Darrell's Blog

Peace In The Valley

Dear Friends and Readers,

It's nearing one year since Hurricane Katrina wreaked ruination and mayhem on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, washing away life as I (and hundreds of thousands) knew it. I'll spare you details (You've seen and read of plenty of pleading, sad and grief-striken dark faces by now.) of what it feels like to really begin anew to re/build a life at 40 years-old. Except to say that, beyond material possessions, it is inexplicable. Beyond (un)consciousness.

The Big UnEasy

Dear Family of Friends and Acquaintances,

I don't really know how to say to you what I’m about to say, to ask of you what I have to ask of you: help. I need your help.

By now I imagine, nearly all of you (and the world) have heard of and seen the destruction, decimation and devastation that Hurricane Katrina has wreaked upon New Orleans and other areas along and near the Gulf of Mexico coastline. It is, for all its enormity, un-believability and surreal-ness, for me, a situation that overfills me with sorrow, sadness, and escalating anger.

And I almost may not have lived to tell it.

The E.T. Journal (Part 3 of 4)

Sunday arrives with an early sun, and I welcome the day with fresh possibilities. In a few hours Tom, Saar and I will be headed to Macon to meet Tom’s family: Mary (Tom’s mother), Tom, Sr. (Tom’s dad), Tammy (Tom’s maternal aunt), and his sisters, “Peaches” and “Sweetie”—all of whom I’ve met previously. And I will meet Tom’s brother, Tyrone, most of Tom’s nieces and nephews and other members of his extended family. It’s reunion time and I am excited! Thrilled, even, if this visit will be anything like the prior one, where I was welcomed with warmth and down-home hospitality.

But for now, I sidle out of bed while my two younger men are asleep and get dressed for the pool. It’s my last chance to swim before we leave Atlanta. And I’m determined to take a dip, with or without Tom.