Category Inspirational

FMM 10 17 14 Conspiracy of Silence

“In the end we will remember, not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” ~Martin Luther King Jr.  One of the tragedies of abuse is the secrets and lies.  Children who are abused are sworn to secrecy by their abusers.  They come to believe that harm will come, to them or […]

FMM 10 10 14 Clanging Cymbals

“Ring the alarm, another sound is dying…” ~ Tenor Saw  There is a delicate balance that needs to be struck between informing the public and inciting panic.  We are seeing this played out in the media as they ramp up the rhetoric about Ebola.  To the outside world the US must appear to be extremely […]

FMM 10 3 14 Tunnel Vision

“Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.”~Paul Simon I had a stark reminder recently of the importance of paying attention.  Twice.  I  pulled up at the light in the early morning twilight.  Before making a right turn on a red light, I carefully checked out the oncoming traffic to […]

FMM 9 19 14 Listen to your Body

“Effective health care depends on self-care.  This fact is currently heralded as if it were a discovery.” ~ Ivan Illich.   I am a master at the art of procrastination, have practiced it ever since I was a child.  Despite the moralistic stance I take with my students when I find them guilty of the […]

FMM 9 12 14 Mirror, mirror, on the wall…

FMM 9 12 14 “Mirror, mirror, on the wall…” “How far that little candle throws his beams!  So shines a good deed in a weary world.”~ William Shakespeare The full moon shone through my window this week.  I can remember the moon in Jamaica, rising up over the cane piece and lighting up my bedroom.  […]

FMM 9 5 14 Missed Opportunities

“I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” ~ Robert Frost Have you ever had a gut feeling, a firm intuition that you were doing the right thing at the right time?  I can’t say that I have.  I am not blessed with those inner certainties, that unspoken confirmation.  Maybe it is that I just don’t recognize […]

FMM 8 29 14 Satisfy your Soul

”It is the marriage of the soul with nature that makes the intellect fruitful and gives birth to the imagination.”~Henry James Thoreau   Jamaicans have a way with words.  One of their favorite adjectives is ‘nuff’.  And though it sounds as if it derives from the word ‘enough’, it is used to denote more than […]

FMM 8 22 14 Kicking and Screaming

“For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.   Being a teacher means you have to be an unself-conscious performer.  A big part of the job is holding the attention of the class, and to do that you have to be an entertainer.  […]

FMM 8 15 14 ‘Someone to watch over me’

“Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.” ~ H.L. Mencken   Last year I finally bought myself a Prius.  I knew I would be driving a lot this year (already gone over 10,000 miles) so I was motivated to conserve.  I chose a color that makes me smile.  They call it […]

FMM 8 8 14 The Joy of Parenthood

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” ~Frederick Douglass I often joke that it is easy to blame your parents for everything that you think is wrong with you, until you have children of your own.  Then, all of a sudden, you realize that it is not that easy being a […]