A year like no other. So far out there. Wonder if we’ll ever get back to normal. It has been an amazing year, for sure. Emily, Mitchell, Erich, Zen, Laya, Jennifer, Jay, Liz, Erica, and Ira are all progressing in school. We met when they were undergrads,…
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…
On August 21, 1983, Ronald Reagan was in the White House. The idea that The Police were monitoring Every Breath You Take had a very different meaning than it might today. The virus that causes AIDS was just identified, and the average life expectancy post-diagnosis was 18 months. My friends and I were generally operating…
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:…
Back in the days when I worked at Planned Parenthood, I would joke that as a sex educator I was great at oral sex. In other words, I could talk about sex all day. I would sometimes tell teens that they should get better at oral sex, talking about it more and doing the deed…
Today I will receive an award from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee for LGBTQ+ Advocate of the Year. The mid-afternoon ceremony is a big one with more than a score of other awards being given for enduring contributions to the development of the University, excellence in teaching, distinguished service, research, academic staff service, academic staff…
I wrote a speech with sharing it aloud at Gary’s 70th birthday party in mind. The opportunity didn’t arise, and not wanting to interrupt an event Gary had so carefully planned, I didn’t deliver it. Instead I printed the speech and sent it to Gary right after the party. Then, after reading Gary’s Aug. 2…
Much of my adult life has been shaped by my thinking, or what approximates thinking in some circumstances. While I appreciate logic, I am not always its greatest adherent. I am a fan of congruence and cohesion, but I also find delight in random, weird thoughts that introduce some serendipity in my life and humor…
This week I received a birthday greeting from a family member. Like all of the others from this relative, the rather expensive card was carefully selected — this one specific to a 70-year-old male — and simply signed with their name. There was no preface to the card nor a closing to personalize it. I…
Fifty-five years ago I was in a friary, preparing to join a religious order. During my time there, immediately after the Second Vatican Council, we still maintained many of the old ways of the Order. You could join at age 13, for example. We observed the Hours of prayer (Matins, Lauds, Prime, Sext, Terse, etc.).…
Creating Community for Everyone 