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As we paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King last month, I found myself, again, thinking about the impact of words on our lives.

Recently, I came across a fascinating article about Patrick Henry in The Atlantic, part of a broader focus on this year’s 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

Patrick Henry is remembered as the most powerful speaker of that era, hands down, by his fellow founders, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. John Adams declared Henry, “the … [Read more...] about Bearing Witness

Yesterday afternoon, I had just gotten off the phone with my friend, William. He’s recently been transferred from Stateville, a maximum security prison in Joliet, to a medium security prison in Sheridan, about an hour and a half from Chicago.

Phone calls for inmates at Sheridan are always limited to 20 minutes. There are only two phones in William’s section of the prison, so during designated times, all the inmates housed there have to cue up for a chance to make a call.

If I miss his … [Read more...] about My Friend Serving a Life Sentence

I am poised to take my first step onto a hiking trail in the red clay landscape of Sedona, AZ. Wearing a brand new pair of hiking shoes that I purchased at REI just the day before (Eeek), I’m praying these babies won’t hurt my feet.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t tried to get a new pair of trail shoes earlier, I did! But I wear a size 11.5 or 12 with a somewhat narrow foot. I ordered at least 6 different pairs via mail and none of them worked.

Suddenly, last Thursday, the day before my trip, I … [Read more...] about A New Path

I started crying almost as soon as I started singing. On a recent Saturday, I stood alongside forty other singers at a large church in Huntley. It was a rehearsal for a reunion concert made up of former singers who had sung in Concert Choir at the University of Illinois sometime during our director’s 27-year tenure (1982-2011).

We had one day to rehearse twelve songs and to prepare for a concert that night.

Everyone came willingly, and you could sense the magic in the air of being a part … [Read more...] about An Antidote to Loneliness

In 7th grade I couldn’t speak. Well, in my social studies class, that is. I can still remember raising my hand to answer a question posed by the teacher. My mouth was moving but no sound came out. 
If you’ve ever had a dream in which you’re trying to scream or run away from the monsters but your voice is constricted or your legs won’t work—that’s what it felt like for me.
The “monsters" in this case turned out to be my classmates. I had accidentally been placed in the wrong level class. My … [Read more...] about Finding Your Authentic Voice