Please, Call Me Stanley

Please, Call Me Stanley

To Kenny, I’m Stanley. It’s been a year since I last tried to correct him. When he spots me in the neighborhood, he yells, “Stanley.” Sometimes he does a little dance. Sometimes he says he was hoping he might see me. He always carries his Bible...

Crossing the Road Ain’t for Chickens

I’m in the middle of a transformation, and so is my neighborhood. Yesterday I was trying to negotiate the seemingly endless construction with my usual calm confidence. (It helps to cloak myself in those words when facing danger.) At one particular intersection,...
The Power of We: Ramp It Up

The Power of We: Ramp It Up

Most Memorial Day weekends, you can find me at the Baker’s fishing cabin on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon. The river roar is constant. Ospreys fish from the same tree. The stand of yellow irises by the dock are almost in bloom when we arrive. Bill makes...

Pointing the Finger at Myself

I want to be honest about my more troubling emotions; about my reactions to difficult situations that aren’t easy to resolve. This week I attended a meeting with a group of people with various disabilities. I was one of 20 attendees joining a commission focused...