Many of you may know of Parker Palmer, perhaps even his wonderful essay, “Welcome to the Brink of Everything,” which he wrote in June 2018 at the age of 80. An educator and activist, Palmer has published a wealth of books, essays, and poems focused on community, spirituality, and social change. He is currently founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the …

How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? – Pope Francis There are a thousand and one scenarios for how someone’s life can unravel, perhaps over months or seemingly overnight, and discard them onto the streets. Homelessness is rarely …

Tony and I weren’t the first pilgrims to southern Oregon who fell for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and imagined ourselves living here. The wild mushroom vendor at the Rogue Valley  Growers Market and a hike to the top of 7,000 foot Grizzley Peak, with its gracious views of the valley, offered additional charms—along with my best friend from high school, whom …

I discovered Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetry 17 years ago, introduced to this self-proclaimed “wandering poet” by a young fellow poet who joined our nonprofit What Kids Can Do as a writer and editor in its early days. Born to a Palestinian father and an American mother, Naomi Shihab Nye began composing her first poetry at the age of six. During her …

In the small world of academic mathematicians, my family has the reputation of having the longest lineage of all: four generations of math PhD’s and professors. I am the exception. However, I grew up in this intimate world. For twenty years, my father was the chairman of the mathematics department at Princeton University (where Albert Einstein had an office down …

For several years now, I have followed the tidal wave of youth action around climate change, close at hand and across the globe, bringing it up in casual conversations whenever I can. Folks who know me probably aren’t surprised: I’ve spent a lifetime championing the voices and visions of young people, in good times and bad. In this blog post …

“No services next 81 miles,” the road sign warned.  “No exits, no water, little human life” it could have continued. In early August, Tony and I packed our Subaru, said goodbye to the Rogue Valley, and headed out on a 1,400-mile road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where we were joining our Brooklyn and Denver-based families and grandkids for a …