What Crosses My Mind

  • The Reason We Dream

    I used to believe we could go on forever, that afternoon in the park when he drew his graphite vision the first holocraft on a hot sunny day the three of us in Memorial park looking up in the sky with awe, one of us with the bong in our hands another – a slow…

  • A Certainty is Rage

    When at wit’s end this identity does unravel, the spirit, the mind, that epicenter of our brain begins to take its own journey while the body will always forever remain. Hard to know where the mind goes when stuck in idle unable to let go. ~ There is a response to fear and anxiety a…

  • Systemic Rhetoric and Schools

    As a young child I was taught the concept of there are central arguments with the reaction to George Floyd’s death over memorial day weekend, the spark that merits a broader response to the tragedy. One may realize it is difficult to conceptualize how to make change in the midst of such systemic reaction to…

  • The Strength of a Statesman

    Last night I couldn’t wait to hear what former President Obama would say to our nation of 2020 graduates. He has always, since that first stump speech, tried to provide a positive perspective on our lives. Whether people would like to simply reduce his words to only rhetoric, the fact remains they are his own,…

  • My Issue With Vaping

    Recently, I presented a collaboration with colleagues on the dangers of vaping. Alongside we also explored rhetoric in advertising. An examples was a fifties picture of a pack of Viceroy cigarettes, with a dentist promoting the idea of using filters to protect our teeth and body. The premise was meant to identify safety in ingesting…

  • On Racial Disparity and an Unwillingness to Look Racism in the Eye.

    Kare 11 News In reviewing this tragic incident at Chaska high school this morning, I couldn’t help but feel some direct takeaways from the thread that follows this article. Clearly there is commentary that speaks to many sides of the issue, but the glaring reality for me is the ease we have with using blame…

  • Recognizing Who We Are Today! (a draft)

    We experienced a tragedy in (our community) last week. We lost a young man as the result of a traffic accident. He touched many hearts. The city, the district, the students were all impacted by the loss of (student), a student known by many for his affectionate and charming persona, an infectious personality. I listened…

  • On Racism, Schools & Awareness

    Whenever an act of racism occurs in my community, or in the world around me, I never know quite how to respond. My natural reaction is to be appalled and disappointed, then fear settles in, then uneasiness, followed by confusion. My gut tells me I want to figure out who to blame first, and then…

  • In Altering Minds

    We do have the power, though seldom conscious, how we got there, how it is we feel to know, to want, to take to forget the give only rely upon the afterthought of deciding upon why it screams we do choose to allow our lives the avenue of hurt found after words, after the party…

  • Giving Back

    I stole your time, trying, I watched as you heard my whine, kept your smile, I walked inside your world, offered nothing in return, that was then, I still remember the anxiety, know the confusion, appreciate the lost world I began seeking your guidance. Simply not fair, I know this today, as I see me…