"I love fishing. Fishing is my hobby. It eases my mind."
"The happiest time in my life was when I was with my wife and family, but I haven't seen them in a while. I just go day to day and try not to think about tomorrow. I thank God for waking me up every morning and letting me walk for all these sixty-six years.
"I love fishing. Fishing is my hobby. It eases my mind." "I am an only child. Having no siblings, I spent a lot of time reading and writing from the time I was very young. My mother was a schoolteacher, and she had kept many of her college books. A lot of them were poetry: works by Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and others from the Black Arts Movement. "Writing is my gift, my calling, and the only thing I would ever do for free. It allows me to be creative and to reflect on the events and foibles of my life. With my newest book, Hello Sunshine, I hope to share several habits that will empower readers to live their dreams. The book talks about my own experiences with the power of gratitude, stillness, benevolence, forgiveness, and tenacity." Alice Faye Duncan is a longtime public school librarian and has authored a number of books, including Honey Baby Sugar Child and her newest, Hello Sunshine: 5 Habits to Uncloud Your Day (released September, 2014) both available on Amazon.
“If I’d known how much fun it was to have grandchildren, I wouldn’t have had kids. Just grandkids!”
"I miss my mama. She's been gone nine years and two months, and I think about her every day, Monday through Sunday. I miss her cooking, her nice personality, her bright smile. She worked at Methodist Hospital in Housekeeping, and she was a white woman. Not mixed, but all white. Write that down. I told her, 'You fed me, you put clothes on my back, you sent me to school. You raised me. I'm young, and now I'll do for you.' I helped my mama every way I could. When I think about her being gone, I feel the tears coming up in my eyes. A lot of people don't cry, but I do. If I hold the tears in, it hurts me, but if I get 'em out, I feel better."
"I was going through my life blindly, trying to be a real grown-up, trying to have a 'real' job, and trying to prove that I was worthy. I ended up in a marketing position, stuck analyzing statistics. It was definitely not as glamorous as I had imagined. I was so in over my head. After a while, I realized I just couldn't do it anymore. I had to get out, and I did. For the first few months, I was depressed, lost, and just clueless. But then I decided that I had to start making art again, whether it was a 'real' job or not. I found this studio, this room, and it's become my safe place, where I come to search and heal. I moved into The Art Factory in December of last year and the moment I put charcoal to canvas, I was revived. "When I escape into my work, I can create the reality that I choose. I'm able to play. That's what I did as a child, but I lost sight of that because I had a lot of ideas about what an artist was supposed to be and I never felt like I could measure up. But I decided to make art the way I want to, and it feels right. It feels like what I'm supposed to be doing. A friend used to say to me, 'If you don't do art, you will die.' I think that for me, I think that's true." Maggie Russell has a studio at The Art Factory. More about Maggie and her work at: The Art Factory, located at 777 S. Cox (near Central BBQ on Central Avenue in Midtown), will have an Open House on Thursday, November 6, 2014, from 5-8 pm. If you're shopping for Christmas gifts, this will be a great opportunity to find some uniquely beautiful gifts: pottery, paintings, hand-crafted jewelry, etc.
Todd: "The happiest time of my life? Hmm, let me think."
Anna: "That's not hard. It's when you married Mom, right?" Todd: "Yeah, I'd definitely say the happiest day of my life was the day I married Mom. We've been together a long time, ever since high school. Her best friend introduced us. She was smart and pretty and showed me attention, but it was more than that. We have a wonderful life together. Every day is an adventure at our house. We pray together and we play together. Because of that, we stay together. I've seen other people who have a lot more money than we have, and the family ended up divorced. Happiness and love last a lot longer than money does." Anna: "I'm thankful for my family because they love me, they care for me, and they're funny." “I take my medications, but I'm disabled because of my seizures---and homeless right now, going on three months. Still looking for a place for the winter. I think I have my sister's number, and she probably has my daughter's number. She might let me move in with her. I think she will. I've stayed in the shelter some, but I’m sleeping on the street right now. Still, I’m thankful for waking up every morning.”
"I'm most thankful for a place to work and for my family. I'm finishing up a master's degree in Finance now, and I plan to stay in Memphis when I'm done."
"We've been in this neighborhood since 1995. My kids go to a good school, and three of them are on the Principal's List. I'm looking forward to progressing in my job and moving up into a manager position. I'm just thankful to be living every day. So much is going on out here, I be afraid to watch the news. It's horrible. But I love this neighborhood. I wouldn't think of moving."
"The biggest challenge I've ever faced is overcoming cancer. That was a year and a half ago. Of course friends helped too, but God is the one who got me through it. I had to rely on my faith. It's hard to know what to say to somebody who's facing an illness like that. Everybody's journey is different."
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