Brave Dave And The Draft Card

Forty-eight years ago yesterday, on October 15, 1965, twenty-four year old pacifist member of the Catholic Worker Movement, David J. Miller, stood on a sound truck near the Armed Forces Induction Center on Whitehall Street in Manhattan, and burned his draft card. He was arrested three days later, convicted of knowingly destroying and knowingly mutilating […]

Zinnia’s Tribute

It was another beautiful autumn afternoon in 2007. The day was almost over, and I was at my final stop before going home. I always saved this nursing home for last when I was out in the field, because it was such a pleasant experience each time I visited. With an excellent staff and a […]

A Corner Turned

First year of college behind me, I was ready to head over the mountains to San Francisco, the promised land for someone who needed to kick valley home dust off her sandals. It was June, 1966, and I could not wait to escape the somnambulance of life in a place where Civil Rights, Cesar Chavez, and […]

Unicorns Don’t Ride Dogs And Other Dances

I will admit it. I am not a baby person; never have been. That is not to say I did not love my babies, love being an inadequate word to describe this mother’s heart toward her own. And, of course, there is not a doubt in my mind the sun rises and sets on my […]

Equality At The Sink

Standing at the kitchen sink tonight, I wondered how many dishes I have washed since my first sink full when I was six years old. That is sixty years of washing dirty dishes for a family; the thankless job no one likes, but still must be done by someone: the hapless kid whose turn it […]