I do believe in human goodness, intelligence, generosity, connectedness, enthusiasm, and beauty. There are lots of things, however, that I don’t believe in, like luck, the Loch Ness Monster, and numerology. In numerology, for example, seven is powerful and mystical and represents intuition, good luck, spiritual growth, and completeness. If numerology is to be believed, this…
Last fall, I started a class in neon glass at Milwaukee Makerspace. Our instructor Brett took only a few minutes to do brief introductions to one another and his co-instructor, Rosie, before he led us into a meeting room to view a presentation on neon. He didn’t tell us how we would need to work.…
In early-February, I stopped at my local public library to see if there was a copy of Nothing Personal by Richard Avedon and James Baldwin available. There I learned that a single copy was in the stacks of the Central Library, but only for viewing on site. A week later, I went with my buddy…
In 1967 or 1968, I started to become aware of the work of Alfred Adler and Rudolph Dreikurs, theory that would influence my work for decades to come. I learned about Parent Effectiveness Training and Teacher Effectiveness Training in small classrooms in Holton, Garland, Mitchell, and Pearse Halls. One of these classes positioned Adlerian theory…
First, I must clarify that ageing does NOT suck. So, when I hear people use expressions like, “Ageing sucks, but it’s better than the alternative,” I bristle. Second, death is not a failure of the dead nor is it some sort of awful alternative to be avoided at all costs. I cannot think of these…
That’s how I respond to the notion of a bucket list for me. Some friends and many others whom I know have developed these lists of experiences that want to have before they die. People closest to me know that I like doing stuff, going places, meeting people, having a big life. But I know…
Fred Sanford’s Big One was a feigned heart attack pulled out whenever he needed a break from his most recent poor choice. He’d call on his late wife, Elizabeth, and let her know he was going to join her. Whether he was conning Lena Horn or getting his son to stay close by, Fred (Redd…
In the past couple years, I have noticed a shift among some friends when talking about the births of their babies — actually about babies they call theirs, like I call William mine, even though he is Patrick and Jason’s son. These babies are, as often as not, community babies, young people in whom many…
Just this morning I asked a friend to listen to me for a time, uninterrupted. I needed to feel some things that have been rumbling within for weeks. We’ve been friends for about 25 years. We’ve been listening to each other regularly, taking turns as each other’s peer counselor for a decade or more. I…
Love is our most unifying and empowering common spiritual denominator. The more we ignore its potential to bring greater balance and deeper meaning to human existence, the more likely we are to continue to define history as one long inglorious record of man’s inhumanity to man.” ― Aberjhani, Journey through the Power of the Rainbow:…
Creating Community for Everyone 