My Color

“Stick with your own color”
Said the angry black man on the train
Peeking over my shoulder at the photo of me and my Caucasian lover on my phone

My own color?
Aren’t we all just different shades of the same color
Lets break it down
My mother is white
Her grey eyes sparkle with tears because she feels all the pain in the world bottled up in her big heart
Beware she will hug you
She will feed you
And before she ever meets you
She will love you

Is she my color?
After all she is my mother

My father is a black man from Brooklyn
He preaches rock and roll and encourages you to follow your dreams
He hasn’t let a brain injury slow him down
He has an inner strength balanced with his cool Jamaican roots
He will find the silver lining and rub it til its gold

Is he my color?
Well he is my father

No
I am not white
I am not black
I am a piece of every person in my life
They mix in me
They blend so perfectly
They breathe color into my lungs through their compassion and strength

So thank you to the angry black man on the train
I will take your advice
Lucky for me everyone is my color

Lemonade

They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade
But what about when life gives you shit and takes everything away

Here, have a love so strong and blissful
Sing those happy songs
Whistle while you work
Cause soon it will be gone
Like a headline train wreck I will break your plans
I will crush your love and leave you all alone

What? No lemonade?

When life gives me shit and I pray the end is near
Googleing, how many Ambien does it take to end this fear
that’s when I make the sweetest lemonade you will ever taste
Secret ingredient?
Blood, sweat, and tears

And I will crawl up
I will kneel up
I will stand
And doing so I realize standing is all I have
Shaking like a baby learning to walk
And I will shine
I will go on
I will make a new path

I triple dog dare you
Try to knock me down
My roots are stronger now
My legs don’t shake no more
This is human strength in its pure form

How’s that for lemonade?

Mutual Earthquake

What did you do to me?
Last night
From the outside everything looked ordinary
Last night
How did you make my back arch and my hands grip your skin?
How did you make my thighs squeeze like a champagne cork?

I should apologize for biting your shoulder
Like I did
I should apologize to my neighbors for waking them
With my screams

I don’t remember how we started
But the end is so clear I can still feel you surging through my veins
Our tangled limbs
Our mixed sweat
We earthquaked together
My feet up
Our eyes wide

We laid there lingering
Stunned

I don’t know what you did to me
Last night
But can you do it again?

This Article Was Published In The SLCC Newspaper - The Globe

http://www.slccglobelink.com/community/sanity-or-fear-rally-in-slc-1.2395643

Sanity or Fear rally in SLC

On October 30, 2010, many gathered at the southeast side of the City Library to witness Jon Stewart restoring sanity and Stephen Colbert trying to keep fear alive. The cold morning didn't stop supporters from coming. As time passed, more and more people showed up. The RSVP closed at 1224 on the Facebook page according to Samantha Jones, one of the 12 organizers and an SLCC student.

"The final police head count was between 350 and 400," said Jones.

Kelli Lundgren, one of the leading members, greeted and thanked everyone for coming to be a part of something so important. Lundgren said, "Jon Stewart inspired all of us." Lundgren also noted that televising this event outside was much "trickier…but it gets the spirit going."

Bijan J. Hosseini, one of the organizers, began the rally by stating the rules in order to keep the mood light and easy. One of the rules was to end your discussions with a handshake.

"If you are feeling a bit frisky, maybe a hug," Hosseini added.

Hosseini who is also a former SLCC student had a good feeling about the rally. His message to everyone is, "Don't expect change to come every four years."

People were willing to donate by buying stickers and t-shirts; 100 t-shirts and 50 stickers were sold at the rally. A total of $4300 was raised in donations. $3300 was used to pay for the event at the library such as tables, audio, television, etc. $1000 will be used for the Trust for the National Mall, the same place Jon Stewart's donations are going to.

The 12 best signs were printed and distributed for people to parade around. Among the winners were, "I like tea, with a civilized discourse," "The left wing is as yummy as the right wing, just ask KFC," and "I like tea, but not enough to party about it." Others made their own signs, one being "Fighting doesn't belong in parties, only in marriages."

Rena Benton, a rally attendee, clicked on the link to the Facebook page about the rally at meetup.com, which is a website for people to participate in activities of common interest. She also spread the word about the rally and had a couple of friends join her at the library. She believed that this rally was the most placid rally she's ever attended. Benton wrote her own sign reading, "Against gay marriage? Don't have one."

"People shouldn't be so concerned with their neighbors' life style if it's not affecting their own," Benton said.

The amount of kids at the rally surprised Jones. She took both of her children believing it's a good idea to make kids aware of the issues happening in the US.

Despite being thrown in a short period of time, Jones views the event as a success.

"In the short amount of time we had to plan it, everyone came together and got things done that never would have been possible for just one person. We appreciate every person that helped out with organizing or attended the rally," Jones said.

Stop being afraid

Scatter Brainz

Scouting
Its been over a year since I was a model scout, and now that I am back into it I am remembering a few things. First 80% of the women in salt lake are too short for modeling. I see a pretty face walking closer to me but then BAM! she is 5'2". As I am walking around a mall or outside the jazz game I realized how creepy I must look. I stand there alone checking out women. I love it when their boyfriends catch me looking at their girls. But overall it is fun and I do enjoy it.

Work
Today when I was on my break at work I could not stop thinking about how great the women I work with are. So positive and encouraging. I really am blessed to have found this job. My attitude in the beginning was "its just retail" "I cant learn anything new" "the pay is not that great". But the truth is after my husband abandonment I did allot of self evaluating. I made a list of what I wanted to work on. Being kinder, not being afraid to express my feelings, not believing everyone is out to get me, and show compassion. Well I am not perfect and am still working on it, but I knew I had to leave the Radisson Hotel after 3 years of negative energy it really got to me. I was bitter, angry, and felt I couldn't trust anyone. Now I like the Rena I am becoming. I smile more. I unburied the part of me that cares about everyone. With a despite of your...'whatever'... kind of love.

mmm mmm mmm stew

Winter is almost here. I wanted to share my hearty homemade beef stew recipe, a Rena original

1 cup mushrooms
1 lbs cubed beef
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup pearl onions
¾ cup sliced carrots
¾ cup sliced celery
2 tbs all purpose flour
Organic beef broth


Sauté mushrooms in olive oil
Remove mushrooms from pan
Brown cubed beef in same pan (leave beef a little pink inside)
In crock pot mix
Cooked beef, tomato paste , olive oil, flour, carrots, onions, and celery.
Add broth until desired thickness (the flour will make it thicken up)
Cook for 30 minutes
Add mushrooms
Cook for 30 more minutes

Enjoy J