Feel It

"The absence of tradition at home made room for its abundance to be experienced elsewhere.  Those of us who grow up without deep running family customs feel a freedom that tradition-filled lives don’t always allow – the freedom to unapologetically miss holidays, birthdays and other “special” times of the year, to go off and seek spaces of connection out in the world."

"His skin was cold to the touch and I accepted that his physical death was real with the understanding that so long as I have the ability to think, to dream, to imagine and to write, he will always live."

"The sweet twin-isle nation is equal parts spicy, saucy and rich with culture. Just like its food."

"The burning pimento wood. The fire-eyed spices. The warm briny sea water. The crack of a fresh Red Stripe beer."  If you want real jerk chicken in Jamaica, head to the road.

"Served for breakfast, as post-cricket fuel or on Christmas or Easter morning, saltfish and bake has always been tied with feelings of togetherness for me, and serves as an instant cure for subtle bouts of homesickness."

"I heard an old saying once, that “if you want to learn your lover’s language, you suckle on their tongue.” In the Low Country, that language is spoken through the food and it wasn’t until I married my wife, whose family traditions were woven into the cooking, that I began to understand it."