R.S. Lentin's Blog

So, I write a book in 2010 inspired by a man I knew in high school … in the 70′s.  Turns out, a sportswriter in Philly, Mark Kram, was also inspired to write a book about the same man.  Buddy Miley was a football star, a ham, a jock.  Paralyzed in his first game of senior year, he lived for 23 more years before seeking refuge with Dr. Kevorkian in 1997.  How is it that two.

As my house shook in the devastating wind, I thanked the men who built it in 1928.  As the windows rattled, I thanked the men who built the factories to produce durable glass.  As the temperature dropped, I thanked the men who built the old gas boiler in the basement–the kind that needs manual tending on water levels and cleaning.  When the boiler clicked on without electricity, I thanked the gods of ingenuity. As I cooked morning eggs and made coffee in my grandmom’s coffee pot, I thanked John H. who installed the gas line for the stove.  When the lights came on, I thanked the men who cleared the trees from the downed wires. But I also thank the pioneering women who back in the day stood beside their men and supported them so they could go out into the world to build, fix, invent.  It all probably started when a woman said, “Honey, build me a house.”

Reading this post, I just had to share.  Thanks, Lauren.

Thanksgiving Thoughts – 2012 by Lauren Arnold

Thanksgiving gathers us to her table and asks us to think about the meaning of the word and to reflect together about our challenge to rise above ourselves – above the false conflicts that dominate our landscape.  Thanksgiving comes at an appropriate time this year.  We’ve suffered the effects of a harsh and polarizing presidential campaign that has made our conversations tense with ideological differences. Thanksgiving comes to us at the outset of a cease fire; it tests the real intentions of global leaders to make peace in Palestine and preserve Israel’s sovereignty. Thanksgiving comes to us as we face yet again– another financial catastrophe – the threat of a cliff dive. And Thanksgiving comes to us as we face our own internal dramas – our private challenges to live as a human on this Earth.

The headlines call us to panic and commentators fill our ears with the noise of their exaggerated dramas.  Just for this evening, let us put that aside and embrace Thanksgiving – not an event, but rather an attitude, a way of living.

I am in a state of thanksgiving – abundant gratitude and contentment when I think of all of us sitting around tables set with the comfort of family and friendship, laced with the dedication we have for each other –  authentic and constant. I am in a state of thanksgiving when I reflect on the generosity of each of our friends and family who fill our lives and expand our ever widening circles of continuing love. Looking ahead I feel hope for our world and for the people we call friends and family. We can be optimistic, even with the doomsayers screaming discord – for history instructs us that cycles of highs and lows are constant and things have a tendency to turn out all right.

Water Isaacson, Ben Franklin’s biographer shares this story about Thanksgiving: “Franklin’s optimism about the American experiment is reflected in an essay he wrote about our first Thanksgiving. The early settlers, “their minds gloomy and discontented, “frequently fasted to seek relief from their distress, he recounted. Just when they were about to declare another day of fasting, “a farmer of plain sense” pointed out that “the inconveniences they suffered, and concerning which they had so often wearied heaven with their complaints, were not so great.” Instead of another fast, the farmer argued, they should have a feast to give thanks. Writing a century later — in 1785, a period when both the economy and political system looked fragile, rather like the present — Franklin assured his fellow citizens that thanksgiving was still warranted. “Let us take a cool view of the general state of our affairs and perhaps the prospect will appear less gloomy than has been imagined,” Franklin wrote.

And so today – Thanksgiving is still warranted. This American holiday reminds us that the beauty of America is its founding principles – one of which is tolerance for opposing views – the very strands that braid our national character and clothe our country. One strand blue, the other red, the third a mix that holds the weaving in place. Our cloth is colored with liberty- loving individualists and civic minded citizens of all shapes and sizes.

Our cloth is real and we must carefully maintain it – for it is both strong and fragile, as precious cloths are. The freedoms we constructed and the liberties we protect allow us the right of expression and movement. Without these we are captives to other’s agendas. These are blessings to be grateful for each and every day.

This is our frame – a multi-generational quilt colored with opposing strands, stitched with the golden threads of commitment. Today at our tables, let us be in thanksgiving for our friends and family, to celebrate our blessings and to commit to ensuring our quilt is protected – our family’s and our nation’s.

Let us be in a constant state of thanksgiving, for our blessings are many and our world abundant.

 

She swept in rendering us helpless against her elements.  Yet, through her, we learn what’s important in life–water, food, fire, shelter.  And people.  Connecting with neighbors, calling on family, communicating through whatever means possible, almost as if that communication is life sustaining in itself.

Technology heightens and deadens communication at the same time.  The Internet beckons, e-mail, voice mail, texting, all feed our urge to connect.  But those same things coupled with TV are what keep us apart, separate from human interaction, where tone of voice, facial expressions, and touch connect us.  When electricity dies, so do the false relationships on Facebook and Twitter.  The keyboard can’t keep you warm; the remote doesn’t provide sustenance.  In survival mode we need people, real people to help.  A tribe of sorts.

So, how do we blend our “screen” relationships with the human element?  Maybe Skype gets it right.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Genie Miniscalco, I was asked to attend an Author in Residence Book Club discussion in New Gwyned, PA, for Once Beneath the Stars.  Pat Grotzinger hosted the event that was filled with great discussions, good company, and fabulous food, including a butter cake that tasted like Christmas morning. Comments on the book were great, ranging from tears, to fun with the lyrics, to emotions revealed through the story that related to events in the.

On Valentine's Day, Anne Rice launched her newest book, The Wolf Gift, at the Free Library of Philadelphia. I was one of the lucky ones to attend. I was even luckier to have a front row seat! The auditorium was sold out, but you could hear a pin drop as Anne answered questions posed to her about her inspiration for Lestat, her famous (and the first) vampire, and the hundreds of memorable witches, devils, and.

So, I write a book in 2010 inspired by a man I knew in high school … in the 70′s.  Turns out, a sportswriter in Philly, Mark Kram, was also inspired to write a book about the same man.  Buddy Miley was a football star, a ham, a jock.  Paralyzed in his first game of senior year, he lived for 23 more years before seeking refuge with Dr. Kevorkian in 1997.  How is it that two.

In typical fashion, I'm now reading four books. This post focuses on one that was given to me as a parting gift from Drinker Biddle, the law firm I left to launch Turn the Page Publishing. Jacqueline Kennedy, Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy is a CD set and book of Jackie's recorded interviews shortly after President Kennedy's assassination. I first saw the book in Bridge Street Books in DC, while visiting my.

Living in Montclair, NJ, which is 12 miles from NY City, I have many opportunities to meet performers, journalists, artists, musicians, and, yes, even writers.  A few weeks ago, I attended a seminar hosted by the Adult School of Montclair, presenting Deborah Davis, the writer chosen to document Oprah's last show and to write the text for the beautiful book. Though I was not able to see more than a few of Oprah's shows because of my work schedule, I.

Walking the dog today, I saw my neighbor running to the bus stop with her son, and then she ran for the train to NY.  It flashed in my mind how many days I did the same — always running for the bus, the train, or fighting traffic as I wound my way to work.  Knowing all I had to do was walk home, unleash the dog, clean up breakfast, turn on the computer and.