What Crosses My Mind

  • “We Are All Human”

    I’ve been thinking about New Zealand along with the rest of us since Friday morning. Yesterday evening I was sitting in a coffee shop that is a frequent meeting place for a group of Somali men. I go there often enough to recognize their faces and exchange pleasantries. Last night was different. They along with…

  • Protected: Life Has Ironies

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

  • The Need to Recognize Historical Trauma

    Many years ago, during a trip to Europe, I discovered a reality that would change my life forever. The year was 1985, and a portion of my travels was spent in Germany. In a visit to St. Mary’s Church in Lubeck, West Germany I discovered a broken and melted bell that was left in its…

  • On Donald Trump and Ignorance

    For weeks, perhaps months, no to be sure, for the last two years I have struggled with the phenomena that is Donald Trump. I will secretly admit to everyone that a decade ago, when he first threw his name into the hat as a candidate and then swiftly pulled it out because the powers that…

  • Is This Really Liberal Thinking?

    Last night I had a conversation with two people I have tremendous respect for, the subject quickly turned to politics, and I openly expressed my dislike of our current state of affairs. I spoke of my dismay with our current POTUS’s views and motives, and the dialogue took an icy turn to defense and validation.…

  • I Turned Off The News

      Yesterday, I made a conscious decision to turn off the news. Having watched the now ‘idle’ banter of prognosticators and candidates for the last year, the outcome in hand, I wasn’t excited about hearing any theory, any ‘told you so’ antics, or any patronage from the winning side of an ugly defeat. I told…

  • Thinking Out Loud … Again (Revised)

    I’ve read and listened to a lot of opinion throughout the week centered around the Charleston tragedy. I have been trying to wrap my head around this new yet predictable nightmare in our society. I have read about the politicizing of real deaths at the hand of a racist. I’ve listened to the dialogue that…

  • Five Days, Five Photos – Day Two; On Diversity

    I have this notion, that if we could sometime just put all of our fears aside, and recognize one another for our beauty and grace, there wouldn’t be nearly as much anxiety in our lives. Perhaps I am speaking for myself, but I really do wonder. I know many years ago, a friend of mine…

  • Addicts Hold On

    We do hang on while figuring out how to let go. I am often trapped inside a need to please everyone, and when I cannot, I obsess about that one difficult situation, generally that one person who I cannot fix. Why should I have to fix anyone anyway; I usually end up realizing I have…

  • Motown Rocks! – Motown the Musical

    Motown The Musical in its current Broadway tours run at the Orpheum, wows their audience on so many levels. We went last night, anticipating the beautiful renditions of what put the Black sound on the map with the Temptations, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and so many others. ~ Touching for me was…