Blue Lines Blog – Happy New Year?

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2014, 2015, 2016, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Akai Gurley, Alberta Spruill, Alesia Thomas, Atlanta, Blue Hurt, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, California, Chapel Hill, Cleveland, college, Connecticut, Dante Parker, Darnisha Harris, December, Dontre Hamilton, Elaine Rothenberg, Eric Garner, Eric Harris, Ezell Ford, Freddie Gray, Georgia, Happy, Happy New Year, Jerame Reid, John Crawford, Kathryn Johnston, Kendra James, Key Yemaya Walker, Malissa Williams, Michael Brown, Miriam Carey, Ohio, Philip White, Rekia Boyd, Rumain Brisbon, Sacramento, Shantel Davis, Shelly Frey, Shereese Francis, Tamir Rice, Tanisha Anderson, Tarika Wilson, Tony Robinson, UNC, UNC Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Walter Scott, Yvette Smith

As I look back at the year, I could easily expound on life, growth, gratitude, and love in 2015, and how I look forward to continuing those things in 2016. I can easily use vague comments to reference the people I love and hold dear. However, in my posting life, I’ve done that enough, and simply because I feel a certain way, does not mean it resonates.

What do I mean? In all of my “happiness,” and “hopefulness,” I still live in a country that fails to bring justice to the family of a murdered teen. No Life Matters…especially Black, the evidence is growing in support of that. Tamir Rice is another casualty in an increasing epidemic of injudicious police murders in this country. My heart is heavy for a myriad of reasons, this just augments that weight. It makes you wary, but what am I going to do? Lock myself inside and hide from the world? No.

Happy New Year? What about them?

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Text Tuesdays – New Prose – “Three Of The Hardest Words” – A Blue Lines Blog Four Week Wedding Series

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A Smile, Adult, Atlanta, Best Man, Blue Hurt, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Bridgeport, California, Connecticut, decision, Forest Hills, Friends, Friendship, Georgia, Harlem, Heart, Hockey, Husband, Key Yemaya Walker, Keypsiia Walker, Los Angeles, Love, Marriage, Matrimony, New York, New York City, poetry, Prose, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Smile, Text Tuesdays, UNC, UNC Chapel Hill, United States, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Walnut Creek, Wedding, Wife, Words

10/19/15
Was it your smile that got me?
That fateful day when our eyes met,
The beginning of us, with years to develop,
Moving forward in an unknown direction,
A future California dream,

When did everything change,
Separated by the United States,
Our affection matured by travel and distance,
To lead us to this day,
The Californian dream,

Text Tuesdays – New Prose – ” A Request…In Your Honor” – A Blue Lines Blog Four Week Wedding Series

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1994, 2015, Adult, Atlanta, Best Man, Blue Hurt, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Bridgeport, California, Connecticut, Forest Hills, Georgia, Harlem, Key Yemaya Walker, Keypsiia Walker, Los Angeles, Marriage, New York, New York City, poetry, Prose, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Text Tuesdays, UNC, UNC Chapel Hill, United States, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Walnut Creek, Wedding, Words

10/6/15
It began with a request,
Not like when I asked you,
As an adult, who had to fall to grow again,
You asked me in a mature phase,
I was flattered, to give back to you,
For your special day, and your special time,

Music Mondays – Moby feat Skylar Grey – “The Last Day”

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2013, acid house, alternative rock, ambient, bass guitar, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Connecticut, Darien, DJ, downtempo, drums, EDM, Electronic rock, Electronica, Elektra, experimental music, Folk rock, guitar, hardcore punk, Harlem, Holly Brook, Holly Brook Hafermann, Innocents, Instinct, Interscope, iPhone, iPhone 5, iPhone Post, iTunes, Key Yemaya Walker, keyboards, KIDinaKORNER, Little Idiot, Machine Shop, Mark 'Spike' Stent, Mazomanie, Moby, music, Music Mondays, musician, Mute, New York, Outer Rhythm, Photographer, piano, pop, Richard Melville Hall, Singer, Singer-songwriter, Skylar Grey, songwriter, techno, The Last Day, Turntables, U.S., United States, V2/BMG, Virgin/EMI, Vocals, Wisconsin, XL

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

Text Tuesdays – New Prose – “Broken Hearted (en memoriam)”

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Allison Wyatt, Ana Marquez-Greene, Anne Marie Murphy, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Broken Hearted, Broken Hearted (en memoriam), Caroline Previdi, Catherine Hubbard, Charlotte Bacon, Chase Kowalski, Connecticut, Daniel Barden, Dawn Hocksprung, Dylan Hockley, Emilie Parker, en memoriam, Grace McDonnell, iPhone, iPhone 4S, Jack Pinto, James Mattioli, Jesse Lewis, Jessica Rekos, Josephine Gay, Key Yemaya Walker, Lauren Rousseau, Madeleine Hsu, Mary Sherlach, mass shooting, Memory, mourning, Nature, New, Newtown, newtown school shooting, Noah Pozner, northern suburbs news, Olivia Engel, Photography, poetry, Prose, Rachel Davino, Sadness, Sandy Hook Elementary, Sandy Hook Elementary School, school lockdown, Shooting, Students, Teachers, Text Tuesdays, Victims, Victoria Soto

“Broken Hearted (en memoriam)”
KS 12.19.12

Hopeless tear-filled eyes,
Horrified,
Tormented,
Helpless and unable,
Innocence lost,

My heart broken,
Lives stolen,
World fallen,
How did we get here…

It was too late,
There was nothing I could do,
Thus I closed my ears,
Words brought tears,
Pictures brought tears,

My heart broken,
Lives stolen,
World fallen,
How did we get here…

We keep repeating we need to…
Fix,
Change,
Act,
But then followed,
By words,
Full of hate,
Defensive,
People kill people,

My heart broken,
Lives stolen,
World fallen,
How did we get here…

To those lost, I shed my tears.

In the memory of: Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Rachel Davino, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Ana Marquez-Greene, Dylan Hockley, Dawn Hocksprung, Madeleine Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Anne Marie Murphy, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Lauren Rousseau , Mary Sherlach, Victoria Soto, Benjamin Wheeler, Allison Wyatt

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

New 30 Day Song Challenge – Day 17 – A Song From Your Favorite Album – Joi Gilliam – “You May Die” from Outkast’s ATLiens

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1996, 2010, A Song From Your Favorite Album, Andre 3000, Andre Benjamin, Andre Patton, Atlanta, ATLiens, Big Boi, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Joi, Joi Gilliam, Key Yemaya Walker, Love, music, One Music Fest, OutKast, Pal's Lounge, Three Stacks, You May Die

I remember a friend calling, and playing “Elevators” from the album over the phone to me while I was in Bridgeport, Connecticut since it was not being played up north. I also remember while working the 1996 Olympics, we found a cassette tape with songs that both made and did not make the album (showing up on the Soul Food, and Nothing To Lose soundtracks). The sound was extremely low, and the quality was poor, but as fans, we killed that tape.


The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

Blue Lines Blog: This Day In American History – Maria Steward First American-born woman to give public lectures (1883)

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Angelina Weld Grimke, Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World, Black History, Black History Month, Boston, Connecticut, David Walker, First American-born woman to give public lectures, General Colored Association, Hartford, Maria Miller, Maria W. Steward, Massachusetts, This Day In American History

On this day in 1833, Maria W. Steward delivered one of the four speeches which confirmed her place in history as the first American-born woman to give public lectures. Stewards lectures focused on encouraging African-Americans to attain education, political rights, and public recognition for their achievements. Her speech on thi day delivered at the African Masonic Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, was titled “On African Rights and Liberty.” Sixty-seven years later in Boston on this same day, African-American teacher and poet Angelina Weld Grimke was born. Grimke was a descendant of the famous white abolitionist and feminist sisters Angelina and Sarah Grimke.

Maria Stewart (Maria Miller) (1803 – December 17, 1879) was an African American essayist, public speaker, abolitionist, and women’s rights activist.

She was born Maria Miller, the child of free black parents in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1803. At the age of five she became an orphan and was sent to live with a minister and his family. Until she was fifteen, Maria was a servant in the home where she resided and was deprived of an education. When Maria turned twenty, her life took a turn for the better. Maria began to attend Sabbath School, where she learned new and exciting things. During her early adulthood, while attending school, Maria worked as a domestic servant for a living.
Stewart was the first black woman to lecture about women’s rights — particularly the rights of black women — religion, and social justice among black people. She was influenced by David Walker, a prosperous clothing shop owner, who was a well known, outspoken member of the General Colored Association. Walker was known as a leader within the African-American enclave of Boston, who wrote a very controversial piece on race relations called David Walker’s Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World. (1829).

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

30 Day Photo Challenge – Day 9 – A Picture of the Person Who Has Gotten You Through the Most

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30 Day Photo Challenge, A Picture of the Person Who Has Gotten You Through the Most, Bentley Hotel, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Bodine Hall, Bridgeport, Brooklyn, Connecticut, Day 9, Friendly's, Key Yemaya Walker, Milford, New York, Seeley Hall, TJ, Trini, Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidadian, Trumbull Mall, UB, University Of Bridgeport

My Trini Brooklyn, NY homegirl I met in college. Someone I have always been, and will always be able to talk to. It’s amazing I’ve known her for 18 years. Wow.

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

30 Day Song Challenge – Day 5 – A Song That Reminds You Of Someone – BeBe & CeCe Winans – “If Anything Ever Happen To You”

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1994, 30 Day Song Challenge, A Song That Reminds You Of Someone, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Blue Lines, Bridgeport, college, Connecticut, Crestfallen, Day 5, If Anything Ever Happen To You, Key Yemaya Walker, Relationships, University Of Bridgeport

When I first went away to school, my mother told me that she was driving and the song came on. She had to pull over off the road because she just began crying. Though not a song that would be in my catalogue, this song will always remind me of her. And to counteract the “Song For Mama,” post, this was the song that was supposed to play.


The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

Blue Lines Blog – Love At First Sight – Blue Lines Chapter 12: Chance – Excerpt

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Blue Hurt, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Blue Lines Chapter 12: Chance, Bridgeport, Buckhead, Bulls, California, Chance, Chapter 12, Chapter 12: Chance, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Christmas, Connecticut, excerpt, fiction, Gerald, Holiday, Kenneth A Suffern Jr, Kenneth Suffern Jr, Key Yemaya Walker, Keypsiia Walker, Keypsiia Yemaya Walker, Lenox Mall, Love, Main Street, Michael Jordan, Mitch Richmond, MW, N.B.A., National Basketball Association, NBA, North Carolina, Photography, Prose, Romance, Sacramento, Sacramento Kings, Scottie Pippen, Tar Heels, Trumbull Mall, UNC, UNC Chapel Hill, University Of Bridgeport, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Westfield Trumbull

This Blue Lines excerpt is from Chapter 12: Chance. The scene takes place as our protagonist Key Yemaya Walker happens upon the antagonist Blue Hurt while he writes on a bus headed to the local mall. Though Blue Lines takes place in Chapel Hill at the University of North Carolina, the real life imagery starts with her chance meeting him on the bus, which was the public transit I and friends would take from the University of Bridgeport at the Main Street stop by our dorm Bodine Hall, to Trumbull Mall, now Westfield Trumbull. The mall used in the writing process was a amalgam of Trumbull Mall in Connecticut, and Lenox Mall in Atlanta, Georgia, or Buckhead rather.
As I always state, Blue Lines, is a piece of fiction that evolved from real events, places, and people, therefore elements of this selection, as well as the entire work contain real experiences, and events of the time period in which my manuscript takes place. I’ll be honest, looking over this selection, I may not leave it up, though the work is copywritten. Please enjoy, this early Christmas present.
Blue Lines Chapter 12: Chance

We got together, like, the first week of school and through this I have actually become accustomed to being alone. If he’s not at practice, he’s with his boys and the few times I see him, it’s always conversation about basketball or trying to get ass.”

“And the lack thereof doesn’t do anything for you two.”

“No,” she pursed her lips realizing that she had answered his latent question, “plus all the rumors,” she continued. “I confronted him and I know that he’s lying to me but I don’t care.”

“It seems like you keep mentioning that he isn’t around. Do you think that it would have been different if he was there and spent more time with you?”