Yesterday and Saturday were all about touch - physical, mental and emotional. According to various studies, touch is important to human development. I concur. Saturday I had a splash of culture and connection. Drove to a Juneteenth "celebration" that was lackluster at best; I was disappointed. So much in fact, I had to call my younger sister to recount my disbelief that there really wasn't a celebration happening at all. It could've been a birthday party in the park, except it didn't look as festive. On one hand, there was rain on & off and people tend to hibernate when that happens. On the other, the weekend of Juneteenth wasn't a surprise. I heard some of the vendors didn't show & it's the lack of community involvement that speaks volumes about the ills of this city. I'm going to research the contact info. and maybe I can help jumpstart planning for next year's celebration this year. Something has to change - egads, man! Disappointed and dismayed, I took it as a sign that I was meant to head to one of my fave restaurants, Po'Shines Café de la Soul. On the way there, I stopped in at an Afrikan market. The shelved items were sparse, but there were a couple of items that caught my eye, including a family sized tin of Milo. The owner of the market was friendly. I plan to return to the market and hope to see a bit more inventory; the market's a good and necessary idea. Afterwards, I headed to Po'Shines where, of course, I received wonderful service and quality food. Po'Shines managed to serve healthy portions and meals that still stuck to the ribs. I also had some of their sorrel drink made on-site. It was a pleasant surprise to find a smoothie bar there as well. The smoothies looked yummy and I was tempted, but it was cold & rainy outside, so I stuck to the sorrel drink. The staff, as always, were warm in their greeting of every patron who walked into/out of the restaurant. There were smiles a-plenty from staff and diners alike. I ordered the chicken and waffles, but had a hard time deciding which delectable dish I wanted. I sat down to read and enjoyed most of my meal. I had to take half of it with me, because I was full, but the prospect of having that delicious meal later that night made me almost dance out the door. I headed to GigiBar, one of my fave coffeehouses/hangouts. The owner, Gigi, was there and so was Naomi, a cheerful young woman who makes a mean (read: good) Mexican mocha. Picked up a new, local mag and am still reading it, but so far, so good. It's a well-produced debut issue and I think it will do well. I'll review it in a future post. As if all of that drinking & grubbing weren't enough, I headed to Ladd's Inn, my fave tavern, for Texas Hold 'Em poker fun and of course, more drink & grub. It was nice to see a bunch of familiar faces and get hugs. I didn't win, but I did have fun and that was almost just as good. Almost. One of my fellow poker pals is also a creative type, so we were chatting about inspiration, lost muses and creativity after the game, then it was time for karaoke to start. I hadn't had a chance to karaoke there (or anywhere) in quite some time, so I was happy. I karaoked three songs and had a blast. Got hugs from the fun and funny KJ, Crystal, as well as a couple of fellow karaoke geeks. Fun times indeed! I got home in the wee hours of Sunday am and had to be at Harmony Farms for A Touch of Portland at 10:30 am. I was tired, but excited. I had no idea what to expect, but I didn't expect to have as much fun with touching as I did. That re-cap will follow later. My "currently listening" selection I discovered from listening to Firefly's program on KBOO. Peace, Moi  | 
