Open Letter: ‘I find myself with more questions than answers on ‘Don’t Wait. Educate’ initiative

    read more…: Open Letter: ‘I find myself with more questions than answers on ‘Don’t Wait. Educate’ initiative

    While I would like to sign your Statement of Principles, I find myself with more questions than answers, assertions without reference, a school district that has struggled for years with its existing pre-school program, the questionable results of the Head Start program nationwide and the opinions and analyses of many experts that don’t agree with the solutions proposed by your organization to the issues raised.

    Eric G. Part 4: ‘Things happen’ in prison, an understatement if I ever heard one

    read more…: Eric G. Part 4: ‘Things happen’ in prison, an understatement if I ever heard one

    A letter arrived from the same prison, stamped STATE PRISON GENERATED MAIL, with the name of a different prisoner in the return address. One of the drawbacks of writing to strangers in prison is the lack of privacy behind bars. I wondered if my name and address would one day be passed around the cellblock by Eric, with or without his knowledge. This letter was from John G. and said that Eric had been held in the infirmary due to a mental health issue.

    Putting the ‘fun’ in funerals; or perfect party planning for the nearly departed

    read more…: Putting the ‘fun’ in funerals; or perfect party planning for the nearly departed

    This is not a joke. In recent years, more and more people have been planning their own funerals. According to mortician Steve Skiles, who’s been doing these types of funerals for years, ”It’s a way of saying, ‘Hey world, I may be dead but I’m not gone.”’

    The joy of phubbing: Cell phones and relationships in the 21st Century

    read more…: The joy of phubbing: Cell phones and relationships in the 21st Century

    But phubbing – that is phone snubbing, or the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention – has become so commonplace, I have a hard time taking seriously a recent study that suggests it is a practice that is ruining relationships and leading to widespread depression.

    City fathers almost waited ’til the cows came home to erect Town Pound

    read more…: City fathers almost waited ’til the cows came home to erect Town Pound

    Apparently, the decision to erect a Town Pound was a major civic undertaking. It made the current Presidential Primary campaign look like table talk at a poker game. We’re just hoping the Presidential election is resolved more swiftly than the Town Pound debate – it lasted 90 years – or our grandchildren won’t be alive to see Chelsea Clinton’s granddaughter take the oath of office.

    Eric G., Part 3: Mental illness and the prison population

    read more…: Eric G., Part 3: Mental illness and the prison population

    Early in our correspondence, Eric G. mentioned he was bi-polar and that it was being treated with meds. He sometimes started hunger strikes because he was being deprived of the correct medications, or they were not delivered as ordered. When he was sent to new facility, often the medical orders were slow to arrive. And being sent to a new prison complex also meant his personal belongings did not arrive with him and it was usually quite a while before he was reunited with books, photos, art supplies.

    It’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month – join me in wearing purple lipstick

    read more…: It’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month – join me in wearing purple lipstick

    Latasha Jackson of Fort Worth, TX, lost her parents to domestic violence when her father murdered her mother and then killed himself. Her mother died trying to protect her children and now my friend runs an organization called “ I Am Cheryl’s Voice” because that is her calling now that her mother Cheryl can’t speak for herself.