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Musical Roots: The Rap Family Tree
Rapper I think, though honestly I can’t prove it, that rap music began on the front porch of a small farmhouse in east Tennessee, probably early in the morning when the sun was comin’ up and some...
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You is Smart, You is Kind, You is Important
“You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view–until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” -Atticus Finch, speaking to his daughter Scout, in chapter 3 of To...
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Life Lessons: Humility and Hoppin’ John
Every New Years Day I cook the same meal. It’s not elaborate. It’s not expensive (in fact, it’s downright cheap). It has a stupid name and takes all day, but the reward one gets in the bowl late in the...
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Little Girls and Dollies
“Remembering is everything. I hated remembering.” -The Secret Life of Bees Two Dollies…two ladies…influenced me greatly when I was a little girl… "I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because...
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Cactus Cutting
"Depression is not sobbing and crying and giving vent, it is plain and simple reduction of feeling...People who keep stiff upper lips find that it's damn hard to smile." -Judith Guest Use-ta sit on...
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Taters, Precious
Food Pyramid Fashionista The potato is my favorite vegetable. Really, how can you go wrong with a tuborous root that accessorizes? I don’t think it’s possible to prepare this humble thing in a way I...
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Waylon
Buddy Holly Monument The Big Bopper took your place In the Iowa sky in 1959. Now there lies a Silent Fender carved of stone. The say the music died that day. Your eyes always seemed to be grieving. I...
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Rodalena Recipes: Summer Songs and Afternoon Delight
Summer has its own sound track, headlined, of course by Ella’s “Summertime.” That’s The Summer Song, dang it, the American Anthem of Summer. “Well, you get down the fiddle and you get down the bow,Kick...
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R & R In New England
This week, my boyfriend has shown me his New England: Rhode Island (“Rogue’s Island”-how marvelous a nickname is that?) and Boston. It was an amazing trip. I had never seen New England; my boyfriend...
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Rodalena Reviews: Go Set a Watchman
(Note to reader: the following review includes vague spoilers; the linked articles give specific ones.) Even a piece of fiction can break your heart. Reading Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman is like...
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