Frozen Toothpaste

Jean-Bertrand Aristide was twice elected President of Haiti by margins that would be considered exceptional in a country like America. In 1990, he was elected with a 67% majority. In 2000, he was elected by a stunning 91% majority. In neither of these elections was there reasonable grounds for challenging the results. And yet during […]

This poem, “Acceptance Speech” by Lynn Powell, reminded me of all the great and hard work that can go into the most mundane events. Because of that, I thought it absolutely fit to share here on “Other People’s Words.”
The radio’s replaying last night’s winners
and the gratitude of the glamorous,
everyone thanking everybody for making everything
so possible, […]

In the 10th grade, my English teacher shared with the class what she considered to be some good advice. This good advice was rather simple: one should not talk about the death penalty, abortion, and possibly even politics in unknown company.
And though I have learned that not heeding this advice can get you called things […]

When I take a vacation, I do my best to distance myself from my normal habits. That means no email checking, no cellphone carrying, and certainly no blogging
I’ve always, since I started the policy about four years ago, found this surprisingly easy. I say that it is surprising because when I think about doing […]