It happens relatively rarely in a lifetime, this date that adjusts for the inaccuracies in our calendar. I can’t help but take comfort in the reminder that human ingenuity requires human fallibility. Dine (Navajo) weavers, Yakama beadworkers, Appalachian quilters sometimes become so good at their crafts that they purposefully place mistakes in their work. It’s an act of humility, recognition that nothing humanly constructed can be perfect. Most of us don’t need… Read More
Well today there’s the Susan G. Komen flip flop on their relationship with Planned Parenthood, there’s the unreliability in signs of economic recovery and there’s the hideous violence occurring in Syria and on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. No doubt, the pundits who fancy themselves either political or entertainment, could be and are spinning these stories to fit their agendas. Last night I finally got off the road with the promise… Read More
Several years ago I became aware of a newly formed nonprofit organization called Onward Oregon http://onwardoregon.org/. Shortly after learning of the organization, I received an e-mail inviting me to be on their mailing list. In that introductory email, following the words “What We Believe” came this: “We inherit the good that flowed from the people who came before us and the societies they created and will continue building on that foundation. The… Read More
Love is encouragement. Kindness is not weakness. Freedom is scary because, if I am truly free, I can’t blame anyone. These three statements came as small gifts over coffee and tea this morning with my friend Jim. You may recognize him from earlier blogs. Sayings like these are as natural, even essential to Jim as heartbeats. This morning we were talking about being people in relationships – love partnerships, friendships, kinships, acquaintanceships… Read More
“I heard from the Idol people. I’m goin’ to LA in October!” Mr. Prude was at the bus stop Tuesday morning. “I went right to the Western Union office and sent my mom a telegraph. Next thing I know my phone was ringing and she was saying, ‘I knew you could do it!’” So this is how the story of Mr. Prude was unfolding for me. Here was a man I took… Read More
Today is only a day. It is Saturday, the 4th of July weekend, and like every other day it has filled with moments linking up into hours, holding people and motion – holding change. This is how it went. Sun rays angled across the morning sky. I woke with two friends on my mind – two friends who are too close to death. Tom, a remarkable and kind educational leader, is here… Read More
Two American Indian men stand together. The Elder is Wyandotte and Choctaw of the Mississippi Valley; the younger is Walla Walla of the Columbia River. They are of two generations and they are friends. The men chat with one another during a break in a graduate class of mostly non-Indian students. The students are preparing to be teachers and counselors and taking this course on contemporary Native American life. The older man… Read More
It’s going to take a while. I don’t want to speak for blacks, but from my perspective being a black man with what I have observed in my lifetime, I will feel as though I’m going to be shortchanged because of the history behind us. I will feel that until I see some definite improvement. If they tell you that you can be equal, but you never make any gains, you’re going… Read More
The United States is voting. Or at least that’s an option for the next four days. Because of the way my mind works…I’ve been thinking about that. Voting. In the past 48 hours or so I’ve been in more-than-passing conversations with people – all American citizens – who, in the history of our country would not have been eligible to vote. That means they were variously (or in some combination) immigrants, women,… Read More
Yesterday I sat again across a small table from Dr. Dapo, one of the 100 voices of EX:Change (EX:C blog, “What’s in a Name?” 4-13-2010). We had seen one another on Multnomah Ave. several weeks earlier. I was walking fast toward the Max Station and Dapo was driving in the opposite direction. He honked and we stopped traffic for long enough to promise to find yesterday’s tea and coffee. Dapo (as he… Read More
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