“It’s been a long time, I shouldn’t have left you…”

…but yours truly the managing editor needed to make some cash and the things I do for love, like this magazine, had to get pushed aside for a moment. But the family attempt to keep this new iteration of  Kelley’s Magazine going is still very much on the agenda, as evidenced by the many many many phone calls and texts I’ve received from the Editor WMK… “work on the blog. How’s the blog? How’s it going? Lovia, Poppy.”

A lot has happened in the Kelley Klan since last we we were here… our contributor Blossom traveled to Nicaragua with our friend Mayella Haslam’s organization Feeding Nicaragua. Every year, May returns to her homeland. Through donations, she collects enough rice, beans, oil, soap, laundry detergent, toothbrushes and toothpaste to make a packet that will last a family about two weeks, and she travels through the countryside giving them out to her people. She does this all on her own, with the help of friends, her husband and her church. This year, in addition to giving aid, May and her husband and one of her sons also began construction of a church. While Blossom is still trying to put her very moving experience into perspective, she wrote a short piece about it here. Blossom also got another short but though-provoking piece published on You In Bloom, and we are extremely proud of her.

WMK, also known as Poppy (or Papi, depending on who in the family is spelling it) is returning to his position as a creative writing professor at Sarah Lawrence College from his six month sabbatical. In this issue he has contributed a short story that has never been published, called “Elvis in Taos.”

Miss Chi Chi has returned to school and is working extremely hard so we couldn’t corner her for a contribution this go round, but I managed to corral a post from my Sun, Joshua about Nike Foamposites. The kid is OBSESSED with Nike Foamposites. He spends hours on NikeID customizing and dreaming up combinations. He asked me one day, “what is torque?” I told him to google it. And then write me a short post about why you love these sneakers so much.

Professor Kelley The Younger has contributed a poem called “66 Steps”… describing our thirty-something-year-relationship with a tiny little apartment in a fifth-floor walk-up.

Me… I started taking pictures a while back of kids playing football. I didn’t think too much of it other than how much I loved to capture the spirit of the young players until I met Mr. Tyrone Parker from the PSAL – the organization that regulates varsity sports in New York City’s public schools.  My contribution this issue is the beginning of what I hope will be a long-term story about some of these kids–football in particular–who are rising through the ranks. It can be exciting to see where they go.

This time out, we feature some photos by Noxie Studio, and Aiki has written a poem that sort of explains us, her daughters. Look for the new page titled “Mama Said Knock You Out.”

… to quote Rakim again, let’s “pump up the volume” cuz you know we got soul…