Dear Dean Magazine: October 2023

DEAR DEAN 

M A G A Z I N E 

IT’S A SUPER 

SPOOKY REALITY 

F E A T U R E D S T O R Y 

WHITE MEN 

+ 

+ 

ENOUGH OF CASSIDY HUTCHINSON 

UNCLE VERN ON MUD BURN 2023 

A MESSAGE TO MY JEWISH FRIENDS 

+ 

I WISH I COULD TELL MY 

MOM HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

+ THE LOST ART OF LISTENING 

Plus! 

IN 2023 

Myron's Hit or Miss List 

New Movie Reviews 

What I'm Streaming Right Now 

Hot Takes 

Featured Books 

V O L . 2 2 | O C T O B E R 2 2 , 2 0 2 3

THE GOODS 

03 Welcome From Myron 

06 

White Men 

by Myron J. Clifton 

10 A Message To My Jewish Friends 


16 Enough Of Cassidy Hutchinson 


19 

Hot Take! x3 

24 

30 

34 

36 

40 

Uncle Vern on Mud Burn 2023 

by Dr. Vernon Andrews 

I wish I Could Tell My Mom 

Happy Birthday 


Myron's HIT or MISS List 

Movie Reviews / My Favorite 

Things Streaming Right Now 

The Lost Art Of Listening 

by Katya Juliet Lerner 

D E A R D E A N M A G A Z I N E , W E B S I T E , 

B L O G S A N D B O O K S A R E D E S I G N E D 

B Y K A T Y A J U L I E T L E R N E R

Welcome! 

October 2023 

All Hollow’s Eve is upon us and in 

this issue we recognize that the 

world is a scary place for children, 

Jewish people in Israel and around 

the world, and Palestinians. 

We give a shout out to our Jewish friends and the 

need to listen, understand, and be empathetic, while 

trying to understand each other. We take another 

former Trump official, Cassidy Hutchinson, to task 

for profiting off her time working for him. Katya 

Juliet writes a short piece on the Lost Art of 

Listening. And we hear a firsthand account from Dr. 

Vernon Andrews who attended this past summer’s 

Burning Man that was plagued by torrential rains 

and historic flooding. Dr. Andrews provides a 

different viewpoint of what went down – much 

different than what mainstream media reported at 

the time. 

We have excellent articles from contributors every 

month and this month is no different. 

All your favorites are here as well– What’s 

Streaming, Television reviews, Hot Takes, Hit/Miss, 

and don’t miss our latest book advertisements from 

our readers. 

There’s a lot here and we hope you enjoy it all, share 

it all, and let us know on social media (see our 

contributor handles with articles). 

We publish thought-provoking articles on 

government, gender, race, and politics, while also 

providing space for movie and television reviews, 

poetry, short stories, food, pets, fun, and a 

welcoming platform for independent authors and 

writers. 

And we provide this space for free – because our 

motto is and will remain: Some Art Deserves to be 

Free. 

Enjoy this month’s issue, please support the writers 

and the authors whose books we advertise for free. 

We appreciate you as a reader and we thank you for 

sharing the magazine to your social media network, 

friends, and family. And we look forward to seeing 

YOUR contribution soon. 

-Myron 

DEAR DEAN MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2023 | p.3

About Me 

Website | Bookshop | Twitter 

Myron J. Clifton is an author of novels Jamaal’s Incredible Adventures in the Black Church; 

Monuments: A Deadly Day at Jefferson Park; BLM-PD: Revenge was Inevitable; Her Legend Lives in 

You: The Untold Story Honoring the Goddess & Our Daughters; and short story collection, We 

Couldn’t Be Heroes, and Other Stories. Also check out his weekly podcast, Voice Memos, his FREE 

digital magazine, Dear Dean Magazine, and his weekly blog at both Medium and DearDean.com. 

Myron lives in Sacramento, California, and is an avid Bay Area sports fan. He likes comic books, telling 

stories about his late mom to his beloved daughter Leah, and talking to his friends. BOOKS ON 

AMAZON 

Loving Myron J. Clifton's Content? 

S H O W Y O U R S U P P O R T W I T H 

A C O N T R I B U T I O N T O D E A R D E A N ! 

Advertising / Contributions 

words@deardeanpublishing.com 


Jamaal's Incredible Adventures in the 

Black Church by Myron J. Clifton 

Before Jamaal's seventeenth birthday, he’s appointed as his preacher uncle’s 

designated driver and unwilling personal confidant. Behind the fine outfits and 

hats, behind the delicious cooking, Jamaal is exposed to crazy aunties, sexy church 

sisters, corrupt pastors, and predator deacons. A good kid who just wants time to 

finish his homework and kiss a girl his own age, Jamaal is dragged through the 

strange world of the Black church. You best pray for him. 


F E A T U R E D A R T I C L E 

Myron J. Clifton 

I say this with the utmost respect for my friends. White 

men in America are destroying every piece and part of 

this country with methodical precision. Every 

institution, government office and department, the 

judiciary, business, public schools, healthcare, law 

enforcement, military, and diplomacy. 

WHITE MEN 

They have been every president except one and that 

one, twice elected Barack Obama, sent them into a 

spiral of hate and racism the nation hasn’t recovered 

from. 

It’s not unions. Or migrants. Or Black folk, Latino, gay, 

lesbian, transgender, or Jewish folk. It’s specifically 

white men and the uneven power they hold in every 

facet of American society. 

They are the forced main character we all have to step 

aside for, tolerate, fear, work for. 

It’s not only religious or southern, either. It’s coastal, 

rural, wealthy, middle class, poor, and every datapoint 

in between including Republican, Democratic, 

Independent, Green, Socialist. 

On most social media sites white women are called out 

100% of the time for voting majority republican and 

propping up white supremacy — and RIGHTLY so! 

But guess who they’re propping up? 

70% or so staunchly vote republican and will NEVER 

change no matter what happens, who says what, or who 

pleads. They are the epitome of high on their own 

supply. 

Guess who’s rewarding them? Uh huh. But in my 

opinion white men don’t nearly get the consistent heat 

white women do. 


M Y R O N J . C L I F T O N 

Side note- in a twisted way that’s a “compliment” to white 

women since it indicates most folk still have hope they’ll 

turn. 

Twisted but I think there’s something to it. Conversely, 

almost no one thinks white men will turn and that’s saying 

so much more. 

A new lost cause. 

White vote republican more than any other 

demographic. Think about that for a moment — they are 

the only demographic, along with white women- who 

votes majority republican. Every other demographic 

votes majority for democrats, votes to help people, not 

harm people, except white people. 

Correction, white male, and female democrats running for 

office think they can turn white men despite 60 years of 

evidence they cannot. And despite white men running as 

republican who NEVER court Black/brown voters. 

*Washed up dumb ass rappers and losers like Herschel 

Walker, Larry Elder excepted. 

In fact republicans do the opposite: they regurgitate anti- 

Black tropes, stereotypes, lies, and anti-Brown bullshit so 

they can recruit MORE white voters. That’s right. The main 

way republicans, white men and women, recruit more 

republicans is by spreading lies and fears about Black 

people, migrants, and other marginalized demographics. 



And every election our funky ass media plays along like any 

of it is new. 

We see this the world over, not only in the U.S. 

What’s happening in Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, Koreas, 

multiple African nations, Australia’s recent racist vote, the 

Caribbean Islands, especially Puerto Rico, South and 

Central America.. can be traced to one specific 

demographic. It’s infuriating and sad. Frustrating and 

debilitating. 

That demographic counts 70m deaths in World War II, 2 

million in Vietnam, and hundreds of millions other civilian 

deaths around the world just over the past century from 

imperialism, colonization, enslavement, genocide, 

environmental, drugs, guns, law enforcement. 

There’s a movie trope that sees the main white guy 

give a speech at some pivotal moment in his life — loss 

of job, loss of life, loss of sporting event, or, new job, 

new awareness, new partner, new weapon- and he 

gives the big speech and everyone else stands around 

honored that the white man is talking again. 

I guarantee you no one in real life would stand and 

listen to average white guy give a long ass speech as 

aliens are descending, ghosts are destroying, or 

warriors are charging. 

They tell you what the “right” religion is and they force 

their beliefs on the entire world under threat of death, 

economic instability, regime change. 

I wish white men could live one day -hell one hour- like 

the rest of us. It wouldn’t change them, I know, but I’d 

enjoy their momentary existence as something other 

than the misguided belief they are the main character. 

White men take up too much space, speak too frequently, 

yell too much, occupy too much, and force themselves in 

far too many spaces. They talk over and through everyone 

else because they believe they must always be heard. They 

have the most speaking parts in movies and on television, 

they are most judges, lawyers, professors, managers, 

CEO’s, newscasters, talk show hosts. 

click 


F E A T U R E D B O O K 

Marcus A. Banks-Bey, M.Div 

Gathered experience and elevation gained from years as an Army & hospital chaplain, mental health worker 

and clinical psychology doctoral student, equips Marcus A Banks to aid in journeying the reader to 

intelligently question their past belief systems and future creative visions of thought and identity as a 

purposeful means to developing their own personal reality for establishing their “true identity.” 

Within Dig Deep lies practical language, developed to help the reader grow the relationship with 

themselves, and understand why nurturing the relationships we have with our Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness 

and Finances will support our Purpose, Planning, Patience, and Persistent-Perseverance. This system helps 

one establish their own 5×5 Side by Side Guide through life. Dig Deep was written following a series of 

extremely challenging life occurrences, including the suicide of the author’s brother, Iverson; divorce; and 

war deployment. From this place, the author engaged in the process of self-discovery, self-awareness and 

meaning. 


F E A T U R E D 

S P O T L I G H T 


I don’t think most folk can fully appreciate or understand 

how attacks on Jewish folk is scary to the core of all 

Jewish people. 

When there’s only roughly 16m of you, recent memory 

when dozens of nations worked to exterminate you, and 

you are always top 2 target for hate attacks. 

My community isn’t exempt from antisemitism either. 

I was raised a Pentecostal Christian and taught 

Christian theology that negates, warps, dismisses, fauxhonors, 

and spreads falsehoods about Judaism, faith, 

and G-D, while diminishing the Christian savior’s 

Jewishness. 

Hate attacks in any country where you have diaspora. 

It’s truly frightening. 

We were taught “Jews need Jesus too” and other lies 

and vile messages disguised as truth and love. 

Nowhere is truly safe -in that Black folk can identify. Not 

even in this nation that always have spreading 

antisemitism. Where apps such as Twitter is a cesspool of 

antisemitism and there’s nothing Jewish folk can do to 

stop it. 

They can’t stop Fox News, MSNBC, the Republican Party, 

far left Democrats, or new immigrants. 

And yet Black Americans specifically remain the people 

who best understand Jewish fear and anger at always 

being blamed for… everything. 

There are only 16m or so Jewish people in the world. 

Someone pointed out how the Jewish population has 

never or perhaps just recently recovered from World 

War 2. 

They can’t stop being blamed for the Ukraine-Russia war, or 

blame for any bad thing that happens in the “Middle East” 

or Hollywood or mass media. 

That’s 80+ years trying to recover their population 

while also trying to prevent the next occurrence of 

genocide. 

It’s always the “Jewish folk’s fault.” 

That’s fucked up beyond measure. 



And once again here we are with war and threats of more 

war. Talks of eradication, destruction, death. 

And a people who can never let their guard down. 

As many are saying and which I concur, I am not an expert 

on Middle East politics. I’m not an expert on Jewish 

history. I don’t know how or why enough to teach a class 

about Jewish people, history, culture, or religion, but I 

know enough about what it means to fight for survival 

every second of every day. 

And I know what it means to be scapegoated for - 

everything by nearly everyone. 

It’s exhausting, debilitating, angering, and fuels stress, 

sickness, and death. I know what it means to push down 

and hide the anger from micro and macro aggressions. I 

know hopelessness and resignation. 

But I also know resiliency of the type handed down 

through words, deeds, and DNA. Of the need to stand tall 

not turn away, and claim and demand my humanity. 

The pain this tiny community is experiencing right now is 

hard to comprehend especially from the comfort of 

middle and upper class society safe from rockets, bombs, 

terrorists, and a mostly indifferent world. The thought 

brings unbearable sadness. 

A world that for thousands of years wanted them 

ended, eradicated, and genocided. 

I’m sad for my Jewish sisters and brothers and I wish 

you peace, security, safety -things we all want at home 

and in our homes. I want your home to give you that 

whether home in your homeland or your diaspora. 

May you and peace finally find one another. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. 

I am pacifist and I do not like any violence. I understand 

government and why violence happens and is necessary 

in this world because I have to know the world I live in. 

And Jewish folk have to know the world they live in. 


CLICK TO MEET 

THE HOSTS! 

MYRON 

JENN 

Two longtime friends have informative, yet 

brief discussions about multitudinous topics. 

NEW EPISODES ON FRIDAYS! 


MYRON J. CLIFTON & JENNIFER VANLAANEN'S PODCAST 

VOICE MEMOS REVIEWS 

Listen Now! 

Stay 

Shallow! 

Like listening to your BFFs June 2, 2022 

kjlerner


The intimate and heartbreaking story of a Black undercover police officer who famously kneeled by the 

assassinated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr--and a daughter's quest for the truth about her father. 

In the famous photograph of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on the balcony of Memphis's 

Lorraine Motel, one man kneeled down beside King, trying to staunch the blood from his fatal head wound 

with a borrowed towel. 

This kneeling man was a member of the Invaders, an activist group that was in talks with King in the days 

leading up to the murder. But he also had another identity: an undercover Memphis police officer reporting 

on the activities of this group, which was thought to be possibly dangerous and potentially violent. This 

kneeling man is Leta McCollough Seletzky's father.. 

Marrell McCollough was a Black man working secretly with the white power structure, a spy. This was so 

far from her understanding of what it meant to be Black in America, of everything she eventually devoted 

her life and career to, that she set out to learn what she could about his life, his actions and motivations. 

But with that decision came risk. What would she uncover about her father, who went on to a career at the 

CIA, and did she want to bear the weight of knowing? 


We Couldn't Be Heroes 

Short Story Collection: We Couldn't Be Heroes And Other Stories What if a Black 

man could control the weather, God called 911, or aliens took our souls? Would 

we notice? Would we care?... Enjoy the entire collection, seven stories in all, on 

earth and in space and in any order. 


ENOUGH OF 

CASSIDY 

HUTCHINSON 


Myron J. Clifton 

You can’t be redeemed without condemning that which 

necessitates redemption. 

Cassidy Hutchinson is another former Trump 

republican seeking to profit off her time in the white 

house by writing a book about her time working for the 

disgraced former president. 

Her book, which I won’t mention or link here, is one of 

many by former maga employees who worked hand in 

hand with the worst president in history, agreed with all 

of his racist, homophobic, traitorous, illegal, and 

misogynistic policies and actions from the moment he 

hired them up until they recognized they too could go 

to prison. 

And in Cassidy’s case she had signed on to privately 

continue working for him at Mar a Lago after he was 

kicked out of office. 

Cassidy, like Mike Pence, Chris Christie, Mitt Romney, 

Bill Barr, Mark Meadows, Jared and Ivanka, Rex 

Tillerson, and Trump staff and appointees are neither 

heroes or good Americans. 

Cassidy refused to abandon the party that tried to 

overthrow the government and she is now absurdly 

calling herself a “Romney republican” with a serious 

face. 

Cut the bullshit, Cassidy. There are no Romney 

republicans outside of perhaps the Mormon vault, er, 

sanctuary. 

Romney is the same man who bowed down and 

humiliated himself while begging your boss and friend 

Trump for a job. 



The redemption tour is being breathlessly covered by mass 

media salivating to attach themselves to anything having 

to do with buttering their bread: all things Trump. 

And predictably the main people falling for Cassidy’s grift, 

besides conservative media — which is all media, let’s be 

clear — are white self-proclaimed democratic voters. 

Black voters, especially Black women, are again called on 

to make clear for all other democratic voters: Do Not Fall 

For The Okie-Dokie. 

But so desperate are white people to find redemption in 

their own family who are maga republicans they latch onto 

anyone they can identify with who speaks out about and 

pretends to depart from maga republicans. 

It doesn’t matter that their family and friends, like Cassidy, 

still plan to vote for republican — even Donald Trump, 

because at least they can have a better family gathering for 

Thanksgiving this year, I guess. 

It is in parts exhausting, frustrating, and angering that it is 

so easy for democratic voters who are white to so quickly 

forget what people like Cassidy co-signed and enabled. 

To side with the political party that attacks the disabled 

and wants to eliminate 80% of funding for urban schools. 

That has sued to stop the President from eliminating 

student debt. 

That has made abortions illegal in many states and 

severely restricted in many others. Who refuse to take 

meaningful action on gun control no matter how many 

massacres happen in our schools, malls, theatres, work 

places, and streets. 

They are siding with Cassidy and republicans as they 

loudly proclaim that striking workers in the auto 

industry — and any other striking workers — should be 

fired the moment they strike. 

Cassidy and the white democrats slathering her with 

praise are going along with the party that is banning 

books, that is attempting to erase Black history and 

refusing to teach it in schools, and that are working hand 

in hand with the domestic terrorist group moms for 

liberty as they organize to fire any and all Black school 

superintendents. 

White democratic voters who are praising Cassidy 

Hutchinson and her support of republicans are spreading 

the dangerous and historically inaccurate and racist idea 

that Black people benefited from slavery. 

And they are siding with the party who launched an 

insurrection on the Capital of the United States, who 

have had one-thousand arrested, and hundreds 

convicted — all the while their leader, who Cassidy 

joyfully worked for and agreed to work for after the 

insurrection — has also been indicted for in multiple 

states. 

They seem to forget Cassidy was okay with “Grab them 

by the pussy, all Mexican men are rapists, there were ‘fine 

people’ who conducted the white nationalist march in 

Charlottesville, and calling the media the enemy.” 

It is no wonder many Black democrats remain skeptical 

non-Black peer democrats. 

To side with the party who increase their giving to the NRA 

every time there is a gun massacre. 



How many times do white democrats have to re-learn the 

same lessons? The republican party has been on a death 

spiral since the passage of the Civil Rights Act in the 

1960’s. 

Why can’t white democrats see what Black democrats see? 

Because no matter how awful Trump was during his putrid 

4 years, more white women voted for him the second time 

around. Just Like Cassidy. 

are your republican family and friends — without 

them condemning that which requires redemption 

and voting differently. 

It is so far past the time to raise the bar on complicit 

joiners like Cassidy Hutchinson. Praising her for doing 

the least is pathetic and shows just how little 

republican women have to do to reclaim their place 

atop the hierarchy. 

Enough of republicans. 

Enough of weak white democrats. 

Enough of girl boss go girl stand up to the patriarchy 

and get yours. 

Enough of bullshit white feminism and all the 

selfishness that comes with it. 

Every voting demographic voted majority for the 

democratic candidate in 2016 and 2020.. except white 

voters. Read that again- the entire electorate votes one 

way, and white voters vote the other. 

It defies reality that they believe only they are right and 

everyone else is wrong. 

The only option to salvage the “American experiment” 

exclusively goes through the democratic party, as all but 

one voting demographic realizes. 

Enough of infantilizing white women as if they do not 

have full agency to decide for themselves. 

No one has to side with the party of white supremacy 

by force. Everyone who votes republican is deciding 

that white supremacy is the only thing that matters to 

them. 

Enough of Cassidy Hutchinson. 

The republican party is the anti-American party and they 

have been for decades and yet grifters like Cassidy 

Hutchinson vote to keep it that way. 

There is no redemptive arc for the republicans, including 

the Cassidy Hutchinson’s in the party — no matter if they 

click 


Myron's 

HOT TAKE 

#1 

I’m not surprised folk in this country demands to see dead 

children/babies. This is the nation that popularized 

postcards of Black people being lynched, who leave dead 

Black bodies in the streets for hours, and who demand to see 

what happened *before the police shot someone. 

#2 

Thank you democratic voters of Louisiana for giving an early 

warning to the: Get Out the Vote Don't Get Complacent 

Every Vote Matters Don't Depend on Converting White 

Republicans, and It Ain't The Messaging. 

#3 

I remember a manager taught me something that benefited 

my entire career. The Professional Pause. Don’t send an email 

before taking a professional pause. The pause could be 20 

minutes, 4 days, 3 months, or 2 years. 

I’m using that advice before spouting or tweeting anything 

about Israel and Palestine. 


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In anticipation of the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, Catherine 

Prendergast draws on a combination of insights from legal studies and literacy studies to interrogate 

contemporary multicultural literacy initiatives, thus providing a sound historical basis that informs current 

debates over affirmative action, school vouchers, reparations, and high-stakes standardized testing. 

As a result of Brown and subsequent crucial civil rights court cases, literacy and racial justice are firmly 

enmeshed in the American imagination—so much so that it is difficult to discuss one without referencing 

the other. Breaking with the accepted wisdom that the Brown decision was an unambiguous victory for the 

betterment of race relations, Literacy and Racial Justice: The Politics of Learning after Brown v. Board of 

Education finds that the ruling reinforced traditional conceptions of literacy as primarily white property to 

be controlled and disseminated by an empowered majority. Prendergast examines civil rights era Supreme 

Court rulings and immigration cases spanning a century of racial injustice to challenge the myth of 

assimilation through literacy. Advancing from Ways with Words, Shirley Brice Heath’s landmark study of 

desegregated communities, Prendergast argues that it is a shared understanding of literacy as white 

property which continues to impact problematic classroom dynamics and education practices. 

To offer a positive model for reimagining literacy instruction that is truly in the service of racial justice, 

Prendergast presents a naturalistic study of an alternative public secondary school. Outlining new 

directions and priorities for inclusive literacy scholarship in America, Literacy and Racial Justice concludes 

that a literate citizen is one who can engage rather than overlook longstanding legacies of racial strife. 



Motorcycling in California's 

Central Valley 

The heart of California's Central Valley--from Lodi, Stockton, and Tracy through Modesto, Oakdale, and 

Turlock--embraced motorcycling from the beginning of the sport and lifestyle. Eleven riders from the region 

are in the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Hall of Fame, spanning every decade from the 1900s. 

The popularity of bicycling in the 1890s led to early motorcycle shops, riders, and champion racers 

in the 1900-1910s. 

Area motorcycle club recreational rides and field meets started in 1914. Central Valley police departments 

were among the first to develop motorcycle traffic units in the 1920s, before the California Highway Patrol. 

Early racing venues such as repurposed bicycle velodromes, college stadiums, and horse tracks were 

expanded when the Lodi Cycle Bowl was developed in the 1950s; it gave newcomers such as Modesto's 

Kenny Roberts and Stockton's Alex Jorgensen, Chris Carr, and Fred Merkel--all now AMA Hall of Famers--a 

track at which to compete weekly. 



by Dr. Vernon Andrews 

Burning Man is many things to many people: An art 

festival, a music festival, a dance festival, a place for 

dozens of workshops and healing yoga at sunrise and 

bars city-wide. Mutant vehicle/Art cars prance about 

at 5 mph picking up revelers or dropping them off, and 

at night time the lights come on and we’re all aglow. 

The Playa is all of this. But most of all, Black Rock City 

is a community of mostly like-minded people. I say 

mostly because radical inclusion, one of the ten 

principals of Burning Man participation, admits all 

who hold a ticket. 

We want new Burners in our community every year, 

but people out for adventure, conversation, art, a noname 

cocktail, a free late-night grilled cheese, an art 

piece that begs you to climb up and have a view of the 

Playa – so you can howl at the sunset over the 

mountains like everybody else. We want brilliant 

thinkers with unorthodox artistic ideas and regular 

folks to ride next to on Chico’s Intergalactic 

Transporter Mutant Vehicle. Sure, people do drugs 

out there. People do drugs in your neighborhood too, 

and you still watch football on Sundays. 


D R . V E R N O N A N D R E W S 

And then The Rains Came 

entertain and sooth us – or roasted meat over fires. 

Many bars – these are janky cowboy bars in camps – 

served random drinks to random people and laughed at 

our common predicament. 

And then there was mud. We survived very well. I mean, 

we were stuck in the middle of the biggest party on Planet 

Earth. It was messy but glorious for those of us retired or 

who otherwise didn’t have any responsibilities for Labor 

Day or the days after. I do empathize with people who had 

to get to a wedding or funeral or hospital or otherwise 

HAD TO be somewhere or do something on Saturday and 

Sunday. The rain started at 4:00 pm on Friday afternoon. It 

did not let up. 

People react to difficulty in fascinating ways. We woke 

Saturday to a camp that was quiet and in shock at 7:00 am. 

Seems it had rained most of the night and tents were 

flooded and people were miserable. But there – right there 

– in the middle of it all was an amazing and colorful doublerainbow 

towering above our tents and the pop-up city. I 

opened the door of the Mothership, my 30-foot Airstream 

RV, and announced to our camp of 40 mostly Black folks 

from the East Coast, a very happy – 

“Good morning! We got a few sprinkles last night! But 

nothing like bacon to cure what ails! I’m frying some up 

now. And pancakes too! And mimosas. I don’t think the 

porta-potties have been serviced yet, so if you’ve got a 

feeling for a number one, come on over! I’m even allowing 

this one-time special of number 2s in the toilet!” 

Burners prepare for emergencies. This was our 

moment. We followed instructions from our local radio 

station (Burning Man Information Radio), and 

conserved food, water, and any power source we used. 

We put plastic on our feet and tried to slosh around in 

the mud to see art or visit friends. We helped each 

other. We were just a bit kinder to each other. But not 

always. 

I saw a couple trying to leave with their 20-foot fifthwheel 

RV behind a truck that valiantly spun mud in 

every direction – to no avail. It was stuck. We had been 

told that no vehicles should leave until noon on 

Monday, when the Playa would be dry. Well, people do 

what people will do. Some don’t like being told “no!” 

This small, tiny bit of sharing and concern – community – 

helped our camp. A short while after, a videographer sat in 

the Mothership sad that he couldn’t finish his documentary 

about people of color on the playa. I offered my RV as a 

studio. He interviewed people about dealing with the mud. 

Small acts blossomed everywhere. 

Acts of kindness began springing up in thousands of places. 

A camp across from us decided they would share their 

kindness in the midst of the mess by cutting up about 500 

fresh, juicy mangos and serving them on a stick to anyone 

who got in line. Others played violins above art cars to 


D R . V E R N O N A N D R E W S 

M Y O N J . C L I F T O N 

Vehicles spun mud on everybody as they tore up the 

roads twisting their way up towards the paved road 

which was five miles away. Of course they didn’t make 

it. And for the next three days we had to walk on dried 

roads that had 3-foot divots carved out by careening 

vehicles leaving before their time. 

But community is community. As a 13-year burner, I 

did what any community-centered burner would do if 

they saw someone driving in distress. I gave them an 

earful of snark. 

Our hearts go out to the burner who died on playa. He or 

she apparently tried working a generator in standing 

water (I don’t know the details) and didn’t survive the 

moment. Burner down. That hurts to lose one of your 

own. I want their family to know that we’ve got our arms 

around them and will honor that burner at next year’s 

Temple, the space we go to place mementos of a 

relationship we’ve lost. We then burn the structure in 

honor of the dead. Godspeed. 

Uncle Vern (playa name) 

Snark is common and everywhere on the playa. It isn’t 

real. It’s a joke. But snark can cut deep: 

“Hey! Where you going so fast? You might as well stay! 

Aren’t we good enough for you? You know you 

shouldn’t be leaving. Stay your ass right here. Yeah. 

Park right there. We have hot links over here and 

cocktails. Aren’t we good enough? You haven’t even 

moved 10 feet in the last 30 minutes!” 

I kept it up, and harsher. Finally, he gets out and walks 

away. His partner is there, crying. I bring over two cups 

of ice-water to make the situation better. I invite her 

over for food and drink. But they keep on. Eventually 

they make it out to the main road where they are stuck 

even longer, and without kind friends and food and 

drink and their campmates. Out there parked in the 

mud and unable to move anywhere until Monday. 

While the rest of us found new adventures in unlikely 

places or simply sat around fires and told stories and 

got to know each other much better. My main goal had 

been to spend more time in camp meeting others. The 

rain and mud allowed for three days of deep 

conversations before the muddy job of clean-up. What 

a wonderful time for community to show up, just when 

nature tells us to “chill.” 

Dr. Vernon Andrews 

C L I C K H E R E 


Vernon L. Andrews 

Policing Black Athletes 

Racial Disconnect in Sports 

O R D E R 

T O D A Y !

BLM-PD 

BLM-PD 

BLM-PD 

BLM-PD. BLM-PD. BLM-PD. BLM-PD 

BLM-PD 

In the not too distant future, the US has been taken over by white nationalists, and 

the institutionalized racism that has underscored the country’s entire history has 

once again been codified. California has seceded from the US, and a band of strong 

women plan to start the next civil war following the death of their friend at the hands 

of the police. This is BLM-PD.

NEW! 

ON SALE 

NOW 

Sometimes, when you’re at a crossroads, a door will open and what enters will inspire you. Other 

times, what enters will make you gag. These stories by a ride-share short-timer might have the 

same effect on you. A man, recently laid off from his job and intrigued by the people he might 

meet (and the money he might make) decides to drive ride-share while looking for a new 

professional management position. 

Don’t want to drive drunk? Well, then, by all means, plug in your location and get your friendly 

neighborhood ride-share driver to ferry you to your next bar. Need to move but can’t afford 

movers? There’s an App for that! Tired of waiting for tricks on the corner? Wait—I’ve got an idea. . 

. 

The behavior and stories of folks who call on ride-share turned into a unique anthropological 

study for one man who decided to drive ride-share while looking for a new professional 

management position. Recently laid off from his job and intrigued by the people he might meet 

(and the money he might make), the author unwittingly became the anonymous confidant for 

men, women, nonbinary people, and children. Unfortunately for him, he also became the innocent 

target of people who couldn’t hold their liquor, others who couldn’t hold their temper, and at 

least one who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. 

Little did they know they were in the Prius of a writer, who would be able to look in the rear view 

and tell their stories. 

This collection of anecdotes is non-judgmental, full of irony and dry humor, and may help 

someone else decide: Is driving ride-share for you? 


F E A T U R E D S P O T L I G H T 

I WISH I COULD 

TELL MY MOM 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 


Thinking about my mom, Floy Dean today on her birthday. 

She would be 78, twice as old as she lived. She died of colon 

cancer at age 39. At diagnostic she was told she had a year 

but she lived 18 months. Those last 6 months were filled 

with almost daily hospital trips, and pain. 

I’d lay back down, unable to sleep, and waited for the 

time to pass, her cries to fade, and my alarm to ignite in a 

few hours. Neither of us slept well, but hers was pain, 

mine was sorry and helplessness. I cursed a cruel and 

indifferent god who was uninterested in her health. 

I remember the good times, her laugh, smell, her hair, her 

hugs. But I remember the hell that was late stage colon 

cancer. I remember the nights the most because her pain 

exceeded the power of morphine to keep it down. She cried 

out in pain wanting more relief. 

It is odd because our mothers are our gods. Givers and 

sustainers of our lives when without them we simply 

can’t be born and can’t survive birth. But we are taught 

to turn from a tangible beautiful loving god to a 

untouchable idea of a god who ignores our pain in times 

of need. 

I’ve never forgiven that god for taking her so young. Her 

life was hard. Pregnant at 15 and by 18 she had me, her 

3rd boy. She said she cried when I was born she so 

wanted a girl. She got a girl 7 years later. Kicked out of 

home, violently abused by my father, and religious 

leaders. 

By then it was only us at home so I cared for her overnight 

and all day. The morphine had long stopped working. It 

was a cruel existence and something she didn’t deserve. I 

counted the seconds until I could give her the next dose. 

The relief took moments and lasted moments. 



She survived them all, not because their god rescued her, 

but because she grew up, understood her worth, and 

walked away from them all and built the life she wanted 

and deserved. No one but her sister and two girlfriends 

helped her. Women helping women, she’d say way back 

then. 

She thrived with new work, new travel, new 

boy/girlfriends, until one day she had a stomach ache. 

The time of her post marriage, escaped abuse, made a life 

for herself was all of 10 years. 10 years. A cruel outcome 

by a trickster god who needs to apologize for harming 

her. 

I love and miss her every second. I long for her love, her 

smell, her soft hair when we hugged. I long for her sharp 

wit, sharper tongue, and proudly making her a cup of 

coffee just like she liked it. 

I wish she were here so I could tell her happy birthday. 

Happy birthday, mom. 


Her Legend Lives In You: 

The Untold Creation Story Honoring The 

Goddess And Our Daughters. 


Available on

NEW! 

ON SALE 

NOW 

A cup of coffee or tea paired with interesting company is an unbeatable combination. We learn 

and share so much through this simple social ritual. Nuanced origin stories. Brow-raising 

secrets. Good news. Bad news. Hopes and dreams, insecurities and fears. Sip by sip, we do 

business, catch up, plan our lives, and discover common ground. 

To gain a better understanding of his friends, Myron went on a mission to try their favorite 

drinks. He was struck by the complex flavors and simple pleasures that characterized their 

personalities. Sweet. Spicy. Bold. Bewitching. Optimistic. Ostentatious. Practical. Perfectionist. 

In Coffee, Grounded, Myron reviews these drinks and brews up a perfect blend of culture and 

caffeine. He examines the history of various ingredients and coffee-growing regions, painting a 

vivid picture of faraway lands and hometown haunts. 

Pour yourself a cup and curl up with this tasty collection of stories steeped in friendship and fun. 

Order & Indulge! 


MYRON'S 

HIT OR MISS 

MISS 

Major media, including the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC and of 

course Fox News spread misinformation about the war between 

Israel and Hamas and the bombing of a hospital. Turns out the 

hospital wasn’t bombed, and the explosion was due to an errant 

rocket that crashed and exploded in the parking lot of a hospital. 

list 


MISS 

Rep Kevin McCarthy lost his speakership because 

the deal he made with republicans who hate him 

allowed them to fire him with only one other 

republican calling for his ouster. That republican 

ended up being Kevin’s enemy accused criminal 

Matt Gaetz. 

MISS 

Rep Jim Jordan, also known as “Gym” because of 

horrible accusations he failed to act when he knew 

Ohio State wrestling students were being sexually 

abused. Has been humiliated by republicans who refuse 

to vote him into the Speaker’s chair. 

HIT 

Hollywood writers agreed on a new contract, and they are back to work. What 

this means is movie production will re-start, scripted television will start up, and 

the talking heads on daytime and nighttime talk shows will still not be funny. 

MISS 

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, the two winningest teams in Major League Baseball this past 

season, were both swept out of the playoffs in the Divisional round. 

HIT 

President Biden became the first president to visit 

Israel during a war, as he delivered a speech vowing 

support and weapons to Israel, humanitarian support 

to Palestine, and strong admonitions to Iran not to 

interfere, and Israel not to make the same types of 

mistakes the United States made following 9/11. 

HIT 

Beyonce and Taylor Swift using the power of their 

popularity and record-breaking tours – Renaissance 

and Eras, respectively, to bypass the movie studios 

and sell their concert-movies straight to the movie 

chains, thereby giving their fans even more reason to 

love the powerful entertainers. 

MISS 

Mass media going after VP Kamala Harris- again. 

HIT 

Governor Gavin Newsom selecting Laphonza 

Butler to fill the senate seat of Dianne 

Feinstein. And then Senator Butler 

immediately being assigned to the powerful 

Senate Judiciary Committee – just like Sen. 

Feinstein. 

MISS 

Representative Lauren Boebert getting kicked 

out of the Beetlejuice play in Denver and 

denying her vaping was the reason. And then the 

video came out showing her vaping and getting 

felt up by her date while at the same time she 

was grabbing and stroking his penis. 


MOVIE 

REVIEWS 


Fair Play on Netflix 

A power couple who are thriving in the financial 

industry are thrown into chaos when she is 

promoted over him. He at first tries to be okay with 

his love interest working close with the mercurial 

and demanding owner of the firm, but slowly but 

surely his insecurities cause him to lose his entire 

mind as he tries to destroy her career. In the 

meantime, she is thriving but constantly being pulled 

back by her loser boyfriend. The movie is a study in 

insecure men and the successful women who pay the 

price for dragging them along. 

Inside on Tubi 

A pregnant woman is terrorized by another lady who 

is trying to steal her baby right out of her stomach. 

We watch as the attacker gets more and more 

extreme and violent as she tries to steal the unborn 


MOVIE 

REVIEWS 

baby. It is intense, violent, and horrible. And 

we don’t know why she has chosen this one 

lady to attack. Is she in a cult, baby selling ring, 

or is it something closer to home? 

Meg 2: The Trench 

The giant megalodon shark is back to terrorize 

whales, ships, other giant creatures, and intrepid 

scientists determined to lead the monster to a 

packed beach resort. Of course they do and the 

megalodon does what it has evolved to do. The 

movie is big, loud, senseless, and just overall 

terrible. A great watch if you love shark movies. 

Hallmark’s Fall Into Love movies 

If you want G-rated meet cute stories where the 

goal is to quit corporate jobs, move out of big cities, 

reclaim your high school first love who is now a 

contractor who can fix up the café you inherited 

from your dead uncle, these movies are for you. 


MY FAVORITE THINGS 

streaming right 

now...

S T R E A M I N G N O W 

HBO/MAX: Naked Attraction 

A British series where people looking to date 

get to choose their date by first looking at 

them completely naked, except for the face. 

The person selecting gets to choose from six 

guests. The guests’ genitals are shown first in 

full nudity for men and women. They turn to 

show their buts, and then their chests are 

revealed. Before the final choice, the dater 

also takes all their clothes off. The show then 

shows the date and brings the couple back for 

a follow-up chat. 

PRIME – Gen V (From the Makers of The Boys) 

If you miss The Boys, go right to Prime, and 

watch season 1 of Gen V which is The Boys, but 

in high school. The corporation has a dedicated 

high school for future heroes where they train, 

have unique sex, creative drugs, and lots of 

violent adventures as they attempt to solve a 

few mysteries that the corporation is hiding. It is 

violence, absurd, funny, and very well done. 

Hulu: The Mill 

An office worker wakes up alone in a hollowed 

room that resembles a stable or a barn. Trying 

to understand where he is and why he is there, 

the man is thrust into a nightmare existence of 

hard demeaning labor, random abuses, and a 

few shocking twists that brings it all the way 

around to something familiar to most people. 

Disney+: The Haunted Mansion 

The newest version of Disney’s Haunted 

Mansion is very good and appropriate for kids 

ages 7+. Viewers who have been on the 

haunted mansion ride will have fun spotting 

each aspect of the ride played out as part of 

the story – every background, every ghost, and 

every spooky hitchhiker can be seen (through). 

And because it is Disney+, you can see three 

other versions of the movie, plus The Muppets 

Haunted Mansion versions. 


The Lost Art of 

LISTENING 

by Katya Juliet Lerner 

Focus outward. If asking questions, giving compliments and 

listening are not your strengths, it’s time to practice! 

For starters, you can take notes – write down some good 

opening questions and general compliments you can 

practice making while meeting and networking with others. 

In person, try to listen without thinking of your response 

and simply take a genuine interest in what others have to 

say. You will make them feel important and they will want to 

communicate with you more again in the future. (Pro dating 

tip!) 

While communication is a two-way system, it is not always 

necessary to communicate verbally. Especially when 

learning about someone new, listening and other forms of 

non-verbal communication, such as eye-contact, head 

nodding, how you are standing, smiling and so on, is often 

received more positively than listening to immediately reply 

verbally or with a personal story or reference. 

One major issue is that most of us are so focused on what 

we are thinking about and what we’re going to say next, that 

we lose sight of the importance of listening to what others 

have to say. We may not have even HEARD what it was they 

did say all together! Sheesh. 

fix the situation” if someone is sharing or complaining 

about something in their life. While it is a stereotype, 

many men do explain that if they cannot help fix 

something, they don’t know what to say. This is a perfect 

example of when it might be a good time to just learn to 

be supportive by listening and letting the other person 

know that they have been heard. You don’t always have to 

say something wise, clever or extra. 

Take time to listen and learn about others and they will 

then in return take a genuine interest in you as well. 

Sometimes the two-way construct confuses people into 

thinking both parties need to be continuously talking back 

and forth. 

Listening is a critical skill in business and personal life that 

is significantly under-practiced. If you listen with greater 

focus, you will most likely find it easier to respond with 

more thoughtful questions and insight, and in turn, 

improve your social network, career & circle of friends. 

Katya Juliet Lerner - Bio & Website: 

https://katya-juliet-lerner.netlify.app/ 

I have heard the gender stereotype that men want to “help 


Robin Martin, Editorial 

The Joyful Warrior 

Podcast Network 

Music App 

Mark Lerner Astrology 

Katya Juliet's Jewel Box 

Great Start Initiative

Is Trump in 

Jail Yet? 

Asking for a friend...

Dear Dean Magazine: October 2023

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