Views from a BrewTown Sista (aka The Chronicles of Kayleah H. Madison)

It's Saturday morning. It's already been a week for me in the Lone Star State.  Many of the adventures I had planned on doing while in Big D turned out being a complete success. Today was the annual Family Day at a nearby ranch, where we'll all get to eat some damn good barbecue, play some games or whatever, and for me, to just relax. I knew the lone downside was that 48 hours from now, my vacation shall come to a close. Time NEVER stops for NO ONE. Guess that's why we take photos & videos to remember the good times we've had. Half of my baggage was already packed to spend my last night at a Motel 6 near DFW Airport. This time, I wasn't needing to join the others on the coach buses en route to the ranch. My rental ride, the Hyundai Venue, was my chariot today. I was leaving my hotel room when I saw one of the newcomers, who asked me where the crowd was meeting up. Of course, I told her, but I had mentioned my ride was outside and could be there within 20 min...

  So, the week at BTAC was going on as scheduled, despite the legal troubles thanks to the over-bearing Commander-in-Chief's ceaseless quest to make the trans people disappear permanently. Being in Texas, predominantly a red-voting state with its own anti-trans issues, it's never easy to be exist as we are sans strings attached. Nevertheless, the fight continues on. Friday has arrived, the night after yet another lengthy Black Trans International Pageant went into the wee hours. I went to sleep, not knowing who the winner was, or how much I cared less about it. As it turned out, the new Ms. Black Trans International winner just happen to be a friend of mine...Latonia Love, from Jackson, MS. I congratulated her when I got the chance. Keep in mind (if I didn't already mentioned it in the last blog) I have only attended the event since my inaugural visit to BTAC, in 2019. Why would I spend time being disinterested in an event that I've cared so little about? Maybe I figure...

There I was, sitting in this makeshift classroom in our hotel with my sisters for a series of classes to, well, empower us in this chaotic world of The Pumpkin Head. I had been in an invisible makeshift shell that had been re-created thanks to my not getting involved with getting to know my fellow sisters. It was my vacation from work, yes, however, everyday while I was at BTAC, my hotel room also felt like a goddamn prison away from home. Four years coming here, and it's the second time in as many years that I have a room to myself. I at first expected someone to room with, but thanks to the possible scare tactics of political nonsense, some decided to stay home. Great. More time to stare at a white stucco ceiling, maybe to see if a cockroach or spider found its way to occupy my lonliness. My perennial bout of moodiness returns like a five o' clock shadow on my face. Some of the girls I've known since my first BTAC convention back in 2019. Yet times change, as they always ...

With trans people like me under pressure of erasure thanks to ongoing regulations with the ever-so-Nazi-like Pumpkin Head Administration, this year's Black Trans Advocacy Coalition (BTAC) was as much of a rallying cry as ever. Maybe thanks to Texas' own trans issues of their own, including the potential threat for all trans people living in the Lone Star State to be forced to de-transition,the convention's attendance was smaller than the year before, for multiple reasons. Nevertheless, BTAC must go on, despite all the negative calamities, heeding this year's slogan: "Redefining Our Resilience--I Am UnErasable".  There were newer faces this time around, while not seeing the familiar ones that I'd seen in past BTACs. My hotel room only had me there the entire week, wondering if a late attendee was going to arrive. No soap here. Matter of fact, I had packed so quickly I Door Dashed some items to the hotel from the nearest Walmart. Yes, I know what you're ...

One year earlier, I had made my first-ever trip to the wildly popular convenient store/gas station, Buc-ee's. This Lake Jackson,TX-based franchise has gained a massive popularity due to its enormous size and various range of snacks and novelty items...plus, they make their own food, including pizza, bakery, beef jerky, and especially their own mouth-watering brisket sandwiches. They take a HUGE piece of brisket and chop it up AS YOU WATCH them prepare a bunch of brisket burgers, brisket burritos, and sliced BBQ pork sandwiches as big as a softball, or your fist.  I wanted to get one SO bad, however my friends went to eat a "free" breakfast at a Holiday Inn Express as we drove into Texas last year. The usual crap. I should also mention about how we drove from Milwaukee/Rockford 17 hours just to get there on that Sunday morning. During the night, I was driving through Oklahoma on the way to the Buc-ee's in Melissa,TX when I was passing a semi-truck and head a loud THUD ...

Alrighty folks. Once again, I've spaced out from posting anything new in recent months. In a nutshell, Donald Trump is once again elected as president, and he basically suckered this country into voting for him; Kamala Harris, the sudden Democratic candidate after Joe Biden dropped out all of a sudden, had momentum in their first televised debate. Matter of fact, Harris whooped Donny Boy's ass. Yet, it was Pumpkin Head's successful, $215 million anti-trans campaign that got him over the top. Many GOP candidates followed his trail, even though their info given was complete bullshit. The voters responded for Pumpkin Head in greater numbers than first believed. Hell, even Black men and Latinos voted for this creep. 33% of voters stayed home, not wanting to believe their votes would matter. Oh, would've they! Many of us were vehemently pissed at seeing this blonde-haired bully back as Commander-in-Chief, myself included. I'm still wondering what made him dislike the Tra...