Category: Art

Two Things Thursday #6

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1. Tattoo#7, “October Star” for my cousin, Chrissy. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. Jernee Timid in Red. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

1. October Star. The first image is my latest tattoo which is a tribute to my cousin Chrissy who passed away on February 18, 2022. What you see before you is “October Star.” Chrissy was born in October and she lit up everyone’s life. I dubbed her our October Star and she will always be that to me/us.

For those of you who do not know, I also compiled several narrative poems, lamentations, and memorial works along with colored photos for her, aptly named, October Star. Information for the book can be found here.

Making this tattoo number 7 for me was a no-brainer. It seems right. It feels right. And I have a feeling Chrissy is smiling and is also pleased with it.

2. Jernee Timid has two new shirts. Since it is getting just a bit warmer, she doesn’t need to wear her sweaters or her hoodie, so I purchased two new T-shirts for her. One is light grey and the other is red.

She is casually donning her red shirt in this photo while commandeering my chair and electric blanket. She likes both shirts and gets aggravated when I take them off at night before she goes to bed. She wants to sleep in them, but I know she’ll get overheated during the middle of the night.

There’s never a dull moment with Jernee, and I have to say, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Two Things Thursday #5

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1. Pictured Poetry created by Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. James Baldwin Quote from The Minds Journal

1. brave is a poem that came to me this past Sunday evening. Words are funny in a way for me; they come tapping at my brain unannounced, and I have to lend them the attention they are seeking to move forward with my day/night.

I think if more of us were brave enough to love hard–truly love at our most vulnerable and genuine selves, we’d get rid of some of the tragedies that befall this world. I am still praying and hoping we can move toward this form of bravery.

2. A James Baldwin quote … if you’re not familiar with Sir James Arthur Baldwin, I am unsure of how to give you the details you need to become familiar with a forceful voice, poetical talent, and literary icon who only graced this earthly space for sixty years.

He was an activist and outspoken about the various racist acts that plagued our nation and world during his time. If you couldn’t glean where he was coming from by reading his work, you could definitely feel his passion and understand his dedication to righting the wrongs that were in place by watching some of the interviews he agreed to do.

I’ll leave you a snippet from one of his interviews below so you can see for yourself.

James Baldwin

Lily and the Valley

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Flash Fiction

Photo by Alex Kinkate on Pexels.com

Lily spent fifty years scaling a mountain that held no form of life on it. Her quest, given at the time of her birth, was to find Valley and make a home there.

But how would she do this if the mountain that held no form of life on it spun continuously in the opposite direction of where she needed to be?

A revolving door? A nightmare? A terror? A thing no one wants around?

She needed to rid herself of this mountain and soon.

Tree and Sun tiptoed into her line of sight. Moon and Air brought their heaviest armor. Stars and Ocean swirled into the Air and channeled Tsunami. Monsoon held Highway’s hand.

A reunion took place no one envisioned.

Everyone gathered at the bottom of the mountain and raced to the top of it for Lily. They brought life to a place that had never seen life before. And soon, Mountain opened its eyes, breathed in the things circling around it, and panted ceaselessly.

It was alive!

And knowing this, Mountain cracked its body, shifted twists and turns, and knocked edges of rock off its back, creating a path for Lily. Swerving at the speed of sound, Lily found her way to Valley and settled into its embrace. She looked toward Mountain’s direction and noticed every form of life exited to their own assignments; leaving Mountain alone again.

“Valley, all it needed was life.”

“So life, it will have.”

Valley stomped her feet and whispered to everyone simultaneously, “Send tiny pieces of you to Mountain. Give it some of your life.”

And as each form of life did as they had been ordered, Valley and Lily offered up tiny pieces of themselves, too.

Mountain seized from the outpouring of love and cried tears of joy. Moments later; grass grew, lilies sprang up at every turn, rain poured in patchy spots, trees shot up from the ground, and life began living in a place that needed it most.

Lily and Valley stood in awe of their magic and inhaled the goodness around them.

Their mission had been accomplished.

Two Things Thursday #4

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1. Spaghetti & meatballs with spinach. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. The next book I’m reading; Finding Me by Viola Davis. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

1. This past Sunday, I made spaghetti & meatballs with spinach, and it was absolutely delicious! I like to add spinach to my spaghetti along with fresh garlic, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, brown sugar, onions, bell peppers, and a dash of hot sauce. I made such a big pot of it that I just finished it off last night!

I don’t think one can go wrong with spaghetti. It’s relatively easy. It’s convenient. It’s semi-healthy (depending on how you prepare it), and it lasts long (well, if you don’t have many people to cook for, that is).

2. The next book I began reading is the one you see above by the incomparable Viola Davis. I have a feeling, Finding Me is going to be an incredible read . . . something pulled me toward it, and now I am locked in and ready to be its willing partner for the next one to two weeks.

I love Viola! She’s amazing at what she does; acting and producing. She also has multiple awards to show for her excellence. IMHO, she definitely deserves more.

Two Things Thursday #3

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1. Boys And Girls Screaming by Kern Carter
2. bell hooks quote

1. I am currently reading the above book, Boys and Girls Screaming by Kern Carter. Kern is a vulnerable and incredibly talented writer I met through the platform Medium. He uses language in a way I do not see used often, and he is also unafraid to write from various different perspectives.

So far, the book is tearing at my heartstrings and has kept me more than engulfed in it since I began reading it this past Monday night. Here’s a snippet of the synopsis, just in case you’re interested:

When Ever’s father passes away suddenly, she is devastated. Not long after that, her mom has a stroke and Ever’s anguish becomes almost too much for her to handle. That’s when she gets the idea to form a group she calls Boys and Girls Screaming. Along with her brother, Jericho, and her best friend, Candace, Ever wants to bring together kids from their school who have suffered trauma so they can share their stories and begin to heal.

2. The second thing for this Thursday is a favorite quote of mine from bell hooks. I don’t think I really have to say much about bell. You can google her name and read about her on various research and informational sites and you’ll find out she was a writer with which to be reckoned. She had a way of placing words together that you typically wouldn’t see, but bell would make them work and WORK, they always did. I have three of her books in my collection and I intend to purchase more.

She died in December 2021, leaving quite a literary legacy behind.