Banning a mural of hope

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An artist’s rendition of Greta Thunberg on a mural in Bismarck, North Dakota, was recently withdrawn from consideration after protests against the mural.  I feel deeply saddened and aggrieved. I grew up with the belief that I could do anything … Read More

Watching the sun set

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It was a clear, warm November day, so I headed to the Oregon coast on a spur-of-the moment jaunt.  I have to remind myself, periodically, that the Pacific Ocean is only two hours away.  I wanted to watch the sun … Read More

When I listened to donald trump’s phone call

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By 1977, Jackie Onassis and others had led a successful campaign to preserve Grand Central Station, and the Commodore Hotel, next to Grand Central, was over fifty years old and losing money.  New York City was in the depths of … Read More

Baby boomers: Off-stage, please

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When will the Baby Boomers move off-stage?  The daily political discourse right now is an assault, and I am not attributing that assault to age, but maybe this generation has had its run. What would be the impact if tomorrow … Read More

Wisdom, Irrelevance, Custer’s Example

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I was labelled “wise” by the new leader of my last workplace.  The label was a euphemism for irrelevant.  Her vision was transformation through metric-driven, tech-savvy efficiencies. I thought it was the right vision.  So I retired.  I wasn’t pushed … Read More

Saging, a Poem

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Aromatic burning, smoke wafting upwards, Dish of glowing sage offered North, East, South, West Cleansing old energy, making room for new We have accumulated years, Were young Turks once The Ottoman Empire reduced to metaphor Our fate, like Black Elk, … Read More

Boomeringue

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Boomerang kids are those kids who slingshot back home as young adults.  Post-recession career-type jobs were hard to come by, and most parents had a twenty-something that regretted living in the basement as much as we missed our freedom.  Entry-level … Read More

The Last Person Made Famous by a Painting

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The Last Person Made Famous by a Painting is the title of a short video by Jesse Brass and Bo Bartlett about Helga Testorf, she of the Helga paintings.  Andrew Wyeth painted 250 pictures of Helga over a 15-year period, … Read More

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