Themes, themes, everywhere themes

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Kim Kishbaugh

“Thinking back on her own life, she couldn’t say exactly at which crossroads she’d chosen the wrong path, the path that had made her the woman she was now, the woman she saw in the mirror before her.”

–Maurizio de Giovanni
Darkness for the Bastards of Pizzofalcone

This is not the kind of sentence I expect to read in a crime novel. But there it was, near the end, near the point at which all is to be revealed, the “Whodunnit?” question answered.

It jarred me, made me look inside myself, revisit themes that already were on my mind after finishing The Book of Joy—these themes: owning your decisions (and indecision); acknowledging responsibility for your own life and actions; making your life and world the best you can make them, no matter what comes at you that is beyond your control. Continue reading →

The kids are alright…today

Posted on March 25, 2018 by Kim Kishbaugh

I’m back from Chicago’s March for Our Lives rally and utterly overwhelmed by the promise of our future. This was a rally by kids, for kids, featuring kids, and they were amazing. They were eloquent, inspiring, empowered and empowering. They stood on a stage in front of tens of thousands of people, and they spoke with grace, with dignity, with power. They spoke in prose, in poetry, in song. They spoke in many voices, at different volumes, some a bit hard to hear over the background noise of the crowd. All spoke with urgency and grace; none was cowed. Continue reading →

Lighting up the internet

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Kim Kishbaugh

Last night I lit up the internet.

That’s me, above, with some 500 of my closest friends—er, near acquaintances—at Chicago’s Lyric Opera, and of course on the internet, singing Queen.

Continue reading →

Words of wisdom: A gift I needed

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Kim Kishbaugh

“One shouldn’t pretend that people don’t get overwhelmed by the sense of impotence, but do what you can where you can.”

–Archbishop Desmond Tutu

That’s what I read today shortly after opening up The Book of Joy. After yesterday, when I was at risk of feeling overwhelmed by a sense of helpless and hopelessness after the massacre of children in Parkland, Florida, I could not have asked for a better reminder.

Also this:

“Start where you are, and realize that you are not meant on your own to resolve all of these massive problems. Do what you can. It seems so obvious. And you will be surprised, actually, at how it can get to be catching.”

Continue reading →

From anger to gratitude

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Kim Kishbaugh

I’m angry today. I’m angry this weekend, and I’ve been angry most of this week. It’s a natural response in the wake of yet another mass shooting that has left yet more students dead and injured in yet another of our schools.

I am tired of senseless killing and tired of seeing children die. I am tired of blood flowing in the corridors and classrooms of our nation’s schools. I am tired of fearing for our nation’s children and tired of fearing for everyone else’s safety in this society—for as we all know schools are not the only targets, only perhaps the most heart-wrenching.

But I’m not cultivating anger. I’m hoping it can serve as a motivating force, but I know it can debilitate as well. I’ve struggled to write today, and I think it’s because my anger connects to feelings of hopelessness, powerlessness and despair. Those will get me nowhere. They will get us nowhere. Continue reading →

How to honor Dr. King

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Kim Kishbaugh

I marked the start of the Martin Luther King holiday by finishing the last few chapters of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation, by Chicago reporter Natalie Y. Moore. The book explores the continuing persistence and effects of racial segregation America, with a focus on Chicago and especially the city’s South Side, where Moore grew up.

This book has earned wide praise, and has left me with much to consider. It approaches segregation primarily in terms of race, but acknowledges the intersections with class and economics. Which of these is the more important factor if our goal is to be improving racial equity and justice?

It seems important today to remember that Martin Luther King’s primary goal wasn’t racial harmony; it was racial justice. Continue reading →

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