Winston-Salem Fun Fly-In

Fund-raiser/can-raiser for the Maple Springs Food Pantry!  Free food and helicopter tours of Winston-Salem.   Bring a friend.  

Saturday,  May 9.   10am-2pm

The One You’re With

By Carly Pete

In Loving Memory of
MaryLynn Conrad
11/4/55 - 2/16/15

I don’t like too many complications or too much expense when it comes to my hair, so I still choose natural styles.

Recently, I had a conversation with some of you about whether I should let my hair go gray because I was getting tired of coloring it, especially with locs because it damages them. Now, if I could end up with beautiful silver locks like Toni Morrison – that could be worth it – going gray, I mean. But, no, gray hair is just not for me, not yet, as my hair is more like salt and pepper steel wool at this age.

Of course, I colored it. Because I realized the real issue I feel and the one that’s really been on my mind more lately, again, and which ends where all roads must end for us all, is aging.

Since I was six years old, aging and death have played out a beautifully tragic consciousness in my life: The only way I’ve ever learned to cope with death is by turning aging into living, to live ‘til I die, sometimes moment by moment, as gracefully and gratefully as I can – but first, to live, as most things in life are choices, and all choices have risks.

Tammy Hardin (l) with Jessie Mabe
 Go Red Event, Salem College

Friday afternoon February 13, 2015 on the eve of Valentine’s Day, Tammy Hardin, a friend, and not-for-profit management major at Salem College, hosted a Go Red event attended by faculty, staff, and alumnae in Huber Theater of the college’s new student activity center. February is American Heart Month, and Tammy was recently diagnosed with heart disease. My own mother, Abbie Peterson, died from rheumatic heart disease, non-hereditary illness, complicated by diabetes, which I inherited and have managed for the last 14 years.

“Nine out of ten women, that’s 90%, suffer from heart disease or stroke at some point in their lives,” Tammy informed us. “One in three women dies, more than all cancers combined,” she said. “But, the good news is, eighty percent of these deaths are preventable.”

WomenHeart of the Piedmont Triad hosts a monthly support group for women living with heart disease. Meetings are held every second Wednesday at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro. Lunch is provided. No registration is required. For more information, please contact womenheart@conehealth.com.

Ladies, you’re the one who is always with you and the one you should always love and take care of first. Please, if you’re 50 or older, get the pneumonia vaccine; I got mine yesterday.

Happy Valentine’s Day. 



Thanks for listening.


Carly Pete

About Carly Pete: Carly, a 2013 graduate of Salem College, earned B.A. degrees in Communication and Creative Writing. She resides in Winston-Salem, where she works as a communication consultant, lyricist and writer.

Hump Day Funk at Ziggy's

By Stephanie Barclay

Ladies and gentlemen, come get your funk on at Hump Day Funk, a weekly Wednesday night affair at Ziggy's Tavern in Winston Salem! Cass Copsey, Ashley Sutton, Scott Lewis, Andrew Lazare, Joshua Shelton and Stephanie Barclay, along with a rotating cast of sit-ins, serve you a musical experience you won't have anywhere else in the Piedmont Triad.  Show starts at  9:30 and it's free to walk in the door. So put on your dancing shoes, bring your friends, and get some funk on!

Who Really Lost Super Bowl 49

By Carly Pete

I had no distractions, no quantities of snacks to prepare, no college homework. For the first time ever, I watched the whole Super Bowl at home alone, without male commentary in the house, yet understanding the plays because of having raised sons whose lives for lengthy periods of time while growing up revolved around football, both playing and watching. Football in our testosterone filled home had always been an occasion for celebration. And, the Super Bowl? If another family member or friend wasn’t throwing a Super Bowl party, it was because our family was hosting one that year. Even those of us, mostly women and girls, who neglected to follow along religiously through the whole season became fully conscious by the Super Bowl and knew which teams were playing and who we wanted to win.

Personally, I liked the community the game built across teams, even nations, through a display of sportsmanship, fairness and reward – the one goal one bowl of it all. Over the years, I saw the Super Bowl as a worldwide event that millions of people, including couples, families and friends, watched together – the cooking equivalent of black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year’s Day for a foodie like me.

By game time I was all set – with tuna salad, red-skinned potato kale cheese soup, and homemade buttermilk cornbread – leftovers from my grandchildren’s sleepover the night before. I watched Super Bowl 49, from start to finish, contentedly alone, for the very first time…yet knowing my people near and far would be watching, too.

The game was spectacular throughout, until the last minute.

The next day, my brother said the losing play call came from the owners’ box, not the Seahawks’ coach. One son said, “bleh,” he had been busy with his family and had only half-watched the game. One said the outcome was Russell’s fault! The third son and I didn’t get a chance to talk until Tuesday night (although I’d seen a Facebook post from him Sunday after the game referencing slantgate, haha). He elicited a different issue: Christopher informed me that Pete Carroll formerly coached the Patriots, previous to Belichick. Whaaaaaaat? I did not know that…

So, had only one owner won? Had everyone else lost, in addition to Pete, like the 2000 US Presidential Election, which, in my opinion, was ultimately decided by a single vote among the five/four majority on the Supreme Court, possibly Clarence Thomas’s decision? Or, had one of these coach frenemies simply lost a bet, like in the movie Trading Places? Did Pete Carroll lose a bet and have no choice but to call that slant play? Therefore, were we – fans, quarterbacks, teams, coaches – all of us, merely pawns in their high stakes power play?

Whoever was responsible for the bad call during Super Bowl 49, that person had no meaningful relationship with the Seahawks Team and is not a winner. That part is clear.

My son, Lawrence, a football enthusiast from way back, presented an even more complex scenario to me. He pondered what might have been had the quarterback defied the powers-that-be and run the ball that last yard himself. Whew! Now, that’s real leadership, the caliber of a man who knows under which circumstances – for the people he loves and when it’s the right thing to do – to break the rules.

I give my heartfelt congratulations to Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch, and Russell Wilson, in that order…also, Malcolm Butler.

Overall, it’s irrelevant that Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick coached the Patriots in consecutive years. But, for pete’s sake – Pete, your love/hate relationship with Bill was pathetically apparent by the play you called. And, if the owner of your team or another of your coaches is responsible for that play, neither of you has a substantive relationship, understanding, nor respect enough for the Seahawks.

Hell, I think I could have coached that last minute better than you, and I’m just a girl called Pete. That last minute, as Lawrence would say, “Was crucial.”

Thanks for listening.

Carly Pete

About Carly Pete: Carly, a 2013 graduate of Salem College, earned B.A. degrees in Communication and Creative Writing. She resides in Winston-Salem, where she works as a communication consultant, lyricist and writer.

Triad Solarize Launch Party

TRIAD SOLARIZE LAUNCH PARTY

THURS JAN 29 (6:30-8:30p)

FINNIGAN'S WAKE RESTAURANT

620 N. TRADE ST.

WINSTON-SALEM, NC

Please come if you're interested in getting a FREE Solar or Energy Efficiency Assessment on your home, you want solar and/or EE done to your house or you want to volunteer to help bring these to others in the Triad at a discounted price. Up to 65% tax credits are available for 2015. Plus, we'll have free food, a presentation and reliable installers who can answer your questions, 

SIGN UP FOR FREE ASSESSMENTS AT

 SOLARIZE-NC.ORG OR COME SEE US THIS THURS!

 Email Porterkim7@gmail.com if you have questions.

We Are They by Carly Pete

By Carly Pete

So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 2Kings 6:16, New American Standard Bible.

The above scripture was the theme for the C.H.A.N.G.E. 
https://www.facebook.com/CHANGEIAF meeting I attended on January 20, 2015 at First Baptist Church on Highland Avenue. It is a much needed reminder as we continue to strive together to build

Dr. King’s Dream into the 21st Century.

A reckoning has come
A hurt to be undone
Tomorrow has begun
Who have we become?

A tender voice is heard
A legacy in words
Emboldened loud to speak
Until our hearts can reach in black and white and gray.

                                 Excerpt from Gray©2012, CBWilliams, all rights reserved.

We are the aftermath of Selma, a ragtag coalition of dreamers who are changing the world. This righteous struggle has always been about us – what we feel is most important, who we are becoming…day by day. We, who have been wounded by injustices from the past, especially those perpetrated on our watch – we, who have had the privilege of spending time together, intentionally, across isms.

We walk together, with dignity for all. We are they. Glory!

About Carly Pete: Carly, a 2013 graduate of Salem College, earned B.A. degrees in Communication and Creative Writing. She resides in Winston-Salem, where she works as a communication consultant, lyricist and writer.

#MeetupMonday with Piedmont Triad Living

By Jessica Thomas Lewis

We're starting the conversation with #MeetupMonday.  Let's get together and talk about our neighborhoods and our nation.

In recent months our nation's need for community has become clearer than ever.  We want to ensure every American can be part of a strong community that will let their voice be heard.  That's why #MeetupMonday was launched.

Who:  Open to the public, please bring a friend.  Well mannered children are welcome.

What:  A guided discussion designed to bring the community together by fostering greater understanding, empathy and respect.  Tell your story.  Meetup with neighbors.  Be heard.

When:  The second and fourth Monday of each month.  7:00-8:00 PM

Where: The Cokesbury Room in Craven Hall, Maple Springs UMC, 2569 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem

Why: To create a sense of shared destiny and common purpose

#MeetupMonday Community Guidelines

#MeetupMonday seeks to promote a forum for community engagement, civic discourse, and open dialogue about local and national issues.

#MeetupMonday supports members that are trustworthy, honest, and respectful of their fellow members and the mission of #MeetupMonday at large. 

Each #MeetupMonday event should meet the following requirements: 

• Promote civic and social responsibility
• Support #MeetupMonday mission with integrity 
• Build local community 

#MeetupMonday Discussion Guide

Created by Citizen University

Goals

These Monday conversations, launching Martin Luther King Jr. Day, are made possible by Meetup and facilitated by partners like Citizen University and others.

Our hope is for participants to:

• see and hear each other more fully
• build trust and empathy
• create a sense of shared destiny and common purpose

Rules

We’ll follow a simple 60-minute “talking circle” format. Form circles of 6-8 people. Agree on a timekeeper to guide the process. 

Participants introduce themselves by answering, in 3 minutes or less, a simple question: Why did you show up today?

Everyone gets a chance to speak for 3 minutes to the topic you choose (see next section).

Participants respond to each other with questions or reflections.

Each participant commits to a next step, like volunteering or getting involved in local issues or organizing more gatherings.

Here are some ground rules for productive conversations:

• listen deeply and compassionately – don’t interrupt to disagree or comment
• respect the circle – turn off devices; don’t speak for more than allotted time
• everyone gets heard – no one speaks a second time until all have spoken once
• “yes, and” – don’t respond with “no” or “but”; try to bridge with “yes, and”
• disagree well – don’t accuse others or be defensive; assume good faith

Topics

Here are a few possible questions that may start and center our conversation. 

• What is your dream for America now?
• How can citizens like us build what King called “the beloved community”?
• How do we convert protest to empowerment?

Each time round the circle, unexpected human connections will emerge. Listen for them. If the conversation drifts, return to the topic. There’s no “correct” outcome—but if everyone commits to sustaining the conversation, you’ll come up with ideas. And you’ll be practicing the kind of citizenship our country needs today.