Guest columists
“Lessons in Love and Loss” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings, veteran Hot Tea and Ice Sippers--and those new to the blend of wisdom I offer! It has been more than a minute since my words graced this space. A lot has happened to me: some good, some bad, and some I haven’t quite figured out—and how exactly to understand the lessons I [...]
“I'm an ‘Old School New Kid’--and I Own It.” Guest Writer: W.D. Foster-Graham Yes, that's what my teenage Millennial son would call me in this age of social media, iPhones and Internet branding. How did I, that 21-year-old version of myself, survive without the bells and whistles of 21st century technology? But hey, I'm a Baby Boomer and I own [...]
“Loving U Is Beautiful” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings, Hot Tea and Ice Sippers! I send you all springtime wishes of non-allergy inducing days and seasonably warm nights. This is the time of the year we spring forward and make plans to shed our winter woes and embrace a new season of potential. One thing I encourage everyone to put away with the [...]
“Taking All the Time You Need” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings Hot Tea and Ice Sippers, and Happy 2018! Trusting the New Year has treated you well and the novelty of snow days hasn’t worn off. It’s amazing how a weather occurrence that brought many of us so much joy when we attended elementary and middle school evokes so much misery now. [...]
“Are You Wearing a Mask?” Guest Writer: R. L. Norman We ran down the dirt road to the little store to buy candy. It was me, my little brother and my cousin. My grandfather had given us each a dollar. He made us promise not to tell my grandmother because she would have said it would spoil our dinner. [...]
“Appreciate, Don’t Hate” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings Hot Tea and Ice Sippers! I trust you are well. The temperatures are dropping, clothing is getting thicker, and we are getting into that holiday frame of mind. Even if you do not subscribe to a particular faith, the remainder of 2017 should offer you at least one day to spend time with loved ones, [...]
“Love Is Not Always Blind” Guest Writer: R. L. Norman I stood at the door to the apartment, preparing myself for the mystery that was in store for me. “Behind this door might be my perfect soulmate,” I thought. I checked my clothes, my breath, my hair—everything. I had to make sure that I was totally “on point.” My hopes soaring, I got up the [...]
“Roll With Being A Role Model!” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings, Hot Tea and Ice Sippers! Trusting you are well and staying cool this summer. I’m currently giving thanks every day for air conditioning, cool beverages, and lightweight clothing. Although I’m a Southerner by birth, this heat is something else! Despite the high temperatures, I spent this past Fourth of July [...]
“Four Simple Words of Comfort” Guest Writer: R. L. Norman It was so dark in the room that I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. It was so dark that I could probably hear a pin drop; that’s if a pin did drop. I know that if I were a kid, I would probably be scared, calling for [...]
“Parents Are People, Too!” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings, Hot Tea and Ice Sippers! I send a virtual shower of confetti and a round of kudos for the college graduates and their family members partaking of this month’s literary offering. Regardless how long the journey took, you made it to the end and you should be celebrated. Along with college graduations, [...]
“The Things We Do,” Part One Guest Writer: Mark O. Estes “I’m so drained, Evan,” Derrick mumbled to me through his meaty palms. “I’m so fucking drained with no semblance of an end in sight.” I sat across Derrick at a seemingly swanky restaurant (until they brought out the oxymoronic monstrosity of gummy, stale pasta) as he spilled his frustrations [...]
“Spring Cleaning the Negativity Out of Your Life” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings, Hot Tea and Ice Sippers! We are now officially in the middle of spring; and depending on your faith, past the pastel parade that is Easter Sunday when it seems that everyone has to break out the suits in shades of sherbets. For the most part, the weather [...]
