Ramadan in the quiet spaces
This originally appeared in the Religion News Service. On the first night of Ramadan this year I visited my local mosque’s Facebook page and watched a 15-minute sermon by the imam. He scanned the room as he spoke, looking right and left, as though engaging a real audience, although there was none. He was addressing an empty prayer hall as […]
Remain in Mexico
This poem originally appeared in eMerge and was inspired by my volunteer work at the southern border, and the impact of the “Remain in Mexico” policy on asylum seekers there. there is the Rio Bravo, a green viper you could ride away from the tent city but for remembering Oscar’s failed swim baby girl tucked in his shirt, wriggling gulping, […]
Of migrants and justice: My trip to Brownsville/Matamoros
In mid-July I volunteered assisting migrants on the Texas-Mexico border, carrying donated items from community members in Houston. I wrote this to thank the donors and describe my experience. As I drove to Brownsville last week to volunteer helping migrants at the Mexican border with Team Brownsville, I only had to glance at the back seat, where bags and bags […]
These hijab-wearing dolls break barriers. But what’s their impact on the girls who play with them?
This article originally appeared in The Lily. When I was a kindergartener in the 1960s, I, like many other little girls, owned a Barbie. She was a miniature blonde with a big bosom and a tiny waist and wide, surprised-looking eyes. She had rubbery legs that bent at the knee, which I moved back and forth so much they eventually […]
‘This is our angel now’: Houston community rallies for justice in aftermath of Jazmine Barnes slaying
This originally appeared in The Lily, a Washington Post magazine. The rally began at noon with the clamor of dozens of motorcycles, and ended with the release of purple and white balloons into the afternoon sky. On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered in the parking lot of the Walmart at 5655 E. Sam Houston Parkway, the scene of Jazmine Barnes’s […]
Own the hot flashes: Tips for menopausal hikers
This originally appeared in The Trek. You may see them infrequently. You may wonder at their skill or endurance. If you’re the average AT thru-hiker—young and male—you may worry about their safety and health. Don’t. Women 50 and over have as much strength and determination as any long-distance hiker. Most of them have faced one of the greatest challenges of […]
Hiking with puppies
I hiked with puppies! Excited, yipping, furry balls of fun. Or so I thought. I was on a solo overnight backpacking trip in the Kelly section of the Lone Star Hiking Trail. The Kelly section is in the Sam Houston National Forest, roughly 90 miles north of my home in southeast Houston. My hike had taken me down a singletrack […]
