The Musings of a Latte Queen: Narratives of Everyday Life

I love to cook. I never expected that I would. I love to see people eat the food I prepare. I love to entertain. I love to hear the sounds of happy people. I have been cooking almost full-time for the past five years, after my layoff. Prior to that, my husband was the master chef of our family and I was the one who cleaned up. My cooking forays were limited to the holidays when I would make the dressing and baked goods while he would make the greens, macaroni & cheese, and sweet potatoes. We would both doctor up the turkey and he would top off the meal with his fantastic lemonade and peach cobbler. There was a system and since we both loved having lots of family and friends around, we developed a rhythm that served anywhere from our family of 7 (now 5) to a crowd of 20 or more. Then one day, probably after my daughter was so violently ill and just before when I discovered the local farmer's market, I discovered the wonderful herbs. I love thyme and rosemary. I pulled ...

I am bubbling over with excitement this morning, even as I groggily sip a soy vanilla latte. In exactly one week, we have the opportunity to invent a new and better America. The future awaits. The air rings with the bells of change. The wind blows with the scent of possibility. I can't wait. This morning is exactly 7 days from when the polls in my state, Missouri, opens. I expect to see people in line even before this 7:19am hour. I hope people take the day off work so they won't feel the pressure of the time clock, one day's pay is worth it for this day's newness. My van will hope to be filled with my daughter and any one else who needs a ride to the polls. I will use my latte money to buy a big thermos of hot chocolate and to-go cups, I want to help keep the people in queue warm and ready. To me, on that day, it won't matter if you are old or young, male or female, educated or uneducated, white collar or blue collar, union or non-union, Catholic or Prote...

The other day, while listening to the news, I thought of something. The right-wing faction of the Republican Party has hijacked my faith. I thought about all the sermons I sat through as a preacher's kid. I thought about all the Bible studies, choir rehearsals, prayer meetings, and my generally conservative upbringing. My beloved Grandmother went to Mass every day. She could always be found at the "Rock" church on Grand Avenue in St. Louis. That little 4"3" dynamo was a mountain of faith and love of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Daddy was equally devout in his Baptist beliefs as a young man and instilled in me a love for God's word, study, and accepting God's grace. He was a graduate of Moody Bible Institute back in the 50s. He was ordained back-in-the-day when black ministers were grilled on everything from their statement of faith to their exegeses to their understanding of Greek and Hebrew. Daddy went on to earn his Master's in Church Adm...

First, I have to send my well wishes and thoughts to Senator Barack Obama as he prepares to fly to Hawaii to see about his beloved Toot. I wish her good health and recovery so she can see her grandson reach the highest office in the land. Second, I have to say it was simply amazing to be part of the sea of humanity at the Gateway Arch. I was 1 of 100,000 and it took me a few days to let sink in what really happened. It was America, true America. Black and white, brown and tan, young and old. There were families and there were singles. All of the beauty of this country met in St. Louis, Missouri on a gloriously sunny Saturday to lend our collective voices to our choice for the next President of the United States. The emphasis is on the UNITED STATES and no more of the fear-mongering, divisive politics of the last eight years and of the candidates of a certain right-wing party. I want peace and there was a wave of excitement and peace in the air. Part of it was for Senator Barac...

This election is historic, let's put that on the table. Regardless of which party wins, we are in the middle of history. We have the first black candidate to make it this far as the nominee of a major political party. We have the oldest candidate, we have a female vice-presidential candidate, all poised to potentially be in the White House. Other things make this election historic. Take the economic crisis and all the news that has bombarded us in the last few weeks. Government is set to essentially take over the nation's banks with Henry Paulson's recent meeting with the heads of the remaining major banks. The $750 bailout-rescue-save-their-behind billions for the AIGs , Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch's of investment banking has given my four-year-old a debt she can't repay. The hundreds of thousands of new voters ready to make their mark in the election booth. The usage of social networking, email, blogging, digital, interactive, and Internet advertising ...

I came across this article the other day while doing my usual news search. I was disturbed by the way the media, John McCain, and pundits were seeking to denigrate veteran civil rights leader, John Lewis. John Lewis knows about the language and rhetoric that insights whites, particularly poor, undereducated whites, working class whites, to resort to violence when faced with the opportunity to give blacks and other minorities their civil rights. He was hosed, beaten, and had dogs attack him as he stood with Dr. King for nonviolence and justice. The Civil Rights Movement was more than a social movement, it was an economic movement and that is what scared the conservatives of that day. Senator Obama's run for the presidency scares them today. Terms like "Uppity" and "elitist" along with "socialist" have been bantied around about this young man because he dared to be the promise of America. The article by Adam Serwer says it best: What Right Wingers Me...

I had a great weekend. I didn't want the news. I wasn't anxious about the economy or the election. It was nice. The thought came to me this morning while I was sipping a vanilla latte that many of my fellow citizens are just fed up, exhausted, and plain worn out of all the news. I have a tendency to keep my television on CNN, especially after the economic crisis and the debates. The writer in me wanted to keep abreast of what was happening. I found myself getting mad at the main stream media for their report or lack of full report. There are some I like and some I can't watch. I realized it was in my more than I want and I may have to detox once this election is over. This weekend I took my four-year-old daughter to a university homecoming parade and munched on hotdogs at the afternoon tailgate. On Saturday morning, I sat with other adults and talked about kids and education. After the meeting I hung out with my daughters and a group of teenage girls. We laughed a...

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I found myself getting agitated listening to Governor Sarah Palin during the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate. Governor Palin did not flop and fall on her face. The expectations were so low that she met them. She was so rehearsed and scripted that she even missed a moment to be human. Senator Joe Biden choked up a little bit when talking to me, a mom, about being a single-dad and raising two kids after the death of his first wife. Governor Palin seemed cold and uncaring. She was so much on talking points and script that she couldn't turn to him and be a real mom, a real woman, and not some Arizona-crafted talking Barbie Doll. We are about a month away from the most important election of my lifetime. Governor Palin and I are of the same generation. We came up of age during Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and now Bush II. This one is the most important because there is so much at stake and I frankly, as a degreed woman, a mother, a wife, support a woman who won...