Poverty-related trauma isn’t nice or fun or quirky. When people think being poor is just a quirky thing you do, it creates a narrative where you are poor because of your own personal failures and not because of circumstances out of your control.
Author: Irene Page 1 of 49
Me, age 23, in my CSO uniform, standing in front of the best car I ever had – a 1989 Toyota Corolla SR5 coupe with pop-up headlights.
About a month after receiving my bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, I accepted a position with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department (UNLPD) as a Community Service Officer (CSO). The intention was to take advantage of the $3 a credit hour – max six hours per semester – the university offered to employees and get a master’s degree in Anthropology.
Here are a few good things to watch, especially on those cold, winter days when you don’t want to leave the house.
My grandparents’ grave. My mother’s ashes are buried beneath the wreath my great-nephew, Wyatt, picked out. We must wait for Spring to add her headstone.
Every year, at the end of November, I begin to think about how I’d like my next year to look while reflecting on where I’ve been and the progress I’ve made. This year, 2025 threw me a few major curveballs.
The collection of books I hope to read in the next year.
Linotype machines, Anthony Hordern and Sons department store, c. 1935, gelatin silver print, from Anthony Hordern and Sons pictorial collection.
My apologies for being late this month with this post. If you read my post “October wins, but by less of a margin,” you understand why. Now onto three documentaries which helped keep me going.
The White River is an amazing place to spend your day. As I trudged through the brush and made my own trails, my friends, Steve and Sandra, went fly fishing. It was a beautiful day with little wind, lots of sunshine, and plenty of time to breathe and relax.
The screaming woke me up. It took several moments for me to determine the screaming was coming from inside my head. It happens. It is part of my trauma. It is part of a flashback. It gets worse, like everything else in October.