Adventures of Nefertiti

Melungeon: A member of a people mixed with White, Black,and American Indian ancestry living in the southern Appalachians. -Dictionary.com I recently returned from a short stay in the Outer Banks, which is a perfect family vacation destination on a group of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina. There you can find kite flying on huge sand dunes, and hours of fun windsurfing in the Atlantic Ocean. Those interested in aviation will find the birthplace of flight exciting at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in honor of Wilbur and Orville Wright. And if you really love history, you have... Roanoke Island. I stayed in Kill Devil Hills, NC in the Outer Banks, but of course the highlight for me, was my day trip down to Roanoke. I toured Roanoke Island Festive Park , an interactive family attraction that takes you back in time with a recreation of one of North America’s first settlements and a replica of a 16th century ship that made its way to the Outer Banks. It was in...

She’s your daughter… A young child, only eleven-years-old, is repeatedly ganged raped in a small town in Texas by a group of nineteen men between the ages of 14 and 27. Details here … She’s your sister… A Libyan woman runs into a hotel lobby seeking to tell her story after being held captive, raped and beaten by Gadhafi security forces. Journalists are today afraid for her safety… She’s your friend… A CBS news reporter is caught in the hysteria of a mob scene, triggered by victory in an Egyptian square, and is raped and violated. She’s back home in the states and recovering . She is you… I once knew a girl, a 14-year-old girl, caught in the embraces of a 19-year-old man. She attempted to escape, but instead was raped. She was on her way to a job interview, at a fast food restaurant, when she received a call to stop by for awhile. She was on her period. He forced her to take her tampon out. When it was over, instead of a job interview, she slowly walked home with tears in her eyes. ...

Of course you reject me. I’m your roots and you have one foot on the ground. Barely standing, but you shout you don’t want me around. I cry out for you, but you pretend I’m not here. I say I love you, But you show you don’t care. You fly away. The sky is blue. You don’t know me, but I remember you.

The first time I had to run for my life, I was 13 and new to the city. Young and naïve in Lexington, KY, I was hanging with new found friends watching boys play basketball at Castlewood Park when I heard… pop, pop, and a scream: “Someone is shooting!” I took off running toward the other side of the park, and terrified and scared, I reunited with my friends. At the age of fifteen and sixteen I started going to house parties and eventually nightclubs and more shootings followed me there. I would be on the dance floor, swaying my hips from side to side and then out of nowhere… crack, pop, pop… pow! And people would be ducking and dodging and running for the door. In college I truly expected to escape the violent episodes, but within my first semester of my freshman year at the University of Louisville (I later transferred to UK), I once again found myself dropping and then running for my life after a good time on the dance floor. This past weekend I followed Breaking News on Twitter of an...

And the sand lands in the power of my hands… I hold still, I hold still. And the wind blows and the minutes tick. I hold still, I hold still. What keeps me here but the movements I fear… The wind blows, the wind blows, Time moves, sand slips… I hold still, I hold still.

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day (or night) be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule and guide. Amen I don’t collect Angels, but I do have a collection. And I never thought about it before, but all my little angels have been gifted to me. Today I had a visit from an angelic older lady who noticed one of my angels on top of my office desk. She mentioned that she keeps angels next to photos of her children as protection. She said she had quite a huge collection but she purchased not a one. She said all of her pieces had been given to her by loved ones, and she’s come to believe that her Angels have flown to her. As she said this and shared her story, I connected and realized that all my angels have come flying to me too! I remember once at a Melungeon conference with my Mom, sister and ex-boyfriend when a total stranger came up to me and handed me her angel lapel pin. She tapped me on the shoulder as I sat next to family in the hotel c...

Paul Gauguin… I don’t know a whole lot about art, but I sure do like this guy’s work. Born in Paris, France in 1848, post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin spent time with family in Peru during his early years and traveled the world during his adult life looking for the wild and exotic. He was mad about color and obsessed with bringing the human experience to life. He traveled throughout Europe and the Americas and eventually found his way to the beauty of Tahiti. He died 700 miles away in Hiva Oa on the Marquesas Islands. Below are a few pieces of his work which speak to me.