Monthly Archives: July 2013

To greet someone in Kiribati you say mwauri, which literally means “you are safe.” It is a good thing to know in a formerly cannibalistic culture. Greetings. I love to learn them when I go to new places. As a … Continue reading →

In 1992 the King of Bhutan exiled 1/6th of Bhutan’s citizens. 100 years before, his own great grandfather invited Nepalese people to Bhutan to work the farmlands in the southern part of the country. Unlike the native Buddhists of Bhutan, … Continue reading →

Who was Trayvon Martin? A sweet Florida kid who got hunted down? A drugged-up hoodlum?  Obama’s imaginary son? A neighborhood troublemaker? A victim? An attacker? A good kid?  A bad man? Go ahead and make your choice, because all of … Continue reading →

At 38,000 feet over the North Sea, I am settling in for the long flight back to Portland from Amsterdam.  I want to talk about voices.  I don’t think I am unusual in saying that I hear voices.  The fact … Continue reading →

The dancers ranged from as young as 3 to as old as 83. They wore beautiful Tlingit regalia. They danced, drummed and chanted energetically. When they invited the visitors to participate, I joined in. The men dance by getting very … Continue reading →

Savages.  It was not the Tlingit name for themselves.  It was a name thrust upon them by people who did not know them; Americans who used it to describe Native Alaskans.  Calling them savages acquitted Americans from the responsibility of … Continue reading →