Pat Taub
This Thanksgiving I’m giving thanks to people who have acted with courage and compassion. Some in a big way and others in small everyday actions that warmed my heart.
Among those to whom I offer a big thanks is Ursula Slavick, a Portland, Maine resident and member of a women’s peace group to which I belong. Ursula died at age 87 on November 8th leaving a remarkable legacy as a beloved language teacher, co-founder of a local food pantry and fundraiser for the Portland Haiti Project, which built a school in Haiti. Ursula, along with her 93-year-old husband Bill, was a steady presence at local protests in support of Palestine.
Ursula Slavick at a protest for Palestinian rights
Ursula was a quiet force, shunning the spotlight, but when she spoke her words were consistently wise and compassionate. She was born and raised in Germany, carrying the trauma of living through bombings, which fostered her deep empathy for Gazans suffering from an unrelenting genocide.
Ursula has left us physically, but her spirit is alive within me. I will call on my “inner Ursula” when hesitant to act courageously.
Big thanks to the university students across the country who risked their academic careers by standing for Gaza. To Medea Benjamin and members of Codepink, the women’s peace group, which shows up in Congress daily petitioning our elected officials to stand for Palestinians and for peace worldwide.
A recent Codepink action
A huge thanks to Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories. Francesca has emerged as the moral conscience of the UN. She routinely chastises world powers for their failure to speak out on behalf of Palestine and denounce Israel’s genocide.
I’m thankful for all those writers and artists who have enlivened me with their soulful contributions, like Delia Ephron for her courageous memoir, “Left on Tenth,” Ephron describes how she beat the odds and survived advanced leukemia while finding late-in-life love at 72.
Heartfelt thanks to Faith Ringgold, the ground-breaking Black artist, performance artist, writer and quilter, who died this April at 93, leaving behind a treasure trove of masterpieces, Ringgold was a role-model for moving out of one’s comfort zone. She famously said: “Don’t be afraid to dream big and pursue your passion.”
Faith Ringgold, in her later years
Smaller thanks go to all those ordinary people who offered me unexpected gestures of compassion: my next door neighbors who regularly take in packages left by my door to prevent them from being stolen; the Trader Joe’s check-out clerk, who observing my cold and cough, dashed off to retrieve a small bottle of cold medicine, which she gifted me; my acupuncturist, who always senses when I’m a little down and delivers a big hug.
Within my family: thanks to my granddaughter, Jane, for texting photos of her bold costumes, which make me smile; to my brave brother, eloquently facing a recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis; to my sons for their caring, even when it feels over-bearing.
Granddaughter Jane
A big thanks to all the brave women who came before me and are a constant source of inspiration: the Suffragettes, Dorothy Day, Jane Jacobs, Eleanor Roosevelt, my mother, Jane Conrad First, my 12th grade English teacher, Mrs. Lindsey. I’m thankful for women who left us too soon: Barbara Ehrenreich, and my dear bold creative friend, Zoe Artemis.
The Suffragettes
To each and every one of these individuals I celebrate, you are a guide for living my best life. With enormous gratitude, I hold you in my heart.
