Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
I recently read that an increasing number of Americans wants to remove from our schools’ curricula anything that reflects poorly on their states or the United States as a country. Like teaching the history of racism because, they say, it’s unpleasant for children to think about slavery and its legacy. So, the thinking goes, simply remove the teaching of racism from schools and then pretend … Continue reading The Power of German Chocolate Cake
As a young kid I remember never feeling comfortable in my own skin. I always felt: My hair wasn’t straight enough, My clothes weren’t good enough, My dad drove an old car, I never had any money, We didn’t live in a big house, I was always the young guy on my block. Now if this weren’t enough, I never felt particularly Smart Pious Handsome … Continue reading It Only Takes One
These times when my family is experiencing a rite of passage I’m reminded of my friend Kieran’s unforgettable time on Mt. Kenya. I wrote about it in an earlier post. It tells a remarkable story of survival and how letting go is sometimes the only way we can save our life. Rites of passage in life can be a bit like crossing the monkey bars. … Continue reading Remembering Kieran on Mt. Kenya
A recent front page story from the Washington Post read: A White man shot a 16-year-old Black boy who knocked on his front door because he was “scared to death.” “When 16-year-old Ralph Yarl rang the doorbell of Andrew Lester’s Kansas City, Mo., home by mistake last week, the 84-year-old White man was “scared to death,” he told police. The Black teenager was looking for his … Continue reading With Malice Toward None
In Turbulent Times — “Adapt yourself to change as the willow tree adapts itself to the weather. When the harsh winds of circumstance sweep across the landscape of your life, bow gracefully, bend gently, adapt graciously. You are wise to study well the ways of the willow. In the face of change, in the throes of adversity, in the midst of conflict and crisis, the … Continue reading Do You Bend Like the Willow?