A Black Trans Woman Murdered by Ex-Boyfriend in North Carolina. Her Name was Quanesha Shantel.

Qhanesha Shanell

Just days before Trans Awareness Week, Quanesha Shantel aka Cocoa was a 26 year old Black trans woman when she was murdered in her car. She was shot three times on Sunday, November 10, 2024 as she sat in her car outside her estranged boyfriend’s apartment at Guilford College Road. Hamilton’s estranged boyfriend Jeremy Reynolds, 31, […]

Sometimes you take it from the top, sometimes you don’t

It is 9:19 PM and I’m without a single thought for today’s NaBloPoMo post. I’ve done cats, cars, mental health, Simon and Garfunkel, a Q&A with the Assistant Secretary of Health for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Thanksgiving, reviewed two shows, previewed another, and more. I invoked math, then railed at the […]

Hush (a rewrite)

NaBloPoMo

Its anxiety, my old friendYou’ve come to sit with me againBecause a feeling softly does creepGrabbing hold while I cannot sleepAnd the belief that was programmed in my brainStill remainsWithin the hush of silence In childhood years I walked aloneSlipping into a silent homeWatching other families from afarMy door to comfort was ajarWhen my heart […]

Guest Post: How to Survive and Thrive? Under Trump

CN: Satire, Trump, disturbing images Everywhere that I turn this week I find advice, demands, and grief over the direction 73,455,333 American voters have steered us. It is a dark hour, but it is not the only dark hour. Our elders and ancestors have walked through dark times, so I asked some of them to share […]

I Still Have To Take Care of Myself Right Now

NaBloPoMo

I’m not fine, of course. But I’m slowly coping with this new but perhaps inevitable reality. All the things people say right, speaking past each other or to themselves. All of those things mean everything because we are alive, we are still saying things, we are still here. Marriage, single, partnered. Here we are. NaBloPoMo. […]

Q&A With Admiral Rachel Levine, M.D. on Transgender Youth

After the brutal murder of 14-year-old trans girl Pauly Likens in Mercer County this summer, I was struggling mightily with how to move forward with my work. The story of how this interview came to be is convoluted, but I put on my blogger hat and asked Admiral Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health for […]

Come Behind the Scenes of The Pet Food Pantry

I write about the cats quite a bit, so let’s take a turn toward what’s happening behind the scene to keep this project flowing. This is my #NaBloPoMo contribution for the day. The pantry is pretty cool. Not this cool … We currently have two volunteers – me and my neighbor, Marie. Marie houses the […]

We Need More Nice, Thoughtful People in This World

When someone might be flirting with you or might just be a really nice, thoughtful person with great attention to details. Does it matter? Just appreciate the moments that a really nice, thoughtful person pays attention to you. Crush, respect, lust, attraction, distraction, blah, blah, blah. Why worry about subtext, something I am both terrible […]

Thanksgiving Week Is My Favorite Time of The Year

Crap. It is Sunday at 8:30 and I haven’t posted yet. I cannot break my #NaBloPoMo streak on day ten. And you don’t want to read yet another post about cats so soon, I’m sure. My favorite week of the year is Thanksgiving week. Don’t get me wrong, I am aware of the horrors of […]

My best friend Dr. John Ruffing died 17 years ago. His legacy is now a pet food pantry.

Dr. Ruffing Pet Food Pantry

All week, I’ve been loading donations for The Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry into my borrowed Land Rover that we’ve dubbed St. Gertrude or Gertie. She contains multitudes of cat food. Now,there’s no interior light so I bought a head lamp. I added a USB port to the cigarette light – oh […]