If you’re interested in making a difference in this guns-in-America conversation, here are some thoughts: Yes, it is Christmas time, and preparations take center stage such as each of us prepare for our own family rituals at this season. Christmas is often a confusing time, desperately depressing for many, far too much ‘noise’ and competing […]
Friday morning we took a quick trip over to an area shopping mall to watch our 7th grade grandsons school band do a half hour mall concert. I’m always proud watching kids perform, and watching the teachers work their magic with those kids, and this concert was no exception. This band was a unit, playing […]
Anne M Dunn lives in northern Minnesota and has two earlier posts at Outside The Walls. You can read them here and here. For those of us not aware, Pe’Sla refers to a portion of what most call the Black Hills of South Dakota. Heart of the Heart It seems strange that an Indigenous Nation […]
Today at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers (MAP) about 60 of us heard a fascinating talk by Dr. William Beeman of the University of Minnesota on Iran. He is a man of diverse talents, including academic. Dr. Beeman is recuperating from a recent surgery but that didn’t deter his presentation. He […]
Yesterday, December 7, was Pearl Harbor Day. Much of the day I was out-and-about. Dad’s brother, my uncle Frank, died on the USS Arizona that day, and especially since the 50th anniversary, 1991, it’s been a very significant date for me. I visited the Arizona Memorial in November, 1985, Frank’s burial place literally underneath my […]
UPDATE February 23, 2013: Still unsettled…. I sent this letter to the 28 members of the Minnesota Orchestra Association Executive Committee last week.
There are benefits of being on too-many e-mail lists. Surprisingly often, into the inbox, will come a nugget, as happened today, when Kathy forwarded to me, something Howie had forwarded to her: a 30 minute radio conversation with former Minnesota Education Association President Donald C. Hill of Northfield. You can listen to the entire conversation, […]
PRE-NOTE: I encourage you to watch the video at the end of this post. Thirty-five years ago, sometime in early December of 1977, I did my first homemade Christmas card for friends and family, a very simple card with illustration by my then 13 year old son, Tom, and a hand printed short phrase by […]
A week ago today, Black Friday was raging. Actually, it began on Thanksgiving Day, and if one carries it even further, I first heard Christmas (shopping) music at my coffee stop right after November 1. (click to enlarge) Christmas in America is not so much a celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace; […]
Pre-Note: This post has been held for some time, with precedence given to Election 2012. The topic of Public Education is timeless and crucial. Bob Barkley has very strong “street creds” in public education, from beginning public school teaching in 1958, through years of Quality Ed work within the National Education Association, through Executive Director […]