Live In Your Body

"After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: If anyone in the vicinity..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 13:50:39 -0400

“

After learning my flight was detained 4 hours,
I heard the announcement:
If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic,
Please come to the gate immediately.

Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress,
Just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly.
Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her
Problem? we told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she
Did this.

I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly.
Shu dow-a, shu- biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick,
Sho bit se-wee?

The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used—
She stopped crying.

She thought our flight had been canceled entirely.
She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the
Following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late,

Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him.
We called her son and I spoke with him in English.
I told him I would stay with his mother till we got on the plane and
Would ride next to her—Southwest.

She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it.

Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and
Found out of course they had ten shared friends.

Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian
Poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about 2 hours.

She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering
Questions.

She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered
Sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—
And was offering them to all the women at the gate.

To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a
Sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California,
The lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same
Powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies.

And then the airline broke out the free beverages from huge coolers—
Non-alcoholic—and the two little girls for our flight, one African
American, one Mexican American—ran around serving us all apple juice
And lemonade and they were covered with powdered sugar too.

And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—
Had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing,

With green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always
Carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.

And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought,
This is the world I want to live in. The shared world.

Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped
—has seemed apprehensive about any other person.

They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women too.
This can still happen anywhere.

Not everything is lost.

”

- Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952), “Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal.” I think this poem may be making the rounds, this week, but that’s as it should be. (via oliviacirce)

#1390

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 06:25:34 -0400

thisiswhiteprivilege:

White privilege is being able to make movies about the atrocities that your people have endured without having to hear “why don’t you get over it?” and “why can’t we move on?”

It’s the ability to critique movies made about your race without hearing that you are being too sensitive or that the director is allowed to have “artistic license”.

See: Django Unchained and Twelve Years A Slave

Men & Their Balls

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 06:21:25 -0400

“God gave men a pair of balls and they spend the rest of their lives trying to play with them.”

- My Mother, annoyed by the ball games on TV that have replaced her regularly scheduled programming.

Photo

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:42:33 -0500

Fast Food Companies Don’t Target Black People

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 01:53:54 -0400

Fast Food Companies Don’t Target Black People

backonpointe: A daily exercise plan! Do these exercises...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:14:06 -0400

backonpointe:

A daily exercise plan! Do these exercises throughout the day (and add in your own) to get into the habit of daily fitness.

Note that I said “throughout the day.” These aren’t meant to be completed all at once, though you could if you’re that fit. But feel free to do only 10 or 20 jumping jacks at a time. Just keep track of them and try to hit the goal before you go to bed.

Stuff Po-Po Like

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 00:37:00 -0400

Po-Po likes pants sagging below the waist, the lower the better.

Po-Po likes skinny jeans.

Po-Po likes socks with slippers.

Why? Easier to find shit/catch your dumbass.

Even fatass Po-Po know you ain’t gettin’ very far, so they don’t really have to run after you.

Thanks for making Po-Po’s job easier.

- Conversations with Bruce

Step Inside a Freedom Garden

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 05:39:18 -0400

Step Inside a Freedom Garden:

Some farmers in Louisiana are raising crops that would have fortified their ancestors.

backonpointe: A daily exercise plan! Do these exercises...

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:57:09 -0400

backonpointe:

A daily exercise plan! Do these exercises throughout the day (and add in your own) to get into the habit of daily fitness.

Note that I said “throughout the day.” These aren’t meant to be completed all at once, though you could if you’re that fit. But feel free to do only 10 or 20 jumping jacks at a time. Just keep track of them and try to hit the goal before you go to bed.

#18 (this is white privilege)

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 17:25:34 -0400

thisiswhiteprivilege:

White privilege is thinking a comedian making fun of the way you dance is racism, and never having to experience the pain, humiliation, fear, and downright worthlessness that comes with being the victim of real racism. I call you crackers not because I think it hurts you, but because it’s funny to watch you overreact. If cracker hurt you the same way nigger hurt me, I’d never use that word against you, crackers.

Kitty Smackdown

Sat, 26 May 2012 11:58:18 -0400

Kitty Smackdown

@blendednyc this is for you

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:35:56 -0500

wendellsmom:

Carrots + kale + an apple + a splash of lime juice & a little ginger equals…

Delish. Thanks for the recipe, @blendednyc! Check out the Green Smoothie Girl blog.

Act, Or Be Acted Upon

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:32:13 -0500

The other day I asked a colleague about attending an event and they responded by saying they weren’t sure, but mostly, the host didn’t reach out to them. This is an event that would greatly serve their professional interests, but they needed the validation of being invited.

Ummm…

What gets me about this, is they’ll be the same person to turn around and complain about the lack of access and resources available to them.

While you’re waiting for someone to OK your participation and validate you, someone else will step up, step in, and take what should have been yours.

the silent treatment will never work the way you’d like it to on an only child. they’ve...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:02:00 -0400

the silent treatment will never work the way you’d like it to on an only child.

they’ve had YEARS of practice.

Wanted: Grown Ass Woman Stealing Homemade Cookies

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:06:37 -0400

Having lunch in a perfect small town cafe and we’re trying to decide if we should be greedy and buy more cookies.

Friend wonders if it’s OK to exchange her cookies for the one we’ve decided was the winner.

No.

Not even with the wax paper.

Woman walks in, helps herself to a couple of cookies.

Skips the wax paper conscientiousness.

Just digs right in.

The three of us looking at each other like, “Did she just eat not one, but TWO cookies?”

And she got her hands all in the cookie jar; no wax paper!”

The cookies we like are soon devoured by four crumbsnatchers, so I get up to ask about another batch.

See the lady over by the cookies.

I ask the employee, “Is she a regular?”

“No.”

“Well, she’s been helping herself to cookies and not paying for the—SEE! She did it again! That’s like the THIRD cookie!.

Hand in the jar, no wax paper!

Woman orders, I hear employee say: “And the three cookies you ate…”

(I don’t hear the Lady’s reply.)

“I saw you eat a cookie.”

(Still can’t hear her reply.)

“You had at LEAST two.”

SMH

Hudson Valley Wine Fail

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:45:00 -0400

Went to a wine tasting this past Sunday.

The fermentation room was full of gnats and fruit flies, and water was leaking all over the floor.

Not an expert at wine tasting, but if more than five other people give the same screwface, you have a problem.

Five mediocre wines.

Sommelier had the nerve to say (paraphrasing), “this one right here, you actually could lay this one down for few weeks, say, mid-November and it will be just right.”

Umm, what?

You mean to tell me that you want me to spend 25 bucks on a bottle of this wine that clearly isn’t ready yet, and then WAIT a few weeks before I open it?

GTFOHWTBS

Fuck Yo' Smile!

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:35:00 -0400

I don’t have a “jovial” expression when my face is relaxed, so people (men) always assume I’m Angry Black Woman.

Men always feel the need to tell me to smile more. Women never ask me to smile, just because.

If I hear that “there are more frown muscles then there are smile muscles” one more time!

How about, smile muscles are BIGGER than frown muscles. Ever think about that?

So anytime a man I don’t know suggests I adjust my expression or attitude, it makes me feel like I exist solely for their pleasure and well-being.

If I didn’t have to always be on guard, bracing myself for some unsolicited “compliment” or “advice”, I might have a reason to smile more, just because.

In the meantime, though, fuck outta here and leave me in peace as I enjoy this walk on this beautiful day.

‘Haven’t figured out if they’re trying to SAVE...

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:14:37 -0400

‘Haven’t figured out if they’re trying to SAVE a pedestrian’s life or let the cars pass when they have the light. Still, it’s not saying very much for grown ups to have to be forced to not cross on red.

“Kiss It, Kick It, or Enter” ~An Elder

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 01:25:45 -0400

“Kiss It, Kick It, or Enter” ~An Elder

Dear @EddieBauer: Fuck You!

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:47:00 -0400

Today I received an unsolicited copy of your most recent catalog. While browsing through it, I noticed a recurring look with your models: Mostly white, thin women with long, flowing, and wavy and/or straight hair. Since I am a dark-complected, nowhere-near-thin woman without hair (and kinky curly when I allow it to grow in), it should interest you to know that I am not a member of your demographic, and therefore should not be on your mailing list. Maybe it won’t interest you. I don’t care. But still, fuck you.

To all those people who keep reporting that we live in a post-racial USAmerica: Fuck you, too.

Every time I pick up a fashion catalog like Eddie Bauer or a magazine that is targeted to USAmerican women, I see the same representations of “beauty” that are not culturally and socially relevant to my experience as a woman of African descent. This representation – white, skinny, long straight hair – is neither a standard I aspire to nor one that I could ever hope to achieve. Kind of hard for you, Eddie Bauer, to be “worthy of my high self-esteem” when NOT ONE MODEL in your catalog or on your website LOOKS LIKE ME. Thank goodness I wasn’t looking for an outdoor clothing company started by a privileged white man to build me up!

So, while you celebrate “90 Years of Adventure”, I will be tearing the pages out of your catalog and feeding it to my shredder. After that, I will be calling up the companies I have subscriptions with in the hopes of finding out which one of them sold my address to you so that I can tell them to stop.

Thank you for 90 years of perpetuating a “white middle and upper (middle) class” ideal that excludes hundreds of thousands of non-white USAmericans who enjoy the outdoors and clothes suited for that experience.

Again, fuck you.

Sincerely,

Not Angry, Just Sick and Tired of the Bullshit Black Woman