Public libraries. A bedrock of democracy. Essential for healthy democracies and necessary for their survival. Bliss? I’d like to check that out, please. Renew indefinitely? Yes, ho whoa, yes, please.
Read More
What, after all, all in all, always, if not faith in new possibilities? Sunbeams pop through dark days. Seeds of potential bear fruit. Behold this quintet: José Andrés. Amelia Anisovych. Ketanji Brown Jackson. Alex Padilla. Cory Booker.
Read More
Is there much to learn about Ukraine? Yes. Will I look for organizations providing medical relief such as the International Red Cross? Yes. Today, for my medicine I turn to good news that’s so much more than fit to print. Fill social media with these stories. Shout them out.
Read More
Exuding mighty grit, whether up close or from a distance, they don’t miss a beat. Caregivers stay ready and ramped, exhausted and worried—trying to think ahead in the stiff wind of ever-changing hurdles. And those already physically and/or mentally tested, forced into deeper isolation by a pandemic, adapt like champs. Listen in with me. Heroes.
Read More
We’ve taxied 2021’s long runway. One day very soon, light as a feather, we’ll lift up into cloudless skies.
Read More
And what did any of these superheroes ever want for me? To be kind. To be happy. To love the world and to feel it love me back. So be it. So be me.
Read More
Here’s to trying again. What a time to love.
Read More
Imagine the relief provided by the smallpox vaccine. I have friends, polio victims, who have devoted their lives to eradicating the disease. Kindergarten entry vaccines, college admission vaccines, international travel vaccines. Tetanus. Mumps. What advances, such advantages.
Read More
The roulette wheel spins. The Gambler Wife runs the table.
Read More
“We believe that the truth of this century cannot be discovered unless its tragedy is explored to the bitter end” (Albert Camus, Camus at Combat, November 3, 1944). Philosopher Camus, laboring in the French Underground, unfortunately speaks directly to this country in 2021. Tragedy must be investigated fully. Horror must be acknowledged without excuse. Truth be told—moving forward requires looking back. So we examine higher education, the Olympics, and Charlottesville, VA. An ever more true story of the past, can’t you hear it? And we keep listening and telling and opening until, one day, the story and truth sync.
Read More
Slow. Steady. No race to win.
Read More
Just before sunrise the next morning, I awoke cradled in carefree joy. The ocean washed away the remaining pandemic residue—the last smatterings of shock and fear released overnight into salt air. The dolphin parade mid-morning melted fourteen months into one deep breath of gratitude. Cleansing, purifying water baptized me. Primordial newness. Infinitely fresh. Always beginning. Romping dolphins played tag. Not it! It.
Read More
Ground us, Mother Earth. Root, hearts. Bloom, love.
Read More
Spring forward. Ta-Dum. Inhale—exhale. Heel—toe. Here—Now. Cha-cha-cha. Ta-Dah.
Read More
Together, woven into a ragtag assembly, our eyes meet naturally and hold. Such sweet bedlam engulfs me for almost five hours. Not one raised voice, not even one—those leaving the tent and unable to get the vaccine nevertheless calmly detail the snafu and proudly show off their new appointment cards. No complaint, not one, from those in wheelchairs or dressed in shirtsleeves.
Read More
Thinking outside the box? There isn’t even a box, for anyone. New eyes, new hearts, new minds embrace every possibility. The sky isn’t the limit. Any and every thing right here and now presents possibility.
Read More
Here’s my December 4 interview on WTJU with host and longtime friend Brian Keena. The music and memories shared in this two-hour show extend a hand for holding tight until the vaccine liberates us all. The songs come from a windowsill radio beloved by Maria and me—my mother June’s tunes the kickiest kitchen spice in my childhood home celebrated in Leaving 1203.
Read More
“We’ve got to get some light in here.” The gardens of our hearts beg for starting over, untying knots, pulling weeds, letting go, opening up. Reaching higher, turning over, clearing away, giving thanks, unwinding brambles. Laboring today for tomorrow’s promise.
Read More
Can we defeat our lapses into stereotyping? Can we free others and ourselves? Yes, we can. It’s never too late. Freedom always matters.
Read More
Representatives Lewis and Ocasio-Cortez have changed the soundtrack of this country. Often captured with their heads thrown back in laughter or dancing, these two messengers radiate joy in spite of it all. They inspire us to keep the faith, try harder, do more. And laugh and dance.
Read More
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”