Category: reflections

  • Preliminary Thoughts on “Our Hidden Conversations” Book

    Preliminary Thoughts on “Our Hidden Conversations” Book

    This is a short post about my initial impressions about the book, “Our Hidden Conversation” by Michele Norris. I’m not finished with the book yet, but I thought I would let you know that the first chapter, “Bread Crumbs” was tough to read. I had to put it down and come back to it a…

  • Sweethearts on a February Stroll

    Sweethearts on a February Stroll

    Yesterday, we went out for a walk because it was a pretty nice day for February. All the snow was pretty much gone. We saw a hawk who also saw us. We approached the tree it was perched in very slowly. It tolerated our attention until we got too close for comfort—and flapped off in…

  • Black History Month: James Spaights Concert Pianist

    Black History Month: James Spaights Concert Pianist

    I was thinking about my time as a student at Huston-Tillotson University in the 1970s (then Huston-Tillotson College) and remembered somebody who was a student there. His name is James Spaights. In honor of his stature in music as it connects to the Black History Month theme of African Americans and the Arts, I just…

  • Thoughts on the Distinguished Education Lecture by Dr. Russell Ledet MD PhD

    Thoughts on the Distinguished Education Lecture by Dr. Russell Ledet MD PhD

    We enjoyed the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Education (originally given on January 17, 2023) by Dr. Russell Ledet. He’s definitely a mover and a shaker and this is another recorded presentation that I wish was available for the general public. His bio is knockdown impressive. And even more interesting to me is that…

  • Black History Month 2024 Theme is African Americans and the Arts

    Black History Month 2024 Theme is African Americans and the Arts

    February is Black History Month and in 2024 the theme is African Americans and the Arts. This reminds me of a blues artist I heard on KCCK on the Big Mo Blues Show last Friday. His name is Toronzo Cannon and his career as a blues guitarist and songwriter is skyrocketing. I heard his song…

  • Thoughts on the Passing of Artie Hicks

    Thoughts on the Passing of Artie Hicks

    Yesterday, I was thinking about Artie Hicks, one of my old English teachers at Huston-Tillotson University, which was Huston-Tillotson College back in the mid-1970s when I was a student there. I looked him up on the web, just out of curiosity—and found his obituary. That seems to happen a lot lately. Anyway, he was a…

  • Old Doctors vs Young Doctors

    Old Doctors vs Young Doctors

    I ran across a recently published web article that originated from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), to which I don’t have access because I’m not a subscriber. The title is “Do Younger or Older Doctors Get Better Results?” and it’s in the form of an essay by Pete Ryan. It’s been picked up by over…

  • Making My Own Race Card

    Making My Own Race Card

    Tomorrow’s schedule for the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Human Rights Week has Michele Norris presenting the MLK Distinguished Lecture, “Our Hidden Conversations.” It’s based on her Race Card Project which produced her new book “Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity.” Sena and I probably are not going to…

  • Martin Luther King Day About Peace and Unity

    Martin Luther King Day About Peace and Unity

    I noticed that Iowa City and Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas have a couple of things in common regarding the celebration of the Martin Luther King holiday this week—one is inclement weather. The other thing is hope for peace and unity. I was a student at Huston-Tillotson (one of the HBCUs) back in the 1970s.…

  • Calm After Winter Storm Finn

    Calm After Winter Storm Finn

    Winter Storm Finn was a very blustery thing. Sena got a video of our backyard, though, which presents the calm after the storm. The heavy snow makes all the trees bow, as if in homage to nature, whatever its form. That said, we’re hoping Winter Storm Gerri tones it down a little.