feliciabaxter

Daily Affirmations

Reading interesting things and writing interesting things make me happy.

Stop comparing myself to others I can only be responsible for my choices. 

Wanting less makes me happier than getting more.

If it makes me feel shitty, why do it?

Fear can be a good thing, but it should not paralyze me.

Envision a better life and go for it. Good hard, it's ok.

By TNFro, The Unpoet

My Sunday’s Are a Beginning

By TNFro, The Unpoet

 

I start by looking forward to another day.

I watch the sunrise over Lookout Mountain.

The whir of the coffee grinder for the local roasters, Mean Mug (Shout out)

The Sunday NY Times in no particular order,

Front page literally yelling at a piece, someone taking credit for decisions and policies of the

Obama administration.

On to the Style, Travel, Arts, and Book Review.

The background music of life Duke Ellington, Aretha Blues cover from 1969, sprinkled with a little

   Frank Sinatra.

Off to brunch with friends.

Listen to family stories.

A hug from a non-hugger.

Just being present is an act of kindness.

I reaffirm Gayle’s comment on CBS, you can never go wrong with kindness.

Back home to dream, to write, to create.

Today I remember the fallen on the battlefield, the highways, the building on fire, and the beat cop,  

 those that protect us every day, thanks for your service.

Today, I will endeavor to stop taking stuff for granted.

I will have a full day to declutter my mind from a few ideas, that is golden.

Not everyone can go where I have to go.

Not everyone has to support every idea thread.

Encourage, discourage, silence; it’s all the same I will keep going.

Ride or die is not a requirement to roll with me.

I’m ok, it’s really all good.

I am honored to write all day for a cool employer.

I get to research what I don’t know and be taught by leaders in their specialties.

But there is so much more to do, say, see, and create.

I want to be an un-stranger.

When people see me

I want them to say, ”I know you, right?”

And I want to respond, “Maybe, let’s see from where.”

And that starts a trippy discussion of the possibilities.

Why not be the one?

So here is to the beginning.

Hi, I’m Felicia, don’t I know you?

I was leaving the South

To fling myself into the unknown...

I was taking a part of the South

To transplant in alien soil,

To see if if could grow differently,

If it could drink of new and cool rains,

Bend in Strange winds,

Respond to the warmth of other suns

And, perhaps, to bloom-Richard Wright

 

As African Americans, were escaping the pogroms of the South, so were poor whites at the same time with other marginalized populations all over the world escaping to the industrialized North in search of safety and the American dream, only to witness and be part of another nightmare.

Turn Every Page. Never assume anything. Turn Every Goddamn Page. Allen Hathway as told by Robert Caro on NYTimes Book Review Podcast.To buy the featured wine navigate to https://mytv.wine/s/4NnpBw

All aboard the night train

With Stops in Knoxville, Williamsburg, Boonesborough, Lexington

Then there is the rest of Kentucky.

Smaller towns dot the Ohio River like heaps of trash

Circled by buzzards.

Gas Up Chile!!

Don't Stop keep driving less you get trapped here!

Don't act out, sarcasm lost on these closed minds.

A career can stagnant if left to fester here.

You will turn on yourself if you stay

Your mind will fry.

So pass your time playing it safe.

Working smart and not too hard.

Stay healthy, because you sure can't get sick here.

Wellness is not a priority here.

The day is coming soon when you will be honored to write always

And a request for a response is not an imposition.

Being an adult means producing when there is no expectation.

Outperforming even when you have to create the tools to build your path,

And all bets are for your failure. 

By TNFro, The Unpoet

Comparison of 2 great African American women literary giants their exploration of love and family and how sacrifice doesn’t mean death.

Black Boy Fly Lyrics by Kendrick Lamar

I used to be jealous of Aaron AfflaloI used to be jealous of Aaron AfflaloHe was the one to followHe was the only leader foreseeing brighter tomorrowsHe would live in the gymWe was living in sorrowTotal envy of himHe made his dream become a realityActually making it possible to swimHis way out of Compton with further more to accomplishGraduate with honors, a sponsor of basketball scholarsIt's 2004 and I'm watching him score thirtyRemember vividly how them victory points had hurt me'Cause every basket was a reaction or a reminderThat we was just moving backwardsThe bungalow where you find usThe art of us ditching classes heading nowhere fastStick my head inside the study hall, he focused on mathDetermination ambition, plus dedication and wisdomQualities he was given was the shit we didn't haveDug inside of his book bag and Coach Palmer asked for his finalsHe had his back like a spinal meanwhileWe singing the same old song spinning the vinylEleven graders gone wrongHe focused on the NBA we focused on some PatronNow watch that black boy fly...

In Celebration of Black History Month I continue to read selections from Calling The Wind a collection of Short Stories from 20th Century African American Short Stories...and no I didn't get anything from the NC Book Festival. I couldn't find it!

This will be a series of readings in celebration of Black History Month informational and entertaining.