Cause to Celebrate

Blooming Anyhow

I paused my chain of thought and creative projects to celebrate my sister, Velinda Simmons, and her husband, Gregory Simmons, on their 50th wedding anniversary.

In the days leading up to the celebration, I had been ruminating on the case of Rick Chow, the convenience store owner who fatally shot 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2023. Chow was acquitted of murder charges earlier this month. The case has reignited long-standing conversations about the relationship between some Asian store owners and the Black communities they serve. The pattern feels age-old and exhausting.

No matter what Cyrus did, he did not deserve to be shot in the back. Killed.

I had already written a reflection about how difficult it can be for me to embrace Black and Brown solidarity as a broad concept rather than on a case-by-case basis. Too often, many Latino and Asian communities, like white communities, are steeped in anti-Blackness. It pains me to return again and again to these realities, especially during a time in American history when such attitudes are being expressed so openly and unapologetically.

It was a relief to turn toward family and find comfort—a soft place to land.

That comfort came in the form of an anniversary.

We dressed up. We ate. We laughed. I danced only a little, as my spine is fragile these days, but I managed a few steps. It was a pleasure and an honor to shift my attention toward a milestone, toward something enduring and worthy of celebration.

I was asked to write a poem for the occasion, so I did.

On This Road of Love
For Gregory and Velinda Simmons
50th Wedding Anniversary

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
		              		Diana Ross

The year is 1975 on McGuire AFB 
in Burlington County, New Jersey.
You're headed to the movies 
by foot with your sister
to see Mahogany starring:
Billy Dee Williams and Diana Ross.
On this road in the dark, 
an unfamiliar voice calls out. 
Where are you going? Can I join you?
You never know when God will place you
exactly where you need to be—
set the compass of your heart,
point you toward your true North.
You walk beside this young man.
Neither of you know it yet,
but you are stepping into 
the first chapter of your love story
while watching a love story
projected on a big screen.
While the movie is fiction, 
what is about to unfold 
between the two of you is real.

Made of facts. Fated by God.
God is good all the time, 
and all the time. God is good. 
What God has joined together, 
let no one put asunder.

The road twists and turns, 
as all roads do,
yet through every bend
you not only survived but thrived.
You kept romance alive.
You held fast to your faith.
Together you've witnessed
518, 250 sunrises and sunsets.
You've held each other through 2,609 weeks. 
You've traveled this winding road 
for 600 months.
Love does not subtract. Love adds. 
You to one another. 
Then children. 
Grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Success is nothing without someone 
you love to share it with.
Every milestone a blessing. 
Every season a gift.
A road. A movie. A tree 
That offers hardest timbers: Mahogany. 
In it, we see your beauty. Strength. Longevity. Resilience.
The home you built 
bears witness.
A testament. Each stone. 
Each plank of wood.
Each prayer offered up. 
May you continue down this Road of Love,
the very road where God placed you both.
Fifty years from where you began,
far from that dark road in New Jersey—
to the bright light of Laguna Lane.
A full-circle love story
from strangers to friends to courting.
To husband and wife. Bonded.
Look how far you've traveled,
but how close you've become.
Look at God. Look at Greg and Velinda.
Look at them still walking 
on This Road of Love
lovingly together.
Glenis Redmond

Glenis and Velinda, my big sister.

As Black people, we have long understood that celebration does not require perfect circumstances. We have gathered to sing, dance, testify, and bear witness to one another’s lives even in difficult times. Joy is not denial. It is survival. It is faith.

Mom and Julian

Fifty years of marriage is no small thing. It represents thousands of ordinary choices made with extraordinary commitment. It is a living testimony to endurance, grace, and the power of showing up for one another again and again.

Lovely Cake (caramel & yellow cake) made by their daughter, Donna Shoebrook

Amber and Julian

This weekend, their adult children: Greg, Onisha and Donna put on a lovely affair on their behalf. Their love gave me something I desperately needed:

A cause for celebration. I am glad I paused and I was present to enjoy the beauty.

Another way to Bloom Anyhow!