I couldn’t have been more than 8 years old, but I remember it like it was yesterday. My mom and I were at Cub Foods, a no-frills store where you bagged your own groceries as they flew down this fancy mechanical belt. It was 20 minutes further from home, but it was a little less … Continue reading Make Them Eat Their Policies
A friend took this photo of me at an open mic night last Friday. When she showed it to me, I realized it would shock people. Image credit: Michele’s friend Janet U. Subscribe That’s me at the microphone – singing publicly for the first time in 25 years, and playing guitar in front of an … Continue reading Go Sing Your Song: Joy As Resistance and Fuel
There’s an old saying that the best day to have planted a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today. I was thinking of that last Tuesday, as the results from the Tennessee special election came in. You’ve no doubt read about Aftyn Behn’s race in TN-07, and the 13 point shift … Continue reading The Long Game, Trees, and TN-07: Building Infrastructure, Not Just Winning Races
We snaked through the trees and came up over the hill to find ourselves standing before a scorched field. In the cold and the damp I could feel, more than smell, the acrid in the air. “Sometimes you have to burn a field to help it grow,” I said to my son. But also to myself. … Continue reading Growing In the Dark: Seeds and Water and Warmth and Time
“Are you going this year?” It’s the question I’ve been asking friends for weeks now. And it’s the question they’ve been asking me. The conversations always sound the same. There are logistics – the drive time, who’s hosting, whether you can claim car trouble as an excuse. Then we move to justifications – they’re old, … Continue reading Are You Going This Year?: Holidays for Red State Democrats
One Question. Nine Years. $1 Million. I still remember where I was sitting. It was a table close to the corner, right by the big front window. The sunlight was coming through just so, throwing a spotlight on the floor and warming my back. It was a scarlet red time, right after the 2016 election. … Continue reading What’s Stopping You?
The most powerful lesson you can learn in running? You are capable of much, much more than you think. ~Amby Burfoot A quick story: In 1977, a 63-year-old woman named Laura Schultz lifted a car off of her grandson, saving his life. She was a petite woman who had never lifted more than 50 pounds. … Continue reading You, Too, Can Lift A Car: Life Demands Courage
One person can make a difference, and everyone should try. ~John F. Kennedy Last week, a woman in a polka dot dress stopped traffic in New York City. Her defiant image went viral. And reminded me of a man who, on a summer day in 1989, became world famous. We still don’t know who he … Continue reading Tank Man Had Shopping Bags. She Had a Polka Dot Dress.
On Saturday – in the pouring rain and surrounded by drummers and inflatable characters from Sponge Bob Square Pants – my son turned to look at me with the earnest, questioning eyes of a young man coming of age in a most uncertain time. “Momma,” he paused, raindrops splattering on our shared umbrella. “If we … Continue reading Small Towns, Red States, No Kings
Show Up Anyway A few Saturdays ago, I crashed a party. I was supposed to go to the Great Balloon Race with my 13-year old, who had been looking forward to this St. Louis tradition for weeks. It’s a massive hot air balloon race across the city; people come in from all over the country … Continue reading The Party I Almost Missed
Small Deeds Done 