Originally posted on Barbara Ganias Comstock:
There is a reason the young Pavel Friedman wrote from Terezin in 1942 that he “Never Saw Another Butterfly.” In the Nazi-made ghetto, where freedom was squashed and guards paraded around with guns slung over their shoulders, how could something as free as a butterfly exist? I’ve been thinking…
From fire and breath, beauty: Discovering the Blown Glass of Dale Chihuly
Always a fan of the earthiness of pottery, I wasn’t prepared to be blown away by glass. To whatever deep, soulful spaces pottery invites me, I found that blown glass invites me into the celestial. I was in Tacoma when I discovered the work of Dale Chihuly. Very quickly, I realized I must have been…
Butterflies, Guns, and Freedom: Why I’m So Done with the 2nd Amendment
There is a reason the young Pavel Friedman wrote from Terezin in 1942 that he “Never Saw Another Butterfly.” In the Nazi-made ghetto, where freedom was squashed and guards paraded around with guns slung over their shoulders, how could something as free as a butterfly exist? I’ve been thinking about Pavel a lot lately. I’ve…
Picking Up Where We Left Off
I swear, my time away was by accident. I’m back now, after forever — although I’m not sure I’m ready. My hiatus from my tiny blog was more a product of overwhelm than any quieting of the soul, nurturing of the spirit. Kind of like hiding. This past January, we quickly made the decision to…
To the Principal of Covington Catholic High School: FIX THIS.
When Ugly Racism Meets Quiet Dignity, the Responsibility to Shine a Light Belongs to All of Us Yesterday, I marched with thousands of others in the SF Women’s March, where we raised our voices for social justice and showed the world a wall of resistance against the oppressive authoritarianism that has gotten a foot-hold in…
After the Smoke Clears: November Days of Gratitude
The smoke is still pretty thick ’round here, although the rains have come. We’re used to the Bay Area having fog cascade over the hills like some magical potion pouring out of a steaming mug, but this daily blanket of smoke has not been the same. Our eyes have watered; we’ve coughed; our voices have…
No Kumbaya moment, just a daily practice of focusing on the good: November Days of Gratitude
When you live in the Bay Area, and your whole state is up in flames and the country, too, but more figuratively than literally, it can be hard to find what you can be grateful for. I’ve come to believe it’s an important practice, though, even as negativity, doom and gloom nip at your heels….
Oh, these kids! November Days of Gratitude
November Days of Gratitude: My kids, because where would a teacher be without a classroom full of children? I have to admit, this year I have particularly charming classes and, as every teacher can tell you, that isn’t always the case. Classes of children take on personalities and this year, I have an incredibly sweet…
We all need a village: November Days of Gratitude
November Days of Gratitude: My colleagues. In education, that is a combination of scores of teachers, supportive administration, and indispensable support staff. Without all of them, I don’t know where I’d be. I’m sure I wouldn’t be the teacher I am. From my first year teaching in 1990, when I would unabashedly arrive in the…
Respite: November Days of Gratitude
I have to make this quick. We are pressed for time as we’re trying to leave early so as maybe to avoid traffic. Who am I kidding? We’re leaving Southern California and I don’t know if there is ever a good time to avoid traffic here. It’s getting that way in the Bay Area, too,…
Hello? Hello? Finally a little recognition: November Days of Gratitude
On this Veteran’s Day, I am grateful to all our Veterans — those still with us and those who served and are now long gone — may the ideals you sought and fought to protect be ever worth fighting for and protecting. I am also grateful for stories that are finally emerging about all the…
Our Heroes: November Days of Gratitude*
We drove a very long 9 hours yesterday from the Bay Area to Newport Beach, via SLO to pick up our daughter, and had to travel through Ventura County and Thousand Oaks which have just suffered not one, but two devastating events: a gun massacre killing 12 people and then a fire the next day,…
Barbara Ganias Comstock 