what doesn’t to make up for my limited and nonexistent experience. So, please understand both my confusion and fascination with the Conways. Yes, some people read trashy novels for the summer, I succumbed to a couple of hours of mindless…
Gun control – it’s not going to happen. Site facts and statistic, use current events and blame the NRA. Nothing is going to happen. Pontificate on a soap box, sign petitions, post on social media. You’re missing the larger context. Women. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution…
Memorial Day – at times it seems we are trying to hard to forget what the day is really about. Which is rather ironic for a holiday that is all about memory. Memorial day is in honor of those who have died while serving in the country’s armed forces. Formerly known as decoration day, the…
My mom died of lung cancer. She never smoked a cigarette a day in her life. My dad was the smoker. My dad had a choice to smoke; my mom had a choice to live with a man who smoked. Cigarettes cause chronic illnesses and are deadly. But, you have a choice to smoke. Legislation…
“Sorry, there was a second gunshot, can you repeat that again? Yes, those are sirens, police cars are coming now, let’s see, there are 2,3, 8 of them. They’ve got the guy against a truck and 6 cops are standing in a semi circle around him.” That was my side of a conversation with a…
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. Epictetus” We have only one brain, so, in principle, should we believe and do what we are told rather than think for ourselves and draw conclusions? Many comments about the Mueller Report have a similar tone to…
The historic, all women spacewalk didn’t happen. NASA didn’t have 2 spacesuits equipped to handle a woman’s smaller size. Blah, blah. blah. What a way to end women’s history month; a logical conclusion based on excuses rather than the admittance of gender bias. In lieu of a historic moment, we saw a historic trend. The…
It’s a strange thing that happens. When you travel, it’s a but harder to get everything packed back in; even if you don’t have additional stuff to add. But let’s face it, on most trips, you’re going to come back with more than you started with. You soon start to account for this and determine…
“So, when all the fans and the estate, and all the anger—you guys gonna get it, you know that, right? Y’all gonna get it, I’m gonna get it, we’re all gonna get it,” Oprah Winfrey said near the end of her special After Neverland.¹ Perhaps, I’m gonna get it too. Leaving Neverland aired on HBO this…
Church and State were in the news last week. Virginia featured photos if elected officials in black from photos from the 80s and 60s. I am not surprised, I am over it. Pope Francis admitted nuns have been sexually abused by priests and bishops. I am not surprised. I am outraged. The politicians are jumping…
“I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great great wall on our southern border and I’ll have Mexico pay for that wall. Source: Donald Trump’s presidential announcement speech June 16, 2015 This is stupid; there I said it.…
My T-shirt caught fire and burned in the microwave.¹ There probably wouldn’t have been a fire if I’d removed the shirt when the timer went off, but, I was working in another room. Sure, I smelled smoke, the air has been smokey for 2 days because of the wildfires. Losing the shirt was not upsetting. Neither was the fact I could…
I was a five year old who stuttered with an occasional stammer. A few people noticed and mentioned this to my mom and recommended early intervention to correct the problem. There was a frustrating afternoon for both of us when she was trying to get me to say school and something snapped. She looked at me;…
Damn. He’s back. He’s thinner, a lot thinner to the point of gauntness, he has the yellow cast of jaundice and a weariness that wasn’t there before, or maybe it’s just the loss of hope. I last saw Curt in Starbucks loading bags of sugar into a cup of coffee. It was February and he…
911, what is your emergency? People, 911 is not your personal assistant or bodyguard on demand. In Minnesota a man ran out of cheese while making lasagne and called 911. In Ohio, a man called 911 because Burger King would not honor a coupon. An understaffed, overstressed operation should not be fielding these calls; 911 operators…
This past spring, as I was walking, I noticed these “things.” It was the same “thing” in different locations, painted different colors. The plaque on them said Oakland A’s Stomper. Ohhhhhhh, it’s an anteater, an aardvark. It’s hard to have a mascot for athletics, so have a mascot with a name that starts with an A.…
Here are the numbers; 59% of the 997 people surveyed said Kavanaugh should not be appointed to the supreme court if Ford’s charges are true; 12% are unsure and 29% say yes. This is not partisan politics; this is wrong. This was not a normal week. How did we get here? The Nuclear Option The…
The tech headlines in June were all about the inaccuracy of facial recognition software, if you’re not a white male.¹ For white males, facial recognition for gender was accurate 99% of the time; the accuracy of facial recognition for gender of dark skinned females was 65%. Why is this happening in 2018? We know how, the…
I’ve been asked a few times, “why do black women look so mean all of the time.” It’s a good question, but I can’t think of an easy response. See the comments to the right I read this week.¹ I am referred to as an animal. “These are animals.” “Stop hiring these animals.” That was hard…
Why do we celebrate Labor Day, historical significance or modern day celebration? Labor day originated as a celebration of unions, back in the late1800’s. Now, the first Monday in September is more about back to school, end of summer and sales. Union membership was at a record low in 2017 – 10.7% of the working population.…
You are being watched. It’s not a person looking at you, speaking into a headset, it’s not an overhead motion activated camera tracking with a flashing red recording light. No, it’s none of that cool looking stuff you see in movies. If you use a computer for work, your employee can install or may have…
Nia Wilson died when her throat was slashed in an unprovoked attack on a BART train a few weeks ago; the day I turned 60. I determined I needed to work until 65 to ensure I am fully funded to the age of 96. I was in a bubble. I forgot Black women experience the…
This is like eating that entire bag of chips. You know you did it, you were there for every moment and yet it still comes as a shock when you reach in and the bag is empty. Yup, that is how I feel about turning 60 today. And, when people ask, what are you doing…
I had this moment of clarity. The Hasan Minaj, interview on the New Yorker radio hour. It’s right after 9/11, Hasan is a teenager and his father told him not to answer the phone; but of course he answers to vicious racial and religious slurs and threats and violence and ending with, and the caller…
“Based on a true story.” That is code for a condensed version of the story, trimmed down to be told in a short period of time and carefully edited to create a compelling story of near mythical proportion. Coming this fourth of July, amidst the parades, barbecues and fireworks, are you celebrating a holiday “based…
On March 13, 2018, a flight attendant was responsible for a puppy being placed in an overhead bin. The 10 month old french bulldog died in flight. Less than 24 hours later, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana sponsored a bill to ban pets from the overhead bin, because “pets are family.” What does Senator Kennedy…
This Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph, The Soiling of Old Glory, by Stanley Forman is cringe worthy, sickening. It’s 1976, Boston. I heard statements like, well t at didn’t happen here, or that was 42 years ago.The kid wielding the flag is 17 years old. [Joseph] Rakes vividly recalls the “blind anger” that motivated him—anger aimed,…
“An excellent cast is jobless because of Roseanne herself. The show was like a bridge and she burnt it. Lost potential.” That was one my text this week. Potential. It’s that thing. People stay in a relationship, a job or an investment because there is “potential.” Yet, there is the sobering moment when someone asks, what actions…
Memorial Day – at times it seems we are trying to hard to forget what the day is really about. Which is rather ironic for a holiday that is all about memory. Memorial day is in honor of those who have died while serving in the country’s armed forces. Formerly known as decoration day, the…
The coffee booth was not at the framer’s market this week, so I took orders from a few vendors to do a coffee run. A customer heard “Starbucks” in the exchange. African American Customer: “No, you can’t go to Starbucks. After what they did, boycott Starbucks.” African American Vendor: “Listen, Starbucks has an engage the…
“…the police shouldn’t be drinking soda anyway.” Huh? The speaker was referring to Berkeley’s sugar ban and a new recommendation asking the … City of Berkeley departments and City food services contractors to refrain from: 1. Procuring sugar-sweetened beverages with City funds; 2. Selling sugar-sweetened beverages on City property, including in vending machines; and 3.…
