Birmingham Blues

Ken would have been 51 today. I miss him so much.
When I started this blog, I never dreamed that this would be post number 2,000. That’s supposed to be a milestone. I guess it is, in a way. Half of my family of birth is gone. I’ve finally learned how [...]

The best of Mother’s Days to all of you who have birthed, adopted, grand-ed, step-ed, or stepped in when mom wasn’t available. Mothering is one of those jobs where most of the recognition comes after the fact, when the kids grow up and figure out you really weren’t that stupid after all, so — [...]

So many beautiful words have been written and spoken today as people around the world remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I find I have nothing to add except this: Rest with the angels, Dr. King. Your life was not lived in vain. You continue to inspire millions of people to [...]

Bruce Hilton, father of Tom and Steve Hilton of If I Ran the Zoo, passed away on Thursday. Their mother Virginia died in October 2007. Both of the Reverends Hilton worked on the front lines of the civil rights movement and continued to advocate for social and economic justice throughout their lives. [...]

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

My brother Ken has been gone two months today. On Sunday, Daddy will have been gone a year.
Ken started the last year of his life taking care of Daddy, who had become too weak to get up without help. He walked Daddy through the process of dying with grace and a quiet confidence [...]

Actually, she received it a while back, but I missed it.  Patricia has worked on behalf of people with HIV/AIDS for over twenty years and is currently the Associate Director of AIDS Alabama. The Wooster Award is named for Louise Wooster, who ran a brothel in the nascent city of Birmingham in the 1870’s and stayed behind during [...]

(Yeah, I know.  I can’t believe I’m linking to a Scott Stantis cartoon either, but he’s really changed his tune on the Iraq war.)

The Dixie Chicks swept the Grammy Awards last night, winning top honors for best record, best song, and album of the year. This after they were shut out at the Country Music Association awards. I say good for them and good for the Grammy voters.
The country music establishment was happy to embrace the [...]

Molly Ivins, one of my favorite political columnists, died today from breast cancer.  She was 62.
The writer, who made a living poking fun at Texas politicians, whether they were in her home base of Austin or the White House, revealed in early 2006 that she was being treated for breast cancer for the third time.
More [...]