Sitting alone on a porch that I do not own, in a chair that belongs to someone else, I imagine someone who walks the streets at night sitting here to sleep after the lights are turned off from inside the house that is not theirs. I hope they do. As I finish my now cool … Continue reading Owning Green
Seeing Power
This is how power works
Girl Fight
Twice in one week I found my self hearing a woman say that Trump’s winning was my fault for not supporting Hillary Clinton. Even though I said I voted for the female candidate I saw as seriously flawed, both of these women accused me of insufficiently “supporting” the woman candidate because somehow I had been a dupe of the male hegemony.
Myths from the Northern State
John Randolph lived in Virginia where he owned a great deal of land and 400 people. By 1819 he had decided that it was wrong to enslave other humans and so in the first of three wills he made provisions for manumission of these workers, but not until after he died. In 1845 his executor … Continue reading Myths from the Northern State
A Sacred Cow Is Not Your Friend
A lovely leisurely morning turned completely upside down. Having overcome the nightmare of no whole grain flour, I now have a loaf of whole wheat bread rising. I had hidden five pounds in my studio fridge. The novel coronavirus has me quarantined with nothing better to do than catch up with necessary reading and film … Continue reading A Sacred Cow Is Not Your Friend
Elm Street Baptist Church
Elm Street Baptist Church (originally written in 2002; revised 2018; edits March 2019 include spelling, Added pastor to list, corrected interviewee name) Williamsburg, KY, April 27, 2002 It’s a subtle thing. You might not notice them at all. The bullet holes in the window might be noted and then forgotten if it weren’t a church. … Continue reading Elm Street Baptist Church
Greater Dayton Conservation Fund
Founded in 2006 to support innovation in caring for the Earth, stewardship, and healing. To learn more about the Fund, visit The Dayton Foundation: https://www.daytonfoundation.org/conservation.html At some vague time in the 60s I remember being amazed at seeing people zipping along the Mad river at Embury Park in motor boats. I had lived my whole … Continue reading Greater Dayton Conservation Fund
Mulberry Summer
There are four mulberry trees around my tiny urban lot and 2012 will go on record as the year of the Mulberry for us. The trees just won’t stop. Three weeks ago the berries were amazingly thick and they show few signs now that they are done for the season. Nearly half a bushel have … Continue reading Mulberry Summer
Feeling the Warm
Suffering is relative. My relatives heated their house with a gas stove the size of a kitchen stove located in the living room. The old fireplace was filled in with cement and the stove pipe ran through the old chimney and the table-height unit sat on the hearth.
Grief on the Street
“Did I miss the bus?” How to answer? I was standing at the bus stop clearly waiting on a bus and only one bus comes to this stop. “If you missed it, then I did, too,” I said smiling. It was hard to say how old this guy was as he rode his bike onto … Continue reading Grief on the Street
Shouting At the Chorus 