Meet Alaiyo

I have never done this before. Blogging, I mean. I am a procrastinator by nature, but finally...it is done! Now, the first test of my creative and/or literary ability was to come up with a name for my blog. Of course, I went through lots of ideas that were already taken - but then it hit me. Alaiyo! Pronounced ah-lye-oh. Maybe you don't know this word. Maybe it looks familiar, but you can't place it. Or maybe you know exactly what I'm talking about. I recently enjoyed re-reading the classic play, "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry. In one scene, Joseph Asagai (Beneatha Younger's African suitor) calls her the nickname "Alaiyo," offhand, as he is leaving. When Beneatha questions him ("...for all I know, you could be calling me Little Idiot or something..."), Joseph defines it as a Yoruba word which, roughly translated, means "one for whom bread - food - is not enough." How profound. Not just the meaning, but that one person could see, understand and acknowledge that truth in another. Like Beneatha, mere "bread" or the basics of life have never been enough for me. In my insistent quest to know, there is always the need for something more - to have more, do more, be more. I have always been a thinker. Even when I try to go on strike. This is because at the core of every thinker lies a quiet discontent. OK, maybe not always so quiet. In any case, with Bread Is Not Enough! I hope to feed others' appetites for knowledge even as I feed my own.

If all the world's a stage...well, this is my corner.

Peace & Blessings,

Isis