The Name I Couldn’t Quite Pronounce
One More Time: What’s Your Name? We’ve settled in at our table, just me and this young girl from Afghanistan. I have to ask her name again. I didn’t catch…
Read moreCAPTCHA Got It Wrong About My Humanity
Choose the Things That Are Fragile I type in the message I want to leave in the comment box beneath a friend’s blog post. Then the CAPTCHA appears. You know…
Read moreI Wonder If His Mama Still Wonders About Him
You see all kinds of people at the beach. Families hauling coolers and umbrellas and babies. Teenagers tossing footballs. Retirees slowly walking at the edge of the water. All kinds…
Read moreWhen My Gift Is Trusting Your Decision: Keeping Two Cents in My Pocket
The Longing for Something Else Our friend has been wanting to move for a long time. She’s been unhappy in her neighborhood. Restless. Disturbed. Ready for something quieter, greener, and…
Read moreLearning to Disagree Better with Mr. T-Shirt Man: One Ripple at a Time
The Moment My Heart Starts Racing I feel my heart pump faster. He really just said that? He actually believes that lie? Seriously? An hour earlier, everything had begun beautifully.…
Read moreRipples Through Time: Reading My Late Mother’s Words—Then My Own
Years before my mother died, she wrote letters to each of her children. To be read after she died. I didn’t wait. But she also left other writings behind. Last…
Read more