Visit Pilot Mountain. Stay at Jomeokee Campground (even if it's just for the day).
Jomeokee Campground in Pinnacle, NC, is one of the most beautiful places I have ever spent the night (and I have camped throughout the US, Australia, and New Zealand). I encourage you to visit and camp (if you are up for it), particularly during the week when you may have the entire grounds to yourselves.
Variation on a Tweet
A very short, poetic (in the most modern sense) introspection while trying to get back to work…
What’s in a word?
Recently a childhood friend posted on Facebook: “If I ever did anything that you thought was racist or that offended you, I’m sorry.”
“How can you apologize for something when you don’t even know what it is you’re apologizing for?” I responded.
Since then, I’ve thought a lot about how I may have facilitated the racism that is unavoidable in our world today, and one memory keeps surfacing…
Get up off of our knees...
I think about the horrible division, greed and just plain hatred boiling in our collective consciousness right now and remember it's been simmering throughout history and will simmer again. Then I come across the video below. "Open your eyes to my heart, Lord" the song repeats. I think God knows our hearts all too well and that he is desperately trying to open our eyes to His…
Halgo European Deli and Groceries
“After providing a uniquely Polish experience in Durham, NC, for 12 years, Halgo European Deli has closed it’s doors. In memoriam, I’m reposting my review of them back in 2017. I’m sad not to be able to go through their doors again.”
Voice In My Head Today (#VIMHT)
Do you ever feel like, no matter how you try, you can't make things the way you want them to be? That's because YOU'RE NOT IN CONTROL …
Despite Psychopathic Capitalism...
Mark Zuckerberg makes a disgusting amount of money by appealing to the ids in all of us that demand instant recognition and gratification and, thanks to Facebook etc., now get it. This makes me angry at times and hopeless more often. How can a person joyfully prey upon and purposefully amplify the baser side of humanity just for money and personal glory? If this is the way our world works, then why even set the alarm clock?
Weeding (my contribution to National Poetry Month 2020)
I've been doing a lot of gardening with the kids these last couple of weeks; and, whenever I garden with kids (I used to run a public in-school gardening club), somebody always defends the weeds. It always makes me contemplate the word and concept of genocide, which is what prompted me to write the poem below…
Why is the News always Bad?
I had the radio on this morning when my 9-year-old walked into the kitchen. "Why is the news always about bad stuff?" he lamented (repeatedly). "We all know Coronavirus is taking over the world, and we're doing what we're supposed to do. Why do they have to make us think about it all the time?” For today, John Krasinski’s interview of Steve Carell on “Some Good News” helped.
Voice In My Head Today (#VIMH)
The Voice In My Head today materialized in Robert Waldinger’s wonderful TedTalk on Happiness…
Yegor Zhukov: My New Hero
I would have preferred Masha Gesson had not mentioned the current US President in her article about Yegor Zhukov in the New Yorker, but the words of Russian college student Yegor Zhukov are music of the eternal kind. This man is my new hero. …
Children's Picture Book, *I Chalk*, Supports In-School Gardening Program
Purchase my children’s picture book “I Chalk” with a container of sidewalk chalk for a unique birthday, Xmas or "just-because" gift. The Amazon price is $12, but I can ship signed copies for $10 a piece (including shipping) if you contact me at melissarooneywriting@gmail.com. Any proceeds this year will be used to fund the in-school garden club I conduct on a weekly basis at Title-1 EK Powe Elementary School in Durham, NC. …
Voice in My Head Today (re Facebook)
The voice in my head as I sit down with my computer to (finally) catch up on my emails… Feel free to play it every time you reconnect to Facebook or Instagram ;-) .
Durham Arts Council's Portraits of Durham Exhibit: A (Free) Multimedia Feast
It’s been too long since I last perused the free exhibits at the DAC, and I looked forward to seeing Marthanna’s work and the work of other local artists in the natural light of the windows that stretched from floor to ceiling past the second floor of the 113-year-old building. Today was the day, and I was not disappointed. Drawings, paintings, and multimedia artwork displayed well-known as well as little-known Durham people and landmarks in thought-provoking strokes, stitches, and colors…
Durham Teacher Authors Children's Book Featuring a Family of Color
I just read EK Powe Elementary School counselor Therese Daye’s newly released children’s picture book, “Daddy’s Little Girl”, and it melted my heart and teared up my eyes. "Daddy's Little Girl" tells the story of an African American elementary student whose father often stands her up, how she gets up the nerve to tell him how she feels, and how the results reaffirm his love and improve their relationship.
Cleaning and Meditation
If you feel like you have a million things to do but don’t know what to do with yourself…
Voice in My Head Today
Most times, people aren't thinking about you the way you think they're thinking about you.
Rana Hablar (en Espanol)
¡Feliz año nuevo! Pensé que publicaría aquí el primer borrador de mi libro para niños de lectores tempranos / desafiados. El libro demuestra la diversidad cotidiana y la cortesía entre múltiples especies de ranas que habitan en el mismo espacio de manera pacífica. Si las ranas pueden hacerlo, ¿podemos nosotros?