Crime, Privacy, And Your DNA

The methods used by authorities in the arrest of accused serial killer, former police officer, Joseph James DeAngelo, have brought to light concerns expressed by people monitoring the public’s right to privacy in genealogical DNA testing. DeAngelo was arrested after his DNA was matched to crime scene DNA, using genetic material from a distant relative, […]

The Songs Of My People

Last night I dreamed of Rosannah, my great great grandmother. The things I know of her have been gleaned from years of searching for my family. And I’ve learned, the best of her are not the dates and places that define a brief sojourn that we call life; but rather, the small, powerful, daily activities […]

In Her Honor

Every Hallowe’en I offer homage to a remarkable woman. In that tradition, I am reposting, in her honor, my heartfelt tribute. There had been rumors, rustlings of something very bad afoot. Those with whom she had spent a lifetime, and shared in the most intimate of household experiences, from childbirth to preparing a departed loved […]

I Hope You Ate Your Black-eyed Peas

Oh my stars! It is New Year’s Day, and I realized I did not have any black-eyed peas; and I am not referring to the hip hop group. No, I mean the simple, tried and true legume. I needed to get to the grocery store, pronto, but could not until it warmed up enough for […]

The Final Paragraph Of His Story

I do not remember when I first heard of my Uncle Max. I cannot think of a time when I did not know his name, his fate, and to never, never mention him in front of my grandmother. I have been thinking about him a lot lately, because he wanted to be a writer, and […]