This Friday, November 17, at 7pm, I (plus Madison) will read from our first chapbook, Madison Hatta’s Book of Unreasonable Rhymes, and attempt to answer the question: Why would this highly accomplished (with a PhD from Harvard, no less) and seemingly sensible young wom...
Mom was scheduled to have a check up with her neurologist to try to pinpoint the cause of her leg problems. I was at home that afternoon. The phone rang.
“April, they’re sending me to the hospital.”
“What? Let me speak to the doctor.”
Th...
People have been talking about Carrie Fisher’s and Debbie Reynolds’ passing within days of each other. There was a lot of shock and disbelief about it. Certainly, I don’t think any of us expected the actor who’d grown from Princess into General Leia to leave us so soon...
Mrs. Levin was taken ill mid-year, and was replaced by a substitute: Ms. Levine. She was the complete opposite of our permanent teacher—young, warm-hearted, and unbiased where black children were concerned. My grades shot up to A- and A immediately, and then settled in...
“Hidden Figures” is such an inspiring film. The everyday heroism of these women can no longer be overlooked, even while some of the issues they dealt with are still kicking in the 21st century. The film shows the world into which my father was born, and in which my mot...
One of the things that properties like this are selling is escape: Escape from the sometimes-gritty reality of urban living. This brings me back to the cities vs. suburbs issue. Cities, as opposed to suburbs, generally include some form of public transportation, and al...
Saying no to the manager meant that I was transferred to manager specialist number two, the third older man that I would speak to that day. Yes, I do believe that they play age/race/gender games in these things, figuring that a single female is more likely to trust the...
Cities vs. suburbs. Perhaps that’s the issue. In March 2016, I spent my Spring Break week in the Orlando Florida Metropolitan Area, and I use the word “metropolitan” advisedly. I really felt like I was in Suffolk County on steroids. I’m from New York City—Queens, to be...
So many people—14,000!—gathered in Orlando, Florida for the American Library Association annual conference in June 2016, and I was one of them. I was a Student2Staff member, representing Drexel University where I’m pursing my MSLIS. As an S2S-er, I worked four hours ea...
A month or so ago, I saw Yoko Ono’s show at MoMA (which runs until September 7, 2015). When I found out that this was her first solo show for them, the immediate question, “What took them so long?” popped into mind. But since answering that would involve knowing and ca...