Renewing acquaintances, part one

Two weeks, 3,000-plus miles, lots of hospitality and a bunch of photos mark the latest road trip for my wife and I, empty nesters. We renewed acquaintances (fervently hoping we didn’t burn any bridges) by bumming off of friends and family (the conversations and meals were wonderful!) and got a chance to see a small portion of the eastern part of the U.S.A.

A car-intensive trip was something we hadn’t done in a long while, so it was almost a novelty for us again. No kids were along. We didn’t fly over any states; we drove through them. Our carbon footprint grew larger as a result, but, now that we’re home, we’re hoping to to mitigate that by bicycling as much as we can.

Check back often. I’ll be putting up tidbits about the trip that you might find interesting.

Three things came together

One of the values of a quiet afternoon of perusing blogs and web sites is an occasional synchronicity.

Several sites came together for a moving hour for me. All were previously posted by folks  I follow.

One is a blog by P. L. Thomas, EdD, professor of education at Furman University in Greenville South Carolina. He outlined specific steps to help combat the pernicious problem of racism. We know that our DNA puts all humankind in the same boat, but somehow, we still focus on the differences between people rather the similarities.

Here’s a link to “Resistance in Black and White: On White Proximity and Solidarity.”

Another is “KO Rural Mad as Hell Blog,” authored by a rural physician. She reposted clips about “Across the Universe,” those short minutes moving in themselves. I’ve never seen the movie, but I’d like to see the “Let It Be” sequences in the context of the overall film. Audiences loved it. Critics gave it a mixed review.

One clip is a behind the scenes look at that portion of the film, a country reeling from unrest and riots. The other is the scene itself.

Finally, I follow a blog titled “A Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice: News and Views.” Maybe it was the conjunction of thoughts of how to combat racism and the heartfelt music that made me pause, but the news story in the Boston Globe with the headline ” ‘What unites us is always stronger than what divides us’ ” offered a glimpse of hope.

It’s guaranteed, in my case, that I’ll be thinking about this (sobered but hopeful) in the week ahead.

Practice, practice, practice

I write a lot, for a small weekly newspaper.

I don’t write a lot for this blog or any other digital resource.

But, I can write a little.

Perhaps it will result in more penning on this blog, especially as the mythical period called “retirement” looms (sort of like an eclipse) on my horizon.

I’ll need to stay in practice.

So, today, here’s a link to a resource on mothering I stumbled upon. This illustrated story was particularly moving.

My wife and I are empty nesters (inadequate term), but two kids have flown the coop (I like that imagery), so we’re grateful (I guess. You’ll have to ask the kids for verification.) to be able pass along thoughts from those involved in the adventure.