Death

Category

Greatest Regret of All

[caption width="281" id="attachment_894" align="alignleft"] Photo: Me and "Michael Jackson" in Los Angeles in 2007. / [/caption]When I lived in Los Angeles, one of my favorite places to visit was Mr. Chow, a Chinese restaurant. I liked the dark lighting, the walls lined with mirrors, and the fact that I could bump into Lindsay Lohan on the way to the ladies’ room and “Carlton Banks” at the bar. The food was pretty good too. The first time I visited the restaurant, the waiter came…

AfterBirth

When you go see the movie “Birth of a Nation” and then return home to “your” city that’s 8 percent black; where your upstairs neighbor, a white male, continually tries to convince your black dad why he and other black people should vote for Trump, a misogynistic man with a history of racial discrimination lawsuits; where another neighbor who’s a white cop, has only spoken to you once in the 3 years you’ve lived next door to him - that…

Silver Alert

[caption id="attachment_730" align="alignleft" width="316"] My "Grandfather"[/caption] I was shopping for nail polish at a beauty supply store, when I found out that my grandfather was missing. It was six years ago in July. My mom called and told me that no one could find my grandfather. I assumed he would return home soon. I assumed he took an "Alzheimer’s trip," a quick getaway that people with Alzheimer's disease sometimes made. My great-grandfather, on my father’s side, also had Alzheimer’s and…

Cory’s Mom Died?!

[caption id="attachment_603" align="alignleft" width="232"] Cory and her mom. (Courtesy of Cory's Facebook page.)[/caption] Monday, I was driving to the the trail, where I usually run. I parked, and before I got out of my car, I checked Facebook, for nothing in particular, just like I always do. Then BAM! One of my closest friends in middle school, posted a picture of her mother. My friend, Cory, had her arm draped around her mother’s neck. Her mom, had her head tilted in Cory’s…

Grieving Someone I Never Met

[caption id="attachment_152" align="alignleft" width="236"] My grandmother Minnie holding my mom, who is probably going to be upset that I posted this photo. (Sorry.)[/caption] Whenever I walked through my grandfather’s front door, I saw an 8 x 10 photograph of my deceased grandmother sitting on a glass coffee table. I often studied this picture without letting anyone catch me. I examined my grandmother's chocolately, smooth complexion, her pastel blue dress, and her pressed, dark hair with soft curls around her face. “Am I short because of…

My First Heartbreak

[caption id="attachment_58" align="alignleft" width="366"] Me and Gramps[/caption] The first emotional pain that I can remember experiencing was the death of my great-grandfather, “Gramps.” I was 9-years-old when he died; he was 86.   Aside from being a much older relative, I considered Gramps to be my friend. We played together every day after I got out of school. My father worked first shift, and my mother worked second shift. So, my mother would pick me up from school and take…