What images come to mind when you think of your family during your childhood and adolescent years? Do you reminisce about annual holiday gatherings, summer vacations, or perhaps parental support during heartbreaking crises? The most fortunate among us have years' worth of memories of nurturing families that helped sustain us during those challenging passages. Now try to imagine growing up without any of those essential family supports, growing up pretty much on one's own. Well, that's exactly what happened with Dee Saint Franc.
Dee Saint Franc entered the care of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families at age 7. She is now 22. While in state care, Dee was placed in group homes and with foster families. Dee has served on Rhode Island's Legislative Joint Task Force on the Education of Children and Youth in the Care of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. She also serves as Rhode Island's Delegate to the New England Youth Coalition, the nation's only Regional Youth Leadership Board, which works hand in hand with Directors and Commissioners of the New England states' child welfare agencies. Dee received her Associate's Degree in Business Management from Johnson & Wales University and is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Social Work Program at Rhode Island College. She is employed by the Rhode Island Foster Parents Association.
One of the joys of living in the Ocean State is that we're surrounded by a critical mass of remarkably creative people. With good reason, Rhode Island is known for its rich collection of painters, jewelry designers, sculptors, potters, and weavers. At their foundation, these forms of art are a profound act of creation. For Naomi Herzfeld, such handwork is deeply personal, even spiritual, as we hear in this encore essay.
After a 25-year career as an office worker in downtown Providence, and a brief stint in health care, Naomi Herzfeld now co-owns Bella Yarns in Warren, Rhode Island, where she weaves, knits, and creates.
Living in a world of plenty, many of us struggle to temper our wish for an ever increasing supply of material possessions, our tendency to acquire more, and bigger, and better. In our more thoughtful moments, we try hard to figure out what we really need in this life, what's truly enough. In this encore essay, Jerry Landay reflects on the lessons he has learned about keeping our acquisitive instincts in check.
Jerry Landay has been a news correspondent for ABC and CBS, and a journalism instructor at the University of Illinois. Now retired, Landay lives in Bristol, Rhode Island.
All of us can recall the angst of adolescence, those days when we yearned to be invisible, those moments when our self-consciousness was completely overwhelming and, too often, embarrassing. For some of us, finding our voice and the courage to use it came rather easily as we matured into adulthood. For others, as we hear from Jessica Briggs, the process has been much more incremental. Whichever path we take, there's no doubt that learning to speak up is so wonderfully fulfilling.
Jessica Briggs lives in North Kingstown and is a senior at the University of Rhode Island. She will be graduating in May with a bachelor's in English and a minor in Gender and Women's studies.
Throughout our lives all of us have key - sometimes poignant - moments that shape the way we view the world. The birth of a child can reorder our priorities instantly, as can the death of a spouse or partner. Sometimes less momentous occasions lead us to real reflection about our purpose on this earth. In this encore essay, Adam Braver reflects on the meaning of such moments, which have become the story of his life.
Adam Braver is a novelist and professor of creative writing at Roger Williams University. He is the author of several books, including November 22, 1963; Mr. Lincoln's Wars; Divine Sarah, and Crows Over the Wheatfield.
There are moments in most lives when ordinary words seem so inadequate. Taking in spectacular sunset views at the Grand Canyon. Listening to a glorious Puccini aria, or perhaps seeing a Monet painting in person. And, sadly, some of the moments when words seem to fail are filled with stunning sadness, agony, and relentless heartache. Somehow, and with remarkable strength, Heather Biben has managed to find words that convey her very special grief.
Heather Biben lives in Wakefield, Rhode Island with her husband, Matt, and their dog, Ruby. She reports that she enjoys jogging, baking for friends and coworkers, and going to the beach. Everett was Heather and Matt's first child.
In his novel, Light in August, William Faulkner wrote, "Memory believes before knowing remembers." It seems so true that our most important, most intimate memories leave a deep imprint on our lives and often shape how we see ourselves in the present and as we move forward. In this poignant essay, Rosemary Colt tells us about the profound meaning that memory serves in the most important relationship in her life, even as it changes in unwelcome ways.
Rosemary Colt lives in Providence and over the years has taught courses in English Literature at the University of RI, Providence College and Brown University. She and her beloved husband have 3 children.
Perhaps you have noticed that endearing bumper sticker pasted to the rear end of some cars that advises all of us to "Commit Random Acts of Kindness". Maybe you read that line and snicker, or maybe you take the advice to heart, believing that our world could be a much better place if all of us truly committed random acts of kindness. In this encore essay, Bill Miles surely believes in this bumper sticker's wisdom.
When he's not in class teaching, Miles, a resident of Seekonk, Massachusetts, wears his now-famous hat around Northeastern University, where he is a professor of political science. Miles has lived in and written books on India, West Africa, the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the French Caribbean. Miles is also the author of Zion in the Desert, an ethno-autobiography of American Jews who migrated to Israel. His most recent book, coauthored with his Son, Samuel Miles, is My African Horse Problem.
Every caring parent has the same intense, unmitigated fear: That unanticipated, and definitely unwanted, phone call from one's child that's saturated with bad news. We know it can happen, of course, yet it's virtually impossible to prepare for the dreaded call. Our encore essayist, Robert Waxler, knows this all too well.
Robert Waxler is a professor in the English Department at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He is co-founder of "Changing Lives through Literature," an internationally celebrated alternative prison sentencing program. Waxler has written a memoir, Courage to Walk, and has also coauthored the books, Losing Jonathan and Finding a Voice.
Imagine reaching a point in your life when you discover that the identity you have had all along, the way you've seen yourself since birth, is turned upside down. Perhaps you learn for the first time that the father you've known every day of your life is not your biological father. Or you learn that you have a biological sibling that you never knew about. Or, like Jayeson Watts, you discover that the sex you were assigned at birth does not match how you feel on the inside.
Jayeson Watts lives in Bristol, Rhode Island and describes himself as a queer identified transgender man. He is a social worker at Youth Pride, Inc., an organization that provides services to Rhode Island's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning youth.
Imagine finding out in the middle of an otherwise ordinary day that you could save a friend's life - a friend with a chronic, debilitating illness - if you are willing to sacrifice one of your own organs. Would you hesitate, or would you jump at the chance to donate one of your body parts, and to endure the invasive surgery, in order to keep a friend alive? Indeed, this was the very choice facing Daniel Carpenter, as we hear in this encore essay.
Daniel Carpenter teaches Latin, Ancient Greek and Ancient Literature courses at the University of Rhode Island. He is especially interested in the study of the Greek epic poet, Homer.
For what feels like an eternity, all of us have felt caught in the tight grip of distressing national news - an economy that seems to need life support, staggering unemployment, an anemic housing market. So, is there room for hope - real hope - in the midst of this bad storm? In this encore segment, we feature a compelling and timely poem about the very real possibility of hope. The poet is Rhode Islander Dave Dragone.
Dave Dragone works as a piano tuner, violin instructor, and poet. Dragone and his family have lived in Rhode Island for 33 years.
Some childhood memories last a lifetime and -- for better or worse -- have a troublesome hold on us deep into our adulthood. Under the worst of circumstances, childhood trauma haunts us relentlessly. But as Ryan Peluso tells us, some of the challenges we face early in life can produce lifelong dividends and be a source of comfort, even inspiration, throughout our lives. Ryan Peluso, a native of Wethersfield, Connecticut, is a senior at Providence College, where he is majoring in accounting. Peluso plans to become a tax professional.
If we're really fortunate in life, we manage to form at least a handful of friendships that seem to be gold-plated. These are the sorts of friends to whom we seem joined at the proverbial hip, the kinds of people we can call during a middle-of-the-night crisis, the friends with whom we can resume conversations after months have passed as if we were interrupted only five minutes earlier. These are friendships that are not defined only by space and time, and they are the friendships that mean so much to Lori Nassif Istok. Lori Nassif Istok is a singer, former elementary school teacher, and the director of Lori’s Music Together in Edgewood. She lives in Cranston with her husband and two children, who, Istok reports, keep her on her toes, and inspire some of her best and funniest writing.
When we find ourselves in truly overwhelming circumstances -- those moments of despair that life manages to produce at times -- it may seem so useless to wish for a miracle, for the sudden appearance of a guardian angel. But who among us hasn't occasionally indulged in this sort of wistful fantasy when times get tough? Every once in a while our dreams come true, as we hear from 18-year-old Demetria Hayman.
Demetria Hayman attends Johnson & Wales University, where she is studying Restaurant, Food, and Beverage Management. She plans to open her own Greek restaurant. Demetria loves listening to classic rock music and serving her community.
It's every parent's worst fear: the middle-of-the-night phone call or the knock on the front door that's followed by the delivery of bad news. Very bad news. Fortunately, most parents never have to live this nightmare. Sadly, and all too often, parents who want to believe that bad news is part of a terrifying dream learn that, indeed, the worst has happened. With remarkable strength, Ann Burke tells us what she has come to believe as a parent who has endured what no parent should have to endure.
Ann Burke, a recently retired school nurse and health teacher, is the founder and President of the Lindsay Ann Burke Memorial Fund, whose mission is to prevent dating and domestic violence through education. She is also a co-founder of the Love is Not Abuse Coalition.
For many of us, faith defines who we are, how we make sense of our life on earth, and how we envision what happens to us upon our death. For others, faith is an ongoing struggle, perhaps a source of anguish and confusion about our life's purpose and inevitable mortality. Derek Dubois shares his deeply felt thoughts about the evolution of his own faith, and his own plans for the afterlife.
Derek Dubois is a writer and filmmaker. He also teaches film studies courses at Rhode Island College. Dubois is especially interested in the ways in which film and cinema help people understand the world around them. He resides in the city of Woonsocket with his wife, Kathleen.
To most adults, it seems to go without saying that children are self-absorbed. Whether because of developmental inevitability or deeply-rooted cultural messages, children seem to be instinctively preoccupied with their own wants and wishes. And then there are those remarkable exceptions. Thirteen-year-old Fiona Carey reminds us with her youthful wisdom how important it is to care about others.
Fiona Carey is an eighth-grader at Paul Cuffee School in Providence. Fiona lives in Providence with her parents, Russell and Rebekah, and nine-year-old sister, Grace. She is passionate about reading, piano, dance, travel . . . and empathy.
Sooner or later all of us confront death, at first when people close to us live out their final days. A parent, a sibling, a dear, dear friend. Each of us deals with death in ways that are remarkably unique. Some of us grieve openly and demonstrably, others of us much more quietly. As Rob Mariani reflects, sometimes the intense grief that death brings can occupy a very special place in our hearts.
Born in the North Bronx, Rob Mariani currently lives in Bristol, RI. In addition to a career in advertising as creative director, copy writer and agency partner, Rob is an essayist for allaboutjazz.com, and wrote comedy sketches for The National Lampoon Radio Show. Recently Rob's travel essay on Ireland was a finalist in the New Yorker's "On the Town" short essay contest. He is the founder and president of the Creative Communications Club of Providence and the co-author with his brother, John, of "Almost Golden," a Bronx memoir.
All of us have poignant childhood memories that have traveled with us throughout our lives. Some, no doubt, make us smile, even years later, while others make us wince. Really wince. As Elizabeth Rau tells us, some of these moments leave an indelible mark on our lives, sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally.
Elizabeth Rau is a former reporter for the Providence Journal and now works as a freelance writer. She lives with her family in Providence. Rau’s stories have appeared in Rhode Island Monthly and the Phoenix. She also writes a column for East Side Monthly.
All of us have had moments of true despair, those times in our lives when hope seems truly elusive. Climbing out of that dark hole can seem impossible, yet most of us manage to do just that. Sometimes the mere passage of time does the trick, or the remarkable support of those who love and care about us. Tracy Cooper Ramos found her path by figuring out how to ask a very special question.
Tracy Cooper Ramos is a yoga studio director at Bristol Yoga Studio and a hotel consultant. She lives in Bristol with her husband and two children. Educated at Cornell University, Tracy consider herself a lifelong learner with the smallest members of her household her best teachers yet.
There's something about this time of the year that leads many of us to real reflection. The wondrous winter solstice, the poignant anticipation of a new year, the swirl of holiday rituals all combine to sharpen our focus on the meaning of life, indeed the meaning of our lives. And isn't it special that we Rhode Islanders get to experience this on the very same soil that Roger Williams traveled, in a land that celebrates the freedom each one of us has to enjoy this season in whatever way we wish? Michael Fink certainly thinks so.
Michael Fink is an English professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. He has published columns in a wide range of local and national magazines and earned the Providence Journal's Metcalf Award and the National Conference for Community Justice Award, as well as the Never Again Award for journalism.
Try to think back to your life as a teenager. Most of us were doing our best to sort out the complicated and chronically confusing world that was unfolding before our eyes, often at a dizzying pace. But, as 14-year-old Lily Maris tells us, to truly understand our world we need to use more than our eyes. We also need to listen with our ears – very, very carefully.
Lily Maris was adopted from China in 2000. She is in the eighth grade at The Gordon School in East Providence. Lily says she likes to think of herself as an artist who is growing and changing all the time while she listens, very carefully, to the sounds around her.
Every one of us has a story - make
that lots of stories - that define who we are. There are those
life-altering events during childhood, perhaps our first love or our
first heartbreak, or the stories that come out of our adult lives that
are so very complex. Some of us are eager to share our stories with
anyone who will listen, but as Bill Harley reflects, others of us are
much more quiet about the stories that shape our lives.
Bill Harley is a two-time Grammy award-winning artist who uses song and
story to paint a vibrant picture of growing up, schooling, and family
life. A longtime commentator for NPR's news program "All Things
Considered" and recipient of the lifetime achievement award from the
Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Bill tours nationwide as an
author, performing artist and keynote, speaker.
If we are really fortunate, when
we're young we manage to form remarkably intense friendships that last a
lifetime. Perhaps it's with a few kids from the neighborhood, a
handful of school buddies, or bunkmates from profoundly influential
summer camp experiences. And, as May Morris tells us, what a joy it is
to reconnect periodically as we travel through life, and to discover how
these powerful connections have a lot to do with who we are today.
May Morris lives in Middletown, Rhode Island and is an occupational
therapist working in the Portsmouth public schools. She also teaches
classes for Music Together of Newport County -- a program for young
children designed to make music a part of everyday life.
When we began this series in 2007,
we invited listeners to tell us about their core beliefs and the
passions that shape their lives. Since then, we've heard hundreds of
profound insights about what matters most to NPR listeners, about the
values that give their lives meaning and purpose. And wouldn't you know
it, we had to wait for a 14 year-old, Nat Deacon, to remind us that our
most cherished beliefs sometimes can lead to big trouble -- that,
perhaps, there's something to be said for not having strong beliefs.
Nat
Deacon is an eighth grader at the Gordon School in East Providence,
Rhode Island. He has lived in New York, New Orleans, Austin, Texas,
Denver, and, most recently, Rhode Island. Many of Nat's friends know
him as "Wheels."
The game of baseball serves up some
of life's best metaphors. Among them is this one: There are those times
in life when we expect a fastball right down the middle, only to find
that the pitcher has managed to knock us off balance with a skillfully
thrown curveball. Put simply, we don't always get what we expect or
want. As Amy Kalisher tells us, in these unbidden moments it helps to
have a lot of equanimity and wisdom.
Amy Kalisher is an artist, writer, graphic designer, triathlete, and, as
of her diagnosis in 2010, a breast cancer survivor. She shares her
experiences through her blog, Babies or Not, and her YouTube channel,
amykstudio.
You know those times in life when
we find ourselves betwixt and between? Between relationships. Between
houses. Between jobs. For many, perhaps most of us, these are
terrifying times in our lives, understandably fraught with anxiety,
trepidation, and nagging angst. But as Darlene Trew Crist reminds us,
these moments can be truly liberating as well.
Darlene Trew Crist is a writer who spends her days working in the
company of two dogs and three cats. She has traveled to all of the
continents except Antarctica, where she desperately wants to go to
experience the power of the desolation and the beauty of the ice.
In his compelling memoir, Self-consciousness, the novelist John Updike observed that "the essential self is innocent, and when it tastes its own innocence knows that it lives for ever." If only it were true that the innocence children know would never be stolen from them prematurely. Sadly, as Michael Obel-Omia notes, too often self-serving adults conspire to strip away what children should be able to cling to for a long, long time.
Michael Obel-Omia is head of the Paul Cuffee School in Providence. He has been working in education as a teacher, coach, administrator, and school leader since 1988. Obel-Omia lives with his wife, Carolyn, and three children in Barrington.
Try to think back to when you were 14 years-old. For most of us, life's principal task as an adolescent was to fit in -- to wear just the right clothes, listen to just the right music, use just the right slang. It takes remarkable courage -- and wisdom -- for an adolescent to follow her own path, to know herself so well that she can march to the beat of her own very special drum. And that's what we find with Emily Elder.
Emily Elder is 14 years-old and in the 8th grade at the Gordon School in East Providence. She lives with her sister and parents in Barrington, where she loves just being herself.
Whose life isn't filled with pockets of nagging frustration and painful disappointment among the joys and triumphs that come our way? These highs and lows are a universal experience. While some of our wildest dreams come true, others hit the proverbial brick wall or find themselves lying at the bottom of someone's wastepaper basket. But, as Gretchen Dow Simpson tells us, sometimes persistence and perseverance really do pay off.
Simpson, a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts and resident of Providence, was educated at the Rhode Island School of Design. Since 1962 she has been an artist, painter, and photographer. Fifty-eight of her paintings have been used as New Yorker Magazine covers.
If we're blessed with good fortune, as we travel through life we become wiser and wiser as we learn from the people and the challenges we encounter along the way about things that matter - about the true meaning of friendship, for instance, or about what it means to really trust another person. And this sort of wisdom seems so very special when it comes out of the mouth of a 13-year-old, Lena Rich, who is already wise about what it means to be courageous.
When Rhode Islanders think about the Ocean State's remarkably rich collection of art and artists, we tend to conjure up images of art gallery and museum paintings, photography exhibits, glass and ceramic sculptures, and the like. But how often do we think about how the very process of artistic creation is a metaphor for the challenges we face in life? That's how Nicole Purcell has come to think about her artistic endeavors.
We have all had at least momentary spasms as we march through our days, wondering whether the people around us notice we exist, whether we are something more than invisible. As 13-year-old Kate Middeleer notes, there are also those glorious moments when the people whose paths cross ours take the time to say hello, and to really mean it.
Middeleer is in the eighth grade at the Wheeler School in Providence. Kate reports that she loves to swim, tag horseshoe crabs to help scientists study them, and spend time with her dog, Augie, who has taught Kate a lot about how to say hello.
Imagine the excitement when you get an electronically breathless Twitter message from a dear friend announcing that she just posted a link on Facebook to a stunningly engaging novel she just listened to wirelessly on her electronic tablet. Does this make you feel warm and fuzzy all over, and just desperate to curl up all nice and cozy with your Kindle? Or, like Eileen Landay, does this all-too-common scenario lead you to wonder where we're headed as a literate society?
Eileen Landay was the Clinical Professor of English Education, founder of the ArtsLiteracy Project and co-director of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Brown University. She continues to teach at Brown and to consult locally and nationally on topics related to adolescent literacy and the arts in education.
Those of us of a certain age can remember a time when we wrote letters by hand; called friends and family on telephones that had wires attached to them; and had to wait until the letter carrier arrived to receive critically important documents. No email attachments, no text or Twitter messages, no smartphone alerts. Today our lives are saturated with all manner of extraordinarily smart machines and technology that threaten to substitute for human judgment and, perhaps, our misjudgment. But as Barbara Schweitzer observes, we humans are still around to stay, flaws and all.
Schweitzer is the author of 33 and 1/3, a book of poetry. She has twice been awarded the Merit Fellowship for Poetry in RI. Schweitzer is co-founder of Rhode Island's Origami Poems Project, a free poetry venture that engages poets from New York to Jakarta, Indonesia. She maintains a psychotherapy practice in Providence.
No one escapes having moments in life when we hear bad news -- sometimes very bad news. A loved one has been in a terrible accident, a relative's house burned down, or a dear friend lets us know she is getting divorced. Whatever the news, we hope we have the wherewithal to make it through the day and endure the challenging long haul. Fifteen-year-old Megan Mowry tells us what helped her weather the tough news that came her way.
Megan Mowry lives with her family in North Smithfield, where she is in the tenth grade at North Smithfield High School.
Have you noticed how a bit of travel can do so much to help us gain perspective on our lives? Stepping into another culture teaches us about our own, which all of a sudden appears in sharp contrast. Even traveling across the U.S. can help us view our day-to-day lives through a very different lens, where what was once routine and prosaic now seems much more profound. Daniel Combs discovered this during his own travels, drip by drip.
Daniel Combs, a Newport resident, graduated from Vassar College in 2010, where he majored in philosophy. Since then, he has worked as a freelance writer and currently works at the Newport Mercury, an arts and culture publication. He is currently planning a move to Vietnam.
You know that awful feeling we have when something that is so very precious to us seems to be slipping away? We can't bear the thought this this special someone, or special something, will be gone forever. But every once in awhile, like a miracle, our worst fears don't come true, and we get a second chance. That's what happened to 13-year-old Teri Elisa Thompson.
Teri Elisa Thompson is a student at TAPA: Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts. She lives with her parents and three brothers in Providence. Thompson is a dancer and singer, and active in basketball and cheerleading.
Our final days. None of us knows exactly when they will arrive, but all of us have had moments when we try to imagine what they might be like - especially whether we'll have any opportunity to decide what course these final moments will take. Joanne Fayan reflects on her not-so-certain beliefs about the path the people who matter most to her should take.
Joanne Fayan is a theatre teacher at St. Andrew's School in Barrington. She holds an MFA in Acting and has performed locally at 2nd Story Theatre, Perishable Theatre, and with the Kevin Broccoli Monologue shows.
Life is full of surprises and unexpected gifts, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some come wrapped in joy, while others are much more complicated. That's certainly the case for Laura Rossi Totten.
Laura Rossi Totten lives in Jamestown and runs Laura Rossi Public Relations. She blogs about her unexpected gifts from motherhood at www.mysocalledsensorylife.com Rossi Totten has two decades of public relations and book publishing experience.
For any teenager, the world can seem so very confusing. It seems unfair that adolescents should have to sort out some of life's biggest mysteries, such as the purpose of living, the nature of intimacy, or the management of painful loss. But 13-year-old Shaydee Saythideth clearly has sorted out much of this at a very young age.
Shaydee Saythideth is a student at TAPA: Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts. She is a singer, dancer, and guitarist. Saythideth's biggest musical inspiration is her father.
Every one of us can name remarkable teachers who changed the course of our lives – what we think about, how we think, what we care about. What was it that made those teachers such standouts and such a gift to the students they taught? Bruce Marlowe shares his beliefs based on his experiences with one very special teacher who crossed his path.
Bruce Marlowe is Professor of Educational Psychology and Special Education at Roger Williams University in Bristol. During his career, Marlowe has taught at the elementary, secondary and university levels.
There are some experiences in life that children should not have to endure. Life can be brutal, of course, but there's something particularly tragic when our worst nightmares are visited upon the young. Sadly, seventh grader Jordan Rivas has learned some of life's painful lessons much too early.
Jordan Rivas is a seventh-grade student at TAPA: Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts. Jordan is a cheerleader with the Edgewood Eagles and the Rhody All-Stars Dance and Cheer Academy. She hopes someday to be an attorney.
Imagine making a career choice to work with teenagers. Those who enter this unique universe with their eyes wide open certainly hope to shape adolescent lives in positive ways and, even on those predictably and unpredictably challenging days, know that they can make a profound difference. And as Lisa Sampson knows well, teenagers have a remarkable capacity to return the favor and change our own lives for the better.
Lisa Sampson is serving her second year as a corps member with City Year Rhode Island. As part of her service, she runs the after-school program, Rogers Girls, through the Providence After-School Alliance.
When you were a teenager, did you ever feel as if the proverbial rug had been pulled out from underneath your entire world? Sadly, this happens in the lives of too many teens, and their heartfelt distress isn't always the stuff of adolescent hyperbole. That's certainly the case with this 13-year-old Fiona Yonkman, who found remarkable ways to cope with the intense challenges she encountered.
Fiona Yonkman recently completed the 7th grade at the Community Preparatory School in Providence. She lives with her sister and parents in Providence.
Nature has a stunning capacity to teach us about ourselves -- about life's remarkable cycles and our very own ability to nurture, cope with life's inevitable challenges, and recover from trauma. Indeed, nature is a skilled, compelling instructor. Michael Fink tells us how some of his most cherished beliefs traveled to him by way of some of Rhode Island's well known winged creatures.
Michael Fink is an English professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he teaches an elective course on birds. He has published columns in a wide range of local and national magazines and earned the Providence Journal's Metcalf Award and the National Conference for Community Justice Award, as well as the Never Again Award for journalism.
Connection. We yearn for it, seek it, work hard at it, and, if we're fortunate, achieve and sustain it. Connecting with others as we march through life seems so essential and, sadly for some, so elusive. Sarah Holmes reminds us how important it is for us to embrace one another.
Sarah Holmes is the Director of Writing at the New England Institute of Technology. She has loved frogs since childhood, when she caught and kept them in her mother's shoe boxes . . . always letting them hop back home at the end of the day.
It's natural for us to yearn for some sort of magical protection in the face of danger. For some it's a wish for a protective higher power; for others, it's for a more earthly guardian. Seventh-grader Madeline Vidal has learned firsthand what it feels like to have that dream come true.
Madeline Vidal is a seventh grader at TAPA: Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts. She loves listening to music, but mostly singing it. Madeline hopes her passion for music will branch off into a career. She lives in Providence with her parents and older sister.
The power of strangers in our midst. Some of us have had chance encounters with complete strangers who have changed the course of our lives, perhaps the result of a random conversation in a supermarket line or during a theater intermission. Ashley Fishback tells us about the strangers who changed her life.
Ashley Fishback recently graduated from Providence College with a degree in marketing. She has been dancing for over seventeen years and was president of the Providence College Dance Team during the 2010-2011 men's basketball season. She plans a career in the sales industry.
Think back to those childhood moments when you learned profound life lessons that have stayed with you to this day. While the classroom and school day certainly produced many of these lessons, no doubt some of the most important ones were learned outside those walls, perhaps on a baseball field, in a summer theater group, or maybe a friend's backyard. Adam Greenman reminds us how important it is for us to ensure that children have opportunities to learn wherever they may be.
Adam Greenman is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance, a statewide policy and advocacy organization that works to ensure that all Rhode Island children have access to high-quality afterschool and summer learning programs. He began his career as a middle school social studies teacher in Camden, NJ as part of the Teach for America program.
It's hard to imagine traveling through life without close friends. For most of us, this is the handful of people who know us inside and out, what's wonderful about us and what's not so wonderful about us, our virtues and our foibles, and who love us all the same. And isn't it remarkable when a 12-year-old, April Samayoa, has grasped this while still in middle school?
April Samayoa is in the 7th grade at the Community Preparatory School in Providence. She lives with her family in Providence.
May 18, 2011 Even for the most seasoned Rhode Islanders, the Ocean State harbors lots of savory secrets, some tucked away in the folds of South County's farmland and others in Woonsocket's triple deckers. This week we feature a poem by Rhode Island's poet laureate emeritus, Tom Chandler, about a tall treasure in Foster that is part of who we are.
Tom Chandler is poet laureate of Rhode Island emeritus and professor of creative writing at Bryant University. He is the author of five books of poetry, including his most recent, Toy Firing Squad. Chandler is also the founder and editor of the Bryant Literary Review and a columnist for the Providence Journal.
It's
inevitable that we reach a certain age in our lives when we begin to
contemplate our own mortality. For some, these reflections are filled
with trepidation and angst; for others there's a sort of wise equanimity.
Rabbi James Rosenberg shares his poignant insights about what it means to
anticipate the end of one's life, especially as he celebrates the birth of a
new generation.
James
Rosenberg is rabbi emeritus of Temple Habonim in Barrington.
He writes regular columns for The Jewish Voice & Herald and the Barrington
Times. He recently published his first collection of poems, UNTIL THE BLUE
KINGDOM COMES.
There are ten words none of us ever wants to hear about a loved one: "I have some very difficult news to share with you." What comes next can’t possibly be good; we hope, and perhaps pray, that we have the strength to cope with whatever we are about to hear. Audrey Kupchan tells us what sustained her after she received bad news about the person who is at the center of her world.
Dr. Audrey Kupchan is a transplanted New Yorker who has been practicing Primary Care Internal Medicine in Rhode Island since 1984. She is a physician with Coastal Medical in East Providence. She lives with her husband and two teenage sons in Barrington.
You know that expression, "You never know what you have 'til it's gone"? This is far more than an
overused cliche'. It's an aphorism that comes to mind so often when
something precious in our lives disappears, especially when we had a tendency
to take that special something for granted. And isn't it inspiring that
12-year-old, Joceyln Mora, has already figured this out?
Jocelyn Mora is in the 7th grade
at the Community Preparatory
School in Providence.
She lives with her family in Providence.
The Ocean
State’s natural beauty seeps into our
souls, from the stunning vistas at Sachuest Point in Middletown
to the bucolic trails in Glocester's George
Washington State
Park. This state’s natural bounty seems to define
us, or maybe we define it. This week we hear from poet John Grey, whose
verses should help all Rhode Islanders understand what it means to connect with
the nature that surrounds us.
John Grey is an
Australian born poet who has lived in Providence
since the late 1970s. He works as a financial systems analyst and has had
thousands of poems published in magazines ranging from the Journal of the American Medical Association to Weird Tales.
April 13, 2011 During life's most
stressful and perplexing moments, some of us yearn for a little bit of magic,
or perhaps a lot of magic, to help us weather the storm. And what about
those magical moments when we feel deeply moved by mysteries of the universe or
in awe of some sort of natural phenomenon? Maybe, just maybe, as Ben Jolivet believes, there is real magic in our lives.
Ben Jolivet
is a writer whose plays have been produced in Rhode Island
and Massachusetts.
His blog, A Rather Rude Gesture, features stories and commentary on
civility and incivility in modern life.
"I'm losing my mind!"
It's an expression that we bandy about much too casually as we search
frantically for our misplaced keys or struggle to remember what we drove to the
supermarket to purchase. But this phrase takes on much greater meaning
and poignancy as we move toward that stage of life where, we fear, there may be
some real slippage in our cognitive capacity. Robert Whitcomb shares his
profound insights about how important it is for us to live our lives fully,
even in the face of this very real possibility.
Robert Whitcomb is vice
president and editorial-page editor of The Providence Journal. Before
joining The Providence Journal, he was the financial editor of the International
Herald Tribune; an editor and writer for The Wall Street Journal;
and a writer for The Boston Herald Traveler and the News Journal,
in Wilmington, Del.
In a perfect world, all of
us would be sensitive to the suffering of others, and would do what we can to
ease their path in life. For some of us, this would take the form of
large-scale social change that addresses the nagging problems of poverty,
oppression, and injustice in our world. For others, it means providing
nurture and succor to one person at a time. Both are essential, of
course. And as 13-year-old Nick Lowinger tells us, these efforts can begin,
literally, with a single step.
Nick Lowinger is a 7th-grade student at the Wheeler
School in Providence. Nick loves love reading,
writing, and playing the bass for Wheeler's Middle School Jazz Ensemble.
In 2010 Nick received a writing award from the Rhode Island Council of
Teachers of English and started the Gotta Have Sole Foundation.
Is there a person alive who hasn’t been smacked around a bit by life? Who hasn’t had to swallow bitter pills and cope with profound disappointment now and then? It seems to be part of the package. Some of us find it easier than others to just let go in these instances, to just grin and bear it. And, as Jessica David believes, some of us discover that the best way to cope is to be . . . nice.
Jessica David lives and Providence and is director of strategy and planning at the Rhode Island Foundation.
Who among
us hasn't tired of the steady stream of somber, distressing, and sometimes
overwhelming news that life manages to dish out during a lifetime? War,
disease, national disasters, seemingly ad infinitum. All of us can
appreciate the importance of lightening up now and then, backing off from
life's nagging stressors. And it's great to hear this message from a wise
13 year-old, Peyton Aleixo.
Peyton Aleixo lives with her family in North Smithfield and is a 7th grade at
the Wheeler School. Peyton loves writing, playing
softball, and soccer.
All of us know of friends,
acquaintances, and, perhaps, relatives who have struggled with mental
illness. It's a fact of life, and the challenges of debilitating
depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other struggles rear
their head in every walk of life and, potentially, in every family. Matt
Flaherty experiences these challenges every day.
Matt Flaherty was diagnosed
with schizophrenia at the age of 19. He is an active participant in the
Save Our Mental Health Services coalition, which educates the public about
mental illness and advocates for improved mental health care. He is also
a member of OASIS, a peer support and advocacy center for people with mental
illness.
One of the painful
realities of modern life is that neighbors can live near each other for years,
cheek by jowl, and barely know one another. How many of us do little more
than nod our heads or wave to people who frequently cross our paths as we make
our way through the day? Janine Weisman reminds us how important it is to
take it one step further.
Weisman is editor of
Mercury, a weekly arts, culture, and lifestyle publication in Newport. She is also an actress and
singer who has appeared on stage at 2nd Story
Theatre and the Courthouse Center
for the Arts.
Adults tend to think that life lessons must be learned through decades’ worth of experience, complex study, rigorous analysis, and, perhaps, therapy. But the truth is, children sometimes are able to reach astonishingly profound insights about life simply by doing what children are supposed to do, playing games with one another. And that’s certainly the case with 13-year-old Raghu Nimmagadda.
Raghu Nimmagadda is a 7th grader at the Wheeler School in Providence. As a 5th grader in 2009, Raghu led the Highlander Charter School to the Middle School State Chess Championship in 2009. Raghu also loves reading, role-playing games and skiing.
The
sterile textbook definition of adolescence is the life-cycle period between
childhood and adulthood, beginning at puberty. Identity formation is one
of the principal tasks. For some, this stage of self-discovery is
relatively smooth and linear. But for others, including 17-year-old
Chance Shemin, the path is much more circuitous.
Chance
Shemin lives in Providence.
Chance reports that he was born in Uzbekistan,
in Central Asia, and was adopted at 16 months
of age. He is a student at School One in Providence.
Human connection. The
phrase sounds so plain and simple. Yet all of us know how complex and
challenging our human - and our sometimes inhumane - connections can be.
Barbara Schweitzer reflects on the profound, and complicated, meaning of
connections in our lives.
Schweitzer is the author of 33 and 1/3. She has twice been awarded the Merit
Fellowship for Poetry in RI. Schweitzer is co-founder of Rhode
Island's Origami Poems Project, a free poetry venture that engages
poets from New York to Jakarta, Indonesia.
She maintains a psychotherapy practice in Providence.
All of us can benefit from inspiration as we march through life. Sometimes inspiration comes from remarkable people whose paths happen to cross ours, perhaps in our families, neighborhoods, classrooms, or places of worship. But as Michael Obel-Omia tells us, we can also be inspired by some rather unlikely sources.

Michael Obel-Omia is head of the Paul Cuffee School in Providence. He has been working in education as a teacher, coach, administrator, and school leader since 1988. He lives with his wife, Carolyn, and three children in Barrington.
The
most meaningful events in our lives often take years to unfold, and the tales
we tell each other about them typically are filled with nuance, intrigue . . .
and lots of details. But as Liz Richards reminds us, sometimes we can
share our stories in powerful ways with very few words.
Richards is the Artistic Director at the TrinityAcademy
for the Performing Arts. She reports that her responsibilities range from being
an arts maven to a policy wonk, and from educator to custodian. Richards
lives in Warwick
with her fiance, Jake.
Perhaps you have heard the expression, "If you've been handed a lemon, make lemonade." During our lives many of us find ourselves caught in the web of daunting crises and challenges that seem absolutely overwhelming. Under the best of circumstances, we confront our demons, learn from them, and use these experiences to enrich our lives and those of the people who matter most to us. Robert Einhorn has done just that.
Einhorn lives in Pawtucket and works at a shelter for people who are homeless and at a community recovery center.
Typically
we spend the early years of our lives sorting through what matters to us,
trying on different personas for size, and forging an identity that seems to
make sense. For some of us, the path is relatively straight and narrow.
But for others, the journey is filled with lots of meandering and
detours. As we hear from Nancy Kirsch, part of the challenge is embracing
the person we become over time.
Kirsch lives with her family in Providence.
She is a writer, editor, and publicist, and the recipient of the Metcalf
Diversity in the Media award.
Everybody has a story. Some of us have the proverbial short story of our lives, one that's rather linear and uncomplicated. But others of us have a much more intricate, novel-like set of stories, filled with complex, sometimes hair-raising, plots. Whatever our stories, we need to share them with each other, as we hear from Rachel Walshe.
Walshe serves as Acting Artistic Director of Perishable Theatre. She has directed plays in Rhode Island, Chicago, Boston, and England. Walshe lives in Providence with her husband and daughter, Alice.
During this holiday season many of us find ourselves navigating social situations with people we�ve never met before, and may never meet again. Often, our chance encounters with strangers are like ships passing in the night. But, every once in awhile, these brief connections have lasting impact, which is exactly what happened to Rowena Burke.
Burke was born in Newport, Rhode Island, where she resides with her family. Her first book of poems was published in 1967.
December 22, 2010 "There but for the grace of God go I." That's an aphorism with which all of us are familiar, one which many of us utter with heartfelt sincerity when we witness others' misfortune. And that's certainly the case for Colleen Kelly Mellor, whose beliefs and deep sense of purpose have been shaped by her own brush with calamity.
Mellor's work has been published by Scripps Howard, World Health, and the Providence Journal. She currently writes "Encouragement in a Difficult World: Biddy Bytes Blog" at www.biddybytes.com.
All of us take time now and then to retrace our steps in life, sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally. Perhaps we close our eyes and take ourselves back in time to relive those poignant and meaningful moments in our lives. And, like Mike Fink, sometimes we make a real pilgrimage to those places, looking for clues of what shaped who we are today.
Fink is an English professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. He has published columns in a wide range of local and national magazines and earned the Providence Journal's Metcalf Award and the National Conference for Community Justice Award, as well as the Never Again Award for journalism.
This week WRNI and the Rhode Island Foundation held a special forum looking at poverty and homelessness in Rhode Island. In our This I Believe segment, we hear from Constance Vergowven, who has experienced poverty and homelessness firsthand.
Vergowven lives in Newport and works with the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless.
You know those moments in life when you�re staring at such daunting, overwhelming challenges that you wonder whether you�re going to make it through the day, whether you have what it takes to climb the mountain or keep your head above water? Fifteen-year-old Morgan Quinley has wondered just that, and she has discovered internal fortitude, not in the proverbial intestines, but in her feet.
Quinley is a sophomore at North Smithfield High School. In addition to her passion for running, Quinley is a serious flautist and violinist, and has been an ambassador in the People to People program founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
During our lifetimes, many of us have known true horror, whether the result of personal tragedy, such as the untimely death of a loved one, or worldwide disaster, such as a world war or the attack of 9-11. Betty Adler had her own brush with calamity, and during her 85 years has learned to still believe in the possibilities of hope and redemption.
Adler has lived in Rhode Island since 1940. She and her family own Adler�s Design Center and Hardware in Providence.
Haven�t all of us needed some TLC � tender loving care � during those rough moments in our lives? Who among us hasn�t appreciated heartfelt consolation, genuine empathy, and loving reassurance when life is especially stressful? Mara Sokolsky shares her beliefs about what we can do for each other during life�s toughest times.
Sokolsky lives in Providence, where she teaches the Alexander Technique. With her recent transition to empty-nest-hood, Sokolsky has had more time to write about relationships and midlife issues.
For many of us, it has become the modern-day lament: Our lives are saturated with starkly efficient and sterile electronic communications that have sapped nuance, texture, and passion from our relationships with one another. Perhaps that's hyperbole, or perhaps not. Should we worry that Facebook, My Space, Twitter, and text messaging have pushed aside our ability to share, really share, the stories of our lives? Mark Binder reminds us how important it is for us to hold on to, and share, our stories.
Binder writes and tells stories in Providence and around the world. His latest album is �A Holiday Present,� stories of Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Diwali, New Year�s, and the Solstice.
Passages.
Most of us walk through our lives with a sense that we are part of a journey
that is full of mystery, challenge, joys, and the occasional sorrow. The
most fortunate among us travel down life�s paths with a keen sense of awareness
that what we experience today may disappear tomorrow or, perhaps, show up in
very different form. Sarah Sutton reminds us how important it is to pay
very close attention to the passage of time.
Sutton
grew up in Warwick, attended BrownUniversity,
and worked as a journalist before beginning a Ph.D. program at BrandeisUniversity, where she studies
environmental history. She lives in Pawtucket
with her husband and two daughters.
September 11, 2001. The intense, traumatic images are seared into our collective memory. Now fast forward and grapple with the aftermath, the divisive, often painful debate about plans to construct an Islamic center in the World Trade Center neighborhood. As Bill Miles reflects, we've learned much as a nation since 9-11, but not nearly enough.
Miles, a resident of Seekonk, Massachusetts, is professor of political science at Northeastern University. His two most recent books are Zion in the Desert and My African Horse Problem.
It sounds a bit like a clich : Slow things down. Smell the roses. Take note of the breathtakingly beautiful sunset, the gentle trickle of a hillside stream, the sparkle of raindrops as they bounce off a flower pedal. The truth is, all of us would do well to reflect on the natural wonders that surround us and, as Scott Turner tells us, reflect on what they can teach us about the trajectory of our lives.
In addition to his duties as the director of web communications at Brown
University, Turner writes a weekly nature commentary for the Providence
Journal. Turner is a former land manager, park ranger and science
writer. He lives in Providence with his wife and two children.
Art. Rhode
Island. The two seem to be joined
at the proverbial hip. In fact, it�s hard to imagine Rhode
Island without its thriving, remarkably creative artistic
community that does so much to enrich the OceanState
with its intimate galleries, inspiring public sculptures, and rich museums and
educational venues. All of this means a great deal to Ana Flores, who has
passionate beliefs about how Rhode Islanders can enhance their connection with
the art that surrounds them.
Ana
Flores is a Cuban-American sculptor, ecological designer, and writer, who lives
in Charlestown, Rhode
Island and Nova Scotia, Canada.
Her sculptural work is shown internationally and throughout the United States. Flores also works with environmental groups and
communities designing outdoor installations and parks that engage people with
the human and natural histories of their local landscapes.
All of us
can conjure up images of the remarkable teacher we had along our educational
journey � the kind of teacher who truly connects with students, inspires them,
and changes their lives in profound ways. At a forum this week, WRNI is
asking the question: What makes a good teacher? In her This I
Believe essay, teacher Tamar Paull shares her beliefs
about how the very best teachers learn from their students.
Tamar Paull teaches seventh grade at CommunityPrep School
in Providence.
Names have been changed in this essay, but the story is true, and Tamar is
grateful to the real Cathryn for allowing her to share it.
Try to imagine the excitement of those final days as a high
school senior as you anticipate your first days in college when, if all goes
well, the world opens up in front of your eyes, your days filled with the
excitement of new intellectual and social challenges. And then, in the middle
of it all you have another new, unbidden, discovery: intrusive voices telling
you things you don't want to hear and can't possibly understand voices that
fundamentally change your path in life. Indeed, that's the path that led Adam
Alt to share his beliefs.
Adam Alt is enrolled in classes at the Community College of Rhode Island, where he is studying
accounting. Alt attended WashingtonUniversity in St.
Louis and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
He is actively involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in
their Inside Mental Illness Program. Alt lives with his wife in Providence.
Close
your eyes for a moment and imagine the crackle of burning wood as the sun sets
in the western sky, the soft whoosh of flowing water, and the stirring sounds
of a moving operatic aria � sounds that have the power to transport us beyond
the day-to-day, routine, and quotidian events in our lives. Seasoned
Rhode Islanders know that I speak of Providence�s
Waterfire, the Barnaby Evans creation that has captured and moved us since
1996. Along the way, Waterfire has inspired some of us to write
about its magic, as in the poem by Dave Dragone.
Dragone
has been a fitness instructor, the operator of a small convenience store, and
an oil company salesman, among other vocations. For the past eight years
Dragone has tuned and serviced pianos, along with writing and teaching
music. He lives in Middletown
with his wife and son, and has been writing poems since the 1970s.
Every caring parent has the
same intense fear: That unanticipated, and definitely unwanted, phone call from
one�s child that�s saturated with bad news. We know it can happen, of
course, yet it�s virtually impossible to prepare for the dreaded call.
Robert Waxler knows this all too well.
Robert Waxler is a
professor in the English Department at the University
of Massachusetts�Dartmouth. He is co-founder of
�Changing Lives through Literature,� an internationally celebrated alternative
prison sentencing program. Waxler has recently written a memoir, Courage
to Walk, and has also coauthored the books, Losing Jonathan and Finding
a Voice.
You know those moments in life when
you think to yourself, "Oh my. What in heaven's name did I get myself
into this time? How could I have messed up so badly?" Who among us
hasn't had these intrusive thoughts along the way? Wendy Lawton
certainly has, and these experiences have shaped her beliefs.
Wendy Lawton is a mother, writer, naturalist, runner, reader and, she
reports, a recovering journalist. Lawton lives in Providence, where she
raises money for a living - and, most importantly, saves it.
Resilience. The dictionary tells us that it means the
ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change. But these
formal, rather sterile words hardly capture the complexity, the utter horror,
and the relentless challenges that so many of us have known in the face of true
crisis. And that�s certainly the case for Jennifer Reis.
Reis is a clinical pharmacist and is currently studying to
become an herbalist. She lives with her family in Wakefield, Rhode Island.
All
of us can identify life-altering moments in our lives, some filled with intense
joy and others, perhaps, with unspeakable horror. Kenneth Chabert
reflects on remarkably intense, life-changing events in his life, events that
have everything in the world to do with his recent graduation from ProvidenceCollege and his ambitious plans for the
future.
Chabert
graduated this past May from ProvidenceCollege. Chabert
owns two barbershops in New York City
and is involved in a wide range of entrepreneurial ventures, including his own
clothing line. He also serves as a management consultant and plans to
combine his entrepreneurial pursuits with his passion for helping people in
need.
Imagine what life was
like when you were seven years old � your circle of friends, your deepening
connection to your neighborhood�s sights and sounds, your emerging sense of
place in the world. And then, suddenly, all of that evaporates as your
family decides to pull up stakes and head toward the adventure of a lifetime on
the open seas. That�s exactly what happened to now-fifteen-year-old Rosie
Nalle
Rosie Nalle currently lives in Saunderstown, Rhode
Island. This summer Rosie is working at a caf�
in Jamestown.
In the fall she will be moving back to Barcelona
for her junior year in high school, where she hopes to have many more
international adventures.
Often our instinct is to think of death as dark, macabre, even sinister. After all, death means loss and saying goodbye to the most precious people in our lives. But as Ed Martin notes, being intimately involved as a loved one departs from life as we know it can be a privilege as well, one that enriches our lives in ways we might not have imagined.
Dr. Ed Martin has been medical director at Home and Hospice Care of Rhode Island since 1987. He also heads the palliative care consultation service at Rhode Island Hospital and the Miriam Hospital. Dr. Martin is a clinical associate professor of medicine at the Brown Alpert School of Medicine, where he has been teaching about hospice and end of life care for the past 20 years.
It�s not unusual for health-related or other crises to stop us in our tracks and force us to think hard about what matters most in life as our ordinary lives come to a halt. Often, these unbidden challenges lead us to view life through a very different lens. That�s certainly the case for Jack Partridge.
Jack Partridge is a Providence-based attorney and the author of the books Straight Pool, Carom, and the soon-to-be-published Scratched.
Is there a parent alive who hasn't had a child roll her or his
eyes in response to the parent's earnest advice about some sort of
compelling childhood dilemma? These are the moments when parents may
feel as if they are merely wasting good oxygen. And yet, if we're
lucky, there comes a time when our children concede that, after all, we
knew what we were talking about. Indeed, that's the gift that Lucy
Friedmann gave her parents.
Friedmann just completed her
seventh grade year at the Wheeler School in Providence. Lucy reports
that she lives with her very wise mother and father and in her spare
time enjoys fencing, reading, singing, and hanging out with her friends.
Every seasoned parent knows
that this complex, daunting task is full of uncertainty and includes a
complicated mix of joys and challenges. For some parents, the challenges
include caring for a child with chronic illness. As Bekah Ham notes,
caring for such a child can teach all of us profound lessons about what
life truly is all about. Ham is a New England native, wife, and mom
of two girls she describes as �amazing.� She is an artist and teacher,
and is currently in what she describes as career puberty.
Life is full of trials and tribulations. That we know.
We also know that when life gets us down, the most fortunate among us are
able to climb out of the depths and, indeed, thrive in ways that once may have
seemed unimaginable. Such has been the case for Amelia Allard.
Allard is a Providence native, a graduate of SmithCollege, and a former WRNI employee.
A writer, artist, and teacher, she recently relocated to Boston.
Parenting can be a
remarkable challenge, even on the good days. And when a child has special
needs, our parenting mettle and skills are really put to a test. Anne
Davidson Babineau knows this all too well, and her experiences have shaped her beliefs
about the possibility of hope.
Babineau is a writer, editor, and artist. She lives in SouthCounty
with her husband and two children. Babineau�s daughter, Allie, would like
NPR listeners to know that she�s working very hard to achieve what�s called
"self-independence" status at her school, so, as Allie says, she can
become one of the best-behaved kids in class. Allie reports that she is
determined to succeed.
NPR listeners know all too well that our nation is caught in a vise filled with all manner of domestic and international challenges and crises. War. Poverty. Hunger. Natural disasters. The list seems almost endless and has many of us thinking hard about what our nation's youth can do, individually and collectively, to help meet these challenges. That's certainly the case for Tim Rivinus.
Tim Rivinus lives in the Edgewood section of Cranston. He is a psychiatrist specializing in work with children, adolescents, people struggling with addictions, veterans, and trauma survivors. Rivinus reports that what is most important to him are relationships with family and friends, words, music, art, and hiking.
Life is full of lovely surprises, and they�re especially fun
when we least expect them. Rita Lussier provides us with a delightful
reminder of life�s occasionally wondrous surprises.
Lussier�s column, For the Moment, appears each Wednesday in The Providence
Journal. Recently, she took first place in the 2010 Erma Bombeck writing
competition, an honor she also won in 2006. Her essays have been featured as
well in The Boston Globe.
Think back to your adolescence and
you can probably identify a person or two who had a profound influence
on your life, perhaps a beloved teacher, a neighbor or perhaps a
relative. As this week's essayist, 13-year-old Caroline Moore tells us,
sometimes we find these people between the covers of a remarkably
compelling book.
If
each of us stopped and really reflected on our lives at this very
moment, we could identify critical, life-altering experiences along the
way that have shaped who we are. For Diane Postoian, a rich collection
of these experiences has everything to do with the stories she feels
compelled to tell every day of her life.
Diane
Postoian, a native Rhode Islander, has received grants nationwide for
her innovative work in education and theatre. She works at the Met
Center matching high school students with mentors in the community who
are eager to help transform a young person�s life. Postoian also
spends time touring schools as a free-lance arts educator and performer
(www.dianepostoian.com).
May 19, 2010 Every single one of us can look around and, in a flash, identify so many things that are wrong with our world, so much that needs repair. Poverty. Homelessness. Substandard education. Indeed, many of us devote countless hours in our earnest attempt to heal the world. But as Rabbi Alan Flam notes, at times there's a risk that our focus is narrower than it ought to be. Rabbi Flam works at the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University, where he also serves as Senior Associate University Chaplain. He is President of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless and is a member of the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition.
May 12, 2010 How often have you stood impatiently in what turned out to be the interminably long line at the supermarket, or felt at a complete loss for what to do in those all-too-rare, often unexpected hiatuses in your overly scheduled life? As Henri Flikier observes, boredom is in the eye of the beholder and, often, is not what it seems. Flikier is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist practicing in Providence and North Kingstown. He grew up in Paris, France and moved to New York City as a teenager. Flikier resides in East Bay with his wife and two daughters.
May 5, 2010 Who hasn't had a close encounter or two with a remarkably exasperating, perhaps eccentric, relative -- that legendary family fixture who has an astonishing ability to push the proverbial envelope and test our patience? And then, as so often happens, this is the relative who, over time, manages somehow to seep into and truly touch our soul. This is what happened to Janine Weisman. Weisman is editor of Mercury, a weekly arts, culture and lifestyle publication in Newport. She is also an actress and singer who appeared onstage at 2nd Story Theatre and the Courthouse Center for the Arts.
April 28, 2010 Wake-up calls in life come from many sources, and usually not from hotel operators. For all of us, life is full of unpredictable and unexpected, often unbidden, events that teach us enduring lessons. That was certainly the case for Jack Galvin. Galvin, a retired teacher and tennis pro, is a writer living in Middletown. He and Vinny Integlia, the subject of Galvin's essay, have been collaborating on a written account of Integlia's first ten years as a quadriplegic.
April 21, 2010 Many of us have experienced poignant moments during our long-distance travels, those times when we're airborne or riding the rails for hours and stop to think about where we're headed, not just geographically, but, as well, in a more existential, perhaps even spiritual sense. Joanne Perella, has had many such moments in her life. After completing a 32-year career with the Federal government, Perella now fills her time as an antiques dealer and appraiser, as well as a volunteer for the Community Kitchen at the Rhode Island Food Bank. Her schedule is now flexible enough to allow her to pursue her passions as a writer, antiquarian, photographer, and, as often as possible, train passenger.
April 14, 2010 All of us have had people walk into our lives unexpectedly and, in ways we never anticipated, change our lives forever - the way we view the world, our most basic priorities, our sense of what really matters. Indeed, that's what happened to Cori Hughes. Hughes has been the women's basketball coach at Salve Regina University since 2007. She has been coaching basketball since she graduated from Boston University in 1992, where she was captain of the women's basketball team. Before joining the college coaching ranks about ten years ago, Hughes was a high school coach and English teacher in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
April 07, 2010 One of the joys of living in Rhode Island is that we're surrounded by remarkably creative artists and their often provocative words, images, and sounds. As Lynnie Gobeille tells us, sometimes we can find the fruits of artists' labor in some very unlikely spots in the Ocean State. Gobeille is co-founder of Rhode Island's Origami Poems "Free Poetry" Project. She is a published poet and past Editor of The Poetry Corner, a twice monthly column published in the Providence Journal featuring South County poets.
March 31, 2010 Imagine a news story about the daily goings-on at a typical large, urban high school. What images come to mind? Do you picture academic success stories spinning out of a maturing student body, or does your mind run toward more dismal scenarios? As Fred Silva, notes, urban education is filled with remarkable triumphs, even miracles. Silva has been the principal of Tolman High School in Pawtucket since 2004. Silva began his career in education at Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, Virginia. He held administrative positions in Gloucester County, Virginia and Coventry, Rhode Island, before becoming Principal of Lincoln High School in Rhode Island and then Tolman High.
March 24, 2010 It sounds a little too much like a question on a college application: "Please identify a book that has changed your life. Discuss." The truth is, most of us can identify a book that has changed our lives in profound ways, and that's certainly the case for Jan Keough. Keough is co-founder of the Origami Poems Project, an experiment to provide free poetry to enthusiastic readers. She lives in Cumberland with her musician husband, Kevin, and two mini-schnauzers.
March 17, 2010 If we have learned anything as a nation in recent years, it's that we cannot afford to take basic health care for granted. The issue dominates political debate and media headlines, and with good reason. As Dr. Annie De Groot reminds us, health care is a vital issue, not only for our nation, but for our world. De Groot is Associate Professor of Pediatric Infectious Disease at Brown University, and devotes most of her time to directing the scientific affairs of EpiVax, a biotech company located in Providence, where she is CEO and Chief Scientific Officer. De Groot focuses on the development of vaccines that are globally relevant and affordable to the persons at greatest risk of disease. De Groot also serves as Medical Director of Clinica Esperanza/Hope Clinic.
March 10, 2010 In our more thoughtful moments, we stop to appreciate - really appreciate - some of life's most common comforts, say, the food we eat throughout the day, the water we drink, and the roof that's over our head. Sunil Bhatia reminds us that we ought to keep one other of life's most basic comforts on that list. Bhatia, a resident of Barrington, Rhode Island, is a professor in the Human Development department and the Director of the Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy at Connecticut College. His book, American Karma, was published in 2007. In 2006, Bhatia founded Friends of Shelter Associates to raise awareness about lack of sanitation in the slums of Western India.
March 3, 2010 Ah, love. When it works out, the sun shines on our soul, our hearts spill over, and life is good. But there are those times in our lives when love seems out of reach or, even worse, the source of unspeakable pain. Shanna Wells tells us that love, in all of its stunningly complicated forms, is essential in our lives. Wells, a North Providence resident, is a writer, singer, actress and professional advocate. She spends her busy hours working, creating, enjoying the outdoors, and loving her two cats, a lot.
February 24, 2010 You know those moments in life when your hopes are dashed, those times when your carefully calculated plans took a sharp left instead of a soft right, those instances when you've had to regroup in order to make it through the day? Ryan Cipriano tells us about just such a time in his life, and about the profound insights he reached in the middle of it all. Cipriano is originally from Central Falls, RI. A 2009 graduate of Bryant University, Cipriano lives in the Washington, D.C. area, where he is the business manager for the School of Music at The Catholic University of America. A published poet, Cipriano's other hobbies include songwriting and playing guitar.
February 17, 2010 All of us have found ourselves in a library at some point in our lives. On their surface, libraries are bricks and mortar structures that house books and other publications. Yet, as Deborah Barchi tells us, libraries serve a much larger purpose in our lives, a purpose that extends far beyond their physical holdings. Barchi has been a librarian for 30 years, and is currently director of the Barrington Public Library. A passionate reader since the age of 8, she has many fond memories of peddling her old Columbia bike up Academy Avenue in Providence to the Mt. Pleasant Branch Library each Saturday afternoon, and then pedaling back home with 10 books (the maximum allowed) in her bike basket.
February 10, 2010 Seasoned Rhode Islanders know that Roger Williams' legacy runs deep. His place in the Ocean State's history is woven inextricably into our fabric. And, as Mike Fink notes, Roger Williams lives in our hearts as well. Fink is an English professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. He has produced columns in a wide range of local and national magazines and earned the Providence Journal's Metcalf Award and the National Conference for Community Justice Award, as well as the Never Again Award for journalism.
February 3, 2010 NPR listeners love the stories we air that feature in-depth analysis of complex and nuanced issues examined from every possible angle. These are the stories that inform, the stories that tax our brains. But most of us feel saturated at times, even burdened, by hard news stories, no matter how skillfully they're constructed. As Kim Baker reminds us, sometimes we need to simply let go, let our hair down, and let loose. Baker has been teaching writing in academe and business for 16 years. She currently is the writing coach at Roger Williams University School of Law. A published poet and an advocate to end violence against women, Baker lives with her spouse in Oakland Beach.
January 27, 2010 Death. It's not a pleasant subject, of course, yet all of us know of its inevitability, in our own lives and those of the people we love. Sadly, for many the end of life is filled with a toxic mix of pain, suffering, and an agonizing loss of control. But, as Dr. Joan Teno notes, life does not have to end this way. Indeed, we know better. Dr. Joan Teno is the daughter of Doris Teno, who died on October 15, 2008. She is professor of community health at The Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University and Associate Medical Director of Home and Hospice Care of Rhode Island.
January 20, 2010 As we race around in our lives, between hither and yon, and between our mundane daily tasks and life's occasional crises, how many of us really notice nature's creatures and its other assorted bounty that cross our paths - the flowers, the birds, the insects, even the neighbor's pet? Cara Murray certainly notices, and she has her own very special way of showing it. Murray is a graduate of Brown University and is pursuing a Master of Arts in Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island. She is a former dancer and an emerging writer.
January 13, 2010 Perhaps you have noticed that endearing bumper sticker pasted to the rear end of some cars that advises all of us to "Commit Random Acts of Kindness." Maybe you read that line and snicker, or maybe you take the advice to heart, believing that our world could be a better place if all of us committed random acts of kindness. Bill Miles surely believes in this bumper sticker's wisdom. When he's not in class teaching, Miles, a resident of Seekonk, wears his now-famous hat around Northeastern University, where he is a professor. He has lived in and written books on India, West Africa, the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the French Caribbean. Miles is also the author of Zion in the Desert, an ethno-autobiography of American Jews who migrated to Israel. His most recent book, coauthored with his Son, Samuel Miles, is My African Horse Problem.
January 6, 2010 How often have you uttered the phrase, "out of the mouths of babes," or some such sentiment about the remarkable wisdom that children often display? Haven't all of us had moments when we've been stunned by children's stunning insights about the workings of the world and about the people in their lives? Jim Stahl shares his insights about listening to children. For fifteen years, Rhode Islander Jim Stahl published the classroom magazine Merlyn's Pen: Fiction, Essays, and Poems by American's Teens. At the website http://www.merlynspen.org/, Stahl now directs the Merlyn's Pen New Library of Young Adult Writing, which is a literary resource for teachers, librarians, and teens that showcases student-written works first published in Merlyn's Pen magazine
December 30, 2009 How often do you have this fleeting, or perhaps even nagging, thought that you tend to take life too seriously, that you'd like to regain that childlike sense of fun and frolic? How often does genuine play find its way into your life? Sam White shares his passion for play, and about its importance in our lives. White is the president of Wooly Productions, a Providence-based event company dedicated to merriment in all forms, including Woolly Fair, Fearless Mobile Mini Golf, and The Werewolf 5k. He lives with his wife, Gillian, at Monohasset Mill, a live/work artist community in Providence's valley district.
December 23, 2009 Every one of us has had moments in life when we weren't sure whether we were up to the challenge that stared straight at us. Perhaps it was in the face of sudden news about a loved one's death, the end of a profoundly important relationship, or bad news about our health. Nicole Purcell reflects on just such a time in her life, and on the lessons she has learned along the way. Purcell is the Development Director for Rhode Island Public Radio. Purcell notes that with the support of wonderful family and great friends, she has lived well with type 1 diabetes since she was eight years old. She writes a regular blog for dlife.com, an online resource for families living with diabetes.
December 16, 2009 How often do you walk the streets of Rhode Island's cities and towns and notice - really notice - the architecture that surrounds you? What do Rhode Island's buildings mean to you - their height, their texture, their aesthetics? How do they shape your life? Ross Cann reflects on the profound meaning that Rhode Island's buildings have in his life. Cann is a former board member of the RI chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He holds architecture degrees from Yale, Cambridge and Columbia and is an historian, educator and practicing architect living and working in Newport.
December 9, 2009 At one time or another, most of us have received bad news - the kind of news that stops us in our tracks and, possibly, alters our path in life, our priorities, the way we cope with adversity, indeed our most basic understanding of what life really means. And that's exactly what happened to Kathi Kolb. Kolb was born and raised in the Boston area. She moved to South County, Rhode Island to attend graduate school 18 years ago, and still works there as a physical therapist. Kolb is also an award-winning photographer and writes a popular internet blog called "The Accidental Amazon."
December 2 , 2009 It's probably not hard to imagine a time in your life when you felt something that was profoundly precious to you was slipping away, perhaps the last moments of your college career, a glorious vacation, or a very special relationship. Lauren Birnie reflects on just such an experience in her life, and on the beliefs she formed along the way. Birnie is originally from Rome, New York near Syracuse. She is a senior business management major at Providence College. In her spare time Birnie enjoys reading, writing, and playing soccer.
November 25, 2009 The phrase sounds so plain and simple. Yet all of us know how complex and challenging our human - and our sometimes inhumane - connections can be. Barbara Schweitzer reflects on the profound, and complicated, meaning of connections in our lives. Schweitzer is the author of 33 and 1/3. She has twice been awarded the Merit Fellowship for Poetry in RI. Schweitzer is co-founder of Rhode Island's Origami Poems Project, a free poetry venture that engages poets from New York to Jakarta, Indonesia. She maintains a private practice in psychotherapy in Providence.
November 18, 2009 How do the most important people in your life view you? How do you want to be viewed by others? Do you aim for some sort of ideal persona? As Cathleen Calbert notes, sometimes our answers to these questions come from a very unusual source. Calbert's short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in many publications, including Ms. Magazine, The New Republic, and The Southern Review. She is the author of three books of poetry: Lessons in Space (University of Florida Press), Bad Judgment (Sarabande Books), and Sleeping with a Famous Poet (C.W. Books). Her awards include The Nation Discovery Award, a Pushcart Prize, and the Mary Tucker Thorp Professorship at Rhode Island College, where she currently teaches.
November 11, 2009 One of the joys of living in Rhode Island and in New England is that we get to experience the poignant changes in the seasons, the shift from summer's sweetness to the bucolic fall, and from winter's chill to spring's bountiful beauty. Yet, as Henri Flikier notes, shifting seasons - in New England and in our own lives - are filled with complexity. Flikier is a child and adult psychotherapist practicing in Providence and North Kingstown. He grew up in Paris, France and moved to New York City as a teenager. Flikier resides in East Bay with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time he enjoys cooking, kayaking, gardening and reading.
November 4, 2009 For what seems like an eternity, we've been overwhelmed by a spate of bad news, what with a disastrous economy, terrifying terrorist attacks, swine flu, and sordid political scandals. Through it all, many of us struggle to find a reason to smile, to laugh out loud. Karen Lee Ziner wisely reminds us of the profound importance of humor in our lives. Ziner has lived in Providence since 1980. A former fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, she is writing a collection of stories for a yet-unpublished book on her West End neighborhood. Ziner is a reporter for The Providence Journal.
October 28, 2009 All of us have had terrifyingly stressful moments in our lives when we were not sure we had the strength, the intestinal fortitude to survive the crisis. Perhaps it was a genuine health scare, or receiving dreadful news about a loved one or a terrorist attack. Whatever the daunting challenge, what all of us hope, and want to believe, is that we have the courage to survive. Peter Mandel reflects on his very personal brush with bravery. Mandel is the author of nine books for kids including Planes at the Airport (published by Scholastic), My Ocean Liner (published by Stemmer House) and Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays (published by Hyperion). He contributes travel articles and essays to The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Coastal Living, and the Providence Journal's op-ed page.
October 20, 2009 Try to imagine Rhode Island without Newport. It seems unthinkable, as if Juliet had no Romeo, or Fred Astaire had no Ginger Rogers. Newport is quintessential Rhode Island, vital threads in the Ocean State's rich fabric. Many of us know Newport best through the lens of summer, as we amble along the tranquil Cliff Walk or stroll through the vibrant harbor. But as Liz Doucette tells us, Newport's seasons have their own special rhythm.
October 14, 2009 Stop for a moment and think about the books you've read that have changed your life - those remarkably compelling passages that stopped you in your tracks, the literary images that changed the way you understand the world, the thought-provoking dialogue that altered how you view yourself. I suspect that every one of us has at least a short list of life-changing books on that imaginary shelf. And that's especially true for Lisa Van Allsburg. Van Allsburg has spent years teaching art, creating and producing educational programs, and holding trustee positions on a number of Rhode Island boards. Few things make her happier than bringing the arts to young children and putting books into their eager hands. Van Allsburg is the creator of the Rhode Island Festival of Children's Books and Authors at the Lincoln School in Providence.
October 7, 2009 Try to imagine what it must be like to live a full century, to have started life when William Howard Taft was president of the U.S. and to now have a president who communicates via the Internet and BlackBerry; to have been born in the year when construction began on both the Titanic and the Cape Cod Canal, and to now travel by cars that are guided by satellite-based global positioning systems; and to have taken your first breaths when the Wright brothers were forming a company to manufacture airplanes and to now hear news about routine space shuttles. Today we chat with one such Rhode Islander, Esther Elkin, who shares her beliefs about her remarkably rich, century-long life. Elkin has lived in Rhode Island since 1954, when she moved here from the New York area with her late husband, Harry. Throughout her long life, Elkin has been both a student and a teacher, indeed what many have described as a master teacher.
September 30, 2009 It's no secret that for months we've been surrounded by intense, seemingly unending debate about health care reform, welfare reform, and myriad other forms of reform that strike at the heart of what it means to live in a civilized society. At their core, these controversies boil down to fundamental beliefs about the very purposes of government in our lives and the nature of civil liberty. Donald Breed shares his beliefs about what government truly means in his life. Breed joined the staff of the Providence Journal in 1966, where he worked as a reporter in the financial, Sunday (features) and News departments. As a sideline, Breed also wrote the Journal's wine column and penned restaurant reviews. Although he retired from Journal in 1996, Breed still writes for the Journal and other publications.
For many of us, daily connection with family is at the center of our lives, the ballast that helps us navigate through life's complex and often unpredictable challenges. But it's not a clich� to say that in modern times, we find it harder and harder to sustain these connections, what with our daunting job and social schedules, after-school calendars, electronic distractions. Mandy Twaddell reflects on her family's challenges . . . and . . . triumphs. Twaddell and her husband still live in Providence in an old house with a smaller kitchen. They still look forward to breaking bread with family and friends, especially at one of the area's fine restaurants! Twaddell is a frequent book reviewer for the Providence Journal.
September 16, 2009 All of us have moments when we replay in our minds various times and events in our lives, wondering what would have happened had they not occurred, or had unfolded in some other way. Were these events meant to be? What if I handled those moments differently? Ben Castleman reflects on these times in his life, and on their profound meaning. Castleman is a doctoral student in at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He moved to Rhode Island in 1995 to attend Brown University. Before enrolling in the doctoral program at Harvard, Castleman was a teacher and administrator at The Met School in Providence.
September 9, 2009 Most of us find that our perspectives change as we age. What was once a relatively trivial concern in our lives may begin to take on great meaning, or we may begin to relax about issues that once caused us great consternation and angst. Tom Doyle reflects on this very shift in his own life, and on its implications. Following graduation from Wesleyan University, Doyle worked as a journalist, including a stint as managing editor of the Block Island Times weekly newspaper. He then pursued a career in medicine, graduating from Brown medical school. Doyle currently has a clinical faculty teaching appointment at Brown Medical School and in internal medicine at the Providence VA Medical Center.
September 2, 2009 One of the joys of spending time with children is the opportunity to witness their remarkable and spontaneous creativity - the kind of creativity that, sadly, seems to drift away from so many of us as we age. Jenny Peek lives in the world of children's creativity and shares her beliefs about what this should mean for all of us. Peek has been working in theater and the performing arts since 1986. After living in New York City for 16 years, she moved to Providence, and, in January 2004, founded THE MANTON AVENUE PROJECT, which is designed to enhance the self esteem and unleash the creative voices of inner-city children by uniting them with professional artists to create original theater.
August 26, 2009 Some beliefs remind us of how we would like to live, not how we do live. In this encore essay, Cathleen Calbert reminisces about past friendships.
August 19, 2009 Life is full of contradictions and inconsistencies, especially in those moments when we yearn for clarity. Issues that appear, at first glance, to be in sharp black and white relief quickly drift into shades of gray. That's what Beth Taylor has learned about distressingly ambiguous matters of war and peace. Beth Taylor teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program in Brown University's English Department. She lives in Providence with her husband Bill, and they have three grown sons. Taylor's new book is The Plain Language of Love and Loss: A Quaker Memoir. (University of Missouri Press).
August 12, 2009 Have you ever wondered what happened to your closest childhood friends? What path did they take in life? How did things work out for them? For many of us these are questions for which we have no answers. Not so for this week's essayists, Ed Iannuccilli and Steve Mallett. Ed Iannuccilli is a physician and former Chairman of the Board at Rhode Island Hospital. He is a graduate of Providence College and author of the book, "Growing up Italian, Grandfather's Fig Tree and Other Stories." An Air Force veteran, Steve Mallett has been in the kitchen design and sales business for 45 years. A golfer, New York Yankee lover and expert cake decorator, Steve has four children and nine grandchildren. He and his wife live in Suffield, Connecticut.
August 5, 2009 Curt Columbus takes walks near his home in Pawtucket and is artistic director of the Trinity Repertory Company. In this encore essay, he discusses his belief in community.
July 29, 2009 What is it about Rhode Island that keeps so many of us planted here? For many, there's a deep sense of rootedness that comes from living in, and being a part of, a community's rich traditions and customs. For Nina Murphy, being part of Bristol's annual, and storied, Fourth of July Parade has taught her what community and tradition are all about. Nina Murphy is a writer who lives in Bristol with her husband, Bart Ferris, and their two children. Murphy also handles marketing and sales for a family business, Wicked Natural, which makes a line of all natural gourmet condiments, sauces, dips and jams.
July 22, 2009 The most astute and perceptive among us recognize, indeed celebrate, the profound connections between the survival of diverse plant and animal species and our own destiny as human beings. How we treat the plants and animals whose paths we cross says in awful lot about who we are as people and about our purpose on this planet. And this is the compelling message offered by Scott Turner. In addition to his duties as the director of web communications at Brown University, Turner writes a weekly nature commentary for the Providence Journal. Turner is a former land manager, park ranger and science writer. He lives in Providence with his wife and two children.
July 15, 2009 Imagine finding out in the middle of an otherwise ordinary day that you could save a friend's life - a friend with a chronic, debilitating illness - if you are willing to sacrifice one of your own organs. Would you hesitate, or would you jump at the chance to donate one of your body parts, and to endure the invasive surgery, in order to keep a friend alive? Indeed, this was the choice facing Daniel Carpenter. Carpenter teaches Latin, Ancient Greek and Ancient Literature courses at the University of Rhode Island. He is especially interested in the study of the Greek epic poet, Homer. Carpenter lives with his wife, Jean, in Wakefield, Rhode Island.
July 8, 2009 One of the joys of living in the Ocean State is that we're surrounded by a critical mass of remarkably creative people. With good reason, Rhode Island is known for its rich collection of painters, jewelry designers, sculptors, potters, and weavers. At their foundation, these forms of art are a profound act of creation. For Naomi Herzfeld, such handwork is deeply personal, even spiritual. After a 25-year career as an office worker in downtown Providence, and a brief stint in health care, Naomi Herzfeld now co-owns Bella Yarns in Warren, Rhode Island, where she weaves, knits, and creates. Herzfeld lives in Riverside, Rhode Island.
July 1, 2009 One of Rhode Island's virtues is its remarkably diverse, richly textured citizenry, many of whom emigrated from other nations. Thousands of Rhode Island's teenagers are growing up trying to navigate between the world of their ancestors and contemporary America - certainly not an easy task, as we hear from 17-year old, Margaret Garcia. Garcia is a recent graduate of the Providence Academy for International Studies and plans to attend Holy Cross College. She composed her essay as a participant in College Visions, a Rhode Island-based program that empowers low income and first-generation college-bound students to pursue higher education.
June 24, 2009 Perhaps it goes without saying that dashed hopes are part of the human condition. None of us is able to escape occasional disappointments in life. For the most fortunate among us, those disappointments are relatively rare, manageable, and followed by better news. Caleb Woodhouse reflects on a time in his life when he received some very sad news from his son . . . . and about its much happier - and profoundly moving - aftermath. Caleb Woodhouse is a 1954 graduate of Brown University and a retired history teacher. He lives in Little Compton, Rhode Island with his wife Alessandra.
June 16, 2009 One of the great joys of living in Rhode Island is the rich array of scenic vistas that surround us, from majestic ocean views to the many forest trails and stunningly beautiful bike paths that thread our state. Yet, it's quite easy for Rhode Island residents to roam around our fascinating state completely unaware of hundreds of untold stories that are part of Rhode Island's complex and rich history. Sandra Enos has uncovered some of these treasures that tell us so much about some of Rhode Island's most vulnerable citizens. A resident of Peace Dale, Sandra Enos is a professor of sociology at Bryant University. As part of her research on the history of child welfare in Rhode Island, she is collecting oral histories of former residents of the state's orphanages.
June 10, 2009 People handle aging very differently. Some people seem filled with a calm equanimity about life's inevitable passages; others seem hemmed in by understandable anxiety and existential angst. The most fortunate among us age with wisdom, insight, and a healthy measure of grace. Ron Wolk clearly has reached some very wise insights in the eighth decade of his rich life. Wolk is founder and former editor of Education Week, which is American education's newspaper of record. He is also Chairman of Big Picture Learning in Providence (a WRNI underwriter), and former vice president of Brown University and Johns Hopkins University.
June 3, 2009 Nine-eleven. September 11, 2001 . . . phrases that now are permanently seared in our collective awareness, sounds that are likely to echo forever in our nation�s memory. Many of us agonized about 9-11 from a safe distance as we watched horrifying video images and clung to television and radio announcers' graphic and gripping narration. For others, including Cara Murray, 9-11 was deeply personal, especially when it happened in one's own neighborhood. Murray has carried 9-11 with her, even as she has relocated to Rhode Island from New York City. Cara Murray is a graduate of Brown University and is pursuing a Master of Arts in Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island. She is a former dancer and an emerging writer.
May 27, 2009 For many months now - what may, in fact, feel like an eternity - all of us have felt caught in the tight grip of distressing national news - an economy that seems to need life support, staggering unemployment, an anemic housing market. So, is there room for hope - real hope - in the midst of this bad storm? This week we feature a compelling poem on this very challenge, a poem about the possibility of hope. The poet is Rhode Islander Dave Dragone. After working for oil companies for many years, Dave Dragone decided to refocus his career around music and writing. He now works as a piano tuner, violin instructor, and poet. Dragone and his family have lived in Rhode Island for 30 years.
May 20, 2009 Imagine what it must be like to live your life as a world renowned cardiologist, a celebrated medical scholar, and an international spokesperson for physicians concerned about the daunting implications of nuclear weapons. Life is chock full of meaning, purpose, and never-ending challenge. Now imagine what it must be like to shift both speed and gears abruptly as you cope with the unexpected news that you must now be a patient - a patient who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and dementia. Indeed, this has been the life course for Dr. Tom Graboys, who reflects on his deeply personal and poignant journey, and his inspiring determination to live his life to the fullest. Dr. Thomas Graboys is Clinical Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He is President Emeritus of the Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation, and former attending cardiologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Lown Cardiovascular Center. Dr. Graboys, who grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts, became a patient himself after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and dementia. He has published a book about his personal battle, Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia.
May 13, 2009 All of us have just endured a remarkable - and remarkably long - presidential campaign that was filled with partisanship wrestling and, at times, rapprochement, or fence mending. Eric Bronner reminds us that partisan tensions sometimes run much deeper than political debate. Indeed, often we find partisan strain in our own lives . . . in our own families and our most intimate relationships. And here, too, diplomacy matters. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Bronner has lived in RI since 1985, now in Riverside. He is a faculty member at Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University, and sings opera locally, regionally and nationally. Bronner teaches voice, public speaking, aesthetics, and music education courses.
May 6, 2009 For nearly all of us, family is at the center of our lives. For sure, family life can be complicated, filled with a rich mix of remarkable joy, intense anguish, and, for the most fortunate among us, a steady flow of nurture and sustenance. John Schenck reminds us that our understanding of what family means can change dramatically during the course of our lives, as it did for him when his daughter and her family traveled across the globe to adopt a baby boy. Schenck moved to Rhode Island after four decades in New York City, where he was a magazine marketing executive. Since coming to Providence, he has co-authored "The Providence Guide to the 91 Best Restaurants" and is now publisher of "Edible Rhody."
April 29, 2009 The wisest among us have learned to appreciate every single one of life's precious moments, knowing full well that our circumstances can change in an instant. Accidents happen, people die suddenly. In short, our lives can turn upside down with little notice. Indeed, this is what happened nearly three years ago to Nancy Worthen, when she learned about her precious daughter's stroke - and about the remarkable power of community in times of need. A native Rhode Islander, Worthen has worked at the Center for the Arts in Westerly as the Program Director, at the Providence Children's Museum as Operations Director, and most recently as AmeriCorps Director at Ready to Learn Providence. She lives with her family in the Armory.
April 22, 2009 It may sound like a clich�, but it's no doubt true that nearly all adolescents struggle to sort out who they are, where they're headed in life, and how they want to be seen by others. This winding path is easier for some to navigate than for others. Anna Bigney shares her wise insights about who she is at this tender life stage. Anna Bigney is an eighth grader at the Wheeler School in Providence. Her favorite activities include swimming, basketball, reading, and hanging out with my friends.
April 15, 2009 On April 11, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson told the nation, during the signing of a prominent education bill: "Education is 'the guardian genius of our democracy.'" He was quoting the former President of the Republic of Texas, Mirabeau Lamar. Nearly a half century later, then Presidential candidate Barack Obama delivered his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention and said, "Michelle and I are here only because we were given a chance at an education. I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance." This week's essayist, Joan Countryman, has devoted her life to this mission we call education. Her journey is a remarkable one, and it has shaped her compelling beliefs. Countryman grew up in Philadelphia and was the first African-American graduate of Germantown Friends School. She retired in 2005 as Head of Lincoln School in Providence, and then served as Interim Head of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa and the Atlanta Girls' School. She lives in Providence.
April 8, 2009 Most of us can recall traumatic moments from our adolescence that were confusing, disconcerting, and perhaps overwhelming. Viewed through our adult eyes and the wisdom that comes with aging, we often wish we could have handled those events differently. Anne Davidson Babineau reflects on that time in her life when, as a teen, the parents of several of her classmates - including one very special classmate - died. Babineau is a writer, editor and artist. She lives in southern Rhode Island with her husband and two children.
April 1, 2009 What National Public Radio listeners have in common is a keen interest in ideas, intellectual curiosity, and a thirst for knowledge. But where does this need to know come from? What makes us curious? Mary Baker reflects on the roots of her own insatiable curiosity, which, interestingly, began with a childhood visit to the zoo. Baker is an anthropology professor at Rhode Island College. She has a special interest in understanding what factors influence patterns of behavior among white-faced capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica and in the conservation of nonhuman primates.
March 25, 2009 The most fortunate among us have learned to appreciate the glorious life lessons taught by our natural environment - if, that is, we take the time to notice. Stunning sunsets, budding trees, and polar ice caps are packed with meaning about the origins of life, the mysteries of the universe, and inexplicable life forces. Scott Turner reflects on the profound lessons he has learned about what matters most in life by stepping back and watching a hawk in full flight. In addition to his duties as the director of web communications at Brown University, Turner writes a weekly nature commentary for the Providence Journal. Turner is a former land manager, park ranger and science writer. He lives in Providence with his wife and two children.
March 18, 2009 One of the hallmarks of adolescence is indecision. Should I wear this sweater or that sweater? Should I go out with this friend tomorrow or that friend? Should I wear my hair this way or that way? Thirteen-year-old Ruby Stenhouse takes us for a walk through her uncertainty. Stenhouse is an eighth grader at the Wheeler School in Providence. She dances ballet and enjoys art and creative writing at school.
March 11, 2009 Most of us have had the occasional fantasy of tossing aside what we do for a living and taking a wild ride into the unknown, pursuing long-held dreams that are a radical departure from what has become all too familiar in our lives. Vinny O'Neill reflects on his decision to venture into the unknown - and about how it turned out. O'Neil is the author of the award-winning Frank Cole mystery series, which includes Murder in Exile, Reduced Circumstances, and Exile Trust. A native of Massachusetts and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, O'Neill currently lives in Cranston.
March 4, 2009 Many people who are remarkably successful in their public lives find themselves tormented by some kind of intense, nagging, private agony. Some succumb to this inner turmoil; others thrive as they discover a resolve they didn't know they had. Jeffrey Sparr tells us about his deeply personal struggles, and his inspiring triumph. Years ago Sparr started a textile business in Rhode Island, which he travels all over the world to run.
February 25, 2009 Most of us have spent some time thinking about the origin of life as we've come to know it, the beauty of the forest, and the mysteries of the ocean. For some, a higher power explains it all - for others, evolution holds the key that unlocks the door. Kenneth Miller shares his passionate beliefs about how life unfolds. Miller is professor of biology at Brown University.
February 18, 2009 As residents of the smallest state in the union, most of us have learned to appreciate the meaning of small. Over time we've adjusted our sense of geographical distance and we expect that we'll bump into someone we know at the supermarket, beach, or airport. Kate Moran shares her view of Rhode Island's smallness, and its very large implications. Kate Moran is associate dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography and professor of ocean engineering and oceanography at the University of Rhode Island- and, she notes, she's 5'3" tall.
February 11, 2009 Many of us obsess about what we'll name our children, our beloved pets, or perhaps a boat that's moored in Narragansett Bay. Anne Grant explores the profound meaning of the names in our lives, especially when we have a choice about them. The Reverend Anne Grant of Providence is a retired United Methodist minister whose denomination, she notes, restricts her from performing weddings for same-sex couples.
February 4, 2009 Throughout our lives, many of us have encountered rude awakenings - those sudden, sometimes tragic, events that throw us for a loop, take the wind out of our sails, and turn our worlds upside down. Fritz Lanz found himself in the middle of one of these life crises; he reflects on the lessons he learned about how to cope with unexpected trauma. Lanz teaches math at Riverside Middle School in East Providence, RI.
January 28, 2009 All of us have encountered that painful moment in life when we realize, perhaps for the first time, that something precious to us - really precious to us - is drifting away. Gayle Goldin reflects on that challenging moment in her life, and on the path she has traveled since then. Goldin is a consultant in the nonprofit sector and the board president of Adoption Rhode Island. She lives with her husband and two young sons in Providence.
January 21, 2009 Sadly, many of us have experienced profound trauma in our lives - trauma that, over time, has a great deal to do with the people we become, the struggles we face, our triumphs in life, and our passions. Kim Baker tells us about trauma in her life that, until very recently, was a deep, dark secret. Today, she is empowered by her past. Baker has been teaching writing in academe and business for 16 years.
January 14, 2009 It sounds like a clich�: we're so busy running ourselves ragged with our relatively mundane life tasks that we neglect to stop, smell the roses, and notice what's truly important. But, as Gigi Edwards reminds us, this is far from a clich�. The truth is that throughout our lives most of us need these all-important reminders. An editor at the University Of Rhode Island Publications Department, Edwards lives in Saunderstown. Her fiction appears in The Rhode Island Writers' Circle 2007 Anthology and her non-fiction in regional magazines.
January 7, 2009 Many of us spend years in search of community, yearning for deep connection with other people. We search for connection in our families, in our neighborhoods, and in our own backyards. This week's essayist, Ruth Marris-Macaulay, reflects on a time in her life when she found that connection far from home.
December 31, 2008 Many of us Rhode Islanders are from somewhere else. We moved to Rhode Island for work, for love, or, perhaps, simply to be somewhere other than wherever we had been. This week's essayist, Elizabeth Rau, reflects on the challenge so many of us have faced in our efforts to figure out where home really is.
December 24, 2008 Living in a world of plenty, many of us struggle to temper our wish for an ever increasing supply of material possessions, our tendency to acquire more, and bigger, and better. This week's essayist, Jerry Landay, reflects on the lessons he has learned about the importance of keeping these instincts in check.
December 17, 2008 Throughout our lives all of us have key - often poignant - moments that shape the way we view the world. This week's essayist, Adam Braver, reflects on the meaning of these moments, which have become the story of his life.
December 10, 2008 All of us can appreciate the sage, compassionate advice we receive from our doctor when we're suffering from severe knee pain, for example, or shortness of breath or breast cancer. This week's essayist, Ben Brown, reminds us that our doctors learned much of their wisdom from remarkable, yet anonymous people whom we, the patients, will never know.
December 3, 2008 During the course of our lives we sometimes have unexpected realizations and insights inspired by unexpected sources. This week's essayist, Bob Pelcovits, recalls one of his very special insights and reflects on its implications.
November 26, 2008 All of us can recall the unrestrained joy we experienced as children when we played with toys and friends without formal adult supervision. But for many of today's children, this sort of spontaneous play seems more and more rare. This week's essayist, Janice O'Donnell, discusses the immportance of expanding opportunities for children to play.
November 19, 2008 Sometimes in life we discover that little things are really big things. This week's essayist, Philip Eil, shares his insights about how little things can be packed with profound meaning.
November 12, 2008 Many of us have known moments of true anguish and hopelessness during the course of our lives. This week's essayist, Heather Sullivan, reflects on the possibility of hope, compassion and kindness during those harsh times when we are steeped in despair.
November 5, 2008 In life's quieter moments, many of us wonder, often with a complicated mix of excitement and anxiety, what lies ahead in life for the people we love and, as well, for all of humankind. This week's essayist, Jack Partridge, shares his quiet reflections, reflections that came upon him quite unexpectedly.
October 29, 2008 Throughout our lives we sometimes find ourselves in the midst of circumstances that are full of despair and, it seems, hopelessness. This week's essayist, Brian Mayer, reflects on the kind of hope that sometimes can be found amidst despair . . . and about hope's powerful legacy.
October 22, 2008 Many of us have learned the hard way what it means to lose something that is precious to us and that we may have taken for granted - say, an heirloom, a close friendship, or our health. This week's essayist, Marie Younkin-Waldman, reflects on what it means to get that precious something back in one's life.
October 15, 2008 For centuries Rhode Islanders have struggled to understand their complex and sometimes controversial relationship to their land. As this week's essayist, Kathy Swann, observes, our relationship to the land on which we live has a great deal to do with our fundamental identity as individuals and as part of the commonweal. Kathy Swann is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Leadership Rhode Island. She lives with her family in West Greenwich, Rhode Island.
October 8, 2008 Thousands of Rhode Islanders have been mesmerized by Providence's WaterFire, drawn in by its unique and captivating blend of sights, sounds, and aroma. Andrew Rock shares his beliefs about the power of WaterFire from his unique vantage point floating along the Providence River. Rock is the president of the Rhode Island-based Lobster.COM - a national lobster vendor and sits on the Board of Directors of WaterFire Providence.
October 1, 2008 We human beings have a unique claim on our ability to use words to communicate with one another. All of us have discovered how words can be used to connect with one another and, at times, to hurt one another. Barbara Schweitzer reflects on the meaning of words in her life. Schweitzer is a psychotherapist and author of 33 1/3: Soap Opera Sonnets, published by Little Pear Press. She is the recipient of two merit fellowships for poetry from the state of RI.
September 24, 2008 Many of us appreciate the profound influence that sports can have in a child�s life, and the ways in which children can learn compelling life lessons on the playing field. Sadly, we�ve also been horrified by reports of parents who have lost all sense of perspective about their children�s athletic lives. Dan Doyle shares his beliefs � based on his lifelong involvement in athletics � about the role sports should play in children�s � and their parents� � lives. Doyle is founder and executive director of the Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Islan
September 17, 2008 One of the inevitabilities in our lives is change - some of it for the better and some of it, well, not for the better. Nancy Kirsch shares her beliefs about dealing with changes in her life. Kirsch lives with her family in Providence. She is a writer, editor, and publicist, and the recipient of the Metcalf Diversity in the Media award.
September 10, 2008 The word "hope" carries unique meaning for each of us at different points in our lives. For some, like Phan Sok, who was born and raised in Cambodia, hope is what remains when so much has been stripped away from one's life. Sok is a physician who received his medical training in Viet Nam and practiced medicine in Cambodia. Dr. Sok received a Master of Public Health degree from Brown University and a Master of Social Work degree from Rhode Island College. Because of immigration challenges in the United States, Dr. Sok and has family recently moved to Canada.
September 3, 2008 For most of us, life is filled with a complicated mix of joy, sorrow, mundane tasks, exhilarating moments, and for some, unspeakable loss. This week's essayist, author Ann Hood, shares her story of the remarkably intimate and intense grief of losing a child.
August 20, 2008 Christine Sherwood reflects on the lessons she has learned over the years about the unique privilege we enjoy in a democracy - the privilege of speaking out. Sherwood is a freelance writer who lives in Providence with her family.
August 13, 2008 Karen Feldman is the co-director of Young Voices, a Rhode Island organization that transforms urban youth into powerful advocates. She is joined by teenagers Grace Ajayi, Johanna German and Rick Rodriguez. They believe youth have the power to change Rhode Island.
Pets Feelings
August 6, 2008 Many listeners are deeply devoted to household pets that enrich their day-to-day and night-to-night lives.
Bread
July 30, 2008 Bread is a staple in our lives. But beyond mere sustenance, bread also has a much broader significance for many of us. Mark Binder, shares his beliefs about the meaning of bread in his life. Mark Binder is an author, storyteller . . . and bread baker. He lives with his family in Providence and is the author of several books, including The Bed Time Story Book; It Ate My Sister; and The Brothers Schlemiel.
July 23, 2008 Judith Tolnick Champa is the former director and curator of the Fine Arts Center Galleries at the University of Rhode Island. In the face of a budget crunch, the University recently made deep cuts to the Fine Arts Center Galleries program - eliminating the director/curator position. She shares her beliefs about the meaning of art in her life, and in the life of our community.
Reading
July 16, 2008 Jody Lisberger teaches women's studies and writing at the University of Rhode Island. Her stories have been published in the Michigan Quarterly Review, Fugue, Confrontation, Thema and the Louisville Review. She also has a new story collection, Remember Love, published by Fleur-de-Lis Press. She believes in the power of words, especially those that appear on paper. Her essay explores the impact that reading has on people's lives.
Rainbows
July 2, 2008 Lisa Sussman is a writer, editor and mother living in East Greenwich. She thinks that all of us, including political candidates, should pay more attention to the innocent beliefs of our children.
Investing in Youth
June 25, 2008 Providence Police Chief, Dean Esserman, offers his beliefs about the tragedy of youth violence.
Lucky
June 18, 2008 Leslie Gutterman is senior rabbi at Temple Beth-El in Providence, a congregation he has served since 1970. He shares his beliefs about intense losses in our lives and the meaning they carry.
Pride
June 11, 2008 Myra Shays is the President of the greater Providence chapter of PFLAG - Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. She shares the story of how she came to accept, and celebrate, her lesbian daughter.
Changes
June 4, 2008 All of us encounter changes in our lives. Theresa Zeitz-Lindamood is in the eleventh grade at the Lincoln School in Providence. She shares what she believes about changes in her life.
May 28, 2008 All of us can identify times in
our lives that posed significant challenges from which we have needed to
rebound. Peter Slom is a clinical social worker and unit manager at the
Rhode Island Training School. He tells us about his compelling journey
from the depths of despair.
Slush
May 21, 2008 Caleb Woodhouse is a 1954 graduate of Brown University and a retired history teacher. With his wife Alessandra, he lives in Little Compton and celebrates all 4 seasons of southern New England weather - especially winter.
Facing Facts
May 14, 2008 Generations of Rhode Islanders have struggled with our state's complex and troubling connections to the 18th and 19th century slave trade. Leslie McGrath talks about the importance of facing these difficult facts and moving forward. Leslie McGrath is a poet based in nearby Connecticut. Her poems have appeared in several literary journals, including Black Warrior Review, Poetry Ireland Review, and Beloit Poetry Review.
Reconciliation
May 7, 2008 Henry Sharpe is the former chairman and president of the Brown and Sharpe Manufacturing Company. In his essay Sharpe shares his beliefs about the possibility of reconciliation, even among sworn enemies. Sharpe reflects on his World War II experiences fighting the Japanese and his eventual embrace of his former enemy.
Not Helpless
April 30, 2008 Elizabeth Ochs is the coordinating editor of Street Sights, a newspaper published by current and formerly homeless individuals. She shares her beliefs about the remarkable strengths she has discovered among people who are homeless.
Hunger
April 23, 2008 Andrew Schiff is executive director of the Rhode Island Community Foodbank. He believes our society can end hunger. His essay reminds us that getting enough food is a challenge for some Rhode Islanders.
Uncertainty
April 16, 2008 Penny and David Kadmon are physicians who live in Providence with their three children. They tell us about challenges and joy they experience as parents of a child with Down syndrome.
Ten
April 9, 2008 Howard Tinberg lives in Pawtucket and is a professor of English at Bristol Community College in Fall River. He believes in the power of ten.
Rhode Island
April 2, 2008 Jeanpaul Ferro is a writer and lives in the Wyoming section of Richmond, RI. He believes there is a lot to appreciate about living in Rhode Island.
Help
March 26, 2008 All of us know that life can serve up sudden unexpected challenges. Alan Rosenberg is south county regional editor at the Providence Journal. He tells us about the kindness that pulled his family through a crisis.
Ambition
March 19, 2008 Many of us struggle to find balance in our lives. Bob Colonna is an actor, teacher, and the author of the book, Greetings Gate: The Story of Professor Jerry Colonna. He shares his thoughts about the role of ambition and passion in his life.
Generosity
March 12, 2008 This week's essay is about generosity - something the Downing family found a few weeks ago outside the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Neil Downing is a reporter for the Providence Journal. Katlin downing plays soccer and goes to school. She's in the 7th grade at Dighton middle school.
Toast
March 5, 2008 Throughout history, people have toasted each other on special occasions. Benjamin Gedan, a reporter with the Providence Journal, shares with us his unique experiences with toasts.
Public Education
February 27, 2008 When not volunteering on East Side education projects, Samuel Zurier is also an attorney practicing law in the city. He tells us that he believes in public education.
February 20, 2008 This I Believe Rhode Island essay this week concerns intimacy. It's something Doctor Charles Sherman, a pulmonologist at Coastal Medical in East Providence, came to appreciate only years after a great loss.
Newspapers
February 13, 2008 Evolution can be a difficult thing to watch. In this essay John Monaghan, retired political reporter and managing editor of the Providence Journal, tells us how difficult it is to watch changes in a vital industry.
Holmes
February 6, 2008 Albert Silverstein ponders mysteries at his home in Pawtucket and is a retired professor of psychology from the University of Rhode Island. He tells us about his belief in a fictional detective.
Birds
January 30, 2008 University of Rhode Island science writer Todd McLeish watches birds in his Burrillville back-yard and during every vacation of adult life. He's author of the book Golden Wings and Hairy Toes. He explains his fascinations with birds.
Pride
January 23, 2008 Among the many of you who have responded to our essay series are numerous young people. This morning's essay comes from an 11th grader at the Met School in Providence. Aminah Fonseca believes in pride.
Action
January 16, 2008 This essay focuses on what actions our beliefs lead us to take. Jerry Elmer practices law in Providence. He says he gladly lives with the consequences of his actions.
Work
January 2, 2008 Our first This I believe Rhode Island essay of the new year focuses on the role of work and business in our lives. Annie Doran is the founder of Fair Loom and fairloom.org. She believes in people coming together to make an organization succeed.
Conviction
December 19, 2007 Sharing deeply held beliefs with others can be difficult. Writer Mary Ann Sorrentino is a former executive director of Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island and author of Abortion - the "A" Word. She believes in a personal approach.
Family
December 12, 2007 Angie Moncada is a public relations professional who has made a home with her son, cat and husband in Pawtucket. In her essay, she reflects on the meaning of family.
Brother
December 5, 2007 Many personal convictions come from relatives. Sonn Sam is principal of the Peace Street Campus of the Met High School in Providence. He tells us what the life of one relative has taught him.
War Women
November 28, 2007 Judy Barrett Litoff is a professor of history at Bryant University. She explains why she thought of women on Veteran's day.
Scent
November 21, 2007 Rachel Herz is an assistant professor of psychology and psychiatry at Brown University and the author of Scent of Desire. She believes in one key element of the holidays that you may take for granted.
Mysteries
November 14, 2007 Many beliefs help us address the mysteries that surround us. Mark Arsenault is a mystery writer and a reporter for the Providence Journal. His most recent book is Grave-Writer. He tells us he believes in mysteries themselves.
Service
November 7, 2007 Ray Rickman is health care consultant and former Rhode Island state representative. He believes America's volunteer military service is not best for the country.
Neighbors
October 31, 2007 Curt Columbus takes walks near his home in Pawtucket and is artistic director of the Trinity Repertory Company. He believes in community.
Childhood
October 24, 2007 Eighth grader Emma Yang Un believes in childhood.
Neighbors
October 10, 2007 Karen Lee Ziner lives in Providence and is a reporter for the Providence Journal. Many deep seeded beliefs come from individual experiences. That's the case for this author who believes in neighbors.
Freedom of Religion
October 3, 2007 Joshua Stein is a professor of history at Roger Williams University. He explains his belief in the Rhode Island state motto.
September 26, 2007 Doctor Stanley Aronson is dean of medicine emeritus at Brown University. He warns us against un-due devotion to our beliefs.
Broken Dishes
September 19, 2007 Like many of you who have submitted essays to This I Believe Rhode Island, Jess Regelson believes in transformation. She creates mosaic art at her studio in Pawtucket and transformation is the focus of her work.
Second Chances
September 12, 2007 Tom Coderre is a former Rhode Island state senator and national field director of faces and voices of recovery. He believes in second chances.
Denial
September 5, 2007 Many personal beliefs stem from self awareness. Doctor Jay Baruch is the director of medical education and the department of emergency medicine at Memorial Hospital. He's also the author 14 stories - Doctors, Patients, and Other Strangers. He discovered something experienced by many patients.
Peer Power
August 22, 2007 Tobin Tyler is about to enter the eighth grade at the Community Preparatory School in Providence. In this final 'This I Believe' essay from the school, she talks about the importance of her friends and their diversity.
Alone
August 15, 2007 Robert Mann is a well known Rhode Island criminal defense attorney. He's proud of his work... but wonders about work not being done.
Creativity
August 8, 2007 Keith Munslow is a storyteller and musician who lives in Providence. He tells about a belief that was re-affirmed, when he was pushed to try something new.
August 1, 2007 William Miles lives in Seekonk and is a professor of political science at Northeastern University. He tells us about what he realized after his time in the Peace Corps.
Perception
July 25, 2007 Many beliefs are related to perceptions. In this week's This I Believe Rhode Island essay, Julia Myler Simpson takes issue with issue with a perception about those of us who live here in the northeast. Julia Meylor Simpson lives in East Providence and works as a corporate communications writer at Amica Mutual.
Transformation
July 18, 2007 This week, Tony Maione considers the lessons that can be learned from tragedy. Tony Maione is president of the United Way of Rhode Island.
Autism
July 11, 2007 This week we hear again from a student at Community Preparatory School in Providence. Charlotte Forcht believes you should let nothing get in the way of accomplishing your goals:
Opportunity
July 4, 2007 On this Fourth of July, Bill Shuey tells us about his belief in opportunity in America.
Friends
June 27, 2007 Some beliefs remind us of how we would like to live, not how we do live. Cathleen Calbert reminisces about past friendships.
Home
June 20, 2007 Nic Retsinas of Providence tells us about the values he brought back from another part of the world.
Strut
June 13, 2007 Keishanna Cardoza is completing the 7th grade at the community preparatory school in Providence. She advises us to all take pride in ourselves.
Texts
June 6, 2007 Alvan Kaunfer is a rabbi at Temple Emanu-el in Providence. He believes in traditional teachings.
Stories
May 30, 2007 Wayne Miller is a reporter for the Providence Journal. He believes in his work.
Adversity
May 23, 2007 Paul Drexel is a writer who lives in Barrington. He reminds us that many beliefs are formed by difficult experiences.
Food
May 16, 2007 Marie Lee is a visiting lecturer at the Center for Study of Race and Ethnicity in the Americas at Brown University. She explains why she cares about careful preparations of meals:
Singer
May 9, 2007 Jenny Ngin is a seventh grade student at Community Preparatory School in Providence.
Hope
April 25, 2007 Tom Chandler is an associate professor of English and Cultural Studies at Bryant University and was Poet Laureate of Rhode Island until recently.
Perfume
April 18, 2007 Seeta Sistla is working on a PHD in biology at Brown University.
Laughing
April 11, 2007 Simcha Davis is a 7th grade student at Community Preparatory School in Providence.
Listening to Children
April 4, 2007 Tamar Paull is a teacher at Community Preparatory School in Providence.
Traffic Lessons
March 28, 2007 Frederic Reamer is a Professor of Social Work at Rhode Island College and the producer of This I Believe Rhode Island.
Local newscasts daily Monday through Friday at the top and bottom of the hour, during Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and on weekends during Weekend Edition at the bottom of the hour. Weekly local features from the WRNI newsroom air during Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition at various times during the broadcast.
Every Friday at 5:40 AM, 7:40 AM during Morning Edition and again at 5:45 PM during All Things Considered
Political Roundtable: an insightful look at the week's top Rhode island political stories with Host Political Reporter Ian Donnis, Analyst Scott Mackay and URI Professor Maureen Moakely.
Every Monday during Morning Edition at 6:35 and 8:35 AM
Political Roundtable: an insightful look at the week's top Rhode island political stories with Host Political Reporter Ian Donnis, Analyst Scott Mackay and URI Professor Maureen Moakely.
Every Wednesday during Morning Edition and All Things Considered
Hosted by
Frederic Reamer, This I Believe - Rhode Island is an effort to share the personal experiences that have helped form the opinions of your neighbors.
