Soul food Coverage

Enjoy the ultimate cookout at Taste of Soul

For the past four years, the Taste of Soul NC food festival has been a vibrant celebration of diverse cuisines, seamlessly weaving together food, culture and community.

Jessica Messina. WRAL contributor

Durham man is changing lives, one waffle at a time

Big C Waffles in Durham is serving up some of the best chicken and waffles you'll ever try.

King Chicken serving up southern soul since 1958

It's a Washington, NC, landmark, known for fried chicken, collards, and all kinds of good country cookin' and down-home soul food.

Entrepreneur caters healthy take on soul food

Amelia Sneed, owner of Amelia Irene Catering and Events, offers a nutritious spin on traditional soul food.

5 Dishes to Cook For Juneteenth

This year, Juneteenth is more than a day to commemorate when enslaved Africans in Galveston, Texas, got word they were free. It's a statement that black Americans continue to rise, even when promises are unfulfilled. Music, dance and food, like summer fruit, layer cakes, baked beans, fish and barbecue, are central to the holiday. So have that backyard picnic. Take the time to bake a cake, or ask your grandfather if he has photos to share. Buy hot sauce to support a young entrepreneur, or visit a black farmer. Celebrate all that is good, for one moment.

Nicole Taylor, New York Times

Look. Be patient. Grow.

Aging need not only be about loss and grief. There can be growth until the end.

Liisa Ogburn

Super Senior Jerry Kroll

Having a sense of purpose in life is associated with a lower risk of death. Jerry Kroll, 86, has found his.

Liisa Ogburn

On the importance of kindness

It is so easy, almost reflexive, to be kind to a lost child, a new mother, or a baby who will not stop crying. What is rarer to see, but more touching these days to me, are those individuals who take the time to be kind to a struggling elder.

Liisa Ogburn

The closing of a chapter

We were here to walk through my grandparent's home one last time before it was demolished. The house had not been lived in for 20 years. How could we not feel sad?

Liisa Ogburn

Ruby Bullock, the "Cake Lady" of Oakwood, passes away at 104

Some lives have important lessons to teach us. Ruby Bullock's, which was rich in relationships, was one such life.

Liisa Ogburn

Know yourself: Wisdom practices that can help you weather the crises that come with aging

From the classics to Christianity, Buddhism to Zen, psychologists to poets to presidents, this simple truth is repeated throughout history and through the particular lens and words of individuals we have looked to for wisdom.

Liisa Ogburn

Grandmothers, mothers plant seeds that blossom even late into life

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers who seed so much we cannot see until we are almost too old to thank them for it.

Liisa Ogburn

The Importance of Feeding the Spirit

In my work with the aging, I have often seen -- especially at moments when we are most vulnerable--that those who have cultivated the life of the soul or spirit, have tools that can provide some comfort in moments of crisis. This past weekend further underlined that lesson.

Liisa Ogburn

Presence over presents

We're in the season of Black Fridays, Cyber Mondays and all these external messages that get us stirred up internally. How do we go wisely into this frenzied season?

Liisa Ogburn

Showing Up

There are so many reasons now that it is more infrequent than not that we don't get to say good bye in this way--we live far apart; parents fear the kids might be scared; we have so little time, we get lost and overwhelmed with all the chores a death requires--but there is a reason why this ritual has been in place for so much longer than it has not.

Liisa Ogburn

The Use of Poetry

Sometimes, when there is nothing else to do or say, poetry may provide the most appropriate antidote for a tough time.

Liisa Ogburn

The Radical Benefits of Kindness

All acts of kindness, big or small, can undoubtedly provide some real value to the recipients of those acts, but maybe at the end of the day, they can provide something more important for those with a paintbrush, a drill or saw in their hands: a chance to get out of their own heads for a minute and do something for someone else.

Liisa Ogburn

Dear Dad

Dear Dad, Working now daily with people--many at the end of their lives--I am well aware that too often we don't say the most important things that we carry in our hearts. Here is my attempt to do so.

Liisa Ogburn

Senior Star Aimee Everett

Senior Star will appear once month and feature an inspiring senior working creatively within their constraints.

Liisa Ogburn

A New Year's Resolution: Deepening our connections

A Round Robin is a great way for groups of friends to stay in touch

Liisa Ogburn

A meaningful holiday gift: Our stories

Two years ago, on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary my parents decided to bring their children and grandchildren to Helsinki, Finland, to walk the paths where they courted and stand in the sanctuary where they married.

Liisa Ogburn

Remembering to be thankful at Thanksgiving

"Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack. And, although it may feel contrived at first, this mental state grows stronger with use and practice," reports a Harvard Medical School Newsletter

Liisa Ogburn

Never too late: Creating new family traditions

Loss, while leaving a hole in the family, can also provide an opportunity to start new traditions.

Liisa Ogburn

The Awesomettes use sparkle, social connection to ease aging

The Awesomettes, a group of 15 'sisters-in-awe,' join to make costumes, perform and, more importantly, support each other in the aging process.

Liisa Ogburn