"In June of 2012, I had surgery and then was in rehab for 3 months. I didn't heal well and ended up having eleven surgeries back to back. I spent the whole year in the hospital. At one point, I was in the ICU and my blood pressure dropped so low that they thought they were going to lose me. I remember the doctors and nurses standing around the bed. Later, they told me that I never stopped praying and laughing the whole time. I got the best care I've ever gotten at the Med. The doctor came around 3 or 4 times a day, and so many people prayed for me. There was one night when I was so upset. I was tired of being all wired up with IVs in me, and I was just frustrated and crying. I kept saying I wanted to go home, but I meant my house, not my heavenly home. I remember thinking about that old saying: 'When somebody comes into the world, somebody goes out.' I was expecting a great-grandbaby before long, so I thought maybe it was my time. A nurse came in and grabbed my hand and said, 'Come on, I'm going to pray for you right now.' I never gave up, and I got through it all. Wasn't nothing but God."
"I like to be with my friends. And I like dancing with scarves." Promise is a student of Ms. Toni's Dazzle Creative Dance and Movement.
Website: http://www.dazzlecreativedance.com "I've been dancing since I was eight and teaching children's classes with Dazzle Creative Drama and Movement for several years now. The focus is on motor development skills through creative dance for ages six and under. Kids can learn a lot, even at very young ages. They enjoy the props, the music, moving around, and the being silly. I love kids, love helping them discover different ways to move. I love the newness about them." (pictured here with Promise, one of the 'Twinkletoes Ballerinas') Ms. Toni is the owner / creative dance specialist of Dazzle Creative Drama and Movement.
Website: http://www.dazzlecreativedance.com "When I was in high school, I found out about a school in Kansas that gave students the option of living with a local farm family for a year, so I decided to do it. After that experience, I told my parents, 'I don't need to go to college. I know I want to be a farmer', but they said, 'No, you need to go to college. You need a back-up plan in case this doesn't work out.' They thought I was just going through a phase and I'd forget all about it. I went to small college in North Carolina and considered getting an elementary education degree there---I like teaching---but then I hated the education courses. I took some sustainable agriculture classes, but I knew I'd have the rest of my life to learn farming, so I ended up studying Renaissance Era Devotional Poetry, which really fascinated me. That's what I got my degree in: English Literature and Poetry. Then, after all that, I became a farmer anyway. Sorry, Mom! "I love working with Roots Memphis, and I actually do a lot of teaching about farming. We lease several acres that used to be part of the old penal farm and use it as an Academy for aspiring farmers. Memphis is the most food-insecure city in America, and our farmers are helping to change that by providing fresh, chemical-free food to people who otherwise don't have access to it. You can find out more about what we do and how to buy from us on the Roots Memphis page and our FB page. It's a great privilege to help change the story of this land and to make a real difference in people's lives." Mary Elizabeth Phillips Riddle is with Roots Memphis Farm Academy. For more information---
Website: http://www.rootsmemphis.org FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roots-Memphis-Farm-Academy/127948690724719 "The best advice I ever got came from my mom. She told me: 'Have faith in God. No matter how hard times are, keep your dignity. Respect everyone, no matter who they are, how they look, or what color they are.' I'm supposed to love people and be there for them, and I won't let someone's bad behavior change that."
"If I could meet anyone in history, it would be Nikola Tesla. He was a Serbian scientist who lived around the turn of the twentieth century and is the reason we have alternating current electricity. He and Edison were rivals, and Edison went to great lengths to discredit him. Tesla moved from Serbia to New York and had a huge lab there where he did a lot of experiments with electricity. He'd go over and over the possible results of his experiments in his head, running through what would happen if he did this or that, and working things out mentally before he actually conducted them. He also did public demonstrations with electricity and people---in a World's Fair kind of way. He was an electrical rock star. Everybody wanted him at their parties."
"I'm from Senegal, a little country in west Africa. I remember growing up there, spending time with friends, sitting together, drinking tea. People shared everything. If someone was hungry, they could go to any friend's house and be fed. Life is good in Senegal. I've been here for 25 years and I would like to go back and visit my country, but I haven't had the chance to do that."
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"A policeman, so I can take down people who commit crimes. When you're a policeman, you have to chase people and take them to jail. You might get hurt, but you have to protect people." "My God-given calling is to uplift, inspire, and encourage the next generation to fulfill their destiny. The most important thing I teach is love. God is love, and as followers of Christ, we want people to see his love in us. I'm the pastor of a downtown church, the 'Light of Glory International Church'. It's called 'LOGIC' for short, because, you know, it just makes sense."
"If I could sit down to dinner with anyone in the world, it would be John Waters, no question. He inspires my appreciation for the controversial. Waters is a trash filmmaker with a love for the tacky, the kitschy, and he's always pushing boundaries. Cry-Baby and Pink Flamingos --- those are a couple of his films. And Hairspray. His works are social commentaries on hypocrisy. He's done a lot of satire, exposing a messed-up version of 50's suburban life. If I could ask him one question, it would be: 'What goes through your mind when you're writing these movies?'"
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March 2021
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