Most of the colorful, three-dimensional quilts known as arpilleras that you see today come from Peru, and reflect tranquil scenes of rural life in the Andes mountains. But these powerful works of art actually originated in Chile as expressions of grief and protest during the oppressive dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. [Read more...]
Chilean Arpilleras: Creating a Peace of Art
01/12/2011 By
Making Countless Thousands Mourn
01/10/2011 By
Shrine at the hospital for Gabby Giffords and others wounded and killed in Saturday's attack
I don’t know what to say. Besides, already so much has been said—by journalists and regular people trying to make sense of it all. And yet, I can’t just let it go…
The shooting this weekend of those gathered at an event hosted by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is national and international news. Before it was over, as I’m sure everyone knows by now, 20 people had been shot. Six of those are dead, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl. Congresswoman Giffords, although shot point blank in the head, has miraculously survived. It is still too early to say what her prognosis may be.
We (I think I can include, at minimum, the friends I’ve been in contact with) are stunned and saddened beyond belief. As I watched and listened to everything unfold this weekend, I was transported back to the horrific events of 9-11. And I remembered what will always be—for me—the defining moment of that tragedy. [Read more...]
Tired but Happy
12/01/2010 By
Yes, I know we’ve moved on to a new topic this week, but if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to re-visit some of the ideas about gratitude that we talked about earlier. The reason is that over the Thanksgiving holiday I was given an excellent opportunity to practice what I was preaching with regard to the whole glass half empty or full question. And—especially because there’s been so much negative press lately about the violence in Mexico—I think this story is worth sharing.
As I mentioned in our post about the Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup, my daughter and I have a tradition of spending the holiday in Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco), Mexico, camped on the beach with friends. This year, I was a little hesitant because of everything I’d heard, but decided that as long as we traveled during daylight hours, and on a day when a lot of Americans would also be making the trip, it would be okay.
So we headed out, only to have a blowout in the middle of nowhere (but still in the US), about two hours into our trip. That delayed us for a couple of hours while we waited for AAA, but they finally arrived and got us back on our way. [Read more...]
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