There’s Always a Girl Story: The Crystal Merchant

In the summer of 2020, I started an essay series entitled An Ode to Self-Care. A couple years removed from my 2000-words-a-day regiment, I felt an intuitive urge to get back into shape. I used the My Summer Rewind, a 50-song playlist curated by Spotify, created by tracks I played the most between June and […]

There’s Always a Girl Story: Chocolate Croissant, pt. 1

“What did Cydney call you for?” Courtney asked. I had been in a studio session in Queens with my sister and longtime friend, Kristen all day. It was almost midnight and my daughter had not heard from her dad in almost 12 hours. “She called me to ask “Daddy where is my black and white […]

There’s Always a Girl Story: The French Girls, Pt. 1

“Wouldn’t it be interesting for the story to begin, just meeting and talking in a coffee shop?” Noiéme inquired. It was a little after 1pm and the shop closed at 12:30 for the day. It seemed as if the two of us lingered and let time stand still for a moment before we went our […]

10 Years of Single dadventures: a letter to myself

Chad Travis Milner, Ten years in business ain’t no chump shit…don’t ever forget it. In the summer of 2012, you were 26, and began to see some light after the darkest 16 months of your life. You became a father February 14, 2011, your partner diagnosed with terminal cancer days later, you moved thrice in […]

Unpacking Peace of Mind: November 1, 2011

October 31, 2021 To read the original post from 2012, click here. Ten years ago, I left my friend Chase’s apartment in Mt. Rainier, Maryland. As he left for work, I began the final leg of my drive from Buffalo to my new home, Newport News, Virginia. I could have made the 10-hour trek in […]

There’s Beauty in the Withering: October 22, 2011

Listen to Podcast version, Read it Because I Wrote It, here. October 22, 2011. A week before, Timile and I said so long to our daughter. Cydney was the first to move from Buffalo to Virginia, Timile a week later, and I the weekend which followed. Before their departure, my mother in-law asked for power […]

A Critical Mind

Around 1am on a humid 4th of July, I waited outside of my friends’ hotel in New Orleans’ French Quarter. I came to New Orleans for my college roommate’s wedding; and after the nuptials, shooting a music video at the reception, and a drink in hand for the past nine hours, it was time to […]

Basketball…In Memory of Mr. Payne

This was written April 28, 2020. With the recent passing of my former basketball coach, Mr. Payne, I felt compelled to share… I had a rough day. There was a lot on my mind, and it thwarted every attempt I made to work. The words did not flow from my fingertips to Microsoft Word at […]

My Summer Rewind: An Ode to Self-Care 26-“Lemonade”

When life gives you lemons, you make lemon pepper wings with the freeze cups. For days, I have attempted to find direction for this Gucci Mane-inspired prompt. I found it ironic most of my ideas were cliched lemons. I could speak with eloquence and use pejorative terms to make the phrase “when life gives you […]

My Summer Rewind: An Ode to Self-Care 22-“Waves”

New Year’s Eve, 1997. A few hours before the ball dropped, I sat in my parents’ bedroom to watch my favorite rap group, Bone Thugs -N-Harmony on BET’s Planet Groove. After a performance of “Look Into My Eyez,” Cleveland’s finest sat on the couch with my former wife to be, Rachel Stuart to promote their […]