race – They're Just Words

Posted on June 11, 2019June 11, 2019 by Patrick

White Freedom

I was sitting on the front porch of a house in Fredericksburg Virginia, a stone’s throw from the Rappahannock River. When the house was built Virginia was but a colony. I was smoking a cigar made in Cuba that was purchased in Montreal and my little speaker was playing “Last in Line” by Ronnie James Dio. A firefly buzzed nearby and in its light, a bright red cardinal sat perched on a magnolia branch, and while I was uncertain about what this juxtaposition of stimuli might mean, I was thinking about our country.

♦

Posted on September 27, 2017September 26, 2017 by Patrick

For “Take-A-Knee” Perspective, You Can Read All About It

You remember Colin Kaepernick, right? When he used to be a football player he took a knee for a cause, and after hanging dormant for the better part of a year, his knee has taken on a new life of its own, has become the catalyst for words and actions and tough talk and hurt feelings and harsh realities and, maybe, liberating ideas. In all this dust-up we can’t lose track of the knee. We mustn’t let the subject be changed, the agendas that come from the mouth can’t be allowed to overpower the knee.