A Place for Remembering and Changing

It is about time you found us. We have been waiting for you! Please make yourself at home as we conjure up some memories for you about the “good ole days.” Did you have an Aunt, Uncle, Grandma, or Grandpa who loved to share his or her memories? Weren’t those times enjoyable as the past was connected to the present? Have you ever gotten lost in a story, a movie, or even a song that took you back to a specific time, place, or person? If so, you have found the right place for remembering.

However, if memories are all that you are looking for, this is NOT the right place for you. What you will find here are real life anecdotes designed to show you that Blacks and Whites are quite similar but unique. You will be challenged to put aside ignorance which causes preconceptions and stereotypes. Don’t worry. You will not be scolded or preached at. In a subtle fashion, you will discover and remember what you already know in your heart. This site will allow you to put your life on pause and then cause you to be refreshed by your reflections on the “good ole days.” Perhaps this site will even help you improve your perception of racial issues in America. Please enjoy.

Buy the Book

The story revolves around two people who lived during the same time, roughly 1950 through the present. The setting is the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Now available on Amazon!



Spread the Word

Do you know someone who grew up in Detroit in the 1950’s and 1960’s? Or maybe that someone is you! Let’s spread the word about this site and the book so we can reminisce together.

Join the Conversation

Each blog article has open comments, why not jump in and tell us if you had a similar experience. Or maybe you’ve got a story of your own to share – we’ll be publishing guest posts soon! Get in touch.

Respect

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Find Out What It Means to Me RESPECT: a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Two words in the above definition trouble me: feeling and elicited. Let’s start with “feeling.” Is...

Gag me with a spoon

GAG ME WITH A SPOON: A Valley girl phrase used as an exclamation of disgust Over the years, my good friend Denny McMahon and I would “disgust” each other by texting the name of or a phrase from a song that could “gag” us. We have had a lot of fun with this trying to...

Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?

Thomas Hardy, a British author, wrote this poem in the mid-1800s. I read it a hundred years later while teaching English at Oakwood Junior High in what was then called East Detroit, Michigan. If you think this is going to be a mournful blog about death, you may be...

Don’t Stand So Close to Me

Although the Police’s smash hit “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” was about a school girl’s fantasy about her teacher, the point of standing too close to someone can have the same connotation along with several others. Seinfeld did a skit on the “close talker” which was so...

Sarkesian Book Club Recap

Mrs. Suzanne Sarkesian invited Thomas Marsh and me to appear at her book club which we did last week. Suzanne had asked us to appear even before we had finished writing the book! Encouragement like that was certainly a boost to our enthusiasm and confidence. When we...

Please Pass the Cherry Kijafa

I can still hear my dear Aunt Helen gleefully requesting a refill on Christmas Eve. What a great time it was with the anticipation of Santa and the cool presents he was sure to bring. This blog is meant to jog your memory as you reminisce about traditions you...

Update on the Movement

This weekend the 2nd Annual Black and White Like You and Me Breakfast was held at the restaurant of my former student at Brother Rice High School, Peter Andoni – Shields Restaurant in Southfield, Michigan. Over the past week, I could not help reflecting on the past...

Back to School

The cycle of life can be realized by referencing the questions: what grade are you in now? when did you graduate? what class reunion will you be celebrating? We have this common bond of the experience of school. Much has been written and sung about this experience...