Sanctuary
Sanctuary Originally Published on BuffaloVibe • February 28, 2017 I I pulled the car over to the curb and berated myself. Late again. Lost again. But, not in that fun [...]
A Rush to Coffee
Sweetness 7 First Published BuffaloVibe • March 29, 2017 sign next to the cash register and atop the bakery case reads: “If you'e in a hurry, you're in [...]
Swan Street Italians – Foraging For Greens In April
"Swan Street Italians - Foraging For Greens In April" was originally published April 20, 2017 on BuffaloVibe. This is Lesa Quale Ferguson's original work. My nana (father's mother) wrote me a series of letters [...]
Visiting Buffalo
When I was a teen, Buffalo’s greatest tourist attractions were robust home cooked meals with a galley-full of aunts, uncles, cousins, greats and grands; tradeable Sheriff's cards (without photos) for easy underage drinking; a park [...]
Swan Street Italians: Community in June
My nana (father's mother) wrote me a series of letters over the course of a year, one for every month in which she told me about her life in Buffalo. My favorite portions of these [...]
Original Mother
There are many different types of mothers -- grand, great-grand, birth, original, first, second, adoptive, step, single, divorced, God, fairy-god, nature, biological, in-law, lesbian, @#$%@, earth, deceased, stay-at-home, working, like a -- mother. And, don’t [...]
“I Spy” with the Mayor
“I spy with my-little-eye the Mayor coming through the door.” This was an attempt to wrangle and distract my four-year-old with the I Spy game. I caught him between my knees, one arm acting like a [...]
Bullied on the Bus
My eight-year-old son, Sam, stumbled off the school bus into my arms. Sam usually skips, happy to be on his way home, happy to be outside. Happy! My pulse quickened as soon as I saw [...]
New Girl. My Adventure at Lafayette High
Once upon a time, one cold winter when I was 14, I moved from Ashland, Oregon where I lived with my mother, to Buffalo to be near my father. Over the course of the previous year, my [...]
No Substitute For Buffalo Fish Fry
One Friday, in the Seattle, Washington, seafood restaurant where I waited tables, a customer pushed away the menu and asked me, "Can I get a fish fry here?" I pointed to the bounty of fresh [...]