Clare Consultation, LLCThree Quotes for Weary Citizens
In days when helpful words don’t come easily, these Elders are, for me, clearings in the fog. George Takei wrote this in the past week – [you may know him for his role as Sulu in Star Trek.] Just a few weeks after my fifth birthday, in the spring of 1942, my parents got my younger brother, my baby sister, and me up very early, hurriedly dressed us, and quickly started to pack…. Read More
On the Cusp of 2014 – Change and What Endures
Soon the calendar will shift for another roll through dates, through seasons and all the moments we have no way of knowing from here. Each of us lives in our own contagion of this following that. The unavoidable change that is living itself can sometimes feel unnerving — or at least the anticipation of it, the impossibility I already mentioned of knowing completely any change before it happens. I’ve been writing this… Read More
Seeing Privilege
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
Meanwhile, on Christmas Day 2010
Meanwhile, deep beneath this winter ground a reliable impulse moves the seasons. And at the center of these long nights and fleeting days eternal wisdom radiates in the celebrations of people. Celebrations of dignity surviving enslavement, celebrations of just enough lamp oil, and celebrations of a baby born to an everyday woman — mother and child enduring beacons of faith and essential good will. Amidst these miracles of change and constancy the… Read More
Columbus Day: Do You Know Where You Are?
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
When our Greatest Hope is Boring
There is a quickening in human consciousness. Yep, right here in and among the species of which readers, bloggers, warriors and prophets are a part. I saw this quickening on the road and still see it daily. I heard it in American voices across the 100 days of the EX:Change interviews and daily I continue hearing it. A quickening is an acceleration, a vitalizing, a coming or returning to life. Ours is… Read More
Here in the Waning Days of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
I was raised by straight parents. I benefited from that. I continue to benefit from living as a heterosexual adult. People don’t ask about my sexual orientation or identity, but there’s no law saying they can’t. I can write this stuff down here and not offend any law or anyone at all. I’ve never been afraid or harassed because my romantic affections go to men. Every bit of that is privilege. Today… Read More