April in Paris, Blossoms in Springtime

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Someone to watch over me The dogwoods are in bloom, the trees covered in pink and white blossoms, the discs of flower faces, simple petals turned towards the sun. By lunchtime, the sidewalk cafes are filling, patrons turning towards the … Read More

The Diversity of American Life Gives Me Hope

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From despair to contemplation to small actions “You have a small United Nations here,” a patient said approvingly when I worked at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. The hospital is located close to a neighborhood of the African immigrant … Read More

Do You Have Voices or Movies Inside Your Head?

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If your narrator is ahead of you, warning you, is that anxiety? Temple Grandin’s book on Animals in Translation first exposed me to visual thinking. I am verbal and can use vocabulary as a weapon when I am angry. We can use … Read More

Chihuly Art Glass Stuns with Its Light and Quantity Installations

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March 14 was Holi, the Hindi Festival of Colors Chihuly’s worldwide art glass installations stun the viewer. The size of the works is a part, as is the array of colors, transparency, and translucence. I thought Dale Chihuly blew glass, … Read More

Collecting Owls as Totems, Andy Warhol, Silver Linings

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The first silver threads were at ear level, like the distinguished silver linings of Mitt Romney’s sideburns. My hairdresser explained that gray hair has a different texture, so my blonde bob developed wings as the wisdom hair stuck out beneath … Read More

FisherPoets in Astoria Tell Tales of the Deep

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Three days of story-telling and singing Alaskan fishermen—and in greater numbers, women—may move to rainy, stormy Oregon to winter. Like Army veterans, their stories are of boredom interrupted by death-defying events, whether from the weather, the catch, or the madness … Read More

Simple Living, Community, Spirituality, Social and Environmental Justice

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How volunteering for Jesuit Volunteer Encorps gives me meaning in retirement My cohorts at Jesuit Volunteer Encorps are part of why I didn’t go to bed and pull the covers over my head for the month of January. JVE is … Read More

Father Divine, Sweet Daddy Grace, the Civil Rights Movement, and Legacy

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The Masada Cafe at the House of Prayer for All People “The best oxtails I’ve ever had,” my friend said when he took me to The Masada Cafe at the United House of Prayer for All People in Savannah. The simple church-based cafeteria offered … Read More

Will I Use the Clearance Wrap Before I Die?

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When buy and hold isn’t a strategy; learning from Jimmy Carter about activist values I almost bought Christmas wrapping paper on clearance. I have a life-long habit of buying Christmas trinkets on sale and saving them for the next year. … Read More

The Impact of the Dylan and Callas Biopics and Documentaries

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Bob Dylan and Maria Callas hit the big screens and streaming options The Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown opened on December 25 and I was swept away. The New York Times recommended The Other Side of the Mirror documentary … Read More

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