How often do you think about censorship? Banned books? I tend to think of censorship as it pertains to history — something that hasn’t happened much since the McCarthy era, right? So would you be surprised to find out that the American Library Association maintains a list of challenged (and sometimes banned) books by year? I was. I am disgusted by the concept of censorship. It’s not difficult to connect dots between banning certain books and trends in discrimination. Besides, learning to sort through ideas with which…
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3 Ways to Painlessly Pooh-pooh the Plastic
There’s no denying that excessive use of plastic is catching up with us. Frontline photos from oceans and beaches around the world have brought that home, time and again. Floating islands of trash and fishing-line entangled shore birds can make the problem seem overwhelming, fostering helplessness and inaction. According to the Pew Trust website the problem may be even bigger than initially suspected. “Of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic ever produced, approximately only 9% has been recycled and an estimated 60% has been discarded,…
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Vision, 2020 Vision, and Expectations for a New Year
I’ve always enjoyed the excitement and anticipation that comes with a blank page. It speaks to me of hope and possibility, of space for the vision that will become a story. And although I rarely bring the clarity of 20/20 vision to that beginning, I trust my experience as I trust the process. I assume a satisfying and positive outcome. It’s an attitude I try to bring to anything new and a new year provides good practice. As we all know, some years are easier to…
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Bruised and Battered but Home and Happy
Home is where the heart is. Where the dogs are. Home is where there’s always something that needs attention — could be laundry or groceries or dust bunnies and dog hair. Yes, home is where there’s always something that needs attention and today that makes me smile. I’ll get to what I can and the rest can wait. I’m home from a few more adventures than I’d anticipated, settling in, and happy about it. The travel has been a little overwhelming: Favorite Husband and I took…
