DIY Fashion Statement

So, one of the features of being human is having a body.  You may have noticed.  Related to that is necessity, both climactic and social, of finding ways to cover, to clothe.  The practical act of clothing keeps people from freezing in winter and can provide a bit of cooling in the heat of summer.  The social act if covering the body may most joyously take on artistry with adornment being a… Read More

Listen to Each Other

Today is Veteran’s Day.  I know that among the reasons I am here typing these words onto this screen with lunch cooking on the stove is the presence and courage of the men and women who over time have been warriors in this country and on this planet.  I’m not a big fan of armed conflict — not a big fan of war — and still I know that for the largest… Read More

Moments in the Weave

It’s 9-10-11. I just landed in Washington DC National Airport.  Tonight my niece will be married on the banks of thePotomac– first of that generation.  Wow – turn-turn-turn and all of that – change, for sure! Constancy, too.  Expense, distance and daily matters of consequence set aside as all the family that can gathers.  This is what families do.  It’s one way we love each other, taking these opportunities to cinch up… Read More

Libya, a First Draft, and Pondering Truth

Back in the 2000, my friend Amy Schutzer published a novel she titled Undertow http://www.calyxpress.org/books.html.  She considered another title:  What Version of the Truth Do We Tell? I’ve just finished the first draft of 100 Voices:  Americans Talk about Change. Really!  The first draft toward publication in September, 2011.  That’s amazing enough, but the reason I mention it here has to do with truth.  It has to do with the incredible candor… Read More

Intersections

Walking south on NE 28th Ave. under my new umbrella (the other one blew out in yesterday’s storm), I came to the corner at Flanders St.  A man in full raingear – the heavy orange plastic stuff – stood on tiptoes behind an enormous canvass sign.  The sign was as orange as the man.  Although a square, it was situated as a diamond to warn oncoming traffic of the roadwork ahead. The… Read More

American Dreams

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Mary Oliver During this week last year, a comment appeared on the EX:Change blog from <expatrick>:  “Asking people to put their dreams into words is asking a lot, but it also helps them get a step farther down their own path. These are people’s prayers you’re hearing.” The other thing I’m remembering from that time was… Read More