A Little Patience Goes a Long Way

Layli Long Soldier is an Oglala Lakota poet, writer, and artist. In an On Being interview with Long Soldier, she said, “Writing has shown me what happens with patience.”    Oh wow, I thought. That’s an understatement! I don’t consider myself a terribly patient person. I’m an activator, someone who wants things to happen now,...

Come in From the Cold

There’s a line in the Carrie Newcomer song, “Betty’s Diner,” that says, “Despair and hope sit face to face when you come in from the cold.” She’s talking about a gathering place where people from all walks of life arrive to accept nourishment and a kind word. They come looking for hope. Ordinarily, I love...

Is it Time Yet?

I’ve often said everyone should get a year off when they turn 50. A year to just reflect, rejuvenate, re-evaluate, and regroup. A chance to travel and explore and learn and do before old age or infirmities or plain old life interfere. I’ve had the privilege of spending a lot of time with people in...

On Reaching Milestones

Monday I was speaking to a combined fifth-grade class about my author journey. I mentioned how I’d been identified as a good writer in fifth grade and how my teachers, family, and friends told me throughout my school years I should be a writer when I grew up. Then in my senior year, that all...

I’ll Sing it My Way

The other day I learned that I’ve been singing the lyrics to a song incorrectly for, like, most of my life. The song is from the musical South Pacific, and I always thought the words were, “You’ve got to have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna make a dream come...