Posts Tagged 'Musings'

Pfingsten, White Asparagus, and Memories of Spring in Germany

Pfingsten, White Asparagus, and Memories of Spring in Germany

Two weekends ago, Germany celebrated Pfingsten, the feast of Ascension. The British name for it is Pentecost or Whitsun. It is a time the freshly blooming fields, the greening woods, hills, mountains, the flowering bushes and hedges are celebrated. The enchanting cuckoo and all other songbirds have returned. My thoughts tend to go to Germany in this verdant season. I arrived there with Mutti, my German mother on June 17, many decades ago. We left the boat that ...

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“I am the Planter of Trees in the Desert”

“I am the Planter of Trees in the Desert”

It’s Arbor Day today – April 24th. and I’m reminded of trees and identity, and a documentary I saw about the legendary and very real Timbuktu, the ancient city nestled in the middle of windswept Saharan sand dunes.

There’s something about the Sahara that has fascinated me since childhood. Perhaps because I grew up in the tropics where vegetation is dense, green, and colorful. The rainy afternoons of my childhood were spent indoors looking through my parent’s National Geographic magazines. Their ...

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Learning to Appreciate a Rich Cultural Heritage

Learning to Appreciate a Rich Cultural Heritage

After meeting my birthfather Gil, I begin to love not only him, but also the culture and history of my ancestors.

Here’s an excerpt from Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity.:

In Jamaica, so many years ago, Dr. Dezon was all set to tell me about shiploads of Caribs who were taken from the island of St. Vincent by the English and dumped on the Central American coast. At the time I was not ...

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“You’re not a Racist, Mom” - Excerpt from Split at the Root

“You’re not a Racist, Mom” – Excerpt from Split at the Root

There are several passages in Split at the Root where the protagonist finds herself at odds with being Black in the US. Here is a brief exchange with her teen-aged son:

While in the Michigan boarding school, Patrick perfected a habit of going for walks. Occasionally he asked me to join him, which I gladly accepted for, although he was friendly, he was also a ...

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How my seven-year old mixed-race son began to define issues of his identity

How my seven-year old mixed-race son began to define issues of his identity

In writing my recent book, Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity (Kindle) or Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity, I tell the story of growing up within a culture and a race that was different to my own. Here’s an excerpt:

On our first vacation we visited friends in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. We not only fell in love with the quaint village, we decided to move there. I’d take up ...

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How I decided to become a fashion model and actress

How I decided to become a fashion model and actress

During my second year at the Academy, the Mexican delegation at the International Handicrafts Fair in Munich engaged me as the interpreter for English, Spanish, and German. The dark interpreter intrigued those who had come to admire Mexican handy crafts. On April 24, 1962, an image of me smiling next to an intricately crafted Mexican silver mirror appeared in the Süddeutsche Zeitung and included a few details about me. I was causing a slight sensation as the only ...

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Want to know what the British boarding school in Jamaica was like?

Want to know what the British boarding school in Jamaica was like?

In writing my recent book, Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity (Kindle) or Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity, I tell the story of growing up within a culture and a race that was different to my own. Here’s an excerpt:

Established in 1858 and perched on a wide hilly expanse, the school was a dominating U-shaped two-story construction. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the minute I ...

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Want to know what the first time being among Black people felt like?

Want to know what the first time being among Black people felt like?

Off to Jamaica,1955In writing my recent book, Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity (Kindle) or Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity, I tell the story of growing up within a culture and a race that was different to my own. Here’s an excerpt:

My German mother and I boarded a busy ...

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Want to know what eighth grade was like in the American School?

Want to know what eighth grade was like in the American School?

In writing my recent book, Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity (Kindle) or Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity, I tell the story of growing up within a culture and a race that was different to my own. Here’s an excerpt:

The American School was more like an exclusive club than a school. I entered the English language section, which I considered a mark of distinction. It underlined ...

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Pre-pubescent insights into aspects of femininity

Pre-pubescent insights into aspects of femininity

In writing my recent book, Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity (Kindle) or Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity, I tell the story of growing up within a culture and a race that was different to my own. Here’s an excerpt:

And so, I learned that no woman in the world, “not even the Queen of England,” was spared a situation that would continue for a few days ...

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