Never Again

Amsterdam war memorial

NEVER AGAIN—the cry of survivors of the Holocaust NEVER AGAIN—continues to echo across Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, and on and on Last fall when I first began biking from Belgium…

Read More

Rights of Children: Education

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela Yes, education is power. All children have the right to go to school. All…

Read More

Not Allowed

Last week  I introduced The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This astounding document lists thirty basic rights promised to children everywhere.  Today lets look more closely at several of these…

Read More

The Silence of Our Friends

I Am a Bear

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I often re-read these words spoken by…

Read More

Children’s Rights

food line

What rights do children have? If you could, what rights would you give to every child—every child—during this sacred time of year? Imagine this, the United Nations in December of…

Read More

“Onward, onward!”

I became absorbed with Vincent van Gogh’s paintings at “his” museum in Amsterdam. I had never seen his work close-up in person. Such rich color, such captured energy. And faces…

Read More

Many Ways We Tell Our Stories: American Sign Language

I am deaf. I cannot hear anything, not even my own voice. But every day I share my stories—what I am thinking, what I have learned, what worries me. I listen to others with my eyes; I speak with my hands, my whole face, my body language, too. American Sign Language is like speaking a silent song. Watch.

Read More

Many Ways We Tell Our Stories: Mime

Mime, speak without words! You will never hear my voice. You will never forget the stories I tell. Watch! The mime moves soundlessly across the stage, his back to us. He turns around. His face is white. His eyebrows are outlined black. His smiling lips are bright red. We watch as he climbs stairs where There are no stairs Opens a window Peeks in Surprise!

Read More