Margaret’s Musings – Culture
Worldwide Piano Day! It’s New Release Day!
YAY! Isn't celebrating the piano on Saturday, March 29th better than celebrating National Pita Day? Both of these are new "named days," but Piano Day is world-wide and the esteemed Pita Day is only national so we are going to focus on Worldwide Piano Day here and for...
Why I’ve Never Wanted or Owned a Smartphone
It’s January 9, 2007. Our youngest son is skateboarding with a friend in our basement because the driveway is covered in snow. Our 13 year old daughter is in ballet class working on her pirouettes with bun head girls who will become her lifelong friends. Our high...
Mass Public Shootings Empathy Video
As a writing and literature teacher, herding my students into the corner of their classroom for unannounced lock-down drills, I could feel their fear. Could this happen here? We live in a small community, could this happen here? We all wonder. We know the inevitable...
What Are You Reading This Summer?
During our Fourth of July family time, between nighttime firework explosions of “Opera Man” and “The Japanese Flower” we talked about summer reading. I well remember the days of trotting the kids off to the local library and signing them up for summer reading...
Avoid School Year Stress With Sacred Space
Last May a friend who recently moved from Texas stopped me after a school concert to ask, “Why is it so crazy where we live? When I lived in Texas it wasn’t like this.” She’s right. It is crazy in our neck of the woods so here are a few strategies to combat that...
Why I Care About the Marvel Cinematic Universe
It's easy to say with a cavalier pride in my own erudite literary interests that I have no time for and do not care about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. My typical quest continues to lead me in search of ether writing or reading the next great novel. Right now, I'm...
Crossing the Road – A Path to Racial Healing
This article is running this month in READY magazine, the new brainchild of Gail and Dominique Dudley. They are a mother-daughter team interested in engaging the African American community in transformational living. I'm so proud of these women and the beauty and...
Polar Plunging
As the LARGE bearded men gathered in their white robes on the beach of Lake Michigan, I had second thoughts. We've attended the January 1st Polar Bear Plunge over the years and laughed at the pounds of searing red flesh exiting the water and half naked people of all...