A couple months ago, I was sitting in a Southwest Airlines wheelchair, waiting to preboard my flight. Passengers were disembarking in one long, hurried rush. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of pain and screamed. A young woman, dragging her wheelie bag in her right hand and reading the phone in her left, had slammed into … Continue reading Screaming to be Seen
Twitter is replete today with posts about #MilitarySpouseAppreciationDay. I didn’t know a thing about it. In a quick search, I found “A Proclamation on Military Spouse Appreciation Day, 2021,” from the White House. As an Army brat, I feel the same way about Military Spouse Appreciation Day as I do about Earth Day: every single … Continue reading Appreciating Military Spouses
I returned to my island home on Earth Day last week. Mind you, flying 12 hours, through three packed airports on two completely full planes was not the ideal, nor my preferred, way to celebrate Earth Day. I was double-masked for nearly 12 hours, even though I had tested negative before I began my journey. … Continue reading Every Day is Earth Day
Wendy Stephens, 14 years old. In late 2001, I was a staff photographer for the Associated Press based in Seattle. One of my reporting colleagues decided to follow up with the lone detective still working on the murders of the serial killer known as the Green River Killer. Detective Ted Jensen was the one person … Continue reading Their names, faces, stories
“This I Believe. By that name, we present the personal philosophies of thoughtful men and women in all walks of life. In this brief space, a banker or a butcher, a painter or a social worker, people of all kinds who need have nothing more in common than integrity, a real honesty, will write about … Continue reading This I Believe
Near the end of January, I checked the weather. It was freezing. With the ripping northeast wind, the temperature was 13 degrees. There was a small craft advisory. That wind direction meant there’d be impressive chop in the small cove. Perfect day of a swim. And not. We decided to meet at the cove and … Continue reading United We Swim
Last month, after the inauguration of our new president and vice president, I wrote President and Dr. Biden a letter. I posted it in an envelope I addressed by hand and hand-selected the stamp. I once worked as a summer congressional intern, answering constituents’ mail, so I know mailing a letter to the president and … Continue reading Dear President and Dr. Biden
(Note: the quotes in this piece are from a transcription of an interview with Sgt. Rob Taylor in Khenjekak, Afghanistan, C. Co. on February 2012. Sgt. Rob Taylor. Born Neville, NJ. August 1, 1981.) This time last year I was heading for a two-day interview at Syracuse University. On the drive through western Massachusetts, I got … Continue reading Remembering Rob Taylor
The idea for Women’s Education Initiative began by accident, literally. After completing my scuba instructor training in the Philippines, I wrecked an all-terrain vehicle in the jungle: I was lucky to walk away with only a shattered wrist. I arrived alone at St. Patrick’s Hospital in Batangas City on Easter weekend 2003. “Where’s your companion?” The … Continue reading Celebrating Women’s Education Initiative
The toughest thing is that there comes a day when the loved one no longer responds. We never know when that day will be. We know it’s coming. The last time we can talk with the loved one. The last time we will hold a hand and the beloved squeezes it. We know it’s coming, … Continue reading the toughest thing
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