Berlin and a Step

Two things happened yesterday which took my breath away, and children of the 80s, it was not in the "Top Gun" sort of way. One we need not discuss (potential book material); the other involved stepping off a ledge into a 12' abyss or at least that's how I saw it through my rose-colored goggles.

Both moments were frightening. Both left me with a moment of sheer weightlessness that I hope I will one day describe as a "life lesson," "character building," "growth experience," or any of the other cheesy two word combinations which tries to mask fear and emptiness to inspire hope.

I expect that will be how I will feel.

Now, I am tuned into an appropriate playlist and finding solace in the music which accompanies The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

November Wallowing

Although I could not have imagined what it must have been like to have been at Brandenburg Gate twenty years ago, I knew even then from my small hometown far removed that it was a significant event. Like many of you, I first heard the news from Tom Brokaw and the NBC Nightly News.

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This morning as I read stories of celebration and reviewed this old footage of the wall, I am reminded of that girl who was, with this event, learning that the world is a much larger space than a small corner in East Tennessee.

As we move toward our historic events with healthcare reform, I feel optimistic that change is ever possible.