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!

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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.

Nicknames

Nickname. I don’t get it. Why not a TOMNAME or a JENNYNAME? Why does Nicholas get all the fame? Who is he, some sort of bigshot? When you think about it, how could we ever get along without nicknames? Many nicknames are cool like Rob instead of Bob for Robert. Some...

The Battle with Childproof Packaging

How did he die? Didn’t he have his nitroglycerine pills in his hand? Those pills would have surely saved him! And so it goes . . . Childproof, foolproof, theft proof, you name it proof. All packaging has now become a worthy opponent that takes power, ingenuity, and...

Fingertips Part 2

With Stevie Wonder set to appear at Caesars Casino across the border in Windsor, Canada at the end of this month, I couldn’t help wondering where all the time has gone. I checked out a 1963 video on YouTube of Stevie performing at the Motortown Revue at the Apollo...

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...

United We Stand; Divided We Fall

This well-known phrase is often assigned to Patrick Henry in his 1799 speech urging against dissenting factions that could have torn apart the fragile union of the United States of America. The phrase, however, existed long before Henry uttered those words as it was...

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...

I, I, I, I, I . . .

You know them; you hear them; you recognize them: the people who cannot have a conversation without using the first-person pronoun multiple times in a space of minutes. English teachers forbid the use of the first-person pronoun in students’ essays for several good...

A View of Death

William Cullen Bryant wrote a poem called “Thanatopsis” which is a Greek word that means a view of death or a reflection on death. Before you assume that this is a terribly depressing poem or that this blog will encourage you to stay under the covers crying yourself...