GUEST POST by TOM SANTULLI The olive tree outside my door and I met in a nursery eleven years ago. She was seven inches tall, in...
Activism Post Trump8
Shop Owners Who Care, Autumn Images & RIP The Village Voice
Caring Signs on Portland Shop Windows Walking about my neighborhood last weekend I spotted these signs, which were a welcome counterpoint to the hatred emanating from Washington. I think the real hope for change lies in our local communities and even at the state level. Maine aside, numerous states are bucking DC to enact climate protections [...]
Pat Taub
A Good Read, Thanksgiving Pies & More
A Touching Memoir This week I zipped through Joyce Maynard’s just-published memoir, The Best of Us. It’s about her brief, loving marriage, which ended abruptly when her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died a year after the diagnosis and only three years after he and Joyce were married. Her honest, deeply moving story gave [...]
Pat Taub
Engaging with Fear
The Trump wrecking machine is getting crazier by the day, leaving a frightened populace in its wake. Our increasingly unhinged president raises the ante through his racist speeches, threats to bomb the country du jour, attacks on the environment, ICE’s immigration raids, and railings against anyone who doesn’t agree with him. While [...]
Pat Taub
Charlottesville, A Visit from My Brother & “Citizen”
Reacting to Charlottesville Like most of you, I’ve been preoccupied with last weekend’s ugly white supremacy rallies in Charlottesville. I’ve been doing what I can to raise my voice in protest. I led a discussion at my Portland church (the United Church of Christ) last Sunday. We’re formulating a plan to offer the church for community [...]
Pat Taub
Garden Angels, Granddaughter Jane & A Handmaid’s Tale Finale
Flowers in Memory of My Mother I belong to a progressive church in downtown Portland, which mercifully accepts my spiritual confusion. Last Sunday, in memory of my mother, I donated the altar flowers, purchased at the farmer’s market. They were exactly the kind of natural bouquet Jane would have loved. Garden Angels Update A few weeks ago [...]
Pat Taub
Summer Reads that Wow!
For me, summer reading is all about picking up an actual book, which I do throughout the year, but not with the same frequency. Summer reading is the time to indulge myself with the physical world of print: to turn paper pages, admire beautiful covers and recapture those summers before books were downloaded. First on my list is Arundhati Roy’s The [...]
Pat Taub
Manhattan Recap, Favorite Things & Being a Mentor
Manhattan Weekend Recap Last weekend in New York City was glorious: perfect walking weather; a riveting art exhibit at the Whitney Biennial showcasing young artists whose paintings, sculpture, installations and films were all politically charged; great meals, and the powerful off-off Broadway play, Sojourners, the first in a series of nine [...]
Pat Taub
Surviving Trump World
The other night I had a dream where I was escorted into a sprawling tree house compound. It’s open sides allowed the residents to engage freely with one another. I felt welcomed, but was troubled by the thin, unsubstantial flooring. When I moved about it felt like the foundation could give way at any minute, hurling me down to earth. [...]
Pat Taub