The Hundredth Day. Activism: Conservative, Liberal or Effective

April 30, 2009 was the 100th day of the EX:Change.  It was the 101st day of the Obama Administration.  By then, the word change was a bit less consistently electric as a rallying cry.  The desire for unity, confidence and possibility had not vaporized but the everydayness of life had damped down the enthusiasm.  As the months stacked themselves into a year the word continued to echo inspiration but it also fell into… Read More

Community: A Change from the Disconnect

  It is very counter culture in a weird way to talk about all of us being good friends and helping each other. Rabbi Ariel Stone I’ve just watched a man in his 60’s, I’d guess, getting on his bicycle.  Earlier he came into this café, his body bent nearly to 90 degrees, maybe 110.  He used a cane to walk.  He ordered, took his breakfast roll and coffee and left.  Maybe… Read More

ROAD TRIP!

  “When life has been given to you, you must take it very seriously.” Calvin Hecocta   There’s something about the open road.  Something about road trips.  Something about how there is just no way any amount of planning and dreaming can remotely predict what will happen in the way a road unfolds time. A year ago today I drove out of Portland.  I had organized my small bag, small supplies and… Read More

EX:Change 2.0

           He could say, “We need change.  We need change. I’m going to change this.”  He can say all he wants, but actually without the people out here, nothing’s going to change.   Art Garcia Jan 21, 2009   A year ago today headlines read: “Antarctica Is Warming,” “Relatives Say Peltier Beaten Following Prison Transfer,” “Israel Completes Gaza Withdrawal,” “Brazilian Midfielder Kaka Stays Put,” “Sen. Kennedy Hospitalized After Suffering Seizure.” Then there were… Read More

Home — 70 Days In

3-27-2009 Just South of Division Ave. Portland, OR Home a week. I’ve slept for most of it. And I’ve walked. Home again to the neighborhoods, to the stretches of bank on both the east and west sides of the Willamette River, and to the downtown streets – careful, clean and bustling. Aaaaahhhh. Portland, Oregon. Home sweet home, indeed.

Saving Grace

3-19-2009 Near the Airport Salt Lake City, UT It’s a long way from Chicago, IL to Salt Lake City, UT – especially in two days by car – tiny car. Fortunately, there’s been saving grace – lots of it. One certain sign of this abundance is the fact that I’m sitting here right now, safe and sound after so many miles through all kinds of weather and, in the instance of I-80 through Iowa… Read More

A Quintessential EX:Change Convergence

3-17-2009 Corner of Pulaski & Leonard West side of Chicago It’s St Patrick’s Day. I just finished an impromptu interview with a Police Sergeant. McMurphy. In Chicago. On St Patrick’s Day. ‘Nuff said. Except to add my thanks to the officer for his time — ex-hippies do make the world go round!

Hawk Sightings

3-15-2009 PA Rte 6 W Allegheny Mountains Hawks. I have a thing about hawks. It’s part ornithological (I mean, what cool raptors). It’s part romantic/poetic (their metaphorical range is considerable). And it’s no doubt part mystical. The mystical part could be embarrassing from the perspective of ‘woo woo’ attributes since I tend to take their appearance as very good signs. If circumstances are dicey or uncertain in any way, the appearance of a hawk,… Read More

Water

3-13-2009 A bench facing the Hudson Manhattan Island It’s Friday the 13th. My interview schedule has fallen apart due in large part to equipment weirdness. Symptomatic, maybe of it being Friday the 13th? Whatever the case, I’ve given in and am now sitting in the 40 degree sunlight – all wrapped up and warm. I’m looking at the Hudson River, the way the afternoon light shows off its silver and enduring majesty… Read More

Pumpjack Riding and Confirmation Hearings

3-9-2009 The Fringe of the Beltway Our Nation’s Capitol I had to pull over to write this down. It’s just too great! It’s been a long driving day. I left Asheville, NC shortly after 1:00 p.m. The birds were singing, the sky was blue. I’d had a big bouncy walk up into the hills above the city with my cousin – my cousin, a master woodworker and accounting student who has two… Read More