Marietta McCarty
is a New York Times bestselling author, philosopher, and teacher. She defines philosophy as “the art of clear thinking," and invites every one she encounters (or anyone who picks up one of her books) into the good life, marked by simplicity and the fullness of life's greatest treasures.
four-legged Luna / watches her namesake show off / best moon pie dog treat. The wind hints at rain so we see grandpa off and head for home, its windows “brazen in the setting sun.” pansy faces wink / as four Beatles sing their song / “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
Read MoreGloria Johnson, Letitia James, Bayard Rustin...Trust, Activism, Determination. "Nothing that’s easy is worth it / Nothing that’s worth it is perfect, yeah.” Yeah. Hearing someone say “I would take it all for ya.” Yeah. Saying to someone “I would take it all for ya.” Yeah. "Let It Be Me" sing the Backstreet Boys.
Yes, bravehearts, Harry Dunn and E. Jean Carroll. And two more for Valentine’s Day. Exquisite sweetness. Two songs—two songstresses. Back then—right now. Comeback players—heart massagers.
Read MoreFrom samba and tapas to voting rights and college hoops. Maybe a poem now. Two? Perhaps a song. Dos? I think I see you. Quaffing our tumblers, here’s to beauty’s sweetest sweep.
Read MoreTomorrow presents this year’s shortest period of daylight. Bit by bit, each day the light will last longer. Fortunately, sometimes we can stare directly at headlights on high beam, warmed by their glow. High-beamers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss brighten the darkness. These Georgia election workers exemplify the best of this country.
Read MoreThank you to sweet sifters Andy Barkan and David Hogg. Thank you, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. Thank you for the laughter vaccine. Thank you Jimmy Buffett. Thank you, Democracy.
Read MoreWhat courage Ana Lucia musters. When will her heart heal? Where will that American dream take her? How unforgettable, seeing her love outlive death.
Indulge in some August grandeur. Listen to music by Sinéad O’Connor and Lady Gaga. Goal! Eighty-thousand screaming fans filling a stadium, millions worldwide wildly cheering in front of televised broadcasts, athletes creating a global community. The mettle of three brilliant women stabilizes the country: Vice-President Kamala Harris, Prosecutor Fani Willis, Judge Tanya Chutkan. They define and daily refine the meaning of public service.
Read MoreTennis fans tune in Saturday for “Breakfast at Wimbledon” to feast on the Women’s Championship played on famed Centre Court. White lines and tennis clothes, fresh strawberries and cream, worn grass and pageantry. Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova often met on this Saturday—Evert a 10-time finalist with three titles, Navratilova a 12-time finalist with nine winner’s trophies. This duo wins their sweetest match right now, however, fighting together against a nasty foe.
Read MoreTake another bow, Tina Turner. Examining all of her life offers the only way to appreciate her gutsy triumph. Her songs and shimmy will last. And her life, as a herstory textbook, will last.
Read MoreGun control activism grows fast, especially among the young, throughout the country. Smart. Let strong-willed sanity suck thoughts of gun violence from our psyches. Now, pivoting to riveting, hat doffs to two people with great ground games. Plus, heart tugging thanks to bluebirds and snails.
Read MoreMeet Grace Linn. Root for Autumn Peltier. Hail the Tennessee Three. Capping off today, Brad Mehldau makes elegantly simple piano-sense of “I Am the Walrus.” Here’s to playing the keys of life as melodically. Pansies. Us. Melodies-in-the-making.
Read MoreHow about the liberating rewards that come from seeking both this and that? Why not make the educational goal to innovate and incorporate course offerings, rather than reduce and eliminate them? Ramp up our imagining and reimagining, starting over and creating, expanding and evolving, experimenting and adjusting, listening to others and challenging ourselves.
Read MoreProgress never stops. Love always wins. Poets heat February. Musicians rock love. Sun—hold that note—sun….
Read MoreDawn never flashes her signal on an old day. Thank you, pansy and bluebird pairings. Freshly-squeezed limes. Coffee aromas. Simmering onions. Loosening muscles. missing capital letters, thank you. Thank you, Webb Telescope. Thank you, awaited envelope. Thank you, cracks in everything. Seeing hearts singing, thank you
Read More2023, be like eggs—few scrambled, most sunny sides up. Look out your windows— sacks of resolve dropping at your front and back doors. May the full-bodied laughter delighting each of you be your youthful own. Bit by bit. Wink back at the face in the mirror. Step by step.
Read MoreShe asked, “Will you tell me about these mountains.” We sat at a picnic table. I asked, “Have you watched the kites flying from the hillside?” Jean’s thrill almost tangible, her face radiates satisfaction in her new position at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Lacking all pretense, blending expertise with instinct, to me she’s a girl who loves her job and knows exactly how to do it. Though this job’s demands make it far from an easy one, Jean speaks and moves with practiced ease.
Read MoreWe live, as best we can, in a spree of extremism. The pandemic wears on and democracy wears thin. Paying attention exhausts and unnerves. We live, as best we can, mostly on a high wire, seldom in a hammock. Democracy-fascism—fascism-democracy. Relief package on its way. Let’s try Alabama-China—Dr. King-Lao Tzu.
Read MoreLet’s learn from an elementary school parent and her two children about this September’s return to school. Revive in nature with them—fly like a monarch butterfly. Enter elementary school again, depart doused in beauty.
Read MoreCountless children and adults, picking up a racquet, find access and acceptance easier because of her. Serena invites one and all to play. “Kick butt and be proud of it all.” She reimagined her life and the game. What she’s achieved for social equity, in race and gender, will grow immeasurably.
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four-legged Luna / watches her namesake show off / best moon pie dog treat. The wind hints at rain so we see grandpa off and head for home, its windows “brazen in the setting sun.” pansy faces wink / as four Beatles sing their song / “I Want to Hold Your Hand”