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You Can’t Go That Way…
The other day, I was walking down my alley to go to the City Market around the corner, and I stopped to talk to a former student of mine (we’ll call her “M”) who’s now a member of the Blue Suede Brigade, downtown’s boots-on-the-ground safety and hospitality personnel. As she and I are celebrating her fifth day without a cigarette (good for you, chica!), this lady in a minivan drives up the alley and stops beside us. I immediately think, “But you can’t go that way.” She tells us that she wants to drive across Main Street to get on Front Street. And while continuing straight down that alley was…
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When it rains…
Lawdy. Let it stop raining. Please. Memphis can’t catch a break. The rivers are cresting. The roads are falling apart (again). Rain for days on end now. Actual footage and memes galore in tribute. When it rains around here though, Memphis goes sideways. Legit. When it rains here, it gets weird. People lose their minds. They lose their ability to operate motor vehicles, which, admittedly, is only sketchy at best in good weather. (Hint: Stop braking for quite literally no reason whatsoever.) We all get mopey and pissed off. Unless you’re that one guy who’s just gleeful and loves jumping in potholes-turned-swimming-pools, it’s chaos. Rain downtown is a special kind…
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Thank you, Main…
Because Main Street Makes You Feel Beautiful Most days, I like who I see in the mirror. I mean, enough anyway. Been working on that self-worth and all. As a woman, though, I’m societally trained to tear myself apart any time I pass a reflective surface. You don’t really mean to, but there you are, trying not to criticize yourself in a passing window. Since I can’t help looking sometimes, I stare at the ground more now. Hence the pennies. So this past weekend, I was standing on Main waiting to cross Union. I’m in front of Gould’s, and there’s a woman a few years younger than I am on…
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15 Things to Know about Being Mental
I’ve learned that if you can’t laugh at your mental illness(es) sometimes, you really will lose your damn mind — and your sense of self. I’ve lost both. Then I found ’em chasing each other through the broken glass of a downtown alley, cut myself up dragging them back against their will. If you love someone who’s living life despite their mental illness, there are some things you might appreciate knowing so you both stay a little more sane. That said, I’m not a licensed professional and this is purely anecdotal and from my own experiences and work with my therapist. This kind of took on a life of its…
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Well, that’s new…
This evening, I’m walking home from my favorite place, and I swing through the Family Dollar for some paper towels. (I totally bought two packs of toilet paper instead of those the other day, but whatever. Don’t make fun of me.) I pop out, purchase in hand, and I head towards the a-p-t. To do so, I have to cross Main Street, which has trolley tacks on it. Now I tend to look down when I walk, especially across the brick streets that’ll trip you up and send you downward into liquids you don’t want identified. I’m usually looking for pennies, which are weirdly everywhere. My BFF laughs at how…
