I bought toilet paper today. I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but this is 2020. We had the great toilet paper shortage this spring. I was baffled at the time. I get the milk and bread runs when people are panicked, but toilet paper? I never did hear a good explanation for…
During an interview that was broadcast on July 19th, Chris Wallace asked Donald Trump if he would accept the election results if he lost the election. Trump refused to answer, saying, “I’m not going to just say yes. I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time either.” It’s irrelevant what he did…
This is the July story for the 12 stories in 12 months challenge. You may have noticed that I haven’t published one of these in a few months. Between the pandemic and starting a new job, life has just been too crazy. But, hopefully, I’m back in the groove now. This month’s prompt was “red…
On June 30, 2020, the Governor of Mississippi signed into law a piece of legislation that will, finally, remove the Confederate battle flag from Mississippi’s state flag. This is a big deal, and an unequivocally good thing. It comes during a time of intense debate about all kinds of symbols, from statues and monuments to…
This is a question I ask myself all the time. What can I do? I’m not asking it in the resigned way, as a way of saying there’s nothing I can do. I’m asking it in the sincere way. I actually want to know what I can do. The world is all kinds of messed…
Current events have led to a call to support Black-Owned Businesses. This has always been a good idea, so it’s nice that people are catching up. But I’ve got a small problem. News outlets, bloggers, and people on social media keep posting lists of Black-Owned Restaurants. That’s fine, but where are the black-owned law firms…
A lot of white people who support Black Lives Matter have been using a slogan lately. They use it on signs, in posts, in memes, and in tweets. It is, “I understand that I will never understand, but I stand with you.” I get it. I know what it’s trying to say, that as someone…
Racism is a difficult topic to talk about. There are all the obvious reasons. It’s a sensitive subject that can be triggering for many people. Plus, it is hard for many people to be honest, even with themselves, about it. It can expose a disconnect between the person you are and the person you want…
I’m not very active on social media. I use it to promote things I’ve written and things that my friends have created. Maybe once a week, I’ll log in and scroll through people’s posts. Since George Floyd was murdered, I’ve been logging in more often. I’m not exactly sure why. I think it has something…
A few months ago, I had an interesting interaction on the dating site OkCupid. This woman’s pictures were nice and her write-up made her seem promising, so I liked her and sent her a note. It wasn’t anything special, but she responded. We exchanged a few messages. It was the usual small talk. Then, she…
