she asked me if i believed in god and i told her that when i was four i almost drowned in a public pool and in my panic mistook a stranger for my father. i clawed my way up his leg. four years later he’d send my parents a picture of the scars alongside a tin of cookies. he said, “i hope she’s still okay. i carry her with me. it isn’t every day you save a life. it isn’t every day you feel like you were here for a reason. when it does happen, you have to cherish that memory. for once, i had a purpose. just being there was enough. she tore me open but she taught me a lot about love.”

manic pixie dream senior citizen

In light of my recent monkeypox post, A LOT of people seem confused or unaware of the growing public health concern. Here’s some high level info

Monkeypox is a rare disease from the same virus family as smallpox. Since May ‘22, a concerning outbreak has been occurring across many countries, including the US, that historically have not reported the virus

Symptoms can include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body

The current outbreak appears to be spreading mostly through close, intimate contact with someone who has monkeypox. It can spread via direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids; respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact; touching items that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids; and pregnant people can spread the virus to their fetus

Most of the confirmed cases of monkeypox are men who have sex with men (MSM). This is not because MSM are biologically more susceptible to monkeypox. MSM generally have a better relationship with medical practitioners than heterosexual men, so they are more likely to get tested. Monkeypox is likely a concern for the broader public too

Good news: We know a lot about monkeypox (unlike the case with COVID). It is not transmitted as easily as COVID and is not as deadly. Two vaccines already exist

Bad news: In the US, the Biden Admin is dragging its feet on vaccine roll out. Most people, even at-risk populations, can’t get them yet. Most people are also unaware of this outbreak because the media is failing to inform the public. I hope this post helps shrink the info gap a little bit. Please consider spreading the word and adding to this post with more info and resources

not me thinking that since there were six infinity stones and six original avengers they were going to make that symbolism a plot point in endgame

A circulating video of sisters who bought the same clothes for their husbands 😂❤️

“After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: if anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately. Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there. An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly. Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her problem? We told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she did this. I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly. Shu dow-a, shu-biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick, sho bit se-wee? The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used—she stopped crying. She thought our flight had been canceled entirely. She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late. Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him. We called her son and I spoke with him in English. I told him I would stay with his mother until we got on the plane and would ride next to her—Southwest. She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it. Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and found out, of course, they had ten shared friends. Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about 2 hours. She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering questions. She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—and was offering them to all the women at the gate. To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California, the lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies. And then the airline broke out the free beverages from huge coolers—non-alcoholic—and the two little girls from our flight, one African American, one Mexican American—ran around serving us all apple juice and lemonade, and they were covered with powdered sugar, too. And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing with green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere. And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought, this is the world I want to live in. The shared world. Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped—has seemed apprehensive about any other person. They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women, too. This can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost.”

— Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952), “Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal.”

gram loves you. please call

good morning to these talented husbands who are both called david and wear the same outfits and to them ONLY

“why do i believe this” and “who benefits from me believing it” are the first steps to decolonization and we should all be doing this more

Dozens of NYC Subway riders, fresh off a Robyn concert, singing “Dancing On My Own” while waiting for the E train. (Video by…

being alive is great because there are so many different vegetables you can sauté. but then there are also the horrors

If sexual activity between same-gender people became illegal, the police would be the ones enforcing those laws.

That's why police are not welcome at Pride. Pride is for unconditional supporters, not for those who would become enemies as soon as they're ordered to.