When winter comes to Texas — He had gone into the garage and cried when the power went out the night before. Jason had hidden his tears, having no right to shed them. But something within him had been broken when the power went out as the winter storm blew into Houston like a slap to…

And no family was there to save me — When I was six and my brother was four and a half years old, our mother went to prison for the first time. Two Houston police officers drove a squad car into the parking lot of our small inner-city apartment complex, loose gravel crunching beneath their tires. The officers did…

Our mothers and fathers are the punchlines of your jokes — Readers please note: this story includes descriptions of addiction, suicide, and child exploitation. If you need help, contact the National Helpline. My mother was a crack cocaine addict for more than twenty years. Being her son was a lonely thing. It was not easy. Everyone thought it was a dirty…

I didn’t want to simply have a nice house in a bad neighborhood — I bought a little house a couple of years ago. It sits on a mostly quiet street in a mostly Black subdivision, with a good amount of Latinos. The larger area of Houston, of which my subdivision is a part, is called Sunnyside, and it has a reputation for being…

A certified sommelier’s tips for choosing the right wine every time — Five nights a week I work the floor as a sommelier at a high-end steakhouse in Houston, Texas. Houston is America’s fourth-largest city, and we love our steakhouses! Houston is also a city with one of the liveliest and most diverse food and wine scenes in America. …

How Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars robbed fellow Academy Award winners of their moment The history of the Academy Awards, or the Oscars, is filled with the jokes of comedians from Billy Crystal to Whoopy Goldberg, Steve Martin, Chris Rock and many more. It is typical for…

The Texas abortion ban takes freedom of religion away from all of us — The new Texas abortion law that all of America is talking about, is nothing more than Texas style religious law. American religious leaders are being allowed to force their religious beliefs on all Americans. This law is yet another attempt by the religious right, and the mostly religious white men…

A follow for a follow: the blogger’s drug deal — Since I joined Medium eight or nine months ago, I’ve always seen hopeful writers on Facebook, Twitter, etc, asking for people to follow them in exchange for them following you. Follow for a follow, the blogger’s drug deal. …

Besides the chance of winning one of the writing contests — I’ve seen a number of people express concerns about Mediums writing contests. Some have said they won’t be participating in them for reasons ranging from author’s rights to judging criteria for the writing contests. …