Honoring the Past, Building a Future
The Prosecutors Summation to the Jury. It is not easy to hold two truths at once. That OIC has brought real good to this community: yes. That the tutoring programs, the workforce training, the wraparound services have helped people climb out of hardship: yes again. But it is also true that when council members sit … Continue reading The Prosecutors Summation: OIC and the Question of Public Trust
The courtroom doors swing shut. The prosecutor rises once more. A Financial Auditor takes the stand, sworn to testify. What follows is not rumor, not speculation, but evidence entered into the record. Today the case turns to OIC, its leadership, its ledgers, and the uneasy lines that bind public office to private control. Exhibit B: … Continue reading OIC on the Stand: Exhibit B and C
Some days, it feels like we’re living inside a Southern novel. Not the kind with porch swings and sweet tea, but the darker kind, where power and corruption hides in plain sight, and self-preservation outweighs public service. The longer I write about Rocky Mount, the clearer it becomes. We are not just observers in this … Continue reading When Real Life Reads Like a Southern Novel
This morning, I looked at this gorgeous photograph of a green craftsman bungalow, its symmetry softened by shrubs, its porch pots blooming., I purred like a kitten. The reaction was instant and familiar. I have a grand passion for bungalows, one that never fades no matter how often I've written about them or pass one … Continue reading From Rocky Mount NC: A Love Letter to the American Bungalow
Years ago, I spent time with a fabulous woman who was a therapist, a nun living away from her order. I was there for hand-holding over some adult children issues. One of the things I learned was, you no longer tell a grown-up son or daughter, but ask. Example: Not: "I want you to open … Continue reading Mind How You Go: A Gentle Way Forward In Rocky Mount, NC
Main Street Rocky Mount 