Remembering Mom
My brother, John, posted a short beautiful remembrance of our mother this afternoon on Facebook. She died thirteen years ago today. It was Saturday morning, January 6, 2007. She was 89 years old. I couldn’t say it better than John did: MAY HER SOUL…. Today is the thirteenth anniversary of my mother’s death. Getting older […]
Season of Faith & Celebration
Merry Christmas! to my Christian friends and those who follow Santa. Happy Holidays! to everyone else. The greeting “Happy Holidays,” as cheerful and simple as it is, has stirred impassioned controversy — despite the fact there’s also New Years Day too, a whole second holiday. It seems appropriate to wish happiness on both holidays, right? […]
Our 5/28th Anniversary
Today marks David’s and my 5th wedding anniversary. That makes this our official anniversary in the eyes of justice — but our real anniversary was June 29th at which point we celebrated 28 years together. The law was slow to catch up. This being our Official Legal Day, however, I wish my David… …with love […]
An Evening in the Park
One of the lovely amenities of Northeast Ohio is the Emerald Necklace, a network of parks surrounding the Greater Cleveland/Akron area. It spans 23,000 acres with over 300 miles of walking, bicycle, and horse trails as well as numerous picnic areas, nature education centers, golf courses, and countless fishing spots. In addition, the district includes […]
Our Summer Vacation in Harbor Springs
It’s been three years since my husband, David Lansaw, and I took a vacation away from home. That last time might best be described as escape as we fled Cleveland during the 2016 Republican Convention. As in 2016, our destination this year was Michigan where we rented a delightful cottage in Harbor Springs. The drive […]
The Gibson’s Bakery Case in Oberlin
When we hear the words “reaction” and “reactionary” we usually think of the rightwing. More and more, in our angry and polarized environment these days, the liberal left is falling into this same behavior. I wrote about this in January when I analyzed the Lincoln Memorial confrontation between Catholic high school student Nick Sandmann and […]
Remembering Dad at 21
My Dad passed away on Cinco de Mayo twenty years ago, plus 1. At 21 I guess that makes him an adult angel now. It’s amazing to think that he’s been gone nearly a third of my life. Yet he remains ever-present. I think of him almost everyday. And even when not, I know that […]
Kent State Gathering Honors Dolores Noll
About two dozen people gathered at Kent State University’s LGBTQ Student Center this past Monday, February 11th, to remember and honor Dr. Dolores Noll. Dolores was a friend, comrade, role model and inspiration to me personally — and also to the LGBT community far and wide. It was not exactly a sad event because there […]
A Teaching Moment
There’s a teaching moment in all the uproar over events at the Lincoln Memorial a week ago Friday. But what is it? The privilege and racism of white suburban Catholic boys? Trump-inspired disrespect of Native Americans and indigenous cultures? Confrontation and suppression of Free Speech? The polarization of politics? The power and danger of social […]
Remembering Dolores Noll
Word came to me yesterday that Dolores Noll, a dear friend, passed away on Tuesday morning, January 8th. I met Dolores in 1975 and worked with her until about 1980 at Kent State University’s Kent Gay Liberation Front (KGLF) where she was Faculty Advisor. Then later we teamed up again at Cleveland’s Lesbian-Gay Community Service […]