I’m learning a lot about addiction now that I’m working on a project for the Betty Ford Center Children’s Program. I’m learning about the impact alcohol and drug abuse have on kids when there is addiction in the home. I’m also learning that there is hope that a family can escape the clutches of addiction. Healing is possible with the right kind of help. According … Continue reading Addiction Among Us
When I was in my 20’s I had an elderly friend down the street in West Hartford, Connecticut named Eleanor. She loved me and adored my dog, Buddy. She also enjoyed drinking and when I got home from work around 11:30 p.m. she was always waiting up for me. We would have a nightcap and talk. She also watched Buddy for me when I went … Continue reading 10 Things I’ve Learned Being Friends With Elderly Women
I grew up in Hawaii and sang in a choir. We were a very tight group of teenagers from various schools. We were laid back and went to the beach together and sang our hearts out. Then we all grew up and followed our paths until we met up again on Facebook a number of years ago. And we were different. Last night one of … Continue reading Guns and Love and Fear
When Kathleen Larimer, who lost her son, John, in the Aurora Theatre shooting, made her victim impact statement in the final days of the trial, she began by telling the judge “I am so tired of crying.” She and her husband, Scott, had been in the courtroom every day for four months, looking for answers that might help make sense of the murder of their … Continue reading Listening to Victims: Closing thoughts on four months covering the Aurora Theatre shooting trial
The other night while having dinner on our deck on a warm summer evening we heard automatic weapons fire. We live in the suburbs of Denver, about a mile as the crow flies from the Family Shooting Center in Cherry Creek State Park. We often hear the peppering of gunfire as people shoot and train with handguns and rifles. It is background noise for us, … Continue reading Guns In My Backyard
My father, Ed Collins, died when my son, Kyle, was just one year old. Perhaps he knew his time was short because on April 28, 1994, less than three months after Kyle was born, he wrote him this letter. On the envelope it said “To Kyle on his 18th birthday.” We gave it to Kyle this past February. We had waited for years to see … Continue reading On Father’s Day: A Gift from the Grave
Joseph Kony is infamous for his atrocities and crimes against humanity in Uganda and neighboring countries and now the group Invisible Children is trying to make him famous. Kony is one of the most sought after war criminals and the hope is by bringing attention to him the whole world will engage and finally hunt him down and let justice be served. His Kony’s Lords … Continue reading I Support Kony2012
Every year on Christmas eve I make tamales for my family and neighbors. It has become a holiday tradition and labor of love and my girlfriends join me with their own recipes in my kitchen. We cook our tamales and socialize and drink and it’s all very festive. In the event you’d like to start a tamale tradition of your own, here’s a great recipe. … Continue reading Start a Holiday Tradition: Christmas Tamales
When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids By Valerie Strauss This was written by Marion Brady, veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer and author. By Marion Brady A longtime friend on the school board of one of the largest school systems in America did something that few public servants are willing to do. He took versions of his state’s high-stakes standardized math and reading … Continue reading What’s Wrong With Standardized Tests
K’NAAN is one of my favorite musicians. He inspired people around the globe with his rousing “Wavin’ Flag” during the World Cup in South Africa and now he has written a powerful op-ed piece for the New York Times about a journey he took home to his native Somalia. It’s an urgent call to action in case we are forgetting the famine already. A Son … Continue reading A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia By K’NAAN
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