Insane Earthlings

Me and Pete Martin in his basement classroom.   My mother always spoke with enthusiasm.   One day I came home from Eastover Elementary and Mom excitedly said, “I have some wonderful news for you! I signed you up for drum lessons today!!”   She said the words drum lessons like someone might say “We are going to Disney World!!” I was really happy about this news, but I was rarely at that Disney level of excitement like my mother always was. Because my older brother, Tommy, was already a student of the same teacher, my mother had a wealth of fun facts to share about Mr. Martin.   Pete Martin toured the world as a circus drummer for Ringling Brothers. He even took the spotlight as a featured performer playing the marimba with mallets taped to his feet! Mom used her best Central High, letter girl, pep rally voice so effectively while telling me all these details that I might as well have just been told that we were going to Disney World! I was...

Trump just said that the congresswomen that he had earlier made racist tweets about hate our country. He said that they always complain about our country. First, it is our first amendment right to complain about whatever we want to. Second, these women were elected as representatives of the United States of America and are doing their duty to be a voice for their constituents. Third, I have only heard them complain about policy, process, and the actions of Trumps administration, not the country. Donald Trump, is NOT the country. The people are the country and the people are the government. Fourth, Trump complains more about our country than anyone I have ever heard before. I think he is the one who must hate our country. He hates the rule of law. He hates the balance of power. He has disdain for the constitution and the Judicial branch of the government. He is "in love" with ruthless dictators and monarchies.  47% of you approve of Trump's performance. That means e...

Mom told me the story so often that I am not sure what is actual memory versus images etched into my mind by her vivid description of the events. I struggled, just now, whether to use the word event, because there is nothing extraordinary about the scene that I am about to describe. I’m sure that this is a scene that plays out regularly in households with young children. Except, there is one oddity to my story that I still don’t know how to explain. When I was a toddler, my father worked second shift as a photojournalist for one of the two regional newspapers. Like most homes with kids, ours was a busy place each morning. I was the youngest, so my siblings would get themselves ready for school. Mom would be busy packing lunches, preparing and serving breakfast, and generally making sure that everyone got off to a good start for the day. I guess that Dad was sleeping as this all took place. He worked until midnight and then would watch the rest of Johnny Carson before...

This will be the most difficult Thanksgiving of all. This November 22 nd , 2018 will be the first celebrating without either of my parents. We lost Mom almost three years ago, and Dad left this earth seven months ago. We were fortunate to have both of our parents well into our own adulthoods. Even so, I must confess that I am struggling daily to fully immerse myself into my own life. I want to be as fully alive as both of my parents always seemed to be. But my struggle to reconnect to joy and enthusiasm in my daily life, let alone Holidays, is under assault. The country that I love seems to be collapsing into chaos and hell-bent on self-destruction. The torrent of bad news leaves me wondering just what should we be thankful for. As fires rage across California and Hurricanes become more frequent and fierce every year, we close our eyes and ears and pretend that our own greed is not contributing to the global climate change that spurs these events.   Our children a...