Crystal Clear

This Flu Is Serious

by | Mar 8, 2019 8:38 am | Comments (0)

Crystal Emery being treated in the hospital.

Every year you hear Get your flu shot.” You see the signs in your local pharmacies, outside general stores, and at your office saying, Flu Shots Here.” Every year, you see commercials about the flu and its effects on young people and older people. I had the most unfortunate experience to be a victim to the flu and ended up in a hospital crowded with other victims.

I got my flu shot, the same as I do every year.

Continue reading ‘This Flu Is Serious’

I Was Scammed

by | Mar 5, 2019 1:56 pm | Comments (2)

Crytsal Emery (center) with Hamden Police Officer Christina Giori and URU Bookkeeper Robin Ford.

(Opinion) — As technology grows more sophisticated, it is natural to assume the capacity to use that same technology to identify and prevent fraud would also grow equally robustly. As I recently found out for myself, however, that isn’t necessarily the case.

Continue reading ‘I Was Scammed’

A Call To Rise

by | Feb 21, 2018 8:20 am | Comments (2)

Crystal Emery.

I am a bonafied, ride or die, New Havener. I grew up on the energy of the 60s during the Civil Rights Movement, the advent of the flower child, busing integration, and Black Panthers. Seeing the fierce independence and indomitable nature of the human spirit during this era birthed my vision for what America could be and the hope for what America stands for. 

Continue reading ‘A Call To Rise’

Forgiveness, Not Judgment

by | Nov 27, 2015 7:29 am | Comments (0)

Crystal Emery.

Often times I start and end my days by reciting the Lord’s Prayer,

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into ignorance…”

Continue reading ‘Forgiveness, Not Judgment’

Reality Check

by | Nov 3, 2015 1:04 pm | Comments (2)

Crystal Emery.

A few weeks ago, I had an appointment with a very good friend of mine, who happens to be a business development strategist. He came to my humble home – keep in mind he is a very, very busy man with a hectic schedule, but he made time for me.

Continue reading ‘Reality Check’

How A “Word Sorcerer” Changed Our Lives

by | Sep 18, 2015 12:08 pm | Comments (0)

Note: A memorial service for Khalid Lum, pictured, will be held Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. at the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale, 211 Park St.

Crystal Emery.

How do you measure the life of a man? I was 15 years old in 1975, the year I met Khalid Lum. Khalid was the director of the AfroAmerican Cultural Center at Yale and I was an impressionable teenager. His giant personality held my attention no matter the topic. I was enthralled by his current events lessons.

Continue reading ‘How A “Word Sorcerer” Changed Our Lives’

Let’s Make This A Season Of Love

by | Dec 23, 2014 1:12 pm | Comments (1)

Holiday season is my favorite. Before my father’s passing in 1993, every Halloween my siblings and I would end the evening at his house. We would laugh and sift through the candies for the children and make sure that there weren’t any foreign objects or loose candy. My father’s birthday was January 21, and so between Halloween and his birthday, there was nothing but nonstop partying; we’d celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and my father’s birthday, but also several of my siblings had birthdays in between that time, and so we would celebrate those too. But even bigger than all the celebrations was the enormous manifestation of love that was always present during this special time.

Continue reading ‘Let’s Make This A Season Of Love’