In the summer of 2008 I received an urgent call from my dad. He said that he had just gotten back from seeing a doctor, and he urged me to go see him, too. Before I could ask why, I got the news: “Dr. Hyatt is retiring, and is moving out of the area, so …
I ain’t gonna lie, I hadn’t heard of Nipsey Hussle until he was shot and killed in Crenshaw. Since his passing, I’ve watched a few videos and interviews on YouTube. And like so many others, I learned how much he meant to so many people – inside and outside of his community. Nipsey was a …
When is the last time you hugged someone? Earlier this week, I read about a study conducted at the University of North Carolina that found that people who hug are more likely to experience reduced anxiety and increased bond strengthening. It’s recommended that couples should engage in 20-second hugs. My wife and I hug several …
I didn’t mean to make my wife cry with this story. Back to that in a moment. Before I started kindergarten, I would spend my mornings watching “I Love Lucy” with my grandmother, usually cuddled in a blanket with a bowl of Cream of Wheat and a small can of Tree Top Apple Juice. By …
One of my biggest regrets is not taking up an instrument. Actually, that’s not entirely true. In the fourth grade, after a musician came to our classroom to show and demonstrate our instrument options, I decided on the flute. (I should have chosen the drums or clarinet.) While I’ve always maintained that I chose the …
For the past few weeks I’ve been on binge watching the sitcom Cheers on Netflix. After all of these years, it’s still funny. Sam Malone, still cool; Carla, still hilarious, Diane, still uptight; and Coach, still dumb. A few weeks prior to the show’s debut on September 30, 1982, I was wrapping-up my first season …
Near the end of my junior year at Independence High School in 1984, our wrestling coach, Jesse Barajas, let the team know that a young stud, Marco Sanchez, an eighth grader from one of the feeder middle schools (Sheppard), would be coming to join the 76ers at IHS the following year. We didn’t know a …
About a week ago in New Jersey, Trader Joe’s customer, Karma Lawrence, thought that one of the clerks working at the store resembled the affable character, Elvin Tibideaux, from The Cosby Show of the late ’80s and early ’90s. After a quick internet search, she realized it was in fact, Geoffrey Owens, the actor. Lawrence …
There’s something about being held in times of need. Sometimes a short hug is enough, other times a much longer embrace is needed, and sometimes people need a human touch for much longer periods — hours, days, weeks, and even months at a time. The picture you see on the left was taken on June …
This story stinks. Back to that in a moment. Any time my family and I take even the shortest of road trips, it doesn’t take long for my son, Atticus, to ask: “Are we there, yet?” And no matter our response, he usually has some follow-up questions — to which answers are never adequate. At …