When The World Seems the Worst, Make Pizza

Hello Friends and Family,

If you want to see some fluffy fun, I advise that you scroll to the very end of this blog post. Right now, I am angry, sad, and I have a few things to say.

Shizz is about to get real.

It’s hard staying positive when it seems like there is much wrongness in the world right now.

It’s wrong that internationally there have been 90 incidents of terrorism in the month of June. It’s currently the 12th.

It’s wrong that a young woman chose to go out to have fun at a college party with her sister, was preyed on by the creepiest of freshmen, and consequently was raped by that freshman behind a dumpster  – who knows what else could have transpired if not for two Swedish exchange students catching the rapist in the act as they bicycled past.

It’s wrong that even with a rape kit and the accounts of two eye witnesses, the victim was dragged through a year of reliving her worst nightmare in court with that piece of scum’s defense trying to turn the blame around on the victim to paint her as a promiscuous girl who should’ve known not to drink so much.

Well bruh, maybe he shouldn’t have tried to rape so much.

It’s wrong that even though the victim’s attacker, Brock Turner, was found guilty on all three counts by the jury, he was only sentenced to 6 months jail time when the minimum court sentence in California with the intent to rape is three years.

It’s wrong that he’ll only serve 3 months of his 6 month sentence in prison and will have an armed escort with him at all times during that time. This article perfectly captures my utter anger and disbelief of Brock Turner’s sentence. If anything could be labeled as a silver lining, the victim prepared a beautiful and prolific impact statement and had the courage to read it to her attacker’s face in court on June 2. I encourage everyone to read it.

It’s wrong that rising star Christina Grimmie went to go greet a fan with open arms at an autograph signing, and instead of returning her hug, he shot her without provocation or known motive.

It’s wrong that hundreds of LGBTQ people went to go out and celebrate at a gay nightclub called Pulse on a Saturday night, and a homophobic psychopath with ISIL sympathies turned up at 3 am with an assault rifle and murdered 49 innocent people and injured 53 innocent more.

It’s wrong that this mass murderer had been suspected as an ISIL sympathizer by the FBI but, due to loopholes in American gun laws, was able to legally purchase an assault rifle.

It’s wrong that our country’s politicians vowed in 2012 when another psychopath entered an elementary school named Sandy Hook and murdered 26 people – 20 of whom were first graders – with an assault rifle that a tragedy of such magnitude would never happen again.

It’s wrong that when the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 and the Manchin-Toomey Amendment – which would have expanded background checks on gun purchases – were introduced, both were defeated in the Senate on April 17, 2013.

It’s wrong that after our elected officials failed to pass legislation to protect us, there were mass shootings in: a movie theater in Aurora, a work training event and holiday party in San Bernardino, a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, Umpqua Community College in Oregon, a Methodist church in Charleston, NAVSEA’s headquarters at Navy Yard…I could keep going.

It’s wrong that people hide behind the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to justify shady-ass gun laws and insist that it’s their right as an American to purchase assault rifles.

Further, last time I checked, you don’t need an AR-15 to hunt deer or rabbits. And even if the zombie apocalypse truly does happen, unless you’re a sniper and can shoot zombies right in the brain, AR-15s won’t do you much good then either. The way I see it, the only people qualified to handle such weaponry is the U.S. military, not civilians.

It’s wrong that after the death toll numbers from Pulse kept rising on Sunday, after a mother shared her son’s petrified text messages of being trapped in the bathroom by the gunman, after a mother publicly begged for any information about her son’s whereabouts, this is how the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party responded:

It seriously makes my blood boil, and I’ve read it countless times.

It’s wrong that despite all of these tragedies, all these Americans dying – no meaningful change has happened. It especially hurts when I read about other Western countries who went through ONE mass shooting tragedy, their politicians set aside political differences and changed gun policies. Here’s some food for thought.

U.S. Congress – why don’t you care? How many more people must die until meaningful change happens? And no, blindly banning immigration of Muslims won’t solve anything.

I don’t even know how to wrap this up really. All I can say is that I plan to:

1. Stay mad.
2. Be informed.
3. Be an ally.
4. Engage and challenge elected officials to do better. We put them in office; we can take them out of office.
5. Look for and be the helpers in the world. Like this. And this. This too.
6. Tell my loved ones just how much they mean to me.
7. Cry.
8. Go for a run or some other cathartic, energizing activity.
9. Find a way to laugh because life is just so short.
10. Go hug my dog.
11. Make some goddamn pizza. I personally tried this one because Boyfriend is still enamored with home meal delivery services. But make sure the pizza dough is room temperature. When it’s cold, apparently it’s not a happy camper.

Without further ado, here’s a Snapchat story of Sie Lizzie D and Boyfriend making their first pizza together. (Apologies in advance for how silly and technologically deficient it is).

Tschüss!

Sie Lizzie D

P.S. To help and/or learn more, check out these links:

• Consider donating to the Orlando Victims’ GoFundMe page.
• Click here to register to vote.
• A guide by Huffington Post on how to contact your elected officials on gun control issues
• Sign this petition to remove Judge Aaron Persky for his sentencing decision in the Brock Turner rape case.

 

The Blue Apron Trials

Salutations!

Not going to lie, I’ve been on the fence about this whole Blue Apron business.

Just in case your digital footprint hasn’t been spammed by this enterprise, Blue Apron is an online food delivery service that delivers organic, low-cal meals in an effort to add a touch of class to your bougie life.

With each meal you purchase, you receive a recipe sheet replete with pictorial instructions, each dry and liquid ingredient measured out in an OCD chemist’s dream, and the seasonal veggies and farm raised meat wrapped in plastic. Like a guardian angel, Blue Apron guides you on your journey from being a Seamless junkie to becoming a master chef. Complete with a dash of scallions or fresh parsley to treat yourself to a nice garnish.

Blue Apron is always having deals, so Boyfriend and I tried a 3 meal deal before. Well, radio personality Adam Carolla was having a deal with Blue Apron, and Boyfriend idolizes the man so obviously we had to try Blue Apron.

Boyfriend’s guy crush.

Seriously, Boyfriend started drinking Mangria (oh yes, sangria for men because normal sangria is too feminine) just because Adam Carolla made it and endorsed it on one of his 10 million radio podcasts.

  It tastes like the blood of Corolla fan boys.

Anyway, Blue Apron the first time around didn’t go well.

1. The meals took ALL THE PREP. So much chopping and overestimation of my skill level. No – sorry, Blue Apron. I CAN’T cut honeynut squash into perfect rings. Thanks for making me feel like a LOSER CHEF.

2. In the Blue Apron spirit, I decided to not go maverick on the recipes and follow them to a T. And you know what? The steaks in the Sumac-Spiced Steak & Honeynut Squash needed more than 2-4 minutes to cook on each side. I sliced the meat, and it was still raw. I panicked and threw the steaks back on the pan (rookie mistake). The steak juices painted like the colors of the wind, and my steaks became the consistency of shoe leather.

Boyfriend enjoyed 2 steaks that day

3. The Spicy Korean Chicken Wing recipe was the bane of my existence. Apparently, my oven doesn’t like going above 400 degrees F. I learned that fact when I followed the Blue Apron recipe and cranked it up to 475 degrees F like a good Blue Apron clone. What happened you might ask?

Chaos. Utter chaos. Billowing smoke. Wailing fire alarm that wouldn’t quit. All the windows open and fans going on full blast. Building maintenance man banging on our door demanding if we were okay. Me tearfully replying, “I’m just trying to be a master chef.” Chip trembling in the corner in complete terror. Boyfriend manfully waving a tea towel over the shrieking fire alarm…

Despite turning our apartment into a smoke lodge, the chicken wings didn’t burn. I also begrudgingly admit the chicken wing marinade was delicious. You should make it sometime but lower the cooking temperature and increase the cooking time.

Anyway, Boyfriend received another promotional email offering another tempting deal from Blue Apron (but not from his podcast god this time). That day at work, I received many G-chat messages when I returned to my desk from meetings:

“So, Blue Apron is having another special.”

“Pretty good deal.”

“Recipes look good.”

“Wanna try it again?”

“Thoughts?”

“?”

“I bought it. It’s coming on Friday.”

So, here I am again with Blue Apron meals in my possession. I decided that this time around, I would cook Blue Apron on my own terms.

Blue Apron won’t get the best of me.

Seriously though, Chip wouldn’t cuddle me for a full evening after the chicken wing incident.

I figured I would do a quick little blog series of my three meals. And, just because I find it amusing, here’s some side by sides of Blue Apron’s pictograph instructions next to my craptacular food photography. But first, the ingredients and the instructions of Chicken Fried Chicken with Baked Sweet Potato and Collard Greens:

Ingredients

• 2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• ½ Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
• ½ Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Scallions
• 1 Bunch Collard Greens
• 1 Sweet Potato
• 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 Teaspoons Chicken Fried Chicken Spice Blend (Sweet Paprika, Garlic Powder,
• Ground Black Pepper, Dried Oregano & Ground Cayenne Pepper)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne (in addition to spice blend)*
• 1/2 Tablespoon Cinnamon*

Instructions

1. Prepare the ingredients:
   Preheat the oven to 475°F.
   ** I sadly made this mistake again. I naively thought that if I had the oven fan on full blast the entire time it would be okay. I was wrong. Keep it at 400 degrees F. (Chip’s nerves recovered faster this time). Wash and dry the fresh produce. Halve the sweet potato lengthwise.
   **In a Blue Apron first, the sweet potato they sent me was bad. Fortunately, I had a spare on hand.
   I think my sweet potato has the black lung, Pop. *cough*
2. Cut off and discard the root ends of the scallions; thinly slice the scallions, separating the white bottoms and green tops. Remove and discard the collard green stems; thinly slice the leaves. To make the batter, in a medium bowl, combine half the yogurt, half the vinegar and ¼ cup of water; stir until smooth and season with salt and pepper.                                        Blue Apron on the left, Sie Lizzie D on the right. Yum?
3. Bake the sweet potato:
   Place the sweet potato on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and cinnamon; turn to thoroughly coat. Arrange the seasoned sweet potato cut sides down. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the sheet pan. Tightly cover the sheet pan with aluminum foil, rolling the foil over the edges of the sheet pan to seal. Bake 28 to 30 minutes**30-35 minutes, or until the sweet potato is browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven.                                                             Which one is Blue Apron’s??!
4. Make the scallion-yogurt sauce:
   Once the sweet potato has baked for about 5 minutes, in a bowl, combine the remaining yogurt, remaining vinegar and all but a pinch of the green tops of the scallions; season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir until combined; season with salt and pepper to taste.
                                                              There’s no comparison, really.
5. Cook the collard greens:
   While the sweet potato continues to bake, in a medium pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the collard greens and white bottoms of the scallions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, or until the collard greens have wilted; season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl. Wipe out the pan.

   
    I actually had never made collard greens before this recipe #yankee

6.  Coat the chicken:
   While the sweet potato continues to bake, in a medium bowl, combine the flour and spice blend and additional cayenne; season with salt and pepper. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper on both sides. Working 1 piece at a time, thoroughly coat the seasoned chicken in the flour-spice blend mixture (tapping off any excess), then in the batter (letting the excess drip off), then again in the flour-spice blend mixture. Transfer to a plate.

   
                                 …I forgot to take a picture, so here’s a baby goat in a sweater.

7. Cook the chicken:
   While the sweet potato continues to bake, in the pan used to cook the collard greens, heat a thin layer of oil on medium-high until hot. Once the oil is hot enough that a drop of coating sizzles immediately when added to the pan, add the coated chicken; cook 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; immediately season with salt and pepper.
8. Plate your dish:
   Divide the cooked chicken, baked sweet potato and cooked collard greens between 2 plates. Top the sweet potato with a few spoonfuls of the scallion-yogurt sauce. Garnish with the remaining green tops of the scallions. Enjoy!

Again, I really can’t tell which is the professional one.

It actually was a tasty meal and though my results weren’t as pretty – it didn’t turn out half bad. I do recommend adding a dash of cinnamon to your baked sweet potato and a little extra cayenne will always brighten up any seasoning.

‘Til the next meal, Blue Apron. Oh, and I didn’t use the spare scallion as garnish – I put it ALL in the yogurt sauce. *BOOM*

Tschüss!

Sie Lizzie D

UPDATE – RAINBOW DOLPHIN MUG HAS BEEN FOUND

UPDATE:

At approximately 12:42 pm Eastern Standard Time, the rainbow unicorn mug was recovered from the work kitchen dishwasher.

Dirty.

Sullied.

Caked with a rim of coffee.

But safe.

An intern was present during the recovery, so I reacted like this:

But on the inside, I was like this:

Someone is seriously jonesing for my mug. There can only be one solution.

Meaning, I will do nothing and hoard my treasure in a further paranoid state.

Until next time, Lieblings!

Tschüss!

Sie Lizzie D

I’m a Carnivore and I’m OK with That

I don’t know if you know this about me but I consider myself a carnivorous being.

First Google image search for “Carnivorous being” is a man-eating tree.
Not mad about it.

Sure, vegetables are fine. Tofu is tolerable enough.

But not enough to tempt me.

In a much beloved (I think) family memory, when I was about 9 years old, my parents were preparing dinner and mi madre asked me, “What would you like for dinner?” My reply?

“Meat.”

In an earlier favorite wolf pack moment, we went out to a fancy brunch and my parents told my sisters and me that we could eat whatever we wanted.

What did 6 year old Lizzie do? Well, she ate bacon. For the entire duration of the meal.

Child Me but with bacon.

No seriously, I must have eaten my weight in bacon. Mi madre attempted to intervene at one moment but Fajahh stopped her. After all, they told us that we could eat anything.

So I ate all the bacon and it was glorious.

Two hours later, the bacon grease hit me and I was coiled up in pain for the rest of the day.

Worth it.

I usually keep my love of meat to myself though. There’s a surprising number of vegetarians and vegans in my acquaintance and I like to think of myself as a lover and not a hater.

BUT, can I say something controversial though?

I do notice that vegans and vegetarians LOVE posting artsy Instagram photos of their meals and talking about just how amazing and tasty their repasts were – ESPECIALLY due to the lack of meat.

My response?

I assure you that I’m not anti-vegetarian / vegan. It’s your life – do what you gotta do.

But rest assured that, no matter how artsy the pictures of your meatless meals are, I will never join your ranks.

So anyway, I went to holiday party recently with Boyfriend. We were told that there would be much bounty so we skipped on having dinner. We arrived at the lovely home and I gazed at the beautiful spread. There were cheeses and hummus and crackers and guacamole and desserts and more. I nibbled and noshed on endless crudités. But I just couldn’t seem to get full and couldn’t figure out why until I realized…

There was no meat.

There was absolutely not a single scrap of meat in the party. Reason? I quickly deduced that Boyfriend and I were the only carnivores present.

So I thought, “Well, it’s okay. I guess I can get through tonight without meat.” And began drinking to compensate.

As I kept eating fancy crackers with a delicate brie and pear chutney on top, I kept obsessing about meat. At one point, I leaned over to Boyfriend and whispered, “All I want is a bacon cheeseburger.”

DISCLAIMER: I know you’re all thinking that I’m a brat. But I must say that the few times I’ve hosted a party I made sure that everyone had something to eat. Vegetarians, vegans, gluten intolerants, dairy-free…you got a diet choice, I will accommodate. Except if you are allergic to the world and I feel like my food preparation might kill you, I will ask you to bring something for you to munch on.

All I ask is for the same in return. I have meat needs.

Long story short, Boyfriend and I went to Love & Pizza after the party and I built my own pizza, natürlich. Love & Pizza lets you have unlimited toppings so when I got to the meat section, I told the worker, “All of it, please.” He responded, “Wait, all of what?” And I said “All of the meat.”

He did indeed give me all of the meat on my pan pizza and it was delicious.

The next day, I tried the whole “let’s prep the week’s meals in advance” life hack. I will say that the process as a whole made Past Lizzie quite grumpy and Future Lizzie very happy. I’ll see if I can keep it up.

Here are two stand out meat-tastic recipes I made:

1. Lentil and Sausage Stew (Recommended to me by a Baby Angel)

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Italian sausage **I used hot Italian ground sausage.
• 1 medium onion
• 3 med. (1/2 lb.) carrots **I used 10-15 baby carrots, diced
• 4 stalks (1/2 bunch) celery **NOPE
• 2/3 of a yellow squash, quartered
• 15 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 10 oz. frozen spinach
• 2 cloves garlic **Might have used 3 and not sorry about it.
• 2 cups brown lentils
• 2 Tbsp (or 6 cubes) chicken base (bouillon) **Ehh I used like 3 bouillon cubes. 6 seemed excessive.
• 6 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsps black pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano

Instructions

1. Cook the sausage in a large pot over medium heat. If you are using a soft sausage, it will be easier to squeeze it out of the casing than to slice it. A firm sausage can be sliced prior to cooking.
2. While the sausage is cooking, prepare your vegetables: wash, peel and slice the carrots and celery **squash; dice the onion and mince the garlic. Bring out thine can opener and have at that dastardly can o’ tomatoes. Once the sausage is cooked through, throw all the ingredients into your crockpot (shiny red ones preferred) and cook on low for 8 hours. add the vegetables and continue to cook until the onions are soft and transparent (about 5 min).
3. Measure out the lentils and pick through them to make sure there are no stones. Add them to the pot along with the chicken base (or bouillon), 6 cups of water, cayenne, cumin, paprika and oregano.
4. Bring the pot up to a simmer, place a lid on top, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Add more water if it gets too dry. (taste it to see if lentils are soft, you can also adjust the seasoning to your preference at this point)
5. Stir in the frozen spinach and cook for about 15 minutes more.

It looked like this and was quite delightful.

2. Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Asparagus

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breast, sliced thin (2-3 breasts)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour, or more
• 4 slices prosciutto
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 bunch asparagus **Green beans were on special so I made mine instead with, well, green beans.
• 1/4 cup basil pesto
• 1/3 cup cream

Instructions

1. If the chicken breasts are thick, slit them in half lengthwise to make them thinner. Pat them dry with a paper towel, then sprinkle with salt and pepper; go easy on the salt, the prosciutto is salty.
2. Rub the chicken with the flour. Wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of prosciutto.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium. When it is hot, add the wrapped chicken. Cook for 5-6 minutes, then flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes or so, until browned and it reaches 165 degrees.
4. Meanwhile, add about 3 inches of water to a small pot, cover, and put it on to boil. Wash the asparagus and snap off the woody ends. Cut the asparagus into 2 inch pieces. Add to a steamer basket, and when the water in the pot is at a rolling boil, put the basket on top and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and set it aside. (If you don’t have a steamer, you can roast the asparagus, or saute it with some oil).
   **In my case, I boiled the green beans most of the way through (medium sized pan, bring the water to a boil, add a little salt, throw in the beans) and then semi-blanched them under cold water.
5. In a small bowl whisk together the pesto and cream.

So this is when I realized that I forgot to buy any pesto. A part of me was like this:

But if this blog has taught me anything, it has taught me to think on my feet. So I just made some pesto.

Basil Pesto

Ingredients

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves **I used 1 cup of dried basil.
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts **I used pecans because who casually keeps pine nuts?
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese **I used Parmesan and it tasted great.

Directions

Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts pecans in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.

Sha-zam!

Anyway…

6. When the chicken is fully cooked, pour the mixture over the chicken, and add the asparagus **or green beans. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn off the heat.

Oohhh yaaaasss….

And here’s yet another try and food photography.

Yeah, I know. Still not very good.

The Obligatory Sie Lizzie D Meat Eater Q&A (So You Don’t Think I’m a Total Monster)

If you had to kill animals to eat meat, would you do it?

Yeah, I recognize that I live in a privileged world and don’t have to commit the actual kill for my food. It all comes nicely packaged at my local grocery store and I like that. But if the modern world were to end, I would engage with my caveman instincts and hunt Bambi and his friends down. And probably shed a tear and pray for their spirits before consumption.

Haven’t you seen those animal cruelty videos???

Yeah, those guys are monsters and no animal deserves such treatment. Which is why you should buy meat from local butchers and farmers. Tastes better too.

But the meat industry is contaminating the planet!!

Ehhh, probz and that’s a problem. But don’t you think it’s a much larger issue than that? I mean, the real problem is that the human race is contaminating the planet. Also, on another note, I’m pretty sure many non-meat eaters use plastic and gasoline on a regular basis sooo…

But, seriously, you would be so much healthier and happier if you stopped eating animal products.

Agree to disagree. I am very healthy according to my doctor. And as for happier…

Tschüss!

Sie Lizzie D

Why #FergusonMatters for Me

This will probably be the only time on this blog that I will be completely serious. You don’t have to read this post, but I would appreciate it if you continued on.

From September 2011 to June 2012, I was a part of Literacy*AmeriCorps and served at a children’s literacy nonprofit in Pittsburgh, PA. My role was to manage a mentoring program for second and third graders at four inner city Pittsburgh public schools and be the in-school facilitator at three of them. The purpose of the mentoring program was to foster a love of reading in the students as well as provide them with one-on-one attention from a caring adult. From a demographics standpoint, 90% of students at my program schools were African American and all but one school provided free or subsidized school lunches.

How did it go for me? Imagine a young, naive Miss Lizzie stealing a troupe of second and third graders from class once a week, making them eat lunch early without any help from the cafeteria aides, telling my students that no, they couldn’t go to recess today, and finally parading them to the library to hang out with a bunch of adults and books. All of which I did while being highly caffeinated and proclaiming about how great wizards, unicorns, puppies were. “Miss Lizzie, you’re weird” was a commonly stated phrase.

They probably viewed me like this.
Courtesy of Hyperbole and a Half.

They ran circles around me at first but we eventually came to an understanding. And, on a side note, I don’t think I will ever have a professional opportunity again in which I walk into a room and hear a dozen voices cry “Miss Lizzie!” with 20 children running up to give me bear hugs.

At my smallest program, I filled in for a vacationing volunteer for a couple of weeks with a second grade boy (name withheld). He loved nonfiction, especially biographies. His class had recently learned about Jackie Robinson; so we read more about Jackie, and I listened to my buddy excitedly rattle off Jackie’s stats. It was the week before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day so I had checked out from the library several more books about civil rights leaders to add to the program book collection. My second grader next selected a picture book about Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. Suddenly, my second grader turned to me and said, “Miss Lizzie, what’s racism?”

Inwardly, I panicked – as a privileged white female who went to a nationally ranked suburban high school and attended a private Catholic university, my AmeriCorps experience was the first time my world view had shifted on its axis. How could I adequately educate this little boy about something that I, slowly realizing, was ignorant? Since I encouraged my students to ask me questions, I had to formulate some sort of respectable and thoughtful answer.

I stumbled my way through explaining the Jim Crow laws, the beginnings of the civil rights movement, and how Mr. King said that people should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Was I like this?

No.

In fact, my second grader was making this face at me:

So I ended my awkward speech by saying: “The Jim Crow laws were wrong; racism is wrong; and people know better now. I think you’re great because you’re funny and smart and really good at sports. That’s what matters. Let’s keep reading.”

I got a big smile from my second grade buddy and we then switched over to an I Spy book.

Not long after that, a teenager named Trayvon Martin walked home from a 7-11 and was shot by a neighborhood watchman, and my students never asked me what racism meant again.

Get to the point, Lizzie. I know, I know.

No, I don’t condone or support the violent protests and riots in Ferguson. Two wrongs do not make a right.

What do I think? The media slandered the characters of Trayvon Martin then and now Michael Brown. Maybe they broke rules. Maybe they did mouth off to a figure of authority and were out of line. Maybe they did react aggressively.

But you know what? They were teenage boys who were scared.

I firmly believe that there are other ways for figures of authority to neutralize a perceived threat other than by firing a gun. I think it is wrong to shoot first and ask questions later. I think it is wrong that, in our country, this statistically happens in more cases with African American young men.

This morning after reading the Missouri grand jury’s decision, I cried in the shower not only because I feel like I lied to my second grade buddy about the state of racism in our country. I mostly cried because my second grader is now in fourth grade and I fear for his safety.

That is why #FergusonMatters to me.

Last but not least, all schools were closed again in St. Louis County today because of the riots. Many of these students rely on their schools for breakfast, lunch, and after school snacks. One charity “Feed the Students of Ferguson” is addressing that need. All donations go directly to the St. Louis Area Foodbank & will be used to feed kids in Ferguson and nearby areas. To learn more, please visit: https://fundly.com/feed-the-students-of-ferguson.

 

Thank you for reading,

Sie Lizzie D