Latest news with #Readers'Choice
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Will this local café be named the best farm-to-table in the U.S.? How to vote
HONOLULU (KHON2) — On a breezy stretch of Kamehameha Highway on Oʻahu's North Shore, just past shrimp trucks and crashing waves, sits Kahuku Farms. It's a fourth-generation family operation that's getting national attention. The farm's café, already beloved by locals and visitors alike, has just been nominated in Newsweek's Readers' Choice competition for Best Farm-to-Table Restaurant in the United States. 23yo motorcyclist killed in crash on Pali Highway 'Farm to table is a huge buzzword these days,' said Judah Lum, director of operations for Kahuku Farms. 'And we can say that our farm café truly is a farm to table experience where we offer fresh ingredients straight from our fields and neighboring farms.' Voting runs until June 19 at noon Eastern Time. Fans can vote once per day. The winners will be announced on June 26. You can click to vote. Kahuku Farms is the result of more than 100 years of agricultural heritage. The Matsuda and Fukuyama families, who immigrated from Japan to work Hawaiʻi's sugar plantations in the early 1900s, eventually began growing their own crops. Clyde Fukuyama and Melvin Matsuda were childhood friends who decided to merge their farms in the 1980s. Their handshake deal created Matsuda-Fukuyama Farms, the parent company behind today's 140-acre operation. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Now, a new generation leads the way. 'When they started farming together over 40 years ago, Clyde and Melvin never dreamed that someday their tractors would be pulling wagons full of people instead of watermelons,' said Kylie Matsuda-Lum, managing director for Kahuku Farms. 'I feel honored and grateful to perpetuate our family's future in farming. To share our generations of knowledge and history with others, in this amazing place that I've known as home, is a dream I'm passionate to live.' What sets Kahuku Farms apart isn't just the fresh produce. It's how that produce is transformed into unforgettable dishes at the farm café.'We're known for our farm fresh smoothies, our paninis, our pizza and our grilled banana bread,' Lum said. The farm pizza, for example, is a favorite. 'It's got our farm-raised eggplant that's roasted and it's covered with our macadamia nut pesto,' Lum said. 'People love it. It also comes with our side salad which is covered with our little balsamic vinaigrette.' The grilled banana bread is another standout. 'We put about two and a half to three pounds of bananas in every banana loaf,' Lum said. 'We grill it in butter, serve it hot, and it's covered with our vanilla bean caramel and our vanilla bean coconut sauce.' US gained 562,000 millionaires in 2024, far outpacing other countries Kahuku Farms is also home to Hawaiʻi's first locally grown açaí. 'We planted our first açaí trees back in 2008, and we waited a long eight years to get our first harvest,' said Matsudo-Lum. And don't leave without trying the butter mochi. 'We add our handmade lilikoʻi butter right to the batter; and then, we top it off with a dollop of our tangy lilikoʻi right on top,' Matsudo-Lum said. 'It's actually a first come, first serve item; so, we usually sell out pretty quick.' 1. Check the hours before you go: Kahuku Farms is open five days a week from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. They're closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It's a good idea to check their website before heading out, especially on holidays or during special events. 2. Leave the outside food at home: Guests are welcome to picnic on the lawn, but Kahuku Farms asks visitors not to bring in outside food. The café's menu is full of fresh, farm-grown options that suit most diets that include dairy-free smoothies and vegetarian dishes. 3. Order ahead if you can: Online ordering is available through the farm's website. With long lines and popular menu items like butter mochi that often sell out, ordering ahead can save you time and disappointment. Cuts to care: The price mothers and children will pay 4. Yes, you can bring your dog: Pets are welcome at Kahuku Farms, and the team has even developed a dog-friendly menu. 'We rescued quite a bit, and we actually do have a doggy menu as well as doggy treats,' Lum said. 'We're trying to create a pet friendly line of gifts that you can buy from our farm.' 5. Be ready for an authentic experience: 'When you do have an authentic farm to table experience, it requires a lot of hands working together. So, yeah, it starts in the field,' Lum said. 'Then, it goes back to our back kitchen where we process everything. And then it's finished up here where the public can enjoy it.' 6. The food is handmade in small batches: 'One thing that drives us crazy and keeps us really busy is that we make everything in small batches by hand,' Lum said. 'It's what our brand stands for.' 7. Don't miss the cocoa and chocolate: Kahuku Farms grows, processes and serves its own chocolate. 'We're doing an artisan beer process,' Lum said. 'We do hand fermenting here. We also do slow drying. I do believe it does create a very special flavor that our finished product has that is unlike a lot of others.' Man, 25, arrested for alleged assault against police officers The café's Cocoa House features chocolate milk, espresso drinks with chocolate and a variety of gift items made from farm-grown cacao. 8. A growing future: Matsuda-Fukuyama Farms still supplies supermarkets with papaya, apple banana, long eggplant and luʻau leaf. But Kahuku Farms has become something much more and is quickly becoming an example of what's possible when generations stay rooted in the land and open their gates to share it. 'Our mission is to connect people to healthy, local food and the land that it grows on,' Lum said. Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHON's morning podcast, every morning at 8 So, be sure to vote for this local cafe that is showing the world how to be sustainable while also creating ono yumminess. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
On a budget this summer? 10 fun things to do for free or under $20 in Palm Beach County
Summer fun can get pretty expensive pretty quickly. From theme park and water park visits to spending more on dining out and shopping during vacations, having a fun summer comes at a cost. If you're still recovering from a summer vacation spending spree or saving up for one, you might be limiting your "fun" budget. But being short on extra spending money certainly doesn't exclude you from finding something fun to do around the Palm Beaches. Here are 10 fun things to do in Palm Beach County for free or under $20. One of the activities listed is actually a nominee for USA TODAY's 2024 reader-voted list of the best free attractions in the U.S. Take a stroll on the Lake Trail in Palm Beach Palm Beach Lake Trail is a five-and-a-half-mile trail on the west side of Palm Beach that offers stunning views and glimpses into some of the most opulent properties in the area. Along the path, you can stop to see the Flagler Museum, Henry Flagler's estate from the Gilded Age, and other landmarks like the huge Kapok Tree, originally from the Amazon rainforest. You'll also enjoy views of the Lake Worth Lagoon and the skyline of downtown West Palm Beach. The Palm Beach Lake Trail starts at the intersection of South Lake Drive and Peruvian Avenue North in Palm Beach. The trail runs along the west side of Palm Beach, parallel to the Lake Worth Lagoon. Bucket list: 55 fun things to do in Palm Beach County Snorkel at Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach One of three shark sculptures along the Phil Foster Park snorkel trail in Riviera Beach on November 19, 2015. (Richard Graulich / The Palm Beach Post) It doesn't matter if you have a snorkel that you've only used once or if you're an experienced diver. Anyone who wants to see sea turtles, eels, starfish, tropical fish and even manatees can swim along the 800 feet of artificial reef just off the shore of Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach. Phil Foster Park is located at 900 Blue Heron Blvd. in Riviera Beach. For more information, please call 561-966-6600. Florida bucket list: 65 fun things to do, places to visit from the Keys to the Panhandle Learn about sea turtles at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach The Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach is free to visit and offers a look into sea turtle rehabilitation. The sea turtle hospital, located on a stretch of Juno Beach that's a worldwide hot spot for Loggerhead Sea Turtles during nesting season, has aquarium tanks and educational opportunities for the whole family. The sea turtle hospital's operating room even has a screen outside of it, where guests can watch sea turtle surgeries. Loggerhead Marinelife Center also hosts sea turtle releases and other eco-experiences that are free and open to the public. Loggerhead Marinelife Center is a nominee for USA TODAY's 2024 "10Best" Readers' Choice list of the best free attractions in the U.S. Loggerhead MarineLife Center is located at 14200 US-1, Juno Beach. For more information, please call 561-627-8280. Enjoy nature at this botanical garden in Palm Beach Flowers bloom in the Four Arts Botanical Gardens in Palm Beach, Florida on June 15, 2023. The Society of the Four Arts' demonstration garden is maintained by the Garden Club of Palm Beach and has been offering free strolls through its flowering botanical gardens since 1938. The 10-acre property also boasts a gallery building, libraries and a sculpture garden. Built in 1936 in an effort to stoke the arts and culture of Palm Beach County through a myriad of programs like concerts, art exhibitions, film screenings and children's events, this attraction is an idyllic piece of Palm Beach's history. The Society of the Four Arts in located at 100 Four Arts Plaza in Palm Beach. Catch a free outdoor movie on the West Palm Beach waterfront Enjoy a family-friendly, free movie on West Palm Beach's waterfront once a month. Screen on the Green is an opportunity to movie-watch under the stars and by the water, hosted by the city of West Palm Beach on the second Friday of every month. Bring a blanket or chairs and a picnic if you'd like to, but there are typically food trucks nearby. Check the City of West Palm Beach's website for movie schedule. The Screen on the Green is located on the West Palm Beach waterfront at 100 N. Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach. Get up close to a manatee at Manatee Lagoon in Riviera Beach Although peak season to spot sea cows in South Florida's waterways is during the winter months, these friendly underwater mammals can be seen year-round. Manatee Lagoon in Riviera Beach offers up-close experiences with manatees and is free to visit. They offer lagoon tours, Saturday story times for kids, $5 yoga classes for adults and even lectures. Check out their website for a live look of the docks before you head out to the lagoon. Explore Delray Beach's arts district Delray Beach's Pineapple Grove neighborhood is teaming with artsy endeavors. Explore the district and check out the mosaic of street art and murals, or pop into one of the many art galleries, colorful shops, restaurants or cafes. The Pineapple Grove Arts District is located just off of Atlantic Avenue on NE 2nd Avenue in downtown Delray Beach. Listen to a free concert on the water in downtown West Palm Beach If free movies on West Palm's downtown waterfront don't tickle your fancy, try out one of the free concerts held every third Sunday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. No outside alcohol is permitted at Sunday on the Waterfront concerts, which are hosted by the city, but much like Screen on the Green, guests are encouraged to enjoy food trucks and bring blankets to spread out on the grass in front of the outdoor amphitheater. Sunday on the Waterfront is located at the Meyer Amphitheater at 104 Datura St. in downtown West Palm Beach. Learn about the local ecosystem at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton Explore nature and local marine life this weekend at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton. Similar to Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is a Boca-based research and rehabilitation facility with learning opportunities for the family. Gumbo Limbo is a vital caretaker of Boca Raton's local ecosystem and boasts butterfly gardens, boardwalk trails, and outdoor aquariums. It costs $5 per person to explore Gumbo Limbo. See local art at The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County in Lake Worth Beach See an excellent exhibition celebrating 100 years of Boca Raton at the Cultural Council's 'Reflections of a Century." Last but certainly not least Palm Beach County's cultural center in Lake Worth Beach offers a variety of opportunities to explore and interact with local art. The main gallery has ongoing, rotating exhibitions that focus on art that was either made in or is unique to Palm Beach County. The cultural center is open to the public every Tuesday through Saturday, from noon through 5 p.m. The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County is located at 601 Lake Ave. in Lake Worth Beach. For more information, please call 561-471-2901. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Free things in West Palm Beach for students summer break
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Smithsonian Magazine Recognizes Erhan Coral for Outstanding Photography
Istanbul, Turkey--(Newsfile Corp. - May 5, 2025) - Turkish photographer Erhan Coral has been announced as the Readers' Choice Winner in the 2024 Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest, one of the world's most respected platforms for visual storytelling. His award-winning photograph, taken during a visit to Vietnam, was chosen by readers for its balanced composition and clear visual narrative. The Smithsonian competition annually receives tens of thousands of submissions from photographers across the globe. Coral's image stood out in the Readers' Choice category, which highlights public appreciation for both technical skill and storytelling impact. The photograph, portraying vivid floating flowers in a traditional Vietnamese setting, reflects his ongoing interest in cultural authenticity and visual harmony. Readers' Choice Winning Photograph by Erhan Coral To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Erhan Coral describes himself as a self-taught street photographer who developed a passion for capturing honest human moments. "What started as a hobby eventually became a passion, and profession" he explains. "I'm mostly drawn to black and white photography, and I enjoy being out in the street, looking for unfiltered, sincere expressions in everyday life." Born and raised in Istanbul, Coral cites the city's diversity and cultural energy as key influences on his style. "Growing up in such a vibrant place shaped how I see people and light. It taught me to notice subtle gestures and contrasts," he says. A passionate traveler, he uses photography as a bridge between different communities. "Exploring different cities and cultures gives me the chance to tell universal stories," he adds. Following this global recognition, Erhan Coral plans to expand his street photography work across Southeast Asia and Africa. Upcoming projects will focus on ordinary people in overlooked spaces, blending empathy with spontaneity. About Erhan Coral Erhan Coral is an Istanbul-based street photographer. His work explores the human condition in urban settings, with a strong emphasis on monochrome tones, cultural storytelling, and unposed emotion. Over time, his lens expanded beyond local streets to include international locations, where he documents environments shaped by contrast and change. His compositions are informed by a sensitivity to human presence and a strong preference for natural, unposed scenes. He's also a documentary photographer whose editorial work has been published before. Erhan CORAL, Award Winning Photographer To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Follow Erhan CORAL on Instagram For more information please visit the website or contact us directly: Contact: Erhan CORAL, Award Winning PhotographerWebsite: ecoral@ To view the source version of this press release, please visit Sign in to access your portfolio
Miami Herald
16-04-2025
- Miami Herald
The South's No. 1 small town is in Mississippi, survey says. Why it's special
A Mississippi city topped the list of must-visit locales for travelers in search of small-town charm, according to USA Today. The city of Starkville packs plenty of it, as told by readers who voted it the No. 1 small town to visit in the South, per the outlet's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards list, published April 9. Known as 'Mississippi's college town,' it was the only Magnolia State municipality to earn a spot on the top 10 list highlighting the region's best cities with populations under 25,000. The latest available census data shows Starkville is home to 24,360 residents.. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in history and charm, according to USA Today. So what makes it special? 'You'll find a thriving arts scene, multiple historic districts, many opportunities for birdwatching, and plenty of great food,' editors wrote. 'Be sure to check out the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, a treasure trove of artifacts and correspondence.' For the Readers' Choice awards, nominees are chosen by a panel of experts, according to the outlet's website. USA Today editors review the list, then invite readers to vote for their favorites for four weeks. McClatchy News reached out to USA Today for the full methodology April 16 and was awaiting a response. Starkville offers visitors a 'unique blend of history, college sports, culture, natural beauty, and community spirit,' the city's website says. There's a smorgasboard of family-friendly attractions including the Skate Odyssey roller rink and Sam D. Hamilton National Wildlife Refuge. It's also home to Mississippi State University, where visitors can catch a football game or peruse a collection of more than 1.6 million insect specimens at the entomological museum. Here's how Starkville stacked up against other cities across the South: Starkville, MississippiLewisburg, West VirginiaInverness, FloridaWest Monroe, LouisianaSafety Harbor, FloridaClemson, South CarolinaThomasville, GeorgiaCocoa Beach, FloridaWilliamsburg, VirginiaOrange Beach, Alabama Starkville is about a 120-mile drive northeast from downtown Jackson.
CBS News
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Vote now to decide which Top 3 FicPick will be the next book for Club Calvi!
Please consider joining our Facebook group by CLICKING HERE . Find out more about the books below. Club Calvi needs a new book and it's asking you to vote on which Top 3 FicPick should be the Readers' Choice. "Didn't You Used To Be Queenie B?" by Terri-Lynne DeFino is a story of second chances for a disgraced celebrity chef and a young cook who meet in a soup kitchen. "Zeal" by Morgan Jerkins explores how the power of love unites star-crossed lovers during slavery in the south to a young couple in modern-day New York. "The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits" by Jennifer Weiner is about pop-star sisters, the secret that drove them apart, and how the separation affects their family decades later. You can read excerpts and buy the books below. Voting closes Sunday, April 20th at 6 p.m. CLICK HERE to cast your vote. The CBS New York Book Club focuses on books connected to the Tri-State Area in their plots and/or authors. The books may contain adult themes. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ From the publisher: Regina Benuzzi is Queenie B—a culinary goddess with Michelin Star restaurants, a bestselling cookbook empire, and multimillion-dollar TV deals. It doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous and curvaceous, with cascading black hair and signature red lips. She had it all. Until she didn't. After an epic fall from grace, Queenie B vanishes from the public eye, giving up everything: her husband, her son, and the fame that she'd fought to achieve. Her shows are in rerun, her restaurants still popular, but her disappearance remains a mystery to her legions of fans. Local line cook Gale Carmichael also knows a thing or two about disaster. Newly sober and struggling, Gale's future dreams don't hold space for culinary stardom; only earning enough to get by. Broke at the end of the week, he finds himself at a local soup kitchen in one of the roughest parts of New Haven, Connecticut. But Gale quickly realizes that the food coming out of the kitchen is not your standard free meal—it is delicious and prepared with gourmet flair. Gale doesn't recognize Regina, the soup kitchen's cranky proprietor, whose famous black mane is now streaked with gray. It's been more than ten years since Queenie B vanished into her careful new existence. But she sees Gale's talent and recognizes a brokenness in him that she knows all too well. The culinary genius in hiding takes him under her wing. Teaching Gale, Regina's passion to create is reignited, and they both glimpse a shot at the redemption that had always seemed out of reach. When Gale is chosen to compete on the hit cooking show, Cut!, i t's a turning point for them both. It's Gale's time to shine. And that means Queenie B might just have to come out of hiding… Terri-Lynne DeFino lives in Connecticut. "Didn't You Used To Be Queenie B?" by Terri-Lynne DeFino (ThriftBooks) $23 From the publisher: Harlem, 2019. Ardelia and Oliver are hosting their engagement party. As the guests get ready to leave, he hands her a love letter on a yellowing, crumbling piece of paper . . . Natchez, 1865. Discharged from the Union Army as a free man after the war's end, Harrison returns to Mississippi to reunite with the woman he loves, Tirzah. Upon his arrival at the Freedmen's Bureau, though, he catches the eye of a woman working there, who's determined to thwart his efforts to find his beloved. After tragedy strikes, Harrison resigns himself to a life with her. Meanwhile in Louisiana, the newly free Tirzah is teaching at a freedmen's school, and discovers an advertisement in the local paper looking for her. Though she knows Harrison must have placed it, and longs to find him, the risks of fleeing are too great, and Tirzah chooses the life of seeming security right in front of her. Spanning over a hundred and fifty years, Morgan Jerkins's extraordinary novel intertwines the stories of these star-crossed lovers and their descendants. As Tirzah's family moves across the country during the Great Migration, they challenge authority with devastating consequences, while of the legacy of heartbreak and loss continues on in the lives of Harrison's progeny. When Ardelia meets Oliver, she finds his family's history is as full of secrets and omissions as her own. Could their connection be a cosmic reconciliation satisfying the unfulfilled desires of their ancestors, or will the weight of the past, present and future tear them apart? Morgan Jerkins lives in Brooklyn. CLICK HERE to read an excerpt "Zeal" By Morgan Jerkins (ThriftBooks) $23 From the publisher: Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were thrust into the spotlight as The Griffin Sisters, a pop duo that defined the aughts. Together, they skyrocketed to the top, gracing MTV, SNL, and the cover of Rolling Stone . Cassie, a musical genius who never felt at ease in her own skin, preferred to stay in the shadows. Zoe, full of confidence and craving fame, lived for the stage. But fame has a price, and after one turbulent year, the band abruptly broke up. Now, two decades later, the sisters couldn't be further apart. Zoe is a suburban mom warning her daughter Cherry to avoid the spotlight, while Cassie has disappeared from public life entirely. But when Cherry begins unearthing the truth behind their breathtaking rise and infamous breakup, long-buried secrets surface, forcing all three women to confront their choices, their desires, and their complicated bonds. Jennifer Weiner lives in Philadelphia. "The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits" by Jennifer Weiner (ThriftBooks) $23 Osvaldo is an a******. She's done as he asked; not a drink or a snort or a pill all week. This week, of all weeks! Just so he and Julian would be at her side in her triumph. Didn't that count for anything? It was only three shots. Maybe four. If he can't cut her a small break, then f*** him. How the hell is she supposed to cope when every moment, from opening ceremony to the awards, rides on her shoulders. She has to be witty and sage and beautiful, all at the same time. Everyone wants a piece of her, and she has to give it to them or fade away like every other has-been in this business. This festival is everything. Everything! A new, more dignified stage of her career. The great Queenie B is back on her game. With the success of the festival, after last year's horror, she can slow down, maybe even let go of one of her shows. PBS has been trying to make changes she is unhappy with, anyway. Co-host? No way. Osvaldo doesn't have to take Julian and go, her beautiful boy crying, arms outstretched, right there in front of everyone. But he does, just to spite her. To punish her. Their friends, colleagues, all those wannabees pretending to be thrilled at seeing the two of them together again are now snickering as she stands on the steps of the stage. Waiting for her cue. No Oz. No Julian. Just Queenie B. She doesn't make a scene. Queenie blows a kiss, as if Osvaldo is only taking their over-tired, special needs child out of a stressful situation. He'll go along with the story, once he hears it. He doesn't want the bad publicity any more than she does. But he won't let her see Julian again, damn him. As if he has the right to keep her from her child. Which he does, according to the court orders. "Queenie?" She shakes herself out of it, shoulders back and chin up. Her heels are high, the steps are wobbly, and she's not exactly sober, but she nods to the kid wearing the headset and holding the clipboard. He points to the woman on the stage. Linda? No, Lydia. The woman PBS wants as her co-host. Lydia steps closer to the microphone. "Few of us in the culinary world are recognized outside of it. We are big fish in small ponds, but!" She raises a finger. "Our pond is getting bigger." Laughter. A few whoops. Applause. Lydia waits. She knows how to work an audience, Queenie will give her that. "We all owe a huge debt to our keynote speaker. Not only a brilliant chef, but a charismatic woman who has been instrumental in elevating our art to celebrity status. The two-thousands will usher in amazing things for the culinary world, for all of us. And we owe it in great part to our own, our magnificent, Queenie B!" The applause. It is dizzying. Queenie climbs the steps, the headset-kid giving her a hand. She looks amazing in her Zac Posen gown; her long hair drapes like an accessory. Her signature smile, the one made into a logo for both her shows, on cookbooks, menus, and personal stationary, sparkles in the spotlights more brilliantly than diamonds. It feeds her, this adulation. It proves them all wrong. Every relative and foster family who gave her back. Every smack and kick and curse aimed to break her. This moment validates everything. Almost everything. Queenie takes her place center stage, waiting. Basking. A pair of attractive, young men approach from the left. Unfolding the crisp, black chef coat they carry between them, they wait on either side of her. To slip her arms into the sleeves. To cover the designer gown with the one item of clothing worn by every chef, from the prep cooks to Queenie B herself. Arms raised over her head, she listens to the roar. Then she lowers her arms, lowers her head, and takes the bow they're all waiting for. The bow she has f****** earned. From DIDN'T YOU USE TO BE QUEENIE B? by Terri-Lynne DeFino. Copyright © 2025 by Terri-Lynne DeFino. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Return to top of page She was gone. Harrison returned to Natchez after the war, and she was gone, breaking her promise. Tirzah, the love of his life and the ember in the dark nights of his soul. Two years and twelve days before, Harrison and his beloved had stood within a grove of magnolia trees on the grounds of the Phoenician Estate to say their goodbyes. She was crying so hard that Harrison had to hold her waist so she wouldn't collapse. And he, sweaty with a dirt-caked face, had asked her to wait for him until the war was over. No matter if they were free people or still slaves, he would be coming back for her. She shook her head until her curls flopped over her face and wondered aloud why he wanted to fight a battle they would never win. Before he could answer, one of the Union officers called for him to get moving and Harrison had to let her go. He had never felt a pain so deeply wedged in his chest as in the moment he left the Phoenician. But he had to get away. He hated being who he was now that he was in love. He hated how he could not defend his beloved from the danger of being in the main house under the lustful eye of their owner's son, Spencer. Going off to war, he resolved, he would defend her, himself, and all slaves, and come back to Natchez with pride. But the Natchez he left, with all its stunning wealth, was not the same one to which he returned. As he and his fellow soldiers rode their horses on a trail alongside the Mississippi approaching the city, they saw that all the levees had been destroyed. With each step closer to their destination, the smell of festering animal carcasses became stronger. Weeds and swampland had swallowed up fields upon fields of cotton. When his regiment arrived at the area underneath the bluffs, they found it eerily still. They passed by a well-known wood mill and a large plantation and garden—the only one of its kind below the hill. Before he'd left, at least a half dozen negroes would be tending to the property at a given time, and now there were none. Hardly anyone was mixing in the street, besides a few negroes here and there. There were no steamboats. No sound of foghorns or carriage wheels bumping along the principal street. The relative quietness bothered him. Harrison had to fight to smother the thoughts of the absences of many people being a bad omen. "You still thinkin' 'bout dat lady, ain't ya?" a fellow soldier asked, catching Harrison's line of sight to a trail where one could ascend the hill to the city proper. "Still thinkin'," Harrison replied. "I finna take my horse up dere right nah so dat I don' waste anotha second." "You needa give dat horse a rest first. 'N by de way, what makes you think dat she gon' even be dere? Look around you." Harrison made a soft noise of disapproval and steered his horse away from the rest of the group, embarking on his own path. "You needa go 'n get you a nice one to lay up wit for all dat hard work you put in!" another soldier yelled out. Harrison squeezed his thighs around his horse until he couldn't hear his comrades any longer. The horse's trot widened into a full-speed gallop as they scaled the bluffs and made their way to Natchez proper, where all the most spectacular plantations sat high. Cows and pigs decomposed along the trodden path, but Harrison was undeterred by the carnage. He knew his way. The Phoenician was only about three miles west of the town cemetery and a hospital, two structures that were still intact when he passed, but what Harrison saw next made him instruct his horse to slow. The plantation next to the Phoenician had been desecrated. Weeds grew like outstretched hands over columns and window panels. Acres of azaleas, wildflowers, crape myrtles, and roses had wilted, been trampled upon, or shriveled up and died. When he finally arrived at the Phoenician's entrance gates, which appeared to have been broken, he slowly dismounted from his horse and took off his hat when his boots touched soil. He stood in front of the grand expanse of his former home and closed his eyes. A cacophony of noise overtook his mind—overseers barking orders, mournful cries, music, laughter, exhausted panting. He allowed his lids to flutter open, expecting to see what he'd dreamt more than once, tossing in his disease-ridden barracks: Spencer Ambrose kneeling in agony over his lost labor, slaves dropping their cotton to dance, Tirzah running out of the main house and into his arms. But there was no one in sight. Unconvinced that he was truly alone, Harrison walked farther into the property. Flowers that slaves had maintained so beautifully lay limp on the brown patches of grass. The roof that Harrison had worked in the blistering heat to maintain was showing signs of rot, which also explained the faint smells of animal droppings and urine; the Phoenician must be overrun with pests. Everyone really was gone, Harrison thought, because there could be no other reason why the grand estate, once home to more than a hundred slaves at a time, had reached this level of devastation. He stood underneath the main house's now-cracked pillars and inhaled deeply, hoping to detect a whiff of Tirzah's cooking, only to have the smell of gunpowder and blood irritate his nose. He circled around to the slave cabins, where a single chair rocked mysteriously on one of the small porches. Thinking that one of his old friends must still be around, Harrison put his fingers in his mouth and blew a whistle. "Hey! C'mon out dere! Did ya hear de news? We free!" Not a single door swung open. No quick pacing of feet racing to see what was going on. No jubilant cries out to the Lord for finally bringing them out of their Egypt. He made his way back around to the main house, planning another circle. While he was reminding himself that the possibility of seeing Tirzah again was worth returning to the place he had dreamt so often of leaving, he felt something small and smooth underneath his right foot. He lifted his heel to see an oxblood-colored wallet with the letter T emblazoned upon it, and dropped to his knees. Seven and a half by three and a half inches with a bunch of pockets to stow whatever her heart desired. A guttural wail climbed out from the depths of his belly and shook the birds clean from their nests in the trees. The wallet was a gift he had given to Tirzah one Christmas Eve. That T, in a golden garland motif, was the first letter he had learned to write, the first letter he requested that she teach him in their secret nightly meetings. Had he taken too long, or had she given up too soon? Either way, she really was gone. From ZEAL by Morgan Jerkins. Copyright © 2025 by Morgan Jerkins. Excerpted by permission of Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Return to the top of page Prologue DETROIT, 2004 I never should have touched you," Russell D'Angelo says to the empty room. He twists the lock, toes off his cowboy boots, and leans his fore- head against the hotel-room door, against the framed placard. He's too close to read the emergency evacuation routes it details, even if his eyes weren't blurry with tears. He pinches the bridge of his nose, hard. This is an emergency, the worst he's ever been in, and knowing how to exit the building safely won't help. He is thinking about how she looked, about what he'd said. I never meant for this to happen , he'd told her as she'd glared at him from the hallway, her face shocked and pale and heartbroken. He'd kept talking, hating the pleading sound of his voice. I'm sorry. Russell shakes his head to stop the thoughts. Three paces bring him to the bar cart. He unscrews the cap of the whiskey bottle and lifts it to his mouth, welcoming the burn of the liquor. His eyes are closed, but he can still see them both. Two sets of eyes, two faces, turned toward his. Different faces, but with the same shape to their lips, the same slope of their cheeks. Two women, waiting for an answer Russell didn't have. "I'm an idiot," he tells the room. And it's true. He hadn't even no- ticed what was happening until it was too late. It wasn't until he was standing in front of an officiant, thirty of their closest friends, three hundred fellow celebrities, and a photographer from People magazine that he'd looked over his bride's shoulder and caught her sister's eyes, and the knowledge of the mistake that he was making hit him like a punch to the breastbone, rattling his heart. "I do," he'd said. I'm fucked , he'd thought. And from that moment on, a part of him has been wait- ing, counting down toward this place and this night. You have to choose , she'd told him . Except there isn't a choice here. Not really. Not at all. Twenty minutes later, half the whiskey is gone, and Russell's lean- ing heavily against the wall, looking blearily around the room. His eyes move from object to object without seeing. There's the bed, still made. His suitcase, open on the luggage stand, clothes spilling out from its unzipped top—his jeans and tee shirt, the silly leather pants the stylist insists on because he's the lead guitar player in what is, currently, one of the most successful bands in the country, and leather pants are what cute boys in hot bands are required to wear. There might even be a law about it. "I never should have touched you," Russell says again. He hums a handful of notes in a minor key and decides to write the words down. Moving carefully, deliberately in his inebriation, he locates the tiny pad of hotel stationery and a pen, and writes with care, imagining piano chords, a mournful twangy guitar. Maybe the words will be the backbone of a chorus, the way into a song, he thinks. And then remembers what he's done, and how that door is closed. There will be no more songs for him. He bends to collect his boots, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull them on before walking out into the hall. It's the middle of the night. It's quiet, and all the doors are closed. Nobody sees him as he walks through the lobby, bootheels clicking. Nobody sees as he pushes the heavy glass doors open and steps out into the cold and the dark. Excerpted from the book THE GRIFFIN SISTERS GREATEST HITS by Jennifer Weiner. Copyright © 2025 by Jennifer Weiner. From William Morrow books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission. Return to top of page
