California's About-Face

California has announced its decision. Prop 8 will stand. Those 18,000 couples who married just under the buzzer will be able to keep their marriage licenses. The rest? Too bad. You didn't jump at the chance to get married before they shut the door--again.
Most people who marry have the luxury of time. Time to plan a date, a season they favor, a place, a guest list, flowers, photographer, invitations, cake, reception and all the trappings.
Imagine if you had to madly dash someplace to tie the knot. No time for lots of fanfare or formality. No time to gather family and friends. Just hurry up. And, oh, by the way, even if you do all that, sometimes in California it doesn't "stick".
It's a sad day in America today. Sad, not just for gays and lesbians, but sad for those who love liberty, who believe in equal rights for everyone. Who believe we all deserve the protections afforded by the Constitution in the country we love.
Sitting back just doesn't cut it anymore. It's not enough to complain.
It's time to march. To do something. To speak up. To pressure. And to tell anyone and everyone who will listen to pick up a phone, pick up a pen, and pick up the cause.
When one of us is oppressed, we are all oppressed.

The last time

There was something about turning the key in that deadbolt lock that really got to me.
Yesterday, my brother and I finished the last of the cleaning out of our parents' home in a small, rural upstate New York town.
We vacuumed, dusted and emptied the last closet of a World War II Army uniform, some old Girl Scout hats and uniforms, and other odds and ends.
It's been a walk through our childhood and growing up, through high school and leaving for college and coming back to get married and work and grow into our own middle age.
We are both weary. It's been years of begging our parents to consider leaving their home for a safer, more comfortable life in an assisted living community where we'll worry less about them and her frequent falls from Parkinson's Disease can likely be prevented a little more often.
Where he can have his pacemaker, installed last fall, more closely monitored and can be free of some of the day-to-day chores of caring for my mother, who is failing by inches and frequently confused.
As we pored through photographs, aging albums and stacks of saved newspaper clippings, our lives seemed to whiz by.
For 61 years they lived in this tiny little house that we often cursed for being too small, too crowded, too confining.
The day they left, we practically carried her out, sobbing, saying she never thought she'd live to see the day when she walked away from the only real home she'd known for her entire adult life.
We thought we'd be relieved to lock the door, sell it, and move on.
And we are.
But, still...

Historic Day

There's work to be done.
That was the message today delivered so eloquently by our new president.
As a former speechwriter, I listened carefully to see how the president would deliver his key messages.
The speech was well written, and especially well delivered.
At a time when hope and fear come in equal measure, it's heartening to know that our new leader understands both humility and courage.
Inclusion and a call to service were the orders of the day.
Refreshing.

Back in the Saddle Again!

Monday, January 12, marks the beginning of spring semester here at Syracuse.
Appropriately, we have another storm coming tomorrow and we've had more than five feet of snow since winter began in November. We're on pace to set a record for snow this winter!
Those of us on the faculty and staff have had a well-deserved break, but now it's time to start preparing for the return of students and the comfortable rhythm of a new semester.
I always get excited to begin a new semester. New students. New faces. A chance to try out new ideas in my classes. A chance to learn.
We faculty are the ones who are supposed to do the teaching, but every semester I find I learn a lot from my students. Maybe it's something about technology. Maybe it's a dose of humility.
No matter what the lesson, I'm the richer for it. And that's why teaching is one of the best ways to live your life.
My office assistant, Holly, is pictured here. She's been resting up, too, and is anxious to begin the new semester.
Let's get started!

Mixed blessing

This morning I was tired, as I'm sure lots of other people are, as I stayed up late to watch both McCain's and Obama's speeches last night.
Obama's election is a historic moment and a bright spot in a long and arduous election cycle.
I am happy, not only for my brothers and sisters of color, but also for all Americans, that we were able to move beyond division and embrace change and inclusion.
That said, I am sad to learn that it's very likely California voters have voted to ban gay marriage after the jubilant and well-deserved celebrations witnessed this year after a court ruling made gay marriage legal there, albeit briefly.
Decades from now, Americans will look back on this time with a mixture of pride and confusion.
How could a country that voted for inclusion also vote to limit the civil rights of a group of its citizens?
Why would my marriage, legal in Canada, not be recognized here?
How does my marriage threaten the marriages of others?
I'm disappointed, but know the struggle must continue.
Civil rights seldom come easily.

Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!

I'd like to report a missing person.
She's famous, but she's missing.
She's been seen, but apparently has lost her voice and can't speak.
Of course I'm talking about Sarah Palin, Vice Presidential Candidate.
I've got some questions for her, but from what I hear, I'll have to take a number.
Of course I could understand if she's too busy to take my questions.
After all, who am I?
But the press?
They have lots of questions, and all they seem able to do is shout them at her as she ducks into an SUV to be whisked away to another appointment.
I'm sure she's busy.
Aren't we all?
But I'd like to ask her about a NYT editorial this morning concerning billing sexual assault victims for rape kits in Wasilla, Alaska. Sarah was mayor there.
The Times editorial implies Sarah knew this billing was going on and did nothing about it.
She was likely too busy combing the shelves of the library for books that might give people the wrong ideas.
Ideas are dangerous, you know.
We can't have just any ideas floating around out there.
People might start to question things.
And we can't have that!
Did Sarah know of--and approve of--charging sexual assault victims for the rape kits that would gather evidence to try to catch their attackers?
And if she did know, why didn't she stop the practice?
Or, was it just low on her priority list?
A woman who could potentially be president someday who doesn't look out for women who are victims of sexual assault?
Do we really want to wait for answers to this and many other questions, hoping we'll catch up with her after the election?
I've heard enough. And she hasn't even said a word...

Keeping up is hard to do!

I directed someone to my blog this morning and discovered, to my horror, that my last post was in April!
Shame!
Keeping up with blogging is something one almost has to schedule, much as you would schedule an appointment for a haircut or lunch with a friend.
Life has kept me busy since April.
I was awarded tenure in May.
Became chair of my department in August.
And now I'm settling into a fall semester and new duties and responsibilities.
Let's see if we can keep this thing going a bit more regularly, shall we?