I’ve been telling this story for over three decades now and like all good stories, it just goes on gathering depth and new layers of meaning. Since today is the 33rd anniversary of its occurrence, it seems like a good time to tell it once [...]

There is a scene in my favorite American television series (West Wing) in which two characters are shown going through their normal morning routines. The point of the juxtaposition is to illustrate how Donna (a lowly White House assistant)  is [...]

Watch this movie. You can buy it secondhand on amazon and believe me, it is worth it if only to hear the painful and poignant words of a boy named Wyatt (that’s him with his arms crossed in the photo). Wyatt and the four other kids [...]

Commonweal Magazine April 10, 2009 / Volume CXXXVI, Number 7   COLUMNISTS Parched WILL OUR NEXT WARS BE OVER WATER? Jo McGowan Last month I attended a conference in Delhi. I arrived late at night and went straight to bed. When I got up the next [...]

Halfway home. Mom is hanging in there. I managed to get on to the direct flight to Boston, so I will be there by 10 on Saturday morning. Such a strange feeling of helplessness! Wanting to rush, but knowing there is literally NOTHING I can do to [...]