Pat Taub
Julian Assange
My heart is heavy with the imprisonment of Julian Assange and what it portends for freedom of the press. If Assange is extradited to the US he will no doubt be tortured and placed in solitary confinement, which is just another form of torture, sending the message to reporters everywhere that their sources will be compromised. Whistle Blowers will no longer be heroes or sheroes but criminals!
A London protester’s sign signaling the arrests of Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange as an end to free speech.
Signs of Spring
I was stopped in my tracks the other day as I walked to my Pilates class. I discovered this purple crocus in full bloom. In the same garden daffodils have sprouted with tight buds about a week away from flowering. Nothing like the magic of spring flowers to put a smile on one’s face!
A Spring Wardrobe
Once at my Pilates Studio I encountered Samantha in this beautiful blue spring coat, which she informed me is a Prada design! It may be the first original Prada coat I’ve seen in Portland. Here’s Samantha in all her spring glory and up-to-the-minute fashion.
Samantha in her beautiful spring ensemble
A Brilliant Article by a Cancer Patient
This week’s New Yorker magazine has a very moving article on living with breast cancer, “The Undying” by Anne Boyer. It’s one of the most honest pieces I’ve ever read by a cancer patient. Boyer refuses to be the model heroic patient, describing her fears around dying and leaving behind her teenage daughter while having to teach when in pain because she had used up her sick leave. Boyer was advised not to let her classes or department know she was ill for fear it would compromise her position. The article “The Undying” is lifted from Boyer’s book with the same title, which will be out in September.
Illustration accompanying Anne Boyer’s article, “The Undying”
The Magic of Women’s Circles
This week I was part of a gathering of older women who are exploring what it means to age in our ageist society. In spite of serious illnesses, physical limitations and moves into senior housing these remarkable women were wonderfully upbeat. They all said their strength comes through their membership in this amazing circle.
A women’s circle where members are affirmed
