This quote from a March 3, 2010 Boston Globe article by Geoff Edgers sums up what you’re about to read:
“The once-grand Art Deco theater, which had become a dilapidated porno movie house by the time it closed in 1976, has been restored to its former glory.”
Wait… there was a ramshackle X-Rated movie house in the middle of downtown Boston just a generation ago?!
Yes, that is correct. Remember two articles ago how [...Read More!]
It was late at night last month, and I was power-walking through the tunnel between the Red Line and the Orange Line in Boston’s Downtown Crossing. Suddenly a radiant grin appeared in front of me.
“Ms. Marshall!” my former student, ShiSha, hollered, and we fell into an embrace.
“How have you been?” I asked, breathless from the coincidence.
“I’m still working at Artists for Humanity,” ShiSha replied, referring to an amazing urban youth art [...Read More!]
What magic, the advancements that have occurred within the past few years in our “Developed” country! I’m astounded at the changes that have taken place in the United States within my lifetime.
We in America like to prance around and declare ourselves “Developed,” while we proclaim poorer countries “Developing” or “Less Developed.”
But terms like “The Developed World” make us seem fixed, finished, and all set. In fact, no, we sure aren’t! From [...Read More!]
There’s at least one moment every few days when I think to myself: “Teaching really is the best career in the world.” Sometimes this thought is spurred on when a student finally understands a concept. Other days it’s activated by the zing of a vibrant classroom discussion. Sometimes it comes from the intellectual buzz of making a tough text like Shakespeare accessible. But, in the case of this week… my [...Read More!]
I had a lot of reasons for leaving my career and home to travel around the world in August of 2009, and one of them was a vision of starting a new life abroad. For the first eight months of my voyage, I was convinced that (after rockin’ out Asia and Africa) I would find the endpoint of my dreams in Barcelona, Spain.
When I arrived in Spain, however, I realized Barcelona [...Read More!]
Before we left on winter vacation, I forced all my students here in Boston to write Appreciation Cards. We defined an “Appreciation Card” as a letter (decorated nicely) telling someone why you appreciate and admire them.
The power of such a card is massive! We think people around us know how much we care about them and why, but how often do we actually say it? In fact, our loved ones may [...Read More!]