Just before midnight three Monday ‘s ago I awoke — not with the realization of society’s systemic racism, but a realization as basic and personal.  I was struggling to breathe alone in bed (so no cops were involved).   This had happened once before 18-months ago.  After a few minutes of deep breathing assessing my body and calming my mind I contemplated what to do.  The tightness in my chest and constricted feeling at the back of my throat made breathing a conscious effort.  Read More

Three weeks ago, relief at arriving in sweet home Chicago turned to frustration and boiled over into anger.  I was traveling light, without checked luggage, just a carryon, so you’d think getting home should have been easy, right?  Sure, my tolerance for foolishness was not high having awakened at 6 am in Germany (11pm CST) for a 2-1/2 hour train ride and nine-hour flight to Chicago.  Landing at O’Hare I was excited to be almost home – or so I thought. Read More