Boom Papa Maw Maw

Reflections of a Grady Doctor: Top Ten: Grady, baby!

Finally, he reaches her. First he just cups her face in his hands and I catch a glimpse of a warped band on his left ring finger. And her? She is smiling like a fourteen year old girl . . .I tell you the truth. Then he says, "Heeeeey, baby." All soft and throaty. Really in a tone just for her, but since I was being nosy, I heard it, too. And she responds by just smiling more. After that, he plants one on her. . . .pressing his lips against hers in that slow-ish, deliberate-ish way that older folks sometimes do. But then something happened. That dry-lipped "welcome home, baby" kiss morphed into something else. Mr. Happy turned his head to the side and went in for the kill. Y'all! Mrs. Happy dropped her two bags and wrapped her ample arms around his shoulders. I could see her grandmother-ring with multiple birthstones on one hand and a weathered wedding band set on the other. "Oh yeah, now I know tha's true, for real. This lady right here--" He gestured at her with his thumb. "She hold me down , you hear me? Man, like Mary J. and Method Man . . .for real. This chick? She hold me the f--k down. I mean, we ain't legally married, but we married, you feel me?" He looked over at her and softened his eyes. She returned the gesture and didn't seem to mind at all being referred to as "this chick." Which made me not mind either. And yes. I got the "Mary J. and Method Man" reference. Kevin is a medical student on my team this month. It's so obvious that he cares for people in the deepest parts of his soul and I know for certain that he is going to be an exceptional physician some day. Because he is early in his clinical training, the trajectory of his growth is straight to the sky. It's amazing how much I've seen him grow in just ten days.

When the king loses his head, and other stories

A cloud of witnesses, readings on women of faith

Schwann spectrum

Punch

Yo mama!, new raps, toasts, dozens, jokes, and children's rhymes from urban Black America