https://www.daragaines.me/dara-writes daily 0.75 2024-04-27 https://www.daragaines.me/dara-writes/myfavoritecowboy monthly 0.5 2024-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/0689eb47-8ca1-4593-961d-288d66ed013a/image4.jpg Dara Writes - Remembering My Favorite Cowboy - A chill lingers at the beginning of April unrelated to April Showers. What do you do when a sunny day brings you to tears? What do you do when the rain feels like it’s coming from somewhere deep inside you that’s still wailing and prostrate? How do you keep going when it feels like you’re betraying a memory each time you catch yourself having a good time? I can only say what I’ve done and that’s feel it. When I get so mad that I want to scream, I go outside and do it. When we were going through years of pre-trial motions and I wanted to slap her attorney for saying the quiet part out loud on the sidewalk of the courthouse, that "they were just kids and kids make mistakes", I went to my punching bag and tried to beat a hole in it. Today, almost 4 years later, rather than turn away from those whose hearts ache just like mine, I reach out and pull them close. You might fool some people but you won’t last long. The only award for hurting alone is more hurt and more loneliness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/646cdca7-b289-475e-958a-140264551240/image6.jpg Dara Writes - Remembering My Favorite Cowboy - There's not a day we are not reminded of what was stolen from our family. Our home is full of small reminders of the fights, laughs, and tears that colored my and my brother’s childhoods. Photos of a little snaggle-toothed kid turned handsome high school graduate, with boots in every shot, line the halls and walls. Knicknacks and knives, inventions, and some of what my dear Mommy would call “junk”, still appear throughout the house. All these things had a purpose for Jonathan. He was somewhere between a philosopher and a comedian most days. I didn’t always laugh at his antics but sometimes, his wisdom popped out and it was like some old man was speaking through him. It’s almost like he knew something we didn’t. A hug or a handshake, some way, he would make sure you knew that Jonathan Gaines saw you and he cared. He never met a stranger. Just like that junk, he never judged a man by what he had (or didn’t) or what he could (or couldn’t) do for him. My brother always saw the best in people, even to his detriment. Those of us who love him knew that he didn’t mind getting down and dirty to get a job done, even if that’s giving someone a ride with flies buzzing behind them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/d4af68f4-4db7-4fbe-a584-d5ac687a0f64/58a0f873-b005-4f68-945a-c03ec7a55241.jpg Dara Writes - Remembering My Favorite Cowboy - We pass the spot where she walked away and he didn’t each time we leave home. Imagine the toll it takes. To have the way home, a place of warmth and love, be desecrated and turned into a constant reminder of the violent effects of pride and selfishness. Each day we drive down the road, we are reminded that a piece of our heart is missing. Some days I wake up and, for a split second, forget that he’s gone and think, "Hm. I wonder what Jonjon is up to today?" Maybe I see some jacked-up truck or old school and I think, “Let me send him this and see what he says”. Maybe it’s a beautiful sunrise that I just have to share with someone - then just as I'm about to dial or press send, reality hits me like a ton of bricks. There's not enough time for me to describe what an amazing person my brother was. I thank God that he gave us the time he did with him. A bright light snuffed out by a careless wisp. What do you say to a mother or a father who has lost their child, due to no fault of their own? When they’ve done everything in their power to protect their young Black son from this evil world? What do you say when the person who did it, walks away injury-free and gets a vacation for a sentence? Our family suffered an unimaginable loss due to selfish irresponsibility and it was rewarded. What an unsurprising disappointment. https://www.daragaines.me/dara-writes/growth-in-leadership-why-i-joined-the-arkansas-chapter-of-the-new-leaders-council monthly 0.5 2024-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1e7ac71a-91a7-4ae9-98f4-5eb3dc9c940f/dara+group+pic+3+%281%29.jpg Dara Writes - Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712987404463-URQ6H0QWQHM95B5F6EWV/IMG_4810.JPG Dara Writes - Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712987404428-YIQME2N7F65L4XXQ9XRO/IMG_4809.JPG Dara Writes - Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712987405098-F112Q4DR2HZZ2G7IVBBF/IMG_4813.JPG Dara Writes - Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712987442195-DGNA0V0E70V9N8ROD31P/IMG_4816.jpg Dara Writes - Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712987406150-FJBO1EYPAUJRQAD8D84E/dara+group+pic+2+%281%29.PNG Dara Writes - Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712987406829-3Q61NBE3IPFXN7XFPNE2/IMG_4801.JPG Dara Writes - Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712987407161-AZ9C0JEOC08YPX9WZYIM/IMG_4802.JPG Dara Writes - Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712987946348-WR411U43JM1EVWZXAK6M/421919711_395986746277306_5529802527912945444_n.jpg Dara Writes - Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council https://www.daragaines.me/dara-writes/try-that-in-a-small-town monthly 0.5 2024-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712877823680-WBF4O11YQPID43GFCBBD/image-asset.jpeg Dara Writes - Try That in a Small Town | Black Rural Consciousness in 2023 and Beyond - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712877600358-Z3DQT9WH6E2SYTJBA7XF/image-asset.jpeg Dara Writes - Try That in a Small Town | Black Rural Consciousness in 2023 and Beyond - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.daragaines.me/dara-writes/why-would-i-need-a-consultant monthly 0.5 2024-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64bfb6d15e7ece3ab22cc60e/1712961304892-0T080VSTOMX3K9NASHQB/image-asset.jpeg Dara Writes - 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