Tag: military

  • Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me!

    Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me!

      In November of 2016, I turned 60. To celebrate my 60th birthday, I went on a silent retreat at Mt. Angel Abbey, outside of Portland. I had never been on a silent retreat before, but it was something I had longed to do since[..]
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  • A Walkabout: Dispatch #1 Scotland

    A Walkabout: Dispatch #1 Scotland

    The flight over the pond was easy-peasey. I know a nine-hour flight seems long, is relatively long, but listen, an hour-long flight into Memphis or Dallas during a thunderstorm can be far longer. In those situations, which I've lived through, every minute seems like an[..]
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  • Afghanistan: The Cycle of War

    Afghanistan: The Cycle of War

    I woke to dreams of the Afghan people fleeing. I called my friend Xuan the other day. She's a refugee of the Vietnam War. She began weeping as soon as I asked, "How are you?" It's been a difficult couple of weeks for those who've[..]
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  • Joseph Galloway: His Weapon Was His Pen

    Joseph Galloway: His Weapon Was His Pen

    I grew up in a household full of frightened women waiting on that telegram in World War II - Joseph Galloway.  On the day Joe Galloway died, I bought a wind-chime and hung it outside my office window. It had to be a certain kind[..]
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  • Jesus was a colored man

    Jesus was a colored man

    Jesus was a colored man. Jesus dressed like the homeless man he was, the same clothes, day after day. Jesus didn't shave, or have his beard professionally maintained, it grew willy-nilly, everywhichaway. Jesus wore his hair in dregs. Jesus smelled of the sweat of the[..]
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  • For the Love of Bob

    For the Love of Bob

    [caption id="attachment_5454" align="aligncenter" width="940"] MHaskey @ Columbus LedgerEnquirer.[/caption]   "If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk with others." - African proverb All of my life, I have had the good fortune to have been surrounded by good[..]
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  • We Have to Lead Each Other Out

    We Have to Lead Each Other Out

    I never liked Science Fiction as a genre. My brother was a Star Wars and Star Trek fan. Not me. I never wanted anything to do with people dressing alike. I dropped out of Brownies and later ROTC for those very reasons. You might have[..]
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  • A Fallen Brother

    A Fallen Brother

    Editor's Note: The following is an article I wrote for the VVA magazine that ran shortly before the publication of my memoir AFTER THE FLAG HAS BEEN FOLDED (Wm. Morrow). While working on that memoir, I searched for the men who served with my father.[..]
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  • Karen and John Birch

    Karen and John Birch

    My friend the always witty and brilliant Celia Rivenbark reached out to me to ask what did I think of all the "Karen" memes going around on Social Media. She is the only person besides my husband who has asked how I felt about having my[..]
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  • Thoughts from a Black Mother

    Thoughts from a Black Mother

    Editor's Note: I am opening up the blog to my black friends to contribute their thoughts and experiences at this time of a reckoning in this country. I am happy to introduce you to the poetry of E.J. Wade. A year ago, we traveled to[..]
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