Archive for May, 2010
Year 1: babies illustrating humanity and, of course, themselves
Bayar, from Mongolia, was my personal favorite, with his enormous smile and penchant for hanging out with goats. The Babies didn’t need many words; but I do. Anyone who knows me could diagnose the documentary film Babies (Bébés, Focus Features, 2010) as a Jessie-must-see: four babies from four different countries and cultures spend their first [...]
May 31st, 2010Stirring up old leaves, long settled: Willie McGee, family history, and good storytelling
Last Friday, while waiting to depart for Charleston, S.C. to visit my brother, I was listening to All Things Considered. Nothing too unusual for five o’clock on a weekday, until I heard Bridgette McGee-Robinson’s story, of an enduring curiosity and quest for answers regarding her grandfather, Willie McGee. In 1951, in the small town of [...]
May 12th, 2010Food and, after all, friends
Four days before I wave goodbye to the last semester of my undergraduate degree, I ate dinner at the house of one of my professors. It is a rather strange idea, and perhaps a little bit awkward–unless the class is South Asian politics and she’s having everyone over for some of her homemade Indian food. [...]
May 1st, 2010