I Bid You Love In Your Rest: Words to My Brother David

Image

I Bid You Love In Your Rest: Words to My Brother David

Rest in love my baby. I think of you in seconds, never minutes, sometimes for hours. You were powerful in your waking life-lived til you died, so now I bid you love in your rest. You would’ve given your arm to be broken, been kicked by a mule to have anyone love you. I brink on the same reality, only in the dark. In the light I smile-best to covet my need. Sadly, I find myself looking to strangers to fill voids as if they owe me a damn thing. We are not so different after all. We lived to trust, be vulnerable, yet there are limits to this shit. Hard to accept that your eyes see more than mine now. I never wanted that. I always wanted to see for you, carry you, lay down my heart, so you could walk over trouble. Rest in love lil big bro. -Gracie

Open Letter to the Lancaster Newspaper in PA on Maya Angelou’s Death

Image

Open Letter to the Lancaster Newspaper in PA on Maya Angelou's Death

I went to the local Turkey HIll today hoping to purchase a newspaper highlighting Maya Angelou’s death or at the very least a literary work in celebration of her iconic contribution to humanity. Given the weather today and being in somewhat of a hurry I searched haphazardly looking first to the front page of my local newspaper for an article, a blurb, or something about her and nothing. So on my quest I searched a variety of newspapers and happened upon a beautiful front page article by USA today who had done an honorable job highlighting her life. Can someone in Lancaster Pa please help me understand why Maya Angelou’s death didn’t make front page news here? And perhaps I’m over reacting, but I don’t understand how this can happen in 2014 when other icons who’ve passed on have been honorably mentioned on the front page, for example Mickey Rooney who died back in April. I mean she was an internationally respected, African American author and poet, publisher of seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning more than 50 years. Respectfully, I would like help understanding why she didn’t make front page news? And more curiously if she is mentioned at all in your carbon copy publication aside from the online publication? As a woman of color, deeply affected by her death, and an avid support of the Lancaster Newspaper I need help understanding this. -Gracie

Iconic Laverne Cox: Transgender woman, Advocate, Actress

Image

Iconic Laverne Cox: Transgender woman, Advocate, Actress

“What a wonderful bday present! Yes today is my birthday and I am on the cover of @TIME magazine. I realize this is way bigger than me and about a tipping point in our nation’s history where it is no kinder acceptable for trans lives to be stigmatized, ridiculed, criminalized and disregarded. This is for my trans siblings out there and for anyone who has ever been told that who you know yourself to be at your core is not legitimate. You are who you know yourselves to be.” -Laverne

I Wish Hooters Was Booters lol!

Image

Booters lol!

I wish hooters was booters: Sometimes when I’m posting about life’s many happenings I forget about fashion and clothes, hence was one of the main reasons I started this blog (girlrillavintage). The world is a beautiful kaleidoscope- taffeta of glorious stains, distinguished from the surface. Everyone scratching and etching their very own into it’s fabric. A fabric so vast. Every creature breathing to hold space in their very own ways, for all existence-all of us entangled in a web like natty goodness. Any whosters. I found this tank at the thrift earlier this year. I’ve thought long and hard for as long as I can remember, or for as long as Hooters has been in business about how I wished Hooters was in fact Booters ’cause I’m bottom heavy, yah a dig meh? To me ain’t no shame here, embrace here. Booters are like some organic, home grown veggies and fruit, good for the soul and not bad on the eyes at all. Dates back to my mamas, mothers, grandmothers and nem.

Photo on 4-25-14 at 10.50 PM #5

And instead of serving up deep fried anything I would serve up herbal everything (cause if you ain’t healing there is no space for you here) in my swim ‘shotes’, twerk it on a side stack of gluten free yam pancakes, or some curried lentils rolled tight in Ingera- all for the love of people. 🙂 So in the name of SAMO (Basquiat’s and such-visual artists) I kindly defaced this tank to make it personal like the battle between Ramo vs. Spit in the movie Beat Street. Changing one letter made this my shit lol! I hope ya’ll feel me on this. The ‘B’ on this tank is a symbol of my affection and how I value those bottom thickly, plump, ass oceans, tear drops, hour glass, pear shaped, Afro-grapes, chunky, curvacious, muscular skeletoned-’hipsters’ with zebra stripes, jell-O molds, creased, spread wide all out to the side, and cotton soft folds. Our thick is so fine! Sending cup love to the Hooters, but I’m gone need all of the bottom heavy tree lovers to hug the Booters lol! One love
Gracie Berriberry

 

No Matter How Connected to You’re to One You Will Never Know it All

Image

No Matter How Connected to You're to One You Will Never Know it All

No matter how intimate of a relationship or closeness you have with another person, you will never know every trauma nor every happy time they carry behind their eyes and in their hearts. Shit gets real deep with folks and only they know how deep it goes. Hold space for people to filter their knowing, if they so choose. In love light this morning.-Gracie

29 Clever Though Provoking Drawings That Will Make You Question Things in the World by Pawel Kuczynski

Image

29 Clever Though Provoking Drawings That Will Make You Question Things in the World by Pawel Kuczynski

“Even if you don’t agree with the messages behind some of these illustrations, it’s impossible not to appreciate the creativity involved in them. Maybe we really do need to start paying more attention to the things we accept as part of our daily reality.” Check out Pawel’s website here! http://www.pawelkuczynski.com/index.php

Images here-http://themindunleashed.org/2014/05/29-clever-drawings-will-make-question-everything-wrong-world.html