Larry Grossberg (who was my Ph.D. adviser) retired this year. There was a lovely gathering in May of 40+ years worth of his friends, family, colleagues, and students (past and present) to celebrate Larry and wish him well in this next chapter of his life. As part of this event, …
The more I read about the Rachel Dolezal story, the angrier I get. But not at her. Because, as I mentioned before, none of us know enough to say with any certainty who or what she “really” is. Race isn’t that simple. Identity isn’t that simple. Yet all sorts of …
Mom’s got dementia/Alzheimer’s. It’s not fun to witness. She’s still (mostly) able to recognize me and my siblings as people who she knows and loves, though she’s not always clear on exactly who we are in relation to her (back in May, for example, she clearly thought my sister and …
I’m in DC for a few days to visit Mom. It’s the city where I did most of my growing up (assuming, of course, that I actually did grow up) and it’s always a little weird to come back. There are parts of it that still feel very much like …