Two Things Thursday #18

1. New Construction. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

1. New Construction is a photo I snapped of the most recent sister construction to my apartment community. The building I call home has 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms. The one just behind my building has 1 & 2 bedrooms. This new construction is going to have 1 bedroom and Studio apartments.

I think having a trio in our community is wise, especially with more 1 bedroom apartments. Studios are also wise to have on-site.

I do not know when this construction will be completed but they’ve made a ton of progress since I’ve been here. My move-in date was August 24, 2023. Judging by how quickly they managed to do this, I would venture to say, that the project should be done by the end of this year or early next year.

I will keep you guys updated. I can’t wait to see the finished product!


2. The Last American Man is a novel by Elizabeth Gilbert. Gilbert is the author of the iconized book, Eat, Pray, Love, which was made into a movie. I own and read the book and I’ve seen the movie. I love them both.

However, I did not think I would read The Last American Man by Gilbert, but I am glad she wrote it. Her masterful way of thoughtfully placing paragraphs succinctly and using layman’s terms with a variety of flair has always lured me in. I now own four of Gilbert’s books, and I can truly say she’s fast becoming one of my favorite writers.

Here is a brief synopsis of The Last American Man:

In this rousing examination of contemporary American male identity, acclaimed author and journalist Elizabeth Gilbert explores the fascinating true story of Eustace Conway. In 1977, at the age of seventeen, Conway left his family’s comfortable suburban home to move to the Appalachian Mountains. For more than two decades he has lived there, making fire with sticks, wearing skins from animals he has trapped, and trying to convince Americans to give up their materialistic lifestyles and return with him back to nature. To Gilbert, Conway’s mythical character challenges all our assumptions about what it is to be a modern man in America; he is a symbol of much we feel how our men should be, but rarely are.

Her way of sharing Conway’s story without simply rehashing his past life and merging it into his present is stellar. She not only lets the reader into the life of Eustace Conway, but she sets a path before us to feel as though we’re walking it with him. From the abuse (both verbal and physical) he endured from his father, to the pain of being the eldest and namesake and not feeling adequate enough, to his travels all over the world, etc, Gilbert weaves a tale that doesn’t feel real, but it is.

If you’re looking for your next book, I recommend this one! It’ll give you more to think about concerning our surroundings, environment, and our way of life and have you questioning all that we have come to know in this day and age.

4891/1984

Orwell’s 1984. ©2024 Tremaine L. Loadholt

The world continues to burn.
Everyone has an agenda, but
no one has a game-plan on
how to stop the greedy from
gaining more power and the
powerful from becoming more
greedy.

“Big Brother” has his false eyes
on us, watching our every move.
Will we give our last penny to
their bullsh*t plan to alleviate
pain?
Will we morph into another
mark to make on their to-do
list?

I am falling out of love
with a place that once brought
me laughter and peace, but I
still have all my limbs and I
am not a childless mother.

I haven’t had to watch my
baby burn alive or combust
spontaneously with the push
of a button from an evildoer.

I have no murdered husband
or instantly exploded wife to
mourn; I just sit here after
devoting 8 to 9 hours of each
day increasing the net worth
of someone else, and I drown
my pain in fiction that feels real.

And while I monitor my
screen-time; both portable
and stationary devices, I can’t
help but notice how much of
my privacy is no longer private.

They’re in our thoughts.
In our foods and
clothing, too. They invade
our dreams and slaughter the
main character who is seemingly
doing well.

Because the moment you
begin to think things will
get better, the greedy and the
powerful and the “Big Brother”
with false eyes remind you
better is a century away.

Two Things Thursday #15

1. The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. ©2024 Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. Caison’s Throw. ©2024 Tremaine L. Loadholt

1. The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom is what I am currently reading. I don’t think I need to reiterate how much I love this author. So, I won’t! Lol! The book is captivating and written in a way that allows a reader to sink in totally to every chapter.

There are morsels shared here and there and the plot builds up slowly but surely. It is mind-blowing how accurately each character develops based on the initial details a reader is given about them in the beginning.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

The Time Keeper is a compelling fable about the first man on earth to count the hours. The man who became Father Time.

In The Time Keeper, the inventor of the world’s first clock is punished for trying to measure God’s greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.Mitch Albom/Books

I enjoy every moment of this book and I am happy I added this one to my Mitch Albom collection.


2. Caison’s Throw is probably going to be one of my favorite photos of my baby cousin, Caison Michael. The photo was taken by Yours Truly at his soccer game last evening. We had a blast!

He scored two goals and was such an encouraging team player!

It was the final game of the season, but I was so happy to be in attendance. With him growing up so quickly, I am taking in every event and creating lasting memories from them, too.

I’ll blink, and he’ll be an adult. I am gathering as many memories of him as I can while I can. Life is too short not to!

Two Things Thursday #12

1. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. Alanis Morissette: “Uninvited”, 7/24/1999 – Woodstock 99 East Stage (Official)

1. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a powerful book. So far, the author has pulled me in and captured me as his faithful guest–a part of his audience while he tells his tale and reveals his whole heart. It is full of pain and patience and resilience and stories from his past that I can relate to. In the book, the author has written . . . is writing a letter to his teenage son about the ways of our nation.

Based on the author’s background, his words tiptoe into my presence and slap me on my face. I love the language he uses, the imagery he creates, and his soulful way of getting his thoughts across.

Here is a summary of the book:

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. 

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. ©Copyright 2023 Ta-Nehisi Coates

If you enjoy having your mind rattled and learning a thing or two about America’s history, I recommend this book.


2 “Univited” by Alanis Morissette is such an incredible song. The lyrics are captivating and her voice is even more so. She has a way of pulling her listeners in and shaking them gently, but releasing us into the wild as we bathe ourselves in those same lyrics for years to come. It is a timeless classic and is ten times better when she performs it live.

The above YouTube video is one of my favorite performances of the song by her. I hope you enjoy it.

NaPoWriMo #24

“chaotic beauty” for Walker Lee

Walker’s Blood, Sweat, & Tears ©2024 Tremaine L. Loadholt

she black like blue
beauty trapped in
a lion’s soul–pulling her
out would be death

she’ll come for you in
your dreams and remind
you to call out to
our ancestors–to ululate
in celebration of their
resurrections

you must be out
your raggedy mind to
believe what society
feeds you, love–we
can’t get fat off
of crumbs

we can’t get rich off
of pennies
they’ll spoon-feed you
lies then tell you
you’re crazy

but chaotic beauty sits
in her rockin’ chair
on her wrap-around porch
in the devil heat
of summer
sipping iced tea

she has no ears
for gossip only
time for what matters most

and that’s the stories
of our lives–the stories
of our deaths

bring her wine and flowers
and the blood of angels
as payment for the
newness of self
you’ll receive after
your first meeting
with her

you’ll thank me
later


A good friend of mine published her second book–the one you see above, and it is beyond words for me to express what I think about it. I read it in one sitting and even then, I wished there was more. I am over-the-moon proud of her, and if you see fit, support this woman. I wouldn’t steer you wrong. Wine Flowers & Blood: Or, what the ancestors say when I’m not listening.