In memory of Dr. T. Greene

 

 

 

 

 

Funny.

I think I catch site of her sometimes.

Strolling thru the airport in her garb.

Her petite frame draped in brightly colored west afrikan appearal.

Gold earrings dangling

or

strands of beads adorned with animails of the plain and bush.

 

But alas.

It is not her.

She has been an ancestor for years now.

My excitement is quelled.

I am quiet for a moment.

Giving thanks for having known her.

Rest in Power. rest in Peace. Dr. Greene

Crys Mack formally welcomes the RECESSION

THIS is not where I saw myself. This is not what I had in mind. Perhaps the problem is that I didn’t have anything particular in mind. The luminous “THEY” always said that if you “fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Well…I don’t feel like a failure, but THIS is not where I saw myself.

Peace Cool World,

Ya girl just needs to get some things off her chest. I don’t know if anyone is still watching, but it doesn’t matter. I originally started this blog for ME. And this post is for ME. You’re more than welcome to listen in while I berate myself and my own irresponsibility.

Ok, Crys. Why the hell can’t you get your finances in order? YOU KNEW what you had coming down the pike. YOU KNEW that the Solstice conference was in mid June and that your final payment was due June 5th. YOU KNEW that your niece’s play was showing thru May 30th. YOU KNEW that the Candy Gurls would be finished and initiated May 27. YOU KNEW you were going to the beach May 20. YOU KNEW that Honey wanted to take a “REAL VACATION” in August.  So WHY THE HELL DIDN’T YOU PREPARE FOR THE FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS of said events? Huh?  

And then the devil said:

And you choose NOW to decide you wanna start an Indie Publishing house? With what money? You choose NOW to edit and publish an anthology? You don’t know SHIT about publishing! You choose NOW to write for peanuts for other folks projects?  You choose NOW to attend a $1200 workshop that doesn’t grant college credit, or a certificate or shit, huh? . You choose NOW when the airline doesn’t have the hours to let you rake in the money like it used to?

Smart, Crys. Really smart.

________________________________

 

To your credit (no pun intended), I’ll say congrats on taking care of the whole Sallie Mae issue. Maybe now she’ll stop calling all hours of the day and night. And true, you could not have anticipated the trouble with your car. No, you hadn’t been notified about the stupid Driver Responsibility Fee. But the state is gonna take their money REGARDLESS.

Now look. You’re so embarrassed by the whole mess that you won’t ask for help. Not that anyone could help short of a pay day loan with ridiculous interest or a MOB boss.

So, what are you gonna do now? What are you gonna sacrifice? Money don’t grow on trees and it ain’t gonna fall from the sky (despite what Mama said during childhood). You are a grown woman. YOU gotta make this happen.

Hell, its a recession. YOU KNEW THIS!

So, Crys Mack.

Let’s Get It.

Call for Submissions

Daddy’s Maybe:
Growing Up With and Without Our Fathers
www.DADDYSMAYBE.wordpress.com

Call for Submissions
Daddy’s Maybe is an anthology that will be published by Crystal S. McMillian along with other indie publishers in Winter 2010. We are seeking well written poems, short stories, narratives, creative essays, oral histories, letters, original song lyrics, and journal entries from woman from ALL WALKS LIFE! All ages, races, education levels, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds are welcomed and encouraged to submit work. Talk to your mothers, sisters, aunties, cousins, nieces, play mamas, and grannies We were all DAUGHTERS first.

The goal is to capture the experience of daughters: the joy and the hurt, the healing. We want to get to the heart of the father/ daughter relationship. We want to delve into how that relationship positively or negatively affects other aspects of our lives. Daddy’s Maybe will exalt the fathers who have done an excellent job raising daughters and it will EXPRESS our feelings to those father’s who did not. Daddy’s Maybe is NOT an academic study. We are not attempting to come to any conclusion or to collect or analyze data. We are moving BEYOND statistics. We simply wish to SHARE the experiences. We want to RELEASE and REJOICE!

Submission Guidelines:

Include title of piece, your name, email, address and phone number on each page.

Submit up to three (3) poems, one (1) narrative/story/essay, three (3) journal entries/ letters, three (3) oral history recordings/ transcripts

Please send email submissions as a MSWord attachment

Poems should be not exceed fifty lines.

Narratives and short stories should be limited to 2,500 words (5-7 pages)

Oral histories should be emailed in digital format (mp3). Transcripts of oral interviews are greatly appreciated

Double spaced, standard 12 point font, black ink only

Please do not send your only copies as they will not be returned.

Submissions not adhering to guidelines will not be considered.

Email submissions to DaddysMaybes@gmail.com or snail mail to

ATTN: Daddy’s Maybe
5900 Bridge Rd. Suite 716
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Submission deadline: August 3, 2009

Additional info

There is no reading or submission fee. Although there is no compensation for publication, two free copies of published anthology will be provided to contributors. Additional discounted copies will be made available. Contributors will retain all rights to their work.

For questions contact Crystal at Crystal.McMillian@gmail.com

the “writer’s bag…”

Peace Cool World,
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I’ma Bag Lady. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve loved the ideas of having everything one might need at one’s finger tips. I’m sure its one of the many reasons that I became a flight attendant.

I used to go so far as to play “Penny”. Who is Penny, you ask? Why Inspector Gadget’s genious niece/ daughter, of course! I world grab an encyclopedia to use as my laptop ( remember Penny’s laptop?…way ahead of her time).I’d toss it in my back pack with my Lisa Frank tablet, a thermos of juice(kool aid), whatever babysitter’s club book I was reading, and a magnifying glass and have the most wonderful adventures.

I say all that to say…I need a bag! One that will accomodate my Real Life laptop and its charger, my ipod and its charger, my black berry and its charger, my journal, current read, tea, pens, folders and such. Don’t want it to be too big…don’t wanna break my back. And I refuse to carry a typical brief case or laptop bag.I’ve had about all that I can take of “flight crew black”.

So Cool World,

Any suggestions?

I have offcially lost my mind…

Why?
Well, Cool Crys has finally joined the millions of Americans who are addicted to black berry.I’m not addicted YET, but I know it’s comin.

After waiting four days for a new phone and compiling ALL my contacts all over again…I DROPPED said phone into a steaming bowl of chicken soup. Needless to say, that poor Samsung is officially dead.

Conviently for me, I’d bought a blackberry off of ebay. So once – returned from my trip… Having been incommunoicado for two days, my slightly used 8703e was waiting for me. I’ve gotten it activated and am now mastering all of the cool features and qwerty keyboard.

The plan is to BLOG MORE. Since I’ll have no excuse. Bear with mne cool world… I’ll be sharing my clever (and often inappropriate) observations soon enough.

Peace