Monday, April 27, 2009

Stuff White People Hate.

Being reminded of their whiteness.

Not Moleskine.

Contemporary Country Music.

Burnt drip coffee.

Being wrong.

The idea of Guilt.

Reality.

The idea of Money.

Pro-abstinence sex-ed classes.

BIG Gulps.

The idea of Structure.

The idea of Rednecks.

McDonalds.

Rural People.

Rodeos.

Lipton Tea.

Overalls.

Cowboy boots worn for a purpose.

Blockbusters.

Pollution.

Poor Education Systems.

Pit Bulls.

Popular Places.

Going to Mexico for Spring Break.

People who tan.

Fur coats.

Clueless baristas.

Sarah Palin.

George Bush.

Government.

Walmart.

American-made cars.

RVs.

Republicans.

War.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Anon.

I have an extraordinary professor for whom words were needed to be written.

Ice queen of my tribe
Like a dream
you float around the room
say oppression
say apartheid
care so cooped up
exploding from your pores
in concerned gasps of laughter.
There's little else you can do.
We don't know where you've been
what you've seen or
what you've done
outside of what you've shared.
It must be grand and large
and abominable
for there is no disputing the fact that
you are the grandest of them all.
You are free
like the white flounce shirt you wear
that has seen sandstorms.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Annie.

I went to hear Anne Lamott speak last Friday night.

She told me everything I didn't want to hear. But it needed to be said.

Practice radical inefficiency.
Take a pen everywhere.
Fail at something you like to do. Don't worry about perfection.
Ask for help.
God's not looking for anything big; you could give someone a glass of water. That's enough.

Below the surface of everything I want to be (funky, calm, intelligent, yogi-like, dreadlocked) was this woman with a core just as shaky as the rest of us. The way she voices doubt just sounds better than the average jane.

Read Bird by Bird.