“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 [...]
“Who Do You Think You Arr?” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings, Hot Tea and Ice Sippers! I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready for spring to officially arrive. I love the opportunity to bundle up with thick sweaters and strut my stuff in cute boots, but I’d much rather leave the house wearing a light jacket or long [...]
“The Greatest Love Affair of All” Guest Writer: Mark O. Estes Picture, if you will, a young, Black man on a personal journey during the chaos known as New Orleans at Mardi Gras. He ends up in an establishment on Bourbon Street where the music is just as lively as the gyrating bodies keeping up with its heavy bass and [...]
“Who Do You Think You Are?” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greetings and Salutations, Hot Tea and Ice Sippers! I send well wishes, and hope that 2017 has been filled with good things. We are not going to talk about what happened in D.C. on the third Friday of this month. It is enough to say we should not focus on being discouraged. Instead, we need to [...]
“The Divine Power of Surreality” Guest Writer: Mark O. Estes Per Webster’s Dictionary, the word surreal means “marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream; unbelievable; fantastic.” The latest election; the virulent spread of false information in the form of memes, fake news sites, and sheer stupidity; and personal demons have all coalesced into a hazy blanket of what seems like a dream and [...]
“Looking Back to Move Forward” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greeting and Salutations, Hot Tea and Ice Sippers! Can you believe it has been an entire twelve months since we were introduced? My, doesn’t time fly! For those whose 2016 has been filled with all kinds of shiny and new things, I send thoughts of congratulations and celebrations. [...]
Oh, “Gawd!” You’re an LGBTQ guy or gal simply dreading THAT time of year—the holidays! Why might you be in a major funk? Well, maybe you feel you can’t be your authentic self around family: you’re still closeted. Or, you might be alone, feeling isolated. All of this can throw you into a nasty tailspin. And where do you crash [...]
“Family Matters: Not the TV Show” Guest Writer: LaToya Hankins Greeting and Salutations, Hot Tea and Ice Sippers! The holiday time is upon us with all the trappings that come with it. Travels plans will be made. Diets will be broken. And of course, the holidays are also the time that the concept of how much family matters is held [...]
Recently, I was contacted by Ms. Katie Fitzpatrick, features editor of the Torch, the official site of the Glenbrook North High School student-run newspaper, located in Northbrook, Illinois. Ms. Fitzpatrick had read my Advocate Op-Ed entitled, “Making a Great Escape from an Abusive Relationship,” and wanted to interview me for an article she was co-writing on teens in abusive relationships. (To [...]
Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse, or IPV/A, is no joke. Known as domestic violence and abuse within the LGBTQ community, IPV/A is a demoralizing, stigmatizing and potentially life-threatening cycle of behavior. And IPV/A is more prevalent than once was believed: one in four LGBTQ relationships/partnerships is abusive in some way. A recently-released study bears this out. Soon, I’ll discuss the [...]
