Archived Stories with a Present Twist: Chasing Rainbows

Chasing Rainbows

Captured at Pinefield Park in Waldorf, MD on in 2008.

My sojourn to and from home includes a road of trees that is connected to Washington, D.C. and two different counties in Maryland. The nation's capital, with all its magnificent intentions, was dark and gloomy as the rain poured down on one particular day. I all but cried when I saw the adult faces of despair staring back at me through rolled up windows; but I found joy in looking at rain drops skip between my windshield wipers; they were my entertainment. The rain and the wipers were engaged in a game of catch while I waited my turn to move yet 
another inch in the traffic.

No sooner than I crossed my county line the rain stopped. To my left, just before reaching a Wa Wa convenience store, I noticed colored patches arching through the sky.

"No way! Could it be?" I asked myself while turning down the radio as if silence would bring about an answer. Strangely enough, it did.

I closed my eyes and rolled them around to adjust my contact lenses, to make my vision more clear. I did in fact see two rainbows.

Ever ready, I quickly grabbed my camera out of my purse. Click! Click! Click! I got a shot of them, but I wasn't satisfied. The rainbows continued posing in the sky as I made a left turn into a neighborhood I had passed so many times before but completely ignored---until this day.
I snapped again. This time, I was caught in action. The passengers in the car next to me saw what I was capturing and decided to take a picture of the rainbows too. They wanted memories in color.

I pulled over as I was in the way of passersby who mechanically followed the road to their homes, to their driveways, to a life that was so routine that somewhere along the line, they stopped dreaming. The steering wheel of their cars often felt the pressure of their hands on ten and two because that’s what they believed was the only way to drive through life. My detour home proved one thing.

Click! Click! Click! There was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Instead of a Leprechaun waiting for me, I was the one holding the pot...and tasting the rainbow of my dreams. No matter how many days pass in my adult life, I have to remember to dream. I have to remember to sip the different flavors of life. I have to create a way for my heart’s desires to show the rest of the world that through the rain, through the storms, there’s always something more colorful than darkness.

Here's what I know for sure. At the time I saw the double rainbow, I was single and I did not have a child. Eleven years I watched our son play on that same field where the rainbows made their appearance.



Dreams keep us alive. Like those refracted and reflected lights from the sun, we should all be parading in our colorful dreams so others can see the possibilities of those things that seem impossible. Let your light shine in all colors! Take a detour and follow your rainbow. Follow your dreams.

Hugs and smiles,

Sips with love,
Ms. Coffeedreamz #coffeedreamz38 www.yolondacoleman.com FOLLOW ME: Instagram @coffeedreamz38

Twitter @Coffeedreamz Facebook @coffeedreamz38 This post is sponsored by Felicia Watkins-White, real estate agent. (301) 535-7639 Instagram @felicia.white.1675 Facebook @felicia.white.1675

It Was Always Good to Come Home.

Kenny shares a smile with a former Banneker 
student on summer break (2019).

Disclaimer: I am a Hampton graduate, but before I matriculated at my Home by the Sea, the first HBCU I frequented was Howard University because I attended Benjamin Banneker Model Academic College Preparatory Senior High School--it was right across the street. I also served as an intern at Howard's WHUT-TV during my junior year at Banneker, and I conducted research for my high school thesis paper at the university's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. As a result, this disclaimer is to make it known that I am a supporter of all institutions of higher learner that support and groom students to explore their ambitions. Please be clear, however, my loyalty is to my pirate blue and white, but I am here to celebrate success no matter the location. In the words of Dr. William R. Harvey, "Let's get on with it." I hate that I had to do this, but the INTERNET...sigh.

I am convinced there is a formula for success--pray and collect or reject energies. Oh yeah, and go where people know your name. As I enter nearly 27 years as a Banneker alumna, I also celebrate the  community involvement that the Howard Deli provided over the years--33 of them I can account for. Due to the pandemic, it has closed its doors, but it's legacy will live on in the hearts of patrons forever.

The Howard Deli, or what my classmates and I called "Kenny's" was a place where we started the day
with a warm blueberry muffin that blanketed the anointed butter that slept in the middle of it or a warm bagel with generous portion of cream cheese. It was also our go to spot for lunch. Even when  the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) eliminated "off-campus" lunch in 1992 due to senseless violence,  Kenny, "Pepi" and Frankie Diaz immediately developed a plan to feed our need for made-to-order sandwiches. Before Uber Eats, before Door Dash, before Grub Hub, we had Howard Deli--pay for our order before 9:05 a.m. and have it delivered at lunch time. It was a plan that worked.

More important than feeding our teenage bellies was the consistent support Kenny and his brother Pepi provided the students at Banneker. They were our community advocates. While celebrities stopped by and offered autographed pictures to be placed on the walls of the deli, the real stars were the students whose names, year after year, were listed as they achieved a milestone--acceptance and matriculation at a college or university. At Howard Deli, we soon realized that we were more than a paying customer. We were part of an extended network that kept rooting for us. It was a home that nurtured our dreams and ambitions with smiles, listening ears, and a big 'ole hug either when entered the door and as we departed.

Want to know what community should look like, see the model that made a difference in the lives of the students at the neighborhood school where 96% of the students are African American, Latinx, or Asian. No one ever feared judgement. No one ever felt anxious. Everyone felt validated, encouraged, and loved. It was always good to come home even after the ink had dried many years after graduation. At the Howard Deli, we were ALWAYS family. It is a place where our aspirations were shared and celebrated and our names were NEVER forgotten.

Thank you, Kenny, Pepi, and Frankie Diaz, for your service to the community that will never forget your names.