Today Facebook notified me of someone’s birthday. Sadly, she died several years ago. My first reaction was to brighten up when I got the notification. She had been a student—the hard working, teachable, interesting kind. The best kind. But then the cloud descended, the sadness, the anger about cancer and all it’s stolen from this world, from me.

I had been thinking about death already because yesterday I held a writing workshop at Gilda’s and I expected a participant to attend who wanted to write a graphic novel. But he died between signing up six months ago and the beginning of the workshop.

Cancer changes a lot of things. For me, it ushered in a an era of loss. So many people I’ve come to know—some very well and some just acquaintances—have died. Their names and faces linger in my mind and heart.

I look at death differently, or maybe I just feel it differently since cancer. Each death pierces me, some punctures deeper than others, but all of them sharp. I no longer shrug off death. It is no longer a distant sadness, an inevitability. It feels personal.

Cancer becomes a monster, a beast preying on vulnerable human beings, turning children into the motherless and wives into widows. It hollows out families, crushes spirits, and lands solid blows on friends, colleagues, teachers.

As I continue to be involved with the cancer community, I feel my anger growing into rage. And, I feel overwhelming guilt because my own cancer was so mild.

Sorrow is a flood sometimes, leaving us treading the waters of grief, exhausted, afraid, empty, waiting for the waters to recede.

A few people have encouraged me to stop engaging with the cancer community. It is awash with sadness and suffering and I understand why someone would want to protect me from that. But it’s not a community I can leave. I don’t know that I’ll ever stop feeling that it is my community and a kind of home.

I think that cancer is never over for some of us. Those of us in remission still have traces of the disease left behind whether they are psychic or physical. The late effects of the disease and treatment still shape our lives and our reactions, our day-to-day being in the world and our choices.

Cancer has a way of demystifying death and revealing it to be the brutal, relentless force that it is. Jason Isbell has a song, “Elephant,” whose lyrics hit me hard:

There’s one thing that’s real clear to me
No one dies with dignity
We just try to ignore the elephant somehow

There’s no ignoring the elephant for me anymore. It is the fallen angel on my shoulder whispering, “I’m here.”

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Coming off of their 109-107 win against the Porzingis-less Dallas Mavericks on Monday, the Bulls (21-40) look to keep the momentum going in the right direction as they hit the road to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves (18-42).

Most notably, Minnesota will be without Karl-Anthony Towns (fractured left wrist) for this one, while Zach Lavine (sore left quad) has been ruled out and Lauri Markkanen (pelvis) is a game-time decision for the Bulls.

Keep Feeding Coby

Over the course of a lackluster season for the Bulls, one of the few bright spots has been the emergence of Coby White. White, who scored 19 points off of the bench Monday night against Dallas, is averaging over 28 ppg in the Bulls’ last 5 contests. The Bulls will need the recently named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for February to keep his hot streak going in Minnesota.

Watch Coby’s highlights against the Mavericks here.

Defend and Attack the Boards

With Lavine out and Markkanen listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game, the Bulls will have to rely heavily on their defense to carry them. Minnesota is coming off of a 139-134 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night which saw the T-Wolves score 44 points in the 2^nd quarter and get 48 points from their bench. While the Bulls are the league leaders in steals per game (10.0) and the Timberwolves are in the bottom half of the league in turnovers per game (15.3), the scales pull even when looking at the rebounding. The Bulls rank last in defensive rebounding (31.5) and 29^th in rebounding overall (42.0), while Minnesota ranks in the top 10 in offensive rebounds (10.6) and rounds out the top half of the league at 15^th with 45.1 rpg.

The Bulls are at Minnesota tonight at 7p.m.

View the Chicago Bulls remaining schedule here.

The 22^nd annual festival on May 2 in Lincoln Park/Montrose Harbor will provide free build and decorate kite kits and activities for the entire family

CLICK HERE for comprehensive list of all city and neighborhood Summer Festivals for 2020

A family favorite, the Chicago Kids and Kites Festival, returns to Cricket Hill at Montrose Harbor (Montrose and Wilson) on Saturday, May 2, from 10am to 4pm.

The free admission fest provides all you need to fly a kite including free kite kits (while supplies last) to build, decorate and fly your kite.

OR buy your own kite making materials from Chicago Kite, who will have a booth at the fest.

In addition to kids and family’s flying kites, kite-flying pro’s will be on hand including the Team Sky-FX, professional kite flyers who will display their synchronized kite flying maneuvers throughout the day.

Festival goers can also enjoy music from WeJam Academy youth DJs. 

Other family friendly activities include face painting from Indige Face, balloon artists, arts and crafts from Plaster of Paradise.

No need to go hungry, some of Chicago’s favorite food trucks will be on hand to keep fest goers stomaches from growling.

Kids and Kites Festival Information

The 22^nd Annual Chicago Kids and Kites Festival is presented by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and sponsored in part by The Boeing Company, the Chicago Tribune and 97.9FM K-LOVE and 94.3FM Air1 Radio.  

For more information, visit chicagokidsandkites.us and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@ChicagoDCASE).

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(Special thanks to Dawn Xiana Moon of Raks Geek for permission to use her Instagram post).

With early voting in Illinois starting in the wake of Super Tuesday, the results of the Illinois Primary – along with the 2020 elections – appear to be a foregone conclusion. Selecting the “obvious” choice or abstaining from voting in the 2020 elections to avoid “choosing between two evils” may appear to be the most rational options.

They’re not. Voting in the 2020 elections is more important than ever.

Cynicism is an easy pose because it avoids any sense of responsibility. Our election system may be imperfect, but it is better than the alternative.

(Besides, the last time we had an “obvious” winner was the 2016 presidential elections. With our country gradually sliding towards fascism, we cannot afford to take that chance).

But rather than pontificate about the importance of elections, a recent Instagram post from Dawn Xiana Moon of Raks Geek articulates this message – as well as her perspective – more than I can.

Enjoy!

View this post on Instagram

How much fire can some progressive WOC put in one place? We’re looking for a president with solid plans, who fights for vulnerable people, who accepts criticism and adjusts course after. ⁣ We’re voting for @elizabethwarren.⁣ And she’s electable if you vote for her too. ⁣ – Me, Michi, and Veronica bringing the fire. . . . . #warren2020 #warrenforpresident #firespinning #vote #elizabethwarren2020 #Chicago #fireperformer #performers #elizabethwarren #supertuesday #woc #democraticprimary #vote2020 #video #videooftheday #videos #votevotevote #neverthelessshepersisted

A post shared by Dawn Xiana Moon (@dawnxianamoon) on Mar 3, 2020 at 5:59am PST

REALXTY has been quiet on the music front as of late. Having been hard at work on his upcoming full-length release, he has been relatively off the grid other than a few shows here and there. However he is back with an urgent new single entitled “RN.”

Entirely self-produced, the instrumental has a nocturnal, skeletal feel to it. The humming synth chords have a haunting vibe while the trap percussion set a contagiously upbeat pace. Despite the dark aesthetics presented here, the energy is absolutely infectious; it can be felt in every bone in your body.

With a half-sang, half-rapped delivery, REALXTY matches the compete level of the instrumental, spitting a passionate call to action. The undeniable sense of persistence in his voice shines through effortlessly, preaching a message of urgency and proactivity in his bars.

He comes through with some sly wordplay, which pairs perfectly with the sheer attitude in his delivery. In typical REALXTY style, he goes bilingual on the second half of the track, adding a whole new layer of emotion.

When an artist retreats from the scene for a lengthy period of time, it usually means they’re up to something. “RN” shows REALXTY in top form, sounding more passionate than ever. This new cut is a sign that bigger things are on the horizon, and that REALXTY is sounding more invigorated than he ever has before.

“RN” is now available on all platforms.

Stream “RN” on Spotify here:https://open.spotify.com/track/43ITVmwn6iwMMIroV2uI73?si=wtlph-l2QfyAkn3g371adw

Stream “RN” on Apple Music here:https://music.apple.com/us/album/rn-single/1498881754

Follow REALXTY on Instagram @officialrealxty