By Joy Lynn Clark 3/9/2016 When I moved to the suburbs,  I realized that I just couldn’t afford to buy food.  I swear food is much more expensive in the burbs.  Anyhow, I had my rent, phone, gas and car.  Food was just killing me. A friend of mine told me about a local food pantry.  I felt weird about it at first like, am I taking food from someone who really needs it?  However, I looked at my child and had to accept that I am someone who really needs it. The food pantry was run by the local church.  We got canned goods, and even some meat.  The…

By Joy Lynn Clark 1/23/2016 Chicago, IL The State of Illinois still has no budget.  Chicago Public Schools are threatening layoffs.  There’s talk of cutting pensions . . . yada yada yada. Obviously, all of this truly sucks. When I first moved to Chicago, I enrolled my son in public school.  I am very low income.  I had to provide some information but, the school fee was waived.  I was floored. Let me repeat, I am low-income (I am probably in the bottom 10% ).  However, in the school district I came from that did not save me from the $290.00 school fee at all whatsoever.  And it hurt –…

By Joy Lynn Clark January 1, 2016 Months back I began to notice some of the most all inclusive dishes ever.  A hamburger with a hotdog and chips all under one bun, a fried chicken cake with mashed potato frosting, drizzled with gravy, and a cornbread center.  I thought, genius.  I have to compile a list. All year I found dishes.  A pizza with a hotdog crust, and a beef sandwich topped with cole slaw and fries.  I am starting to think, I need everything NOW. My son went into Gamestop to trade a game.  They needed my driver’s license number.  I was like damn, do I have to be…

By Joy Lynn Clark October 29, 2015   All of my life I knew Illinois meant wild onion.  I always marked the moment by when we would smell the wild onions on the southside.  We would take the Bishop Ford and smell them somewhere near the landfills.   I don’t smell those wild onions anymore.   People now say Illinois means wild leek.   I have never seen wild leeks, though.   Anyhow, my son and I recently took a camping trip in Michigan on the other side of the lake.  My son found tons of wild onions.  We also found raspberries, mushrooms, garlic, milkweed, and nettles.  My son swears…

By Joy Lynn Clark 7/28/2015 I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was riding the orange line and holding on when I saw the ink: Chiraq.  Tattooed on the forearm of the guy holding on next to me.  I thought to myself, “damn” and I begin to reminisce. The year was 1989 and I remember when my teacher stopped everything in the middle of class and told us that we are at war with Iraq after about 20 years of peace.  My teacher asked us what we thought.  I had no idea and spaced out and watched the landscaper cut the grass outside of the window.  I couldn’t read…