Those Spam Scammers Deserve a Special Kind of Hell
to be necessary for getting me “the refund to which I was entitled,” I thought “this is nuts . . . this is a scam . . . goodbye.”
Remembering Northwest Poet/Architect Grant Jones (1938-2021)
Grant Jones and his life’s work were formed by the Pacific Northwest.
When I Swam with Juan Peron at the “Hotel of the Dictators”
We embarked on what we envisioned as a lark; an exotic adventure. It turned out to be far more.
Eulogy: Rev. Jean Kim, “Mother of Seattle’s Homeless”
It's easy to make light of the Church of the Good Bra, but it is simply impossible not to stand in awe of the incredible work that Rev. Kim did to nurture the homeless and unsheltered, especially over the years of her several unsuccessful attempts at "retirement."
Goodbye to the Germy Handshake
Folklore has it that extending an empty hand was a sign of trust, showing that one's hand was free of weapons. The gesture of "shaking" hands did double duty, serving to dislodge knives or other objects concealed in a sleeve.
Present Tense Perfect — Focusing After COVID
The pandemic and aging have led me to question those not very wise, largely unexamined, assumptions. Things change. Sometimes radically. Things end, including lives. Things don’t always get better in the future. If they do, it’s a bonus not a certainty.
Wealthy Women Giving Generously: MacKenzie Scott
Women are more visible in philanthropy today because they've been fighting for a seat at every table for decades. Gender matters in philanthropy. Men and women engage in giving differently; not necessarily better, but differently.
Tired of Paying Taxes? Try Philanthropy!
During the last 40 years, as the rich have gotten richer, and the poor and middle-classes have lost ground or, at best, stayed even, there has also been an explosion of philanthropy and the creation of a boat-load of foundations.
Two Minds: What to do about Crime Rate Rise?
We have a hammer problem with policing. As in, “when every problem is a nail, every solution is a hammer.” We have asked the police to do too much. Or to put it another way, we send police to deal with stuff that is better dealt with by other people using other methods.
In the Absence of Packaging… A social life emerges
Sometimes it’s the thinnest of membranes that separate us from each other. This came to mind when I was contemplating our dramatic change of...
Canada loses a Legal Giant who served the Cause of Indigenous People
Why should we note Tom Berger’s passing on this side of the 49th Parallel? Because past mistreatment of Native peoples knew no boundaries, and redress in the form of empowerment and justice came in the 1970s on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.
Which Relationships Survived the Pandemic and Which Didn’t?
Our whole history lives with and in our oldest friends. If we hadn’t excluded less meaningful, casual acquaintances before the pandemic, we’re likely to do so when it’s over.
The Classics and our need for Ambiguity
We seem now to be in a time when fewer people are willing to consider life’s complexity, and to the truth that “human existence is not easily divided into good and evil, but filled with complexity, nuance and ambiguity.”
Why We Should Stop Calling it the Salish Sea
Originally, the two straits and Puget Sound were known as the Gulf of Georgia, a name given by Captain George Vancouver in 1792 to honor his sovereign and patron, George III. It was a patronizing term then, much as the Salish Sea is now.
Nash Collection Farm Worker Photos Get Front Page Treatment
The Nash Collection had been locked away in a sub-basement of the Washington State University Library since the early 1990s, with only about 100 low resolution images from the collection posted on the library’s website, until a Seattle couple posted a few of those images
on Facebook.
Navigating the Messy In-Between Before the End
Maybe a good time to take stock, to ask ourselves what have I learned? Are there things we have learned to take forward with us on the next leg of the journey? Are there other things that need, now, to be left behind?
Women Who Have Shaped Our Region: Let Me Add to the List
The Legacy Washington list of notable women is a most impressive group but the list is far too short. There are dozens who should have also been included, so I’d like to nominate a few.
Chief Seattle’s Complex Life: Impresario, Warrior, Slaveholder, Peacemaker
In Puget Sound society, if a new and vigorous group showed up, one might have to fight them, but one could also intermarry with them, sharing in their vitality and mitigating violence. Seattle changed his course and set to work immediately to bring this peaceful vision about in his homeland around Elliott Bay.
Not Yours
There is a deep line forming between my eyebrows. It’s not centered; it’s closer to my right eyebrow and it's about an inch wide. I have always known it’s there. Last week it became more prominent as I was reading about the disappearance of Sarah Everard.
Will we Miss the Pandemic when it’s Gone?
While I would like to think that the pandemic has taught us to slow down, I’m skeptical.
Biden and Rapinoe team up for Pay Equality
Megan Rapinoe teams up with the President to highlight the gender pay gap on Equal Pay Day.
Seattle’s Forgotten Battle
Historically the Battle of Seattle has been treated as an oddity: an engagement the Indians were bound to lose. In fact, it was a major setback for the settlers. And historians have largely ignored the crucial role played by the Duwamish and Chief Seattle.
What do Women Want?
I can say only what this one woman wants: a world where women are honored for more than one month a year; a world where women in every country and of every race and religion enjoy full equality and every door is not only open but has a welcome mat.
The Role Model Boys Need
Isn't it great to imagine young boys seeing a man helping his spouse in this way -- of frankly playing second fiddle?
Her Name is Elisia
Photographer Irwin Nash began documenting not just the political struggles of the farm workers but their domestic life as well. Along with agitation in the fields, he photographed weddings, community meetings, visits to the clinic, everyday life. “This was a labor of love,” he says. “It needed to be done.”
The Seen Unseen – Not what you Expect
It’s one of the things you think you won’t do – judge people by appearance. But it’s one of the first things people seem to do when the word “homeless” is used.
Remembering Charlie Brydon and Seattle’s Long March to Gay Rights
Joel Pritchard held a memorable lunch 45 years ago, calmly asking for discrimination to end against gays. Seattle should be proud of its progress.
Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person. Agreed, So Then What?
It was a wise Jewish mother who had said, “Men marry women with the intention that they will the stay the same. Women marry men with the idea that they will change.
Pandemic Wallops Women: Behind a Persistent Gender Pay Gap
Women today are caught in a perfect storm, and swift federal and state action to expand child care and enforce paycheck fairness are urgently needed.
I Owe My 15 Minutes of Fame to Rush Limbaugh
Limbaugh’s blast was fair comment, but it was not journalism, I argued. He made no attempt to walk through the issue, and certainly never called me. It was clear he had not read my story.
