Growing up on Dexter Avenue

The Alabama capitol, which sits at the East end of Dexter Avenue. (Flickr, sunsurfr)Dexter Avenue is a short street with a long history. At the East end of Dexter Avenue atop Goat Hill, sits the Alabama State Capitol where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as the president of the Confederacy and where George Wallace declared “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” At the west end is the Court Square fountain, where Hebe,... Read More

What’s up? Oh, just making change …

I’ve been busy lately. Very busy. In the past month, my life has taken a couple of lovely twists and turns, I’ve been to some great shows, I’ve taken on a few side projects and I’ve spent some much-needed time with my friends and family. And, there’s even more in store. I found an excellent video earlier this week of Dr. Brené Brown speaking at TEDxHouston on the requirement of vulnerability and gratitude to live a “wholehearted”... Read More

Thanks, and a follow-up to ‘Twentysomething’

Flickr/RobeRt Vega Wow. I am just back from a week-long vacation, and I see that many of you stumbled across this little blog of mine. I am overwhelmed by the response, and I am enjoying catching up on the comments. Your stories are incredibly moving, and I am grateful y’all have chosen to start a discussion here. A few items it seems I should address: This is a personal site. Yes, I’m a journalist, but I’m not providing unbiased... Read More

Twentysomething: How my generation works

(Flickr/mugley) There’s been a lot of press about my generation lately. A lot of it questions our values, work and goals. So, here is my admittedly unsolicited opinion of my generation and, more specifically, our work life. You must understand that we are not starting out with a positive attitude. In our short careers, we already have been laid off or at least afraid that we would be laid off. We have seen our parents downsized and left high... Read More

Working out: In which our heroine extols the virtues of physical exertion …

(Flickr/jronaldlee) I’ve been thinking a bit today about exercise and being active, mostly because my twitter feed is blowing up on the topic. In the past 6 months, I’ve lost about 25 pounds. That number sounds kind of ridiculous, but it doesn’t show up on me like one would think. I have a weird Tolkein dwarf-human hybrid body that tends to hide my weight well when I’m porking out, but just sort of tightens up a bit when I... Read More

Playing in the dirt

The rogue tomato before it went rogue. I spent yesterday afternoon whipping my garden back into shape. I allowed a cherry tomato plant to take over, and it was time to exact revenge. I set in pulling out dead things and weeds and turning in new compost. A few hours later, it was done. And, it was far and away the most satisfying work I had done all week. I like getting dirty. I never feel as happy stuck to a screen as I do when I spend an afternoon... Read More