Growing up, I was fortunate that my family lived in some interesting places. The first decade of my life placed our family briefly in Tulsa, Oklahoma (where I was born) and in Suriname - or Dutch Guiana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Jamaica and Washington state. They tell me that in a Chinese restaurant in Pittsburgh I excitedly ordered “pasghetti,” and my mother was quite certain that when I began studying foreign languages in middle school it was simply because I wanted to be able to talk with ... View Post
Thelma in a Red Frame
There is a tiny photo in my office in a weathered red wooden frame. It probably seems either unimportant to most, or self-indulgent. To me, it's one of the most evocative pieces of my past. Look at it, if you like, but let me try to more effectively capture it, if you are interested: Most centrally and most eye-catching, a slender black woman with pristine skin is holding a small white infant. That's Thelma, and that's me. The couch is yellow and scratchy-looking. A brown ... View Post
