Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

'Tis The Season

Juju and I came to my old stomping grounds in Mission Dolores for today's edition of Wednesday Whimday. While waiting to cross the street over to the new Dolores Park playground, I saw this stencil portrait of Harvey Milk. I realized that it's almost June- a time of great celebration in these parts. There will be visitors from all over the world. There will be parties, parades, get togethers big and small. And while everyone is drinking, marching and holding hands in the street, I like to think that Harvey will be watching it all from above, grinning his big grin. His portrait here reminds me of how far we've come as a society since he lived in this neighborhood. I wish it were like that everywhere.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Peace Train

When Nico and I chose this school for Zoe, we had no idea what a liberal hippie dirt digging tree hugging folk singing world loving fully accepting peace spreading boot camp we signed up for. Wow, are we getting our money's worth! Ok, we had some idea... Zoe's preparation for this week's school-wide peace march was a bit of a pleasant surprise for me. Zoe learned about the teachings of Dr. King, about civil disobedience, she learned to sing civil rights songs, folk songs, she painted her own sign, she rallied the peace troops in the hallway, then marched with them to the nearest main street corner and screamed, "What do we want? Peace! When do we want it? Now!". The excitement has been building for weeks, and Zoe has been practicing her songs all the time. She wanted to be sure that Julian and I would come watch too. When Daddy woke her up this morning, the first thing she did was flash him the peace sign. Julian and I showed up to march right beside her today. Even though I don't think they get the whole significance of what we were doing, someday, when they are frustrated by the way their government is handling conflict or conducting affairs, by the way the greater culture is reacting to a crisis or mistreating it's citizens, they will remember this march, and deep down they will know that they have a voice, and they can speak out and use it- and they will be heard. And others will join them.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Monday, May 7, 2012

Friday, May 4, 2012