The Musings of a Latte Queen: Narratives of Everyday Life

 It is Turkey Day. That quiet time of the morning when home chefs are busy in the kitchen. If you are African American or have family origins in the American south, that kitchen has homemade cornbread ready for the oven, sweet potato pies and pound cakes cooling, it has greens being cleaned and four kinds of cheeses ready for the Mac-and-cheese that now only my youngest daughter can make to perfection. The onions and celery would be sautéing in some butter while the sage sausage is being crumbled and fried for the dressing. The counters and kitchen table would be set up for the budding sous chefs. That turkey may be fried or the way I grew up, seasoned, rubbed with butter, stuffed with onions and celery and apples and sealed up in a brown grocery bag - long before those oven bags came out. The green beans and sweet potatoes -nothing from a can. The sweet tea, lemonade, and sparking cider. It was the sights and sounds. When my kids were all home for the holidays, I would be making c...

 Zora Neale Hurston once said that there was no agony like having an untold story inside you (my paraphrase). I think I have been living in that space for a while. Yes, I’ve been writing and have published some pieces, but the story that my son keeps telling me I need to write is probably the story I have been waiting the longest to expose to the world. My husband says that we do not owe anyone our story. In light of the Twitter take over and my previous statements about social media, I began to contemplate a bit more of how much of our lives are already under the naked glare of the blue light of smart phones. Who are  these people we have invited into our atmosphere at the mere swipe? When are our lives objects to be consumed in ten seconds or less? What is the harm we have done to ourselves and others by always trying to be provocative or alluring enough for one to stay on our page long enough to ramp up clicks, followers, or likes? I am an introvert. An INFJ actually, part ...