love the moment

"Do the Right Thing" - and other Mythical Movie Titles It's funny how history sometimes loops back around on itself. In a time where we are again litigating and agitating about racial injustice, it is interesting that even the Academy Awards can participate. Spike Lee, the filmmaker with a unique vision for storytelling has been nominated for Best Picture for his film, BlacKkKlansman. Thirty years ago, he was similarly nominated for his film "Do the Right Thing." I am not aiming to discuss the merits of either film - and certainly not the merits of the Academy Awards as social or moral commentary. But, what I do intend to consider with you is the idea of doing the right thing. I'm not sure why I have been obsessed throughout my life with the topic. It could be that I was raised in a time and place, i.e. - the 1960's in the Bible-Belt South, that in many ways was in the eye of the storm that was the Civil Rights Movement. It was a ti...

Today hasn't been a great day so far. Come to think of it, yesterday wasn't exactly a banner day either. Grief and loneliness are funny things. Neither of them is ever expected. And I don't expect that they will leave upon request. I was surprised to learn that I would grieve my father. As his health worsened, Lisa often asked me what I was feeling and how I thought I would feel upon his passing. I honestly answered that I didn't feel much other than weariness - a response I expect from all caregivers who stand on call throughout a long illness. Of course, this was the reasoned and logical answer - given the long tug-of-war battle that had endured between us. As a young boy, my father towered above me both physically and cosmically. He was "Mr. Jim" - the master of his domain and the owner of Gamble's FoodTown - a neighborhood grocery. I marveled at how he exercised fiat control over the daily goings on at the store. I began worki...