I remember this birthday like it was yesterday. Debbie Patrujiah made my wish come true. She got me a twist and turn Barbie Doll with real eyelashes and bendable legs. And suddenly,  I forgot all of my troubles and other gifts,  including a modeling clay kit and hot dog machine game. But now, years after Barbie’s limbs  have been broken (though her […]

Sometimes it isn’t the big things that renew our faith,  it’s the little stuff. The stuff that we should take care of ourselves while the creator of the cosmos mends the holes in our Ozone. Take for instance,  exhibit A: a broken key. Friends of mine gave me the keys to their condo while they were traveling to an exotic island […]

Okay,  so for the past six months, I’ve been living as an honorary hippie at a faith based community in Chicago’s Uptown.  If you’re not familiar with the neighborhood, Uptown is  where Chicago’s down and out congregate. There are bullets and  Baptists with pamphlets, flamboyant street walkers and shady street corner pharmacists, immigrants from Africa to Asia, panhandlers and skateboarders. Plus the colorful residents of JPUSA. And […]