The Journey

In the bellman’s outstretched hands, he held a pair of paper shoe covers for me to don before walking across the lobby. It was an unspoken plea to all resort guests returning from a walk along the Santa Barbara coast. Help preserve the pristine guest experience and...

Although there were thousands crammed into the Vatican Square in Rome, it was as if the Pope was talking directly to me. Speaking of Mary, the mother of Jesus and the woman for whom I was named, Pope Francis called her the “Mother of Hope.”​“Hers is a witness of...

In my hand, I finger a blue marble—a smooth, glass surface sparkling like a drop of water in the sunlight. Rolling the marble between my thumb and forefinger, I reflect on my life-long relationship with Lake Michigan. On many levels, this lake defines...

A glimmer of lightdissolves the darkness—and hopesprings from outstretched hands

A proposed budget cut to the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Atmospheric & Oceanic Administration (NOAA) will affect Great Lakes boaters and swimmers. This might make a good topic for a March 15 post card to the President--in addition to any others you might...

The news from the White House last week rolled in like the fog, a bone-chilling dampness that slowly swallowed the horizon. By week’s end, I was struggling to see even a pinhole of light . . .The much-anticipated plan by the Army Corps of Engineers to stop the...

Through the seeming chaos and dysfunction swirling about our nation’s capitol, the wheels of democracy are rolling slowly, almost silently, forward.Last week, under the bipartisan leadership of Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Sean Duffy (R-WI), and...

Driving through dense fog Saturday morning, I asked myself why? Why, after decades of avoiding political marches and rallies, was I joining the Women’s March? As I drove, I found myself humming the tunes from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s broadway performance of...

On this day after the Winter Solstice, there is more light than darkness. Every day at noon, the alarm on my wristwatch beeps a reminder to pause and pray for peace. It is not the glorious sound of church bells ringing across the countryside, but it works. The...

Every once in a while I hear a story that inspires, that reminds me that when we choose to work arm-in-arm to protect that which we hold dear, we can accomplish what feels like the impossible.This is such a story. For over twelve years, a group of citizens has...

Until now, I have had little good to say about the press over the last year. But on October 31st, an MLive reporter named Garret Ellison published a story, notifying people in the region of a plan by Nestlé to significantly increase the amount of water pumped from...

When I began jogging almost forty years ago, it was a dreaded exercise motivated by fear. I remember running laps around our apartment building in Milwaukee every day at the edge of dawn. My stomach hurt. My knees ached. My mind rattled off reasons I should be...