Because I Knew You Then, I Can Listen to You Now

I spent the last week with a friend I had not seen since we were both 15 – a friend I met when we were 6 and in elementary school in Sweetwater, TX. By the time we were 12, serendipity of some wild Texas variety had turned circumstances so that we both showed up in Mrs. Southerland’s English class in Peterson Junior High School, Kerrville, TX.  His family had moved to start Gibson’s, an early version of discount stores now dwarfed… Read More

8-9-10 — Right on Time

My friend, Jessica, is training for a half marathon.  She’s never really been a runner before.  Lately her body has gone through a vast transformation.  A tall woman weighing in around 200, she’s nearing half her former size.  That’s living change. Jessica is training for a half marathon because she can.  Her body is ready for something like that.  Her primary goal is not to lose more weight.  In fact, Jessica is… Read More

What’s in a Name?

“Know what that word, change, means.  Know what this time means. Our getting together this morning to talk, what does it mean?  Do you know what we are doing?  What is in the journey?  Where are we going?” Dr. Dapo Sobomehin This morning I had my annual dental appointment.  You know, the one involving really sharp pointed hooks for scraping and poking, and the tiny rotary buffer dipped with clayish and vaguely peppermint tasting… Read More

“I can’t do this alone.”

       “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”       Howard Zinn        Last night in the State of the Union Address, President Obama said these five words.  “I can’t do this alone.”  He said many notable things.  Two in particular match well with what many of the people who make up the 100 voices of EX:Change were saying this time last year. The public officials elected by… 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.