Faith and Hard Work in an Era of Upheaval
(part of a series from the “Shipwrecked Project”)There are many definitions of a hard childhood. By any definition Mario had a hard childhood. A childhood shaped by deprivation and struggle. Mario did not have a complete understanding of the reasons his father abandoned his children and his wife. Though his father at one time served […]
Pots. Prayers. Plans.
Hey there. There are three things I need today. POTS. (That’s pots, not pot. Smart aleck) If you have any spare clay or ceramic pots lying around outside I can use them. Maybe you were going to have that deck or balcony garden but it didn’t quite work out. I have sprouted lots of things […]
Just Nine Months Ago
almost home. Over the last few months, waves of losses have rolled through our region, large companies laying off thousands and small businesses laying off family and closing doors. Anxious health care professionals and broken-hearted family members recited daily caution and “red alert” reminders. We’ve tried to hold socially distanced funerals and attempted to keep […]
Upheaval
Yesterday I wrapped up another class about disaster and displacement. Lessons learned by those whose lives have been washed/bombed/burned away. One of the deepest realities: we’re all vulnerable creatures on a common journey. Upheaval is a part of the journey. War or weather. Loss of health or wealth. This ain’t heaven. It’s earth. We’re all […]
Louisiana On My Mind —
I am thinking of some of my most treasured relationships. People in Louisiana. Friends and family. Many Louisiana friends are “storm friends”. We came to know one another in the aftermath of Katrina. We’ve seen horrible stuff. We’ve hugged in a street surrounded by wreckage, when everything was gray dust covered, with the smell of […]
ENOUGH TODAY
I slept badly and woke up with a sense of dread. A few moments during which I knew something was wrong but I didn’t know what. And then I remembered. #COVID-19 I am filled with dread because we have been told that it will get much worse before it gets better. Much much worse. Italian […]
FERAL HOGS: In Disasters
Anti-fragility We woke up today to a story about the people we elected using their knowledge of what was coming — a potential pandemic — to enrich themselves. In every disaster there is the “betrayal stage”. That’s the moment when the realization comes that some part of this suffering could have been avoided. And that […]
DON’T QUAKE. PLAN.
When I check FB and read the “what’s on your mind?” prompt here, I usually make a quick check in and then consider what to share. I think about, write about, and research disasters. Usually, I don’t really want people I care about to be thinking about what I’m thinking about. But today I’m going […]
Interdependence
This is a very useful rundown of what to expect re coronavirus. The more we listen to scientists the better off we will be. One thing I think about often is this: we live interdependently. Closely connected to everyone else in the world. We don’t want to believe that or deal with the implications of […]