Clare Consultation, LLCPosted on July 15, 2012 by Mary Clare
Four Blackberries Freshly Picked
This morning’s air was filled with water – the marine air that sometimes makes summer visits to Portland from the Oregon coast. I was up early to meet up with friends and underestimated what turned out to be enough moisture to soak almost through my rain coat over the course of my walk. Time with the people I had ventured out to meet was cozy and kind – like brown sugar on… Read More
Posted on February 10, 2012 by Mary Clare
Politics in Texas – Intractable Threat or More Like the Weather?
The people I’ve talked with in Texas this week say two things. My friend Cindy, a white business woman in Grayson County sums up one of those things. “The divisions in this state are so strong, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to talk to each other. It just starts out hateful with neither side willing to back down.” As she talks, she describes how community proceeds in spite of the… Read More
Posted on November 27, 2011 by Mary Clare
“In casual conversation, how long does it take before someone starts complaining?”
I had Thanksgiving Dinner at the home of a Nigerian-American family. My brother, Preston(since the dawn of our friendship we’ve been pretty sure we are twins separated at birth) and his wife, Michelle and their 5-year-old daughter, Rachel had invited me along on their Thanksgiving plans. Preston, the host couple and three more guests share the fact of long ancestries, birth, childhood and young adulthood in Nigeria. Although they did not meet… Read More
Posted on November 20, 2011 by Mary Clare
Onward
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
Posted on October 9, 2011 by Mary Clare
Video of this Week’s Book Release Event
Books shipped on October 1. By Thursday night at Annie Bloom’s Bookstore in Portland, OR the word was out enough to draw a full house for the first public reading from 100 VOICES – AMERICANS TALK ABOUT CHANGE. We were thrilled with the turn out and completely delighted with the fact that the store sold out of books. Now, thanks to the talent and generosity of friend and volunteer, Jesse Combs here… Read More
Posted on August 14, 2011 by Mary Clare
The Streets of London and a Bridge in Portland, OR
There are weeks when I think, “I have no idea what to write in this week’s blog.” Really. Lots of them. Then, without fail, events turn. They may be close in like with bus rides, or widespread like weather, or painful like the death of a dear one. They can also seem to have nothing to do with one another, and then, out of the nowhere of random neuron firings, I see… Read More
Posted on August 7, 2011 by Mary Clare
Climate — Listening to know for sure
I have a friend in South Dakota who lives in a town that flooded last month. It was near completely under water. I have another friend who lives in Akiak, Alaska who told me about the tundra taking on a smell, thawing for the first time in his life or in the lives of his ancestors who have lived there for many thousand years. Then there was the photo my dad managed to… Read More
Posted on July 23, 2011 by Mary Clare
Mr. Prude – II
“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
Posted on July 16, 2011 by Mary Clare
Mr. Prude – I
Ever since my garage door crunched itself into an intractable accordion, trapping my car inside, I’ve been riding the bus. I like it. It takes more time, but it’s easy – and its richer. One of my companions at the bus stop most Tuesdays and Thursdays is Mr. Joey Prude. The first time we spoke was on a Thursday. That day, like every other day I’d seen Mr. Prude he sat under… Read More
Posted on July 9, 2011 by Mary Clare
Missing Murry
I just got e-mail. I’ve been writing e-mail back. And crying. My friend, Murry Owen, died last night. His body just couldn’t manage to breathe anymore. Yesterday I started this week’s blog. I called it “Big Changes.” I wrote about how I got to spend time yesterday morning with my friend Jim. Jim is the friend who found out 7 months ago that he has Rheumatoid Arthritis (EX:C blog, “Chronic Pain,” 6-4-2011). … Read More