My barista leaned over the counter today. “What do you think of the MSNBC host who said she hoped it was a Tea Party member rather than a Muslim who set the car bomb in Times Square?” His colleague at the cappucino maker edged closer to hear what I had to say. “Well,” I replied, “I wish it was someone from the Tea Party. It actually kind of … Continue reading Politics with my Cappuccino
My husband, Darrell, was beside himself. What’s up with this? We have a son about to enter the Denver Public Schools and here they are banning employees from travelling to Arizona because of opposition to the new immigration law. He was fuming. Don’t they have more important things to worry about (like higher graduation rates?) He even called KHOW’s Caplis and Silverman radio show to vent. I tried to rationalize the … Continue reading Denver Public Schools Takes a Stand
Chag Sameach. It means “joyous festival” and is a popular greeting during Passover. With the Jewish celebration of freedom here again I recall our very special Passover seder in Kampala, Uganda. I posted this as the very first story on my blog back in May 2008. My story also ran in the Denver Post in spring 2007. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5534210 Cinematographer Paul Hillman and I are heading back to Kampala, Uganda again in June to do … Continue reading Passover in Kampala
The debate over health care reform is not over. Even with the House vote and significant legislation approved, the merits and process will be hashed and rehashed for years, and certainly, vociferously, until November when mid-term elections decide the fate of many in Congress who went one way or the other. We haven’t heard the last of the Tea Party and Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck but I think that when people … Continue reading Health Care Reform and Leadership
This month’s “More” magazine has a series of essays, by influential women authors, about the meaning of home. “A Wanderer’s Retreat” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni really speaks to me. Her writing is flavorful and evocative as chai. Her story about first loving her grandfather’s home, connecting with landscapes after his loss, then finally finding home in her own heart resonates with the wanderer in me and perhaps would even … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Home
In the room were the legends of photojournalism. Darrell Barton, Larry Hatteberg and the memory of Bob Brandon. There were also hundreds of others who had been influenced and inspired by the man we gathered to remember. I did not know Bob Brandon. I worked with him only once. When he died in December 2009 I was struck by the outpouring of accolades for him. I … Continue reading On The Shoulders of Giants
This morning, NBC’s Today Show had an exclusive interview with the Balloon Boy’s dad, Richard Heene. As he prepares for a 90 day jail sentence, Heene, had some choice words about the authorities who he believes have wronged him and his family. NBC’s Matt Lauer grilled him during a fairly contentious interview in which Heene maintains the Balloon Boy incident was absolutely not a hoax. This … Continue reading Richard Heene: Balloon Boy Incident Not a Hoax
It’s hard to wrap your head around what Aron Ralston had to do in a slot canyon in Utah in 2003. While hiking he dislodged a boulder and his arm was pinned beneath the huge rock for six days. To escape certain death he amputated his own arm then rappelled down a 65 foot wall and hiked eight miles before he found help. The act … Continue reading Meeting Aron Ralston
Esther Heller tells me she used to be a dancer. She says she won competitions in Paris and Athens and even Kamchatka (although she no longer is certain where that is.) She used to teach dancing in Denver. Waltzes and Polkas and Fox Trots. She did it for free so people could learn to move their feet. But now Esther’s feet have betrayed her. Until … Continue reading Esther’s Last Dance
My 11 year old son, Blair, wanted to go to Cirque du Soleil this year, but because our schedules were so busy, we missed it. Instead he went to the Balloon Boy media circus. Because my husband was traveling and I was a single mom over the weekend I didn’t want to leave him at home while I was working 24/7 for NBC News. Instead … Continue reading Blair and the Balloon Boy
Vicky Collins Online 