29 Comments

THANK YOU!

I needed this today, as I sat bundled in blankets on my couch, nesting in quiet and not wanting to venture into the world.

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Was thinking of you today. We should talk soon.

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Thanks for this. Like you, I am not a morning person, but I do occasionally rise early enough for the sunrise--because I can. I always return to nature to energize me. It has been my go-to through many of life's stresses and now is no different. Thanks for the reminder and the beautiful photos!

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You’re welcome, Cathy. Thanks for your reflections. I’m glad to be among other nature lovers.

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Thanks for this. And yes, replenishing, restoring , refreshing our native forests is one of the best ways we can slow the carbon line and in that small degree possible, build resilience into what will be, inevitably, a new ecosystem. Geeesh. Always, you make me think!

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You don’t have to take too far a trip to thinking, my friend! Thanks always for your support.

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OMG!

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I know, right? It's a giant mountain to climb and a slippery slope down the other side. I hope we can stop the momentum. It's scary to imagine the impact when we hit bottom, AGAIN!

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I loved reading this Annette. It was a great start to my day. Grace has a great philosophy. I will remember your story as I head into 2025. Too often I dwell on the negative things happening and forget to be grateful for the blessings of my life. One of them is the joy I get from singing in several great chorus. I just concluded my 2024 concert season with Toledo Choral last night and am looking forward to 2025's season. My Chiaroscuro Men's Yuletide Concert was performed on December 13th in the beautiful Holy Rosary Chapel at the Dominican Mother House in Adrian. Looking back on this month...what a ride. TCS has yet more gig at the Jewish Temple in Sylvania, Ohio, on the 27th. We will sing several songs celebrating Hanukah (or Chanukah) & enjoy great food after that, prepared by the members of the Temple. Happy Holidays and hope your 2025 is wonderful in every way.

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Here, back in the very cold (14 degrees) northern Michigan that you are familiar with, we've had lake effect snow, and last night, a gathering of neighbors and friends around the annual Solstice bonfire. We stand in the cold, passing hot tea or cider or schnapps and stare at the bonfire or turn away and stare at the flickering snow on the meadow. At some point, our friend Norm plays a fanfare on his trumpet, and we all enter into the ancient howl-away-the-darkness ritual, a united howl that maybe has nothing to do with the return of the light, but for a moment, we are together in a great sound, and that maybe is hope. And now, I am preparing for a first day of winter cold plunge, which is a way to practice courage. Thanks for your consistent words about hope! AMO

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Such a beautiful scene. I am standing there with you--although I would definitely be looking at the fire, inching up as closely as I could to it without catching fire. Practicing courage is just as important as practicing hope. The collective howl offers courage and the cold plunge (which I personal this is outrageous!) is a demonstration of it. You go for it. I'll stay here in my study with a little heater next to me and imagine you there! LOL! Thanks for reading!

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Nikki Giovanni and Gwendolyn Brooks were the first black poets I read with any depth, and I'm so grateful to them both for the way they led me to better insight and understanding through the language and context. Thank you for putting her work into the context of hope. Thank you for choosing hope as the stamp of resilience.

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Both amazing poets and incredible souls. If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that resilience is required of all of us, but those who do it best and have the easiest time of it, sprinkle it with hope. They depend on each other.

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This morning I learned that Nikki Giovanni died at the age of 81. She was one of the giants to me, someone who opened the world to people who had been beaten down by slavery, told that their only future was in menial work, that they were not really human at all. Nikki Giovanni had a different take on that, and she wrote poems that made the world sing for Black people - and for me. What a legacy she left. Sail on, Nikki. Author Frederick Joseph posted his thoughts about her on Substack. That's another way of being creative. Thanks for sharing your story about that D, Annette. Some teachers have a lot to answer for. Write on!

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As a matter of fact, I’m writing about Nikki Giovanni in today’s post. I loved her too!

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I look forward to welcoming Wendy into Singers. It is quite fun, very supportive, totally non=judgmental, and does a great job of stretching that which needs to be stretched. :-)

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She's looking forward to it. She's looking to be stretched.

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One more thing we share, Annette. Both of us have personal experience with a virus that used to cause death and disability every year. In summer, our parents kept us from going to the movies, going swimming in public pools, or meeting our friends in groups. When school started in the fall, one or more desks would be empty. Hospitals had wards filled with tanks called iron lungs. Polio struck in epidemics every year. People called it "infantile paralysis," but it affected boys and girls, adult men and women, as well as babies. I got polio in 1954, two months before Dr. Jonas Salk announced that he was ready for "Polio Pioneers" to roll up their sleeves and get an injection of the vaccine he had developed. The vaccine worked. Polio epidemics in the United States disappeared. Salk's vaccine used killed virus. Dr. Albert Sabine developed a vaccine that utilized live virus. Thanks to both, parents began to believe their children would live to adulthood. Your family had its own experience with polio, but we both had first-hand knowledge of this scourge. Today, I use a power wheelchair to get around, and have post-polio syndrome. Today a toddler in Gaza has been paralyzed by polio. It's gone around and come around. I'm grateful to both doctors, Salk and Sabine. More common ground, Annette. Take care, Helen B. (She/her/hers)

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I never write about polio without thinking about you, Helen. Years ago, you gave me a first-hand account of your experiences and I’ve never forgotten that. Yes, we share a lot. And don’t forget, a mutual love of Susan Walker! I appreciate re-connecting with you through my writing. I hope to make it down to NC in the next year. I’ll be sure to look you up when I do. And I look forward to anything you might offer for me to post.

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Great outline, Annette! One of the good things about resources today is that we can stay in touchy despite the distance from Richmond VA to Etowah NC. It helps that I've been to Richmond. I need to remind myself that your hair is different than I remember. We share our identities as lesbians, our faith communities and practices, and our commitment to racial equity and inclusion. Turns out that we also share practices related to communications - that's where

Council comes in. We've both learned the importance of focus and deep listening. We both know how important it is to encourage people to share their stories. Our values are quite similar in many areas. There are differences, too, and I'd like to know more about those. This is a great opportunity to explore them. You've provided a start, and I'll write more about where that goes. Thanks! Take care, Helen B. (She/her/hers)

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Awesome letter. I would love to be able to write as well as you do!

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Practice, my dear, practice! And thank you!

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A wonderful letter, Annette!

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Thanks, Dorothy.

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That letter is one powerhouse piece. I turn to it as a model for how to express action and concern at the same time. Thank you.

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Thank you, Anne Marie. I appreciate that! I have always had a conflictual relationship with Walmart because of the hometown connection, so clearly it called to me to respond.

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What a powerful letter, Annette. You go!

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Thanks, Annie. I appreciate it.

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Your Walmart letter resonated with me. Hope/ action.... Here is a letter I wrote to our local paper and sent to my state senator last June after the MA Senate mandated the teaching of the Holocaust/ antisemitism (not a bad idea but.... not only. and how?)

Reflections on the MA Senate mandate to teach antisemitism

Due to rising incidents of antisemitism, our state Senate recently mandated the teaching of antisemitism.

This mandate was based on the May 2023 National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism which says “Both antisemitism and Holocaust education specifically can also teach students about hate, bigotry, racism and prejudice more broadly. When conducted effectively, Holocaust education provides enduring lessons for all communities and encourages students to think critically about their own roles and responsibilities to stand up against hate.” (p.14).

How will this education be “conducted effectively?”

For 35 years, I was a middle school Educator. Although the Holocaust specifically was not part of our 7th grade curriculum, the skills of listening to one another, articulating points of view, methods of problem/ conflict solving, discussions of justice were embedded everywhere, at every opportunity. In our study of the US Constitution, as we examined how different identity groups in this country have had/have the opportunity for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and if not, what needs to change and how can we, the people, do this? We identified the points of view in novels, reflected on how the conflict was resolved, how it might have ended differently. We had lively conversations about cell phones, video games, the internet, the current “power structure” in their student community. Kids and adolescents are passionate about fairness and justice. They want and need to learn and explore the complex truths of their world in a balanced and fair way.

Yes, the Holocaust and other destructive events perpetrated against Jewish people must be taught.

What other historical and current truths need to be learned to understand what is happening today in the Israel/ Palestine today,

Examples:

· the history of all the ancient Semitic peoples; the more recent distinctions between the Zionist political state of Israel and the Jewish religion/ faith

· the Balfour Declaration after WW1

· the creation of Israel/ Palestine, its history since 1948

· the origins and impacts of Colonization in Israel/ Palestine

Yes, the teaching of antisemitism is necessary and feels more complicated and challenging at this time. The Zionist State does not reflect the values of the Jewish religion, although it is understandable that the two might be conflated. I am well aware of the discomfort my Jewish friends are experiencing due to the ongoing horrors: some not wanting others to know they are Jewish, others standing/ speaking out about the ongoing horrors.

How do we challenge the reality that any specific identity group has power/control over another? How do we ALL commit to learn the truths of others, to “stand up against hate” or better yet STAND UP FOR PEACE?

Two youth organizations in Palestine/ Israel provide models for this: Seeds of Peace

https://www.seedsofpeace.org/response/ and the Jerusalem Youth Chorus. https://jerusalemyouthchorus.org . Palestinian and Israeli youth together are standing up for humanity and peace.

Ken Burns offered another example for learning about and living our humanity. In his address to the Brandeis Undergraduate Ceremony last month: “I am interested in listening to the many varied voices of a true, honest, complicated past that is unafraid of controversy and tragedy …. but equally drawn to those stories and moments that suggest an abiding faith in the human spirit”.

Will the MA Senate ensure that educators teach the “many varied voices” in history (and the present), stories and truths of both tragedy and humanity? Will listening and conflict resolution skills and strategies also be mandated? These insights and skills are imperatives for our children ….and for ALL OF US. We must together stand up for humanity and peace.

June 2024

Chris Mohn (she/her)

A retired educator who is passionate about fairness and justice. I have visited Palestine/ Israel and witnessed the impact(s) of this ongoing battle for survival and power.

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