admin's blog

I remember Mama: one evening with the young Michael Jackson

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Sitting in my kitchen this week, I stared at the countertop television, gazing at the images of Katherine Jackson, and wondering if we really do resemble one another. Thirty-five years ago, her sons declared that we did. At the time, I didn't think we looked alike, but I do remember those five shy boys who performed at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos during the summer of 1974.

What sustains us

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As a woman who has largely made her living by broadcasting other people's bad news, I am still surprised at the resilience of the human spirit.Life's twists and turns dictate that we all must survive various ups and downs. I don't know anyone who has not faced some serious challenge in his or her lifetime. And each generation believes that its own era is the most difficult in history, just as I'm sure the current era will prove to be an historically great challenge for all of us living today.

Handling the meltdown

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How are you handling the meltdown? I don't just mean the stories you see in the media. I mean: how are you handling it when yet another friend or relative calls or writes to say, "I just got laid off..."? 

Cuba then and now

A few weeks ago, I was invited to travel to Cuba with a Congressional delegation led by East Bay Congresswoman Barbara Lee. The invitation came from the Congressional Black Caucus. The departure date was to have been April 3rd, so a quick reply was necessary. There were strong indicators that once again, the now nearly fifty-year-old embargo against trade and investment in Cuba was about to change.

Ted Kennedy: a bright light in the storm

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It had been many hours since the military honor guard sounded the bugle, shot the volleys, folded the flag in triangles in the twilight and presented it to his widow. After all the poetic words of each eulogist, the enchanting gifts of each musician and the visible heartache of his loving and beloved extended family, I remained in deep thought.