Emily's May Inspiration "There Goes The Hood"

It was more than a restaurant, it was a symbol. And in the past decade, the last man standing in a sea of homogeny brought on by outsiders visiting the East Village on the weekends; dabbling in the hip, artistic, and edgy. Fact is MAMA'S was the neighborhood. At ten dollars a plate with a choice of meat and three sides, MAMA's was the spot you went for down home comfort. Nestled on 3rd St btw A & B, I walked past this soul food spot daily back in the nineties, sometimes stopping in just for a side of mash potatoes when the city got rough. They had the best veggies too, and if you didn't want meat you could get an extra side with their mac and cheese rivaling no other.

I encourage my yoga students to embrace change, to accept the only constant in our lives is just that. But as my old street in Alphabet City morphs into more and more sameness - that chain store, homogenized look that plagues our country - I have to cry out, 'Why this hood!?' Why the spot where artists flocked to so they could be different and accepted? With the fortune tellers, druggies, and performance artists singing their tunes, graffiti walls and dive bars that embrace all kinds... Why must the demographic who desires sameness, who feels more comfortable in an OLIVE GARDEN than an authentic Italian dive invade the one place on the planet where we screwed the Man?

Those who infest the East Village on the weekends are in no way supporting the community and those who inhabit it. They leave and go back to their commutes and cubicles, and tell stories about how they had a 'crazy' weekend in the village. We lived there, many old-schoolers still do. It's our home, and place's like MAMA'S, or the old KING'S PHARMACY replaced by a DUANE READE were our pride, our joy and choice to remain original, authentic to ourselves. Most moved to the East Village against their society's wishes. To a far away land where parentals did not understand paying a thousand dollars a month for a shoebox apartment on Ave C, but we did and sacrificed to be there. The natives know the secret to Alphabet City is its character, its funkiness, and constant groove we so adore. With the closing of MAMA'S, I dare say...there goes the hood.

PEACE,

Archived Inspirations

on Holidays

A MOTHER'S REFLECTION

Mothers are a complicated thing, they are the mirrors to ourselves and for daughters, it's not always the prettiest of views. The patterns you work to break your whole life can be found in your mother~ the anxiety, the doubt, the funny little ways of doing everything… But there are reflections of a mother to a daughter that are indeed beautiful. A mother's inherent strength is often passed down; her intuition and compassion.

My mother, Mary Lynn instilled in me a great independence. She taught me at a very young age you don't need a man to do a thing. And while I've grown to love men for their support, that spirit has not left me. So I really can't think of a better person to help me move to Santa Fe. The decision came quickly and the universe propelled me. Mary Lynn and I packed my blue Bug and an equally blue rental and set off on the highways we once enjoyed years ago. 'On the Road Again' was our theme song back in the days when my mother was my age: Mary and Emmy~ two gypsies traveling wherever the wind would take us.

So as we entered each state over from California, both Arizona and New Mexico, we waved to each other through our rear view mirrors. And I felt five again, growing up with a mother who wasn't like the others. A mother who lit incense, cranked Stevie Nicks, and made me nachos and cheese for dinner.

The decision to relocate hasn't been easy, but Santa Fe continues to embrace me and our willingness to let go of the past is one of life's greatest lessons. I feel strong, able, ready for adventure. And when I look in the mirror I'm reminded of someone; a little older, a little wiser… it's my mother.

To all mothers, all kinds, equally divine~ Happy Mother's Day,