Uncategorized

Why “12 Years a Slave” Will Always Matter to Louisiana

~ Menzi ~ Leave a comment

CenLamar

I had a slight advantage over the other kids in my junior high Louisiana history class: Two of my great-aunts, Sue Eakin and Manie Culbertson, wrote our textbook, Louisiana: The Land and Its People. I was the only person in my class (and probably the only kid in the entire state) whose textbook was inscribed by its authors. Of course, this wasn’t something you brag about in junior high, and I knew it probably wasn’t wise to tell my teacher that my aunts first gave me their book when I was in the fourth grade, lest he think I had somehow already memorized the whole thing.

Sue, Manie, and my grandmother Joanne, members of the sprawling Lyles family, were all history teachers. Along with their nine brothers and sisters (including three who were lost in childhood), they were born in Cheneyville, Louisiana and raised in nearby Loyd Bridge on…

View original post 1,751 more words

My friend Abdul Rahman Kassig was kidnapped by ISIS. Here’s his story.

~ Menzi ~ Leave a comment

Hummus For Thought

The following is a story written by Erin Cory about her friend Abdul-Rahman Kassig, formerly known as Peter Kassig, who has been held by ISIS since October 2013 and has been recently threatened with death.

With Peter, June 2012. With Abdul-Rahman in Lebanon, June 2012.

I admit I have been stalling on writing this entry since Joey generously offered it to me last week. By now, we have all read about Abdul-Rahman Kassig, born Peter Kassig, and his plight in Syria at the hands of the so-called Islamic State. I have read perhaps thousands of words by reporters and people like me, who are his friends. But the truth is, the shock of seeing him in this situation, the pain of witnessing his family’s fear and grief, has taken my breath away and with it, the words to make sense of what is happening.

Tonight, for the first time, I feel as though…

View original post 1,225 more words