Happy holidays to y'all! I hate Thanksgiving for a million reasons, but I hope the turkey comes and leaves a lil pilgrim hat buckle in the gravy bowl for you, or whatever is supposed to happen.

Will try to keep this newsletter short, as I have other work to do. "Megan, don't you always have other work to do?" Yes! However I'm currently packing 40 years of house (give-or-take thanks to that "down bad b*tch by the name of [Hurricane] Katrina") to move into a one-bedroom apartment by December 8 soooo... Yeah.

Gonna wanna keep reading!

Moving, after basically 40 years in this place. Can't say I'm upset about it, though I do kinda wish it were more on my own terms. I'll make this long story short. With bullets!

• Family dies when I'm 17. House is left to me, free and clear. I'm in college living on campus from 2003-2007. (2002)
• Hurricane Katrina *ALSO* I want my round with Freddye Hill and that ain't never gonna change -- til I get my round. (2005)
• At 22, because all the grownups are saying Ray Nagin was gonna come and knock it down, I work with Road Home to rebuild. (2007)
• Day after I have my baby, while still in the hospital and full of whatever drugs they give you, my then husband who of course was living in the house too had me sign a paper so he could put a loan on the house. To pay his student loans, repair MY CARRIAGE HOUSE that his dumbass best friend ruined. (I still want my round, but I hear life is beating his ass. Makes sense because why would you move to Hawaii, them people BEEN SAYING stay away.) (2014)
• I ask for a divorce (shoulda never gotten married, but you know my family was dead and it made sense at the time because of the timeline women give ourselves) (late 2015, early 2016)
• In Louisiana, and I'm sure other places, if you have a child when you file for divorce then you have to wait a year. So you'll be separated, still married. Eww. Anyway after that year he stopped paying the loan that he put on my family home. (late 2016, early 2017)
• So I paid the shit. I loved this house. Mind you the loan was in his name. So I didn't even get credit for paying and it was challenging to do so. Got laid off. Then pandemic. (2020)
• Eventually the bank was taking the house. Came home to a 30-day notice on the door. My neighbor had been seeing all of what was happening, and she's super knowledgeable about that stuff. She convinced me and my ex-husband to let her buy it. Which seemed helpful at the time because I had no way to move, or anything. And I wanted to stay in this house. Because "it's all I have of my family." (2023)
• While on a press trip in Mexico, I got a text from my neighbor/landlady saying I need to start looking for another place. Then got a 5-day notice, then a 10-day notice on the door from her and the constable. Le sigh. So I was able to get her to let me stay til Dec. 8. (October 2025)
• "Grownups" (folks in my mom's generation who knew me since I was kid) in the neighborhood got wind of this, some of them also landlords, and were hella upset. Especially since they've seen her buy multiple properties in this area and had been asked by her if they wanted to sell theirs. (October 2025)
• So now I have a lot of feelings. No hard feelings, as I know God got me and planned all my life, even this. However!
  • It feels icky to know the father of my child didn't even pay for the house his child is living in, a house that was very much paid off until he decided to take advantage of a clearly incapacitated woman (me!) who was literally still in a hospital recovering after having his baby. Yikes. I should've asked for child support, but to me that's for parents who aren't in the picture at all. Also my own absent father was on child support and then had the nerve to try to go to court for custody. "With what car, LOUISSSSS?" That was a horrible time in my life, and I didn't want that to happen to my baby. Which to me was more likely, since he was/is an involved parent or whatever. Because if my nomadic ass alcoholic ass daddy tried it...
  • It feels icky to lose my family home to someone who operates 16 whole home AirBnBs in New Orleans. To someone who, knowing I couldn't afford $800 in a home loan payment, would turn around and ask me for ~$1,500 a month. She was convinced I could get a HANO voucher or something similar. If it were that easy, there'd be no homelessness in New Orleans.

Anyway, really everything is fine. Thanks for asking! I'm in the running for a perfect job, and was even told in multiple dreams exactly what to do as far as applying goes. God has put people in my life who have been so incredibly helpful! So many recommendations! 

It was funny. My St. Therese novena I mentioned in my October newsletter was for Franklin and I to gently move before the end of the year or before my birthday (4/30). On that press trip to Mexico, which was already a funny little serendipitous/miraculous situation, I ended up getting a bouquet of 17 beautiful roses! Will go into detail another day, but basically they were on a housekeeping cart and housekeeping didn't want them. 

Then, during that trip, is when my landlady began her eviction process. In the airport on the way back, I opened LinkedIn and saw the role for which I'm in the running. Etc etc etc.

So God is working it out for me, as always.

AND GUESS WHAT?! Franklin and I will be moving to New Orleans East! This will be great for The New Orleans East Sunshine Weekly! To Highrise NOLA, which is really cute and new. Franklin loves it and so do I. Only thing is, of course, they need proof of income. Which is challenging as a freelancer but God-willing I get a job offer soon! And I've always dreamed of living in an apartment, apart from summer campus housing at Dillard (the DUALS, baby!). 

While everyone else was out pop, locking and dropping in 2007 at Le Phare, I was waking up with the chickens to work with my contractor and stuff. Can't lie, it was fun times. Tin treated me like a daughter, bruh. I can do so much home improvement stuff, thanks to him. Gimme a caulk gun and watch me work!

A What It Is, Reader? A What's Up?

Can a Megan ... just keep in touch? Anyway real quick here's some stuff I've done lately!

Next Steps for The New Orleans East Sunshine Weekly

Glad the election cycle is over! You wouldn't know it by looking at social media, but 501(c)(3) organizations cannot support a candidate in an election. "But..." NO. They can't even look like they are supporting a candidate, unless they want to lose their hard fought and bought tax-exempt status. Could never be me! Especially as a Black woman who knows very well that I may be exempt from state and federal tax but will never be exempt from the BLACK TAX. Praying I get this job so that I can put money into the paper! I can't be shaking my GiveButter can all willy nilly with nothing for you to see of it. So once I get this job, I can fund the first couple months with my money, then apply for grants, and begin to shake my GiveButter can again.

Mutual Aid Embarrassment

A guy I went to middle school with DM'ed me to say he was homeless and needed a little food and drink. Bet. I posted to see if I could figure out where the free meals were over there, in Lake Charles. A friend asked for his Cash App and I said you know what, cool. Posted it. Chile. The people who gave him money? HE REQUESTED MORE. I just... Even right now with life the way it is, I don't think I would ever. Anyway multiple friends said it seemed like it may be a drug situation. Which, you know, "there, but for the grace of God, go I." I really be shocked every day that with all these years of depression etc, that I haven't picked up a drug habit. Gold star for Megan! ⭐ Anyway I was PISSED and was gonna just say nope never again will I do any mutual aid! But a friend from college, a whole PhD, is going through it real bad. So. I'm doing mutual aid again lol.

Making Money Just Being Myself!

Wow! Once again I curated Food Fete, the afterparty for The Historic New Orleans Collection's Food Forum! Also I got to moderate a talk about Black Creole New Orleans food and culture with Wayne Baquet and Edgar "Dook" Chase IV, encouraged donations at the Lede New Orleans Storylines event (like The Moth), talked about the importance of the library at a Words and Music event and was on a panel at Dillard University about working as a journalist. Pretty cool that I'm often invited to talk, and even cooler that many times it's paid. Honestly, it's amazing and I'm blessed!

Halloween Costumes!

First I was my niece Aadyn Encalarde, the teenager in Sinners! Then I kept it on the Black movie tip by being a Gamma Ray from Spike Lee's School Daze that night! Dillard's homecoming is usually not during Halloween, but the new president's investiture was at that time sooooo they combined the events. Not sure how I feel about anything at Dillard right now, but I'm thankful for the Dr. Kim Mooreheads, the Karlen Saloys, etc.

Seven Snippets in Three Sentences

Still trying something new! Here are seven cool things, in three sentences max, in random order.

1. I wrote an article about Bayou Classic and HBCUs in general, for The Washington Post. AND IT WAS IN PRINT ON A WHOLE SUNDAY!
2. The Natchez is essentially a combination hotel and short term rental, and they can decorate your suite for Christmas and even wrap your gifts!
3. It's holiday bar season, and you can certainly catch me at Santa's Study in the Eliza Jane hotel's Press Room!
4. In anticipation of Giving Tuesday, I want to remind you that I'm a proud board member of Lede New Orleans.
5. Excited to eat American classics at home alone on Thanksgiving, my least favorite holiday, thanks to watching "IT: Welcome to Derry" with all that 50s food.
6. Need you to please show lots of love on this post thank you (Birdman hand rub)
7. Next week and the week after, NOCHI's Embers pop-up will be back!

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