That was the text message Emily sent to her parents while held hostage with six of her classmates at Platte Canyon High School. The last time I saw Emily was ten years earlier, when she and her twin brother, Casey, were playing in the backyard of the Keyes residence.

Their parents were the sort of people I loved to be around--smart, nerdy, compassionate and balanced. Ellen observed that even though both kids were treated equally and without bias toward "things boys do" or "things girls do", the… Continue

I admit that I am deeply saddened that I cannot help directly when others are suffering. My friends Joe and Jenny are flying to Haiti to launch an effort making and providing ceramic water filters for people who do not have access to clean water. I wish them success and a safe journey home. In the meantime, my finger is twitching to donate money through my cellphone or keyboard. Sure, there are plenty of material things that Haitians need right now, like mattresses and shoes. But the best thing… Continue

At the trial to indict the man who murdered my sister, we waited in the court room corridor for what seemed like forever, before the trial in the morning, and again after lunch and before the afternoon session. The waiting was difficult and anxiety provoking, waiting to walk into a nightmare time and time again, we had to have courage. My fam… Continue

When I lived in Boston in the 1980's, I used to love dancing so much that I sought out opportunities whenever I could. There were a few events around town where you could go just to dance. One of the more established events was called Dance Free, which was held every Wednesday night. People would bring mix tapes with different kinds of music, and nobody needed a partner--it was free form movement and as long as you didn't get in anyone's way, you could do, more or less, whatever you wanted. It w… Continue