Columns

The poet Mary Oliver is a hero of mine. Her attention to the natural world and the natural rhythm of our lives hints at a life that often feels impossible to me.

DEAR EDITORS: The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in USPS v.

For retired veteran Donald Hampton, military service was never just about leaving home. It was about proving something to himself and honoring a legacy that began long before he put on a uniform.

I was looking for a snappy quote that summed up my feelings about books. There was no lack of choices.

When I think about Black art, I do not first think about museums or major cities, which both house stunning pieces from melanated hands and minds. For me, though, I first reflect on my journey as a student at Southside Elementary, walking into Wanda Manning’s classroom.

One of my favorite things to do is go thrifting. Maybe this is a throwback from my childhood or maybe I am still evolving slowly into my mother, but there is nothing like the thrill of finding a quality item at a great price.

DEAR EDITORS: I am grateful for the excellent coverage of the ice storm damage in East Carroll parish and heartened by the expressions of solidarity for the citizens of Minneapolis in the last two issues. And it was simply a delight to see 4-H members with their champion animals, which took me back to the late 1950s when I exhibited my Black Angus bull Cecil (RIP) at shows in Lake Providence, Tallulah, Delhi, and Baton Rouge.

“Folks outside of Lake Providence often misunderstand Black youth by assuming we don’t have big goals or that we won’t succeed, but that is far from the truth,” said 16-year-old Jer’Miya James, a 10th grader at General Trass High School (GTHS).

Editors' note: Meg was mentioned in Cassie Condrey's January 29 column as a friend living in Minneapolis. We invited her to provide her perspective for our readers as it is rare that we receive a firsthand account of a moment in time such as this. There are many voices to be heard, of course, and some of them can be found in your social media accounts and through your internet and television news consumption. We hope to provide our readers with a more nuanced version of the simplified, bombastic approach of most larger news organizations. We hope you take something meaningful from this account.

We as a parish have weathered something intense in the last two weeks. There was the storm; the threat of escaped inmates we believed to be dangerous; the efforts to help; the venting and frustration.