Great Things Ahead

"The People’s Shelter in town is affiliated with St James AME Church. It's a homeless shelter, but not in the traditional sense. It’s mainly a cold weather shelter, but they’ve got a lot of good things going on. They just recently acquired a house that they're wanting to use as transitional housing for people who …

To Paris and Back

“The toughest question I’m ever asked is where I'm from. I was born in Flowood, Mississippi in a super tiny country hospital. My dad has an artistic spirit, but he doesn't specifically have a craft, so his whole life mission was to help creatives figure out their space in their culture. Eventually said he knew …

Pursuit of Happiness

"My mom’s step-dad had been around for most of her life, so I grew up with him as my grandfather. He was a painter and an artist. He was a composer, poet, and a writer in two different languages. He told me when I was about 10 years old that your job is not your …

Seeing the Future

“I was diagnosed with Dominant Optic Atrophy, which means that I am legally blind. Basically my optic nerves are a little jacked up. The tunnel in your eyes that connects your nerves and what you actually see is supposed to be clear, but for me it’s kinda foggy. To describe how I see, it’s like …

The Good Samaritan

“The most scared moment in my life was when I was homeless in Little Rock. I had a gun pointed at my head at least three times that I can remember. I don’t remember how, but somehow I woke up in the grass at a Pentecostal church. There, I met a man named Benny. He …

A Shot of Inspiration

“My daughter was sick over the weekend, so I took her to urgent care. She was really scared about it, because the last time she was there, she had to have a shot and that was traumatic. She had to get shots for kindergarten, and now believes that every time she goes to the doctor's …

Netflix & Chill: Snow Day Style

“I would take TV intravenously if possible. I waste more time watching television than any human really should. I love old movies, Cary Grant’s my favorite. I'll watch every Cary Grant movie just about that's on. I’ve had my heart broken many times by HBO. The Sopranos and Carnivàle and Deadwood; shows like that. You …

Running on Empty (2 of 2)

"So I’m driving west, heading for Los Angeles. No second thoughts; I was running from what I thought was my end. No maps, no GPS, no cell phone back then. I made it to Albuquerque, NM. I stopped at a hospital because I was scared. I told them what happened, they told me they wanted …