Midnight on Christmas morning 1979 in Phoenix, Arizona was not like the ones before, when it was just me and mama. I didn’t dream of the presents I’d open later in the day. I wasn’t thinking of toys like The Six Million Dollar Man or Pulsar action figures that Santa…

Various shades of charcoal gray shadows surrounded me in the room’s morning darkness. My heart thudded in the center of my chest as I pinched the bridge of my nose, an attempt to stave off the hot tears threatening to spill down the sides of my face. Rolling left into…

There have been quite a few starts since my first attempt to write about him. I believe I’ve run out of the fuel needed to keep our story hidden. But I’m afraid to commit to revealing who I was and what we did during those six years of living together…

Just after lunch on Friday, September 6, 2019, I walked by the small office of my supervisor for the last time. As I entered the dimly lit elevator bay, laughter crashed out of the accounting department across the way. The right elevator doors slid open as soon as I pressed…

Many gay men talk about the closeness, the special bond they have with their mothers. “…being gay might be a factor that makes some mothers and sons even closer (Psychology Today, 2011).” Many of my gay friends have shared with me that their mother is their best friend. Of my…

“You don’t have to keep talking like that. There are no white people around.” Laughter erupted in the cramped copy room, as the cluster of African-American work colleagues congratulated the accounting clerk on what she said to me. …

I’m an American, who’s been mostly in Europe since October 2019 as a digital nomad, mainly in Stockholm, Sweden. This is after years of employment as a graphic designer at a Los Angeles-based investment banking firm. Now, as a freelance designer, writer, and podcast host and producer for Our Black…

An American expatriate shares his love of his home country in conjunction with the changes he hopes will come with a new president. — On a cross-country train in Sweden, heading to Malmö from Stockholm, I watched the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. As I watched the country’s first female vice president get sworn in, enjoyed Lady Gaga’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and listened to Jennifer Lopez sing…

As part of our intro, “the joys and challenges of being introverts” is what my co-host Jenny and I say at the beginning of each episode of the Wallflowers in Bloom podcast. Debuting on April 1, 2020, we encourage those who identify as introverts to live their best lives. …